Dawn 8/28/05 AB Suite Review Part 1, 2 & 3 with Pictures

[Netnurse31]

We had a great time on our Dawn cruise. Traveling with me was my husband, daughter, son, father and disabled mother. Highlights of the trip were leaving from NY, Parrot Jungle Island in Miami, my daughter Kristen meeting all of her newly made friends from the cruise critic boards and my son Brian meeting a young lady from our home town. The seas this week were as smooth as glass and the weather was outstanding, sun everyday and temperatures in the low 90’s. Bear with me for the following review may be long and winded.

 

 

We chose to take a limo to the Dawn for a couple of reasons. First, it always adds to the excitement and second, with six of us traveling we would have needed to take 2 cars which would have been a more expensive option due to parking fees. The limo arrived at 10:15am and we arrived at the pier at 11:30am. It was a madhouse! In all my years I have never seen such confusion. I know NCL has nothing to do with what goes on outside but there has to be a better way of doing this. Once inside we looked for the VIP area. My family was booked in an AB Penthouse and my parents in a connecting mini-suite. The area was clearly marked on the left hand side of the terminal. Unfortunately, there were 2 flights of stairs leading up to the waiting area which seemed like too much for my mother. After asking a rep if there was an elevator and being told that there wasn’t, Mom decided to brave the stairs which was very trying for her. Once we made it to the top we were informed that she would have to walk back down to board the ship one we were called. I think there could have been a way to do this without having her climb the stairs due to her being handicapped but we were offered no other alternative. We waited about 30 minutes before the VIP area was called and then proceeded to the checkin area. Once we reached that area things went very smoothly and we were on board within 10 minutes or so.

 

 

We had no trouble finding our cabins as the NCL staff was stationed at every elevator and stairway. From the moment we stepped on board everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. We made our way to the 11th deck and our cabins were located very close to the elevators which was nice. We never heard any noise from the elevator area all week. We were in 11520, the Diamond Suite, and my parents were in 11522 a connecting mini. I had seen pictures of an AB from generous posters on these boards but I don’t think I was really prepared for the reality of it. All I can say is WOW! The cabin was huge. As we entered there was a small hallway and to the right in the hall was the second bedroom and a bathroom for the kids. As you entered the main cabin there was a dining area and a living area with a very nice 25 inch TV. The TV had a DVD/CD player in it and it had very good quality sound. To the right of the living area was 2 sliding doors which led to the master bedroom and bathroom. As I sit here now I miss that bathroom. Double sinks, a whirlpool tub with a window overlooking the ocean and a TV to boot, a shower with more water heads then you could imagine and a toilet area behind glass doors. I couldn’t understand why they designed the toilet area with glass doors as it posed a privacy problem if someone wanted to use the sink area at the same time. Thank goodness for that second bathroom! The bedroom area was a good size with another 25 inch TV with CD/DVD player. There were plenty of places to unpack clothes. The closet was bigger than most of mine at home! One of the things that came in very handy was the phone that we were provided with in the suite. My son was able to carry it with him all week when he was out so that he could keep in contact with us and vice versa. My parents’ mini was a nice size with plenty of room for the 2 of them. Mom used our shower all week as she couldn’t get into the tub area in her bathroom and that worked out fine. Our cabin was kept spotless all week. We had towel animals each night which was lots of fun. We never knew who we would come home to!

 

 

Shortly after touring our cabins Carmen, our butler, rang our doorbell to introduce herself. She was very attractive and she offered a lot of good information on how things worked in the cabin. When we left we still hadn’t figured out all of the light switches! Carmen turned out to be extremely helpful throughout our cruise and I can’t say enough about her. Alex, our Concierge, stopped by a short time later to introduce himself. He was able to make all of our dinner arrangements for the week and he booked our one excursion to Parrot Jungle Island which I will talk about more later. He was fantastic! He included my parents in the VIP cocktail party as well as VIP tender tickets to the private island. Whenever I contacted him I felt as though I was a good friend and never felt as though I was a bother. The staff on this ship was truly amazing.

[Netnurse31]

I spent a great deal of time in our cabin all week and I truly enjoyed the balcony more than I can express. I am a geriatric psych nurse by day and a caregiver to my elderly grandfather by night so time to myself is non-existent when I am home. Never mind the daily chores of motherhood that go with that package as well! Being able to spend time alone was a blessing and being able to spend it in such beautiful surroundings was even better. My family did enjoy numerous activities on board. My mother lost way too much money playing bingo but she had fun doing it. My son adored the shows. My daughter met a great group of kids from our roll call and spent a lot of time with them. She hosted a party in our cabin which Carmen catered and I chaperoned. She loved Karaoke in Dazzles and was there pretty much every night with me. Neither of my children were involved in the kids crew so I can’t comment on that. My son did try and join the teen movie night but was met with a bunch of kids that appeared to be about 12 years old. Being 16, that was it for him. My daughter,10, found the offerings boring and wasn’t interested in attending any of the planned activities. I really do think this is one thing NCL could improve on. The little ones did seem to be having fun during their pirate parade and it was a fun thing to see.

 

 

Our Cruise Critic meeting was great. I believe we had about 60 people attend. It was nice to put faces to names. We bumped into many from our group numerous times during the week which was very nice.

 

 

The martini clinic was a blast. If you have the opportunity to do this I would recommend it highly. We paid $10 and we were given 5 martinis to try. I am not much of a drinker, one that could get drunk smelling the cork of a bottle of wine, so you can only imagine me after drinking 5 martinis! My absolute favorite was the espresso martini. I had a couple more during the week in the Star Bar. They have a 2 for 1 special there every night after 5pm.

 

 

The food offerings in the main dining rooms were a disappointment for us. We ended up only eating in the Venetian for lunch the day of embarkation and on formal night. The rest of the time we ate in specialty restaurants. Cagney’s was by far our favorite with Le Bistro a close second. La Trattoria was a pleasant surprise. It isn’t easy making Italian food for a bunch of NY Italians but it was actually pretty tasty! Salsa was yummy as well. Tapanyaki was a disappointment for us. We felt the food was much too spicy for Japanese and the chefs did not put on much of a show for us. I feel that NCL could do a better job in the main dining rooms and I was a bit upset about the menus. I don’t believe one should have to pay to get decent food on a cruise. On formal night we all had lobster and it was not very good at all. The poolside BBQ’s were very well done and the buffet for lunch was good as well. The NY Deli was a favorite of ours for lunch. They had pretty good pizza and very good sandwiches which are made fresh to order. The desserts in all the restaurants were outstanding. I ate more than my fair share…my pants are telling me so right now! We had breakfast delivered to our room from the butler menu every day. Carmen was always prompt and called before she arrived. The coffee wasn’t as terrible as everyone made it out to be. If it had caffeine in it I was happy….lol. On Saturday night we didn’t feel like getting dressed for dinner and the buffet wasn’t very appetizing so we called Carmen. She was able to bring us numerous items from the specialty restaurants and set them up in our cabin.

 

 

Our one excursion was to Parrot Jungle Island in Miami. On Alex’s suggestion we booked the up close tour and we weren’t disappointed. We were given a behind the scenes tour of the park. We had time to personally interact with parrots, alligators, skunks and the highlight of our day was the baby orangutans! We were broken up into groups of 6 and were able to sit on the floor and play with them. One of them, Peanut, took a liking to my son and decided to hang onto him for dear life. He loves animals and enjoyed his time more than I can express. As part of the tour we were each given a free t-shirt and a free 5x7 photo. We also received 10% off in the gift shop and snack bar. After our behind the scenes tour we were able to see all of the shows and tour the park at our leisure as well. If you have a chance to do this excursion I highly recommend it.

 

 

On Mothers Day I gave my mom a certificate for a massage on the Dawn. We took advantage of this on Thursday which was the day we were at the private island. Much to my surprise they had a half price special that day. We both received a 50 minute full body massage for $50! I don’t know how I can explain that treatment. All I can say is that I was in heaven. The staff in the spa are very professional. They did make some recommendations of products after the massage but were not pushy at all. A no thanks was all that was needed.

[Netnurse31]

Recap………..

 

 

The good………..

 

 

The AB Penthouse suite was amazing! Lots of space and 4 people never felt cramped.

 

Carmen our butler and Alex our concierge were both terrific and gave us excellent service.

 

All of the staff on the ship went out of their way to make our vacation spectacular.

 

The Dawn is a beautiful ship, very well kept and spotless.

 

The shows were very good according to my son. Bollywood was enjoyed by all of our family.

 

Cagneys and Le Bistro offered excellent cuisine. Do try the crab cakes in Cagneys, they are to die for.

 

The Martini Clinic was a blast. Best way to sample some drinks that you probably would never try.

 

The NY Deli in the buffet area has great lunch offerings.

 

Kristen enjoyed the craft sessions on board and came home with a few newly made things.

 

We won Win Lose or Draw and went away the winners of an NCL address book.

 

Our massages in the spa were spectacular.

 

Our up close tour at Parrot Jungle Island was a once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with some endangered species.

 

Karaoke in Dazzles was lots of fun.

 

 

The not so great…………

 

 

Food in main dining rooms was sub par.

 

The kids crew program could be made more attractive for the older children.

 

The private island is much too crowded. We went on the first tender out and returned to the ship by 12.

 

The itinerary….then again, the ship was really our destination as we were fully aware of it when we booked.

 

Here is the link to our photo album from this past week. http://dawn8282005.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?a=67b0de21b30c18cd2520

 

Thanks to everyone that helped me plan this cruise. The boards were extremely helpful! If I can answer any questions I'd be happy to do so.:)

[Suesan Jean]

Your pictures are GREAT!!! I am glad you had a nice time!!! And I do agree with you 100% about an AB. We were in #11020 "Jade" in April, LOVED IT!!! For my DD to have her own space and bathroom was super!! I can't imagine staying in any other type of cabin now......we are SO SPOILED!!!:D

 

So when's your next cruise??

 

Suesan:) :) :)

[Netnurse31]

Suesan.....

 

We don't have another cruise booked right now but that's not to say I haven't looked...lol. Unfortunately I have to vacation around the kids school and camp schedule so our offerings are limited. I really did like leaving out of NY and not having to fly to meet the ship. I wouldn't do the same itinerary again despite loving the Dawn. I'm hoping that NCL will offer an Eastern or Western Carribean itinerary in the summer on the Dawn.

[letsgosailing]

Enjoyed your post.....We will be on the Dawn in October.

 

Try the Spirit ... We were on her last year and they seem similar from what I have read. The Spirit will be leaving out of New York doing an 8 day Eastern Caribbean and a 10 day Southern Caribbean.;)

 

We haven't even left on our next cruise and I am ready to plan another one. :D