Some Dawn Thoughts

[skeptic555]

Just back from the Xmas cruise on the Dawn, and here are some random thoughts. Happy to answer questions as I am able.

 

- We are usually RCCL cruisers, but they were far too expensive over Xmas, so we ended up on the Dawn out of NOLA. 2 adults, and 14 and 16 year old girls. We have been on Carnival, Disney, Celebrity, Princess, and RCCL. I would overall put NCL in the middle of the pack. Competent across the board, not especially exceptional.

 

- I saw others asking about debarkation times - our flight home was at 1140, and I had us ready to walk off as soon as possible, as I heard this timing might be tight. Not the case. We were onshore right around 730, and way, way, WAY early for the flight. YMMV of course.

 

- For those cabbing it in NOLA, its a flat rate of 15.00 per person to/from the airport to the pier.

 

- Best thing we did from a port standpoint was Maya Key in Roatan. 5 minute tender, quiet, lovely, uncrowded. They try to sell it with animals and fake ruins, but really, the numerous chairs, easy access and sanity was sufficient. For a beach day, this was the one.

 

- We wanted to see Mayan ruins, but were not especially picky, so our criteria was the shortest tour possible. This turned out to be Chaccoben (Costa Maya). I took a gamble and went with the VIP tour, and this was also a tremendous decision. We were in a van with 10 people rather than a bus of 60, we got there first and fast, and had the entire place to ourselves. By the time we were leaving, the place was overrun, and there would have been no chance to take any pictures without 20 randos in the background. We had an expert guide, and again, time and quiet and sanity. I can recommend this wholeheartedly. Do the VIP.

 

- Belize port was a bit of a disaster - its a 5.5 mile tender. You read that right. Choppy seas meant huge delays, the last tour came back 90 minutes after the originally scheduled departure time. Proceed with caution - and pateince - if you are on your own in Belize.

 

- Food wise, we did Teppanyaki (the Benihana-style joint) and all gave it a thumbs up, and worth the cost. The food (with one exception) was not particularly outstanding, but the show aspect made it well worth it. This is also the most limited seating - 20 people, 3 seatings a night - so book this one early if interested. My girls had the chicken and steak (which was sirloin) and I had the filet mignon. HUGE difference. My filet was one of the best ive ever had - and I have had a few in my life. It helps that you are eating it 10 seconds from the grill, but even so, the quality was exceptional. The sirloin - which I tried - was only so-so. Get the filet.

 

- Fun story - thought I was going to see my first fistfight onboard... featuring a 70 year old lady. We were playing the hosted trivia, and a family came thru with the young kids acting like... young kids. This old bird hollers out "WE ARE TRYING TO PLAY TRIVIA AND YOU ARE RUINING IT!" and the father took umbrage that this hollowed out husk of a woman was yelling at his kids. (And they were really not doing anything all that crazy - they saw a Nintendo Wii and got all excited for a minute). He wisely got his kids out of there, but she looked ready to start throwing forearm shivers. It was quite odd.

 

- Finally, I have to put in a plug for The Second City. I am well familiar with them (being from Chicago) and have seen them a number of times. I LOVED that they were on this ship. We saw the Q&A. We saw the stage show. We saw the improv show. We went to the workshop. We went to the Murder Mystery lunch. The nature of comedy is that it is not for everyone. The cast apparently changes every 4 months or so and cast chemistry can have a big impact, but do not overlook this. Really good stuff.

 

well, this is longer than I intended, but I've gotten a lot of good info from these boards, and wanted to do my part to contribute. Any Dawn questions, fire away and ill try to answer as best I can.

[scott in maine]

Nice to read that your debarkation was so fast. We have 12:40pm flights in two weeks coming off this sailing, so you've given me confidence!

[cruisingforfun72]

can you tell me a little bit more about the entertainment. specifically what shows you saw that were audience participation. thanks for the review my family will be on the Dawn in March.

[Mandy412]

I like that western itinerary and they have cheap rooms next week but no one can go and I'm dying to go. Glad you had fun!

[nanwel]

Thank you for the info - taking the family march 13, for a week, glad to hear you enjoyed yourselves. Thinking of prebooking the dinner - will have probably off 5 of us have the filet steak - thought the grandkids would enjoy that as a different type of food venue. do they make a good show of tossing their knives etc??

Supposed to have Harvest Caye open by then - still waiting to hear about that. It would end the wait for the tenders to shore, but not sure if there will be anything to see or do on the island yet.

Happy New Year! Nancy

[skeptic555]

Re the entertainment: We hit most of the shows in the big theater - the welcome show, the magic show (Haines Magic), Elements and Second City. My kids went to the Band on the Run Broadway style show. We all skipped the acrobats, having seen similar many times before. No real participation in any of those - Second City kept the improv to one piece, as they had two shows dedicated to improv later in the week, in the smaller lounge.

 

For the "family" improv show, there was a ton of participation, all of the "shout out a suggestion" variety. We did not hit the "adults only" improv show (all asleep by that point, cause that's how we roll) but safe to assume it was more of the same.

 

There was other "entertainment" like the quest deal and a bunch of "game shows" that were audience-based, but those do not appeal to us, so I can't help you there. Overall, the pros onboard were uniformly excellent. I was not overly impressed with the magician, but I am a huuuuuge magic geek, so I've seen it all before (Origami box, Gypsy Thread, Metamorphosis, Levitation). The act seemed to go over pretty well (in fact, , ALL shows were at capacity all week). A final note about the magic - the theater has outrageously wide angles (death to a magician) so if you really want an unusual view, go upstairs on the left side, into the box seating, and all the way up front. You'll learn more than you might care to... But you'll gain an appreciation for how hard Abi Haines is working while her husband is out front gesturing to the audience.

[skeptic555]

Nancy, the "show" part of Teppanyaki was awesome. Our chef seemed a little livelier than his partner (2 chefs work tables of 10 each) - but there was juggling, a snake made out of fried eggs (worth the price of admission alone) and flipping food into people's mouths from a few feet away. And many, many puns. Highly recommended. I can also report that we all left full - this is not always the case at Japanese steakhouses. I don't think you'll regret it.

[heathrj]

Nancy, we're also on the March 13th cruise. I looked into pre-booking Teppanyaki last week, but it doesn't seem to be listed as an option (the other restaurants do show up though). I've heard they only release a small number of reservations before the cruise so I'm thinking it might already be booked up. :( Please let me know if you have more success than me!

 

Thank you, skeptic, for the lovely review. I'm having a hard time waiting for March to come, and it's wonderful to hear about other people's great experiences!!!

[cruisingforfun72]

Skeptic555, thank you so much for the information. i am not a fan of the audience participation but do love to watch true performers at shows. thanks again for the help

[tpear3]

Can you tell me what times the shows ran?

[skeptic555]

Shows in the big theater were at 7 and 9, except for Elements, which was at 7 and 930. Smaller shows in Spinnaker Lounge were at varying times, many starting at 8, others at 1015. There is definitely some picking and choosing to be done, as seats filled up for all the shows, and fairly early to boot.

 

I doubt Teppanyaki is fully booked... we booked while on the ship, and this was over the christmas cruise. The issue is there are 20 spots at 5:00, 20 people at 7:15, and 20 people at 9:30, so if you have a large number, or a specific day, or a specific time required, it can get tight. We only had 4, didnt care what day it was, and wanted the early (less popular?) time, so we got in without difficulty. Perhaps its just not available online yet...

[CJ_AT_SEA]

We disembarked via the self walk off in NOLA around 815 and had signed up for the NCL airport transfer for a 1205 flight. The bus was there already, it left with only a few passengers and we were at the airport by 900. Super easy and I'd recommend.

[skeptic555]

One other MAJOR thing I forgot in my original post. There was exactly ONE (U.S.) power outlet in the cabin. ONE. There was one additional euro-style, but we did not have converters. Luckily, we had small powerbars we were able to daisy chain together for the various tablet, iPods, and cameras that all needed charging. Four people, one outlet. And I thought the bathroom situation was bad...

[pathubia]

can you tell me a little bit more about the entertainment. specifically what shows you saw that were audience participation. thanks for the review my family will be on the Dawn in March.

 

We have been on the Dawn a few times, the last time was this past November, they have the Not So Newlywed Show, The Perfect Couple Show, The Quest (which is at 11, its an R rated scavenger hunt, very funny) Second City did a show in the Spinakker....I went to every show except the Welcome Aboard show the first night. If they still have the Dancing with the Dawn Stars show, I missed it.

[RumpunchGirl]

One other MAJOR thing I forgot in my original post. There was exactly ONE (U.S.) power outlet in the cabin. ONE. There was one additional euro-style, but we did not have converters. Luckily, we had small powerbars we were able to daisy chain together for the various tablet, iPods, and cameras that all needed charging. Four people, one outlet. And I thought the bathroom situation was bad...

 

This is the situation on most of the cruises I've been on. We always bring a power strip. We also have a converter. I'm in an OS this time so maybe there will be more outlets?:confused:

Edited December 30, 2015 by RumpunchGirl

[Barb Nahoumi]

One other MAJOR thing I forgot in my original post. There was exactly ONE (U.S.) power outlet in the cabin. ONE. There was one additional euro-style, but we did not have converters. Luckily, we had small powerbars we were able to daisy chain together for the various tablet, iPods, and cameras that all needed charging. Four people, one outlet. And I thought the bathroom situation was bad...

 

I was on the Dawn last June for a Boston-Bermuda cruise. The only major complaint that I had at the time, was the number of public ladies rooms which had stalls marked out of order.

One of those was the ladies room located on the pool deck. Hopefully, they have been repaired. Our cabin bathroom was fine.

 

DH and I also brought a power strip for charging stuff.

 

Anyway, the Dawn will be undergoing a multimillion dollar dry dock in the spring. I am anxious to sail on her again afterward.

[pathubia]

I was on the Dawn last June for a Boston-Bermuda cruise. The only major complaint that I had at the time, was the number of public ladies rooms which had stalls marked out of order.

One of those was the ladies room located on the pool deck. Hopefully, they have been repaired. Our cabin bathroom was fine.

 

DH and I also brought a power strip for charging stuff.

 

Anyway, the Dawn will be undergoing a multimillion dollar dry dock in the spring. I am anxious to sail on her again afterward.

 

When we were on the Dawn in November, that ladies room by the pool was marked out of order every other day. Fortunately we were on deck 12 and could just bop over to the suite.

[pathubia]

This is the situation on most of the cruises I've been on. We always bring a power strip. We also have a converter. I'm in an OS this time so maybe there will be more outlets?:confused:

 

I have never been in an OS, but we have been in the 2 bedroom and the family suites, with and without balcony....They have always had 3-4 outlets....

[tropicgirl52]

Just back from the Xmas cruise on the Dawn, and here are some random thoughts. Happy to answer questions as I am able.

 

- We are usually RCCL cruisers, but they were far too expensive over Xmas, so we ended up on the Dawn out of NOLA. 2 adults, and 14 and 16 year old girls. We have been on Carnival, Disney, Celebrity, Princess, and RCCL. I would overall put NCL in the middle of the pack. Competent across the board, not especially exceptional.

 

- I saw others asking about debarkation times - our flight home was at 1140, and I had us ready to walk off as soon as possible, as I heard this timing might be tight. Not the case. We were onshore right around 730, and way, way, WAY early for the flight. YMMV of course.

 

- For those cabbing it in NOLA, its a flat rate of 15.00 per person to/from the airport to the pier.

 

- Best thing we did from a port standpoint was Maya Key in Roatan. 5 minute tender, quiet, lovely, uncrowded. They try to sell it with animals and fake ruins, but really, the numerous chairs, easy access and sanity was sufficient. For a beach day, this was the one.

 

- We wanted to see Mayan ruins, but were not especially picky, so our criteria was the shortest tour possible. This turned out to be Chaccoben (Costa Maya). I took a gamble and went with the VIP tour, and this was also a tremendous decision. We were in a van with 10 people rather than a bus of 60, we got there first and fast, and had the entire place to ourselves. By the time we were leaving, the place was overrun, and there would have been no chance to take any pictures without 20 randos in the background. We had an expert guide, and again, time and quiet and sanity. I can recommend this wholeheartedly. Do the VIP.

 

- Belize port was a bit of a disaster - its a 5.5 mile tender. You read that right. Choppy seas meant huge delays, the last tour came back 90 minutes after the originally scheduled departure time. Proceed with caution - and pateince - if you are on your own in Belize.

 

- Food wise, we did Teppanyaki (the Benihana-style joint) and all gave it a thumbs up, and worth the cost. The food (with one exception) was not particularly outstanding, but the show aspect made it well worth it. This is also the most limited seating - 20 people, 3 seatings a night - so book this one early if interested. My girls had the chicken and steak (which was sirloin) and I had the filet mignon. HUGE difference. My filet was one of the best ive ever had - and I have had a few in my life. It helps that you are eating it 10 seconds from the grill, but even so, the quality was exceptional. The sirloin - which I tried - was only so-so. Get the filet.

 

- Fun story - thought I was going to see my first fistfight onboard... featuring a 70 year old lady. We were playing the hosted trivia, and a family came thru with the young kids acting like... young kids. This old bird hollers out "WE ARE TRYING TO PLAY TRIVIA AND YOU ARE RUINING IT!" and the father took umbrage that this hollowed out husk of a woman was yelling at his kids. (And they were really not doing anything all that crazy - they saw a Nintendo Wii and got all excited for a minute). He wisely got his kids out of there, but she looked ready to start throwing forearm shivers. It was quite odd.

 

- Finally, I have to put in a plug for The Second City. I am well familiar with them (being from Chicago) and have seen them a number of times. I LOVED that they were on this ship. We saw the Q&A. We saw the stage show. We saw the improv show. We went to the workshop. We went to the Murder Mystery lunch. The nature of comedy is that it is not for everyone. The cast apparently changes every 4 months or so and cast chemistry can have a big impact, but do not overlook this. Really good stuff.

 

well, this is longer than I intended, but I've gotten a lot of good info from these boards, and wanted to do my part to contribute. Any Dawn questions, fire away and ill try to answer as best I can.

 

I'm going on the Dawn January 24th to Western Caribbean and it sounds like the same itinerary you just had. One thing I'm getting conflicting answers on is ship time vs port time. Does the Dawn change the ship time to match the port time ? I'm taking a couple of excursions on my own so I want to make sure I get back to the ship on time! Thanks!

[mattio]

I'm going on the Dawn January 24th to Western Caribbean and it sounds like the same itinerary you just had. One thing I'm getting conflicting answers on is ship time vs port time. Does the Dawn change the ship time to match the port time ? I'm taking a couple of excursions on my own so I want to make sure I get back to the ship on time! Thanks!

 

They will go by ship time which will be central time for the united states. This will only be a factor in the Mexico ports.

[tropicgirl52]

They will go by ship time which will be central time for the united states. This will only be a factor in the Mexico ports.

 

What about Roatan and Belize? Will they change time to local? Did you have a meet and greet on your cruise? Did you go? I'm really looking forward to my cruise nothing like the tropics in the middle of winter! If you have any more tips or advise I'd appreciate it.

[mattio]

What about Roatan and Belize? Will they change time to local? Did you have a meet and greet on your cruise? Did you go? I'm really looking forward to my cruise nothing like the tropics in the middle of winter! If you have any more tips or advise I'd appreciate it.

 

I think the time in Roatan and Belize was the same as the ship time, so there was no worry. I just left made sure the time on my phone stayed on central time and never worried after that.

 

I am not sure if there was a meet and greet because I didn't go. If you have any other specific questions I may be able to answer them, I got off the Dawn less than 2 weeks ago.

Edited December 31, 2015 by mattio

[NLH Arizona]

Nancy, we're also on the March 13th cruise. I looked into pre-booking Teppanyaki last week, but it doesn't seem to be listed as an option (the other restaurants do show up though). I've heard they only release a small number of reservations before the cruise so I'm thinking it might already be booked up. :( Please let me know if you have more success than me!

 

Thank you, skeptic, for the lovely review. I'm having a hard time waiting for March to come, and it's wonderful to hear about other people's great experiences!!!

On the Dawn, since there are only 18 seats, they don't allow pre-booking the Teppanyaki restaurant, you have to do it onboard the ship or at the pier. When you check in at the pier, there is a dining reservations desk right there, so you can actually do your reservation there or you can go to the dining reservation desk (next to Guest Services) on the ship.

[pathubia]

What about Roatan and Belize? Will they change time to local? Did you have a meet and greet on your cruise? Did you go? I'm really looking forward to my cruise nothing like the tropics in the middle of winter! If you have any more tips or advise I'd appreciate it.

 

They went by ship time on our last cruise in November, the hotel director explained that it was because we would have to change our watches, etc 4 times

Edited December 31, 2015 by pathubia

[nanwel]

Will book teppanyaki as soon as we board, have a 2bed family suite, so hope having butler service,they can book that for us. (tried online, but no success).

Kids love formal dining, but get bored sitting waiting for the food to arrive, they are avid readers, so usually take books to dinner. Disney always made dinner fun.

Have not done Norwegian before - had open seating on RC Allure, but they did not understand the concept, and we had the same server all week, and she was not a kid person - complained my grandson always had a different book each night - he reads and reads and reads - so we take on books, and go to the library 1st day and everyday thereafter. Did not want to serve him from the adult menu - he is a beanpole, but eats like 2 men. only thing left on the plate is the bones!

Try not lo preplan every minute before we cruise, but find we have to prebook more and more - years ago when I stared cruising, we could just book everything on the ship. That was so much easier - hard to put 3 families together precruise and all agree on anything! But once on board, we sit and discuss things.

Is there a beach that would be good to walk off and do some snorkeling from shore, or do we need to book an out trip to see anything? Thinking either Belize or Roatan if we do not get to the new Harvest Caye (was on RC island when they were dredging for the new bigger ships, water was very dirty and muddy from the digging felt dirty after swim, not nice.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!