Thoughts of the Dawn

[bobnpaml]

Didn't want to call this a review because these are so subjective. So just a couple of thought or observations.

First we were on the January 10-17 cruise out of New Orleans. There is not much anyone can do to improve this port. To small an area for to many people. Just pack your patience.

Second, We were in a suite so we were on the ship early. Our cabin was cleaned and waiting for us. NOTE: We received our luggage a little after 2pm. Never and I mean never have we've gotten our luggage this early before. We know this will never happen again, no matter the ship or cruise line. Just considered this an after Christmas miracle.

Third. Our cabin Stewart, Eugene was great. Cabin was always clean and always enough towels. Our butler missed the ship in NOLA. Returning from vacation and flight didn't arrive in time. We shared the butler from deck 11. Met ours in Cozemel. First one was better. Our concierge, Patrick was not the best we've had. Only two problems we had with dinner reservations was because we never was able to talk to him. Had to leave request with his aide and Patrick never followed up and hence wrong time and location.

Forth. we had UDP and UBP. Never had a problem with either. Talking with other passengers and know in the future if we do not have UDP, the a la carte menus needs to go. Much better with one price covers all. If you like to order appetizer, salad (soup) main course, and side you have already spent more than the old cover charge. I guess I just like to know what my cruise is going to cost up front. But if you eat lightly you probably will save.

Lastly, we did not notice a lot of thing wrong with the appearance of the ship. Yes she is ready for a face lift, who can't use a touch up now and then. My advice, ENJOY YOUR CRUISE. Be half full not half empty.

[luddite]

Yikes.

[Barb Nahoumi]

The Dawn is scheduled for an extensive dry dock this spring. I'll be anxious to cruise on her afterward.

 

I have been avoiding the specialty restaurants, as the MDR fare is very good.

[nanwel]

Thanks for the update - taking family March 3 - 1st time Norweigian - have a family suite - have travelled a lot, usually go with the flow - understand room will be tiny compared to suite I had on Allure, but try not to be in the cabin a lot!

Was looking forward to private island to let kids have fun beach day without extra costs - have to see what we can find on Roatan/Belise - do not want to pay cnd $ for a lot of out trips - adds up quickly when there are 5 for grandma to pay for!

Cnd March break, so expect there will be a lot of kids!

[bobnpaml]

nanwel, We were in a family suite, sj. There is a lot of room. We were in 12032 a modified suite. And because of the wall of window it seems even larger. This suite can accommodate six people easily.

March usually has quite a few kids onboard but have talked to several parents and told us kids programs is good. As far as excursions, I would check out some of the local tour operators for transportation to local beaches. Or just get a taxi.

Enjoy the Dawn. She is a good ship with a very good crew.

[~~~~~~~~~]

This is our 13th cruise, but 1st on Norwegian. (Well, we did a 3-day Leeward MANY years ago.) Can you answer some questions for me, please?

 

- With freestyle cruising are there semi-formal and formal nights? Or is every night cruise casual? If so, which nights were what? I can't find anything about this.

 

- What night is the White Party? Last day at sea?

 

- Did you use the main dining rooms (free) for dinner? Is one better than the other (food quality-wise)? How was the food? When were the longest wait times usually? We are a group of 7 so specialty dining can add up quickly.

 

- Were mosquitos an issue? We are planning on bringing spray anyhow, but the Zika virus is being talked about a lot.

 

- Which shore excursions did you do? Thoughts?

 

- If you drove to New Orleans, where did you park? Hotel the night before?

 

- How was disembarkation?

 

- Did you bring wine onboard? As I understand there is a $15 fee even if you drink it in your stateroom. Did they charge you as you came on the boat if in carryon? Go to a "naughty" room if in checked luggage? A $20 bottle of wine from home with a $15 fee is still less expensive than a bad bottle of wine onboard. :)

 

Thank you so much!!!

[bobnpaml]

~~~~~~~, to answer a few of you questions: there are two dress up if you want nights. First sea day and next to last. Most people that dress up eat at the more formal dining room at back of ship (forgot name). On our cruise we saw several men in tuxs and women in after five. More in suits and ties and dressy evening wear. Most men in docket type pants and collars shirts. Women in dress slacks and blouses/sweaters.

 

If you are driving to New Orleans, there are a couple of options for parking. We used on our first cruise out of NO, Holiday Inn in Matirie, La. They have a part and cruise package that is reasonable. I believe there might be several more in the suburbs. Parking in NO can be very expensive. I suggestion would be to look on the web for park and cruise packages.

 

As far as wine. They have a table to check in at for your wine, before you go through lines. Pay your fee and then put your wine back in carryon. NCL wants it in the carryon.

 

Hope this helps some. We didn't do organized excurusios on this trip, but bug spray is always a must. Not only for mosquitoes but also sand flees.

[catinhat1st]

We were also on the Dawn - January 10th - 17th. LOVED IT! First time on NCL and we will sail with them again.

 

Getting on the ship and off was very organized and smooth. No complaints about anything. Room was perfect, great comforter and choice of pillows. I liked the bigger shower with sliding glass door.

 

We enjoyed dressing casually. We thought we would miss the set dining times and waiter, but actually liked the 'freestyle' option.

 

Had a great time in all four ports. So much, that we hope to do this trip again and take more family with us.

 

A vacation is what you decide to make of it! Enjoy!

[Barb Nahoumi]

You can dress casually every night.

 

The food in the MDRs is very good on the Dawn.

 

Since we've only been abaord this ship for Boston to Bermuda cruises, I can't reply about Western Caribbean shore trips. Enjoy the Dawn------we always do.

[BirdTravels]

Thank you for the review.

 

We will be sailing on the Dawn later this year after her dry dock. We are looking forward to seeing what she looks like after her facelift. We are in a SE cabin, so we hope that the concierge and butler service will be excellent.

[pathubia]

nanwel, We were in a family suite, sj. There is a lot of room. We were in 12032 a modified suite. And because of the wall of window it seems even larger. This suite can accommodate six people easily.

March usually has quite a few kids onboard but have talked to several parents and told us kids programs is good. As far as excursions, I would check out some of the local tour operators for transportation to local beaches. Or just get a taxi.

Enjoy the Dawn. She is a good ship with a very good crew.

 

We were in suite 12032 last November. I was afraid that I would have not having a balcony, but it was fine.

[NH Cruisers]

Thanks for the update - taking family March 3 - 1st time Norweigian - have a family suite - have travelled a lot, usually go with the flow - understand room will be tiny compared to suite I had on Allure, but try not to be in the cabin a lot!

Was looking forward to private island to let kids have fun beach day without extra costs - have to see what we can find on Roatan/Belise - do not want to pay cnd $ for a lot of out trips - adds up quickly when there are 5 for grandma to pay for!

Cnd March break, so expect there will be a lot of kids!

 

Family suits on DAWN are pretty good size.

[bobnpaml]

Pathubia, 15 steps and you are out on the deck. Didn't miss a balcony one little bit.

[pappagene]

Didn't want to call this a review because these are so subjective. So just a couple of thought or observations.

First we were on the January 10-17 cruise out of New Orleans. There is not much anyone can do to improve this port. To small an area for to many people. Just pack your patience.

 

Lastly, we did not notice a lot of thing wrong with the appearance of the ship. Yes she is ready for a face lift, who can't use a touch up now and then. My advice, ENJOY YOUR CRUISE. Be half full not half empty.

 

Please note that the Carnival Dream (the largest in their fleet, over 4 thousand passengers) is docked at the same time as the Dawn. A lot of confusion as to where to go. If you are driving to the port, do not follow your GPS to the port, the road it wants to take you on will be closed to traffic on port days. When leaving Hwy. 90, turn right and go down Convention Center Blvd. then turn left onto Henderson St. cross over the RR tracks and turn left on Port of New Orleans Pl. to the terminal. Officers will direct you to the correct terminal. Yes, patience is a must. A lot of people in a small restricted area. I honked at a SUV that cut me off in traffic, I did not see that they had flashy blue & red lights. I let him through to help clear up the traffic jam.

 

I thought the ship was well maintained, but in need of it's up-coming refurbishment. One thing I found out from years of cruising is that the waiters do not want to get ice tea during our meal, sometimes we had to ask multiple times for tea and extra ice on our table. MDR meals were decent with the prime rib meal being the best. I still miss lobster night, just a sign of the times.

 

Gene

[Dot Wonder]

can i ask if this ship has a thermal suite that you can buy a pass to? thanks!

[Tssweety]

Hi. I am having a hard time finding out what kind of coffeemakers they have on the dawn in the rooms and if I should bring my own coffee We enjoy really strong coffee and I did see that the rooms are equipped with a coffeemaker but i didn't know if it were a kind we can use our own coffee. If anyone can help me on this I'd appreciate it. We leave tomorrow for NO and sail on Sunday. So excited. First NCL!! Thanks

[athena56]

can i ask if this ship has a thermal suite that you can buy a pass to? thanks!

 

Go to My NCL and check your vacation planning. You can buy a week's pass here. I sort of stumbled on it. Hope this helps

[Estoban]

This is our 13th cruise, but 1st on Norwegian. (Well, we did a 3-day Leeward MANY years ago.) Can you answer some questions for me, please?

 

- With freestyle cruising are there semi-formal and formal nights? Or is every night cruise casual? If so, which nights were what? I can't find anything about this.

 

- What night is the White Party? Last day at sea?

 

- Did you use the main dining rooms (free) for dinner? Is one better than the other (food quality-wise)? How was the food? When were the longest wait times usually? We are a group of 7 so specialty dining can add up quickly.

 

- Were mosquitos an issue? We are planning on bringing spray anyhow, but the Zika virus is being talked about a lot.

 

- Which shore excursions did you do? Thoughts?

 

- If you drove to New Orleans, where did you park? Hotel the night before?

 

- How was disembarkation?

 

- Did you bring wine onboard? As I understand there is a $15 fee even if you drink it in your stateroom. Did they charge you as you came on the boat if in carryon? Go to a "naughty" room if in checked luggage? A $20 bottle of wine from home with a $15 fee is still less expensive than a bad bottle of wine onboard. :)

 

Thank you so much!!!

 

1. Every night is casual - no formal nor semi formal - but that doesn't stop you from dressing up. Just to say in one dinning area - some one we saw always came down in t-shirt, shorts and a base ball cap.

The 'le bistro' room has a no shorts/tank top rule.

 

2. On the cozumel/roatan/belize/maya tour - the white night wasn't the last one, i think it was the night from roatan to belize.

 

3. All dinning was the same, but you can only book tables in groups of 5 or more as there are only several (12 or so) large tables, all of the other tables are set for 2 or 4 people. The food was of a good standard but not as good as Cele X or Princess. The food is free, with some extras you can pay for.

 

4. No issues with mozzies, zika is only an issue if you are pregnant in the 1st trimesta as far as i know.

 

5. we did our own thing on roatan and costa maya, cozumal was just a walk along the sea front, a beer or two. BELIZE was a no go - just spent 10 minutes walking into 'town' and back again. So either do something from the ship or use tripadvisor to find a good tour.

 

6. We flew in from the uk a few nights before - but some of the signs were showing $12 a day to park ?

 

7. getting off was quick, on time, though we had to pick up a lift and ended up in the taxi bay (Gate 2 I think) so had walk back thru the crowd to gate 1.

 

8. Yes, i believe there is a corkage at the table - but not in your room - i'd check with other posters to see what they have to say.

[puli]

1. Every night is casual - no formal nor semi formal - but that doesn't stop you from dressing up. Just to say in one dinning area - some one we saw always came down in t-shirt, shorts and a base ball cap.

The 'le bistro' room has a no shorts/tank top rule.

 

2. On the cozumel/roatan/belize/maya tour - the white night wasn't the last one, i think it was the night from roatan to belize.

 

3. All dinning was the same, but you can only book tables in groups of 5 or more as there are only several (12 or so) large tables, all of the other tables are set for 2 or 4 people. The food was of a good standard but not as good as Cele X or Princess. The food is free, with some extras you can pay for.

 

4. No issues with mozzies, zika is only an issue if you are pregnant in the 1st trimesta as far as i know.

 

5. we did our own thing on roatan and costa maya, cozumal was just a walk along the sea front, a beer or two. BELIZE was a no go - just spent 10 minutes walking into 'town' and back again. So either do something from the ship or use tripadvisor to find a good tour.

 

6. We flew in from the uk a few nights before - but some of the signs were showing $12 a day to park ?

 

7. getting off was quick, on time, though we had to pick up a lift and ended up in the taxi bay (Gate 2 I think) so had walk back thru the crowd to gate 1.

 

8. Yes, i believe there is a corkage at the table - but not in your room - i'd check with other posters to see what they have to say.

 

may I ask what hotel you chose and if you liked it? We will be going on the 2016 Christmas cruise and know for that time period to get a good hotel for a 3 night pre- cruise stay we have to book soon. Thanks!

[pathubia]

may I ask what hotel you chose and if you liked it? We will be going on the 2016 Christmas cruise and know for that time period to get a good hotel for a 3 night pre- cruise stay we have to book soon. Thanks!

 

We have stayed at the Prytania Park Hotel twice. We love it. Free parking while on the cruise (there may be a 2 night stay required for that). It's in the Garden District. It's near a streetcar stop. We are cruising the Dawn again in May. Unfortunately for us the hotel has a 2 night minimum that weekend due to college graduations, so we will be staying at the Riverside Hilton.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[puli]

thanks for your quick response. We were able to find a room at the French Market Inn...now moving on to plane reservations.