DH is concerned...

[tfattz1]

My husband and I booked a cruise for the week of Memorial day 2019. We leave out of NY on the Dawn. We have done this route before going to FL and the Bahamas but on the GEM in the past.

 

From what I can tell, that week is the first week the Dawn will sail from NY.

 

Has anyone had experience with being on a ship the first week they reposition? My husband is concerned that they won't have their act together. He has also read other posts where people really think the Dawn is a downgrade from the Gem.

 

DH wants us to reconsider and perhaps change our destination port and ship.

I know vacation is what you make it, and personally I am happy just being on vacation,:cool: but thought I would put his concern out there.

 

Appreciate the feedback :)

[ColinIllinois]

Why would they not "have their act together"? It's an experienced crew, just sailing out of a different home port which doesn't make a difference.

[wdsted]

To the crew, this is just another cruise and a different departure port shouldn’t impact service levels, ship readiness, or safety. I wouldn’t even consider this when choosing a cruise. The Dawn and the Gem aren’t really all that different and some folks rave about the Dawn’s refurbishment a while back.

 

 

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[tfattz1]

Thank you for the responses :) Good points about being an experienced crew.

[RossE]

I wouldn't be overly concerned. The dawn is simply swapping Boston for New York as a Home Port

 

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[Laszlo]

The ships sail 52 weeks a year, they usually have their act together. This cruise should not be any different. Personally I would much rather go to Bermuda than the FL Bahamas run

[Georgia_Peaches]

My husband and I booked a cruise for the week of Memorial day 2019. We leave out of NY on the Dawn. We have done this route before going to FL and the Bahamas but on the GEM in the past.

 

From what I can tell, that week is the first week the Dawn will sail from NY.

 

Has anyone had experience with being on a ship the first week they reposition? My husband is concerned that they won't have their act together. He has also read other posts where people really think the Dawn is a downgrade from the Gem.

 

DH wants us to reconsider and perhaps change our destination port and ship.

I know vacation is what you make it, and personally I am happy just being on vacation,:cool: but thought I would put his concern out there.

 

Appreciate the feedback :)

Last year we were the first round of passengers on the ship (Epic) after repositioning from Europe. Embarkation was a nightmare b/c of port authority, not NCL. Regardless, it took hours upon hours to get on board. We left port several hours late. I haven't sailed NCL enough to know if this is the norm for repositioning. Hopefully, it was an isolated incident but you won't know until it happens.

[FLAHAM]

And yet, you stay married with this guy?

[RossE]

Its repositioning from Boston to New York. it's not a major difference

 

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[chengkp75]

And the Dawn was homeported out of NYC before she moved to Boston, back around '06. So, it's not totally unfamiliar territory and NCL has been sailing out of Manhattan for years, so the infrastructure is there. As for the crew, one cruise is much like another.

[BobaLouFTL]

Re-positioning from Europe is a whole different matter. First arrival will likely have a Coast Guard Inspection, Health Inspection and Immigration snafus. With that said, I was on a first cruise after re=positioning out of Fort Lauderdale several years ago, all thee of the above occurred and it didn't disrupt embarkation or sailing time at all.

[123linz123]

I have been on a cruise right after a staff turn over. I wouldn't call it bad (although some of the service was far from great) it was more disorganized and slow service, without many smiles, it felt like a lot of staff wanted to get off the ship, not just joined it.

It certainly didn't spoil the cruise, but I would avoid the situation if possible in future,

 

FYI it wasn't NCL.

[Turtles06]

My husband and I booked a cruise for the week of Memorial day 2019. We leave out of NY on the Dawn. We have done this route before going to FL and the Bahamas but on the GEM in the past.

 

From what I can tell, that week is the first week the Dawn will sail from NY.

 

Has anyone had experience with being on a ship the first week they reposition? My husband is concerned that they won't have their act together. He has also read other posts where people really think the Dawn is a downgrade from the Gem.

 

DH wants us to reconsider and perhaps change our destination port and ship.

I know vacation is what you make it, and personally I am happy just being on vacation,:cool: but thought I would put his concern out there.

 

Appreciate the feedback :)

 

I've sailed on the Gem three times, as well as on two of her sister ships, the Jade and the Jewel. With the caveat that I haven't sailed on the Dawn, the Dawn lacks two of what to me, at least, are important public spaces on the Gem -- the Great Outdoors (especially wonderful on a warm weather cruise), and the forward-facing Spinnaker Lounge. My wife and I have probably spent countless hours sitting at the Great Outdoors, not just eating or drinking, but also reading, relaxing, watching the world go by. Sun or shade, your choice. It's probably our favorite spot on the Jewel-class ships.

 

Again, I haven't sailed on the Dawn, I just wanted to flag those couple of big differences in case they are of importance to you and/or husband.

 

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

[drumming cruisers]

Been on the Gem 3 times, its okay... Dawn once out of NOLA, LOVED Dawn. Food was much better

[PelicanBill]

New York Manhattan is a busy cruise port. Several ships a week usually. If it were a brand new cruise port I could see some things not going as expected but they have different ships of all kinds and lines arriving from all over the world all the time. No worries! If anything they will be excited at the ship arriving for its new home port.

[Cruising Latitude]

Last year we were the first round of passengers on the ship (Epic) after repositioning from Europe. Embarkation was a nightmare b/c of port authority, not NCL. Regardless, it took hours upon hours to get on board. We left port several hours late. I haven't sailed NCL enough to know if this is the norm for repositioning. Hopefully, it was an isolated incident but you won't know until it happens.

 

 

 

We had the same experience with Dawn a few years ago. It was on her first or second sailing after repositioning and it took hours to embark and disembark. We were also told by NCL it was the port that was causing the problem but I did notice the other cruise lines’ ships at the same port on the same days were not affected.

 

We usually sail around the same time of the year and have sailed on many first sailings after repositioning on other cruise lines out of many different ports in and out of the country and have never had any problems with any of them, except Dawn.

 

In fact, to date our two by far worst embarkation and disembarkation experiences were from the only two NCL sailings we had. Not enough to call it a pattern or to deter us from sailing with NCL again but it is something I am taking notes on.

 

I will see if my upcoming Jade sailing breaks the pattern. Fingers crossed! [emoji3]

[Snowysmom]

I sailed on the Dawn last month. The crew was outstanding including the cabin stewards, waitstaff, bar tenders, and shop employees. We asked some of them how they felt about going to NY. Most of them were looking forward to it. I believe that they are very good at what they do and it will not change because they are sailing out of NY or even for the first cruise out of NY. I think you will be quite happy.

[Vyhanek]

The crew is usually very good about switching up their itineraries.

What won't be good is the port. The ports are not nimble their staffing levels are incorrect and confused. Embarkation and debarkation could take significantly longer. But once on the ship, it will be fine.

[Libra1012]

We have sailed on the Gem several times, and really enjoyed the Great Outdoors. We were on the Dawn earlier this month and enjoyed ourselves. I don't think you would go wrong with either ship.

[Love my butler]

When you get on an NCL ship ask around with the crew about sailing out of NY. Most will say they dislike it. Most will say it is because of the 'attitude' of the average guest sailing out of NY.

 

P.S. Don't shoot the messenger.

[bonvoyagie]

We were on the Dawn in 2016 right after her big makeover doing a 14 day Canada cruise - she is a great ship - I found her very similar to the Pearl which we had sailed on in 2012. The Dawn was the prototype for the Jewel class that includes the Gem. Of course on our cruise outdoor dining was not all that important so we did not miss the Great Outdoors Cafe

[newmexicoNita]

When you get on an NCL ship ask around with the crew about sailing out of NY. Most will say they dislike it. Most will say it is because of the 'attitude' of the average guest sailing out of NY.

 

P.S. Don't shoot the messenger.

hate to say this: I think this is the second time in the past month I have agree with you and I do. It is more the guest than anything that can make sailing out of New Yotk not the most wonderful experience for the crew and sometimes other passengers. :)

[KeithJenner]

Last year we were the first round of passengers on the ship (Epic) after repositioning from Europe. Embarkation was a nightmare b/c of port authority, not NCL. Regardless, it took hours upon hours to get on board. We left port several hours late. I haven't sailed NCL enough to know if this is the norm for repositioning. Hopefully, it was an isolated incident but you won't know until it happens.

 

 

My guess (and I may be wrong) is that your issues were likely to be more to do with having arrived from Europe previously. That often results in delays on clearing the ship after the transatlantic.

 

I’d be very surprised if there were similar problems when moving between US ports. That sort of thing happens quite often with little or no problems reported.

 

 

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[josephmz]

Note to LMB: I assume you have more cruises under your belt than I do.

It's always been my experience that crew members tend to avoid answering pointed questions such as the mix of passengers.

 

Our meet & greet last week was overwhelmingly New Yorkers and others from northeast. Really a nice group of folks.

[Georgia_Peaches]

My guess (and I may be wrong) is that your issues were likely to be more to do with having arrived from Europe previously. That often results in delays on clearing the ship after the transatlantic.

 

I’d be very surprised if there were similar problems when moving between US ports. That sort of thing happens quite often with little or no problems reported.

 

 

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Yes, I have to agree with you. I didn't know where the ship was repositioning from when the OP asked the question. I just saw the word "repositioning" and had a flashback to that nightmare of a day...I will avoid being the first to board after a respositioning from Europe in the future.