Bridge Maven Posted June 14, 2009 #1 Share Posted June 14, 2009 My husband and I took a seven night cruise last week from NYC to Bermuda on the Norwegian Dawn. We are elite members of Celebrity's Captains Club and this was our first experience with Norwegian. It was a seven night cruise and we ate at a different restaurant on the ship every night, two were in their main dining rooms (Aqua and Venetian) which do not charge an extra fee. Our meals in their main dining rooms were excellent. One night I had lamb chops and the other night I had surf and turf. The quality of the meat for both of these meals was superior to Celebrity's main dining room. On the other five nights we ate in an Italian Restaurant, a Tex Mex Restaurant, a French Restaurant, a steak house, and an Asian Restaurant. Their French Restaurant was better than Celebrity's specialty restaurant, their steak house was comparable, and the other specialty restaurants were only average and not as good as the ship's main restaurants. We ate at either 7:00 PM or 7:30 PM every night, without a wait, which I prefer to either early or late seating on Celebrity. The entertainment on this ship was better than on any other cruise we have been on which includes Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Carnival. There was live music all over the ship at any time during the evening and some of these venues included a dance floor. The only disadvantage over Celebrity was their lack of classical music. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly and was efficient. For disembarkation you received a schedule of when each color coded tag was scheduled to leave the ship. Then you went to the main reception area and selected your own tags based on when you wanted to get off the ship. I have never seen this system before and thought it was a great idea. Our cabin was a mini suite which was 235 Sf in addition to a nice sized balcony. This is just slightly smaller than Celebrity's sky suites but significantly larger than their concierge class cabins. It had a very nice bathroom which included a bathtub, as well as a separate compartment for the toilet. The Norwegian Dawn was built in 2001 but is a beautiful ship in excellent condition that looks much newer. The first two days of the cruise were sea days, then we spent three full days in beautiful Bermuda. During our first morning in Bermuda we took a boat tour of special places in Bermuda which included homes of the rich and famous. There was an optional formal night which we observed. Not everyone did but those who didn't were also dressed very nicely. Even though the other nights were informal some men wore a tie and jacket every night while some women were dressed in pretty dresses. I was a little reluctant to try Norwegian but took this cruise because it was the only seven night cruise this summer with an extended stay in Bermuda. After taking this cruise, I would sail on Norwegian again, without thinking twice about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nps001 Posted June 14, 2009 #2 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I'm really glad you enjoyed it and that your experience was different than ours on the Star. I always believe every cruise can be different and even the same cruise can be a different experience to different cruisers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridge Maven Posted June 14, 2009 Author #3 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Thank you, NPS. I agree with you that every cruise can be different, even for people on the same ship. For example if someone on our Norwegian Dawn cruise to Bermuda had a standard sized cabin and ate only in my least favorite restaurants on the ship they would probably have very different opinions about accommodations and food. Even the same ship can provide a very different experience for the same person within the same time frame. My favorite cruise to date was our Baltic Cruise to Russia on Celebrity's Constellation in June 2006, but our Caribbean cruise on that same ship just five months later was one of our least favorite cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharke Posted June 14, 2009 #4 Share Posted June 14, 2009 We too, are Elite Celebrity members and recently tried NCL to see what all the BruHaHa is about the Freestyle cruising. I really wasn't expecting much as we have been more than happy with our various Celebrity cruises. What a surprise! We loved it. The embarkation and disembarkation went much more smoothly than our last two X cruises. Entertainment provided many more options and opportunities - thoroughly enjoyed the pub entertainment among others. Although we mumbled about the minimal surcharge at specialty restaurants in the beginning we found them to be delicious. Loved the Mexican, French and Fusion. Italian was so so. We were able to walk right in without reservations and were treated like royalty. We also had a mini suite. Found it to be comparable in size to most X veranda rooms but with a much larger bathroom/tub. Were amazed at the CC get together that all the ship officers came by to such an intimate gathering. Down side was personal attention from room stewards and the main dining room. Dinners there left a lot to be desired but were quite good for lunches and brft. Although very freindly and adequate, lacked the personal touch. Will definitely give them a try again, especially for a very relaxed vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne G. Posted June 15, 2009 #5 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Bridge Maven, I am glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. We, too, had a lovely time on it during a back-to-back a few years ago. I read the boards of all the cruise lines I have been on (NCL, Princess, HAL, Celebrity), and I've come to notice that HAL, Celebity, and Princess have their devotees who firmly believe their favorite line is better than most, and certainly better than NCL (and Carnival). Some posts get downright nasty, full of disparaging remarks about the ships and the passengers of NCL and Carnival. And for some, having sailed on NCL or Carnival isn't necessary for expressing a nasty, negative opinion on those lines. :confused: It's refreshing to read a report from a frequent cruiser on one of the so-called upscale lines who had a good time on NCL. True stories: The most obnixious drunks I have encountered on a cruise were on supposedly sedate HAL. A loud, drunk group of untalented singers took over the piano bar one night, causing us to avoid it. The worst incident in cabin service that I had was on ("be treated famously") Celebrity, on the Galaxy a few years ago. We came back from an 8-hour excursion to find damp towels still on the floor. We missed our early dinner while phoning housekeeping and waiting for clean towels. The worst dining room incident I've had was on Princess, where they lost a bottle of wine we had purchased a couple nights earlier. With twice as many dining venues, NCL never lost a bottle of my wine! I have thoroughly enjoyed all my cruises, and I consider the above to be minor, not major incidents. But I find it interesting that they all happened on the lines that are often considered to be far superior than NCL. I have experienced no major differences in overall service and food among any of the lines I have been on. And, on my recent Celebrity and Princess cruises, the overall dress was pretty much as casual as on my recent NCL cruises - a few were quite dressed up, a few were rather sloppy, and the vast majority were dressed less-than-formal on the formal nights and quite casual on the non-formal nights. I know others' experiences can be different from mine, but I hate generalizations, and this seemed the time to throw in my 2 cents worth. OK, I am off the soapbox. Happy cruising to all, on whatever line makes you happiest. For me, it's Royal Caribbean next. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodofpine Posted June 15, 2009 #6 Share Posted June 15, 2009 I'll have to give them a try. I was interested in Norway back before her engine blew just do to the ship history (although the wear and tear was reportedly an issue). An X poster once said that NCL with specialty restaurants frequented is on par with any lines better perormance and the base fare price point of NCL usually means that even with those surcharges included its very competitive pricing. OP concurs. Of course, there are those that love to bash... if not one line then another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toothfairy754 Posted June 15, 2009 #7 Share Posted June 15, 2009 I have to agree with nps001. We sailed on the Star also and besides it being the ship of disease (norwalk virus), and the nickel and diming you, overhead announcements all day,and the added cost of their speciality dining venues to make X my choice now. I also found that I missed quite a few of their shows as we were freestyle dining when they were onstage. SO I prefer to eat in the MDR or speciality restaurant on X where I have the same waiter and ass't every night who know my preferences and have them available to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen haywood Posted June 15, 2009 #8 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Bridge Maven, I was interested in your post....as I just returned from my first Celebrity cruise (which I loved) and have a cruise in 2010 booked on NCL. I, too, have cruised RCI, HAL and CCL. I was happy to hear you enjoyed your NCL cruise. May I ask, is your "Bridge Maven" name referring to the game of Bridge? I ask because my husband and I love to play bridge and look for lines/ships where bridge playing is ennabled.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridge Maven Posted June 15, 2009 Author #9 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Bridge Maven, I was interested in your post....as I just returned from my first Celebrity cruise (which I loved) and have a cruise in 2010 booked on NCL. I, too, have cruised RCI, HAL and CCL. I was happy to hear you enjoyed your NCL cruise. May I ask, is your "Bridge Maven" name referring to the game of Bridge? I ask because my husband and I love to play bridge and look for lines/ships where bridge playing is ennabled.... Helen, my husband and I also love to play bridge which was the inspiration for my screen name. NCL did not have a formal bridge program on this cruise but the daily included a time and place for informal bridge. We went to the card room at that time and found another couple to play bridge with on sea days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie51 Posted June 15, 2009 #10 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Bridge Maven, Thank you for your positive post. Like many of the other posters to this thread, I have cruised with several cruise lines: 5 RCCL, 5 NCL, 3 HAL, 2 Princess, 1 -X-, 1 Disney, and 1 Carnival. Each cruise line and ship I have been on has some positive and negative things, but all have been good cruises and I would sail with any of the cruiselines again. OP, is Carnak, a headwaiter on Dawn, still there? He gave us great service and was very entertaining on NCL Majesty. He said he was going to the Dawn after his break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpkin 11 Posted June 15, 2009 #11 Share Posted June 15, 2009 they really wan't your money!! we love celebrity and think they do an great job. we did a cruise on the majesty. what a mistake. now take in to notice that this ship is 17 years old and so most of what we come to expect on celebrity was not their at all. the cabins were very small on the ship and storage was a problem. the bathroom, T.V. and A.C. did not work that well, but we ignored it. the food was fair. the dining room food was not that bad but everything else was really hit or miss. they never cut the fruit like they do on =X=, it was the same food every day with no variation. we did not like the freestyle dining, having to wait to go to the dining room and have a different waiter each night was not our style. i do think it would be more meaning full if the ship had more resturants like the dawn or gem. service was not good at all. no special attention, wait staff never talked, bar service was good, we never saw or room attendents until the 4th day. the entertainment was good though, real talent there. the overall decor and style is really bright and not elegent at all. we are glad we tryed it, but will stick to =X=.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridge Maven Posted June 15, 2009 Author #12 Share Posted June 15, 2009 they really wan't your money!!we love celebrity and think they do an great job. we did a cruise on the majesty. what a mistake. now take in to notice that this ship is 17 years old and so most of what we come to expect on celebrity was not their at all. the cabins were very small on the ship and storage was a problem. the bathroom, T.V. and A.C. did not work that well, but we ignored it. the food was fair. the dining room food was not that bad but everything else was really hit or miss. they never cut the fruit like they do on =X=, it was the same food every day with no variation. we did not like the freestyle dining, having to wait to go to the dining room and have a different waiter each night was not our style. i do think it would be more meaning full if the ship had more resturants like the dawn or gem. service was not good at all. no special attention, wait staff never talked, bar service was good, we never saw or room attendents until the 4th day. the entertainment was good though, real talent there. the overall decor and style is really bright and not elegent at all. we are glad we tryed it, but will stick to =X=.;) In my opinion, making assumptions for NCL based on a very old ship would be like making assumptions for Royal Caribbean based on Soverign of the Seas. Our worst cabin on any ship, including Italian Line's Leonardo da Vinci built in 1960, was our tiny oceanview cabin on RCL's Soverign of the Seas while our nicest cabin that wasn't a suite, including Celebrity's M class aft concierge class cabins, was an aft D-1 on RCL's Brilliance of the Seas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenevenpar Posted June 15, 2009 #13 Share Posted June 15, 2009 How much was the up-charge at the various dining venues? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridge Maven Posted June 15, 2009 Author #14 Share Posted June 15, 2009 How much was the up-charge at the various dining venues? Thanks $25 for Cagney's Steak House $10 for Impressions Italian Restaurant $15 for Bistro (french), Salsa (tex mex), Bamboos (Asian Fusion) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpkin 11 Posted June 15, 2009 #15 Share Posted June 15, 2009 In my opinion, making assumptions for NCL based on a very old ship would be like making assumptions for Royal Caribbean based on Soverign of the Seas. Our worst cabin on any ship, including Italian Line's Leonardo da Vinci built in 1960, was our tiny oceanview cabin on RCL's Soverign of the Seas while our nicest cabin that wasn't a suite, including Celebrity's M class aft concierge class cabins, was an aft D-1 on RCL's Brilliance of the Seas. your right.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smeyer418 Posted June 15, 2009 #16 Share Posted June 15, 2009 In my opinion, making assumptions for NCL based on a very old ship would be like making assumptions for Royal Caribbean based on Soverign of the Seas. Our worst cabin on any ship, including Italian Line's Leonardo da Vinci built in 1960, was our tiny oceanview cabin on RCL's Soverign of the Seas while our nicest cabin that wasn't a suite, including Celebrity's M class aft concierge class cabins, was an aft D-1 on RCL's Brilliance of the Seas. also its a ship that is leaving the NCL fleet-this is its last year. The newer NCL ships are much different. The Majesty is leaving because it doesn't do freestyle well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solstice23 Posted June 16, 2009 #17 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Umm we have done NCL twice and have never looked back! Celebrity is just better in every way In our opinion We hated NCL, and sorry in our opinion, and my families Celebritys Specialty Restaurant is one of the best places we have ever eaten. Not to mention Service on NCL was so bad, we had family leave the ship before there second week back to back. Even my good friend who owns a Cruiseshipceters in Toronto just went on the NCL Pearl, after 8 cruises on RCCL, 4 Celebrity, 3 Princess, 2 HAL and 1 Regent, and she said she would never sail NCL again Glad you liked it, Its good to hear positive things these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runnerandme Posted June 16, 2009 #18 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Celebrity is my favortie cruiseline. We liked Summit better than Infinity. We went on two NCL cruises. (Gem & Pearl) Service was over the top. We were in a Courtyard Villa. Suites on Celebrity do not even come close to the service level in these suites on NCL. The experience was amazing. Our next B2B 28 days is on Infinity. I think that I would sail in a Courtyard Villa on NCL for every cruise if I could afford to do so. I would sail NCL in a regular cabin ( balcony), if the itinerary was great. My DH loves NCL, only because he never has to wear a suit. AND he loved the different restaurants, even with the extra fee. My sisters and I travel together and we are looking forward to going back on Celebrity. We do love the special feeling you get. We will ignore the "worn" areas on carpet, furniture, etc. Looking forward to the restrictive smoking policy ( I have asthma). Oh and we never felt that we were pressured to spend money on any of the lines. We ignored the BING BING BINGO calls on NCL. And politely said no to the drink "pushers" on Celebrity. NOT a big deal. A simple no thank you was all that was needed. Even though the op did not ask about RCCL, we liked Vision of the Seas, good good food and good service... Connie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casino Player Posted June 16, 2009 #19 Share Posted June 16, 2009 My wife and I sailed on the NCL Dawn some years ago. We did not like the freestyle cruising. My wife didn't enjoy being nickle and dimed either. The food was awful. If the food isn't good on a cruise then you can't enjoy the cruise. The service wasn't good either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridge Maven Posted June 16, 2009 Author #20 Share Posted June 16, 2009 My wife and I sailed on the NCL Dawn some years ago. We did not like the freestyle cruising. My wife didn't enjoy being nickle and dimed either. The food was awful. If the food isn't good on a cruise then you can't enjoy the cruise. The service wasn't good either. I agree that food is very important on a cruise but our experience was very different than yours. As far as free style cruising goes, I realize it isn't for everyone. After experiencing it, I enjoy both freestyle and traditional for different reasons. We will continue to sail on Celebrity but plan to take a cruise from NYC to the Caribbean on Norwegian's newest ship this winter. We love taking cruises that leave from NYC, so it is worth it for us to pay more for an NCL cruise from NYC to the Caribbean during the winter than to fly to Florida or San Juan for a Celebrity cruise. I would also prefer to take a cruise that is slightly longer than to allocate the time to a combination of cruise, pre cruise hotels, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicknack Posted June 16, 2009 #21 Share Posted June 16, 2009 One big difference between NCL and Celebrity is that you are always guaranteed a table for two on NCL, and just about anytime you want, while on Celebrity you have to beg for it from the beginning, and then get it only if your're lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orator Posted June 16, 2009 #22 Share Posted June 16, 2009 In the last two years I've been on NCL Pearl and Jewel as well as X's Solstice and Century. Both lines were fine, but overall I prefer Celebrity. I am closer to the X demographic then the NCL ( older, retired, no children on cruise, etc.) Until the Solstice, I would have rated NCL slightly better, but for me the Solstice was a game changer. Food to me, was superior on X. The speciality resturants on NCL were well appointed, but some of the meals were disappointing. Dined at Cagney's on different ships and had food related problems both times. Fewer announcements on X. Experienced constant upselling on NCL. General behavior of passengers on X appeared better than on NCL. Probably a bit more to do on NCL than Celebrity. I would consider an NCL cruise in a second, but Celebrity has become my line of choice. Looking forward to the Equinox in December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solstice23 Posted June 16, 2009 #23 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The Millennium class ships are way better in design then the 2 NCL shops we went on. NCL was the worst! My wife and I would never go even if we could for free. The ships were bright and tacky, people rude, passengers, rude, pool ugly, rooms ugly,staff never smiled, never said hello, never offered a cold towel, or yogurt for a sunburn, or to help us find lost sunglasses like on Celebrity. We just thought it was cheap looking and nothing like the Summit, Constellation,or Infinity. Last time on the SUmmit in March we were not hassled to buy drinks, and with the new Drink packages coming this fall, just buy a package that is right for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridge Maven Posted June 16, 2009 Author #24 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The Millennium class ships are way better in design then the 2 NCL shops we went on. NCL was the worst! My wife and I would never go even if we could for free. The ships were bright and tacky, people rude, passengers, rude, pool ugly, rooms ugly,staff never smiled, never said hello, never offered a cold towel, or yogurt for a sunburn, or to help us find lost sunglasses like on Celebrity. We just thought it was cheap looking and nothing like the Summit, Constellation,or Infinity. Last time on the SUmmit in March we were not hassled to buy drinks, and with the new Drink packages coming this fall, just buy a package that is right for you. Did you ever have an opportunity to take a free cruise? My husband and I had an opportunity to take a free cruise from NYC to Bermuda on Celebrity's Zenith a few years ago but didn't go because I won't take a cruise without a private balcony, even for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solstice23 Posted June 16, 2009 #25 Share Posted June 16, 2009 LOL I agree we would not unless we had a balcony either, We were offered a free Carnival cruise once we did not take it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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