Norwegian Dawn 9/4-9/11/2005 -Long
number6
Mid Florida coast for a nunnery ...
As per Karen's suggestions, I'll respond to Ben's review ...
Embarkation - Curbside drop off ... baggage check in were very smooth
... Even the short wait through security was pleasant with NCL staff
with trays of juice and cake roaming up and down the line ...On to
check-in ... Thankfully, I was a Latitudes member ... exactly one
couple ahead of us checking in ... seemed like 200 on the non-latitudes
line ...Though we did get a smiling welcome aboard ... No one was there
to take us to the room ... and no embarkation photos either (they were
doing an major overhaul whatever that meant ...) seemed strange having
to ask how to get to our room ... After just a quick tour of our room
we headed to the buffet ... and were surprised to see half our luggage
there already ... when we brought that in and unpacked ... the rest
arrived ... The most efficient luggage arrival in our cruising lifes
...
The Ship - The ship is gorgeous ... nicely laid out for the most part
...The one problem as Ben mentioned was the midships galley blocking
passage from the Impressions/Aqua Restaurants to the Venetian dining
room aft ... Rather than just going along a sixth floor corridor ... up
aft and down was the route ... Not really a problem though as 80 % of
the menus were the same ... Though my sister-in-law's husband kept
wondering why they kept moving the restauants around (we were to meet
at the Venetian ... 4 floors below our minsuite ... but they went to
Aqua ... and spent some 15 minutes figuring out how to get to the right
place ... he swore it was towards the front ... but got moved ..)
Many nice places to relax ... Card rooms ... game rooms ... lounges
...even the Garden Cafe where the buffet was ... all spread around to
distribute the people around ...
The Spinnaker Lounge was the place to be whilst traveling through
Ophelia's outer bands ... more about that later ...
Another of Ben's criticisms was the small pool area ... I'll echo that
... I'm glad I'm not a laze around the pool area type of guy ...
besides being normally crowded ... (even with a paucity of kids ...)
... they schedule the inane events ...(hairy chest contest et. al)
right there ...and make it more crowded ... Hint ... The Star Lounge
overlooks the pool area... usually empty ... and a nice place to laze
around the pool in airconditioned comfort ...
Ben spoke of a mall like atmosphere ... though they did load the atrium
(btw the most beautiful atrium area ...) with tables of sales at times
... the shops were mostly at the aft end of the ship ... and not
constantly being passed ... a big plus IMO ....
Accomodations - We had a AG minisuite which had plenty of storage space
... a nice sitting area and an adequate covered balcony ... We had a
tub ... with a shower giving water as hot and as hard as you want it
... the detachable head allowed for relaxing weary joints and bones ...
The was little privacy on the balcony which allowed one to see from one
end of the minisuites to the other ...
The big criticism was the creaking of the ceiling and wall panels
during even the mildest seas ... First night we awoke with sounds like
squirrels running around the ceiling ... or a bird trapped and whipping
its wings to get out ... There's gotta be a design flaw ... It was not
just us ... The 9th floor balconies and other areas had the same
creaking ... maybe throughout ...
Food - The quality difference between the specialty restaurants and the
regular restaurants appears to be widening ... Mostly due to
improvements in the specialties ... Both Le Bistro (Voila') and Cagneys
were superb ... now matching that of HAL's Zuiderdam specialty ... The
service food and selections were all top notch ... The Sushi Bar also
was terrific ... seeing us looking for some more Tuna Sashimi on the
rotating conveyor ... The Chef prepared some special plates ... happy
just seeing people enjoying the food ...
Dining Room fare was generally fine ... with little that was especially
memorable either being bad or good ... a surprise though were the
Oyster Fritters on Caribbean night ... usually my least favorite theme
night ... One complaint I had with NCL'c menus were the lack of
selections ... They have a fish, a vegetarian, a theme and maybe one
other ... Still the same except the three dining rooms will each have a
unique offering or two ... so if one menu doesn't appeal ... a walk to
the other dining rooms (if you can find out how ...) may find a course
more appealing ...
Service was fine ... other freestyle cruises seemed to have a little
"rushing us through to get us out for the next people" attitude ... If
any criticisms for this one ... is that they let us linger longer than
we even wanted to ...
The Lunch Buffet was extremely erratic ... some of the most tasty
buffet dishes anywhere one day ... and inedible food the next ...
Seemed like the end of the lunch buffet brought out the worst ...
Better to wait until the barbeque starts and have a late dinner ... but
then you have to go to the crowded pool area ...
Dinner buffets were half the size due to the Italian Specialty being
created at night from the other side of the Garden Cafe ...
Only tasted a couple of tidbits on Chinese night ... which were nice
...
The Buffet is actually divided into several areas ... regular ... NY
Deli ... Vegetarian ... Breakfasts were always good ... crisp bacon ...
Omelet stations ... Waffles ... And choice of Earl Grey, English
Breakfast and Darjelling Teas... something this non-coffee drinker
loved ...
Entertainment -
First night - A couple of dancers, a lounge pianist ... and the dumb
spoon through the clothing get the crowd going shtick ...
Ricky Matthews the cruise director and Lance his assistant were
generally fine ... Ricky unlike most CD's ... actually used Lance as a
foil or as his straight man a lot ... When Ricky told us the upcoming
events ... I never heard art auctions or bingos thankfully ... though
others announced that over the loudspeaker more than other NCL cruises
(NCL was near the top of my no nickel and diming buy this stuff
announcements ... until now ...)
Singing and Dancing - wasted on me ... but my wife thought they were
top notch ... and the standing ovations they got from the audience told
me she wasn't wrong ...
The Magician and Ventiliquist were both very good ... and the Magician
especially worked a lot ... 2 shows ... an afternnon slight of hand
close up demo ... an escape from chains in the pool (yes the crowded
pool area again ... ) and the hanging by his feet upside down Houdini
straight jacket escape ...
The Ports - I didn't worry about the ports ... as the ship was the lure
for this trip ... but had some good times ... Went to Universal on our
own ... rented a car and drove ... Went to the Everglades and an
airboat tour to meet alligators up close and personal ... took a $20
tour from a hustling tourguide when all we wanted was a beach ... For
the $20 we got an excellent informative tour of the island ... a tour
of Atlantis ... a trip to the beach and picked up 2 hours later and
brought back to the ship ... they hustle ... and this guy was good ...
We were supposed to tender on the private island ... but for the third
time on NCL cruises ... missed it due to high surf ... turned out fine
anyway ... That night we stayed until the wee hours at Atlantis ... one
of us (not me ... ) won $1000 ...
If you are a laze around the pool quietly relaxing ... this is not your
ship ...
If you don't mind spending extra you will have the best dining
experience on the sea ...
If you like places to sit ... relax and read or listen to music ...
this ship has many places to do that in comfort ...
The Spinnaker Lounge ... 12th Floor Forward ... windows all around
except for a stage ... We spent a lot of time there watching the ship
break through 18-20 foot seas and 35-40 mph winds ... The spray quite
often splashed against the windows ... I LOVED IT ... The Captain did
do a great job of informing the people what was going on with the storm
and the trip back ...and allaying fears ... good thing with the earlier
incident this year ... When the winds turned somewhat ... I took some
nice movies from our balcony ... I tried earlier but the wind blew the
rain in horizontally ...
Debarkation - A Zoo ... we got in about 45 minutes late due to the
weather ... and then was delayed more whilst the ship was not cleared
as some non-American citizens ... did not go though the immigration
check-out ... finally, the officials allowed people off ... but now
only through a different slower moving exit ...
By the time we got off ... the next load were arriving ... Gridlock ...
took an extra hour for my son to get from 12th avenue and 48th street
to the terminal ...
To sum up ...
The Good - A beautiful ship ... a very happy looking to please crew ...
Great specialty restaurants ... and very comfortable accomadations ...
The Bad - That creaking in the room ... worse during rough seas ... but
bad even when gentle ... The small pool area ... We never even thought
to try to sit there ...
The Ugly - Well not bad ugly ... good ugly ... Ophelia ... made the
trip special ... and memorable ... Surprisingly there were few seasick
... as the Captain controlled the rolling very well ... and pitching
and yawing are less prone to making people sea sick ...
Any questions or comments feel free ...
TEP
I suspect that the chance a particular stateroom clears the wait list is a
function of the cruise ship, date, and type of stateroom, but I would be
interested in the experience that individuals may have had in being placed
on a wait list for a particular cruise and stateroom.
TEP
Becca
The Norwegian Dawn was one of my favorite cruises, I enjoyed the
entertainment, the service and the food. We were in and out of the
dining room fairly quickly, although it took a while for the people at a
large table to be served. The dining room is better at serving smaller
tables.
When I cruised on the Norwegian Dawn, they did not walk you to your
room, although they did show us where the elevator was. There were
people outside the elevator on my floor, who would show you to your room.
Becca
E.k.R.
"Karen " <kar...@QueenMary.cupcaked.com> wrote in message
news:432cf31b...@news.optonline.com...
>
> Great review, and a pleasure to read. Really a must-read for anyone
> interested in doing this trip/ship. You gave lots of detail.
Karen,
I think you will find most ship reviews getting better and better. This is
the time of year it begins to happen. When kids are back in school, the
onboard experience tends to improve drastically. The staff doesn't have to
deal with as many people and the ship is not overrun.
Ernie
number6
Opening night they did mention that this cruise was some 600 lower in
people than the previous ... mostly all due to less kids ...
Our room was near the T-Rex pool for kids ... and every glance there
showed little use ...
How B
> I suspect that the chance a particular stateroom clears the wait list is a
> function of the cruise ship, date, and type of stateroom
Correctamundo.
> interested in the experience that individuals may have had in being placed
> on a wait list for a particular cruise and stateroom.
Done that three times, in all cases didn't work out. If it doesn't
clear by the time the refund penalty phase kicks in (60-70 days out), it
probably won't at all.
Are you on a wait list? Details, we want details <g>
How B
Dillon Pyron
I had four clients get wait listed for the Sensation cruise out of
Galveston. One made it, the other three didn't. All booked inside
guaranteed.
This was with one day notification of travel. Good thing they all
live in Austin.
--
dillon
Pain is Nature's way of saying "that was stupid"