Hi
Just returned yesterday from an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Dawn. It was our first time on the Dawn and 4th NCL cruise. We had a balcony stateroom and excellent room stewards. We could not have asked for more pampering. I loved the robes.
The food was excellent and we had most of our meals in the Venetian. They have an 8 ounce sirloin steak available every evening along with a variety of other entrees. There was lobster twice, although, they weren't that big.
The ship was packed and apparently had 500 kids and many March Breakers, but other than by the pool area, you wouldn't know it.
The shows were good - we saw the "Band on the Run", "Second City" and "Bollywood". We didn't do the bingo, but the casino was not kind to us.
The weather was great with a little rain during Samana - OK, the hike to the waterfall is not one I'd recommend - especially with the trail as muddy as it was. We had great weather for the private island and the other ports.
It was another excellent cruise and I can't wait for my next one.
Judy
Welcome home, Judy, and thanks for the report. An 8 ounce sirloin steak sounds great to me right now. It's nice to see NCL providing this option every night in the dining room. Their main dining rooms are so beautiful that we truly enjoy going there for as many meals as possible. Did you have long wait times?
I'm glad you got to Great Stirrup Cay. I am picturing the sea of blue and white umbrellas with your ship anchored in the background.
The only times that we saw lines at the Venetian were right after the early show let out. The first time, we tried to go straight to the dining room after the show and saw the line up, so we went and got a drink and about 20 minutes later there was no line. After that, we just planned on a brief walk around or something and had absolutely no waits the whole week.
Unfortunately, we did hear a fellow who was quite irate that there was a wait after the show and was trying to take it out on the hostess. We smiled at her and told her that we understood that of course there would be a wait when a whole lot of people showed up at the same time and that we'd be back a bit later.
I'm not a terribly picky eater -- but I do love food, and absolutely loved the food the whole week.
Both hubby and I are wishing we are back on board. Our next cruise is on the Jewel this summer. It can't come soon enough.
Judy
I am going on the Dawn in 3 weeks can't wait. It's so nice to hear someone say good things about NCL after reading some of the posts I was getting concerned. Do you know if you can buy bottles of wine in the shop on board and have it in your cabin? We enjoy a glass a wine while we are getting ready to go to dinner. Thanks again for all the positve things.
Kraftsinc - Welcome back from your NCL Dawn cruise - It sounds as if you had a nearly perfect trip! We are great lovers of the NCL Dawn and can't wait to head out on her again in a month! One thing we learned about those 8 oz. steaks - if you order them medium rare-they come out perfect every time!
Welcome back Kraftsinc, glad to hear you had a good time! I know you wish you were still on board, I absolutely hate the debarkation blues. A co-worker of mine hasn't stopped raving about the Dawn, he loved the ship, too. I'm also glad you took the time to post something positive. So many times, all we get to read are the negatives. If it was as bad as some of the reviews, the cruise industry wouldn't last. I hope you'll fill us in on the Jewel, too!
Thanks all for all your kind comments. I did happen to be selected for an on-line survey after I got back so they'll get some positive feedback from me and some minor suggestions as well.
To Cathy61 - no, you can't buy wine onboard to take to your room, but you can take some onboard and just pay the $15.00 corkage fee and have it in your room. Otherwise, you can buy it at your place of dining - but I know that defeats the purpose of having it inyour room. Your best bet is to bring it in your carry on and declare it as they check you in at security.
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