Norwegian Dawn Review

group of 23 sail on NCL Dawn

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Norwegian Dawn
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Ltl mermaid
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Jul 2008
Cabin: Mid-Ship Inside
Traveled with children

We sailed out of N.Y. on Sun. 7-6-08 on NCL dawn.Our group of 23 ranged in age from 13 to 80+.We had first time cruisers and veteran cruisers. We occupied cabins8017,8019,8021, 8139 ,8151, 8153,8155, 8157, 8159 and mine 8161.This is my 7th cruise . It was just my husband and I. We are in our mid 40`s traveling with a bunch of friends. Three came with families ( teens), some singles, some widows and widowers, in-laws and scuba fanatics. We were a mixed bunch . Leaving from the NY port was disorganized , long lines going in ,no baggage carriers at first, the lines inside were changed as two ships were both leaving .Once with NCL we could relax with our comp. Champagne. The Venetian was not open till 5:30 p.m. we waited outside of it to make sure. The buffet was open .We waited and ate at the Venetian. This was my first time doing freestyle. Our group had mixed reviews. The veteran cruiser prefers the scheduled meal times and would have liked us all to be at dinner at the same time. We were able to get reservations at Cagney`s****($20pp cover-groups should use the coupon in your coupon book it`s only good for the first night). The first thing we did on the ship was rush to book this and we had to eat at 9pm.We did groups of 14 -21 two other nights at 7 p.m..We booked last minute and only had a 10 minute wait for one night at the Venetian*** and 3 separate tables near each other for the other night at the Aqua***. I did not mind at all and on all three nights had early dinners at other restaurants at 5:30 p.m.(Yes I am an eating machine! see my food critic reviews below).Most of our group liked picking when and where to eat and going their own way. On our previous RCL cruise the kids and teens ate at Johnny Rockets every night and that had a small cover charge$$$. Here the kids and some grown ups ate at Blue Lagoon** for a similar food type and had the Salsa bar rstrnt *** , Bimini grill, pool side BBQ`s , sprinkles ice cream** (NO sprinkles just ice cream)and Garden Cafe buffet and N.Y. Deli as other no cover charge options. We also ate 2 nights at Le Bistro**** ($15 pp cover charge)(see anniversary / honeymoon package below). Others in the group ate at Impressions for Italian(cover charge $10) and hated it. No one ate at the Asian restaurants Bamboo &sushi bar and Teppanyaki (varied cover charge).A large part of our group ate at the Garden Cafe buffet as this was a very informal venue- they said it was very good. I did hear a lot of other passengers complaining that Free Style was not as free as they would have liked --it was mostly about the dress code. Certain restaurants required no shorts ,tanks or tee-shirts at Dinner. You did not need a jacket and tie --but could wear them if your wife forced you to because she likes to dress up (I was the only one on the ship in a beaded gown-poor Hubby). There were always informal restaurants to choose from so if you hate to wear pants ask before you make a reservation especially at the cover charge restaurants because canceled reservations are charged the cover for two if not canceled before 4:30 p.m. You don`t need to make reservations for most restaurants , menus are posted outside each one with the dress code so explore and pick what you like. The ship was colorful and well laid out once you realize what floors to avoid as you can`t walk fore to aft on certain floors( just go one up or down). The restaurants went from elegant to fun in their decor. The Atrium was beautiful .The pool area was crowded and our sun bathing teens had trouble getting a lounge. We used the hot tub on a port day to relax and had it to ourselves. Our gamblers liked the casino but certificate raffle winners beware :two people won free entries to tournaments but missed them as no time was posted on them- ASK when you win them.

The Galleria gift shop holds lot`s of raffles - hold on to your receipts and get raffle tickets when you make purchases even in the atrium(they forget to give them to you-and miss print drawing times so ask).You must be present to win so on "fill in raffles" only put "family name" down so any one in your cabin can go and beware they overlap with all the other things you can choose to do or not do (a high lighter came in helpful to mark what we liked in the dailies ). The costume jewelry and t-shirts were a good buy .Free Liquor tasting was fun (if buying it`s one liter per person now) I liked it so much I was asked if I`d like a bowl!!No one used the gym but the massage service was very good.

We loved the art gallery auctions and free champagne(-I would make mimosas with my O.J.) We are not art buffs normally but loved the auctions it`s fun even while not bidding. The "not so newlywed game" was fun, the Bollywood show ***, The second city shows were enjoyed by some of our group as was the Gleason`s magic show ,the others got fair to poor reviews .The cruise director was very friendly "drop your pancakes and sausages" the staff was very friendly and very helpful 95% of the time. Some of them were outstanding. All in all a very nice ship. Our cabins were very nice. Though ours and 8159 had a lot of noise coming from above us (lot`s of kids or a mech. Room???) I loved the sliding glass door on the shower. If you bring lot`s of toiletries try an over the door shoe holder to hold your tubes and bottles but there is an adequate shelf for those with a normal amount of "stuff".Bring a blow dryer if you don`t want to use their wimpy one. Bring a multi plug or power bar if you have lot`s to plug in. Ask for an egg crate for on the mattress if you need one I have a bad back and I did. I also brought extra plastic slacks hangers as I bring a lot of clothes. The draws held our under and bed garments and hair brushes, curling iron and blow dryer (the plug is on the vanity in the room not in the bathroom). Bring an alarm clock as there is no clock in the room.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Inside

What were they doing above our cabin??There was no bowling alley on this ship!

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