Cruise Critic NCL Dawn - September 21 - September 28, 2008 New England/Canada Cruise Overall Observations:

Taxi to ship: Don't count on any specific # of minutes to get to the ship through traffic. Traffic may be heavy. When you get to the Terminal Signage - if there is a line of taxi's waiting to turn left into the cruise terminal, have taxi driver go down a few blocks, make a turn to go back toward the terminal. This will allow you to go right into the terminal and not wait at the traffic light. Make sure the taxi drops you off in front of the correct ship. Insist on it. Otherwise you'll have to drag your luggage to the correct terminal or hop back in the taxi for the ride down.

Embarkation: After you drop off your luggage at curbside (tip $2 per bag at least), walk through the doors into the terminal. This is where the hustle/bustle starts. Make sure you have your 'ticket' and pre-registration paper work, and passport in your hands - you will need to show them to the security personnel before you get into the line. The line waiting to get to the first checkpoint/x-ray went quickly. We were there about noon. After the security checkpoint, you get into another line to get your room key and arrange for the on-board credit. Have a credit card ready. We actually saw a number of Latitudes members (there was a special line for them) standing in line. We also saw some of them shift to the non-Latitudes line because we were being processed faster. Room card/boarding pass/on-board credit card in hand, we proceeded to the photo area, got our picture taken and we were on our way on board. The ramp into the ship is slanted, but nothing that can't be handled by a person in reasonable physical shape. Don't put your room card away, you'll need it to get on the ship. Once on deck, we got our champagne (or orange juice if you prefer) and we proceeded to the Venetian for lunch, making a stop at the reception desk to grab one of the tri-fold ship's map. It is small and can fit in a pocket easily. No wait at all was experienced when we got to the Venetian for lunch. The room card will give you some important information, such as, of course, your room number, muster station (for us being in room 8106, it was deck 7, section C-1, mid-starboard boat deck). Remember Port = left, starboard = right side of the ship facing forward. And yes, during the drill, there had to be some individuals who had to talk on their cell phones, to each other, etc. Please remember that not all individuals can hear over someone yakking on the phone, we might actually want to get the instructions on boat safety, etc. The crew is very patient in assisting those who are trying to figure out how to strap on that big, bulky life vest and how to put it back together to make a nice small package. Excursion Desk: the excursion desk was overwhelmed that first day and the sea day with individuals wanting to book excursions. Very rarely was there only a few to no one waiting to be assisted. Book on-line and your tickets are placed in the welcome envelope. BUT, pick up an excursion booklet and compare the text between the on-line description and the one in the booklet. We found that the Rose Island tour was described on-line as being picked up from the tender platform on the ship, but actually we had to be tendered ashore and boarded the excursion from there. The excursion tickets you get have the meeting place on them. Look them over before your pickup time. You may miss your excursion if you don't. Lastly, tours go rain or shine. Read more