I wanted to take my extended family on a short Caribbean Cruise over spring break, and the Dawn itinerary out of New Orleans sounded perfect. I booked the Owner's Suite with two balconies, 9006 along with a connecting Penthouse 9002 and BC cabin 9002 to sleep the 10 fo us. I knew that the ship was supposed to have been completely refurbished last fall, so that's what I expected. ,
Somehow I believed the hype over NCL's Edge program however what I found was not what I expected. For instance, there was new carpet in the Owner's Suite, however according to crew members, the capret installers were crew members themselves. Not being professionals, the appearance of the transitions between carpet and tile flooring, walls ect. were of poor quality. It seemed all the woodwork was original to the suite including the hideous blue tile that remains with screw holes and plaster plugs intact. Late 90's fixtures from the same era in the shower and "jacuzzi" tub were also original. In our tub, one of the jets was actually missing, so the thing wouldn't work anyway. The ceramic floor in the bath was also original with a confetti pattern and stains around the edges. The walk in closet is actually part of a miniature dressing area. Ladies, there is no lighted mirror.
As for entertainment, we didn't attend anything in the Stardust orther than the muster drill. We did enjoy the duo in O'Sheehan's. We loved the outdoor entertainment, especially when Topsiders usuall closed by 7pm and the Bimini Bar usually closed at 6:00PM. I questioned Alain Magnier the Hotel Director on why the pool area, with the hot tubs, bars, fresh sea air was no longer used in the evening, and he said it was determined as being "under used", and therefore the hours were adjusted, and the bartenders and servers were assigned to the inside venues on the ship! according to the dailies, the 7 day schedule was day 1: Topsiders 11:30a-8pm, thereafter it was 8am until 7pm for the rest of the week. For the Bimini Bar, 11:30am until 6:00pm on day 1, various opening times during the week, but always closed at 6pm!
The Suite is great. It was supposed to have refurbished, but clearly that is corporate propaganda. It had new carpet, but the wood, ceiling, plumbing, exterior and interior doors etc. remain from when she was built in 2002. The fare has been jacked up in the last year, and frankly its not worth the $3500 they're asking now.
The positive is the dual balconies. That is a very positive feature allowing you to be outside in any weather.
You just have to love the "Big Easy"!
We've been there a dozen times and it just never gets old
We always book Maya Chan in this port and it is so much worth the money!
This place is like being on Devil's Island witha bar code reader. It's a series of little mangrove islands that have been connected into one single money maker that NCL continues to preach belongs to Belize. The water around the island is milky in color and nothing like the private islands on the Eastern side of the Caribbean.