Preparation, To the Ship - New York City - In Processing, First Day On the Ship (Sun - 19Sep2010): We packed the night before in Dingmans Ferry PA - off to bed early (9 p.m.) and up at 7:30 a.m. - quick shower and in the car by 8:30 a.m. By 9:15 a.m. we were at my son and daughter-in-law's house in Sparta, NJ. She drove us the 20-minute hop to the New Jersey Transit train in Dover, NJ. There I purchased two round-trip tickets to Penn Station in New York City at the senior rate of $26 total. We boarded the train at 10:08 a.m. and departed on time at 10:11 a.m. Stored our two suitcases and two back packs in the senior area and took seats next to our luggage for the ~ 1 hr 45 min ride to Penn Station. Fourteen stops later and we arrived Penn Station on time at 11:55 a.m. We grabbed our luggage and walked the short distance to the escalator exit onto 7th Avenue and hailed a cab. Traffic once we reached 12th Avenue was bumper to bumper as we headed north and then took a U-turn at the traffic light crossing 55th Street ramp to Pier 88 where the Norwegian Dawn was berthed. I paid the cab driver $11.20 fare and $2.80 tip and we headed with our luggage through a security scanner (without fanfare and any package goods in our carry on backpacks) and then queued up in the zigzag line like the ones at the attractions at Universal Studios (have you done that yet?) for in processing. I didn't notice a line for Latitude members but the line we were in moved steadily and within 15 minutes we obtained our room keys/charge card. The walk up the inclined covered boarding ramp was easy for me but my wife struggled and stopped a few times eventually arriving at Deck 7 starboard side of the ship out of breath. We were greeted by crew members selling all kinds of things in the Atrium. The time was 1:05 p.m. and we headed to our room on Deck 8 - just a short walk up one deck and 2 minute walk to our cabin, #8596, on the port side of the ship. Once in the room, our room steward, Pedro, stopped by and informed us that we had to vacate the room until an announcement was made over the ship's intercom that the cabins were ready; at approximately 2:00 p.m. We headed for Deck 12 where the Garden Cafe (cafeteria style food) was located to eat a simple lunch - salad and baked chicken breast with unsweetened iced tea (our goal was to lose 5 pounds on this cruise - can you believe it?). Afterwards, we jutted around the ship to explore. The Norwegian Dawn is laid out pretty much like many other NCL ships so it was really fast to find everything. Some might find the layout boring but we find it simpler to get about. It's like living in a city that you get used to. In fact, you find more time to make friends and enjoy the boat and activities instead of wondering around searching for things for 2 to 3 days!!! The ship was very nicely appointed and CLEAN. Service on the ship was just super. Every crew- member we came in contact with - anywhere in the ship - seemed genuinely enthused to be there. We do not always book shore excursions through the ship but this time I guess we got lazy and booked an excursion in St John, New Brunswick at a cost of $44 per person. For dinner, we headed back to the Garden Cafe for a small meal - vegetables, piece of salmon or chicken, and another garden salad and all washed down with unsweetened iced tea. I might add that our attire for most days was shorts and t-shirts. We love the laid back style of NCL cruising. We didn't even pack suits but did however have other casual dress of trousers and button down shirts for me and evening dress for my wife should the need arise. After dinner, we headed to the Stardust Theater for the Welcome Aboard show. It was a variety show featuring the Jean Ann Ryan Company of dancers and singers with music provided by the Norwegian Dawn Showband, songs from Jose and Patti, Ariel Jacobe, Fire and Ice, and the hilarious comedy of Dave Heenan. Had he continued much longer, my pants would have been wet! The view of the stage is unblocked by pillars as is not the case in many other ship's theaters. Suffice it to say that the standard Jean Ryan company productions are always first rate on NCL. In fact, the entertainment on this cruise would prove to be fantastic to say the least. Matt Baker, Cruise Director, added a special treat with his awesome ability to play the harmonica with absolute mastery - best we have ever heard. Somewhere around 10 p.m. we wandered to Dazzle's Lounge and found the extraordinary rock band, Next Stage, and found some energy to dance for a spell. Exhausted by the long day, us over 60 couple retired to the cabin at 11:30 p.m., set the alarm for 8 a.m., and enjoyed a very restful and peaceful night on the undulating seas (some first time cruisers may have thought the seas to be rough!).

Sea Day (Mon - 20Sep2010):

At the sound of the alarm, we rose at 8 a.m. (somewhat late but it would be a laid back sea day). We entered the rather huge shower for a romantic interlude in the suds. I might add that the cabin itself was adequate but the double twin beds - joined together and topped by our room steward, Pedro, with an egg-crate, took up most of the room. It was difficult to negotiate around the upper Murphy bunk-bed on one side and desk on the other. We managed well enduring lots of shin bangs during the week. There was however lots of places to store clothes. Dressed, we departed the cabin at 9 a.m. and headed to the Garden Cafe for eggs over medium, bacon, sliced tomatoes, coffee, and cantaloupe. This would become our daily regiment for the whole cruise. We skipped the bread, potatoes, and sweet roles - don't forget our goal was to lose some weight. First order of the day was the Meet & Greet hosted by none other than a fellow cruise critic member, Herb. We all met at 10:30 a.m. in the Star Bar on Deck 13 and listened to Matt Baker, Cruise Director, introduce the ship's officers, to include Captain Paul Von Knorring (originally from Finland and now from the USA). The day on the smooth seas was filled with meeting new friends, exploring more of the ship, enjoying others buying art at the 3-hour long art auction (we have everyone of our home walls are filled with art and we have many more art pieces that are rotated on and off the wall regularly), consuming our one and only Bloody Mary drinks for the week, lunch consisting of salad and piece of baked fish (without skin), and unsweetened iced tea. We are not dining room fans because it takes 1 to 2 hours to complete a dinner cycle. For that reason, we love the NCL freestyle cruising (similar but not advertised by Princess) and we consumed most of our meals at the Garden Cafe. It's convenient, and the food is adequate and tasty, and it only takes about 20 minutes to complete a meal. We decided to play trivia everyday in the Pearly King's Pub at 5:30 p.m. and hooked up with David and Marilyn from Utah and Matt from Philadelphia area. There were 20 questions each day and the topics that got progressively harder each day. We managed to get reasonable scores all week and eventually finished second in the standings (day #6), 3 points behind first place. For that, we got an NCL orange bag, coin purses, key chains, and pens. I especially liked playing trivia since I could gorge myself on popcorn and consume a glass of wine or my favorite drink, Cuba Libre (my version is Bacardi 8 with Coke). Afterwards, we headed back to the Garden Cafe for a small dinner - same as Sunday evening. After dinner, we enjoyed the headline Jean Ann Ryan production show (7 p.m.) "Band on the Run" in the Stardust Theater. It was very upbeat flashback music and dance from the psychedelic 1970's. They received a standing ovation. My wife, Barb, headed for the "Not-So-Newlywed Game Show" while I headed to Dazzle's Lounge for a repeat beating of my eardrums (after 28 years of Air Force flying, my hearing is H-3 profile - deaf for low frequency!) by the rock music of Next Stage. With pain in my ears after about 45 minutes, I steered to the music of Ariel Jacobe at the piano in Gatsby's Lounge. He is a great pianist as well as a great song impersonator of Frank Sinatra. Since I was a student of the piano for 14 years, classically trained, I know a good pianist when I see one - Ariel Jacobe is first rate. Later I listened to another pianist, Fabrizio Caligaris, at the Gatsby's Lounge. Somewhat a different styles but otherwise an excellent musician. I did notice that by eating at the Garden Cafe, making the early show at the Stardust Theater, one had lots more time to choose most or all of the entertainment on the ship. I even found time to catch some of the soul music of Fire and Ice in Dazzle's Lounge and the music of Jose and Patti in the Atrium. Both offered contrasting styles. I virtually love all kinds of music, that is with the exception of RAP, or as I prefer to call it, RAP CRAP. Enough said and to each his own. Somewhere during the day, we met new friends and would pal up with them many times during the week: Bev and her daughters Lynn and Kim, and two couples Ann and David, and Mary and Doug. Ann convinced us to do dinner with them 3 nights in a row in the Aqua Dining Room, starting on Tuesday (besides we LOVE lobster). Needless to say, we were bushed by the end of the night. I retired around 11:15 p.m., set the alarm for 6 a.m., and drifted quickly off to sleep. I dreamt about that day in the bright sun, hot and humid Texas air of Medina Complex, Lackland Air Force Base, when I was commissioned a 2nd Lt in the U.S. Air Force - 38 years ago today. Halifax, Nova Scotia (Tue - 21Sep2010): Read more