Paul,
Thanks for a nice review. As I said before, we sailed on the Dawn once and
we have been to Bermuda many times. It is nice to get an update.
Where do you get the ferry at the port? Is it an easy walk at the port? It
looks like you have to go from around 55th St to 39th St?
--
Greg
"Paul Krause" wrote in message
news:p.e.krause-4E7445.16572030042008@newsgroups.comcast.net...
> Previous cruises: Carnival Victory, Voyager of the Seas(twice), QM2,
> Norwegian Spirit,
> Crown Princess
>
> This cruise is our 7th and our first without kids. We took it to
> celebrate our 30th anniversary.
>
> We chose this cruise for a couple reasons: 1. itinerary. We absolutely
> love Bermuda, We had also considered the Explorer of the Seas because we
> love the Voyager class ships but their itinerary was 5 days with 2 days
> in Bermuda while the Dawn was 7 days with three in Bermuda. 2. Price.
> Our TA had a block of rooms reserved at a price no one could match. So
> cheaper price and more days won out over nicer ship.
>
> EMBARKATION: A
>
> We arrived at the pier via the New York Waterway Ferry at 11 A.M. Check
> in was quick and easy. We received a card with our boarding number. Ours
> was 10. Boarding was scheduled to start at 12:30 P.M. but actually
> started at 12 noon. Coffee and tea were available while waiting. There
> was also a hot dog stand which had a long line. This amazed me. I do not
> understand why people would pay a high price for a hot dog and soda when
> in a short time enormous amounts of food would be available to them on
> the ship at no additional cost.
>
> Upon boarding our hands were sprayed with sanitizer and we were welcomed
> with champagne. There was no non alcoholic option for the kids or for
> those who donıt drink.
>
> DINING: B
>
> We immediately went to the Garden Cafe where the food was plentiful and
> very basic. It wasnOt crowded yet as we were one of the first groups to
> board. This was the first ship weıve been on that actually had a kids
> buffet built for their height. The Garden Cafe is set up in several
> sections. One for desserts, one with a carving station , one with a
> pasta station and one which served as a deli For some reason NCL put the
> pasta station in the middle of the buffet. since it only served one
> person at a time this held up the line for all meals. The chef working
> the station was friendly and patient and the variety of pasta options
> was good. The daily pizza was also very good. The ice cream on board was
> of excellent quality but limited in flavors available. when 2.0 is fully
> implemented there will be soft serve available.
>
> Breakfast in the Garden Cafe offered nice variety. we ate breakfast here
> on port days so we could get off the ship earlier. We also ate many of
> our lunches here since the dining room menu was not to our liking for
> lunch.
>
> The sail away party at the pool was great with hambergers, hot dogs,
> chicken and corn on the cob all prepared on huge kettle grills.
>
> We had dinner the first night in the Venetian dining room. Although a
> nice room with large windows it doesnıt make sense to have a restaurant
> in the aft of the ship where you feel the motion while you eat. The food
> was good and the servers wonderful, but the room was chaotic and noisy.
>
> Breakfasts in the Venetian were wonderful. I always had eggs made to
> order with bacon or corned beef hash, melon, toast and silver dollar
> pancakes with blueberry compote. My wife always had eggs and grits. She
> tried the cream of wheat one day but said it was lumpy.
>
> We ate our other dinners in the Aqua dining room, mid ship where the
> motion was less pronounced and the service more organized. We did not
> eat at any of the specialty restaurants. We thought about Impressions
> but they just added a fee for this cruise. The food was always good but
> the choices were limited. The baby shrimp cocktail was OK but more like
> the old jarred seafood cocktail my mom bought when I was a kid. The
> other cruise lines Iıve been on offered better choices and quality.
>
> We also had lunches (and late night snacks) at Blue Lagoon. This small
> venue on the starboard side of deck 7 offers comfort food like wings,
> burgers and fries, fish and chips, tuna melts, mac and cheese, and
> peanut butter and jelly. You can eat inside or on the promenade. It can
> be a busy place. We ate there several times ordering several items each
> time and they always would forget one item. The food here was very good
> and is available 24 hours.
>
> A word about Freestyle dining. Unless you like to wait, go to dinner
> early. Also there are limited options for no charge restaurants. The
> Norwegian Spirit has a better system with electronic screens showing
> wait times and pagers for those waiting.
>
> One women we talked to in line at Aqua on the 4th day asked us what the
> charge was. When we told her there was no charge she looked shocked. She
> thought all the restaurants had a charge and had paid the previous 3
> days to eat at the specialty restaurants.
>
> Personally I prefer traditional. Princess has a good idea offering
> traditional or ³personal choice².
>
> CABIN: B
>
> We had an Ocean View Cabin on Deck 5 two doors down from the mid ship
> elevators and stairs (cabin 5608). This gave us easy access to Aqua on
> deck 6 and going ashore from deck 4. While people returning to the ship
> were waiting for elevators, we could just walk one flight up. Normally
> we would get a balcony but because our TA had such a good deal on this
> category cabin we took it. This worked out well since the weather
> probably would not have allowed us much use of a balcony.
>
> The cabin itself was adequate with good storage and a comfortable bed.
> Small, old CRT TV. Compared to other cruises weıve been on, this cabin
> was more like Motel 6, adequate and functional but nothing special. The
> shower was nice.
>
> Our steward, Edwin, was always helpful and friendly. First thing we had
> him do was put the beds together. He also provided towel animals each
> night, the cutest being a mouse made from a washcloth. About an hour
> after arriving at our room room service dropped by with a gift from our
> TA, a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. They were wonderful!
>
> MEET AND GREET: C
>
> I was looking forward to this. There were about 50 people on our roll
> call but less than 10 showed up. I enjoyed meeting those who did come.
> NCL provided danishes, juices, coffee and tea. We had a chance to talk
> with the head of food services and with the person responsible for fleet
> wide implementation of Freestyle 2.0
>
> SHOWS: B
>
> For the most part the shows were typical cruise shows with singing and
> dancing. The comedian was lame. We missed the magician. Bollywood was
> fantastic. These dancers were incredible gymnasts. We liked having the
> indoor movie theater and watched National Treasure and 27 Dresses. We
> can now cross those off our Netflix list!
>
> ACTIVITIES: C
>
> Limited. There seemed to be less to do on the Dawn than any Iıve been
> on. There was one pool table on deck 12 which was taken out of service
> for the last 3 days of the cruise. There were 2 ping pong tables, a huge
> chess board, shuffleboard, a small basketball court, jogging track and a
> cage for golfing. We also used the well equipped gym. The Dawn has a
> reading room, a game room, which was always crowded, a library and an
> internet cafe where the speed was pretty good. Card readers were
> available in case you want to send pictures back home. Price was
> expensive compared to other ships -- 75 cents per minute. it was cheaper
> if you bought a bulk plan and on Friday night they offered 2 hours at
> half price.
>
> There were also very few announcements which is what I like. For my wife
> and me there is nothing better than sitting in a lounge chair on the
> promenade reading a book. We donıt need a lot of activities.
> Unfortunately due to high winds and rough seas most days we were able to
> sit on the promenade only on our last sea day. The other days we sat up
> in Salsa which had comfortable tables and chairs looking out over the
> ocean. NCL also needs more chairs on the promenade. There were only
> about 8 on each side and some were broken.
>
> WEATHER: B
>
> Cool, cloudy, windy with rough seas. Some people got sick. We did not.
> We actually enjoyed being rocked to sleep at night. One night while
> anchored in the Great Sound outside of Hamilton we heard a large bang.
> It seems as if the Bermudian, a ferry being used as a tender got caught
> up in a wave and banged into the ship. The front railing of the ferry
> was broken off and a small scratch and paint were left on the Dawn. Our
> last sea day offered moderate seas and was the calmest by far.
>
> POOLS: B
>
> Unfortunately the weather did not allow for swimming although some of
> the kids used the outdoor pools and hot tubs. I did not like the fact
> that the Dawn has a pool side casino. The chairs in the pool area have
> plastic flags you put up if you want to order a drink. Otherwise, the
> servers donıt bother you.
>
> My wife and I enjoyed using the spa pool which was indoors aft and never
> too busy. Hot drinks and coffee were provided along with cookies, There
> were cushioned lounge chairs looking out over the back of the ship.
> Changing rooms, robes and towels were provided. We went to the spa
> every day. On some days the pool became a wave pool with splashing waves
> that actually hit the ceiling!! It wasnıt until the last day that we
> read in the Freestyle Daily that the spa pool cost $20 per day or $140
> per week per couple. No one ever asked us to pay but if they did we
> probably would have since it really was a highlight on the ship and we
> enjoyed it so much.
>
> KIDıS PROGRAM: B
>
> My wife and I were traveling without kids for the first time. We did
> hear that there were 850 pre teens on board (it was a school vacation
> week) and that the kidıs staff was somewhat overwhelmed. We never
> noticed the kids being a problem. In fact, except for the Garden Cafe,
> the ship never felt crowded.
>
> BERMUDA: A+++
>
> Wonderful as ever. Partly sunny tis first day. Those taking excursions
> got a special ferry tender from the ship at 8 A. M. Iım glad we did
> because there was lots of confusion for others leaving the ship. the
> tendering process was confusing as you had to first get a tender ticket
> and then wait until your group number was called.
>
> On our first day we took the Trolly Ocean Discovery Tour. The Bermuda
> Underwater Exploration Institute was excellent. You donıt have to take
> an excursion to visit. It is located about 15 minutes on foot outside
> of Hamilton. After the tour we ate a a local restaurant called the
> Lobster Pot. I had a scrumptious fried fish sandwhich while my wife
> enjoyed a lobster/crab cake sandwich. The food was great and priced
> nicely but the lemonade was expensive costing half the price of our
> meal!. In Bermuda gratuities are automatically placed on the bill. we
> also walked along Front Street in Bermuda and visited Par La Ville Park
> which is just beautiful.
>
> We had no trouble getting a tender back to the ship since they were
> running back and forth regularly as they filled. We had hoped to go
> back in the evening for a street festival that is held every Wednesday,
> but the festivals donıt start until April 30, the week after our trip.
>
> On our second day, which was cloudy, we tendered in and (no problems
> getting a tender ticket or getting off the ship). The waters were rough
> and we went through a rainstorm (the only rain we had while in Bermuda).
> Several got sick on the rough waters. Once in Hamilton the rain had
> stopped. We took a bus from Hamilton to St. George via the north shore.
> The bus ride in itself was like a tour with beautiful vistas.
> Transportation is easy and inexpensive. For $12 we had an unlimited pass
> for the ferries and buses that day. you can also buy 3 day passes. St.
> george is a quaint colonial town with a number of sights. It was less
> crowded after the Norwegian Majesty left at noon. We visited St. Peterıs
> church, the town square, the perfumery and the unfinished church. We
> also walked to Tobacco bay beach and Fort St. Catherine, which is closed
> for renovations). At the bus station in St. George we were able to by
> the New York Post and USA Today. Special newspapers from around the
> world are available on the ship, delivered to your stateroom at $3.95
> each per day. Too rich for me. RCCL and Princess always printed a digest
> of the NY Times at no cost.
>
> We tendered back to the ship for the sail away to the Dockyard. After
> dinner we spent the evening walking around the dockyard and dropping g
> in at Snorkel Park
>
> On the third day in Bermuda, a bright and sunny day, we took the Easy
> Rider Bike excursion. This took us to to places we had not seen before
> as we biked local roads and the Bermuda Railroad pathway. It was easy to
> do, informative and very well run. We rode about 7.5 miles. Helmets, and
> water were provided along with a ferry ride back to the ship. This was
> probably the best excursion weıve taken in our 3 trips to Bermuda.
> After a quick lunch onboard we went out to Snorkel Park It was windy and
> the water was too cold so after a brief time we went to the clock tower
> mall before setting out our beach towels in a park near the mall where
> we spent the rest of the afternoon resting. Soon it was time to return
> to the ship for the sad fact of sail away and the trip home.
>
> After the evening show we went to the Chocoholic Buffet, which was
> really nothing special. We were rocked to sleep by the roughest seas of
> the trip.
>
> THE SHIP ITSELF: B
>
> The Dawn, built in 2002 is a clean and functional ship. It has all the
> basics: pools, casino, lounges, restaurants, theater, etc. but there
> really is nothing special about it. There was no WOW factor. There was
> nothing that would draw us back other than price or itinerary. It was a
> good basic ship that provided a good cruise experience. For the same
> itinerary I would gladly go on the Dawn again. Otherwise I would choose
> another line. The Norwegian Spirit has better amenities and character.
>
> One thing we noticed was the smell of vanilla. It was always present in
> the theater and used as aroma therapy throughout the ship at times when
> people might otherwise get upset. We noticed it in the lounge when
> lining up for tender tickets and in all the stairwells when disembarking
> n the last day.
>
> THE CREW: A
>
> The crew on this ship was outstanding. They provided excellent service,
> were always friendly and helpful. We had some confusion with the staff
> at the excursion desk double booking us on tours on consecutive days,
> but they resolved the problem well with no hassle. The only real issue
> was that none of this crew had ever been to Bermuda and could not answer
> basic questions about the port. This was the Dawnıs first trip to
> Bermuda. NCL has been sailing to Bermuda for years and should have had
> some people knowledgeable about Bermuda transferred from other ships to
> help.
>
> DISEMBARKATION: A
>
> This is where freestyle stands out. if you can carry your own luggage
> you can walk off the ship anytime after immigration clears it. If not,
> you can choose your color tag depending on when you want to get off. On
> the last day NCL runs early morning movies and has the pool open. you
> can leave at your leisure as long as you do so by 10:45 A.M.
>
> We got up early the last day to watch the ship come into New York
> harbor. We had a leisurely breakfast in the Venetian. As we passed
> Ground Zero the music switched from the normal background music to
> Sinatra singing ³New York, New York². The rest of the way was all
> Sinatra.
> We docked at exactly 8 A.M., as expected. Everything on this ship was
> always right on time. When we left New York we started pulling out at
> exactly at 4 P.M. on the dot. Of all my cruises, this was the only one
> that left on time!
>
> At 9 A.M. we went to our cabin to get our luggage and join the line of
> people using express checkout. More than a third of those on the ship
> were using this option. As we walked to the back of the line a second
> gangway was opened and we walked off the ship with no waiting. We were
> off the ship by 9:15, caught the 9:30 ferry to Weehawken and were home
> by 10:10 basking in the memories of a fun week at sea. All in all a
> very fine week... and i only gained 5 pounds!
>
> For pictures visit
> http://web.mac.com/pekrause/Site/Norwegian_Dawn_to_Bermuda.html
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