Help 1st time Cruiser

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disneyjo

Guest
Hi Everyone,

I was hoping anyone who has traveled on the Norwegian Dawn can answer a few questions for me.

I read some other posts on other sites and It has me scared to book this cruise for next year on the Norwegian Dawn.

Since I have never cruised before I am not really sure how this works? Are all your meals Included in your price?(i have read about people paying addtl to eat in certain places??) Do you have to pay extra for Activities on the Boat?? Is the pool on the Dawn very crowed? and are there only 2? How about childrens activities? my children are 9&11 will they be grouped together? and is there alot for them to do?

Thanks in advance for any help!!!!!!
 
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halfdome86

Guest
We have not traveled on the Dawn, however have traveled on the Sky.

All meals are included in the main dining room(s), the buffet restaurant, and the pizza place. There are alternative restaurants that have a cover charge. When we went a few years back the charge was $10 per person.

If you don't want to spend the extra I'm sure you'll be happy with the free choices. And with Freestyle dining you can eat at any time you like while the dining rooms are open, which works well with kids. There is a kids menu too with dogs and burgers and chiken fingers, etc if they don't want to try the "adult" food.

Soft drinks and booze are extra charges everywhere on the ship.

There are no extra charges for contests, movies, shows etc. You will pay for gambling in the casino, bingo, video games, photos.

My son, who was 8 at the time loved the kids program on the Sky. This was in Alaska in the summer and there were quite a few kids on board. There were many activities and the groups of kids were seperated by age. So your 9 & 11yr olds wouldn't be mixing with younger kids or teens.

I'm sure you will have a great time on the Dawn. IMHO, cruising is a terrific family vacation.
 
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DJMPJ

Guest
My children and also 9 and 11, and although the ncl website indicates they would be grouped together in the kids club, I have heard differently from the people on these boards who tell me the age cut offs will force my kids to be in two seperate groups, with the 9 year old going with the younger kids.

DJ
 
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skybird123

Guest
Yes, the pools are crowded and so is everything else. You only pay extra to eat in the "Bistro" all the others are included. The children are grouped by age, but on the NCL ships they are basically in one area. Don't expect to much as far as program, it is babysittng. The Royal carribean has a much better kids program. However the kids love cruising and don't mind the crush. NCL tries to use the program to sell stuff, continuously!
 
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newmexicoNita

Guest
DJ, I think they will be grouped together but I don't have kids that age so you may want to keep watching this and other websites for more information. As for crowded pools, the pools themselves are never crowded, but the deck and deck chairs get really hectic on sea days. I don't know what ship Skybird was on but trying to sell, sell, sell has never been a problem with our grand kids and the NCL kids kamp program, nor have the kids been grouped together. They will report to a central kids kamp location. That's where the grouping stops. As on all ships there are several eating choices, but freestyle works a bit differently than other lines. You can choose as has been mentioned the main dining rooms which are included in your cruise package, you can also eat at the buffet or one of a few other choices for no extra cost. There will be 3 or 4 choices for dinner on the Dawn where a service charge is added. Whether you choose to eat in these restaurants is up to you. Skybird refers to the "Bistro" which most call Le Bistro as the only charge restaurant, this will not be the case. Perhaps she cruised many years ago when some of the NCL ships did have only one other choice. Don't put too much into the reviews that push another line. Yes, we all have our preferances which is good and honest critiques are very valuable when a person posts only 5 times, and all posts are negative I guess you would want to take the remarks with a grain of salt. I have not been on the Dawn but have heard wonderful things about her. NMNita
 
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BigAl

Guest
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip on the Dawn. I can't answer for the kids program since we were not travelling with children, but the rest of the ship was beautiful. There were four of us cruising and we chose not to eat in any of the extra charge places. Between the three dining rooms (Venitian, Impressions, Aqua), Il Trattoria (an Italian-themed dining area created in one of the buffets), the Tex-Mex area, the Blue Lagoon (fast food - great chili, fried rice and open 24 hours), the buffets, the fish and chips in the Pearly Kings Pub, the afternoon barbeque on the pool deck and finally the chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers at a top deck bar at the stern end of the ship, we could eat quite well. If you wanted, you could pay extra and eat at the French-style Le Bistro, the steakhouse (Cagney's I think), or the oriental restaurant which had a sushi bar, restaurant, and teppanyaki area.

Other extra charges would be for massages etc, at the spa (There is a free use pool there as well as steam rooms and saunas that are also free), liquor and soda, and I did see some charges for certain exercise programs (maybe $5 or so). The fitness area was extensive (and included).

The pool area could get crowded, but never too much to at least get wet (don't plan on swimming laps :)). The one in the spa was adults-only and was not that crowded (it's indoors). We could always find a chair in the sun, although we might have had to go away from the pool.

All in all, I felt that the Dawn was a great value for the money and would sail on her again any time.



Post Edited (05-30-04 09:48)
 
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