The Dawn is a beautiful ship! We had an oceanview stateroom on Deck 4 and were impressed by the size of the room and bathroom, especially compared to other ships we have cruised. The room still looked new, even though the ship is more than 5 years old. We were pleased with the dining selections on the ship and especially enjoyed Impressions (Italian) and Bamboo (Asian fusion). The entertainment varied greatly. The performance troupe was very talented and put on good shows; one comedian (Ted Holum) was hillarious, Second City was funny, but the comedian/magician Bart Rockett was terrible. The ports and shore excursions were definitely the highlight of this cruise -- we had a great time at Samana, Tortola, and St. Thomas!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Impressions (Italian, no cover charge) and Bamboo (Asian fusion, $10 p/p) were great. Cagneys (steakhouse $20 p/p) was wonderful until we found a fly in our food; we know things like that happen, but the restaurant staff handled it VERY poorly (after taking it away, tried to tell us that it wasn't really an insect but rather was just burnt food matter left over when the gratin dish it was cooked in was not fully washed between cooking; unless the burnt matter had eyes, legs, and wings, not a chance!). The main dining rooms (Venetian and Aqua) were pretty good, and the service in both was very good. The buffet seemed clean; we ate breakfast there as well as early evening snacks a few nights when we had late dinner reservations.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Bart Rockett (comedian and magician who was neither funny nor impressive was awful. The Jean Ann Ryan Production Co. put on some good shows. Ted Holum (comedian) was excellent; his late night show was especially enjoyable. Second City (improv) was pretty good -- James from Second City was the best of them! We enjoyed the onboard gameshows too, especially the Not-So-Newlywed Game, the Perfect Couple Game, and the Quest (adults only!). I thought there were fewer pool-side activities than on previous cruises, but we didn't miss them too much! The pool-side band and the band in the Spinnaker lounge were both good.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was always kept clean. It was a very nice size. The layout left a little to be desired because the different sections of the ship (aft, mid, forward) were not connected on many floors, so you would have to go up or down to a "connected floor" and around. Not a huge deal, but a bit of a pain.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The stateroom was always kept clean. The mattress and pillows were pretty uncomfortable, but we survived! The bathroom was bigger than usual. Our only complaints in that arena are (1) that the toilet took a long time to flush (sometimes 2-3 minutes after you pressed the button) and (2) the sliding door that separated the toilet from the rest of the bathroom was broken in our cabin. We thought the size and decor of the cabin were great, however.
We took the ferry on our own (not booked through ship) to Virgin Gorda, where we took a cab to the Baths -- you can take the ferry, a cab, and pay entrance to the park for $34 p/p, a significant savings over ship excursions. The Baths was absolutely breathtaking. They were an incredible natural wonder, and the snorkeling there was great -- beautiful coral and so many fish.
This port was beautiful. The mangroves were like nothing we had ever seen before (we liked them much more than the ones in Key West), and our kayaking tour was amazing. We were also able to go in a cave and see pre-Colombian cave drawings. After that part of the tour, we were dropped off at Cayo Levantado, which was a pristine beach. Overall, a wonderful day!
We took the ferry on our own (not booked through ship) to Virgin Gorda, where we took a cab to the Baths -- you can take the ferry, a cab, and pay entrance to the park for $34 p/p, a significant savings over ship excursions. The Baths was absolutely breathtaking. They were an incredible natural wonder, and the snorkeling there was great -- beautiful coral and so many fish.
We did the Discover Scuba excursion to Coki beach. Coki was a nice place for diving/snorkeling, but I wouldn't recommend it just as a beach because it was really crowded. We also walked around the shopping area by the ship, which had a nice variety of stores.
This port was beautiful. The mangroves were like nothing we had ever seen before (we liked them much more than the ones in Key West), and our kayaking tour was amazing. We were also able to go in a cave and see pre-Colombian cave drawings. After that part of the tour, we were dropped off at Cayo Levantado, which was a pristine beach. Overall, a wonderful day!
We did the Discover Scuba excursion to Coki beach. Coki was a nice place for diving/snorkeling, but I wouldn't recommend it just as a beach because it was really crowded. We also walked around the shopping area by the ship, which had a nice variety of stores.
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