Enjoy NCL ships, cruises, crew, food and entertainment. Always room for improvement. Cruising for 25 years, have seen so many changes, so many little things that cruise lines no longer do, disappointing to see so many changes over the years. What happened to the mint on the pillow? First cruise that I did not have 1 single mint!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
One of the best and easiest embarkations we've experienced in 10 NCL cruises.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Moderno is yum and sooo much food. Le Bistro is good, some guests commented they would have liked more to eat. Bamboo is always good. Buffet offers some very good choices.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Mostly enjoy socializing on the pool deck/bar. Unfortunately the pool bar has been downsized which makes the area hectic. Pool bar access needs to be reassessed for better servicing patrons. Set up with bandstand on pool deck makes is difficult to see activities that take place around the pool.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Enjoy most of the live entertainment. Enjoy island music when travelling in the Caribbean. There were some good choices.
Children's Programs
Did not have children travelling with us.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Bar service is always fantastic, great bartenders and servers, friendly and accommodating. Room steward was very accommodating with trying to reconfigure our room to place a bed away from emergency call button, it took a few days but we finally did it. Third night finally got to sleep as was not inadvertently hitting the call button in the middle of the night. Very disappointed that bar service was not suspended during the Veterans Day service on the pool deck making it difficult to hear the commentators and entertainers when a blender is burring. Captains messages are always difficult to hear both in cabin and on deck.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Crew and entertainment are great. Food is good, specialty restaurants can be great, some offer huge portions, others can be a bit shy. We enjoyed great weather and calm seas. Have sailed on the Dawn 5 times. Like some of the changes made during reburbishing, however not all. The pool bar design is definitely worse than ever, with less seating and difficult access. Not to mention, 2 bar stools that were broken last year were not repaired. Putting yellow cones over broken seats was a hazard and witnessed several passengers trip. We miss the BBQs on deck, watching the prep and cooking process was entertainment; to be replaced by the grill that is now one half of the bar. Saw a lot of frustration with passengers trying to access bar service, bar tenders directing passengers to the areas with the broken chairs, resulting in passengers not being served in order of arrival and negative comments were abundant. Less than stellar set up.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Size of cabin & bath were good. Cleanliness good. Balcony could have been bigger and cleaner. Have had nicer cabins and balconies on other cruise lines. Prefer a balcony with chaise lounge for reading comfort vs. an uncomfortable chair.
Ship tip
Try Bamboo, Moderno, Cagney's & Los Lobos if possible.
Pretty little island. Not crazy about the art deco hotel at the pier, it detracts from the waterfront. Enjoyed walking about town, shops and interesting streets, somewhat of a language barrier with vendors.
Enjoyed St Lucia very much, beautiful island, wonderful people. Hired a recommended local to take us around and it was a great day! We got to meet many islanders and spend time enjoying the island life. Best experience of the cruise.
Pretty place. Just walked locally off the pier and visited a few shops and outdoor cafe. Enjoyed some of the island pets, the green velvet monkeys, adorable.
We were re-routed to St. Thomas. Would have liked to see St. Croix. Read article online that St. Croix people were very disappointed that our itinerary was changed last minute as they had worked very hard preparing for the ship's arrival.
Had visited St. Thomas before. Dislike the main street very much with all the gem stores, waste of time and too commercial. Visited local Smokeys BBQ Tiki Bar. Food looked great! Several line workers from the States were at the bar for lunch and it was obvious they visited often on lunch break as the food is good. Bar/restaurant was not quite prepared for the influx from the ship, in dire need of more employees. Food looked great, local drinks not so much. Hopefully will be better in time as recovery progresses.
3rd visit to San Juan, however not to this pier. We did not spend much time in San Juan. Airport was up and running and comfortable while waiting for flight.
We had queried on multiple occasions about taxi service in San Juan. Initially we were informed there would be no problem. As the week progressed we were informed differently, that taxi service would be limited. In a panic many opted for NCL transfers via motor coach to the airport. Upon departing airport, there were at least 100 taxis waiting at the ship terminal waiting for passengers. We were so disappointed and felt NCL should have had better information for passengers. We would have preferred to travel with local vendors in light of the recent devastation to the island to assist local economy. Disembarkation was fine, bus was fine. Just disappointed with NCL for not providing better information and encouraging passengers to buy a transfer through NCL.
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