rocknrobn26 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Overall we had a very nice time. We cruised (NCL Dawn) from NY to Halifax to St. John to Bar Harbor (our fave) to Bahston (love the accents there) to Newport and back to NY. Now on to the eval... THE GOOD: The food on the ship was great. On previous cruises it ran from OK to very good, but we had great meals this trip, nothing to complain about and the "Freestyle Cruising" meant no set time for dinner, nor dress-up, w/ no hassle reservations for the specialty restaurants (for us Italian & Teppanyaki). granted we only did the buffet twice out of necessity...I do NOT like buffets. They were typical. The tours we took were top notch. Did a photography tour w/ a Pro photographer who took us to places that the other tours did not. Great photo ops. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and catered to all the levels of expertise. He has a great portfolio. Shows were decent. I got a chance to get on stage w/ the magician and the "cut the lady in half trick". I wrapped a leather collar on her and kept the attached strap taut. It never went slack. I know how the trick is done, but still curious about how he did it w/o her moving. Embarking and disembaking was a breeze. Best/fastest we've ever been thru. Very efficient. The shows were good, be it all w/ a comedian that was trying to be Shecky Greene/Rickles. Really old stuff, but one joke was really funny: A guy is in a restaurant and gets his burger w/ a big fingerprint in the middle of the bun. He asks the waiter "Why is there a big fingerprint on the bun?" The waiter says "I didn't want to drop it on the floor again!" bada bum We took a mini suite w/ balcony. Nice space, plenty of room, but read the ugly later. I would never take a cruise w/o a balcony as per spain's advice. I can't imagine an interior room. THE BAD: Booze!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $6.61/ drink. $7 for the bar in the room which was actually better! (1.5oz vs 1.8oz) And they measure it like a lab asst. doing urine tests! No overflow at all. 1.5oz to perfection. I tried my Vegas trick of tipping big on the first drink, but the mofo bartenders were like robots. Got drunk the first night (mostly on the booze I brought myself), but after that was totally sober, even though our liquor bill was prolly $400. The wife had a few. Ship maintenance: One day no water between 10am-3pm. Bad timing. Next day the toilet wouldn't flush for close to an hour between 8-9am. Bad timing. Another day there was no cold water from 10am-3pm. Thank God the toidy worked that day! Everyday there were water leaks from the ceiling in the hallway. Buckets all over the place. Sugg to NCL....FIX THE F'N SHIP BEFORE A CRUISE OR DO MAINTENANCE IN THE WEE HOURS!!!! The sea: One night the ship was pitching and rolling real bad. We had a 47 knot crosswind (gotta convert that later to mph) and I knew it was bad when a steward was placing barf bags by all the elevators. Yeah, the Mrs. lost it that night even though she was wearing the patch. Rolf in the trough! I did fine though I was close to giving it up. No patch. It was nasty bouncing off the gateway bulkheads getting back to the room. The Limo from Newark: I got a guaranteed price of $69 including tip from Newark to the docks. Got in the limo and the driver demanded cash. OK I had it but when we got to the docks the mofo added a $10 parking fee! I paid it but decided to do a cab thing back to Newark. Screw them. Words of advice.... "DON'T USE LINCOLN LIMO!" THE UGLY: The bathroom! Actually the bathroom wasn't bad. Nice sink area, full tub w/ a hand held shower. But the toilet area was meant for munchkins! Picture... Jeebus, My shoulders touched both bulkheads! I had to invent a new way to wipe! Being a back to front wiper (Yeah I know...TMI) wasn't going to work. I had to develop a sideways technique. And the TP they give you is sooooo thin that your finger pokes thru it no matter what!!! Even the Mrs. had problems. Anyway we got thru it and we were clean! A bidet would have been nice. That's it. More if if yall want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Picture... That photography class is really paying off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big F'n Dave Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I had to invent a new way to wipe! Being a back to front wiper (Yeah I know...TMI) wasn't going to work. I had to develop a sideways technique. And the TP they give you is sooooo thin that your finger pokes thru it no matter what!!! Even the Mrs. had problems. That's it. More if if yall want it. No, Tom, I think we're good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 THE BAD: Booze!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $6.61/ drink. $7 for the bar in the room which was actually better! (1.5oz vs 1.8oz) And they measure it like a lab asst. doing urine tests! No overflow at all. 1.5oz to perfection. I tried my Vegas trick of tipping big on the first drink, but the mofo bartenders were like robots. Got drunk the first night (mostly on the booze I brought myself), but after that was totally sober, even though our liquor bill was prolly $400. The wife had a few. You didn't bring some of your own booze on board? That's the best way I've found (along with buying some on port when you can bring it back without a hassle) to keep the bar tab down. They basically sell the tickets cheap and make the shows free so you spend money at the bar/casino. Still sounds like you had a decent time. I wish I had a cruise coming up. It's been awhile since me and the wife had a real vacation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 You didn't bring some of your own booze on board? That's the best way I've found (along with buying some on port when you can bring it back without a hassle) to keep the bar tab down. They basically sell the tickets cheap and make the shows free so you spend money at the bar/casino. Still sounds like you had a decent time. I wish I had a cruise coming up. It's been awhile since me and the wife had a real vacation. I brought a pint and a half, but killed that the first 3 days. They are now scanning all bags brought back to the ship (on our previous cruise they didn't do that), AND are confiscating booze when you get back on the ship! I saw one guy get his fifth pulled out and another w/ a bottle of wine. Supposedly they got them back on disembarkation. We did have a decent time and I got some free drinks in the casino. The pit boss felt I was treating his dealers/servers well (at least that's what he said and I was tipping). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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