Waiting to board the Norwegian Dawn	Atrium of the Norwegian Dawn	Poolside Norwegian Dawn	Italian restaurant - Norwegian Dawn	Stardust Theater - Norwegian Dawn
New York Skyline in late afternoon sun	New York Shyline from the Norwegian Dawn	Statue of Liberty from the Norwegian Dawn	Sunset and the Statue of Liberty - May 10, 2009	Statue of Liberty and Sunset
State Island Ferry 0 in the 50's this used to be a 5 cent ride	Verrazano Narrows Bridge - May 10,2009	Pier of the Verrazano bridge	Inbound to New York	Tug and Barge in tow from the Norwegian Dawn

Day 2 and 3, May 11-12,2009

The weather during these two days has not been the best for shipboard activities outside. On Monday the weather was cool and cloudy with temperatures in the high 50's to mid 60's/ On Tuesday it was still cloudy and foggy in the morning but by 1:00 Pm the sun was out and the temperatures were in the low 70's. The seas were calm the first day and a half and you couldn't notice any rock in the ships motion. On tuesday the wind had picked up and was generating 5 to 8 foot seeas with a definite rocking affect on the ship. Still not the toughest we have seen.

We have participated in some shipboard activities and enjoyed all the shows so far. We have won decks of cards and a "coozie" to keep our drinks cool at trivia but those activities will stop for us when we get to Bermuda on Day  4, Wednesday. The food has been excellent as one would expect. One of the features NCL has is anytime dining and also a range of restaurants that charge a cover charge of 10 to 25 bucks. We tried the Mexican restaurant yesterday and tonight we will be going Chinese. If we ever do this cruise line again I don't think we would try the specialty restaurants as the meals in the main dining room are just as good without any additional charge.

Thg days do go by quickly. One thing this cruise line stresses is the shopping available on board as well in Bermuda. There have been non stop seminars throughout the ship dealing with jewelry, watches etc etc. Bingo has also been stressed to the max here. It is not cheap to play bingo. It is held twice daily and the cheapest way you can play is 34 bucks for 6 cards. but they do throw in a pull tab(they sell for $20.00) as well as some raffle tickets. For 49 bucks you get 24 cards on a handheld computerized device  without a pull tab and for 89 bucks you get a hand held that will keep track of 120 games. Imagine paying $178 twice a day. We did go down to play bingo on a free card that was left in the room but we didn't win.

Another of the goings on on this ship is the fact that this is a "Star Trek" cruise. There are about 200 Treckies on the ship and it is very obvious when spotting one that they consider the Norwegian Dawn to be Starship Enterprise. I have seen several that have been dressed in Star Trek garb and when a bunch of them are together it is clear that they are on another planet.  

Day 4 - Arrival in Bermuda, Kings Wharf, Hamilton - May 13,2009

It was raining in Bermuda when we arrived at the Royal Navy Dockyards also known as King's Wharf. Bermuda has a rich naval history. After the British were forced to abandon the US ports after the American Revolution, the Royal Navy established bases in Bermuda. It was from Bermuda that the British organized the fleet that attacked Baltimore and Washington, DC during the War of 1812 and also burned down the White House  We had breakfast while waiting for the ship to clear Bermuda authorities and then left the ship around 9:00 AM for the ferry ride to Hamilton. Bermuda is a long fishhook shaped island of approximately 25 miles in length. Hamilton is the capital of the island nation and is approximately in the middle of the island. The dockyards are the only place on the island where a ship our size could dock which put us on the northern most extremity of the island. There are ferries which depart from the dockyard area for Hamilton and also St. George which is the original capital of the island and also at the most southern extremity of the island. The ferry ride to Hamilton took approximately 30 minutes and landed us right on front street in the main shopping district. Hamilton is the commercial center of Bermuda with many banks and insurance companies having their offices here. We learned that AIG has their corporate headquarters here. We first strolled up the see the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity which is an edifice dating back to the 1880's.  From there we walked over to Fort Hamilton which is on a bluff overlooking the city.

The skies didn't look to promising so we opted out to take a bus back to the ship for lunch. We had purchased three day transportation passes for our stay in Bermuda and thought this would be a good way to see some more of the island. The bus ride took over an hour to get to the Dockyard. The roads are narrow and windy and there are many stops along the way. Being shortly after noon the bus was pretty full of local people, the tourists like us just added to the crush. After lunch on the ship mom headed to the Clocktower shopping area on the other side of the harbor while I headed to the Royal Navy Maritime Museum within the Dockyard area. Some of the buildings were closed due to renovation and there was too much information there to take it all in in one afternoon. I did learn that Bermuda was not inhabited by a native population when the British came here in 1609. The islands had been charted by a Spanish explorer Juan Bermudez but he had never landed here to claim it for Spain. However the name on his map stuck. In 1609 a fleet of British ships were on the way to rescue the foundering settlement at Jamestown. One of the ships, the Sea Venture" encountered a storm and was blown and carried off course with a resulting shipwreck on Bermuda. All of the 150 on board survived and due to the ingenuity of their captain Sir Somers, they were able to build two smaller vessels on the island (Deliverance an Patience) from the local growing cedar trees. After a year they were able to continue on their journey to Jamestown and complete their mission. They had been able to re-stock their provisions from the numerous wild pigs and birds on Bermuda. After this event the British returned to occupy Bermuda. Sir Somers died at St. Georges in 1610 from a heart attack. Prior to his death he had requested that his heart be buried in Bermuda which it was while the rest of his remains were pickled in alcohol and shipped back to England. One of the displays in the commissioners house dealt with the capture of a German U Boat during WWII. The U boat was disguised and towed into Bermuda along with the captured crew. The capture was kept secret because they were able to recover the U boat battle plans as well as the code books. The U boat was towed to Chicago after the war via the St. Lawrence seaway and is now on display in the Museum of Science and Industry. I went thru this museum back in the 80's while on a seminar with BASF.

On the grounds of the museum within the fort walls they have established a commercial venture called "Dolphin Quest". For a handsome fee you can swim and pet the dolphins. In the other tanks the dolphins were putting on a show of their own without any coaching. In one tank the dolphins were chasing a huge floating soccer ball. They got so frisky they knocked it out of the tank into the other half. In this second tank a huge dolphin was curious about the goings on in the petting tank and kept elevating his body out of the body to see what was up. A pleasant afternoon.        

Arriving at Royal Dockyard Area - Bermuda	Fast Ferry to Hamilton - Bermuda	Parked Mo-Peds, Hamilton, Bermuda	Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity - Hamilton, Bermuda	Interior of Cathedral - Hamilton, Bermuda
Parliament building - Hamilton, Bermuda	St. Andrews Church, Hamilton, Bermuda	View of Hamilton from Fort Hamilton, Bermuda	Cenopath Monument, Honoring war heroes.	Along Front St. Hamilton, Bermuda
Typical street scene, Hamilton, Bermuda	Dockyards Area, Kings Wharf, Bermuda	Dolphins at the Dolphin Quest in Dockyard Area	Dolphin in the air at the Dolphin Quest	Dolphin at the Dolphin Quest
Commissioners House at the Royal Maritime Museum, Bermuda	"Sheep may safely graze" at the Maritime Museum	The view to sea from the Maritime museum - so peaceful	Painting in the Commisioners House art display	Norwegian Dawn from the balcony of the Commissioners House

 

Day 5, Kings Wharf to St. Georges, Bermuda - May 14,2009

Today we visited the other major town in Bermuda, St. Georges. It is named after Capt. Sir George Somers whose efforts in the 1609 venture to save Jamestown in Virginia lead to the eventual settlement of Bermuda. We took the morning ferry which took less than an hour. On the way over one of the ferry workers was talking about life on Bermuda with its 67k inhabitants.  Many wealthy US personalities own property on Bermuda among them Michael Douglas, Mayor Blumberg of New York, and Ross Perault. He said that some Bermudians had sold their properties for big $$ and moved to Florida into more modest housing but then after this nest egg was spent couldn't come back to their paradise and find suitable housing. Just another example of the grass looking greener somewhere else.

After arriving at St. Georges we saw the replica of one of the ships built to replace the wrecked Sea Venture and the bronze statue of Sir George Somers. A teacher had a class seated around the statue and was going over the history of the birth of Bermuda. She led an animated discussion with the students. We then strolled the winding streets of St. Goerges and mom and I both agreed that St. Georges was a more pleasant place to visit. It is a laid back town with pretty pastel colored houses and lacks the crowding of the Hamilton. We strolled up the the Lily Bermuda Perfumery where we got a tour of the perfume factory - a 10 by 20 room that does it all. the perfumer works 2 to 3 days a week and is a one man show. The ladies in the store sold his goods and mom bought some after trying about 8 scents. We walked over to the St. Peters Cathedral which was started in the 1612 time frame. A wooden structure with a tile roof surrounded by the requisite cemetery. Ken and Jeanne then headed back to the ferry for a return to the ship while mom and I went over to the bus stop to take a #6 bus to see the St. Davids Lighhouse. We enjoyed the bus ride as it was more relaxed than the ride of yesterday.

St. Davids Lighhouse is in a spectacular location. The views from the top were unbelievable in all directions. On top of all that, there was no charge for visiting. There were 85 easy steps to the top. Mom waited downstairs and upon leaving the lighthouse another man was coming in to climb up. We started to talk to the older gentleman living next door to the light house. He explained that living there in the wintertime is a cold affair as the wind blows from all 4 directions and the humidity is bone chilling. The gentleman in the lighthouse came down and offered to take mom and me back to St. Georges. We accepted  and learned that he was taking his mother out for a ride and was doing his good deed for the day. He told us that he travels to the US on many occasions for business and that he had also gone to Boston for an operation and needed to go back for a checkup. An interesting character but not as interesting as the old man with two canes that we saw on the bus. He was wearing a had with rooster feathers all around the brim and his T shirt had some reference to an Indian Tribe. Back in St. Georges we learned that many of the people in St. Davids area claim to have Indian blood and that this gentleman happens to be the most vocal and visible.

Back in St. Georges we stopped at a local restaurant and had a Bermuda Fish Chowder for lunch. Quite tasty. After this we returned to the ship on the ferry and did whatever people on a cruise ship do - eat. Of the two full days on Bermuda I enjoyed this day more than Hamilton.

 

Towel Elephant	Kings Wharf at Sunrise - Bermuda	Replica of Deliverance in St. Georges	Statue of Sir Somers in St. Georges	St. Georges Waterfront
City Hall - St. Georges	Punishment Stocks in St. Georges town square	The shoppers heading up Water Street	Houses in St. Georges	Water Street Further up in St. Georges
St. Georges -see the bus on the right	Home owned by first freed slave in Bermuda - 1795	Oleander blossom at the perfume factory - St. Georges	St. Peters Cathedral - St. Georges	Cemetery surrounding St. Peters, St. Georges
St. Davids Lighthouse	St. Davids Lighthouse St. Davids Lighthouse	View from St. Davids Lighthouse	View from St. Davids Lighthouse	View from restaurant in St. Georges

Day 6, Kings Wharf Bermuda  - May 15,2009

Today we had until 4:30 Pm to conclude our investigation of Bermuda. Mom wanted to do some shopping at the Clocktower area in the Dockyards and I wanted to see the other lighhouse on the island. The Gibbs Hill lighthouse is reported to be the tallest steel tube lighthouse in the world. Everybody said that the lighthouse is not to be missed and that even Queen Elizabeth had visited here. I do not know if she climbed the 185 steps to get to the top like I and others did today. I took the bus and then had to walk up the hill for about a half mile and then do about 40 concrete steps before tackling the 185 inside the tube. The views from the top were pretty and you could see the Norwegian Dawn in the distance about 8 miles away.

While waiting for the return bus I was able to see a pink sand beach. Some girls at the bus stop had been on the beach and when I asked them if the water was cold they told me that they never got into the water. There had been many ants on the beach as some strange jumping bugs and that they had abandoned their mission. On of the girls was wearing a bikin top and when the bus came, the bujs driver would not let her on the bus until she put a shirt on over the top. Ken and Jeanne also happened to be on the bus and said that the bus driver had threatened another passenger with a fine if he didn't discard his soda can before getting on the bus.

Back on the ship after a short shopping stop by me, we watched the stragglers hurrying back to the ship for the departure. A runner about 5 minutes late was cheered on like he was coming across the finish line at a marathon race. These cheers turned to boos when the last stragglers walked on about 45 minutes past the required time. We pulled away from the dock around 5:30 PM.  So ended three pleasant days in Bermuda. We could live here but couldn't afford it.

 

Kings Wharf at Sunrise	Gibbs Hill Lighthouse	Norwegian Dawn from Gibbs Hill Lighthouse	View from Gibbs Hill Lighthouse	View from Gibbs Hill Lighthouse - Norwegian Dawn in distance
View from Gibbs Hill Lighthouse	Inside Lens of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse	Gibbs Hill Lighthouse	Morninglory - Bermuda Style	Gibbs Hill Lighthouse
St. Anns Church	Beach along south shore	One of many Pink Sand beaches along the South Shore	Along the South Shore	Departing from Kings Wharf

Day 7, At Sea -Bermuda to New York - May 16,2009

Last day at sea on this pleasant vacation. After morning trivia which we didn't win, we spent the time wandering the ships stores for the last time. The main daily activity was the crew's talent show at 3:00 PM. Various crew members sand and danced with the grand finale of the Fountain. The finale was hyped all day on the loudspeakers as involving 800 k gallons of water and 25 participants. During the performance we were advised that the finale had run into technical difficulties and that the 800 k gallons would not be possible and that the 25 participants had been cut to 8 as the costumes had been ruined when the pipes for the 800 k gallons burst. This all turned out to be quite funny as the finale involved 8 of the crew staff wrapped in bath towels carrying jugs of water. On signal they filled their mouths with water in unison and then proceeded to imitate figures at fountains with the discharge of the water on each other. Very humorous. We concluded the day with the entertainment show in the theater with an excellent magician as well as a performance by Dave Keenan the comedian who put on a great show on the first day of the cruise. After that it was off to pack and get the suitcases out into the hall by 1:00 AM.

Sunrise on the Atlantic - May 16	Show Band at the Crew Talent Show	Bali Dancer at the Talent Show	Singer at the Talent Show	Fountains Finale to Talent Show
Fountains Finale at Talent Show	Fountains Finale at the Talent Show	Fountains Finale Talent Show	Fountains Finale - Talent show	Fountains Finale - Talent Show

Day 8,  Arrival in New York - May 17,2009

I woke up at 4:00 am and looked out of the balcony to see a solid fog in front of me. By 7:00 am it had lifted and we were heading up the Hudson past the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. I stayed out on the balcony until we passed 42nd street and at 7:30 AM Ken and Jeanne knocked on the door for our last breakfast on the ship. We weren't scheduled to get off the ship until 9:30 am but we decided to walk off at around 9:15. We predicted correctly that all the luggage would be already sorted by color code in the luggage area. It was real easy to find and by 10:00 am we had passed thru customs without any problems and were in the car heading for the Lincoln Tunnel. However the Lincoln Tunnel was lost but the Holland Tunnel was found. With no appreciable traffic, we were home by 11:30 AM. A great trip.

Returning under the Verazano Bridge	New York Skyline on a Cloudy raw morning	42nd St. from the Norwegian Dawn on the Hudson	Intrepid Carrier Museum on the Hudson River

Dining and other experiences on the cruise,

Time to switch gears and talk a bit about the cruising experience. NCL advertises their cruises as freestyle dining which basically means that you have the choice of which restaurant you will dine at and at what time. There is no early or late seating. For those that don't like the idea of having the same service staff and every night and getting the opportunity to meet passengers on a more regular basis this is fine. The Norwegian Dawn had numerous specialty restaurants to chose from in addition to the two dining halls as well as the top side buffet style restaurant. For the specialty restaurants, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Steak House, Italian, French  etc. reservations  are generally recommended. There is a restaurant surcharge between $10.00 to $25.00 per person depending on the restaurant. Reservations could also be made for the main dining hall - the Venetian. We dined at two of the specialty restaurants Mexican and Chinese and the rest of the time we took the evening meal at the Venetian. We also took breakfast and lunch at the Venetian on most days. These of course are on a first come basis. In the early part of the cruise we would go to the Venetian at 6:00 PM and get right in. For the last two nights on the cruise we even made reservations in the Venetian because we noticed long waiting times for even the main restaurant. In a way the pre assigned "Early/Late" Dining scheme has the benefit that you don't have to go making reservations. WE found the quality of the food to be excellent. If you left the dining hall hungry it was your own fault as you could order as much food as you wanted.  .   

Evening entertainment on the ship was provided by various music groups performing in the many bars  and a dance group in the main theater. Besides that there was also an excellent comedian and a magician that performed on the main stage as well as a traveling group from Second City. There was enough to keep you entertained on the shop. The cruise staff led various activities poolside as well as in the larger theaters - Spinnaker Lounge and Stardust Theater. Three of the events we attended were the Liars Club, Newlywed Game, and the Perfect Couple. Most of these were aimed at an adult audience. The comedian and Second City scheduled some late night appearances aimed specifically to an adult audience. There were more kids on this cruise than I had ever seen on other ships. I would rate the entertainment on the Norwegian Dawn as better than good.

The only thing that I could quote as a negative to me would be the constant hawking of the raffle tickets and punch cards before each theater performance. They would sell the punch cards at 5 for $20 with an opportunity to win $2000. I believe that two of these top winners were given out. Bingo was also one of the items that was pushed in my opinion to an excess.

 

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