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User Review – travelmasseuse

Norwegian Cruise Lines (http://www.ncl.com) is a fantastic cruise line with amazing service, great activities, & great destinations. In March 2007, I went on the Norwegian Dawn for a 10-day cruise to the Caribbean. Our ports-of-call were Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten/Martin, Tortola, & the Dominican Republic, & began our journey at a port in New York City. I went with three friends (all in our 20’s), & we shared an inside stateroom for $700 each. NCL charges each passenger $10 per day for tipping (so there is no need to tip while on board, they already cover it). So the grand total was actually $800. Still, an amazing deal.

Things To Do:

You can play “life-size” Chess on one of the top decks, basketball, tennis, go for a jog on the track, play games in the board game room, or video games in the arcade, play Bingo to win cool stuff, go swimming, relax in the Jacuzzi, bid at auctions, take dance or language lessons, & plenty more.

Places To Go:

This ship is a floating city. You can see a film in the Movie Theater, get treatments (massages, manicures, pedicures, etc) or hit up the gym at the El Dorado Spa & Fitness Center, drink & dance at Dazzles Lounge, see a live show at the Stardust Theater, listen to live bands at The Spinnaker Lounge, & tons more.

On-Board Dining:

My friends & I were in our glory with the on-board dining. Everything was all-inclusive, which meant we could eat all day & not pay for a thing. What my friends & I enjoyed the most was the 24/7 FREE room service. The Venetian restaurant was beautiful & had delicious, fancy food. I can still taste their Chocolate Soufflé. When we wanted diner grub, we went to The Blue Lagoon. We also liked the buffet every morning in The Garden Cafe. There was also a delicious Ice Cream buffet by the pool. They had quite a variety of things to choose from. All of this food was free. The only time we paid extra was when dining at Cagney’s Steakhouse. This restaurant, along with a few other ones, had reasonable cover charges.

Our Cabin:

Being on a tight budget, we stayed in the most inexpensive room they had to offer. All the way towards the bottom of the ship, the 4 of us shared an inside stateroom. We had a TV, mini-fridge, closets, drawers, & a safe for our passports. 2 comfy twin beds were there, while the 3rd bed was a pullout underneath 1 of them. The 4th bed (mine) pulled out from the wall. It was a cozy fit & not nearly as bad as it sounds. The bathroom was great even though it was small. There was a decent shower (with plenty of room that allows for women to easily shave), a sink, counter, toilet, towel rack, plug outlets for hair dryers, & of course, a mirror. It’s a great room if you just use it for sleeping & bathing. Although, we hooked up a computer with a DVD player, & watched a few movies, too.

Ports Of Call:

-Puerto Rico:
San Juan, Puerto Rico was lovely. After getting off the ship, we walked all over the cobblestone town, & visited Fort San Cristobal, overlooking the ocean. It was beautiful. We had dinner & Pina Colada’s at the famous Barrachina. That restaurant is the home of the 1st ever Pina Colada. In The Travel Channel TV show, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Anthony actually visited this restaurant. The wait staff remembers the day they filmed. After dinner, my friends & I went to Senor Frogs & had a grand ‘ol time drinking & dancing.

-Tortola:
Tortola, British Virgin Islands, was absolutely beautiful. We took a mini-van up & over a mountain to the other side of the island. We made it to a beautiful beach & swam in the crystal clear water, walked the shore, & bought a freshly picked coconut from a native who was selling them from his wheelbarrow. We drank the juice, & then he took a machete & sliced it in half so we could eat the coconut meat. It was delicious. After that, we walked into a laid-back beach restaurant & ordered sandwiches. After the van ride back to port, we shopped around at local tents pitched on the dusty ground, & then got back on the ship.

-St. Maarten/Martin:
“The Friendly Island.” Half of this island is owned by the Dutch (The Netherlands), & the other half is owned by the French (France). The main languages are English, French, & Dutch. This island was beautiful & a paradise for tourists who love to shop. I bought most of my souvenirs here (Belgian chocolates, Cuban cigars, playing cards, etc). Our ship arrived on the French side, & after a while we decided to take a water-taxi over to the Dutch side. The popular European alcoholic drink, Absinthe (AKA The Green Fairy), is legal here. It’s illegal in America because it makes some people hallucinate. So if you want to try this drink without flying to Europe, come to St. Maarten/Martin.

-St. Thomas:
Another island that is great for tourists. Lots of jewelry shops, watch stores, sunglass boutiques, etc. The beach was nice & you can rent snorkeling equipment. Be prepared to have locals fight over you. The small businesses here, such as taxi services, are very competitive with each other.

-Dominican Republic:
Quite possibly my favorite port on the itinerary, Samana, Dominican Republic, was FANTASTIC. I spoke with some fellow cruise passengers afterward who said they hated it. I realized that’s because they just spent the entire day on a mediocre beach, with locals trying to sell them stuff. My friends & I, however, decided to be adventurous. We met a local named Jorge, who was not affiliated with the cruise line in any way, but offered to take us on a cheap tour. It was only $15. We decided to go for it. We crammed into an “open” bus, & rode to a nearby store. Jorge bought a bag of wrapped hard candy, & a big bottle of Rum & plastic cups. He poured each of us a drink, but we couldn’t drink much because the ride was rough, & we kept spilling it on each other. It resulted in wet shirts & good laughter. We rode up the dusty hills into the local villages. Huts & tiny houses surrounded us, & we handed the candy to barefooted children with smiles on their faces.

Jorge then took us to a big hut with bamboo benches, & educated us about the local foods. We all tried cocoa plants, fresh coconut dishes, coffee beans, raw sugar cane, freshly picked bananas, a strong root drink, & freshly ground chocolate that was made in the jungle. We then took a 10-minute walk into the rainforest to a beautiful waterfall. Before getting back on the bus, we all bought some of the delicious foods we tried earlier (I bought coconut mix, root drink, coffee, & a brick of dry cocoa). All the money went to local families who worked to harvest & prepare the produce for us.

Our last stop was the local beach (the one that other cruise passengers weren’t fond of). It wasn’t crystal clear blue water with white sand, but we didn’t find it to be that bad. We did some shopping in pitched tents (I bought a beautiful painting for only $10), had a couple of drinks at a beach bar, & then rode back to the ship.

Link to TravelMasseuse Photos and Videos.