New England at its Best

Item: Norwegian Dawn
Rating: 4
Author: TerriL3

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York

TerriL3

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 70

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night New England Showcase (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 07, 2006

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 18 years ago

Review summary

We just returned from a week on board the Norwegian Dawn for her "Showcase of New Englnd" cruise. It was overall a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The ports of call were wonderful and the tours we participated in were well done. We discovered we are not fans of "freestyle dining" as the dress codes are not enforced in the main restaurants which is quite disappointing. We were seated across from a couple in jeans, tennis shoes and t-shirt on "elegant attire" night. You can't always get into a specialty restaurant and waiting lines are common for the main restaurants. NCL also allows smoking in all of its lounges except one (13th deck) where the entertainment was not what we were looking for. The lounge entertainment was geared at a slightly older crowd than us. Certain cruises might consider publishing the average age of their cruisers! The ship was kept clean, the staff was friendly and our needs were more than adequately met. We had a beautiful week of blue skies and sunshine. We would have enjoyed one more day at sea to enjoy the ship, but I don't know which port I would want to miss!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Unless you reserved early getting a convenient time to a speciality restaurant was difficult. 5:30 and 9:00 pm are not covenient dining times. If you didn't wish to pay the extra service charge then you would end up in line for one of the main restaurants.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Variety was good.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Smoking was a problem for us and the group we were traveling with. You could not escape it at night. Freestyle dining means you can expect to wait for a table on most nights.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Room was clean, but the layout was terrible. We played a week long game of musical doors; if someone was using the closet and had the door open no one could get in or out of the bathroom. They just need to be offset. It would have been chaos with more than 2 people. The bed was comfortable. Our balcony room was in a convenient location on the 9th deck.

Ports of call

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

5 out of 5

A storybook port! It was Sunday and we attend Mass at a local parish which was quaint and special.

Thumbs Up 2

Don't Miss: All the beautiful cottages.

Newport, Rhode Island

5 out of 5

If you have a friend who can get you in, the view from the New York Yacht Club of Narraganset Bay is stunning! Unfortunately it is a "members only" establishment.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: The Breakers

Bar Harbor, Maine

5 out of 5

Acadia National Park was well worth the tour and the Whale's Tale Tavern serves very good clam chowder.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Acadia National Park

Boston, Massachusetts

5 out of 5

Bustling, busy city. The appetizers at Cheers in the Boston Market were good.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Freedom Walk