Great first-time cruise experience!

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

WilliamF14

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Eastern Caribbean (San Juan To Tampa)

Sail date: March 22, 2007

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 17 years ago

Review summary

Since this was our first time on a cruise, we can't make a comparison. We thought the Grand Atrium was impressive with the 4 glass elevators. Lots of public areas. Never felt confined. We enjoyed walking all around the ship and met many friendly persons. Unfortunately, sometime between leaving our luggage at the NY Pier and its arrival at our cabin, 3 of our 5 pieces were badly stained with grease -- several other passengers had the same complaint! At 4:30am on our fifth day, we were rudely awakened by loud noises above us. We called the Reception Desk and were told that an emergency had occurred -- broken sprinkler pipe which flooded several rooms above our deck. Furniture was removed and the rooms were recarpeted. The noise continued until 10pm that night. Hopefully, this was a rare occurrence.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

More than 200 chefs presented us with an excellent variety -- 5 course meals in Aqua, Venetian and Impressions Restaurants were exceptional. Cagney's Steakhouse Restaurant was a cut above, but the Salsa and La Trattoria Restaurants were just OK. Reservations for the latter were difficult to obtain. The Garden Cafe Buffet had a large variety for all meals and we especially enjoyed the grilled vegetables, fresh fruit and bakery items.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

The entertainment in the Stardust Theater every night was excelltent! And the Big Time Quartet that played each evening from 6pm to 10pm in the Grand Atrium was our favorite. During the 5 port stops, we took tour excursions which we found informative but overpriced. The ports we visited were San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tottola, BVI, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, USVI and Samana, Dominican Republic.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our cabin stewarts and all the personnel we spoke to were pleasant, helpful and went above and beyond for us. The Cruise Director, Jimmy, was a "Hoot."

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Very clean public areas and easy to navigate around.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We had a balcony stateroom on the Starboard side --mid ship, 10th deck where we watched the sunsets and sunrises. The tenders being deployed and returned, and the docking into ports were amazing to watch. The room was large enough for us. It was cleaned daily but some of the furniture looked tired -- tables were scratched and the bedspread looked worn. The overall appearance was good with beautiful wood built-in cabinets and the bed was comfortable. Our 10th deck mid ship location was close to the elevators and the public areas.