Disappointed with NCL
Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York
12 Night Canada & New England (New York Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 14, 2007
Ship: Norwegian Dawn
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 14 years ago
Review summary
My overall impression with the Norwegian Dawn was that the ship lacked a good manager and employee recruiter. Most of the service employees came from the Phillipines. There was very little ethnic diversity in the service crew who are the employees that the guests have most contact with while on the ship. Most employees spoke little to no English on a cruise which toured New England. My sister, who is a dietician, pointed out several food service violations. Some of the guests became ill, including my sister who was constantly washing her hands, and were, subsequently, confined to their rooms for 24hrs or left the ship entirely. Whenever we asked a crew member if any of the crew were sick, the answer was an emphatic "no." Highly suspicious when there were approximately 1200 crew members. They made the guests feel the illness came from them, when in all likleyhood, it probably came from the crew through poor food service policies and/or follow-through with policies that should have been followed. The entertainment on the ship was acceptable keeping in mind that you are on a ship. The spa was nice but was closed at the end of the cruise, other than expensive spa services, for a couple days for "sanitizing." Although there is a ten dollar per person "service" charge per day, tips were added to spa services, alcohol and soda purchases. Other than the buffet, most restaurants had ten to twenty dollar service charges per person. Those restaurants were better than the buffet and other restaurants not having a service charge, but easily could have been better, even considering the limitations of being on a ship. Desserts were not very special. Overall, we called the "Free Style Cruising" "Free to Charge." My husband and I cruised with Royal Carribean for an Alaskan Cruise on the Radiance of the Seas about five years ago. The ship was not "Free Style Cruising" and was much better managed and the food was very good both in taste and presentation. The crew were from diifferent parts of the world and spoke English very well. Maybe it is the recent economic changes around the world and cruise lines cannot afford to hire preferable employees. Whatever the case, I will not be cruising with NCL again. **Remember, you can opt out of the daily service charges if you want. They do this as a "convenience" to you. They cannot make you pay those charges. I do not believe this kind of "convenience" encourages the employees to "go the extra mile" for you. At a minimum, they should allow you to determine who gets those tips.Ports of call
Pros: Fitness Room
Cons: Food
Recommends Norwegian Dawn? No.
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