Great family cruise!

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 53

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Norwegian Dawn

7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 22, 2015

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

We cruised Thanksgiving week with two young children.  The Dawn is a lovely ship and just the right size for us.  We had two connecting balcony rooms on the 10th floor.  Our room steward was fabulous!  The Dawn has really nice kids amenities including a fabulous kids club!   We enjoyed breakfast and lunch daily at the buffet, and the kids liked the children's buffet area with small tables.  The dinosaur pool in the back of the ship was also a big hit and provided hours of entertainment.  The dinosaur pool however is not near any drink/bar service, and no adult seating.  We preferred the Aqua dining room over the Venetian as we found the staff to be friendlier with a more intimate atmosphere.  The food was very good, both in the buffets and dining rooms.  We had the unlimited drink package.  Most bar service was fine except for the pool bar which was hit or miss.  We really enjoyed our week and are booked again on the Dawn for next Thanksgiving.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
The Aqua dining room was very nice. The buffet food was better than the other cruise lines that I have been on, and the kids buffet area was a big hit with our kids.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Our kids really enjoyed the kids club (happy kids = happy parents)!

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
Fabulous kids club!!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
We had two connecting balcony cabins. No complaints. Excellent cabin steward. Really liked the extra room of two connecting cabins.

Ship tip

Take time to explore the ship when you first arrive. We found a lot of neat bars, etc. later in the cruise. Make reservations for the specialty restaurants early as the popular times will be taken quickly.

Ports of call

New Orleans, Louisiana

5 out of 5
Enjoy New Orleans. Many kid-friendly activities also such as the Louisiana Children's Museum, Audubon Zoo (with a great lazy river/water park in the summer), City Park, Aquarium of the Americas.

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

3 out of 5

Belize City, Belize

1 out of 5
Hate the tendering process in Belize. Hopefully will be at the private island next year.

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5
Go into town (take the $ 3 trolley at the end of the port). You can walk along the Melacon (beach walkway) and find several restaurants/beach clubs to hang out at. Very safe and reasonable. Not built-up and more of a rustic feel. Had a wonderful beach day!
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1 Comment

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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