Expected far better

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 50

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Dawn

7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 16, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 11527

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

There really is so much to say but lack the time and space to do so. The big issue was the water. I was told by 20 employees, at different times and place on-board if the water in our cabin's bathroom was consumable. I was told by 17 that the water was not consumable. 2 employees told me that they were unsure, and 1 employee told me that not only was the water not consumable, but that we should rinse our mouths out extra well with bottled water, I would like to also mention that there were no posted signs nor any literature in the cabin about the drinking water (other than the prices for bottled water packages for extortionary prices). After all of this, i sat down with the Hotel Director, who when told of my woes, he addressed my concerns and told me that the water was absolutely safe to drink, and added that he drinks the tap water in his cabin daily.

Smoking: As you board the ship, you are barraged with announcements over the PA system, one of them is in regards to smoking and state that the only smoking sections on the exterior of the ship are on decks 7 and 12 on the right side of the ship, and that there are two smoking places interior at the cigar lounge (d6) and the casino (d7). The last part of the announcement specifically adds that if there is any confusion of places which are permitted to smoke to remember this rule, "If there is an Ashtray, you are good to smoke there.".. This is not accurate, of our group there are 8 families present, 6 of our bathrooms have an ashtray, but one of our group members were hit with a 250$ room cleaning fee despite the error being on the NCL's straff.
Lastly, be sure to clarify and bundle/package bonuses, Our group was given a Dining incentive package that gave the individual adult group members 3 credits to the premiere dining. At the time of being issued, the NCL crewmember said that these credits could be used at any of the restaurants which was not included as a "free to eat" places, with an exclusion being the Bamboo Sushi restaurant (d7). My wife attempted to dine at 3 of these pay-locations, each time we were told that the Universal Dining Package (UDP) was not included. A big waste of money.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

Ship tip

No available seats while waiting for elevators, some 5+ minutes wait only for the ele to skip your floor!

Ports of call

New Orleans, Louisiana

3 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

3 out of 5

Harvest Caye, Belize

1 out of 5
A NCL exclusive island, spoon fed a resort. Left sorely disappointed there was nothing authentic. Take an excursion instead!

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

3 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5
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10 Comments

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Castiel    7 years ago

So you counted 20 employees? Did you even enjoy your cruise? That seems silly and a huge waste of time.

dohertys74    7 years ago

Which restaurants are included and which do you pay for?

TrishZ1950    7 years ago

I'm somewhat skeptical of reviews posted by people who do not have any cruises listed on their profile page.

dreniere    7 years ago

sorry that you where so poorly informed. I have been on the Dawn 10 times and assure you that the tap water was indeed safe to drink. As far as the ash trays in the bathroom there is one in the toilet of the balcony cabins but Norwegians smoking policy changed not allowing smoking in any cabin or balcony (clearly stated in faq). smoking section is on deck 12, 7, sometimes 13 on the port (left) side of the ship. The dinning package is accepted at all resturants except the sushi. hopes this helps future passengers

stardancer    7 years ago

we have used the dining packages at everything except sushi. I think you were mistaking the soap dishes for ashtrays. They haven't had ashtrays in cabins for over 5 years.

Sully1022    7 years ago

matt2paige    7 years ago

We had the specialty dining plan, we ate at La Cucina, Cagney's, Monderno, & Los Lobos. No one refused us. Not sure what you are talking about. Plus we made our reservations 90 days in advance to get the dinner time we wanted.

Kathy717    7 years ago

Also the sushi is a la carte.

Kathy717    7 years ago

which of the specialty restaurants were you trying to eat at? Teppanyaki, La Cucina, Moderno, and Loss Lobo are all included in the specialty dining. I'm not sure about the French restaurant, and Cagney's is a la carte.

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