This was absolutely one of the worst cruise i have ever experienced. Talked to a couple one night in the dining that had cruised 131 times and this was the awefulest cruise they had been on. They agreed this was their last Norwegian cruise also. Actually everyone we spoke with and ask their opinion was not happy with Norwegian at all. I feel as if my time and money were wasted with this cruise. If you chose to go to the pool while at sea you could not get a seat because of persons going out at 6-7 a.m. and laying their towels in the chairs just to have a seat by noon. Any other curise ship i have been on had music playing out by the pool by 10 a.m. but not this one. You were lucky if you caught the band up there. This thing they call free styling for dining was awful too. All those old people went down an hour before dinner to get in line and by the time you got there at 5 p.m. your dining time the line was absolutely an hour out. I believe from expierence on other cruise lines the assigned tables and dining times worked better. I never seen anything like this dining. We truly made out own fun. This cruise line was awful !!!! Never had such a bad experience cruising. Everyone we talked to advised Royal Carribean.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Embarkation was terrible. We had to be in line for over 2 hours. Valet parking was not open when we got to the port, so we had to ride around the place for 45 minutes while the lines were continuously growing longer. When we DID get to go through Valet Parking the line to get into the building was half way down the back block. Our paperwork advised to arrive at 12:00 noon and nothing was open or moving.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The food was just as bad as the embarkation. The bread was served cold and hard. One night they served what they called short ribs and shrimp and it was one boneless rib with two hard fried shrimp sitting on top and the rib was nothing but fat meat. The waiter notice we did not eat it and ask if we would like to see the menu again. Everything we ordered was bad and we are not picky eaters. We come from the south and love to eat.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
Casino. Yes we enjoyed the casino. But it was the only place to go for satisfactory entertainment. The pool (ONE POOL) you could not go at a decent time to the pool and expect to get a chair. These people would go out at 6-7 a.m. and place their towels in the chairs to reserve their places and their were not enough chairs out to serve all the people on this ship. You walked around searching until you were exhausted and became disgusted and went to your room and layed in the floor on the balcony if there was sun on your side of the ship...
Entertainment
1 out of 5
We never went to a show because none look inviting and we ask other cruisers and they said it was not worth going.
Children's Programs
We had no children with us.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Our room steward was excellent. His name was Royal and he was nice, professional, and very friendly. The waiter at the pool never ask one time is we needed a drink. The ship personnel that worked behind the little small bar inside the Garden Café was RUDE. Went to get a Pepsi at this little bar inside Garden Café about 10 minutes til 7:00 a.m. one morning and they guy said "We Don't Open Until Seven." So i stood waiting and watching him and some lady in a white uniform seen me and ask what the problem was and i told her that he told me he wasn't open and she walked off a little ways and got on her phone and i seen him answer and when he hung up he proceeded to get me a Pepsi. Just RUDE!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was very clean and the décor was nice.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was fantastic. Our balcony was good. The glass needed cleaning when you sat down but we could deal with that.
Ship tip
Don't go Norwegian. I read through the itenirary delivered each night that you could book another cruise and get a $500.00 on board credit. So i went down i believe on the second night and booked another cruise and all went well with the booking. Nice lady,. BUT, if i could get a refund i would. I am going to pay for the second booking and take my trip with Norwegian but that will be my last and it strictly because i will honor my word for booking. I was totally disgusted with my Norwegian Dawn cruise.
However... My wife and I sailed on this particlar trip (our review coming soon) and we repeatedly heard repeat Dawn travellers saying that the customer service and overall customer experience on this particular run was "not as good as it used to be." Maybe NCL has replaced some key members of the management team for this boat? Who knows? The customer service aspect did seem to be underwhelming however.
So sorry to hear this we've been in the dawn 4-5 times and going again in July loved it so much. Tried another cruise line and kept going back to the dawn! Love it
I concur. Been on the Dawn 4 or 5 times and never had a problem. To say there were never any chairs and you had to go lay down on your balcony sounds like a total exaggeration. There might not be chairs at the pool but there any many areas for relaxing in the sun.
I would have to agree with montanaman.
I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience.
We have been on the Dawn twice and are going back in May.
We have never experienced any issues with waiting for tables at any of the MDR.
I do agree with you about the seating by the pool, unfortunately I don’t thing I’ve been on a cruise where that doesn’t happen.
The Dawn is a smaller, more intimate ship.
I suggest trying the Breakaway or the Gem for a more upbeat sailing.
Everyone has their own experience and opinion so I am not discounting how you feel. We cruised on the dawn and never had to wait more than 5 or ten minutes to be seated in the MDR. The towel on deck chairs issue is endemic to most cruise ships. Hope your next cruise meets your expectations.
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