For what we paid, we should have gotten the Norwegian Suite bells and whistles. We did not. We did the Spirit in Europe and were treated so well from beginning to end. The Dawn is nice, most of the staff was great, but Norwegian wants to nickle and dime you to death selling junk and being pushy about future cruises, art and jewelry. For what we paid we could have gone on a Viking cruise. We just were on a Carnival cruise in September and were treated like royalty even though they have no perks for their guests, no matter what room they book. We are not planning on any more Norwegian cruises.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Employees kept looking at our documents and putting us in the general boarding line. We were in it over an hour. When somebody finally realized we should have been escorted to the area for Suite guests, the food and drinks were being picked up and everyone was gone except the concierge. By the time we got on board we were too late for lunch after missing breakfast and had to go directly to the muster drill.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We did a lot of specialty dining which was all good. The best was La Cucina. Breakfast in the buffet was a mad house and they didn't have cream for your coffee. You had to wait for a lady to come around and serve it to you. Stupid.
The Java Cafe was nice. They had good coffee drinks as well as full bar service and there was lots of entertainment there. It should be included in the beverage package. Having to pay for a latte is ridiculous.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
It was very windy and we couldn't be outside very much on sea days. They did not think outside the box and add any indoor activities like showing a movie or playing an extra Deal or No Deal or something. They had tons of sales and ways to spend your money but no fun stuff like a murder mystery to collect clues for or a free round of bingo since we were all trapped inside.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Some shows were really good, some were not. The theater is nice. The bar service for it was very lacking.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The stewards, our butler, Roy and the wait staff were excellent. The concierge was lazy and did not provide the service to people with suites that they are supposed to provide. Things like personally taking us to disembark at ports did not happen. The cruise director was in love with himself and could not think outside the box when nobody had anything to do because of the horrific wind.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
People smoking intruded on us in several places around the ship which was awful considering we were trapped inside so much of the time. The elevators are ridiculous. One will take you where another wont. They were slow and had a mind of their own. The rooms are decorated nicely and the ship was clean. Having been recently refurbished, we were surprised at how it's already showing wear though.
Cabin / Stateroom
1 out of 5
Small! No electrical outlets. No pretty granite counter in the bath. Bath was tiny! You could hardly walk next to one side of the bed. Noisy - engine noise, not so much people except our next door neighbors were fighting all the time and you could hear them. And again, SMALL! So small for a suite! Way overpriced. You can call the pre-cruise concierge and set up things in your suite, which we did. Nothing was done and no one knew anything about any of if - our anniversary, pillow choices, emptying the frig, etc etc. No sweet life in this suite at all.
Ship tip
The Dawn is approximately 900 feet long. Deck 10 has halls on each side that run straight down the length of the ship. Get a room in the middle so you aren't always having to walk a marathon to get to the thing you want to go to.
Went to Turtles, turtles and more turtles and it was really great! We snorkeled with turtles and pretty fish, lounged on the beach, had a guided tour of the preserve and could hold baby turtles Nice gift shop. Nice showers and changing rooms. Great day!
We had to catch an early flight. We took our own luggage and got off quick and easy and were early to the airport. But once again, the concierge was no help. Did it all ourselves.
I too prefer the staff to bow down to my royal feet and treat me like the king that I am. I would look into Regent for three times the cost to satisfy your every whim.
I'm not sure what you were expecting from concierge, as you bring it up several times here. And there wasn't a single electrical outlet in your entire suite?
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