Worst Cruise We'v Ever Had (Out of 30!)

Item: Norwegian Dawn
Rating: 3.7
Author: cina2462

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

cina2462

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 04, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9606

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

On cruises, we tend to stay late in the casino and sleep late the next morning, then enjoy a leisurely breakfast on our balcony. But on Wednesday of our cruise, at about 8:00 in the morning the crew began banging (and yelling) on the lifeboat just below our cabin. This happened every day for 3-1/2 days. It was so loud that we couldn't hear our tv, which we had turned up all the way! Needless to say, we did not get much rest and relaxation. We thought about complaining, but knew if the lifeboat needed to be repaired, they had to do it, and we REALLY dreaded relocating, so each day hoped it would end.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

As Platinum members and casino guests we skipped the line and boarded easily and quickly.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The food in the buffet, dining room, and specialty restaurants was quite good, with the exception of breakfast, which could stand improvement.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Didn't experience most onboard activities, other than the casino.

Casino

3 out of 5

The casino was usually crowded and smokey. It was often difficult to get a seat at my preferred table games. Also, I dislike the continuous shoe at the blackjack tables (unless making a $25 minimum bet), so I don't get to play my favorite game. The slot machines were almost always busy, too, but seemed somewhat fair. Most dealers were great, but at least one was not friendly and another one was a smart-ass and rude.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

We only saw one show, the comedian, and he was pretty good.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All were great!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Poorly designed. Make-up table is in the way of anyone trying to get to and from the bathroom. Also, no convenient drawer for make-up, grooming stuff, etc. Really not good storage in the bathroom, either. Cabins have become a little smaller in the re-design. Our cabin steward did a great job of keeping us well-supplied and the cabin clean.

Ports of call

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

4 out of 5

We hired a taxi to give us a tour. We'd been to this port many times before, but this time saw a side of this port we hadn't seen previously. This is something we often like to do and we found it interesting.

Thumbs Up 2

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

3 out of 5

See above. A very poor community.

Thumbs Up 0

Harvest Caye, Belize

3 out of 5

NCL has made this a nice beach, however food and drink are not brought ashore to this private island. Be prepared to pay or go back on board.

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

Have been to this port many times, so only went ashore to buy a gift. It was pouring rain that day so got drenched (nobody's fault). We're very tired of this port.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

It was awful! It took forever to get off the ship. It was crowded and a line wound around and through several venues. It took us over 1-1/2 hours to traverse and we had priority disembarkation!

4 Comments

valentinka 6 years ago

Wow! "Excellent" customer service after all. This is so rude! I am sorry for what you've been through. I will on Dawn in a couple of weeks and my suite is close to the pool. I didn't pick it. It was assigned to me. I don't mind some noise but I don't want to hear it is my fault.

Thumbs Up 1

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kelster11 6 years ago

I feel your pain as I was in the same cruise in room 5110 which happened to be above the gangway door. Every single morning we were woken up at 6:00am! Did not get any rest on this cruise and I did go to guest services and was told “I need to get better educated on picking a room”! I have sent an email to NCL!

Thumbs Up 0

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ccgal6 6 years ago

Your story made the 4 o'clock news.

Thumbs Up 0

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queenbee2u2 6 years ago

Still should have made a complaint about it they would probably upgrade you

Thumbs Up 0

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Other reviews of this sailing

Different

Excellent

NCL Dawn out of Tampa