Almost perfect

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Bermuda

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 132

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5
Norwegian Dawn

7 Night Bermuda (Boston Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 01, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 8510

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

I liked most of the cruise. The boat is beautiful but a bit small (one pool only) but we knew that from the start. The service and the staff is amazing. The food: if you pay extra it is worth it, the MDR is also very good. Besides that it is just ok. Bermuda looks great. You do not see poverty. The houses are well maintained and colourful with nice flowers and nice curb appeal. They have a gorgeous beach called Horseshoe bay. A must see if you visit Bermuda. Hamilton is only a 20 minute ferry ride and it is worth the the trip of you like to shop. Now, my negative point have nothing to do with the boat itself. We found it to be very wavy, from the first night and through the whole cruise. Our room was in the front of the boat and we believe this is why. This made us very ill at ease and it prevented us to enjoy our time on the boat. We did not sleep well aside from when we were in port. The boat seems to pick up speed at night so nightime was worse. Only when were were on the deck pool or when we were in the middle of the boat did we not find it so bad. Then I got sick for 24h on our only full day in Bermuda so that also stopped us from visiting the island. So can tell you that Horseshoe bay is one of the most beautiful beach I have seen, the port area is very nice and has plenty to do and shops and Hamilton is nice to see. If you don't mind the waves, you might enjoy this cruise. Also think this is an older ship so there are not much activities to do besides from hanging around the pool or inside activities which we did not choose to do since we wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
From arrival to the port to stepping on the ship = 1hour. There were long lines but they moved quite fast.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Drink package was worth it even though I do no drink alcool or very little. The food and the service in the specialized restaurant is excellent. The food and the service in the main dining room is very good. The buffet area and and the buffet near the pool are ok but they serve the same food every day. There are four buffet station and they offer the exact same thing. So after a few days, you need to look elsewhere like O'Sheenan where they serve a very good fish and chips or good fajitas.

Teppanyaki

4 out of 5

Food is excellent but the pieces of meat are cut too big. Since we only have forks, it is hard to cut our meat in smaller pieces. Also, I was a bit disapointed that our cook did not make a better show. I would have liked if he would have asked everybody to introduce themself one by one so it would have allowed us to maybe talked to the other diners at our table.

Garden Cafe

3 out of 5

Again food is ok to good but they serve the same food everyday.

Moderno Churrascaria

5 out of 5

Very nice food, and the service is absolutely great. This restaurant is also well situated on the top of the ship so you have a nice view if it is daylight.

Topsiders Bar and Grill

3 out of 5

Food is ok to good but they serve the same food everyday.

Bimini Bar And Grill

3 out of 5

Food is ok to good but it is the same food every day.

Aqua Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

Food is very nice, service is excellent and the decor is beautiful.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
Did not participate in any activities.

Photo Gallery

5 out of 5

Very modern. I like the way they actually keep your pictures in your own book so you don't have to look everywhere for them. Every time they take your picture, they as you for your room number so they know where to put them. You just to get your book out when you want to have a look at them. After that they have many stations with computer screen and you can select the picture or the size you want.

Galleria Shops

4 out of 5

Not big enough, would have like more stores. But the area is quite nicely decorated.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Excellent service everywhere. From our steward to the restaurant employees to anyone we would meet in the corridors. Everybody smiles and says hi and are super polite.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
This ship has been refurbished and looks very nice. It is colourful, and very clean all the time. You can see them always cleaning or picking up after people.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Our cabin was great. One of the more spacious one I have ever had. The only bad comment is we were very much near the front of the boat so I think this is why it was so rocky all the time, specially at night. I would not recommend having a room near the front of the ship. We will never take such a room. Also even though the bathroom was small, there was a lot of space for clothes and our luggages. I

Ports of call

Boston, Massachusetts

3 out of 5
The port itself is not pretty compare to the Miami Port. On arrival, it looks like a very old and decrepit part of town. But once you get in the Norwegian area, it looks very nice and updated. Leaving the port, the scenery is beautiful for at least one hour. You see the airport nearby therefore you can see planes taking off and after that you see small islands and lighthouses for quite a while before the open sea. It's quite beautiful.

Royal Naval Dockyard, West End, Bermuda

5 out of 5
Very nice area. Lots to visits and shops and bars and restaurants. Very colourful and clean. Taxis and buses are available upon arrival.

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
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3 Comments

markandde    6 years ago

Just finished this same cruise yesterday! We like rooms in the front of the ship, ahead of the forward elevators and two decks below the pool deck (10 on the Dawn), for the quiet location but I'm not really susceptible to sea sickness, and De takes 1 Meclizine on the first day as a preventative while she gets her "sea legs" and usually nothing after that. Lower and mid-ship is best for people who struggle with motion sickness. We found plenty to do all day long, although some of the "plenty" is reading and at least one nap. There is far more to do around the ship than we ever had time for. Maybe next time! Bermuda was great, and also has more to do than can be done in one cruise. We'll be back!!

dj2698    6 years ago

We always get a room in the mid section and not too high usually decks 8-10 to minimize the movement. All the beaches in Bermuda are beautiful going for the 6th time in august

Emo507    6 years ago

Thank you for your complete and detailed review. Sorry to hear about the ship's movement, can be problematic at both extremes of the ship. We try to get center and lower cabins. Bon voyage on your next vacation. Cheers

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