Impressions on returning to cruising on NCL

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 67

Overall rating:

2.4 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Dawn

11 Night Southern Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 09, 2022

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9602

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

For first cruise after the pandemic we found it disappointing. NCL asks we book dining prior to cruise. We did and booked 7:30pm so we could catch the 9:30 show. Due to COVID they are only doing 1 show each night at 8pm. Had the NCL website informed us there would only be one show and the time, we'd have chosen a different time. They knew so they should inform their passengers in advanced. We spent time rearranging all the dinner reservations which took time. The entertainment was disappointing as we loved to listen to music and have drinks before dinner and after the evening main show. The piano player, Robert, was horrible. Mostly improvised rather than playing familiar songs for the age group nor was he willing to take requests. I requested "New York, New York", Oh What a Beautiful Morning" or "PianoMan". He knew none of them. He was the worst but the others not much better. We spoke with some of the waiters in the bars and they said sales...and tips....were down since the music was so bad. The WiFi worked so much better than prior cruises so that was a positive. Overall, not the vacation we were hoping for but we've got a Viking Ocean cruise in April and are anticipating a better experience.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Covid testing and getting on ship well organized.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Main dining rooms still great but main dining rooms and buffets were a hit or miss.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5
By far the worst musicians performing in the bars and Atrium than we've ever had on over 17 NCL cruises. A major disappointment and bar waiters aware that passengers not staying for second drink since the performers aren't engaging audience nor are they able to take requests.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
Dated and not being as well maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5
Took over 3 hours to get toilet repaired on our first day. Linens need to be replaced as very worn and threads coming out of seams on sheets and towels.

Ship tip

Don't.....

Ports of call

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

3 out of 5

Catalina Island (Isla Catalina), Dominican Republic

1 out of 5

Oranjestad, Aruba

3 out of 5

Willemstad, Curacao

3 out of 5

Cartagena, Colombia

2 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
No coordination with ship and ground personnel so created much confusion.
Was this review helpful? 26

11 Comments

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

glt    2 years ago

We came off of the Dawn on February 9th and really enjoyed the cruise. Never ate a bad meal or had a bad experience at any restaurant . We did not go to the theater for the shows because they were scheduled late. We enjoyed sitting on the balcony at night.

jec115    2 years ago

Appreciate the review.

crumcrushers    2 years ago

I hope your cruise in April will be much better. With covid numbers going down I hope you will find it better. Thanks for posting

AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations. Appreciate your feedback.

javawoody    2 years ago

Thanks for the review

Ship2Shora    2 years ago

Sorry your cruise wasn't up to par

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Sorry to hear bad news. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

CruzeFan    2 years ago

Thanks for the review. With reduced passenger numbers and Covid issues, most cruise lines have cut back or modified entertainment. Patience flexibility & lowered expectations are the key to cruising currently.

cruising2004    2 years ago

Sorry you were disappointed with your cruise.

2by2    2 years ago

That's who we decided to cancel our trip to give the cruise ship time to get back to what we are accustomed to .Better luck next trip

Other reviews of this sailing