Pleasant 1st Cruise

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 24

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Dawn

14 Night Southern Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 26, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 8596

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Overall a decent first cruise. Just not our thing really since there are so many people in a small area almost all of the time.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Bamboo restaurant was good as were Moderno and Cagney's. Not a fan of the crowds and buffet - just too many people.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Pool was quite small. Seemed to always be able to find a lounger somewhere. Fitness center was actually a good size, but maybe people just didn't use it.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Positive: music groups; Negative: theatre productions

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Almost all were friendly. Room steward, Cibin, was quite good. Fin at Bamboo was great!

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
Just not impressed with all the people sleeping on the couches on the decks both inside and outside. In the buffet, Garden Cafe, people were quite inconsiderate by taking up tables playing cards or just sitting for long periods of time when others were looking for a place to actually eat.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Good for what it was. Better than expected.

Ship tip

Older ship so not a lot of amenities; geared for the older crowd.

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida

4 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5
Good snorkeling and stingray experience here.

Oranjestad, Aruba

3 out of 5

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5
Great beach and snorkeling at Playa Porta Mari

Kralendijk, Bonaire

4 out of 5
Absolutely beautiful, but only a few hours there in the morning.

Castries, St. Lucia

5 out of 5
Great snorkeling excursion through NCL. Very friendly crew.

St. John's, Antigua

3 out of 5
Chose a popular beach, so too crowded and not good snorkeling.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Catalina Island (Isla Catalina), Dominican Republic

4 out of 5
SCUBA was way too crowded with too many dive boats at the same sites. Island was beautiful

San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

2 out of 5
Not all NCL's fault, but would have been good if NCL could at least communicate within their crew. Crew was sending people to different decks .
Was this review helpful? 24

4 Comments

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

AuntPinkie    1 year ago

Appreciate your feedback. Cruising isn’t for everyone, at least you gave it and try. Now you know.

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

windy2day    1 year ago

Thanks for your review. Glad you mostly enjoyed the cruise except for the other guests on the ship. Cruising is not for everyone and now you know.

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