This cruise placed each passenger and crew in danger due to the war in Gaza. We asked to have the $$ transferred to another cruise but this was refused. We planned this cruise mainly because of Israel, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jordan all cancelled.

Item: Norwegian Dawn
Rating: 3
Author: bazieman

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East)

bazieman

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 51

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

19 Night Middle East: Turkey Egypt & Uae (Istanbul To Dubai)

Sail date: November 24, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10022

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 11 months ago

Review summary

This was a very unsafe cruise and should have been cancelled. No one was happy about this cruise due to safety concerns. The front desk staff was uncaring and pretty much did not want to hear any concerns. We also had 2 nights of "black out" due to high risk Pirate areas in the Red Sea which we were not informed of prior to the cruise. UNSAFE! UNACCEPTABLE!!!

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Buffets were tasteless. Main dining was fine. Speciality restaurants good.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Minimal activities onboard. One pool only. The gym was great BUT you had to pass through the buffet dining room to get to it!

Entertainment

2 out of 5

The production cast only put on 3 shows in 19 days! Every other night they showed a movie in the theatre vs an actual show. Never experienced this before.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The service staff were excellent. Front desk staff really did not care about any issues anyone had.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Not sure who laid this ship out but in 85 cruises I have never been on such a poorly laid out ship. We were scheduled to be on this ship in the future-NO WAY!!! It was VERY clean!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Very Very Nice!

Ship tip

DON'T!

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Ports of call

Istanbul, Turkey

3 out of 5

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

3 out of 5

Alanya, Turkey Did not visit port

Weather

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Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt

4 out of 5

Suez Canal Transit

3 out of 5

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

3 out of 5

Safaga (Luxor), Egypt

4 out of 5

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

1 out of 5

Not sure why this was a port to visit-only 2 excursions offered as there was nothing to see despite being advertised as a UNESCO site.

Thumbs Up 0

Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

3 out of 5

Dubai, U.A.E.

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

7 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 1 month ago

Thanks for sharing

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susantoyofuku 7 months ago

My husband and I were aboard the Dawn on this same cruise departing Istanbul Nov. 24. At no time did we feel there was the remotest danger. The food, however was the poorest we’ve encountered on any Norwegian ship. The chicken was tough and the beef in the Brazilian restaurant was virtually inedible. I realize it’s a challenge to prepare food for a few thousand people, but as I write these words we’re aboard the N. Encore heading for Cartagena, Colombia and the food is outstanding. The Encore is a far larger ship than the Dawn, so mere size isn’t the Dawn’s problem. As the original poster indicated, the ship missed the port of Alanya due to weather. We had booked a tour at this port before the cruise, paying with our credit card. When Norwegian cancelled the tour they only gave us NON-REFUNDABLE credit for use on the ship. We couldn’t use it and my husband ended up purchasing a pair of binoculars that we didn’t need just so we wouldn’t lose the money. Not acceptable.

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maer17 10 months ago

You are truly a disgruntled person who clearly did not have all the facts beforehand. Norwegian would never sail in unsafe waters. And if there is danger they will take precautions just like turning off lights to not draw attention. In light of all that pls don’t advise ppl on whether or not they should choose to go on a ship due to your experience. I was on that same ship the following week and had to skip a port due to safety concerns but everyone understood and had a great time.

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Speedysmiles 10 months ago

I am thankful you are safe. I am on the Dawn as well Feb 1. I am concerned about the blackouts now. Thank you for your review.

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Ladyjunecliff 11 months ago

Wow, what an experience. I read in the contracts/passage on another cruise that sometimes the captain/crew have to do the blackouts for safety of passengers/ship. Glad you are safe. Thanks for your review.

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mobill2 11 months ago

Oh this sounds awful! I’m so sorry you had to go through this :( we’re going on the Dawn for the Africa cruise on 2/1 I hope there isn’t pirates in that area?!?!?

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Gwbigdog 11 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

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