Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

My overall impression with the Norwegian Dawn was that the ship lacked a good manager and employee recruiter. Most of the service employees came from the Phillipines. There was very little ethnic diversity in the service crew who are the employees that the guests have most contact with while on the ship. Most employees spoke little to no English on a cruise which toured New England. My sister, who is a dietician, pointed out several food service violations. Some of the guests became ill, including my sister who was constantly washing her hands, and were, subsequently, confined to their rooms for 24hrs or left the ship entirely. Whenever we asked a crew member if any of the crew were sick, the answer was an emphatic "no." Highly suspicious when there were approximately 1200 crew members. They made the guests feel the illness came from them, when in all likleyhood, it probably came from the crew through poor food service policies and/or follow-through with policies that should have been followed. The entertainment on the ship was acceptable keeping in mind that you are on a ship. The spa was nice but was closed at the end of the cruise, other than expensive spa services, for a couple days for "sanitizing." Although there is a ten dollar per person "service" charge per day, tips were added to spa services, alcohol and soda purchases. Other than the buffet, most restaurants had ten to twenty dollar service charges per person. Those restaurants were better than the buffet and other restaurants not having a service charge, but easily could have been better, even considering the limitations of being on a ship. Desserts were not very special. Overall, we called the "Free Style Cruising" "Free to Charge." My husband and I cruised with Royal Carribean for an Alaskan Cruise on the Radiance of the Seas about five years ago. The ship was not "Free Style Cruising" and was much better managed and the food was very good both in taste and presentation. The crew were from diifferent parts of the world and spoke English very well. Maybe it is the recent economic changes around the world and cruise lines cannot afford to hire preferable employees. Whatever the case, I will not be cruising with NCL again. **Remember, you can opt out of the daily service charges if you want. They do this as a "convenience" to you. They cannot make you pay those charges. I do not believe this kind of "convenience" encourages the employees to "go the extra mile" for you. At a minimum, they should allow you to determine who gets those tips.

The Ship is beautiful and in general staff outstanding...Casino Staff not friending ! Food in Main resturants very good...Buffet food felt recycled! Same food every day...Poor handling of illness on ship!! Over done! Over reaction!! Rude treatment of Passengers....This was our 19th cruise and 4th on NCL and will never return to NCL....We try to do 2 cruises a year.....NCL gives you no reason to return!!!!

NO ICE SCULPTURES VERY POOR PRESENTATIONS FOR THE FOOD. WE HAD TO EAT AT THE SPECIALITY RESTAURANTS IN ORDER TO HAVE A DECENT MEAL. ASIAN AND INDIAN CUSINE EVERYDAY..NURSING HOME FOOD. NO THEMES! NCL, CANNOT HOLD A CANDEL TO PRINCESS, ROYAL CARIBBEAN, CARNIVAL OR CELEBRITY OR ANY OTHER SHIP. I TRIED TO ORDER A STEAK AND EGG BREAKFAST THEY DID NOT ACOMMADATE. FREE BEVERAGES CONSIST OF COFFEE, TEA AND ICE TEA.. NO LEMONADE OR FRUIT PUNCH!GUEST ARE ATTRACTED TO THE THEMES AND FOOD. THIS WAS THE POOREST OUALITY I HAVE EVER TASTED OR SEEN. IF I WANTED TO EAT GOOD FOOD I HAD TO PAY FOR IT. AS A TRAVEL AGENT I HAVE TAKEN NCL OFF OF MY LIST!

Service staff seemed less well trained (perhaps lacking in English skills as well) than other NCL ships we've been on. Entertainment was excellent and food service good. The itinerary was outstanding! Our cabin lacked chairs to relax in and the matresses were definitely not the best. Overall the negatives were insignificant compared to the positives. We would take this cruise again whenever we could!

A well-maintained immaculate cruise ship where service is utmost!!!

We found the ship to ge beautiful and the food excellent in the main dining rooms. The spa prices were way too high and because there was a service fee vs gratuity you had no recourse for poor service or indifferent service. The shows were great and the ports wonderful.

Just back from a 12 day NE/Canada Cruise aboard the NCL Dawn...departed NY City with a return to NY City. The ship itself I'd give an 8 out of 10. The food, good, however I did not think the selection was the best. There was a good variety of onboard entertainment, I think all cruisers could find an appealing activity. The itinerary included 7 ports-of-call, my top 3 being Quebec, Halifax, NS and Bar Harbor. Each port had several options for tours, I prebooked all of our tours online. Opps, I didn't include Boston in a favorite port but that is only due to familiarity, I use to live there!!! If in Boston for the first time take the city tour or a tour of the North End. Comparing this to previous cruising experiences I'd rate this trip a 7 out of 10. HAPPY SAILING!!

This was my seventh cruise, but my first with NCL and my first trip to any of the destinations on this itinerary (Bahamas, Bermuda, NCL's private island). Overall, I was very impressed. However, the "Freestyle Cruising" concept has its benefits and drawbacks, and it might not be a good match for those looking for a traditional cruise experience. The downside of all the "freestyle" choice in dining is that you don't have the opportunity to be served by the same staff every night, as you do on a more traditional cruise. As a result, the service was less personal -- in some cases downright brusque -- compared to other cruises I've been on (mostly RCCL and HAL) where your main-dining-room waiters really got to know you and anticipate your needs. Overall, the "Freestyle cruising" felt less like traditional cruising, and more like being on a resort hotel that moved. The only other major downsides were the other passengers on the cruise. Although most people were polite and well-behaved, there was an astonishing level of rudeness among some of the other guests. Loud, drunken parties in staterooms, complete with music and screaming children, at all hours of the morning, seemed common; combined with the very thin walls between cabins, this didn't make for relaxing nights. Overall, despite the obnoxiousness, we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. The food, the itinerary, the beauty of the ship, and the general attitude of the staff (minus a few very minor exceptions) more than made up for the rough edges.

I felt the ship was beautiful but way overcrowded. I didn't feel that there was enough guidance once you were on the ship to help you with how things work. Freestyle dining wasn't what we thought, reservations were difficult to come by and many nights we couldn't go where we wanted.

The best part of the trip was leaving from NYC, and saving time for travel. The food and entertainment was great.

What a great trip. It was a beautiful ship. It was also immaculate. We felt safe as well. The food in the restaurants were excellent as well as the buffet for breakfast or a snack.

This is the second time I have sailed on the Dawn. There has been changes made since I sailed in April of this year. The staterooms (4 total) were all kept very clean but I was disappointed that there were no colorful bedspreads like on my other cruises. Also the beach towels were no longer available in the pool area. Each stateroom was given 2 beach towels and if you wanted more a deposit of $25 was need. Usually at night one would find a towel made up as an animal on the bed. Not once was this done during the whole trip. It seems some of the "little extras" have slowly been eliminated. This I did not like. I sailed with three daughters, one son, two son-in-laws and two granddaughters (5 yrs. and 23 months). The granddaughters had a ball! They loved the children's pool area. What was very nice was the fact that there were a variety of pool sizes with slides. The 23 month old had a small round pool with a slide just right for her. The 5 yr old had a choice of pools and could also use the adult pool with her parents. The dinning rooms had children's menues and everyone was so nice to the grandchildren. My son-in-laws liked the balcony off their bedrooms. They made much use of them, which my daughters did also. They all did their own thing in the Bahamas and Bermuda. Some did the Dalphin Dip and loved it! I did Paradise Island. It would have been nice if it was not so hot that day and we weren't late getting in to port. This pushed the excursion an hour later and we were combined with others which made the group very large. It turned out to be rushed and disorganized. It was a waste of time and a disaster! All in all the family loved their vacation and had a great time. What made it so nice was all the different things one could do on a cruise. There was something for everyone. From the gym which my daughters liked, to the pool, the night life and shows, the food, the games or just relaxing with one's ipod or a book. We all had a great time!

For our first experience on a ship, i think it was okay. We enjoy the food, atmosphere, the pools for kids & adults.

Average ship other Norweigian ship set up much better. Pool way too small.

Average ship other norwegian ships much better.

The ship was beautiful and there were alot of things to do everyday, all day for all ages. The nightly entertainment was excellent and the night clubs were great. The kid's club was the best part of my cruise! The youth counselors have tons of energy and kept my young child occupied the entire time; they also have babysitting until 1:00am... Yippie! More fun for my husband and I! The entire crew/staff from the Cruise Director to housekeeping were extremely pleasant 24/7.

THE SHIP WAS NICE BUT NOTHING ORGANIZED AND HALF OF STAFF DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON.

The Norwegian Dawn is a beautiful ship and the staff is overall attentive and the service in the restaurants is excellent. 10 resturants to choose from, I was pleasantly surprised that only one of them was buffet style. Fun barbecue parties on the pool deck. The Venetian Restaurant had the best service and menu. This was our first cruise and we were very happy with the ship and the trip to Bahamas and Bermuda. Nassau was the port we liked the least, the area around the port was not very clean or interesting. The staff could have given more information on how to get transportation from the ports to various destinations and day excursions. The snorkeling was not worth the 89.00 we paid, the equipment was cheap and we received no instruction on how to use the equipment. Would definately cruise on the Dawn again.

our only complaint about the ship was there was only one out door pool area-overcrowded

The ship is beautiful and very well kept. The staff was superb. Teenage children had a great time meeting others and exploring the ship