Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Excellent, the ship is extremely beautiful and well laid out. Everything was clean, good food and friendly staff. If you like to gamble, the slots were pretty loose, too bad they allow smoking in the casino. This cruise is more for the older crowd, and we enjoyed the company of our fellow passengers.

VERY NICE ,WELL MAINTAINED, CLEAN

We just returned from a week on board the Norwegian Dawn for her "Showcase of New Englnd" cruise. It was overall a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The ports of call were wonderful and the tours we participated in were well done. We discovered we are not fans of "freestyle dining" as the dress codes are not enforced in the main restaurants which is quite disappointing. We were seated across from a couple in jeans, tennis shoes and t-shirt on "elegant attire" night. You can't always get into a specialty restaurant and waiting lines are common for the main restaurants. NCL also allows smoking in all of its lounges except one (13th deck) where the entertainment was not what we were looking for. The lounge entertainment was geared at a slightly older crowd than us. Certain cruises might consider publishing the average age of their cruisers! The ship was kept clean, the staff was friendly and our needs were more than adequately met. We had a beautiful week of blue skies and sunshine. We would have enjoyed one more day at sea to enjoy the ship, but I don't know which port I would want to miss!

We have cruised 7-8 times, we love the experience each and every time. This cruise was no different, the ship is just beautiful, truly lovely. Very easy to navigate through the ship also.

We just returned from a 7-Day New England Cruise on the Norwegian Dawn and we had such a wonderful time!! The ship was beautiful, the staff was friendly and helpful, and the ports we stopped at were beautiful!!

Overall, the ship was good, but our cabin was dirty (carpet was soiled, etc).

We really liked the ship. I really likes all the differnt restaurants but didn't like having to pay sometimes as much as $40 extra to eat in the specialty restaunts.

Our family enjoyed the cruise very much and we were in awe of the Princess Dawn. Just beatiful! The planned activities were endless and we enjoyed many of them. One mistake we made was not having a separate room for the boys to share--even though we basically only slept in it,, sharing an inside cabin with 2 teenagers on a 20th anniversary cruise was insane. The spa was a lifesaver for me as I arrived on the ship in terrible pain and after one visit at the spa for an accupuncture/massage treatment had me feeling great the next day. I did do a pilates class and the instructor was difficult to understand and concentrated on only 2 different types of positions. Being told by people who have cruised before that the cost was all inclusive, I was a little disappointed at all the extra expenses. I felt that things like the exercise classes and soda (even if there was a per day limit) should have been free. The rooms were clean and the entire ship was well tended. The staff was unbelievable-helpful and really made you feel comfortable and special. There were just so many wonderful memories from the cruise, it'd take hours to list them. It was a truly wondeful experience.

The ship was nice, but I like the shops being separate rather than all in on e place. Not much shopping in the perfume, makeup dept. Need to have more specials on the jewelry, not so expensive. The ports were great, loved Bar Harbor, Maine. Wish we did not have to tender so far out. The staff was excellent on the ship. SOme things were a little unorganized, ie: leaving the ship on the last day, took way to long to leave ship. Food was great! Entertainment was excellent, but still need more choices if you don't have enough seating for shows. there should be no smoking in all lounges that have shows., to smokey in the bingo lounges, have to leave.

The Norwegian Dawn is a lovely ship. Having been on the Jewel and the Crown I would say the Dawn is second to the Jewel. The food service staff are excellent as is the food. The entertainment for the most part was very good. The musicals were extremely well done. The Norwegian staff are most accomodating, are very clean, and create a family atmosphere. The Staff photographers are average. The stores on the ship are excellent as are the sales staff. The ship stresses cleaniness. Embarkation and exiting the ship were speedy and very well done. Overall an excellent cruise.

Ship was very well maintained and the crew was faultless!

The Norwegian Dawn is a beautiful ship! The inside stateroom, although a little smaller than my inside stateroom on the Carnival Triumph (my last cruise), was just fine. Very nice bathroom facilities. The service was extremely good throughout--great staff! We felt the food in the main dining room didn't offer as much variety as we have had on previous cruises and the buffet didn't seem to have much to offer, so a bit disappointed in the food choices. The itinerary was fantastic! All of the ports were beautiful and the shore excursions offered were very good as well. Not a disappointment there!

We rarely felt that this ship was so large (except when traversing the whole length of the ship to get somewhere). Public areas are broken up nicely. The Venetian (largest of the 3 main dining areas) is gorgeous. Everything is well maintained, bright and comfortable. However, we never did find La Tratorria, and access to the Venetian is 1/2 flight of stairs down from Deck 7. Menu selection/variety in all of the dining areas is wide, but much of the food is just OK. Not bad, but not special. This was our first Freestyle dining experience, and it wasn't bad. Reservations are required for all but the 3 main restaurants; but we got in to every one (except La Tratorria) we wanted by showing up early if we had not planned ahead. While there is a per-person surcharge for some of the restaurants, on most nights it was 2-for-1 on the surcharge (announced the night before in the bulletin) for all of them. The Bamboo restaurant's food was exquisite (when they say a dish is "hot" it is REALLY HOT!) The Sushi Bar (no reservation needed) has a $10 all-you-can-eat special. Conveyor belt brings around already prepared servings, and you can request other items from the list. Choices are limted, but sashimi and more exotic items are available and sometimes provided at no extra charge (the sushi chef really tries to please). Don't miss the lamb rack. Cabin size just right, mostly. King-size bed and duvet were exceedingly comfotable; pillows not great, but plenty of them. Shortage of drawer space, but we use those mesh "envelopes" (1 for socks, 1 for undies, etc.) and stacking them in the open cupboard worked fine. Balcony was great. FYI: Midships starboard is where tenders un/load. Commode area tough for a big (tall or wide) person, but shower and sink OK. Lounge entertainers quite talented, and shows were well done with excellent talent. Dinner at 5:30 gives time to get to the 7:30 show; but if you're late, there are always seats down in the front rows and at the very top on the sides (people just don't bother going there to look for seats, so they're empty). Be sure to take umbrellas or ponchos for sightseeing. Lobster night on the ship is "tails" only. For lobster lovers, "lobster roll" (lobster salad on a bun) is available in lots of places (including McDonald's) at most of these ports, and steamed lobster is reasonably priced and perfectly prepared almost everywhere.

The ship is a beautiful ship - large enough so that there are plenty of places to meet and eat. It's almost 4 years old, but still looks new. The restaurants were nice and there are 2 specialty restaurants that are free - Italian and Tex-Mex - along with 3 larger free restaurants. Food is average quality. Didn't want to try the "alternative" extra cost places ($12 - 45pp). The ship has plenty of sunning areas and chairs, but the pool is relatively small.

The ship is about 4 years old and still looks pretty new. There are lots of public rooms to gathere, most with live music in the evening and sometimes the afternoon. The pool is small, though lots of sunning areas. Great kids pool area - made me wish our kids were younger. The itinerary is very nice, though it'd be better if the Bermuda port was Hamilton or St George's, rather than King's Wharf. Good restaurant choices (freestyle), though I don't care for the alternative extra cost places out of principle. The restaurants that didn't cost extra included a Tex-Mex place and a very nice Italian (v good food) place that was cleverly converted from half the Garden Buffet area. Make reservations early in the cruise for best times. The main restaurant - The Venetian - is very nice, though most of the wait staff, while efficient, could be friendlier. Other free dining options are the Aqua and Inspirations, both nice. The entertainment is one of NCL's strong points. There were two different shows almost every night. Most were well worth attending, but one comedian - Kenny Kane - was definitely NOT funny (mostly just stupid physical stuff). There were several lounges with v good live music. Good variety.

This ship is spacious and beautful! Not totally tacky as other ships can be. Although the ship was full, the only time it felt crowded was when returning to the ship from ports. The worst thing was the smell of cigarettes everywhere. There is only ONE smokefree bar! The smell kept me from spending much time in the casino (which may be a good thing!) Also, if you have a spa treatment, be prepared for the "hard sell" of products.

I would say that , my wife, 2 daughters and myself, overall enjoyed the cruise, but also found out that cruising is not for us. or at least not for a single family that does not drink alcohol. The ship is great, good clean rooms, friendly staff(most of the time),ok restaurants, decent food, and good entertainment. not enough information for a first time cruiser to take advantage of all what is offered. It seemed geared towards repeat customers, with no regard to 1st timers. Be prepared to spend a lot more money for everyting... including soda, tips, pictures (at $14 a picture) etc.. be prepared for a $2 soda and if you drink alcohol, be ready for a $6 beer and $8 mixed drink. Ping Pong tables were unusable (broken raquets or net). The golf cage was out of order most of the time. Not much sports on deck. Heatlh club is pretty good, with good equipment. It also has a pool, but you must pay $15 a day to use it. also any additional program like cycling or spinning have a charge to them ($10, $15). At the end of the cruise, I really felt I was nickeld and dimed to death. Next time, if I want to make it to Bermuda, I will go straight there and bypass the ship. Oh, also, there is nothing in Nassua to do, besides going to Atlantis for a quick look.

Lovely ship with very nice accommodations and pleasant public areas.

The ship was beautiful and spotless. The staff very friendly. Lots of activities all day and night. Our entire family enjoyed the shows and the food. The amount of time spent on the islands is limited. We only had a night and the morning in the bahamas.

The Norwegian Dawn is a wonderful ship. This was our first cruise and we had such a wonderful experience that we are already planning another cruise for next year. The itinerary provided three wonderful days at sea (plenty of time to relax and unwind) and three wonderful ports of call - Bermuda, Great Stirrup Cay, and Nassau. Great ship, great staff, great itinerary - the perfect cruise :)