Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We enjoyed our trip and enjoyed the boat.  It just seems that the quality has dropped since we last cruised the Dawn in 2014.  The thing that impressed us most on the 2014 cruise was the dress standards for the dining room.  

Shorts were not seen at all.  Baseball caps were never seen.  And they had a 2 formal nights,  This cruise did not have any! 

We found the bar service to be slow to non existent at times around the pool. They start picking up the deck chairs and stop bar service too early around the pool.  By 6:00, you are going down a deck to get drinks.  Then you are wet. 

We found all the staff to be very pleasant and helpful.  Our bar server was the best.  He would make sure and check on us before they stopped serving. I can't remember how to spell his name. Soloma Sinhj from India. 

Our steward for our cabin was wonderful.  No complaints. 

We will cruise Norwegian again because we placed our deposit.

My husband and I got the ultimate drink package n specialty dinning. Both were excellent. #1 Cagneau, #2 Moderno, #3 Tepeyaki. Food was very good even in buffets (garden cafe) n O'shinnas.The entire crew was Amazing!!i loved Fernando, and Putu( cabin housekeeper)..Outstanding!! The pool was too small!Pls put more signs in each floor with the floor number. Pls put a map inside each elevator also. Pls add cream cheese for bagels in garden cafe. Pls add diet coke... pepsi was terrible! Ariel was the best pianist, singer... loved his old songs!! NCL charged extra port charges for drinks in usa territory while cruising ..i thought we had paid that already upon booking cruise...Very confusing!!Dawn is beautiful and very organized. We loved the experience!!Def recommend this cruise! Can't wait to plan our next cruise in NCL. Thank you NCL!!

We celebrated our 50th anniversary on this cruise. The food was fantastic. We had a great time enjoying our personal time together. The crew was fantastic. The only problem we encountered was bedbugs in our first cabin.

The refurbished Dawn is beautiful.  Rough weather going through gulf out of NOLA but not the fault of the ship.  Food was excellent.  Their new private beach, Harvest Caye, is absolutely stunning  and they did a great job with it.  Obstructed oceanview cabin afforded light without it being too pricey  Cabin size fine for two; might have been crowded with more, but plenty of storage for two.  

The entertainment aboard ship was fantastic.  Service by staff was outstanding.  Variety of dining venues was very good. We were extremely please with the following dining venues: Le Bistro, La Cucina, and Venetian Dining Room.

Great cruise with 4 ports in 7 days..I do not think any other cruise line does that.  We took all our excursions from the  internet, not the cruise line.  Bigger bang for the buck, the only thing is that you have to walk to a specific destination..No one is there to greet you at the end of the pier because of the politics of the "official cruise line excursions."  Just to be honest, here is how the cruise lines works:  1) Lure you in with a unbelievable price (ie $400 per person), 2) Then add to that Taxes, port fees and whatever else,  well add another $400 per person, 3) Additions: Take the $100 all you can drink per person, 4) Excursions:  additional $500 for 2 with 3 excursions,  5) During the trip you will give them a credit card for incidentals including $13.50 per person, per day for the tips, additional drinks or boat supplies/purchases not covered.  So this is the best true expense scenario, still a great trip, just an honest bottom-line cost compared to the lure of  "just $400"  By the way if you are single, just double that..you will be paying for 2 anyways...so take someone else!

First time on NCL had a rough week,Second day I asked for new cabin Wall between cabin 8503 was paper thin I could hear the people snore.Cabin on left side was silent no sound at all. Had to call security to stop parting in cabin on right side , which of course only lasted until they left.Only had 2 nights we were able to sleep. Had nothing but HOT WATER one day next day COLD WATER, hard to shower.Food in dining rooms was always COLD.Some things served were good some not. The SHIP is really beautiful tastefully done with updated colors.Shows are good. Loved the free style cruising but will not cruise on this ship again.Came home exhausted from no sleep.

"Improved" policies on NCL include disallowing carry on of sodas and water and charging $7.50 per day for Pepsi products only, charging a $139/person spa fee for many features that used to be included, taking an elegant dining room and having someone with zero artistic taste paint stripes, circles, etc. across formerly elegant prints, and finally replacing an indoor pool with additional high dollar cabins to further facilitate the separation of "classes" rather than supporting the wonderful process of allowing folks to just be people in community.

The staff, everyone we encountered, was wonderful, helpful, smiling, kind, etc. etc. as anyone could have imagined and hoped for.  Our room steward was one of the best we have had in 64 cruises, a waiter in Venetian Dining Room was so great we made sure we got him again.  The ship was clean, most things worked well, the entertainment was good and GREAT, the food was excellent, and the overall experience of the ship and staff were all one could hope for.

A couple of the "ports" were particularly disappointing. We travel at least a week a month and have for 25 years. One of the great experiences is getting to meet people where and how they live.  Two stops were basically cruise line owned island shopping centers and had nothing to do with the actual countries of Belize or Honduras. 

Overall, what's to gripe about when you get to spend a week on a ship with zero responsibility and being waited on.  We will continue to cruise but will consider other lines a bit more favorably than NCL in the future.

 My favorite part of the cruise was was a good food and all the good people that we met. Things that could be improved were the toilet did not flush the whole seven days we were there. We would leave the room to find a toilet outside of our state room. We reported this problem every single day and did not get adequate results.

Shows were OK

Their new island is a joke

You are now being 'nickel and dined' for things that were complementary 

You were allowed to bring water (if sealed) and now you can't.I saw a passenger that bought water on board went to shore came back with his ubooened bottle of the ships mater($5.50) and was told he could not bring the water back on ship

All of the trip was stress free and relaxing. The ports, the weather, the ship, it was all great! The food in the specialty restaurants was so good.  Look forward to cruising again in the near future! 

Well , I have travelled quite a lot in the last ten years and cruised a fair amount . I have been on Norwegian 3 other times I've been the pride of Hawaii , the Epic and the jewel ..so I know what to expect and I found the The Dawn to be disappointing . The bar staff ignored you , they also didn t communicate about port taxes , my bed was horrible very well used needed to be thrown out and the smoking on board not just in designated areas was awful . People could smoke in the promenade deck . I had a prepaid beverage package and compared to celebrity  it was just okay ..we had one day to be tendered off ship and it was unorganized , no onecommunicated what was going on and didn't get off ship until 11:30 am . Shows were mediocre and entertainment on midship didn't take place til late afternoon ..I think the Dawn needs to step up ,not cheap down which is what I felt on this cruise..

We have always cruise with Royal Carribean.  So we were not expecting to enjoy this trip as much.  But to our surprise the cruise was wonderful!   Everything was immaculate.  The food was wonderful!  Staffing must have been trained bye Disney. LOL  They felt like family.

The only complaint is that shopping was poor due to pricing.  I purchased 2 watches totaling $500.  I asked about getting it for less on land since I was not familiar with this brand watch and was assured that this was the best price I would find anywhere.  After returning to New Orleans I

I decided to research the manufacturer.  And there it was $100 each watch less then I paid on board with even a 70%  discount.     I feel taken advantage of.   And was very disappointed in this deception.  In my opinion $100 percent mark up is reasonable but raising the price that much is just a rip off.  I learned my lesson.

This is a great itinerary food and service are excellent pictures are very expensive and the new system could eliminate so much waste if all the pictures were not printed. The ship is really nice but the art in the Venetian dining room is a mess 

Like what they did with La Cucina and Le Bistro.  Like the new Los Lobos. Got the flu on my cruise and they were wonderful.  Free room service while confined to the cabin for 24 hours.  

Wendy (my wife) and I enjoyed every minute of the cruise.  The dining and the shows were our favorite experiences but there were no disappointing moments.

Free-Style dining is a great   When we wanted elegant dining, we went to the Aqua or the Venetian dining rooms.  when we wanted a more relaxed atmosphere, we went to the Garden or one of the bars.  La Cucina reminded me of the wonderful Italian restaurants in New York, Chicago or Rome.  Sampled a "flight of martinis" at the Gatsby Bar.

Every night there was a show.  we especially enjoyed the Second City productions and the final evening "Elements" Show.

Each port was different and interesting with no hassles getting to our activities ashore.

Our room was clean and comfortable.  Always enough hot water.  The view from the balcony is the reason that you take a cruise.  I love being at sea (an old Navy guy). Some impressive seas but the captain managed them well.

Thanks to all the Norwegian cruise staff on Dawn for their friendliness and willingness to go above and beyond to make our cruise the very special experience it was.  The only complication at this point is that Wendy is looking to book our next Norwegian cruise. 

MY ONLY FAULT WAS THE FORMAL NIGHT WAS ANY TIME SO THERE WAS NEVER REALLY A FORMAL.  ALSO NOW ALL THE GREAT ESCARGOT  AND 

FILET MIGNON LOBSTER IS ALL EXTRA CHARGES.   THAT SAID THE FOOD 

ON THE TRIP WAS ABOVE OTHER CRUISE LINES.  NOT OVER DONE WITH

TO MUCH SPICE HIDING INFERIOR QUALITY CUTS AND THE FOOD WAS WAYYY MORE THAN AMPLE.  I GAINED WEIGHT EVEN  THOUGH I PROMISED TO NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO.

    FINALLY THE GRATUITYS ARE ALL INCLUDED WHICH I LIKE TO CALL OUT WHOS SERVICE IS BEST GETS PAID ACCORDING TO MY CHOICES.

I DID WITHHOLD IN OUR ROOM OF 3 OCCUPANTS AND PUT MONIES AS I SAW FIT.  I HOPE THE ROOM STEWARD IS ALWASY RECOGNIZED BY

THE STAFF AND WHEN I ASKED CASH BREAKDOWN THEY SAID THEY DON'T KNOW.  SO I PUT IT IN FAVOR OF ROOM GIRL.  SHE WAS EXCELLENT AND GREAT ATTITUDE SUPER HELPFUL.

OF THE MAJOR CRUISE LINES THOUGH I THINK THEY COULD ALL USE HELP, NORWEGIAN SUPERSEDES THE OTHERS UNLESS IT IS OCEANA OR OTHERS THAT ARE A DIFFERENT COST VALUE WHICH IS WHY.

Beware of Costa Maya in Mexico.  Ask pricing before you buy at restaurants.

I went to drunk burrito and they gouged after we were trusting enough to ask for 

a couple of waters chips and dip taco  and bean and cheese burrito assuming

$15-$20  it was $60 and very poor quality food.  then they were insulted when I refused to leave a gratuity for being screwed. I assume they figure americans get money for nothing and we can waste it with no concerns.  Most of Mexico and foreign lands have always been very gracious.  I blame us for being a bit too

trusting.......... not again LOL

Most everyone was every nice. I did run into a guy in the Library that was not nice. I asked him if he did not like his job and he grunted back at me. I was shocked. It was cold so we did not go swimming since the pool was outside. We enjoyed all of our excursions. The bathrooms where not kept up like other cruises I have been on. All in all we had a great time and now want to go on a cruise to Cuba next January, but don't know if that is possible or not . The food was very good, our room attendent was good and kept our room clean and if we needed anything he got it for us. For the most part we where happy cuisers.

we have been on many cruises, this one was the worst. they even made you pay for a bottle of water, even when we had bought a $65 sofa package! the cabin was very small for a balcony cabin. te staff was nice and friendly. they had only one stylist in the salon! so very difficult to get a hair apointment. i would not recommend this cruise line!

Thank God we had a balcony cabin so we could get away and relax! There was so much pushing and shoving from people in a hurry (on vacation?). We could not figure out where people were rushing to - it's a ship; there is really no place to go other than into the sea. You could not get near the entertainment venues (Bliss lounge or theater) unless you got there an hour early.  The lounge above the atrium was nice and quiet, and a good place to listen to the music. The food was good in the restaurants - La Cucina was very good; Bamboo was terrible. The service was excellent. What can you say about a buffet. This was our 5th Norwegian cruise (and our last). We will look for something more laid-back and polite.