Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We had an excellent time in Cozumel, we cant wait to go back once more.  New Orleans was also amazing , stayed right in the French Quarters. the rooms on the ship were a bit smaller then imagined, but plenty of space in the dining rooms and pool deck.   Plenty of food and drinks all around the ship also.

I found Norwegian to be efficient, friendly, comfortable and the food overall appealing.  Dining room service was very efficient and the food quality in the dining room above average based on my prior cruise experience.  All activities from start to finish (dining room open times, port calls, entertainment, embarkation, disembarkation) were promptly on time, as scheduled.  This was highly appreciated by me, as there was no mystery or surprises.  My biggest disappointment was in Harvest Caye.  I found this man made site to lack any cultural interest.  I would have preferred that the ship spent 2 days in Roatan instead.

Great entertainment!   Ships layout was boxy.   Nice ship.     Good food.  .              

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Love anytime dining. Hate that they let people wear shorts in the dining rooms for dinner. Having only one pool means you have to share with children, when I'm on vacation I don't want to swim with kids. Don't plan on much action at the pool. The band only plays for a short time.

I am amazed at the food, entertainment cleanliness of the ship and how friendly every one of the staff is. The organization and planning were phenomenal. My only complaint is the art in the venitian dining room such an elegant place then you see the art one ruined piece after another very disappointing. 

We weren't sure what to expect when sailing with Norwegian.  Our only previous cruise was with Carnival on the Imagination (very small ship).  Our boarding time was set for 12:30-1pm.  We arrived at the terminal around 11:30.  The porter was very helpful in taking our luggage and pointing us in the right direction.  Once inside, the line was very short.  We quickly checked in and were able to board earlier than our specified time.

As with everyone, we grabbed lunch and walked around.  Our room was at the VERY front on the ship on deck 8 (interior room).  After an hour of walking around, we checked our room and it was ready.  The room was as expected.  Plenty of room for the two of us.  I did like the shower compared to Carnival.  It had a sliding door, where as the Carnival bathroom had a plastic curtain.

We met our steward Bart.  He was amazing.  Our room was always tidy and he was always around to answer questions.

Our Freestyle choice was the Unlimited Beverage Package.  This was a great choice.  The bartenders were "mostly" friendly.  I do have to say, they all worked their butt's off though!  My only complaint about the UBP is the coffee.  While disembarking at one of the ports, I stopped at the Atrium bar for a cub of coffee.  The bartender said it would be $3.50 for a cup of coffee.  I asked her to put a little Bailey's in it...instantly free.  Now, I'm not an accountant or economist, but adding booze, to me, seems like Norwegian would be losing money vs a plain cup of coffee.  However, I didn't complain, and continued to get coffee + Bailey's for the remainder of the cruise.  I do think coffee drinks should be included in UBP, but, just my opinion.

The ship was full of things to do.  My favorite was drinking Mimosa's from the 13th deck bar overlooking the pool.  Even in the sun, on the 13th deck, there was plenty of breeze!

Food was delicious; even in the buffet's.  i don't think we had any bad experiences with food.  The busers and servers in the buffet area and dining rooms were awesome as well.  They were very talkative.  I want to specifically call out Sasha and Vanja.  They have to be the best two staff members we met on the ship!!

The ports were all good and easy to get off and on.  Snorkeling in Routan was a sight of a lifetime.  First time snorkeling and wow, I've been missing a lot!.  Costa Maya...ehh, I could have skipped this port.  We did go see the Mayan Ruins, but other than that, ehh, not worth getting off.  Harvest Caye was a nice "beach and pool" day.  Was kind of nice to not get asked to buy stuff and just be able to chill by the pool.  Ocean water at Harvest Caye was very dirty (probably sandy from the ship...maybe?)

In the end, we had a great vacation!  We will definitely sail with Norwegian again (well, we have to, put 2 deposits down for next couple of cruises!)

Hope this helps others trying to decide on Norwegian.

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Jason

   We have cruised many times and this one was taken for the specific purpose of getting away from life pressures.  Being old foggies and due to much experience we do not engage in most shipboard or excursion activities.  We eat, sleep, eat, sleep, etc.  This cruise was excellent in that respect.    

   We only use buffet dining and never even locate the dinning rooms.  Buffet food choices were satisfactory to me but my wife is a picky eater and found the lack of vegetable offerings a bit off putting.  Can't be too bad: I only gained three pounds during the week of stuffing myself.

   Norwegian has initiated a practice that I find offensive.  In very fine print on their website is a mention of a service charge in lieu of the "gratuities" normally stated by other cruise lines.  Since a gratuity is supposed to be a voluntary issue, and the fact is that we never use formal dining facilities, pools, saunas, sports areas, theater presentations, etc, I have never felt obligated to pay for such.  I have always asked for and received envelopes used to give gratuities for service provided.  The forced service charge eliminates this privilege.  I doubt we will cruise with Norwegian again because of this sneaky 15% surcharge.  The folks who use the named services should pay for them.  We do not.

   Otherwise, the cruise accomplished it's purpose and we returned totally rested.  Thanx.  

Customer service has greatly improved since our last cruise. Fast dinner services. I like the new style of the ship since the refrib. 

They need to work out the kinks and confusion on Harvest Caye. Expect high high prices on this new island key. Pool was neat.

The ship was wonderful, very clean and easy to navigate. The staff was excellent and the food and drinks were great also. The first port is Cozumel and I love that port, but then we went to three more that are created for cruise stops, no bargaining, high prices and drinks are overpriced. We were back on the boat within a couple hours at each of these ports and then had a great time. Their newest stop in Belize was pretty but it is an extension of the ship, $6 draft beer (one kind) or $4 for an 8 once can. All the bars are owned by the same people as well as most of the shops. The stop at Costa Maya the sales people suffocate you and just won't take NO for an answer, I had to become rude to get them off me. The entertainment on the boat was outstanding every night. Overall we had a great cruise   

Overall was enjoyable.  Two adults, two teens and 1 baby.  Something for everyone.  We pre-paid our gratuities and that was nice to not get a bill at the end of the cruise.  We also lucked out and were granted free alcohol packages and soda packages.  Huge savings.  I found the spa and bingo a bit overpriced.  Gift shops were nice, the shore excursions are too pricey, but lots to do on your own while in ports.  We rented a car in Honduras.

The staff is very nice!  The food is excellent but DISLIKE ALL the specialty restaurants.  

Unfair to charge for LOBSTER!  At least one night there should be Free lobster or per cruise.  It's an insult that you have to pay!!!!  Shouldn't your cruise charge include this.  NCL is getting to be like other agencies who charge fees and tons of surcharges.

the decor with the covered art looks half done and tasteless.

This cruise had 3 fantastic ports and 1 lame port.  We did not enjoy Harvest Caye which is the cruise line's private island.  The excursions were lame, the food and drinks were overpriced and not that good.  The beach was the worst with tons of broken shells and a pool that goes to 4 feet deep. Plus they decided to rake up the seaweed in the middle of the day so all you smelled on the beach was diesel and exhaust.  In the end that island is a money grab and I suggest saving money there and just putting that money towards the 3 other ports which had amazing snorkeling and beaches! 

The food on the boat is the same exact thing everyday in the buffet, so that was rather disappointing.  It was ok, but nothing amazing. 

The entertainment they did have was awesome, although everything is in short 30-45 minute increments and we found ourselves bored with not much to do as compared to prior Carnival cruises.

Overall, it was a decent cruise but in the future we plan to take Carnival cruises or maybe Royal Caribbean because those look to be more "fun" ships.

This was our first cruise and we are very happy we chose this itinerary and ship. Some of our favorites:

..Cruise Director Dan France and that entire staff was amazing from start to finish, as was the on board entertainment at every stage!

..Bart C our cabin steward was an amazing asset to NCL, he greeted us warmly and made us feel very comfortable.

..The food and beverage staff were also great; the chefs providing an amazing number of choices every hour of the day.

..Our dining experience at Moderno was another first that will be hard to beat. Food was fantastic, staff was outstanding and the overall experience was beyond what we had expected.

We enjoyed our shore excursions tremendously:

..Tulum Guide Saul provided amazing information and history, he helped around markets and cafes and made sure everyone was comfortable and tended to throughout the day. The tour bus and driver were outstanding as well.

...Roatan: Wish we had arranged a shore excursion on Roatan, it was beautiful there.

...Costa Maya was huge fun, especially the Dune Buggy Adventure. The countryside, jungle and beaches were amazing. Marco, Danny and the others treated us very well and answered all question. The stopover in Muhahal was fantastic with the great chips and salsa, cold drinks and fresh fruit snacks; the private beach access was one of the most pleasant beach accommodations we have ever seen, and the small complex of friendly vendors (with fair prices!) was a plus.

...Belize, Harvest Caye, was our favorite. Not only the island, beaches and shore attractions, the hosts, dining and beaches were fantastic and the atmosphere relaxing. The flowers and carvings around the nature exhibits were beautiful. Last but not least, we were some of the first to experience a new shore excursion at Harvest Caye and cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed the mini boats. The guides, crews and staff provided a safe, clean informative and fun experience. We enjoyed operating our own small boat through mangroves and bays, seeing the fish, many birds and foliage was a great experience. We will return and when we do this will be an excursion we do again, hopefully to add seeing manatees.

From initial boarding to final disembarkation, we met many new friends and fellow travelers. The comments were unanimously glowing for every department and crewmember. NCL, the command staff and the entire crew should be proud of the experiences they provide. Thank you!

The poolside bar and hot tubs. We enjoyed this area very much. Only downfall this area should have fun style music at all times. We enjoyed meeting new people in this area. We also enjoyed when there was music during activities that we could dance and laugh. We really enjoyed our waiter/bartender Jerry. He kept up with us and was very hospitable at all times. Big Thanks to him! Norwegian Dawn nov. 27-dec. 04   We took pictures with him to take home with us. He will be part of our amazing memories. 

We also enjoyed Norwegian new Island in Belize. Absolutely amazing. You should consider doing the same in Rotan. It's a disappointment port. I traveled Carnival and enjoyed their free beach there. I found out we couldn't visit there. So maybe this can be done there also. 😉 

Overall it was an awesome trip! Thanks 

I was unable to go on any of the islands except the new NCL Island and what a blast. We rode the motorized boat and I did get to swim in the ocean. My friend took advantage of each tour and really enjoyed the excursions. I was a little disappointed when we found only one 110 electrical outlet in our cabin.

Stateroom great, staff very helpful and polite, food good.   A bit too much of a party environment for my taste -- found that my relaxing time around the pool was frequently interrupted by someone with a microphone or a band blaring music.  And there was no Plan B for pool side relaxation.   Reynaldo at the poolside bar did a great job and was a pleasure to watch -- a master bartender.  

This was my 15th cruise and I'm sad to say it was the worst cruise I have ever experienced.  To start we were celebrating our 25th Anniversary and had booked a specialty restaurant for 6 with my children.  They were unable to accommodate our party of 6 at the same table at the hibachi grill. So we sat separately.  The first visit to the main dining for supper, after 1hour and 45 mins we still had not received the dessert menus or the second cup of coffee that I ordered with Baileys.  Received the Baileys but no coffee.  The second visit to the dinning room it was 1 hour 30 mins before we received the main course and that was only after my husband complained to the maître D. Staff was unorgainized and rude.  Needless to say we will NEVER cruise NCL again.

Ship was amazingly clean!  Staff were very attentive.  Food was excellent.  All types of entertainment on board from magic shows to comedy.  There was something for everyone.

Over all this cruise is really worth the money. It is a very low cost cruise & you get a lot for what you pay. We have cruised on Royal Caribbean & on Princess before & the cost was a lot higher but they did have larger boats with more stuff to do.

If you have kids there is a kids area with entertainment & activities. They do have set hours, the kids are grouped according to age (i.e. ages 6-9 were in our daughters group) and our daughter (8) had a good time meeting new kids. They do not take children under 3 without an adult.

There is a very small pool called Oasis on the front of the ship with for hot tubs (one on each corner). But believe me, the pool is very small compared to what we've experienced before. They also have a kids splash zone with little slides and several small pools plus a hot tub at the back of the ship. There is also a small arcade.

The restaurants are all pretty good, the Garden Café is open most often & has decent buffet style food. Large selection & cafeteria style seating. The cool part was you don't have to go at a set time. We also tried Bamboo restaurant (Asian) & loved the sushi, they also offer the usual dishes like fried rice, dumplings, spring rolls, general tso's, etc. You will need a reservation for this restaurant even though it's complimentary since it's very popular. Our favorite restaurant would be the Venetian steakhouse. Amazing food, also complimentary, but they are only open certain hours.

Other than that there is a small casino on board, bingo, different tournament's such as slot tourny's & claw machine tourny's, etc. They also have a Not so Newlywed show that is pretty cute.

I would recommend this as a low budget family vacation & there are the land excursions to do as well. We did the Dolphin excursion in Cozumel & it was great. We did not buy it thru the ship instead we waited until we walked off the boat & bought the package from el dorado tours (trust me you will see a lot of tourism agents holding signs). We did manage to get all 4 of us the dolphin excursion for $295 drinks, transportation, and food included. Also, when we arrived there (5 minutes from the boat) and finished our excursion our guide took us over to play with a manatee as well. That was pretty awesome! All in all great trip!

 The best part was riding motorcycles through the hills and mountains of one of the islands. I highly recommend it. Snorkeling was amazing. The hot tubs on the ship were horrible. They were either boiling hot or tepid. If you are looking forward to the hot tub for body aches as I was to you need to splurge on the extra payment for the Spa hot tub area. Definitely will do a cruise again.