Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Why aren't these kids in school?! 400 people under the age of 18! Pool and spas were unusable due to swarming kids. Food was so-so, especially the buffet. Crew was great! Friendly and courteous especially the folks at the wine bar. Room was nice and the steward was good. Ship was quite crowded and tight. Shows and entertainment were excellent and on-board music was very good. This cruise was probably OK for some folks but not for a quiet couple like us; we probably won't return.

The ship and the suite were wonderful. The staff was amazing. The food was perfect. Our only issue was with the weather. We traveled to Bermuda right between hurricane Matthew and hurricane Nicole. We lost a day in Bermuda and the weather was not ideal for several days, including an unscheduled sea day where there were no pools and too few activities to keep people busy. 

i have cruised the dawn 3 times since 2012. all very enjoyable except for one thing on this cruise i took October 7 2016. children running up and down the hallways 12-15 kids in each hot tub from age 7 and up. Same in the pool. jumping in and out. I suggest several child free floors for older guests. parents were not supervising their children. even though we left early because of hurricane Nicole which was a good call by the captain.Other than the kids running up and down very late hours it was a good trip. I too have children but its about consideration for other travelers

The island of Bermuda was awesome.  We took a 6 hour guided tour from a native Bermudian who showed us so many wonderful out of the way spots and beaches.  It was fantastic.  I have only used NCL once 4 years ago in Alaska and they were great.  This cruise did not come close to that.  Food in dining rooms was mediocre at best.  Specialty restaurants were great. Disembarking was the worse in all my 10 cruises by far.  They seemed disorganized and chaos ensued.  The "no liquid" policy was a pain and I had to hunt down an officer to get club soda.  Our inside cabin was awful.  You had to move the bed to open the closet.  I have had inside cabins in 3 other cruises and never had a problem.  Really disappointed in cruise but loved the island.

We had a wonderful time in spite of the weather.  Unfortunately we left Bermuda about 8 hours earlier than expected, but it was for the best.  The Dawn revised the itinerary for the day, we were not able to go outside at all, and it seemed as though everyone had a great time!  The Second City troupe is magnificent - as always!!  We were sad to see Pearly Kings Pub had changed to the Cellar wine bar...not a lot of activity in there when it used to be crowded all the time when it was Pearly Kings.  That was our only disappointment!!  The remodeling they did on the ship are beautiful.  Can't wait to sail again!!!

The cruise was awesome.  Entertainment was great.  Dining/food was delicious. The only downside was the internet.  They used to have an area set up with many computers and now they have it set up in the photo area with just 4 computers and the system was very slow.

We traveled during the 2 hurricanes in Oct... The Ship kept us informed of the weather conditions and travel changes. We left Bermuda one day early (understandably ) but enjoyed every day of our vacation on the Dawn!   We were with my sister and her hsb as we celebrated our 60th bday.  Eating drinking enjoying the entertainment and poolside amenities made this cruise truly relaxing and enjoyable..

The ports that we enjoyed the most were Quebec & Bar Harbor,Maine.There needs to be improvement on the small portions given in the main dining room.The scenery was great as the leaves were just starting to change colors but would have been better in 2 more weeks time.

Having been recently renovated, we found the Norwegian Dawn to be vastly improved from our prior sailing on her. The Canada/Bermuda two week cruise was relaxing but we found a few things less than anticipated. The complimentary dining menu during the Canadian segment needs to be improved as most of the offerings were stews and casseroles.....or alternative dining which seems to be strongly encouraged. The second week to Bermuda found the complimentary dining menu much improved and enjoyable. The bar service is sorely lacking with the withstaff ignoring you by not making eye contact resulting in you having to go to the bars yourself to obtain a drink, but they still get their 18percent tip!  It took five hours for our luggage to arrive in our storeroom, and we were two of the last four people to arrive at the ship that day. Cabin service was slow...most times our cabin was not "made up" for the day until after 2pm and as late as 6 pm one day. I don't fault our steward, it's apparent there too few of them assigned to too many rooms as well as luggage responsibilities. Entertainment was exceptional in all venues. Debarkation was smooth and efficient. Pleasant surprise to us was that this was a 2 segment cruise for which we were given double dining credit for each segment and a ship board credit to use. Overall the ship was clean, well maintained and vastly improved since it's overhaul.

NCL is a great cruise line.  This was our second cruise with them and it was as great as the first.  We enjoyed the food, the crew was wonderful, warm and friendly.  Their excursions were carefully chosen and very good.  We thought a little expensive when purchasing but turned out to be really worth the money.  

The suite was superb! Had a Nespresso machine.  Enjoyed the itinerary. The cruise was definitely for the over 70 crowd.  I am Celiac and when I asked for gluten free, they made me feel like I was putting the way out of their  comfort zone.  I had done a Princess cruise just 4 months earlier, and they made sure anything I ordered of the menu was made special for me..  Not Norwegian!

This was one of he best cruises I have ever had!  We were always greeted no matter what staff member we saw on the ship. The entertainment staff always made sure that we were having fun. I also noticed that staff members really enjoyed what they were doing. They even were on the dance floor making sure that  we were having a good time. The food was great, and the entertainment had some really talented performers. They made me feel like part of the family. I would go on NCL again in the future. The best was the Freestyle concept.

Having never been on a cruise, I had some concerns, all of which were not necessary. The staff were excellent, friendly and helpful. The bar tenders at OSheehans were a bit grumpy but that was minimal. Everyone else was terrific. The food was the best part, it was beyond imagination, more outstanding than any fine restaurant we have been to in the USA. I tried 6 restaurants and all were fantastic, with well prepared delicious food served perfectly. The shore excursions well worth the price, and organized.Overall a huge success and great fun. Now for the down side....embarking and disembarking is a terrible confused mess! Getting on the ship no one directed us to give our bags to anyone, we had to carry them to the cabin. Then getting off the ship was a disaster. No one knew where to go are how to get there, There needs to be much more personel to direct the guests to the proper place and deck, throughout the ship everyone was getting lost at one point or another. In addition, fix the elevators, they are way too slow, it sets a bad tone of frustration for the passengers. People who were happy suddenly became frustrated and angry. We had a handicap issue and could not take stairs we had to wait sometimes 10 minutes when it was a busy hour. All else was handled beautifully and in an expeditious manner, I would do another cruise with Norwegian, and will recommend the cruise line to others.

This was our third cruise on the Dawn.  We returned mainly to see Jose and Patti's wonderful entertainment nightly in the beautiful atrium.  The food was excellent and the service throughout the ship outstanding.  No wonder the Dawn was recently named Number One in Entertainment and Service of all Norwegian Cruise Line's ships!

Our mini suite was very nice, entertainment was excellent and we enjoyed Quebec City and Bar Harbor.  The rest of the ports were rather "ho-hum" and Sydney Nova Scotia was downright depressing! 

Service excellent. Ship is in very good shape after refurb. Food in all areas is much improved over NCL food in the past. 

Shore excursion time was changed from time we originally booked & not communicated causing us to miss the trip because we looked at the tickets too late. Can't assume anything even if you pre-purchase things & schedule times.

This was a FUN cruise.  Halifax and Prince Edward Island offered a lot to see.  The other ports, not so much.  The food on board in the Venetian and Aqua dining rooms were great.  The O'Sheehan's Bar on the 8th deck was awesome.  Good drinks, service and tasty food.  When booking this cruise be sure to leave a few days at the end to explore Old Quebec City as this is one stop you will really enjoy.  There is a lot to see and a wonderful city to explore.  Be sure to book the Hop On Hop OFF Bus as it gives you a great view of the city and ample time to visit many of the sites. You can do this before you leave for your cruise using Viator Tours on your computer browser or on board the ship.  The ships price may be more expensive then going direct.  Enjoy!

I convinced my husband to try Norwegian after a great experience on the Breakaway.  Even with all of the beautiful upgrades, the boat lacks a good flow on the common floors and lacks a lot of interior common space during cool weather. We took a Holland America cruise to Alaska and still felt that we could enjoy the outdoors and scenery while staying warm.  Not so on the Dawn.  I would recommend HA for a cool-weather cruise.

I also told my husband there would be more young people on Norwegian than on HA; perhaps it was the time of year, but there were only a handful of "30-somethings".  We were looking forward to a more vibrant crowd...

The lines were very long and disorganized at ports.  Especially Gaspe with a Tender and Disembarkation.  Poor  communication.

The staff was very friendly with our daughter (age 2) but the kids menu was quite poor: fast food type items (chicken fingers/mac n cheese/pbj/pizza) all served with potato chips and did not change from restaurant to restaurant.  No veggie or fruit options whatsoever.  I would have given her more of my food, but the wait for each course made this difficult for a little one.

Certainly not the same experience that I had with the Breakaway in 2013...

We have taken this cruise Boston to Bermuda annual. A BIG complaint is the lack of any type of dress code in the formal and speciality dining rooms.   I love the casual atmosphere of the NCL line, but since when is it EVER acceptable for men to wear baseball hats and cut off dungaree shorts, dry bathing suits and Women to wear graphic tee shirts and bathing suits with a see through cover up to the formal dining rooms?  There are plenty casual complementary dining choices!   Why is this acceptable?  I agree that dress shirts, ties, semi formal or even dressy clothing is optional.  When did smart casual become your gym clothes?  

We loved the dining, the main dining room and their steak house were wonderful.  The staff were friendly and very helpful and we enjoyed Bermuda, glad we got to visit.