Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Physically this is a nice ship...mid size, nice floor plan, etc. However it is very dated and showing its' age. The good news is that on May 19, 2016 immediately after our cruise was over it went into dry dock for a multi-million dollar makeover. I'm sure when it resumes cruising that the décor, furnishings, floors and cabins will have a much improved feeling.

To be honest, I was very skeptical about this cruise having been a faithful Royal Caribbean cruiser, but what a pleasant surprise! The ocean view cabin was great and very well designed for comfort and plenty of storage room for clothes & stuff, and the bathroom was so very well designed and laid out. There is not enough space here to go into the culinary experience, in one word "fantastic". I enjoyed the "Freestyle" dining arrangement. The entertainment (shows) were some of the best I've ever seen on a cruise. There was always some activity going on that was of interest during the day, and plenty of music and dancing at night. A great cruise. I am sure the ship will be even better after the dry docking and I look forward to going on it another time.

This was the first cruise we have taken on Norwegian. We have been cruising for 25 years on various cruise line and thought we would try Norwegian. This ship was in horrible condition in bad need of repairs that were visible to all passengers,  The pool was never clean and the water was cloudy. We disembarked from New Orleans and the water looked like the Mississippi River,  just filthy. 

The food was horrible in the dinning rooms. The quality of the steaks tasted wild and was not eatable.  The lobster was grilled too long and it stuck to the shell and could hardly be pulled out of the shell.  The waiters and the staff in all the dining rooms did not make you feel special, and were difficult to get their attention when we needed something.   We did pay extra to eat in the French Restaurant and the food was good. Based on that  fact it was obvious that Norwegian  was just trying to push people into buying the dining package..

The buffet actually had better food and a better menu. What a waste to take the time to have a nice sit down dinner.

The casual dress (anything goes) for dinner was disappointing. Norwegian definitely set a tone for low class cruising.

I doubt that we will ever cruise with Norwegian again. Even though we understand that the "Dawn" is now being refurbished it should have been taken out of service long before our cruise.  The carpets were filthy, and obviously very old.   

The caribbean is a favorite cruise for us and we have been there over a dozen times. The Dawn and the Norwegian cruise employees were the worse experience we have had in 25 years of cruising. 

We had an amazing time on this cruise! This was our first time cruising on Norwegian and we loved it!! The service was excellent. There were plenty of different dining options and all of them were wonderful. We didn't have our kids with us on this cruise, but it didn't seem very kid friendly. So if that is something you're looking for, this might not be right. Otherwise, everything was awesome!! We already booked another cruise with Norwegian for next year!!

My sister and I booked a discounted NCL cruise out of NOLA to Mexico, Belize and Honduras for 7 days on the Dawn.  It was an excellent value for the price paid.  The food was excellent and the service of the staff was excellent.  However the room and ship appeared a bit shabby.  We were told that the ship was going into drydock within the month for renovations that were needed.  The shops on the ship were grossly overpriced and some of the personnel in them seemed like carnival hawkers, far different than the staff who were worth every penny of the predetermined service fee..  I would greatly suggest the formal dining room, The Venetian, for all meals as they were superb and the service was great.  Entertainment varied with those "partying hardy" and more quiet venues. Jose and Patti were an excellent musical duo that should be enjoyed by most.  I had not cruised for years and was very surprised by the good service.provided. Also we booked two excursions thru NCL; a dolphin encounter in Cozumel and a Belize River Trip.  Boith were very good. Also to me a balcony is now a must have. Was not happy about no internet without paying a fortune.  Should be available for free  in this day and age.

Don't get the wrong idea from the title.  We have been on many cruises to many different destinations - Alaska, the Mediterranean, Hawaii, turn around, etc.  Some on NCL and some not.  This was an enjoyable cruise - good food, good ertainment, nice ship appointments compared to others we have been on.  We had the food and beverage package and were surprised on the number of "service charges" on out bill.  It would be nice to have those explained.

We did have two complaints.  The tour of Roatan was not a great experience.  We were regaled with how poor the residents were and how rough they had it - existing on (as we were told) $350 per month.  Yet we saw folks with smart phones, cars, etc.  We were taken to two drop offs one of which we were treated to a dance and the other in a very poor area we were given a tablespoonful of some kind of dish. Dirt and poverty prevailed. The whole tour seemed a poorly disguized quest for money and sympathy.

Second - we could not believe that our stateroom had only one electrical outlet. We had two cell phones, a kindle and two tablets.  We hope when you refurbish the ship you take that into consideration.  You launched in 2002 and many of the devices we now have were not in existence.

We will definitely sail on NCL in the future, but probably not in the very near future.  Other travel plans.

Robert Hayes

we took this cruise for our honeymoon.it was great from start to finish.

The crew were there to make sure everyone has the time of their lives.The ports were also fantastic.

We recommend cruising on Norwegian to any of our friends.

Very nice, relaxing cruise. We did not do any shore excursions as we have done many of these in the past and just wanted a restful cruise. Everyone was very polite and the food was good, along with the entertainment. Very easy to disembark which made it easy since we were local.See if you can get the walk way to the Hilton opened up as we had to walk almost a mile to Budget when it was right up the walkway from DAWN.........would make it more convenient and a selling point for you possibly

As for the locations I went to they where great and there was good staff in the dining area and the gift shop and the special shows. But the ship was a dump there was smoking going on all over the boat and my wife stayed sick from it. The first morning we got up and the smell of weed was just flowing down the hall. The bed was like sleeping on a rock. They placed my of their interest in keep everyone drunk then we'll care for and happy. The ship never was smooth till it stopped in dock they never could get to smooth out. 

Although the Dawn is an older ship, she is going to drydock in a few weeks for refuerb, we really enjoyed the cruise. The staff was excellent, food was great and the ports of call all offered us something different to do. Especially loved Costa Maya.

Entertainment very mediocre. Only Jose and Patti above mediocre. Hard to get hot food. Food always luke warm in Venetian Restaurant and Garden Cafe. Teppanyaki and Cagneys Steakhouse very good. Some staff quite rude. Ports of call very suspect.

there were not enough boats used to get people to and from island to many people on boats and to long waiting in the heat.We did not like the excursion we had  due to the use of your life boats to get to and from shore.

Started off with bathroom light not being fixed until dinner time. Towels used that evening were taken but not replaced until the next afternoon. Bathroom vents not working as mirror continued to fog up so we had to keep the door open. We could barely see the view outside as the windows were so dirty with rust surrounding and some type of heavy sea salt build on our side. Venetian Dining-  dinner food not so good and service very slow. One night they gave us the coffee cups but waited well over 15 minutes for our coffee while waiting for our dessert. The last 3 nights the dining service was better and the food got better (not dessert) but not what we expected or were used to on other cruise lines. The Belize stop was changed as a result of their renovation of the resort so we had to stop at Belize City, disappointed. Cabin, restaurant, entertainment staff were all polite and friendly. Loved cruise director Richard and restaurant staff Judithanne, Edwin & Carlos. 

From the staff to the entertainment my entire family was very impressed! Great selections on our meals freestyle! Will definitely go again!! We had a great time and loved the entertainment the most!!

Not the best of customer service.  Cabin attendant was not attentive.  Food was mediocre.  The best part of this cruise was the entertainment. You need more wait staff in your dining rooms.  Better service was in the buffet area.

beds were HORRIBLE.  Venetian dining room is good. Aqua dinning is HORRIBLE - "intimate atmosphere" means even though you are at a table you can eat off the table next to you easily. Small pool if you are taking kids but great for adults lounging around and love the 4 hot tubs.

The staff was not friendly. Most of the staff was rude even at guest service. There was a few friendly people in the venetian, the ma tre d (Facie) Kevin Gomes, Jason, and Emmett. I will not cruise of the Dawn again. The ma tre d in the Aqua in the evening is really rude and should be retrained.

The cruise was a wonderful experience. The stateroom was consistently clean, the staff very kind and the food was delicious. We had the UDP and it was wonderful to order dinner specific to dietary restrictions. The only drawback was the amount of smoke on the cruise. Every morning to get to the buffet we had to walk through a gauntlet of smoke from morning risers. This reduced my appetite and love for the cruise drastically. Also, the smoke from the casino and Havana room traveled through the halls and made the carpet smell like cheap cigarettes. I would definitely invest in a smoke-free cruise but would be hesitant to use Norwegian again because of the smoking. 

This cruise visits some popular ports that have fun activities. The zip line in Honduras was absolutely amazing.The Mayan ruins in Tulum and Costa Maya were also very interesting. The ship itself is older than some we have cruised on in the past but in good shape. Renaldo at the Topsider Bar is a great server and takes good care of his customers.Food and onboard entertainments were just average.

The cruise kept us busy all of the time. There were so many excursions in every port. And the entertainment on the boat was wonderful. Food was great and plentiful.