Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

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.

Great trip,takes a while to get used to shorts and t-shirt in dinning room.This ship is laid out kind of strange.Needs serious repairs around main pool and hot tubs.Picked up pieces of pool parts each time in pool.Food and staff are great.

Dear Norwegian representative,

Originally I had a guest that was to join me on this cruise, but she was unable to attend at the last minute, so I ventured out solo.

I have been on over 9 cruises in my lifetime and believe this is a wonderful way to travel, explore and see the world while enjoying excellent food and service. This was the first time I stayed in a mini sweet and thoroughly enjoyed my room and my room Stewart: "Adrian" was excellent.

My last two cruises I stayed on level 9 and enjoyed a balcony and for me, I will always have a balcony, or now, a mini sweet.

Cagney's Steakhouse was an amazing feature and I look forward to dining at Cagney's again.

I was slightly offended upon departure. I had a surprise visit from customs to search my room as they were looking for drugs and weapons, and of course found nothing. I do not believe in random. I wonder if in their search they found my book? Cracking the LSAT. During my cruise I was studying for my LSAT test that is scheduled for June 6, 2016.

However, for now, I will not let these custom officials deter me from cruising Norwegian.

Respectfully,

Ken Harrington

We really enjoyed this cruise.  Good entertainment and activities.  Food was just ok.  Didn't like having to pay for room service and had to take cold showers

We just recently had a wonderful trip on NCL's Norwegian Dawn.  The cruise ship needed a little facelift.  We found out later that the ship will be docked soon for an overhaul.  But, given that, the trip was great, we enjoyed the food and entertainment on board the ship.  The cruise staff was hospitable and friendly.  We experienced no problems while on board.  We have traveled often on NCL.  We are gold latitude members.  We will always look for future trips on NCL cruise ships. 

This was an excellent cruise. The food, staff, entertainment, and events were great. There is something to do for everyone on this cruise. This wasn't my first cruise, but it was only my 2nd cruise on Norwegian and I enjoyed this one a lot more than the last one I went on. I would recommend this cruise to others. 

The Norwegian Dawn was amazing.  I saw reviews before leaving of people saying the ship was dated but I didn't find that to be true.  The process of arrival and departure were very organized and swift.  We had two tender days and two dock days.  The tender process was very well planned and ran smoothly, as did the dock days.  Each time we came back to the ship there were cold drinks and towels awaiting us.  The staff on this ship is the most accommodating crew of people I have ever experienced.  They were very friendly and attentive.  Most crew members even remembered your name after meeting you which amazed me since there were over 2000 passengers.  We were informed that the boat is being dry docked next month for a total renovation so I am excited to see the changes that are made.

This was our 1st time cruising on Norwegian, We have been on 5 Carnival cruises prior to this one on Norwegian.  We had the unlimited beverage package and that was wonderful.  The food is very good.  There are some charges in the upscale dining- we ate at the Tappanyka (hibachi), the La Cucina (italian) and Sushi bar.  The food was outstanding and worth the little extra we had to pay.  Our cabin steward was excellent, room was always clean and comfortable.  We ordered coffee and danish delivered to our room every morning which was nice and had no additional fee.  This cruise had very good entertainment on the boat.  But what we loved the most was the 4 ports of call!!!  Out of 7 days, we were at a different port four days in a row, cozumel, Roatan Island, Belize and Costa mya. We highly recommend this cruise!

Positive

- Movies all day on 2 channels

- Wifi good

- Entertainers Jose and Patti great

- I was traveling solo in an interior cabin (first and last time for THAT!). I asked them to remove both the table and 1 bed so I could get my mobility scooter in and out of the cabin, which they promptly did.

Negative- day by day comments

4/10- Poor markings throughout ship- should have arrows pointing forward, aft (fish on floor don't help much because they're not in all locations); should be signs that say "Port", Starboard" like Holland America has

4/11- Wooden coffee stirrers with room service breakfast- how about a SPOON?

-Should have Lactaid milk- only option offered for lactose intolerance was soy milk

-220 outlet not like other cruise lines (Oceania, Holland America)- my adapters were useless

-Male bingo caller went too fast- I had bingo but didn't get to say it before he called next #; Lorena went at a much better pace

-Cocktails much more expensive than Holland America (Cosmo $12 vs. $9)

4/12- I told my steward- twice, and the front office- twice- about a problem in my stateroom. It never was resolved

4/13- Brought breakfast at 9:16- card marked 9:30-10:00.

- only one of 4 elevators would go down to deck 4 for tender- they didn't tell anybody or put a sign up. I am handicapped, and could not take stairs. There should have been signs posted saying "use this elevator to go to deck 4".

- There was definitely a shortage of information provided to guests throughout the entire cruise- poor/incomplete communication of things that passengers needed to know.

4/14- stewards talking loudly in the hall every morning. I don't mind talking, but their voices were louder than they needed to be. Some guests are still asleep at 8am!

-Tenders only came every 30 minutes- again, not provided with information that the schedule this day would be different than day before; no chairs for handicapped to sit while waiting 20 minutes

- Excursion returned 45 minutes late, missed bingo

- burned tongue on soup

4/15- fiasco at dinner. I was told that if I arrived when the dining room opened at 5, I would be able to have a table by a window in an excellent server's section. I arrived right at 5, but the hostess did not see me on deck 6 (strange configuration of dining room entrance- between decks 6 and 7. Fine for those who can use stairs- not so much for us handicapped folks). By the time she became aware of my presence, the tables by the window at that station were taken by others. I did what I was supposed to do, but once again, poor communication among staff cost me that table.

4/16- talked c Radu, Maitre d' of Venetian about 4/15 incident; he had table by window at Claudette's station for me at 6:30. Great dinner.

- Bingo that afternoon not done well- they made those just wanting raffle results wait for 2 of the 3 games of bingo before the drawing- seen by many of us as an obvious attempt to get them to buy bingo cards. Then they sold instant win tickets in between games, making those of us who did not want them wait.

- No bottles of soft drinks available for sale- and only Pepsi products.

4/17- brought breakfast at 7:40- scheduled for 8-830! Woke me up, and didn't seem to understand or care.

Our second Norwegian Cruise this year. Www love the smaller ships and the Free-Style dining. Crew and staff are always very friendly and helpful. Meals in regular and speciality restaurants are excellent with wide selection of menu items. Norwegian Dawn did not have Concierge app., but that is a great tool for groups who want to stay in touch, and for updates on activities aboard.

Food was very good in Specialty Restaurants, entertainment and cruise director worked hard so all enjoyed their voyage. Main complaint was the worn out condition of the ship....

Norwegian offers great service but the food menu needs some work.   Went to main dining rooms on most days and the variety was not very good.   Food items served on Carnival cruises were priced at a premium on Norwegian.    Not many good vegetables served and the deserts not very good.    Most items in restaurant can be found at the buffet. 

Loved the help from Vacation Outlet. Ports were good. Would not recommend the glass bottom boat in Roatan. Very submarine like, very hot and people were complaining.It was misrepresented.  Best tour swim with sharks and rays in Belize. Great boat ride , great guides. Jeep tour in Costa Maya not very good. Great at beach but ride was boring. Cruise ship Dawn was nice but showing age. Don't purchase the wi fi it's too slow. Ports all have good wi fi.

Great cruise tho!

Great itinerary for western Caribbean.  Kids were delighted in a snorkeling excursion in Cozumel, followed by a few hours at a private beach club where the open bar delighted the parents and grandparents.  Roatan is another port where beaching is about the only option. Skip the pricey ship excursions.  Local taxis are right at the port and very reliable. We headed to kiosk #5 where the guy that booked us was brother of our taxi driver. To and from the magnificent west end beaches was $15 per person, and taking a round about way for a tour of the island was another $10.  Wristband for the private beach added another $10, but got us beach chairs, umbrellas, and access to a reasonably priced bar, a lovely clean beach, and a huge pool. It's hard to beat a fabulous day on Roatan for $35 a person.  Belize city is gateway to several great Mayan ruins.  The priciest but most fabulous is the river excursion to Lamanai   You are in port 8 hours, and this shore excursion  runs seven. There's no good option other than booking thru the cruise line.  Costa Maya is a recent dock built to add another stop and allow cruise ships to delete Cancun from itineraries.  Cancun required tendering and cruise lines detest it.  Costa Maya offers a huge pool and a bazillion souvenir shops and a pricey water park, but there isn't much about it that feels authentic.  Walk out the port gates and find the swarm of yellow taxis.  For $2 they'll take you a couple miles down the road to an old beach village called Mahuahual.  If you can't remember, just say fishing village.  They'll know.  There you'll find 8 or 10 beachfront restaurants that offer you "free" beach chairs, umbrellas, and maybe a free drink.  Of course if you are there for a few house, you'll get thirsty and hungry.  By time we left, Big Mama had tapped us for about $200.  Prices were typically American, but the drinks were generous and the food was fabulous.  And authentic Mexican.

Highly recommend this cruise for families, or anyone for that matter.  Regardless of your lifestyle there are plenty of activities for everyone, trivial, dance contests, Q&A with the staff,  casino tournaments, parties for singles, parties for families, sport challenges, and the list goes on.  The shows are amazing and very family friendly, with two shows nightly to accommodate different groups.  The cruise staff is amazing and the cruise ship director is unsurpassed.

The Norwegian Dawn is an older ship that is comparable to a larger ship due to the variety of venues being offered. The food and service was exceptional along with the different options offered. The entertainment that was onboard at the time was the best I have seen on a cruise in a long time. They had Jocko and Maria that provided an exceptional act and also had David DaVinci who also provided another great show. The onboard entertainers also were a pleasure to see. The final show combined all entertainers into a grand finale that captured more acts from all the entertainers. Having four ports in seven days was perfect and each of these destinations offered a huge varieties of excursions to choose from for anyone. New Orleans is a great destination by itself and is also very accommodating for cruisers.

The itinerary (including New Orleans) for this cruise is one of our favorites. Roatan and Costa Maya are beautiful beach stops. Belize and Cozumel have interesting excursions available as well. The Norwegian Dawn is an OK ship for it's age. We found it a little weird in it's layout and getting around. The staff of the ship was great and the entertainment was very good. The food was pretty average but not bad. It sounds like the ship is do for a dry dock refurbishment in May 2106, so that should really help spruce it up and make it feel new again. I would recommend this cruise itinerary for first time cruisers or someone with just a little lower expectations. Knowing what we know now, we would go on this same itinerary again.