Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

In all fairness, I can't imagine a cruise with NCL that isn't a ton of fun.  This one was great, as the prior ones have been.  The cruise ship was super clean, with an energetic staff that wanted to make sure everyone had a blast.  Each night they had an awesome show in the Stardust Theatre.  One night was an American Idol-ish vote one person a round off kind of deal.  Another night they brought in David DaVinci, a high profile magician.  The Second City Comedy Troupe came, and there was a spectacular aerial show the final night.  We stuck to the free restaurant called the Garden Buffet, located near the pool, and it was super.  One evening there was even a steak night there.

The damper was the atrocious weather.  All but two of my six shore excursions were cancelled over the three days we spent in port.  The sad thing is, the excursions are what prompted me to pick this particular trip over others... and with my health, I may never get another chance to scuba dive.  I don't really fault anyone at the cruise line, but on the other hand I do wonder why a ship would be sent somewhere where, I came to learn, bad weather is so common?  I only was able to snorkel once during the trip, and honestly the corals there aren't so vibrant as I've seen in other locations.

I will say one tour I got to go on, the Crystal Caves, was pretty neat.  That's an experience I've never had before, and our tour guide in the taxi to Hamilton was extremely insightful and friendly.  He even stopped so we could take a photo of Horseshoe Bay, a beautiful beach in Bermuda.  The ferry back between Hamilton and Royal Naval Dockyard was pretty easy to figure out.  Once arriving back in the dockyard, there is a complimentary shuttle type train that you can ride around the local area to get a quick eye for where things are you might want to see.

NCL is an awesome cruise line, and I highly recommend them... and although Bermuda has some wonderful sights, I would definitely want folks to think twice about going there if they are into snorkeling, scuba, and anything that involves being in the ocean. 

So convenient from Boston.  Loved the professionalism of the crew and of course the food was fantastic.  This was my 15th cruise on Norweigen and as usual I am impressed.

We had a great time on the Norwegian Dawn.  All of the hard working cruise staff provided 5 Star service. The food and beverages were wonderful. Hope to make the same trip next year.

The staff on the ship was hard working and professional. The rooms were a little bit noisier than I expected, but overall very comfortable. The ship was spotless, as was our room, and our steward was top shelf. My only complaint was that someone who found my brand new sneakers did not turn them into lost and found (I was bummed, my fault for not paying attention). 

Nice, relaxing trip. 

I enjoyed my cruise!  I was a little surprised by the lack of activities and acceptance for children under 3.  I loved the freestyle cruising where we could eat and roam about the ship as we pleased.  Most of the staff were very friendly and helpful.  There were a few staff and many other guests who rolled their eyes at me and my 2 year old and made me feel that he wasn't welcome on the cruise/in the restaurants with me.  The mom of the other family I was with fell on the gangway getting off the ship and I was very surprised by the lack of accommodation she and her family were given with her now being on crutches which left a bit of a "bad taste in my mouth" for Norwegian.  The ship stewards were great and got us everything we needed for our rooms!  Overall it was a lovely cruise and left me wanting to cruise again, but I think I might try a different cruise line next time that is maybe a little more kid friendly.  

This cruise was fun, relaxing, an laid back. There were no formal nights, the food was good, it was easy to add an excursion or package at any time. Our steward, Arnold, was the best! And purchase cruise director, Dingo Dave and all the people who helped him were amazing with setting up events for every day for all ages. Definitely worth it ... not to mention Bermuda is beautiful.

We sailed from Boston to Bermuda on the Norwegian Dawn. We loved the convenience of boarding in Boston and the fun and relaxing feeling of the Dawn. We traveled in October so the weather was stormy at night with rough seas but we still had a great time. So much to do on the ship and great people to meet. We would definitely do it again ! We loved every minute of our cruise vacation !  

I love going on Norwegian Cruises. The crew is great and so is the entertainment. Time spent on the Norwegian Cruise is PRICELESS!! Margarita took very good care of us and always helped out whenever we had questions for her. Guest services was also very helpful.

We loved this cruise - Bermuda is beautiful and the Norwegian Dawn has so many things to do on it!  Everyone that works on this ship is wonderful!  Our room steward - Marlon Castro was great! Irene (don't know her last name) was a wonderful server - she learned our names and what we were drinking from day 1!  She never let us down. The specialty restaurants were wonderful and it was awesome that we got them for free.  We enjoyed every part of our cruise.  We love the dine anytime feature and will be cruising Norwegian again!

Staff very friendly, big lines at some bars 20 min + waiting time. Cagneys steak house one of best meals ever had (not just on a cruise) LaCoccina Italian restaurant just average. Overall experience very good but room for slight improvements. 

From sunrise to sunset what a amazing time. I took advantage of the spa and relax by the pool.  The food was great, tried something new everyday!  Not enough room to praise the beautiful staff from housekeeping to the washy washy people. My first but not last cruise. Bemuda is a beautiful place to visit. I will return!

Nice cruise from Boston. Food was good. Entertainment was better than 2 years ago. Always something to do on the ship. Bermuda is a nice place to visit.

WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME ON OUR CRUISE TO BERMUDA.  THE DINNER BONUS WAS EXCEPTIONAL.  WE ATE AT ALL THE SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS.  ALL WERE DIFFERENT & YUMMY AND WE CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE SERVICE!  WE TOOK A TOUR OF BERMUDA THROUGH CRUISELINE.  OUR TOUR GUIDE WAS INFORMATIVE & FUN.  HE WAS LATE IN PICKING US UP, BUT THAT WAS THE ONLY FAULT.  OUR CRUISE TIME WAS RELAXING & FUN.  THE ROOM WAS SMALL AND I WOULD GET AN UPGRADE THE NEXT TIME.  OVERALL WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME, THANKS, CARMINE

This was our first visit to New England and Canada.  The weather was exceptional, the service was great, and we had a wonderful time.  We met some very special new friends, both guests as well as staff. 

The Norwegian Dawn was a very clean ship and seemed to be the perfect size, which made navigating the different levels very easy. We enjoyed smooth sailing  ,friendly staff with excellent service. Our Cabin Stewart was amazing and went out of his way to make sure we had everything we needed to make our cruise enjoyable. We really enjoyed the "towel animals" he created each day to brighten our return to the cabin.

We would consider Norwegian Cruise for our next cruise.

Hi!  We just returned from back to back cruises on the NCL Dawn--Boston to Quebec City and return to Boston.  We've cruised on the Dawn before and like the ship, its size and the restaurants available.  Usually we book inside cabins to save money, but decided to splurge on a balcony room this time. We were celebrating our 50th anniversary.  The room was great and we really enjoyed being able to see so many sunrises.  If you do decide to take this cruise, we recommend getting a room on the starboard (right) side of the ship.

The ports of call were varied up and back, with only Halifax being duplicated.  These were areas we had never seen before and enjoyed each one.  Having fantastic weather (60-82 degrees) helped, too.  We booked Cruises Only excursions to Peggy's Cove (Halifax) and to the Bay of Fundy (St. John) and were extremely pleased with our tour guides and the tours.  The tour to St. Martin's and the Bay of Fundy is not to be missed.  How amazing to walk on the ocean floor and explore ocean caves at low tide.  This also included two stops at the reversing falls--one to see the water running toward the ocean and one later to see the tide pushing the water the other direction.  Amazing!

We booked a private tour, Tartan Tours, found on the internet for Sydney, Nova Scotia to do part of the Cabot Trail.  It was a little more expensive than the NCL offered tour, but did more of the trail including the VERY scenic part to Neil's Harbor.  We also got to experience a 71 sec. ferry ride!  The bigger buses can't use this ferry and have to go around the bay, taking time away from the trail.

Quebec City is quaint with a very European flavor.  Lots to do there just walking around.  The nearby falls--higher than Niagara Falls, but not as wide-- was a short bus ride away.  In season there is a zip line that goes across the falls.  Unfortunately that was closed, as we might just have given it a try!!!  Or maybe that was a good thing!!

In La Baie on the Sequanay Fjiord, we did do the NCL Cultural Experience excursion.  We highly recommend this.  It was fantastic and very informative about the history of the area--live animals and actual motor vehicles on stage!

As you can tell, we really did love these back to back cruises.

they need to get better at getting folks off and on the ship in at least 2 ports, bar harbor and Halifax were terrible. Service on the ship was not consistent. Cut backs on the small items like no bar soap, no lotion, no chocolates . 

The itinerary was pretty good as the return trip had different ports except for Halifax.  The ship was very clean and the food excellent but so many people that leaving and returning from the ports was laborious. However, as HAL devotees, we greatly missed the daily newspapers, the port talks that happen without shopping the prime interest, the wonderful afternoon tea complete with; scones, clotted cream, lovely sammys, and waiters with white gloves, the free computer classes, fresh fruit in the room daily and the 2 for 1 happy hour specials.  There was no conditioner next to the shampoo.  We like the smaller ships although I must say the large ship was smoother and I did not get sea sick.

Having cruised on several different cruise lines. I felt that NCL was on the lower end in service, food. I felt I was being nickeled and dimmed for everything.  Small things like towel animals I only received the last two nights. There were no mints on my pillow. Room service even for coffee is a fee. The drink package lets you drink but you still have to pay 18% on every drink you order. The food was not bad but was just mediocre. Since you don't get the same server with the free style dining you never get those special touches.  Dress is very casual and they really push the pay restaurants.  When dining there you pay a fee plus 18%. If you want two entrees you pay $10.00.  Lobster is also extra.  In the specilty restaurants the food was superior to dining rooms or buffet.  The one thing that was superior on NCL was entertainment. The normal dancers and singers were only used twice and the magic, and comedy acts were spectacular.  If you are looking for a cruise where you don't dress up and want good entertainment NCL is the way to go.  If you want superior food try Celebrity.  

We had a great time on the cruise. The ship was very clean and easy to get around.  We only had one negative thing to say.  We felt the bartenders were very slow and not friendly at all.   It was pretty much that way all around the ship.