Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We had a great time.  The food was fabulous.  We had a balcony room which we found small but no big deal. It's not about the room.

Everyone that works on the ship works hard but they are always friendly and helpful.  We really enjoy the crew.

And the other guests make it the best.  Everyone in vacation mode and out to have a great time.  Made some friends I hope to keep forever!

I would like to say that I had a very good time.  The staff were all friendly and responsive to my needs.  However, the food was not up to their previous excellent standards.  On all cruises I have been on up to this last one, there was shrimp cocktail and escargot (I did however get this as a special request) on the nightly menu; there was lobster offered one night of the cruise.  I really missed these little extras.  I wasn't even offered coffee with dessert until the last night.

Overall, with the exception of the food in the main dining rooms, I would recommend Norwegian as the way to cruise.

During this cruise my wife & I both said it was the most relaxing vacation we have had in years. We booked one excursion thru the cruise ship. We liked it, but there were so many other boats that went snorkeling in the same area, which made it difficult to move around. In Curaçao we booked a chartered sailboat for a half day. That was great. The Captain new the area where to go. It was not crowded. We were able to see more fish then the previous day. We ate in the specialty restaurants for most of the cruise. Most of them were fairly good, skip the Italian restaurant. We did agree the service in the Aqua dinning room was better then any of the specialty restaurants. Our housekeeping was not that great. Sometimes we would have glasses to drink out of, other times we had plastic cups. That is unacceptable

The staff was friendly, fun, attentive, and capable.  The ship was clean and comfortable.  The fitness center and its staff were excellent.  The food was generally good but sometimes over-cooked. Loved the ports we visited, except that in Mexico the vendors were annoyingly aggressive.  Definitely will cruise with Norwegian again.  Great value!

The ship was very clean and the animal towels each day were great.The food at the complimentary restaurants had great presentation but lacked very much in flavor.

This was my first cruise and was a little overwhelming. I forgot to fill out a form for one of the onboard credits so it was forfeited which was disappointing. Parking in New Orleans was very confusing. It took us three tries to find a parking area as the "whale" lot was full? when we arrived at port. Balcony room was just the right size and well located above the theatre which was OK. Dolphin swim and ride excursion was a good experience although renting a locker is not necessary as there are bins near the pool for personal items. Suggest bringing your own snorkel equipment (with mouthpiece) for Sharks, Rays and Island getaway as only mask was provided and I swallowed alot of salt water that day.Our guide Karim was excellent though and we did see plenty of rays and sharks along with plenty of fish. Roatan zip line and Island tour was well worth the price. We had an excellent guide (Diane) for the island and glad we chose the monkey and sloth farm over the Iguana Farm as interacting with the animals was encouraged. Costa Maya was our least favorite port. very dirty and we got sick from food or drink from this port. Entertainment on ship was excellent. food on ship was varied and plentiful. loved the pool side bbqs after a day in port. shopping consultant on ship was focused on jewelry and watches and promoting certain "approved" shops and provided little guidance on negotiating with the natives on other types of items like textiles (blankets, clothes). Suggest watching cell phone usage if not on an international plan as using ships wifi is expensive. we had a $200 charge by day 3 and turned our phones off after that. Overall a great experience and would likely do it again with adjustments from the lessons learned above.

Since this was my first cruise, I did not have any preconceptions...The ship was nice but the crew on the Norwegian Dawn made this cruise wonderful experience.

We were first time cruisers and not sure what to expect. However, we were pleasantly surprised with all NCL had to offer. I enjoyed the fact that we were able to see several different ports of call. The only downside was we felt rushed on and off the boat each time. We only ate the food that was included, no specialty dining package. The food was moderate to good, nothing great. The pool was so crowded we never got in, but it wasn't really a big deal because the breezes are so nice that we weren't usually hot. The workers are very nice and aim to please.

Overall it was ok.  I think to say it was a  poor experience is not quite accurate; however, I could not rate it as a cruise I would recommend to friends.

What really detracted from the entire experience was the rudeness of the staff. This occurred mostly in the buffet areas, and happened every single day.  We never experienced this on our Carnival Cruises.

On the other hand, the food was good, out room was always taken care of nicely, and the ports were great.

This was my third cruise with NCL, chosen mainly because of the itineraries offered. I like the relaxed atmosphere and freestyle dining. The daily barbecues are a very nice feature. I enjoyed all of the ports, but liked Roatan, Honduras the best, we toured the Gumbalimba Preserve and Tabyana beach, very enjoyable. The ship itself needs an update, there was nothing that stood out on this ship. After cruising with Royal Caribbean and Princess, the Norwegian Dawn just doesn't compare. I don't know if we had unusually noisy neighbors, but the walls seemed paper thin. The room size is pretty standard. The entertainment was great, we enjoyed all of the shows. The food was good, some days better than others.The Garden Buffet was poorly designed, basically looked like a cafeteria, and just didn't flow well. The Aqua dining room opened promptly at 5:30 pm with people forming a line up the stairs as there was only one entrance and one person assigning tables. I would go on another cruise with NCL, but would go on a newer ship.

Nice crew.

Clean.

As expected.

Good food.  Buffet area the meats may be a bit over done due to sitting under/on heat.

Enjoy some time "disconnected" from work and the like.

First and last cruise on Norweigian cruise line.  This was my 6th cruise and very disappointed.  Cruise line scheduled late flight into New Orleans and once checked in, they no longer were serving food.  We left home at 4:30am and were hungry and tired.  Next the toilet would not flush, finally fixed at around 10:30pm and 3 trips to front desk.  I was not allowed to reserve a dinner time when I purchased cruise, go to dinner the 2nd night and was told I had to take a beeper and wait because of those who had reserved dinner times online.  Go to gym first day, no change rooms, no steam room or sauna or whirlpool.  All of these were extra cost.  On all previous cruises these were included.  Fortunately, I did not book excursions through the ship and was able to go on excursions they did not offer.

This cruise was nice, the ship was ok, a little bit older. The constant side to side motion of the ship was a bit annoying at times, but other than that it was ok. Our cabin steward was amazing. The ports of call were ok. I would pass on going to Belize City and Costa Maya again. Loved, loved loved Roatan Honduras.

The ship was clean and in good repair.  The  cruise director and his staff were informative and outgoing.  The featured entertainment was good.  Some smaller activities (trivia challenge and another game) that we had planned to attend on board were found to be moved or cancelled because of lack of space or staff.  There is only one dance floor on the boat, other dance activities were held on the deck by the pool.  Our cabin steward was outstanding.  He checked in with us regarding our preferences and made sure that there was nothing that we needed.  The cabin was cleaned and always at the ready.  One the other hand, dining tended to border on chaotic as people were coming and going constantly and the wait staff became dismissive after your order was taken, neglecting to refill beverages or check back to see if anything else was needed.  The Garden Buffet was open pretty much all of the time on deck 12 and had very good food to offer with very good variety, and was particularly good for breakfast and lunch. There was generally a cookout going for a couple of hours in the late afternoon, by the pool every day.   For dinner though, we wanted to have a relaxed dining experience to review the day's adventures and that never happened.  Reservations for specialty dining must be made early or you will wait quite a while to dine.  They have packages available to defray the cost of the specialty dining, but to make it cost effective you need to dine in one of those venues every night.  They do offer a paging beeper if you decide that you want to wait.  There were a few piano bar type places on the ship, but a couple of them seemed to be associated with the specialty dinner venues and we weren't always sure if we should access them if we were not dining in that area.  The shore excursions offered some excellent choices and the embarkation / disembarkation / tendering process went smoothly. 

The ship was immaculate at all times.  The staff and crew were friendly, efficient, and very amusing at times.  Our balcony room was a bit cramped, but not to the point where it hindered our enjoyment of the trip.  Our cabin steward (Joel) was a real character, but was also VERY attentive to our slightest whim.  His towel sculptures were astounding!  The food was EXCELLENT and served in an appealing manner.  Drinks were very good also.  (Before sailing, get the $80 "drink for free" option.  Don't wait until you sail.)  Overall, this was a great cruise on a great ship and I heartily recommend it.

I enjoyed the cruise.  I wish there was more than one pool on the boat.  I also wish there were more adult areas.  The boat was filled with kids.  It's also nice to have a pool with fresh water.  I know some boats have fresh water and others have salt.  The nightclub, Spinnaker, was very dark and not an appealing place to hangout at.

My biggest concern was with Le Bistro.  We were told at port before we boarded that Le Bistro was the best specialty restaurant on the boat, so we made a reservation there.  We also made a reservation at Teppanyaki.  We were very happy with our Teppanyaki experience, but NOT Le Bistro.  The service was good at Le Bistro, but the food was very bad.  A lot of times food is subjective, but our meal at Le Bistro was objectively bad!  I was with two other couples on the boat.  I paid $59.00 to eat at Le Bistro.  Our group paid a total of about $180.00, when we could have simply eaten for free at one of the main dinning rooms (where we loved the food!).  We complained about Le Bistro the last night of our cruise.  We spoke to the concierge and the maitre d.  The maitre d left me a message on the phone in my cabin the last night of the cruise and I thought she said the charge at Le Bistro would be taken off my bill, but it wasn't when I got my bill the morning of disembarking.  I checked my credit card statement and my Norweigan bill included the $59.00 charge from Le Bistro.

I would appreciate being credited the $59.00 charge at Le Bistro.  Unless I heard incorrectly, the maitre d said I would be in her voicemail to me the last night of our cruise.  I do have to acknowledge that her voicemail was very difficult to fully understand.

Please keep me advised.  Thank you.

I was very disappointed with my cruise on the Norwegian Cruise for a number of reasons.

1. Overall they were more interested in selling merchandise than providing service to the passengers. A large area of the small ship was taken up by vendors with overpriced merchandise that could be purchased onshore cheaper.

2. The food in the dinning room was not up to the quality or quantity I had experienced on other cruise lines. I heard that the food was better in the dinning rooms but at additional cost. Two of our waiters were unfriendly and not qualified.

3. I did not like the fact that the gratuity was added to the on-board account. If this is the pay for the ship personal it should be included in the price of the cruise. I would rather tip the personal according to the service that was rendered. I think that this would encourage the ships personal to give better service to be rewarded for good service.

4. The ship could have been cleaner and better maintained. The carpet in our stateroom was stained and there was rust and loose bolts on the balcony.

5. The entertainment was not as good as I have seen on other cruise lines.

6. My wife and I are in our 70's and would like a area away from the children and young adults where we could just enjoy the pool and sun without so much noise and activity. I would like to see an adult only area.

Of the five other Cruise Lines that I have used, I am afraid that I would have to rate Norwegian last.

I would not recommend cruising on the Dawn. It was not up to my expectations at all. The cabins seemed smaller than usual for a balcony cabin. The cabin steward was excellent with good service and friendly demeanor . I don't know how she was able to handle all she did by herself. She had 16 cabins to take care of with no help. The shows were ok, some good and some very bad. The choreography did not seem to go with the music, Some of the costumes were very drab.

Overall the crew was friendly, helpful, and worked very hard to make the cruise a pleasant experience. We had a great time in spite of the displeasure with the cabin.

We love Norwegian but we usually cruise on the Epic. I am on Atkins and I found the daytime food to be boring? Now we always purchase the Ultimate Dining Package and eat our evening meal in one of the specialty restaurants and that was mostly wonderful with the exception of a need for training regarding how to serve sparkling wine and you don't charge extra for lobster with the UDP.  We did not explore dining away from the buffet which left us missing O'Shehans on the Epic.  After 3 tries we were finally served wine that was chilled in chilled wine glasses? The first bottle was actually served warm? The second bottle the wine was chilled but the glasses were warm? Also after arriving home, I contacted the cruise line to ask if I was correct regarding the UDP and the additional charge for lobster and found that I was charged erroneously plus I found that the gratuities are included in the UDP unless you find someone who earns a more impressive tip.  I am booked on the Dawn in the fall and am seriously considering cancelling.

The ship was great, shore excursions were really great, the entertainment was excellent, the buffet was great, the cabin steward was outstanding. The Dining Room experiences were terrible. I guess freestyle dining, where you have to wait in line every night for dinner with a different waiter each night, is not for us. We much prefer a standard seating time (e.g., 6:00) with a few other guests at the same table every night. The waiters were all very good, but the wait each night was absurd - even at 8:00. Moreover, the dining rooms ("Aqua" and "Venitian") never seemed to be open for lunch  when we wanted to eat-  closed for an art show or only open for 1 and a half hours. We would probably consider Norwegian again, but other passengers seemed to agree that something needs to be done about the Freestyle dining.