Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

My husband and I loved the cruise, however we would not go again during spring break!  We will go again at a different time. :)  

The dining experiences were pretty good and found most food on the buffet excellent!  Our favorite open dining room was the Venetian ~ loved the atmosphere.  The Aqua was nice too.  

Our room porter/server was exceptional!  His name was Alvin and he was the best!!  Very attentive, helpful and excellent work ethic.  He was always smiling and friendly.

The ship was pretty and very clean.  We enjoyed the promenade deck, however the people smoking just outside the door was annoying.  Did not like having to walk through a gauntlet of smoke to go outside :(  We felt like there was less "lounging" areas on the top deck compared to our cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy.  I always went to the very front or back of the ship to lay out in order to avoid the loud music around the pool area.  

The entertainment was excellent and loved ALL the shows and games in the Spinaker Lounge.

Our choice of shore excursions were perfect!  All well worth the price and we booked through the cruise line only.  The West Bay Kayak and Snorkel excursion was terrific and would highly recommend it as well as the Cave Tubing and Zip Line in Belize.  So much fun!

I will try the patch behind the ear for our next cruise.  I had a few bouts of motion sickness during the week, but not too severe.  

We went on the NCL Dawn during spring break 3/8/15 thru 3/15/15. There were four of us ,myself, my wife and 2 of our grandchildren, two  8yr. old boys who have never cruised before. My wife and I have made 15 total cruises, so we are not new at this. 

I will start at the beginning so you can see how we arrived at a 4 star rating for this ship and our cruise.

1. Getting on the ship in New Orleans was a snap, we made it in record time from the time we hit the terminal until we were seeing our state room for the first time, 42 minutes. that was as quick as any of our other luding RC, Celebrity, and good old Carnival....5 stars

2. Dining, We went to the Aqua dining room 4 nights of our 7 night cruise. We went to the Venetian the last night and during the week we went twice to the buffet restaurant. We did not do any of the "Pay me more" restaurants on the ship. The restaurants on any cruise line that come with the base cruise fare serve food that I feel far exceeds the everyday diet of the average passenger. Paying extra to have a step up on everyone else on the ship in my book is a waste of time and space and money. I am able to keep my ego in check and don't have to brag to everyone else how much better the food was at the premium dining venue that I laid extra money out on. TIME..... I see so many people on a cruise waste valuable vacation time each day chasing down restaurant reservation times to eat at the " Pay Me More"  venues. SPACE.....I had the tiniest interior cabin I have ever had at sea. If the ships designers would spend more time designing ships and refitting older ships without all of these premium restaurant venues, Just think of how much larger they could make cabin space and common areas on almost any ship and could probably get a premium price paid willingly for a more spacious cabin. Money... During the week we ate the common offerings and they were served well and were cooked at and served at the right temps.( hot when they should have been hot and cold when they should have been cold). We used our "Pay Me More" restaurant funds, that we did not spend; for shore excursions and on board shopping etc.

NCL gets 3 stars on dining because when you come on board the ship, I did not see any notice anywhere that they had two restaurants available in the evening plus the buffet offerings. We asked where the evening dinner restaurant was that was included with the cruise package, and were referred to the Aqua Dining room. Aqua was slow.... So SLOW!!! For the first night we thought the freestyle dining was going to be great. We went to dinner at 6:00 P.M./ were given a pager/ at 6;45 the pager blinks, (keep in mind the evening shows are at 7 P.M. and 9 P.M.) We watched a lady behind us receive a pager (after we did) go up and complain and was ushered in about 5 minutes ahead of us , just to shut her up and not allow a noisy scene outside the restaurant where everyone was signing up for dinner... oh, I mean pagers. Once we broke the restaurant barrier, we turned in our dining device (pager) and were promptly and courteously seated. Current time 7:05 P.M....7:15 P.M. MENUS arrive 7:25 P.M. orders placed........7:40 P.M. water and drinks (tea) arrive...7:53 P.M. salads and bread arrive........8:30 P.M. main course arrives....... 9:10 P.M. desert ordered........ 9:30 P.M. desert arrives..... Our meal adventure ends at 9:55 P.M.......From 6:00 P.M. until  9:55 P.M. with two little boys asking "when are we going to the show"???.... WHAT SHOW???? We went to the buffet dining 2 nights because we wanted to make the shows and did not want to be stuck 4 hours in Pagerville. later we heard about the Venetian dining room, and it was superb. We still had to play the pager game but it was 10 minutes and we were in and 75 minutes later we were full of good food and were on our way. It was an experience from the way cruising used to be when we were on our first sailings 14 years ago. NCL can do it when it comes to dining, I just think they have added so many new restaurant venues and have pulled qualified personnel out of the fare based eating places that it affects the service. The food was really good at all of the places we ate at on the Dawn even TURTLE/SNAIL AQUA...3 STARS

3. Our Stateroom #4575 ......3 Stars...It Is Soooo Small. I like an interior room because of the quiet , the darkness, and I try to get mid ship lower where it doesn't pitch and roll as much if we have a storm. The room was fine other than the set up for 4 people. We put two twins together to form a queen plus bed  and then put one of the boys in a flip down side wall twin bed and was suppose to put the other boy in a pull out flat low twin bed in the hall at the front of the bathroom door going back to the foot of our bed. That was a bad set up for older grandparents taking two kids along. We are in our early 60's and we have to get up at least once each night for a bathroom break. There was no-way this set up was going to work, blocking the small hall to the bathroom. We worked it out by swapping out each night by rotating letting one of the boys sleep between grandmother and grandfather. Thank goodness they were still young and thought it was cool to get to pile up in the bed with us. It worked out.  Our room steward was outstanding and he gets 5 stars. The set up of the room nor its size is any reflection on the abilities of our Steward. He spent time with the boys and spent extra time with them in the towel animal dept. He also kept our room in very clean condition and kept us well supplied with pool towels. Mr.Callin from India is a genuinely warm person who gets our highest review for his attending to us. A 5 star gentleman doing a 5 star job.... Thank You Mr.Callin

4. Shore stops and excursions..... 5 Stars... NCL Dawn gets 5 stars for allowing a 7 day cruise to visit 4 ports. That is a good deal for the money you pay for a 7 day cruise. The industry standard is 3 stops. Also  they did an excellent job of getting everyone off the ship and back on without being stuck in long lines. They also offered cold water and wet towels upon returning to the ship under (2)10x10 pop up canopies.I have only experienced this on Celebrity cruises before which are a little bit more expensive than NCL . That was a 5 star touch. The shore excursions that we took were on time and very well planned....5 Stars

5. Ships photographers.... 4.8 Stars...  We had dressy pics made of us and the boys done and NCL Dawn offers a great photo package.  We bought 10  photos size 8x10 for a reasonable price of $129. That was less than any of the other cruise lines we have sailed with. The photographers were very patient with the 4 of us and took their time with 2 wiggly little boys wearing suits and ties for the first time. We walked off of the Dawn with a great album of photos at a reasonable price. The only reason we did not give the Photo Dept. a pure 5 Stars is having to run the gauntlet every time you get on the ship in New Orleans and each time you get off of the ship at ports visited. They want you to stop and pose at a fake helm or at a backdrop of the ship or some other photo accessory prop that by the end of the cruise starts to get CHEESY, Maybe its because i have been on so many I have become jaded to some of the more fun things. Any way they got a 4.8 Stars rating because it makes me feel uncomfortable to have to tell them no 5 times on a cruise/ It's not their fault, they are just doing what is required of them. I just can't go 5.

6.Entertainment...5 stars... The best shows at sea. The magic acts and the cast and crew of the Dawn  singers and dancers are worth the ticket price for the cruise alone. I really enjoyed the show the last night of the cruise. The show is called "Elements". It is a combination of singing and dancing tastefully mixed in with some of the best magic acts I have seen anywhere and our bunch loved it!......5 Stars

7. Getting off of the Dawn and out of the cruise terminal....5 Stars.. Just like getting in , getting off and out of there was very smooth. We went up to the buffet and ate ,carrying all of our carry on luggage with us and soon after breakfast our group was called and off we went. One side note: Dawn has a Green luggage tag to get off the ship and they also have a Lime Green luggage tag to get off the ship. They call you by color groups so, Lime Green is ahead of just Green. No one told us this and when we heard Lime Green, my bunch started gathering up to leave, I got on a house phone and called to discover a 2 green color exit strategy. We were in pure Green or just plain old Green so we were called later. I can't help but wonder if they could not come up with a more individual color than having to mix two similar color calls over a ships P.A. System. I am sure the ART sales people on board from Park West could be of some assistance in helping the colorful exit planning by suggesting some singular alternatives to the double Green confusion.

All in all it was a very fun vacation and yes me,my wife, and the boys would get on this ship, the Norwegian Dawn and sail away tomorrow and experience the same stateroom,stops, and dining venues as we did that week. We loved it all and can't wait to get back on NCL. WE ARE NORWEGIANS

No card room on board.  We would have to move from one dining area to another thru out the day to have a table large enough for 4 players to play on.  Stateroom location on deck 5 was next to gangway and when entering port or anchorage the noise would wake us in the early mornings; the location was under a specialty dining area and the noise was very disturbing until midnight.  Other than that it was a good cruise.

Staff was extremely friendly and helpful. The food in the main dining rooms was excellent. Cagney's is exceptional. Tappenyaki was OK. The itinerary of ports of call was perfect. All four ports are great places to visit and explore. Mini suite was very nice and roomy with a great balcony view.

This was our first time with the NCL and the casual style of cruising.  We found the ship clean, comfortable and welcoming.  The crew and staff were exceptionally pleasant and accomodating.  The dining experience was what we had hoped for except for the method of seating and making reservations.  We prefer to early and late assigned seatings with the same group of table mates.  As a couple we like meeting and getting to know new people during dinner and to becoming more friendly and familiar with our wait persons.  We enjoyed seeing all the sites on the ship, participating in the various activities such as the contests, dances, and relaxing near the pool.  We also thought the entertainment was exceptional.  The performers, from singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and bands, were the highlight of our on ship enjoyment.  We did think the auction for the framed and unframed paintings was unrealistic and thought some of the bids were made by shills.  Our off ship experiences were another highlight of our cruise from beach fun to zip lining.  Overall we gave the cruise experience on NCL Dawn an 8 out of 10 and would do it again.

*** Edited 3/11/15 by Community Manager to comply with our Community Guidelines ***

I loved the Casino but the air quality was so bad I came home with a sinus infection.  Several months ago we got a email showing shore tours for our cruise.  We choose and paid for these tours months ago.  Once we got on the ship we found out that Norwegian has their own tours and those people get to go ashore first on the days we had to use a tender to get to shore. Many, like us, had to fight to get off this ship on time. Unfortunately my daughter & her husband missed their tour due to this.  Norwegian treated us badly. Norwegian should of warned us; that if we booked tours with another company, they were going to treat us like 2nd class citizens! 

The cruise was excellent but the Service Charges imposed by NCL are onerous.  Two People $182.00 - come on!  They say its to evenly distribute tips to their employees.  I don't want to be a part of NCL's compensation package. That's none of my business and it's inappropriate to forcibly charge me that money after we have already paid for our tickets.  On future cruises we will automatically add that amount to their advertised cruise price to make a decision on using them.  Henry Fleming

I really liked the western caribbean, it had some really good stops and I really liked Belize, we had really good weather. I probably would leave out of Miami next time though, because the weather was really cool in New Orleans.The crew on ship were great, we had a outstanding steward.

We went on this cruise for our third wedding anniversary and it was great. All the stops were awesome and the entertainment was so good. We went to as many shows as we could and loved them all. I would definitely recommend this cruise. 

I enjoyed my cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. I came home with good memories. I saw two things that I did not like though. One was the way that the young ladies at the Garden Café handled the hand sanitizer that they were supposed to be washing all of the passengers hands with. MANY TIMES  they were either talking with their peers or just not paying attention and allowing persons to pass them without washing their hands. Once I saw one of the young ladies playing with a toddler who was eating with his parents when I came in. I had to use one of the sanitizer machines to clean my hands. Another thing that I saw was passengers filling USED water bottles from the fountain drink machine by putting the nozzles down into the used water bottles. I saw this several times. I think that this is something that needs to be addressed on their safety channel. I did tell someone about it and she promised to tell her manager. I was on the Norwegian Jewel in January and the hand washers made sure that every one who entered washed their hands.

This is only my 2nd cruise with Norwegian but it was GREAT! We had a few ups and a few downs. 2nd night there was no running water....(was in shower ) It was fixed quickly.Our cleaning lady never knocked just came into the room... And last I got tired of seeing the same magic show guys EVERYnight. OK for the good. The workers are so so so nice and helpful. The boat is very clean, drinks are made perfect and the food is outstanding. My husband and I LOVE Norwegian there is very few kids and its freestyle. 

Nice atmosphere, very good food in the main dining except they could use a little help with their desserts. I especially liked all the seafood choices. The staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful and the entertainment was the best we've ever seen on any other cruise ship and we've been on 8 others.

We really enjoyed the cruise. My only complaint was the smoking on board. You couldn't get to the theater without walking through the bar where the smoking room was and the second hand smoke was terrible. Our room had a balcony and if we had the door open there was someone smoking on their balcony so we couldn't get away from it. They also allowed smoking in the casino so if you wanted to be in there you had to deal with it. Other than that we had a great time and really enjoyed the shows and the cruise. I think on other cruises that we have been on they had to smoke on the completely open decks which is where I think it should be done for the comfort of the majority of guests who don't smoke. They also smoked around the pool area which was closed in. That is my only complaint is the smoking.

I had high hopes of lounging around reading a book and eating fabulous food. However, there was not a single comfortable chair on the entire boat and the food was mostly overcooked and flavorless. So disappointing. The accommodations were better than I expected and the service offered by the ships crew was well above average.

The staff on board the Norwegian Dawn were very friendly and helpful. There is so much to do on the ship, there is no way to ever be bored. The stateroom steward we had, Jonah, was so nice and friendly and made sure we had everything we needed each day. Loved the towel animals she made for us. The dining was very nice in all the restaurants in which we had dinner. We had reservations each night at 5:30 so we had plenty of time to make the 7:00 show each night. The shows were spectacular! The ports at which we stopped were, Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, Belize and Isle Rotan Hunduros. All were lovely with beautiful beaches and friendly people. Love the shopping too. We will be back. There was only one bad experience on the ship, and it was in the salon. On Valentine's day I decided to get my hair cut, big mistake!! Oh well, it will grow. I refuse to let that ruin the awesome time we had on the cruise ship though.

We have been on many cruises but this was our first Norwegian cruise.  I did not know how I would like the freestyle dining but found it very enjoyable.  We ate at 1 of the specialty restaurants and had a wonderful meal (Cagneys).  I was also impressed that we did not have a meal in any of the dining areas where an officer did not come by to see if we were enjoying our meal - they were very visible throughout the cruise.  We chose this cruise because of the itinerary.  We had not been to 3 of the ports.  We enjoyed each one - but Belieze was the best!  We chose the Sharks, Rays encounter and LOVED it.  We have swam with rays, snorkeled many times but this was a fun, unique experience.  Would definitely do it again!  We are even thinking of returning to the Caye to stay for a week.  The entertainment on the ship was 5 star all the way.  Very diverse and fun for everyone!  However the thing that made this cruise a 5 star trip was the cruise director Bobby.  He was fantastic!!!  He was everywhere - all the time - and always having fun with the guests!  Also - it was so easy to get on and off the ship in New Orleans even during Mardi Gras week!

This was our 3rd cruise on NCL.  The staff wasn't as friendly as our other NCL cruises and the ship was older.  The entertainment and food was very good.  We had a couple of issues with the safe in our cabin and we had no water for our shower and sink the last day, but we still had a good cruise and NCL is still our favorite cruise line and will cruise with them again.  The cruise staff literally rolls out the red carpet when you return to ship from being in port

This cruise didn't have as big of entertainment productions as newer larger ships, but it was pleasant and relaxing.  "Twice as Nice" was great to listen to, and had a great repertoire.  The bed was initially uncomfortable for me, but our terrific room steward, Elin, procured a foam mat to fix it. I rated the food on this trip as only okay, there is no longer lobster on the dining room menu, but the service was fantastic, especially our waiter Saldy,  He was so nice, so helpful, and so upbeat and fun! He said his intent was to spoil us, and he did! We enjoyed the Calypso train tour in Belize, but were disappointed in the beach trip in Costa Maya...the water there was just not the Caribbean blue that we so love, and it was full of floating debris. We would have liked to have been offered a "level 1" activity in Roatan, too.

Norwegian was good as usual. We loved the places we traveled to and it is so easy to go on a cruise where they take care of your comforts of home. We recommend Norwegian to our friends and have bought future travel vouchers. 

Fantastic itinerary for relaxation. Friendly, attentive crew. New Orleans check in more efficient than Las Angelus for same size ship.  Only negative was extreme amount of smoking in casino drifting to areas surrounding it making that part of the ship intolerable.