Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We had a great time on our very first family cruise. Plenty of activities for everyone and the staff was wonderful! We hope to cruise with NCL again soon!

If I'd been travelling with at least one other person, I would've given the ship a higher rating. However, the single supplement for solo travellers was much higher than on many other cruise ships - so therefore not really worth the cost if you're travelling alone. The NCL website also discriminates against people travelling on their own, with only offering the option to pre-book tours, restaurants, etc in multiples of 2. Not fair - especially not when you consider what NCL charges for single travellers.

The cruise was a lot of fun! easy to get on ship and park in Boston, MA. Staff was nice on the boat, the shows were amazing!!! nice room had a lot of fun! Just my own experience, I have been on Carnival several times before, and we felt somethings on Carnival were better than NCL. We had a blast and I would go again, we just seem to prefer Carnival over NCL. The shows on NCL I think we a little better? They had a WOW factor, The ship was very pretty and had fun, don't get me wrong. We also enjoyed the dine your own time, really convenient. However, we felt we had to upgrade on the restaurants to get the same food you get on Carnival in the main dining room without having to upgrade. There is also something about having the same server every night. On NCL no one knew us nor did they care if they were super chatting or nice because most likely they wouldn't see us again. Bermuda was really beautiful and fun. Nice shopping and we did an excursion to the beach--highly recommend! go on the early bus and stay as long as you can. There also is a nice little trolley that brings you around the main shopping area, which was fun. 

*side note-I will never use CHEAPCRUISE.COM again to book a trip, I will only go through the cruise line and I think it's very important. I have only ever booked with the cruise line on Carnival and always glad I did. I saw a deal on CheapCruise.com and I thought why not try. DONT USE THIS COMPANY!!!! They don't tell you what you need to know to get your deals, and then you get screwed out of them. Before booking they tell you what you want to hear about helping you, and finding you better rates if they go down and about special on board credit or cash back and then you don't get it because you have to fill out paper work no one tells you about. PLEASE PLEASE be CAUTIOUS when using this site. Customer service is very helpful!!! The agents are who suck. Everyone in customer service was always so helpful, but after you book its very hard to get a hold of your agent, and if something is wrong you will never get your agent. I was very disappointed in the way things went with this company. I also will be letting everyone I know to be careful if they are going to use this company to book and I would worn you to read every fine print thing you get also get every deal you are promised before getting off the phone when booking. such as on board credit or cash back etc. I think you can get deals will booking directly with NCL especially now with all their great promotions regarding all the different options you can pick. Also if you ever want to change or check anything you talk to the cruise line directly and don't have to go through another site or people and wait etc. Also if you want upgrades or make any changes NCL will most likely help you better if you book directly with them.

Had a great vacation..We did as little or as much as we wanted to..Food was good but wished there were more inclusive restaurants available..Espicially a seafood restaurant..Also the drink package should have been publicized when booking and also when embarking..We purchased the package only after asking about it at the desk..They sent us to another desk in another part of the ship to purchase.Other patrons were not aware of the package which was well worth it considering the price of drinks ..

internet fees are out of line and the main dinning hall food was below the caliber i expected i don't drink but the drinkks were very weak and expensive at 10 a pop they would top the drink off after complaining but that a percentage move  the room was nice have not cruised in awhile so the 12 a head surcharge  was a surprise you would think they would have cable or satellite tv instead of just 3 sta and the other stations are cruise related i understand they want to get people out of their rooms to spend money some people like to relax in their room and watch programs which this ship had none

I wasn't impressed on service and state of my room and balcony.

- the anniversary pkg was not there upon arrival, and had to call about it two times. Was told that it took time to get fresh fruits and flowers on such a big ship!  Mean while our neighbors had received theirs.

They also had rose petals and towels folded into swans on their bed and we had none of that!!

I was very disappointed....we received our flowers, wine and strawberries that evening.  too late and surprise was ruined.

- Also, the room was not clean to my liking....finding dirty walls in the toilette area is disgusting,

and also the baseboard & carpet next to my bed had a previous spell of some sort that had dried up there!  My balcony glass railing was very dirty and had dried up spit on it!!! Also, you could see greasy finger and forehead marks on the room door specially around peep hole! 

- I gave the Steward plenty of time to come upon this himself to no avail, so I called him in Day 2 afternoon and showed him baseboard, bathroom wall and balcony glass and requested that it be cleaned up....His response was that the spit was not there the previous day!  I just reiterated that I wished it to be cleaned.

- 2nd last day, we went to the towel folding presentation and when the made two kissing swans they said "We make these for our special guests that were just married or are on their honeymoon, and sometimes add rose petals."  I then purchased their $9 dvd on how to fold towels and notified them that we had ordered the Honeymoon Pkg and that we didn't get a swan.  They took note of it and had Steward make us some kissing swans.  At this point, it's way toooo late!!!!!

Otherwise, all of this..... we did enjoy the cruise itself, but this did have me mad until we actually got to Bahamas.  Due to the hurricane the destination was changed from Bermuda to Bahamas.

I enjoyed the shows and the Casino.  I specially like the Beach Day!!!!!

I really liked the Restaurant choices,  I did not like that the wine and beer option did not include water and soft drinks...I find this way tooo expensive!!!!   You should be able to get water for heavens sake!

thank you, michelle

As usual, Norwegian provided a great cruise, the staff is incredible, and the service is top notch. While the Dawn is not the Getaway, it is still a nice ship with great amenities

Disappointed we never made it to Bermuda. I have been to the Bahamas many times and had no intentions of going there.  Food average, shows very good, work out area pretty good but weight machines dated.  Service on ship very average.

   When my husband and I got to the Boston dock, we learned that the Norwegian Dawn was not going to Bermuda, but the Bahama's instead.   This was due to the Hurricane that was hitting Bermuda two days before we were to get there.  

    I understand safety in travel is crucial, however, we were only in the Bahama's for two days, maybe this would have been a cheaper cruise, and we were now on the ship for 5 days.    I believe NCL should have given us the opportunity to cancel and reschedule, or at the very least discounted the excursions or gone to one more port.   

   I really felt badly for the disabled older folks on the cruise, as Bahama's is not as easy to get around compared to Bermuda.   Very disappointed in the lack of

1.  Letting us know before hand (did not pack enough warm weather clothes)

2.  Offered us discounted excursions, discounted specialty retaurant nights

3.  Gone to another port - Key West - or somewhere else

   I feel cheated out of what we spent for this cruise

I have cruised with Norwegian MANY times. This cruise didn't go to Bermuda as scheduled, and I don't blame that on Norwegian(this is the week the hurricane hit). Instead they sent us on the Bahamas cruise. I don't mind that, but they cut one stop out of that cruise, so we only got to stop 1 day in Nassau & 1 day on their private island. That left me feeling shortchanged. I have cruised with them about 13 times and am a platinum Latitudes member. In that time, I have had room upgrades but only to the same type of room (inside) but on a higher deck. I have a friend who has only cruised with them twice before and he managed to get an upgrade from inside on a lower deck to an upper deck balcony. With all the times I've cruised with them they never gave me that kind of upgrade, so I'm feeling a little miffed. Next time I call to make plans for a cruise with them, I'm going to mention this, and if they don't do the same for me then I may look into another cruise line. Otherwise, the crew is excellent, the ship is excellent and I had a pretty good time.

This was supposed to be my first trip to Bermuda but with Hurricane Gonzalo expected to hit land just days before the cruise arrival, just before boarding we were notified our ship was going to be rerouted to the Bahamas instead. We had 2 days in the Bahamas (one at Nassau and one at Great Stirrup Cay) instead of 3 days in Bermuda, we were refunded one day each guest. The cruise was a really enjoyable experience. I've sailed with Norwegian before on Pride of America and the Norwegian Sky (to the Bahamas) and this cruise matched up mostly with the Sky. My boyfriend and I opted for the Ultimate Beverage Package, which if you drink, is definitely worth it. Very few drinks weren't covered, and they were easy enough to avoid. We also ate at the specialty steak and hibachi restaurants. The steak restaurant was very good, the staff was attentive and knowledgeable and the food was delicious. The atmosphere was exactly as I pictured it would be, dimmer lighting, quiet conversations at each table, just a lovely dining experience. The hibachi staff was also good however my biggest complaint, and really only complaint, came from our dining experience here. We were on the trip with another couple, none of us have any children so we chose a later seating time to enjoy ourselves. There were 5 children at our hibachi table, all under age 8 and only 1 would be considered "well-behaved," as he played on his Nintendo DS throughout dinner but at least he was quiet. 2 were, in the nicest terms, little monsters. Hitting each other at the table, yelling to their parents, singing "wheels on the bus," and their parents did nothing to stop them. With the other 2, the older one sang the "A,B;C's" throughout the instructions on how to order, again the parents did nothing to even ask him to be quiet, and the other was very young and crying occasionally throughout dinner. I understand that there would be children on the cruise, but for restaurants where I am paying extra, I was hoping for a more relaxing and adult experience than what I endured here. If you are going to choose a specialty restaurant, I would steer clear of the hibachi unless you want to deal with obnoxious children. Apparently some parents think that since its a "show" with dinner, its obviously something children should attend. I wish Norwegian would set aside times in the restaurants where children were not permitted so the adults could have a pleasant dining experience without the unnecessary noise. 

Ship had very litte charm.   We ate in specialty resturants each night.  Menus never change.    Food good but not exciting.    Change in itinery due to weather....not the cruise line fault.   Mini-suite was average. cabin service was average.  Room service food terrible.     Main dining room, used for bkfst only, OK  Service slow at times.   Orders for breakfeast bungled.   Missing iotems ordered etc.  Cancelled our next NCL cruise from  Tampa in May 2015.  Will try another cruise line.    Opinion......NCL's newer ships are a class act.  The Breakaway was outstanding.   Older ships are not maintained that well (rust on the balcony) etc.  Wife fell on gthe pool deck,er 15 minutes to get her up.  A fellow passenger actually raised her up to a wheel chair.  Treatment in the ships medical facility was good and follow up was given.  No charge to us as it was deemed a shipboard accident. 

Totally enjoyed our time on the Dawn....The new renovations were beautiful, well appointed. Only 1 comment...the beds are wayyyyy to hard!  Food was delicious, entertainment great and would love to live on the ship!  Despite the change in itinerary...we absolutely would do it again!

The slats on our balcony were broken. One actually fell.  They banged against the ceiling and door.  We complained about not being able to sleep at night and asked for a room change.  Nothing was done until we were at our first port of call.

Our cruise was diverted to Bahamas because of the Hurricane Bermuda was getting.  My husband and I and our friends we traveled with were VERY glad we still went south and not to Canada which was a chance from what I've seen with a Royal Carribbean cruise line.  My girlfriend and I joined the Spa for the week and really enjoyed the privacy of the jacuzzi's and the pool.  Our husbands even joined us one day but we went most of the week at some point in the day.  We enjoyed traveling to Nassua, Bahamas and The Great Stirrup Cay private island.  The staff was very nice with a few exceptionally very nice staff members we enjoyed joking with.  We didn't think there was a lot of different choices of food in the main dining rooms, there was the same choice every night with only 1 or 2 different choices of a main course and in one of the dining rooms, The Aqua room, the service was slow a couple of nights only.  We were wondering if there were less crew members than in years past.  We were on the Dawn in 1994 when we went to Hawaii and have had a few cruises since then.  But overall we LOVE cruising and enjoy Norwegian cruise lines for the Freestyle cruising aspect.  We look forward to our next cruise with Norwegian cruise lines.  We do recommend Norwegian Cruise Lines to many people that ask.

Thomas (aka the cruise guy) did an amazing job. Our suite was a few steps from the elevators, was aft from the pool, and up one set of stairs to the main dining area. The ship was bright, super clean, and staffed by smiling friendly people. The food was amazing. The entertainment could not have been better. Jose and Patti were awesome. Dennis and Daisy our stewards added greatly to the experience. We took the cruise to celebrate our anniversary and my wife's birthday. We had fun. The weather was not good, but we'd do it again.   Don & Alice

This was my first cruise, and I was not disappointed. The food was plentiful and good. The room was smaller than I expected. The entertainment was varied and enjoyable. The ship was older, but still in very good condition. The staff were very attentive and made you feel special. At times I felt that there were simply too many people on board and couldn't help but feel overcrowded. I probably will go on another cruise, just not this particular one.

The ship was late in taking off because somehow the fuel was not added until after 4 PM.  Then the Captain had to go full speed ahead to make up time.  Before we got to Bermuda, we were warned of a tropical depression and had to sit off in the ocean, no one's fault, for an entire night with 12 foot waves, plenty of rocking and rolling.  A new experience for me.  The staff was great - the food was good and the entertainment went from mediocre to a last show extravaganza.  We lost one day of our cruise and all excursions were cancelled and rescheduled for another, less favorable, time.  We enjoyed the spa, the hot tub, the gym , too.  I am on a tranquilizer, so none of these problems really bothered me.  I also heard that the Captain tried to get our trip extended but the headquarters folks said "no".

We went on the Norwegian Dawn on Oct 10, 2014.  We had a fantastic time on the ship.  The staff were all pleasant and friendly.  There are alot of activities and shows, plenty to keep you busy while at sea.

The entertainment on the ship was great!

this trip was long and boring

it left late from boston we got stuck on it in bermuda for an extra 10 hours

the entertainment was lame they had 1 good show a day and there wasn't much else to do unless you drink

the casino slot machines dont pay out  better than 50% 

every time i went to eat we had to wait atleast a half hour some times a bit longer