Norwegian Dawn Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The cruise was enjoyable. Cruise staff are all friendly and efficient.

We had an amazing vacation. We love to cruise with Norwegian. We even booked another trip while onboard.

I will not go on this ship again. As far as the cruise line NCL I would really have to think about it again. The service was nowhere as good as other cruise lines I have been on.

This will all come out in my blog review, but I wanted to share my experience on the Norwegian Dawn (March 12-19 of 2023), here first. The embarkation and Debarkation was a cluster of epic proportions and the "choose your board time" was nonexistent. I loved all the ports this ship took us too, one even offering a passport stamp for a donation. When we sail, we want good food, good entertainment and port stops we haven’t been to or wanted to explore more. On the Dawn, the buffet food was tasteless and often overcooked, always uninspired, and no real variety. They took me to a port, in Honduras, where I could shop or do any number of excursions, and I opted to shop, purchasing a large, polished and shiny, shell from a shop there. Upon arrival back to the ship - Norwegian’s security TOOK MY SHELL, despite nothing being said in their daily newsletter called the “Freestyle Daily” about this being a prohibited item (attached is a pic for proof). I'm really upset about this and there was no fighting it then. I really want my shell back. Observations: • There was little to no balcony access and seating outside so we could enjoy the deck outside. • Not nearly enough bartenders and servers on the pool deck • Bamboo, the Chinese restaurant, was always booked, no matter what time… but you can’t make reservations. They should expand this space. • Main dining room was outrageously slow and not worth the wait and the buffet being shut down at 9:30 is ridiculous, especially when leaving the only choice on the ship for food to be O’Sheehan’s, which offered very slow service. Consistently delivering overcooked, cold, bland rubbery food as the only option. Because get this, they have a cozy drinking spot, away from busy and loud tables, but you can’t eat there – you have to get seated at a table in the restaurant and you absolutely cannot take food away from there. If you want other options, you get to pay the $9.95 for room service, for a 10 inch pizza, (which took 2 hours to get) ...this was absolutely on my list of why I won't cruise NCL ever again, and will warn others not to as well. Other ships have grab and go items, like pizza and sandwiches, free 24/7 where you can slink away and grab a drink and eat wherever. • You cut staff due to "budget cuts" and overwork staff that made the cut, leaving them a lot unhappy and it's reprehensible. TAKE CARE OF YOUR STAFF – those at the Bliss lounge were amazing, but not untouched by the downsize. • The Atrium was a complete waste of valuable space. Using that kind of real estate for a coffee shop is crazy. Most ships have a bar in a place like this and they use it for trivia, games, crazy crafts and other things like napkin folding class, or ANYTHING to get people involved. Note: The Cellars wine bar would be better suited for a java hut than the Atrium • Entertainment was a joke and Power of 5, the band was awful. Things I loved: • Though there was nothing for my granddaughter to do, there was a room called ‘Guppy Play” for kids 6 mo-4 years old with plenty of toys that made my two-year-old granddaughter happy – hours were 9am-12, 2pm-4pm and 7pm-9pm. Here is the bad part – They have a beautiful changing room, but it is ALWAYS locked and you have to find someone (not easy) to open it when there is a diaper that needs changing. Excuse is that the teens in the video game lounge next door wreck it if its left open. I don’t even know what to say about this. • The staff were always good to us – Ari, my room steward was the nicest and most human I encountered. I would venture out at 7am and come back at 11pm and he’s working and still managed a smile. The bar staff at the Bliss lounge were spectacular. • Spending time with my family. • We had a handicapped cabin and it was huge, for once it was easy to navigate We will definitely do more research for our next cruise.

The ship and it's amenities are too small for the number of people it tries to serve. The pool is very small, too cold and too deep for shorter people. There is no wading area and no floats allowed. Im 5'2" and could not stand anywhere in the pool. Entertainment was good. Service was good. Food was eh! No sure I would cruise on this ship again.

Great crew, Bar service excellent, all around a great cruise.. The Dawn is in great condition and one of my favorite designs...Lots of choices for food and entertainment...

Staff good but lack of communication on ship annoying NCL Dawn basically ignores latitude rewards status that they offer on other ships

Overall the experience was nice because of all the ports and the weather. I guess it's all about what you can make of a poor situation.

Very disappointed and will not use Norwegian again

Ship is old, 2 specialty restaurants great, tour planning staff all confused, go to theater, then no go to pier, then make line, then no go elsewhere, then new line, every port the same, tours were great, did not stop at Puerto Plata, it was a reason we booked this trip, gave us Puerto Rico, last 4 cruises a nice stop was removed and got Puerto Rico, ship was understaffed, sure a lot of people will complain on this, theater show was great, many seats are broken, never fixed, it goes down to far u slide off, back ache when leaving, shows were great, most issues is ship and understaffed and no training. Not AA fault, but my list is to long

In our 42 cruises we have never felt so unwelcome aboard a ship. We used to love going with Norwegian, but we will never book another cruise with them. They beat us all to death with their plugs for future cruise certificates in the Atrium, while people tried to eat and talk to each other in O'Sheehan's. The music was too loud in most venues. The food was the worst we have encountered.

Overall a decent first cruise. Just not our thing really since there are so many people in a small area almost all of the time.

Enjoyed the cruise because we had a group which helped make our own fun. Will consider Norwegian cruises again but with a newer, bigger ship.

I got engaged during my trip but otherwise meh. I won the “free” bingo cruise raffle at the end. I was REALLY excited until I got home and went to book my “free” cruise. It’s extremely conditional. Only good for up to a 5 day cruise, only good for Bahamas or Caribbean, half the year of black out dates, can’t use cruise next certificates, excludes any packages, gratuities or taxes. Soooooo, since I live in ny and can’t use it for Bermuda, it would essentially cost me at least 2-3k for a “free” 5 day cruise. Ladies and gents, don’t get yourself excited over the free cruise raffle because it will cost you a MINIMUM of at least $700. Do better NCL

Just pick another cruise. Now....if you ate very old and don't wish to leave the ship and ho to bed at 7pm. This cruise is perfect for you.

if you are cruising on ncl get a suite. also since my wife don't drink but I drink a little check your in room account daily they will charge you for drinks you did not order the over charged me over 120 dollars which they corrected don't get off boat until you check your bill and bring it up to restaurant manager not front desk

I don't think that the overall price I paid for this cruise was worth my money. Not sure if I would cruise with Norwegian again. Very disappointed overall. This was my grand childrens first cruise and they were very unhappy. Also, since I am a smoker I think that there should be a little more space for the smokers. All we had was a very small spot on the upper deck and it was always packed full not even enough room to sit,always had to stand up. If it rained you were getting wet because of the location.

We live in Tampa so it is so easy to leave from here, but you get older ships like the Dawn. The food was excellent and the ports were great. Most of the excursions are over priced and they were not what the excursion description stated so that was disappointing. The staff was great. This was our first Norwegian cruise and we were surprised there were no washers and dryers on board (we've cruised 3 other lines that have them).

This was our 8th cruise with NCL and we couldn’t believe how much they now nickel and dime you. In the past they always offered a laundry special mid cruise, they took that away, up charges for some drinks and dinners even with the drink and dining package. I understand Covid hit the cruise industry hard, but over charging and removing offers/perks isn’t the way to increase profits.

Another Great Cruise - 3 in 1 celebration Valentines, Birthday & Super bowl. Love the departure port - easy for us with family nearby, easy on easy off the ship. Birthday present for my hubby and Valentines day for us - makes planning easy plus bonus super bowl party on the ship is fun. - the TRifecta We had friends and some family join us this year so we had a total of 6 people - 3 rooms and cruising is nice, if communication is established - do it your way or meet up. I do wish the ncl app was free to use for communication between cruisers - it is $10 per person. Even if it were 10$ per cabin covering 2 people it would be more reasonable to text with each other about where your at etc. But you can call and leave messages on the room and this ship size is usually small enough that you will run into each other soon enough.