My wife and I went on the Norwegian Dawn in mid-December for a Caribbean Cruise. This was our 13th cruise overall and 2nd on NCL. We really enjoyed the cruise -- we find the "anytime cruising" to be relaxing and informal. We still prefer Royal Caribbean and their large fun ships but NCL is the best value of any cruise we've taken.
Embark/Disembark: We arrived at Tampa cruise terminal #3 at 11 AM. We dropped off our bags at the pier and drove across the street to the parking garage - $15 per day but worth it for convenience. There were longer lines to embark than I expected but we were on the ship in 20 minutes. Seemed to go quicker after 1 PM. At the end of the cruise, departing the ship was easy -- we rolled our luggage off the ship and walked to our car, no lines and no waiting.
Ship: The Dawn was recently remodeled and it showed for the ship was extremely clean and overall in beautiful condition. I did not see any rust or dirt anywhere. The atrium was gorgeous, also we liked the Christmas decorations throughout the ship.
Cabin 9058: We had a standard balcony on the 9th floor. The room was smaller than our prior NCL ship, the Sun, but OK. Tight fit to go around the bed and most of the shelving was in the closet so difficult to use. However, luggage fit easily under the bed. If you prefer more room, I suggest a mini-suite. We did like the bathroom -- largest shower we've had in a balcony, also good layout. Our room steward was very pleasant and efficient, she made some great towel animals. One rec -- bring bars of soap as they only have liquid soap dispensers.