We have taken this cruise before on the Norwegian Spirit. This was our first time on the Dawn. We were traveling with our best friends and had been looking forward to this getaway for months. We were standing in line at security and a representative began passing around pieces of paper that said we would not be docking for our entire trip, but instead tendering. One of the things that makes this cruise so appealing is the fact that you dock right there in Bermuda and it is extremely easy on and easy off. Needless to say, we knew this would change our experience.When we arrived on tehs hip we immediately had to go to customer relations because the person checking us in put my photo on my husband's ship card and vice versa. That was another 30 minutes and very annoying. We grabbed lunch at the Blue Lagoon and went to our cabin 8162. Our cabin was available but it would hours before our luggage would arrive. The room was as expected and we took a few minutes to chill out there. Dinner was nice in the Venetian dining rom and we went to most shows during our trip.The first morning we woke up the waves were 12 foot waves and I put on my sea sickness patch. Within two hours I was not throwing up and ate something. It made me feel much better. We ate at two of the up-charge dining rooms, the Bamboo Japanese (great!) and the La Cucina which was also very nice.When we arrived in Bermuda we were able to disembark on the dock, but they quickly moved our ship out and made way for a Royal Caribbean ship for the remainder of our stay. It didn't feel as though they were prepared for the tendering process. There was one time it took us 90 minutes to get back to the ship. And this was only a 5 minute boat ride!Bermuda was gorgeous - we visited Horseshoe Bay Beach again and this time we went to Warwick Long Bay and there were only 5 people on the beach. It was lovely! The Bermuda Aquarium was a nice visit, they had beautiful outdoor areas.The Dawn felt a little tired. I wish there was a second pool on the ship like there are on Royal Caribbean ships. We like the Freestyle dining, but I think some of the surcharges are a bit ridiculous. Disappointed in the way they presented the chocolate buffet in the buffet area. It took a lot of the elegance away from the presentation. Overall our trip was great because Bermuda is wonderful, clean and we needed the break from our regular life. The Dawn was not anything spectactular. We had expected something more updated and were definitely disappointed in the tendering situation. It made it difficult to get off the ship and go back to get lunch or other quick visits in Bermuda.