My husband and I have sailed the Dawn before and liked the ship. It is a 12 year old ship, refurbished in 2011. We had never cruised out of New Orleans before so we thought it would be fun. It was so much fun that we rebooked while on the ship and did a second week. The crew make this ship. Hotel director Sonja goes out of her way to greet and treat her passengers as her own guests. She is amazing. We drove to the port, right past the Superdome, and parked at the Fulton Street Garage and used their free shuttle to the port. We purchased the parking on line and saved money doing it. It is a guaranteed spot that way. Getting through the terminal was the usual. We booked an ocean view and when we got there the window had four inches of brown junk between the windows. We told the guest services and we were moved the next day to a lovely accessible room with a partially obstructed view. It was wonderful. The room was large, the bathroom was handicapped accessible and the view, while obstructed somewhat was fun to watch them when they did the lifeboat drill and lowered the tenders. It also had a nice ledge by the window for towel animals. I always get a spa pass. Slightly disappointed that I forgot the Dawn does not have the heated ceramic beds like the newer ships. We enjoyed LeBistro, Cagney's and LaCucina week one and LeBistro, Cagney's, LaCucina and Moderno the second week. Cagney's no longer impresses me, unless you are in a suite and get breakfast and lunch in there. LaCucina was a great dining experience both weeks. We also did the FANTASTIC Chef's Table the second week. It is an amazing dining experience and if you have never done it, I highly recommend it. We do not drink alcohol and the St. Regis brand of non-alcohol wines are available and very nice. I did the behind the scenes tour again. Always fun. Our second week we were surprised when our son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren came aboard. What a delight. The children's area pools are nice. Easy to watch the children while catching a few rays for yourself. The children's programming worked for our 6 and 9 year olds. It looked a little underwhelming to me. There were not many children aboard with school in session so I'm sure that makes a difference. Our second week we decided to try an inside. We were upgraded to a porthole which was 5008. Very nice room. We even had the grandkids spend a night with us. Our steward fixed the room up. It was cozy but do-able. The bathrooms are bigger than on some other ships. We found the casino to be very tight both weeks but there are some newer machines to keep one interested. We missed most of the entertainment because of our dinner times. On the first week we were treated to a barbershop concert by other passengers. It was a spontaneous thing and the room was packed. Good clean fun. The dawn is showing her years. She is due for updating. Don't let that stop you. And ask for Vladimir in the Venetian dining room if you have kids along. He was wonderful. I understand the fixed that window before our first week was over!