We sailed Norwegian Dawn March 23-30, 2008, Eastern Caribbean. Our family included my husband and me (in our 50's), our 18 year old son, two 16 year old daughters, and two friends of our kids: a boy 16, and girl 17. This was our third Norwegian cruise (Majesty 2006, Jewel 2007). We have also sailed Royal Caribbean (Majesty of the Seas 2004, Explorer of the Seas 2005, Splendour of the Seas 2006), and Carnival (Legend 2007).

EMBARKATION

We sailed from Miami, and it was a breeze. They seem to be well-organized at the port authority there, plus we find that in general if you arrive at noon before the crowds create a bottleneck, you can move through the process quickly. Since we drove to Miami, we came into town a couple days ahead. We also fly a day ahead if we book our own air, so only when we fly in the day of sailing, arranged by the cruise line (which is rare) do we take our chances on getting to a port later than noon. Read more