Norwegian Dawn Review

4.0 / 5.0
3,018 reviews

Norwegian Dawn to Canada and New England, 9/21-28/08

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Norwegian Dawn
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bragstarr
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Sep 2008
Cabin: Inside

In general, we had a great time on our cruise on Dawn! This is the first time in my cruising experience I repeated cruising on a ship; it was our third time on NCL having taken the now sold off Crown two summers ago to Bermuda. We booked at the last minute (6 days before) because prices dropped so low on the sailing we couldn't NOT go! We left our house on LI on a 10:24 train and were onboard at NOON! Really easy embarkation, as was disembarkation for us (we did self carry off luggage and were home well before noon, and missed the little scare of a pier fire that took place). Got my free glass of champagne and was in the mood to have a great time!

My general impression of the ship is that she looked better when we sailed her in 2005. I really noticed the attention to detail; nothing to me looked like it needed redoing or replacing in terms of dEcor. I had forgotten just how pretty she was. Our inside cabin, although small, was pretty and had plenty of storage space. I will note that my bed had obviously been not been upgraded to the Freestyle 2.0 beds; we were told at the Latitudes party that the transformation on Dawn to 2.0 was not yet complete. I stopped at the reception desk one night at 8PM and asked if I could get an egg crate to place over the mattress; 15 minutes later I was in my cabin and two people appeared with it, installed it and remade my bed. That did help my poor back somewhat and I appreciated the quick attention to the matter.

Food: When I sailed in 2005, Impressions and Salsa were free restaurants. That is no longer the case; each carries a $10 per person surcharge. Since we did this cruise last minute and "on the cheap," we agreed we would only dine in the no-cost regular dining rooms, and it was fine. Food in both Venetian (which I prefer, if only for the grandeur of the room) and Aqua was good. Portions in general were small but more was always available. We availed ourselves of the shrimp cocktail on the always available menu quite often—they are baby shrimp but good. The buffet was good for the most part. At breakfast, as you are facing the buffet from the entryway closer to the center of the ship, go to the right side for the fresh omelet and waffle stations. At lunchtime, go to the left side, all the way in the back, for the soft serve ice cream machine. Kudos as always to the NCL Banana bread (a personal addiction) and to the Sprinkles ice cream bar open 12-5 daily on Deck 12 for the chocolate ice cream cones! As for the surcharge restaurants, Bamboo and Salsa often appeared empty. Blue Lagoon was always good for a quick meal and late snacks. We didn't experience much in the way of lines at the main dining rooms but we usually planned our strategic exit from the shows to beat everyone out to the restaurants! Incidentally, I must remark that NCL's pastries, breads, rolls, and muffins, along with their fresh fruit which was available everywhere, is the best at sea. Try the pretzel rolls if you see them at the buffet. One last comment, if anyone from NCL is reading: please, please replace the tongs at the buffet. It is difficult to pick anything up with them; it almost became a comedy act, with everything sliding out of your grip!

Cabin Review

Inside

Cabin ID

Small inside cabin but beautiful decor, plenty of storage room, bring extra hangers! Can store suitcases under bed. Bathroom is small but a ton of places to put stuff, nice closing glass shower door, decent toiletries.

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