EMBARKATION Two of us went on the Dawn out of New York City. We got to the pier very early and had to wait forever it seemed, but the people were very friendly and we had good vibes.
SHIP AND CREW AND CABIN The ship is very beautiful. It is well organized and very easy to find your way around. The crew are the best we have ever sailed with (this was our 8th cruise and our second with NCL). Everyone was friendly and eager to help. The wait staff were the best ever. Our cabin stewards were great. Really cute towel animals every night. Our cabin was ideal in size. The suitcases fit under the beds and the closet was adequate for our clothes. The only drawback to the room was the tiny toilet area. We constantly banged our elbows or knees into the wall. The rest of the bathroom was a good size though. The shower was large as was the sink area. The water in the shower was very hot and it took a couple of times to figure out how to cool it down.
ISLANDS The beaches on the islands are fabulous. ISLAND 1 We got off of the ship and onto a smaller boat and were taken to the island of Caya Levantado in the Dominican Republic instead of going to Samana. It was our favorite beach of the entire cruise. The island had places to buy food and drinks and was so much fun. There were islanders (not sure if they lived there) selling crafts much cheaper than anywhere else in the entire Caribbean. ISLAND 2 St. Thomas We took a taxi downtown to do a bit of shopping ($4.00 per person each way) St. Thomas has tons of shopping. After that we went back to the ship for our excursion to Megan's Bay. Beautiful beach. Lots of fun. ISLAND 3 Antigua. We took a tour of the island with the most wonderful tour guide we have ever had in the whole world! After touring the POOR island we went to a little beach and had a buffet lunch. The trip was such a nice experience. ISLAND 4 Barbados. Tour of the island and back to the ship. No beach. The tour was boring except for a beautiful church we visited. ISLAND 5 St. Lucia. Breathtakingly beautiful vistas. Went to public beach. Very crowded, but very nice. ISLAND 6 Curacao. Very pretty, but had to pay to go on beaches. We were going to but took the STUPID TROLLY TOUR instead. If you go DO NOT TAKE THE TROLLY TOUR. It rides up and down a couple of streets for about 45 minutes. You can walk faster.
Adequate closet, great balcony, best location on the ship. Portside, center and close to the elevators and laundromat.