We chose NCL because we were very happy with our previous experiences, on the Jewel to Alaska and the Epic in the Mediterranean. However the Dawn is a major disappointment.
The embarkation process took almost 2 hours and we were allowed to jump ahead because we are latitude members. Because of my knee replacement I was patted down by a man, I have always had a women, this made me very uncomfortable and I was not asked if I preferred a woman. (This may have been a port security problem, so NCL may not be able to change this). However, they could have made the lines run smoother it was just mass chaos getting on this ship.
The food was horrible, cold, and at times raw. Not sure how you can turn out raw french toast but they succeeded at doing so. Often times the wait staff in the Venetian Room did not have a clue what table they were waiting on or where the food was to be delivered. We were not sure if the staff was new or just didn't care anymore since they were short timers.