We chose this cruise for the ports of call & mostly they did not disappoint. Many other things however, did. We have cruised on many different cruise lines, but this was our 1st time on NCL - it will probably be our last. The port excursions we booked independently were well organised, unlike the 2 we booked through NCL, which were chaos. Passengers were milling around with little or no information given and delays were the norm. On a trip to Perce from Gaspe, passengers were left standing in pouring rain with no shelter for over 45 minutes and there was total confusion regarding which bus to board as some were told to look for the same number bus, while others were to look for the same on-board guide.

The buffet was very lacklustre and food often lukewarm, even when it hadn't been standing long. Salads were boring, with little variation in ingredients. The best salad buffet was in the Brazilian speciality restaurant. We paid for 5 meal speciality dining, but wish we hadn't bothered. Compared with other cruise lines speciality dining on the Dawn is not very special. Cagney's is quite good but our first fillet steak was served cold and had to be sent back. Food in the complimentary Venetian and Bamboo restaurants was good, but our 1st experience of Bamboo was a shambles, as soup arrived before the appetisers, then our entree arrived when we had just started on our appetisers. We got the feeling the staff were looking for an early finish. Luckily our next experience was much better and the food good. This is also the 1st cruise line which has charged us for room-service, apart from a basic coffee & muffin, which was free. However, our order arrived promptly, whenever we did order.

NCL's website needs a lot of work, it is not user friendly and lacks information especially re: onboard entertainment which mean't we missed some of the better shows because we had dining reservations which clashed with them and they were only on once during the cruise. Show times changed often, sometimes only 1 showtime, sometimes 2 but only 2 hours apart at 7 & 9 pm, and sometimes 2 different shows on same night, so no chance to make the most of the onboard entertainment. Also, details in the daily activity sheet were often incorrect. Crew were mostly very friendly, helpful and efficient, and our Room Steward Russell was excellent, but management needs to get its act together as organisation left a lot to be desired. Read more