Norwegian Dawn Review
Fourth cruise with NCL made me reconsider brand loyalty.
Rating by category
Additional details
My husband and I booked this cruise with NCL (our fourth) because we've always appreciated the customer service and the beautiful ships. We were thrilled when we arrived to our balcony stateroom to find what appeared to be a king sized bed. It was two twin pushed together on a frame that hard hard metal pieces sticking up from it. I thought I would enjoy a wonderful time cuddling with my hubby while listening to the waves. All I got for cuddling was bruised thighs and hips from falling between the mattresses. The Julia street port is trashy with an open gravel parking lot--for the same price as the covered parking garage at the other port. The ship was unimpressive. No nice views from any of the bars or lounges--nothing really extraordinary about it at all.
We planned to do the Lamanai excursion in Belize, but my husband had to be seen in the medical offices for an infection. The doctor treated my husband thoroughly, carefully and aggressively enough. I have no complaints about how my husband was treated. I was concerned about the way the doctor treated his staff. He spoke to them in a way that no one should ever have to deal with at work. The staff made it easy to cancel and get our money back for the excursion with the medical information provided by the clinic.
We purchased the ultimate dining package and ate all dinners in the specialty restaurants. The steaks were wonderful. The desserts were awful. They were tasteless, or they had been refrigerated too long after being made. We didn't really dine for breakfast or lunch. We'd eat in port or grab something quick at the Blue Moon or the buffet.
Cabin Review
Balcony
The bed was horrible. Absolutely horrible. Two twins pushed together on a metal frame. Don't even think about trying to cuddle. You will just end up being bruised on the huge metal pieces of the frame when you fall in between the two mattresses. When we arrived, there was a huge wet spot on the carpet that spread from the bathroom to the closets. It was just very unpleasant.
Port Reviews
New Orleans
The Julia street terminal only provides open gravel parking for cruise passengers--at the same price covered garage parking is at the other terminal.
Cozumel
Cozumel was beautiful, wonderful and alive as always.
Costa Maya
The first time we went to Costa Maya, they were just establishing this port. It has grown a lot. There were a lot of neat services and shops here as well as pools and other amenities.
Roatan
Pretty much a waste of time. Takes 20 minutes to walk through the port shops. Not much there. Best to just stay on the balcony or deck and enjoy the beautiful water and reefs that can be seen. I will say that the shops here had more handcraft art type items. There is a store here that has beautiful rosewood carvings and boxes.