We have been on multiple cruises split fairly evenly between NCL and Royal Caribbean. We chose Norwegian Dawn for New Years Eve mostly based on price. We were sailing with a group of 11 people (friends and family) and were looking for a reasonably priced New Year's Eve cruise. Although this was still significantly more expensive than the usual cost, it was still one of the better deals we could find.

This is the first time any of us have sailed from New Orleans, and none of us were very fond of the port. After going out of Florida for all the other cruises we have been on, this port is just not very pretty and lacks the Caribbean feel you look forward to when you go on a cruise. Logistically, the port is a mess. Please note, NCL had nothing to do with the port but it is just not set up well and is poorly run. We got there early that morning and checked bags with the porter and went to park in the cruise terminal parking. We had to wait for an hour for them to open the parking lot. They said they weren't allowed to let cars in until a certain number of cars had left. That would make sense except there was plenty of empty spots and it was well after our scheduled arrival time for the ship. I think there is another lot nearby that is cheaper and probably easier. I would research that if you are driving. The port is very poorly marked and if you have never been there just finding where to go is a challenge. All that being said, once we got in the terminal, NCL was very organized and embarkation went well. We were on board about 11:00.

The ship itself was fine. We are used to Epic and Getaway which are much larger and prefer those to the mid-size ship. The ship was clean but is showing some wear and tear. I believe it is scheduled for dry dock later this year. We had a balcony cabin that was fine as well. The service on the boat was very good overall. We took advantage of NCL's all-inclusive drink package which is really nice and saves you a ton of money. This is actually one of the reasons we have been sailing NCL versus Royal lately. My one concern with them offering the beverage package is that the service may begin to suffer because the servers don't earn tips from customers directly. Although we did prepay tips for alcohol, we asked one of our servers and they did not even know we paid those gratuities. I doubt they are seeing any of that money and have to wonder how this impacts service. Most servers were great but there were a few that seemed disgruntled. Read more