Since my husband and I were first time cruisers, cruise critic message boards helped us alot. I read many reviews of the Dawn before we left - both good and bad. I tried not to let the negative reviews get me down, knowing I would have to experience ship "life" for myself. We flew into Miami the day before our cruise - we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, and they provided us with a free shuttle from the airport - we waited 10 minutes, which was great. The hotel is not luxurious, but clean, and the staff were helpful and friendly. They arranged for our shuttle to the port - $10/pp and we pre-paid for the shuttle from the port to the airport after the cruise, which worked out very well. EMBARKATION: We arrived at the port about 11:30 a.m. - perfect timing. There were no lines whatsoever at that time, and everything went very smoothly. NCL has an efficient system. I noticed that around noon, it was getting crowded. You get your room key cards and other info at the terminal. We waited (in comfortable seats), to board the ship. One thing for sure, there is always a photographer everywhere you go! They took our pictures before we boarded the ship. You're not obligated to buy them. They're displayed everyday at the photo shop. I found the price of $12.98 expensive for a 5x7 photo, so we chose not to buy any. Once were were onboard ship, they gave out champagne and orange juice, which was a nice touch. We entered through the atrium - deck 6. Once thing you'll notice - there is always someone selling something! The shops are nothing great. Duty free, jewelry store and gift shop (which has t-shirts, clothing, etc). Our rooms were ready at 2 p.m. - exactly as they promised. We did the mandatory "fire drill" and then we were on our own. The Dawn is not a huge ship, but there is alot to see and do. it's up to you - whether you want to dance all night, go to shows, etc. etc. Since it was spring break, there were alot of college kids on board, but they weren't' rowdy - they had a great time. DINING - The two main dining rooms - Aqua and Venetian are quite beautiful - the food is adequate and served nicely. The wait staff are very polite and aim to please. The Garden Buffet's food was tasty and there was certainly enough variety. We were not impressed with the desserts in the dining rooms and the buffet - they looked good, but really didn't have much taste, except for the cookies, banana bread and pound cake. There is always ice cream available and fruit. If you wish, you can take out food from the buffet to eat at the pool or in your cabin. The last few days of the cruise, they were taking sanitary precautions, because some people were sick. We didn't serve ourselves at the buffet - which was a good idea for prevention. There is always someone standing there to spray your hands and I thought that was a good idea. There are glass globes all over the ship to place your hands under to disinfect them - also a good idea. We ate at Impressions and Cagney's twice - really good food. Yes, you have to pay extra, but it was worth it. You can have 4 appetizers and 6 entrees if you wanted to. (we didn't)! We also had room service some mornings and it was so nice to sit on the balcony and have breakfast. There are no hot items on the menu. The coffee is great - I'm fussy with my coffee, and I loved it. You can get room service any time of the day or night, which is very convenient. We tipped each morning for this service. Everyone has different taste and there will be 20 different opinions about the food. There will always be some things that you'll like better than others.ENTERTAINMENT - John, the cruise director left for a 2 month vacation (March 28th was his last day). He'll be back in June for the Dawn New York to Bermuda run. He was very good. Also the Jean Anne Ryan group of dancers and singers finished their last show on our cruise. They put on excellent shows in the Stardust Theatre.