Our two reasons for taking this cruise, which was our 16th overall and 9th with NCL, were 1) leaving out of New Orleans; 2) visiting 3 new ports in the Western Caribbean Itinerary: Roatan, Honduras, Belize, and Costa Maya. (We have previously been to Cozumel).
Our pre-cruise stay in New Orleans was great, even though the weather wasn't the best. This was our 2nd time in this port, but our travel-mates' 1st visit, which added to the fun of sharing experiences.
As we had expected, the NCL Dawn definitely showed her age on this trip. We first sailed on her in 2004, when she was still new. Of course, we realize that a refurb is scheduled for her soon, and hopefully, the ship will be bright and sparkling afterwards.