Norwegian Dawn Review
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As first time cruisers wasn't really sure what to expect. Specialty restaurant food was excellent. So good in fact that it made the standard fare seem less appealing. Probably because the inclusive restaurant food was lower quality.
Highly recommend Cagney's and Le Bistro. Porterhouse at Cagney's was so good I managed to eat all 32 oz. The rib eye steak at Le Bistro was less impressive, but the service there was topnotch. Teppenyaki was a typical hibachi restaurant with the table side chef cooking and entertaining. If we did it again I would probably skip Teppenyaki and do two dinners at one of the others. While the food at the Venetian dining area was nothing special, the service and ambiance was better than at the Aqua or Garden View restaurants.
Generally the service on the Dawn was satisfactory. We had some great service, Joanna at the Gatsby Champagne Bar sticks out, and some not so great service. We tipped a dollar or two which seemed to help when it came to the servers who knew we were tippers. The service and attitude of staff in the casino was pretty bad. When you are taking people's money you should at least give them a smile and cheery disposition. Since I didn't spent much time gambling not a big deal to me, but I heard a number of passengers grumbling about the casino employees.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Balcony
We were a husband and wife sharing a balcony cabin. Not spacious, but plenty of room for us. Balcony was pretty beat up with adjoining doors that were probably the originals. Other than that the rest of the cabin was in excellent condition.
Port Reviews
New Orleans
We spent two days in Algiers across the Mississippi on the front end. We rented a tiny home. Loved the streets there and had ferry access to New Orleans proper. On the back end we stayed at Harrah's. Walked the streets quite a bit, but behaved ourselves. Toured cemetery. Mother's for breakfast was a disappointment. Cafe du Monde was worth a ten minute wait, but if you have to wait much more than that I'd go with one of the other beignet restaurants. Bourbon Street during the day was the way to go for us. Had a Hurricane and a Grenade. That was more than enough to make the day a bit interesting. We attended two masses and the churches was spectacular.
Harvest Caye
No options. Expensive and although operated by Norwegian drinks and food were not included and were very expensive. Water was murky
Costa Maya
Beach day...lots of choices. Snorkeling was okay, but not excellent. Very relaxing.