Background. I am 35. This was my fourth cruise to Bermuda (twice on Celebrity Horizon and once on HAL Veendam) and my third cruise on the Dawn. I was sailing with a friend who is 34 and had been on the Dawn once before.

Embarkation. We arrived at the pier around noon, and were directed to the line for Dawn passengers, which was quite long. After a minute or two, we were directed to another very short line for suite passengers. Within 20 minutes of arriving at the pier, we were being led onto the ship to Cagney's, after receiving individual attention from at least five different staff members at the terminal. A good start, to say the least.

Ship. I thought the Dawn looked as great as she did seven years ago when I first sailed. Kudos to NCL! Read more