Norwegian Dawn Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My husband and I sailed on the Dawn from 12/17 to 12/26/2010. This was our second Christmas cruise - both of which have been on NCL ships. We loved it so much, we've already booked next Christmas on the Pearl - and are bringing family along. We met a group of people on our Cruise Critic board before the cruise. We had a great time with them from the Meet & Greet until we were together on the last night as a team for The Quest! It really added a layer of fun to the cruise.
The crew of this ship stood out for us - top to bottom. Captain Sverre Sovdsnes - aka "Captain Smashing" - gave a little introductory speech for each port first thing in the morning. We would find ourselves scrambling to find the TV's remote so we could hear his speech! He always made us laugh - especially since he ended each speech with "Have a Smashing day!". Then entire senior staff of this crew was very visible. Not a night went by when we did not see at least one, sometimes two, of the crew in the dining rooms making sure everyone was having a good time.
Daniel, the Cruise Director, is new to his position, but he's excellent at his job! The Second City crew took great delight in making fun of his obvious youth. (If anyone finds a lost Pokemon, please return it to Daniel!) Our team managed to make him blush during The Quest. It was a lot of fun, and Daniel was a great MC for all the game-shows.
Cabin Review
Balcony
We were in cabin 10698. which is a handicapped accessible cabin. The cabin was spacious, and well designed. I have difficulty standing for long periods of time, and the chair for the shower was a tremendous help! The grab bars in the bathroom were also a great help. The placement of the emergency call button by the bed was poorly thought out, though. I hit it with my backside the first night, which prompts an immediate call from the Guest Services desk! They remained on the line until I went across the cabin to the reset button by the door. From that point on, I was extremely careful not to bump the button again! (Thankfully, they all have a good sense of humor, and they found it as funny as I did!)
The cabin was spotlessly clean, the bed was comfortable, and the balcony was a peaceful get-away. We got to know our neighbors, and the day wasn't officially started until we had wished them a good morning. We were initially concerned because of the cabin's proximity to the elevators, but we only heard them ding once or twice, and traffic was never a problem, although teens did feel a need to rearrange my holiday cling letters on our door - and actually take some of them - as the cruise went by.
We had moderate swells the last two days on the ship, and being this far aft was great! The ship's movements were significantly reduced compared to our friends' cabin at the bow on the same deck.