The day prior to the cruise we took Amtrak from Tampa to Miami to avoid driving in Miami and just because we thought it would be a fun start to the cruise. We stayed at La Quinta in Miami Springs and it was clean, reasonable, had a breakfast bar and a free shuttle to the Port of Miami. At breakfast the next morning we met several of our Cruise Critic/FB members and it was fun to put names with faces. It was an excited bunch of cruisers as we headed toward the port. The first view of the Dawn was wonderful as it is anytime we take a cruise. We turned our bags over to the porters around 11:00 and got in the long line to begin embarkation.

We waited about 20 minutes in line, going through the checkpoint, having documents reviewed and then received our NCL cards to admit us to everything on the ship. Only one small error, my husband was not listed as a past cruiser but that was easily taken care of at Guest Services by friendly staff. We waited in the waiting area for about 35 minutes and were on the ship by around 12:30. Kudos to Norwegian for having orange juice and cold water for us in the waiting area.

Another Kudo for Norwegian because they have carry on baggage check to use until your cabins are ready. We went to the pool deck for a DOD and to relax for awhile before having lunch. Every staff person you saw were smiling, friendly and helpful. Food in the Garden Cafe was plentiful and tasty. We did not feel stressed by the embarkment process and were ready to have fun. Read more