This was our first cruise with NCL and our first time to Bermuda. The first was aboard the HAL Amsterdam in 2010, the second on board the Celebrity Solstice in 2011. Both of those being ships just launched in 2008, so relatively brand new, and both being known as slightly more "upscale" cruise lines, the NCL Dawn had a lot to live up to.

My friend and I traveled together, both in our early 30's. I'll start by saying we cruise for pure relaxation, we're not out to run ourselves ragged seeing/doing everything. We chose this cruise because it left out of Boston and being from New Brunswick (Canada), it meant we could easily drive down and avoid the hassle of flying. It is only about a 7 1/2 hr drive for us, and on the way we split it into two days to accommodate some retail therapy along the way in Bangor/Freeport/Kittery.

The cruise left on Friday. We arrived around 12:30pm at the cruise terminal and were greeted by quite a long line. However it went smoothly and we were all checked in and on the ship within an hour. We did, of course, what everyone does, headed to begin a week-long constant meal at the buffet. Our stateroom was ready before 2pm so we headed there after our meal. We were fortunate to have an entire cruise of sunshine and warm temperatures. Here I'll break it down a bit: Read more