I returned today from my cruise on the Norwegian Dawn, my third cruise with this line (have been on the Pride of America and the Norwegian Pearl). I travelled with my parents (their first cruise). Overall it went well but there were some hiccups.

As was in the local news, the Norwegian Dawn was delayed at the port of Tampa as a result of fog. We did not check our email prior to leaving for Tampa so we were not aware that our trip would be delayed. As a result, we went to the port, which was chaos. Norwegian staff provided some information and eventually it was decided that we would be carted off to a local mall via bus. We waited over an hour until the busses arrived (keep in mind that the staff knew the ship would be delayed since 5am, and they were still figuring out what to do at 11am). So over to the mall for lunch (we thought we were going to have lunch on the ship -- already paid for!) then we joined another long line at 4pm so as to drive back to the port and stand in another line to get our room cards etc. Finally to our room and sailing by 1030p -- our luggage did not arrive until near midnight, however. We understood from passengers on the Carnival Cruise, also delayed at the port for several hours, that they received $50 compensation for their missed day of vacation. Norwegian travelers received nothing, but I'll get to further details on that later.

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