This was our 8th cruise, our first on NCL. We are in our late 40's traveling with our 20yo daughter & her best friend. We don't claim to be experts & it takes a lot to get us angry/annoyed. We are former New Yorker's who have seen many Broadway shows & dined at some superb restaurants, so when we cruise we do not expect Broadway quality or fine dining. We cruise because we enjoy being on the seas and exploring the ports.

Embarkation - We arrived at the port of Tampa around 10:30am, got on line and waited. After a 15 minute wait security opened & we went through their process. Checking in was very fast & efficient and only took 5 minutes for the 4 of us. We sat in the lounge where juice & water were provided and waited for our group number to be called for boarding. By 11:30am our number was called and we boarded. We each had a carry-on & were thrilled to read in the Daily that we could securely check them in at the Spinnaker Lounge.

Ship - We thought that the Dawn was decorated very whimsical and in fairly good condition. Plenty of seating in the public areas even by the pool. I will say that many of the pool lounge chairs need to be replaced, too saggy & uncomfortable. We were disappointed that there was no forward indoor bar/observation area where we could just sip a drink, relax & look out on the seas as we have done on other cruise lines ships. Read more