This was our third cruise on the Dawn. We have also sailed on the Star, the Dawn's sister ship, but our all time favorite is the Sun. We prefer suites as the suite "package" as a whole is one of the best bargains in the cruise industry. My wife says I've turned into a "food snob" which I vehemently disagree with; I enjoy virtually all types of food from White Castle "sliders" to gourmet offerings. As a side note, we ordered the dining package which allowed us to eat in the specialty restaurants every night. For this review I'll start with the negatives and then move to the positive aspects of our trip.

Cagney's was just "ok", nothing spectacular. We ate dinner there twice. This first night was a ribeye which I found slightly tough despite being ordered rare and coming back medium rare to medium. The sides were just "ok". Don't waste your time on the exalted truffle fries, I suspected they have a atomizer and spritz the hot oil once just to be honest. The second night at Cagney's was one of the worst excuses for ribs I have ever encountered. The ribs were tough and I suspect were cooked too fast at too high a heat. When I smoke ribs I do them low and slow using either apple or hickory. I tasted no smoke flavor and couldn't find anything resembling a smoke ring. The sauce they used was some insipid concoction which didn't even come up to bargain brand sauce quality.

We made two reservations for Tepanyaki but after eating there the first night we had the concierge cancel our second reservation. I've eaten better at $9.95 oriental buffets. The miso soup was extremely salty and I like salt. The "show" was hokey and the shrimp and scallops were tough. Also, the venue was open to the atrium via the sushi bar and it was noisy and not conducive to leisurely dinning. It was like some hound dog howling to 3/4 time in the background. I wanted to toss a couple of dog biscuits out there just to shut them up. Read more