I booked this particular cruise with this particular cruiseline because of leaving from Tampa and had not been to several of the ports of call. We have been on at least 8 cruises with many cruise lines. After I booked I had read the reviews of the Dawn and was afraid I had made a mistake!

From the minute we arrived at port, I could tell that the negative reviews were just that..negative. Don't let that dissuade you from taking this trip. We arrived at port @ 10:30, checked in and was on the ship by 11. Upon a recommendation we went to the restaurant reservation desk and made reservations for the Venetian dining room for the week. Went to the Venetian for lunch and the rooms were ready by 12:30. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of space in the room and the bathroom. We have had much smaller bathrooms. Because NCL allows you to bring your own pop and water aboard, we asked the room steward to empty the contents of the refrigerator so we could keep drinks cold and he was very accommodating. After lunch we unpacked, explored the ship and went to the muster drill which was the easiest and the most efficient we have ever experienced. People even listened. Watched the ship sail out of Tampa Bay, explored some more and went to dinner. After dinner went to the welcome aboard show and it was fabulous. My very favorite entertainers for the week were Patti and Jose. They are tremendous and not to be missed.

Monday was a typical sea day...lots of people...lots of food...lots of relaxation and fun. Read more