Norwegian Dawn Review
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Additional details
Let me start by saying it was our first time cruising with Norwegian Cruise Lines. I received an email from them that contained rates on this cruise that were actually lower than what I had been paying on Carnival. We typically travel on a stringent budget in an effort to be able to pay off my house in three years so budget reigns supreme, however, we had not taken a vacation alone together in a couple of years, and this particular trip fell right during the week of our 11th year wedding anniversary. In addition, we have taken three Carnival cruises before, two out of Tampa and one out of Miami. As luck would have it, each of the three cruises prior we had missed a port due to either inclement weather or the Novo virus. When you miss a port of call as most of you know, you'd better have something to do on your ship otherwise it can be rather boring. Although Carnival did try to make an effort to make up for the lack of the Port of call, the entertainment provided was lackluster at best. For these reasons I jumped at the chance for us to try another cruise line.
This cruise started from the port of Tampa Florida. We don't live far from the cruise port which makes it incredibly convenient as we can have friends or relatives drop us off and pick us up, which means we do not have to pay for parking or deal with the hassle of trying to negotiate our luggage after we park. Unfortunately though, the ships that cruise out of Tampa have to be a certain size in order to fit underneath the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. All three ships that do sale out of Tampa, are very close to touching the bottom of the bridge as they sail out. Because they are smaller ships, they often lack in the grandeur of the large ships that sail out of Miami. They contain fewer restaurants, fewer bars, smaller pools, etc. so our expectations although hopeful, were set lower than they would be if the ship was leaving from Port Canaveral or Miami.
There are several items that Norwegian does that differentiates itself from Carnival. Although they are both located in the same, small cruise Port of Tampa, the boarding process is different. The Norwegian boarding process seemed to move at a much quicker pace. The staff seem friendlier, even though they are the same personnel that take care of the Carnival line as well, since they are all employed by the Port of Tampa and not the cruise lines. The customs/security process for Norwegian was friendlier and quicker than that of Carnival, and it just seemed more organized. In addition, when we reached the boat we were greeted by a group of 6 to 8 staff members and a couple of officers who were pleasant, friendly and genuinely welcoming. There were balloon decorations and signs put out welcoming us on board. It was fun!
Cabin Review
The cabin that we were given as part of the guaranteed rate was situated inside, forward on deck 12 room number 12513. It is situated where the Stardust Theatre was before the remodel. It is a family style cabin, which worked to our advantage because it was always quiet around us except in the morning when the kids would pitter patter down the hallways. This wasn't much of a bother for us though because we were up early every morning anyway in order to make our excursion times. When we first checked out the room, the bathroom smelled (to me anyway) like soiled diapers. Our steward quickly washed it all down again for us. The smell only returned one other time mid-way through the week in the evening but didn't linger. Personally I'd say these cabins are extremely small especially as they are designed for a family of four. There is a center walkway where the beds are stacked like a bunk-bed on either side. For the two of us, they pushed the lower beds together to the middle to form one bed, but the size of this cabin is so small that the upper bunk beds that are mounted to the wall are actually in the way of you using or exiting the bed from the side in this configuration. You must slide in and out of the bed from the foot as a result, this isn't a deal breaker, but it is kind of a pain in the butt. On a positive note, we sleep with of a lot of pillows at home and I was delighted to find stashed away in the upper bunks two pillows in each so we each had a total of four pillows for each of us. The linens used on the bed, were quite nice as well. The comforter was soft and thick and the mattress did not feel at all awkward or lumpy which was a surprise, given the circumstance. There is a large mirror that would be in the center of the room on the far wall, however for our set up ended up being over the bed which could prove interesting for some couples. On a scale of 1 to 10 with ten being pitch dark, this room sits at about a seven with plenty of light bleeding through the crack of the door by the hinges. There is also a big six-inch glow sticker used to identify the door I assume in some sort of panic situation. Light also seeps around by the latches as well, however both of these things can be eliminated by leaving the bathroom door open when you sleep, which we did for the entire cruise. The bathroom itself is quite nice with the toilet situated at an angle allowing my 6'2" frame to fit without bumping my knees into the walls. The adjustable, and removable shower head as well as the decent water pressure, were both lovely. There was plenty of hot water whenever we took a shower. The lighting is a bit odd for the bathroom, because it's controlled on the outside and there is no lighting in the shower. Although having glass shower doors was nice, once they get fogged up the light does diminish. Overall the bathroom does not feel cramped and I could shower while my wife put on makeup, which is nice. Opposite the bathroom was built-in furniture with a safe occupying the top area directly behind the door. There are several drawers and a decent sized closet as well as a corner mirror and desk type area. We were able to fit our heavily packed four suitcase contents with no problem! The TV was adequate but it was quite limited in the stations available, and as such we were unable to watch the Oscars on NBC. Another thing regarding the TV, on Carnival cruises you are able to check your account status directly on the TV, nothing of the sort exists on Norwegian Dawn. The remote that was left in this room was extremely odd as well, with about a dozen buttons on it and none of them labeled. I discovered that only five of them actually worked on our TV. They were channel up and down, volume up and down, and power. I did attempt to hook my Kindle up to the HDMI port and discovered via my room steward that the port has been disabled with a code which they would not give out. This was kind of a bummer because I find it nice to be able to connect either the camera or the Kindle up to the TV to watch shows and or view our pictures/videos from the day's adventure. Another disappointment was found in the ship's communication system. There is a speaker located in the room but we never heard any announcements over that speaker until we were docked in Tampa on the last day. In fact, due to our sleeping schedule, we repeatedly missed out on messages regarding events, as the announcements that were made were only in common areas and not echoed on the TV or on the speaker in the cabin. Improvements could be made to utilize one of the shipboard channels on the TV to broadcast the schedule of upcoming events in addition to the verbal announcements. They might also consider placing a volume control on the speaker that is there, enabling you to regulate your consumption of messages. Another point referring to the shipboard TV channels. They had a dining station that showed a beautifully thought out time matrix for each of the specialty restaurants and the main dining rooms, however, nowhere other than the restaurants themselves can you find out information on what they're serving in each of the restaurants. It would've been really nice to be able to view the daily menu for the Venetian and the Aqua in the cabin before heading out. Lastly, I want to make mention of the fact that we finally tried room service after several of our friends urged us to do so. We opted for breakfast in bed, on our first sea day. What a disappointment! All they offer is a continental breakfast. It would've been nice to have standard eggs, bacon and toast instead of having to settle on yogurt, fruit and a Danish.