Norwegian Dawn Review

First Cruise (as an adult)

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Dawn
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rthorson01
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Feb 2015
Cabin: Mid-Ship Balcony

Although I don't have much to compare my experience to, I had a wonderful time on the Norwegian Dawn. I've only been on a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas with my family when I was 8 so I don't remember much. The NCL staff was very friendly and willing to accommodate many requests. My only snafu was the first night. My luggage was not delivered at the same time as my travel companion and I still did not have it by 8 pm. Our room steward said all luggage had been delivered by that time and I would need to visit the Customer Service counter to find out of any luggage had been turned in without tags. When I got to the counter I was brought in the back office to see the luggage without tags or other identifying information. My bag was not there. I was given a form to fill out titled "Lost Luggage" with no additional information on what the next steps would be. Am I S.O.L.? Are we going to keep looking? At no time did I receive an apology from the NCL staff regarding my missing bag. I received a toiletry kit and a t-shirt to wear. They eventually found my bag, the tag had been ripped off and a temporary tag was put on. The person writing the room number down, wrote down the wrong room number. They delivered it to my room around 10:30 the first night, again without an apology.

The entertainment was fantastic. I would recommend any of the Second City comedy performances. Especially the Murder Mystery luncheon held on the last at sea day. You can't sign up for it on the NCL website, you have to sign up on the ship the morning of the first day at sea. It's an additional $20.00 per person but very funny. Band on the Run was great. The singers and dancers are definitely Broadway caliber. On the last night they will have a Broadway review with the performers singing their favorite showtunes. If you're a Broadway fan, go! The only entertainment item that was not worth the time was the magician. We ended up leaving early. Terrible performance and nothing you haven't seen a thousand times before.

The food was great in the sit down main dining rooms. Venetian has a fancier atmosphere than Aqua but the menu is the same in both locations every night. The Garden Cafe (buffet) was passable. I only went there for a quick snack, to grab breakfast before an excursion or for soft serve ice cream. It's a buffet. What more can I say about it? We did go to one of the specialty restaurants, Cagney's. The steak was very good, but the side items were nothing to write home about.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Balcony

Cabin BA

The room was fine and the storage space was more than adequate for two people with multiple items to hang. I believe we had 20 hangers, 3 drawers and 4 shelves in the closet. A safe is provided for storing your passport or any shiny purchases you may make. We did also bring a small over the door shoe hanger for the bathroom. Counter space is limited and it was helpful to have a place to store toiletries out of the way.

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