This cruise was ok. We were on the Sun in December 2006 and it was fabulous. However the Dawn may be in the same class as a type of ship but that is where it ends. First off we were supposed to be on the Jewel for a 9 day cruise that was cancelled by Norwegian so this was our next option. We were upgraded to the highest level within our category. Our cabin was on the 11th floor just below the Garden Cafe. The workers were in there at 5 am to 2am. The noise from the kitchen was tremendous. A constant loud humming noise and running water 24/7. Every morning the kitchen workers dropped pots and pans on the floor and banged stuff around it was like being awakened every morning to crash symbols at 5AM. Since the ship was full there was nothing that could be done. We also could hear the cabins that surrounded us. Not just a low noise but complete conversations verbatim. There must not have been any sound insulation in any of the walls. The beds were like sleeping on camp cots...bad camp cots. We asked the steward to put them together to make one big bed and all he did was slide them together and did nothing to hold them together. (Like on the Sun). So during the night you ended up sleeping on the metal rail and not the mattress. The room did not appear to be vacuumed every day either, even though we saw it in the hall. The shower was slightly warm and the water was never hot with not alot of pressure behind it.

The food was ok, not great but not awful except for 2 dinners. The one night we ate in Impressions and I ordered Veal Marsala and a side of Cheese Tortellini in Alfredo sauce as a side. The Veal was raw, I mean red raw not cooked. The Alfredo sauce was runny white flavorless sauce. Everything was sent back and I had Chicken parmigiana and Rosemary potatoes. The Chicken was average, nothing great and the potatoes were black and burned. We ate in Aqua the one night and I had a Sirloin pepper steak which was nothing but tough and like shoe leather. The servers in all the restaurants seemed distant and not knowledgeable of what was being served. When asking a question about the menu they always had to go back and ask the chef or someone else. They were slow and dinner usually took 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Sprinkles Ice Cream was only open from 12-4. (On the Sun it was open longer and had more selections of flavors as well as sundaes) Breakfast we always went to the garden cafe and ate from the Buffet. Lines were long, but food was plentiful and had taste. The burgers we had at lunch were so-so. The entertainment was good and enjoyable. The Second City players were there and they were very good. The Jean Ann Ryan troupe was talented and but Bollywood was not as great as they made out. Actually Circ Pan on the Sun was much better. We had the Honeymoon package for $79 and that is well worth it, will get it again. Despite the staff forgot to do the Cake and Champagne party but they made up for it with a gift bag loaded with stuff and a bottle of champagne and cake to our room. The canapes are so so but the dinner in Le Bistro with wine, strawberries and champagne in our room were very good. The photo is a 5x7 in a folio or take $5 off and 8 x 10.

The ports we visited were ok. The time in port was short so you could not do or see a whole lot. In Samana it rained and to see anything you must take a taxi. The town is in walking distance but there is not much there. An open market that has typical Caribbean stuff for sale. Since it was raining so hard we did not go anywhere. Tortola is nice, cabs were plenty, Cane Garden Bay had some nice swimming. St. thomas has a lot to do with plenty of cabs. We were able to go ashore at 7:30 but had to be back on board at 3:30. But nothing opens till 9am, so there is a loss of time there. We went to Megans Bay which was nice and saw some sea life, Turtles, fish etc. We shopped in havensight mall but really did not find any bargains, like we were told. Some people said there were good deals in town but we had to get on the ship and really did not want to spend all day looking for deals when there is an island to see. Great Stirrup cay is not that Great. It has a beach, some snorkeling on one side. They take you ashore on a tender and you are herded like cattle onto shore. They started taking people ashore at 9 and as we waited with our tender ticket we did not get ashore till 11. The last tender was at 3. Again not a lot of time ashore but there really is not a whole lot to do. They have rows and rows of chairs lined up for everyone to sit on. In Summary, we will most likely sail Norwegian again but not on the Dawn or these ports.