This is my wife and I's first time on NCL but we have cruised on three other lines. Cruse left out of NY which is a 2 1/2 hour drive for us from home. Being able to drive to the embarkation point was a major reason for taking the NCL Dawn and the fact that we had not been to Bermuda before. Being in driving distance is nice but be aware that parking is a real problem. Parking at the port was $210.00 for the week but the alternatives were not particularly attractive either. The train from where we live (north east Maryland) is just as expensive and the bus was not appealing to me. Both of the latter would have additionally required cabbing from Penn station.

First impressions of the ship were positive. We liked the funky exterior paint job, including the promenade deck. After spending some time exploring, we both felt the interiors lacked a common theme. When leaving one area of the ship and entering another, there did not seem to be a unifying thread in decor, color, etc. to tie them together. We had a balcony room and the balconies are smaller than other lines we have used. The room itself was probably the smallest we have had and the storage areas are pretty minimal - basically one set of smallish drawers and a second set inside the closet. The best part of the stateroom is the bathroom, head and shoulders above any others we have used, pun intended. The separate shower and toilet with sliding doors works great when two people are trying to get ready at the same time. Additionally, the shower was nice and big and I wasn't constantly brushing up against a clammy wet curtain.

We thought about trying some of the additional pay eateries on the ship, but ultimately stuck with the included restaurants. Actually, I won a raffle ticket in the casino for a free dinner in Bamboo, the asian spot. We checked the menu but didn't find anything compelling so we didn't use the coupon. It seemed like there were promotions all week for Bamboo and it was never close to full when we walked by. Maybe this is an option that just does not have a wide enough appeal to justify the space. Food in the dining rooms was fine, had a couple of good steaks. Also, I liked being able to have breakfast in Aqua and both that I did were wonderful. Lot of people said they like the wings at Blue Lagoon - I thought they were fair at best. Read more