Norwegian Dawn Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was a three in one vacation for me: The chance to visit my niece, who lives in West Palm Beach; my first visit to Miami, and my first cruise to the Caribbean. I thought I'd start with an Eastern Carib itinerary and work my way west on future cruises.
We left San Diego early Thursday morning knowing we'd spend an entire day flying. We took off at 8:10 a.m. and after a transfer in Houston, finally landed in Miami just before 6:00 p.m. We had an entire Friday to spend in Palm Beach with my niece so the excitement of my visit with her took my mind off the anticipation of the cruise. Before I knew it though, I was falling asleep at the Howard Johnsons Miami Airport North and waking up realizing that in a few hours I would be aboard the Norwegian Dawn.
Saturday 1/24 The hotel offered a shuttle service to the port for $15.00 per person. Once we arrived, around 12:30, the porters were quick to grab our luggage and we were lead to the line of people waiting to board. The line was probably 50 heads long outside the terminal doors (a 20 minute wait). Once inside, we filled out our health status cards and proceeded to get our picture taken for the ship card, wait in line for another 30 minutes, and then finally follow the hoards aboard. All in all it took just over an hour to get on the ship. We skipped the free champagne and instead made a beeline to our cabin to drop off our carry-on stuff. After lunch at the Garden Buffet, a drink on deck, and a casual get-to-know-ya stroll around the ship, we finally sailed about two hours late due to an engine problem. We met a new friend (Phyllis) at the Spa for a raffle, which my mother was lucky enough to win, and then had dinner at Impressions, which we had made reservations for earlier in the afternoon. The service was outstanding, there were very few people eating dinner here tonight, and the food was really good. I had the Lobster Ravioli as well as the Calamari, and several other treats. This was the first of many nights I would have to sample two desserts. The Creme Brulee and the Cannoli's are decadent. That night I went to see the comedy show with Dave Heenan, which was ok but nothing to write home about.