Norwegian Dawn Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was not only my first cruise with NCL, but the 3 other passengers I brought with me. The impression was that the cruise was geared more towards an older crowd. We are in the range of 28-38 years of age. I didn't mind that it was not a party ship, but I would of liked to see more activities and entertainment for people our age.
The food on the ship was very salty. The selections at the buffet were all high in sodium content and the selection was limited. The restaurants on the Dawn were Aqua and the Venetian. They both had the same menus each day. I'd like to think that one would serve something different then the other to promote variety but that was not the case. For free beverages, there was 2 flavors of "enhanced" water, lemonade, coffee, milk and ice tea. The juices were very sugary. I could handled these overlooked problems, but what I was unhappy about was that the food was often stale, hard, dried out, and again, extremely salty. On the flip side, this made me eat less!
The next issue was the noise. We were on the 8th floor at the front of the ship. Our room was next to a door marked "crew only". At 6am, you could hear banging noises that woke you up. The sound of stuff being hauled out and rolled out of this room. When an event was taking place below us or above us, the sounds filled the hallways and often the room. This made it hard to try to go to bed early.
Cabin Review
Inside
The room was too small for 4 guests. It should of been advertised for 3 guests. Also there was no mentioning that some of the rooms near, above, or below the theaters/bars might be exposed to loud music and noise at all hours of the night. Carnival does not charge a room service fee but NCL sure does!
Port Reviews
Costa Maya
Round trip transportation, beach, 3 free drinks for $25. We brought our own snorkeling kit and got massages thirty minutes for $25.
Belize City
We were grossed out by the port. We ended up leaving the port and finding someone to take us to a private beach for $20. We had so much fun there.
Roatan
Viator offered this zip lining for $55 compared to NCL that charges well over $100.
Cozumel
Viator offered this excursion for $52 compared to the $89 one that NCL and others charge! Unlimited alcohol, food, and a waterpark!
New Orleans
On the way there, the town was trashed. It smelled and was filth. It looked like a third world country. On the way back, it was cleaned up and I enjoyed it.