This was our 21st cruise with NCL, all from New Orleans. Each cruise we take with NCL seems to be better than the one before. We have sailed on various different NCL ships and the Dawn is not our favorite because it does not offer a good place to sit and enjoy the beautiful ride down the Mississippi River.(The bar which was originally over the bridge has been converted to suites.) That being said, the wonderful crew members under the leadership of Hotel Director Alain Magnier, more than offset the loss of this view.

The ports we visit are great, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan and Belize, in order of favorites. Looking forward to the opening of Harvest Caye at Belize which will be available when we return next year. Read some reviews about dining room service being slow, if you feel this is an issue all you have to do is bring it to the attention of the Matri'de and it will be addressed. The Officers and Crew of the NCL DAWN are the most accommodating people in the world. They will do their best to resolve any issues you may have and to ensure that you have the best cruise experience possible. Over the years this has been our experience with NCL, they seem to erase the word NO from a persons vocabulary before they hire them. Also read some reviews which complained about the ship showing some wear and tear. (The Dawn is about to undergo a complete renovation in May.) To us, with the understanding that it is not a brand new ship, it was perfectly OK especially with the exceptional value pricing that was being offered. (Pricing in our opinion was more indicative of the poor condition of the U.S. economy than the condition of the ship.)

We are very much looking forward to sailing with NCL when they return to New Orleans in the fall and would highly recommend to any and all that they join us and do the same.