Very nice time on the Norwegian Dawn. DH and I got two oceanview cabins on the aft starboard side of the ship, which we shared with our the children, ages 7,8 & 13. First time on Norwegian, and really wasn't certain what to expect.

Flew to Florida several days early for a nice stay on Islamorada. On Saturday we drove up to Miami, and arrived at the port around 2pm. Filled out our "yes, I am healthy" document, and headed through security without issues. Long wait in a short line for check-init was a very small room compared to Carnival or Royal Caribbeanand the process seemed rather drawn out. Walked upstairs, retrieved room keys at a separate location, had photo taken, got onboard, received our champagne (or orange juice kids thought this was weird) and then (with full hands) had our keys swiped to proceed inside. More than a little awkward, but manageable.

The Dawn is a very pretty ship, and they pack ALOT into the space they have so there were not huge open spaces (the main atrium was very narrow.) The promenade on deck 7 was a favorite place for daily walks, and the huge chess boards on deck 13 saw a ton of action. The kids pool area is pretty small, but the 7 & 8 year old enjoyed playing there on our sea days. The main pool, being salt water and deep, was tried out but found to be "not as fun." Being spring break, there were 900 children onboard (compared to the usual 125!) but most seemed to be dumped into the kids program or allowed to roam free without parents attached to them! We used the kids program only twice, the afternoons of both sea days, and both children thought it "ok" I really think they (the ships' counselors) were simply overwhelmed with the huge numbers. One thing they both LOVED was "Cookies with the Captain." They each had their picture taken and could ask questions. This was a big hit and I'd love to see that on other ships! Read more