We chose the Norwegian Dawn because we wanted to sail out of NYC, go under the Verranzano Bridge, and pass the Statue of Liberty, and because the Dawn spent all but 3 full days in Bermuda.We have sailed with HAL, RCL, and Celebrity previously.Our children and grandchildren-ages 3 to 10, have been building their excitement for almost 2 years.We boarded our motor coach at 9:20 A.M. and arrived at the pier at 11:30 A.M. A longshoreman took care of all our luggage and made arrangements with DH to gather all the luggage on our return trip. We all gathered in the large elevator, went to the second floor and just kept moving through security, and check in and were all on board with our champagne before noon. This was the best and quickest embarkation DH and I had ever experienced. Kudos to NCL.We had a balcony cabin that was sufficient and clean. The stewards were very friendly and remembered our names when they greeted us, but seemed overwhelmed with their amount of cabins. Our cabin wasn't turned down in the evening until close to 9:00 P.M. or after, and we are early to bed folks, so this was inconvenient.We were 2 decks above the 7th deck shuffleboard area on the starboard side, and there were very loud, unruly parties going on one night until all but 4:00 A.M., causing us not to sleep at all; and the next night until 2:00 A.M. We called the front desk numerous times and our neighbors did as well, but the noise continued. We have since learned that the equipment is to be locked up after 8:00 P.M., but it was not. It took forever for security to do anything about the guests who had consumed  way too much alcohol. We also learned that there are only 2 security people on after 12MID, again this could be 2AM as some staff was not sure. Regardless, not enough for a ship that size.Our children had cabins on the 5th deck and they seemed to be minus enough towels for everyone and had to keep asking for more. They did have their cabins turned down while they went to dinner.One of our children is hearing impaired and she did have a hearing impaired alarm clock as well as lights that flashed when the door was opened and special lighting for the fire alarm as well. We were impressed with that even though the alarm clock did not keep correct time. We had asked about this equipment when we booked the trip but NCL said the Dawn did not have this capability. Upon arrival however, the cabin was hearing impaired equipped. The adult children went to register for their children in Kids' Crew, DH, and I went to the Receptionist Desk to confirm our prearranged dinners for all 21 of us for the Venetian Dining room, then made arrangements for the photographer for our family "dress up" picture before dinner, then introduced ourselves to Anna, the Group Coordinator, who gave us excellent service.We all met at the Bimini Bar and Grill for hamburgers and hot dogs and awaited the call that our cabins were ready. That came at 2:00 P.M. We all checked out our cabins, and found that not all the luggage had arrived, so we went exploring, and waited for the Muster Drill with our life jackets on Deck 7. The Drill went smoothly, we returned our life jackets to our cabins and by then, all luggage was there. We all met on the 14th deck forward and enjoyed the beautiful weather and sail away. Another set of grandparents had driven to the Statue of Liberty to waive us by. NYPD helicopters "protected"us as we sailed out of the harbor, and we were on our way.The next 2 days the weather turned cloudy, cool, and rainy, but everyone was getting to learn their way around the beautiful ship. Our "dress up dinner" went well and the family pictures turned out great.The little ones-ages 3-6 enjoyed the Kids'Crew and kept busy with the activities. The older grandchildren-ages 7-10 did not care for the program so they stayed with their parents.DH and I ate in the Venetian and Aqua Dining rooms and thought the food was very good. We do not like the new menu that stays the same every day, because by mid week, it got old. We tried the wings at Blue Lagoon and they were OK.Some of our children ate at Cagney's and Terranyaki's and said the food and service was excellent.Service in the Venetian was rather slow, but staff was pleasant. The Garden Buffet served a variety for all meals and we felt the food was very good as well.We enjoyed the Casino. We didn't really attend the shows except for Bollywood and that was amazing to see the performers fly though the air while the ship was swaying ever so slightly. Jose and Patti were very good and we enjoyed them as well. Some of the children went to the other shows, enjoying the magician and the comedian the best.We enjoyed the CC Meet and Greet, giving us the opportunity to meet the ship's officers, as well as other members from numerous states. We were invited to have dinner with the Staff Captain and learned more about the ship as well as some of NCL's future plans. That was a very pleasant dining experience with excellent service and wine, too.I was interested in the Lap Pool at the Spa and signed up on a daily basis, since I wasn't planning on using it while we were in port. The first day I went, I was able to swim my laps and get in my exercise. The second day, there were several passengers just standing in the pool talking and would float back and forth with the current making it impossible for me to swim. That was the last time I used the lap pool.We took notice that the dress code is not followed in the dining rooms and folks appeared for dinner in shorts and caps.The pool rules are not inforced either. Signs are posted for No Diving and No Jumping, but this was not followed, and no one was around to inforce the rules. On the one really good sunny day we had, Sat. on the return trip, there was not a deck chair to be found. Passengers save the chairs anyway they can, and we did not see any items removed by staff after 30 minutes.Our cabins were sufficent and clean. The children had trouble not receiving enough towels for everyone in their families and had to keep asking for more. Our cabin was above the shuffleboard area on deck 7. We have learned that the equipment is to be locked up after 8:00 P.M., but it was not, thus we lost many hours of sleep two nights in a row because of very loud parties playing shuffleboard. The first night until 4:00 A.M. , and the second night until 2. Numerous calls to the Front desk did not seem to do anything except to prompt their apologies. We learned that there are only two security people on duty after 12 MID, this could be 2AM as staff was not sure. At any time that's an awful large ship to be watched over by 2 people! All in all, the seas were fairly calm, the weather could have been better, but we accomplished what we wanted to do and that was to have our family experience cruising and beautiful Bermuda.Disambarkation back in NYC went smoothly and all our luggage was together and a space was saved for our bus to pick us all up and return us safely to reality once again.Would we sail NCL again? Probably not. More explained under cabins. DH and I prefer HAL and smaller ships, and we enjoy the more laid back, relaxed atmosphere for the "senior citizens".