I'd taken 4 cruises on Royal Carib in a previous lifetime, so I wanted to mix things up. I enjoyed sailing out of New Orleans on RC, and this NCL cruise fit the bill. I'd book an oceanview room, but when the upsell for family suite came up, well, that was a no-brainer. 400sf instead of 150sf made ship life so much more enjoyable.

The first thing I noticed is that, IMO, and this is an estimate, 3 out of 4 passenger-facing crew members really don't like working there. My room steward was great, and the butler that came (unexpectedly) with the family suite was as well, but just about every waiter, buffet attendant, and bartender seemed miserable. But, that's not going to ruin my trip, just something to expect and not be surprised by. I enjoy karaoke, but the gal running that seemed insincere, and the ship's DJ turned trivia into a 12-min event...thanks for wasting my time, I could have gone to another event. Good thing there's booze and bands always playing....they were all great. The shows were ok, talent is there, but the productions were weak. The highlights of the week are the 3 Second City shows.

The food is a big negative on the Dawn. We got 3 meal upgrades (Moderno and Cagney's were excellent, Teppanyaki was awful). Aqua and Venetian were less than average. It seems that anything complimentary (included) was average to poor, except for the Garden Cafe buffet....with so many choices, you'll find something you like. Read more