Our Group had a fantastic time! Here were the highlights:

-Embarkation was a breeze. Arrived at 12 noon and very little waiting. NCL staff with smiling faces, a very welcoming first impression. -Exploring the ship took the better part of the 5 days. There were so many places that we continued to discover! The Dawn is a beautiful ship with a good layout. - We had 3 adjacent mini-suites on Deck 11. Rooms were clean, big enough, and with lots of storage. Loved the balcony and our room steward opened the balcony connections so we had our own 3-suite compound to enjoy! -Large ship with capacity of over 2,000. There were not that many people on board, but every cabin was taken. We found we had to wait for dinner because of the size of our group (7), and we learned to put our name on the waiting list at the Venetian podium, and go to a pub next door for a drink. -Our cruise had very few children, but they were all seemingly in the hot tubs all the time. I thought that's why they have their own pool area? They were all well-behaved with the exception of one 8-yr old boy who disrupted every event he attended by trying to be the center of attention. Never saw his parents once. - Two sea days meant a tough time finding deck chairs, but everyone we met was very friendly about moving chairs around or making space. I liked the multiple deck areas so I could always find either shade or sun. - I am happy to report that I never felt the pressure of buy, buy, buy on board. Either it has lessened since my last cruise with NCL, or I didn't go to the events where it was heavy (like Bingo, Art Auction, or shopping talk) - Ports were Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Our group tried the Dolphin Swim in Cayman (alot of waiting, then 20 minutes with the dolphin), and the Snorkeling/boat trip in Cozumel (fantastic and fun!). I pre-planned scuba dives at both locations but found that the local operators did NOT like waiting for you to get off the ship! Neptune Divers in Cayman even left without me! - Overall, the Entertainment on board was EXCELLENT with something for everyone! Exception was Dave Heenan (comedian) who was offensive to all, so we did not look for his show after the first showcase night. Second City group was hilarious, Band on the Run was fun, and Bollywood was simply breathtaking. Piano bar was in a perfect spot for enjoying the oldies, and more than a little Barry Manilow, on your way to or from the Theater. Late night parties were well run but the number of teenagers made me feel old (and I'm only 45!) - Cruise Director John was really good, probably the best I have seen in the 8 cruises I have taken on multiple ships. He was professional, friendly, and entertaining. All of his staff seemed to be enjoying themselves. Kudos to them all, and to NCL for fostering the approachability of the entire cruise director's team. - Food was perfectly fine to good. Two of us are gluten-free so we were worried that there would be nothing safe to eat. Buffet choices were plentiful. For dinner, it was challenging but there were always many choices on the menu that could be modified. Thanks to Anil, Asst M'D in the Venetian, who cooked up some special meals but the free-style concept made it a minor hassle to 1) eat in other restaurants, and 2) explain to every waiter my dietary requirements. This is NOT a complaint, merely an observation. I understand that it must be extremely challenging to try to meet all dietary restrictions for that many people on-board, especially when you don't know what time they will show up or where. - We tried the Bamboo specialty restaurant once and thought it was good. But I was perfectly fine with the main restaurants. - I checked out the fitness center and tried yoga for the first time. Went to a golf clinic and fixed my swing. Attended the Second City improv workshop and tried it out. Enjoyed going to Trivia in the Pub every evening. Loved walking the promenade deck with all the colorful artwork to look at. Most of the movies in the cinema were on port days so I never had a chance to try it. - I was impressed with the friendliness of all the Passengers we met. People were genuinely having a wonderful time, and I heard very few complaints while on-board. - All the staff were friendly, and several made extra efforts. I found that if you made eye contact, and took the time to talk to someone (in any dept) it was easy to have a conversation. What a great opportunity to meet people from around the world! - Service was uneven in the dining rooms. Bars and poolside service were great. Very efficient, friendly and professional Front Desk staff. - I liked how all the bars were different themes - British Pub, Salsa bar for Margaritas, Star bar for Martini's, Bimini Bar overlooking the pool...something for everyone. - Disembarkation was simple as we chose walk-off with our luggage to catch an early flight. The ship got to Miami early and we were cleared for walk-off by 8:20 am. - Things that worked for our group: Arriving with the "whatever, its vacation" frame of mind. Waiting a few minutes? No problem. Almost every night we pre-planned the "dinner time" to allow us to get to the entertainment we wanted to see. During the day everyone went off to do their own thing, and we left post-it notes on doors saying where we could be found. Everyone had a fantastic trip!