Norwegian Dawn Review

My first cruise

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Norwegian Dawn
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Sgoet
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Sep 2018
Cabin: Mid-Ship Balcony

We selected this cruise as an extension of our week stay in Boston, hoping to see some Fall color and planning to spend a week in Quebec after the cruise. Embarkation was crowded but went smoothly, we were having lunch less than an hour after arriving at the terminal. Our balcony room was midship on 10th deck. I made dinner reservations before the cruise and was able to change them during the cruise. The ship was 2/3 full. We had the bar and premium dining package. All the wines were good. The Cellar wasn’t crowded so it was nice to hang out there. We ate at Le Bistro, Cagneys, Cucina, Los Lobos. All were good, Cagneys was my favorite. The Venetian and Bamboo were good, Aqua - not so much. The first day I definitely noticed rocking of the boat, but got used to it afterwards. The sea was not rough and we had three sunny days. We liked all the shows. All the stops were great except for Charlottetown. Four ships were in port that day and this small town can’t handle that many people. If you didn’t have reservations for anything, you were our of luck. Fellow cruisers liked the lobster excursion. We went on the Savor the Island tour thru Norwegian which was a ripoff. My wife took another Norwegian excursion we took was the Island tour on Halifax to Peggy’s Cove and Lunenburg which she liked, except for the lunch stop. I took my own walking tour of Halifax, which has a lot to offer. At Bar Harbor we took a ferry to Winter Harbor and took the free bus around Schoodic Peninsula where we hiked and had lunch. We finally saw fall color in Quebec. La Baie was our favorite stop. The fjord was beautiful. We took a four hour tour thru Route du Fjord. They met us at the terminal and made sure we were back to catch the boat. The guide was fantastic. The two days at sea were an unexpected treat. These were the first days to rest after being on the go for 20+ days. We had one problem with the room which was fixed quickly. It was great to sit on the balcony, watch the ocean and relax. We walked off the boat in Quebec. Disembarkation was quick, no customs, we were at our hotel in Quebec City less than an hour after leaving our cabin. This cruise experience may have been different if the boat was fully occupied, since we didn’t encounter many long lines. Quebec City is beautiful. We spent half a day at Montmorency Falls where the fall colors were spectacular. We stayed in Quebec City three days before going on to Montreal. We put a deposit down for our next cruise on Norwegian. Two suggestions: 1) Norwegian should offer orientation info on each stop the evening before, and 2) Ditch the Savor the Island tour or cut the price in half.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Balcony

Cabin BA

It is small for two people, fortunately you can store your bags and shopping under the bed. We slept with the balcony door slightly open to enjoy the sound of the ocean. The balcony was great. It was quiet, no noise above or below us, except for the hydraulic hoists for the tenders were right below us.

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