Norwegian Dawn Review

4.0 / 5.0
3,035 reviews

First time cruisers - very good experience

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Dawn
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BonCaskey
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details

Sail Date: Apr 2019
Cabin: Obstructed Oceanview
Traveled with children
Beautiful shoreline of Costa Maya. No public beach access at port.
Large, free pool at the port in Costa Maya.
Cabin

We had a wonderful first cruise experience! Our cabin had an outside partially obstructed view. It was very nice, the lifeboat was low and we could see out the whole window. Our family of four fit well on the queen, trundle and fold down beds, but they were all pretty uncomfortable. We took small collapsible luggage, that helped a lot. There is a closet, shelves and a few small drawers. The layout of the ship was VERY confusing, as many others have said. The refurbishment was very nice and we didn't have any trouble with plumbing or any other age of the vessel issues. Our Steward kept us stocked with fresh towels, ice and a clean room. We bought the soda package for the kids, not sure that it was worth it for us. The lemonade in the Garden Cafe was very good as well as the coffee. Other than that, my husband and I stuck to water. The dinners were delicious, we ate at only complimentary restaurants. The menu was slightly tweaked daily to give a nice variety. Service overall was efficient, but we found O'Sheehans to be very slow. The main pool was crowded, and we frequently couldn't find a chair. The pool side ice cream was one of our favorite treats, especially on days they had coconut ice cream. Our kids enjoyed the kids pool and slides, we spent most of our pool time there. The furniture is all kid sized, but it worked fine. Our kids went once to Splash Academy and really disliked it. They said the Staff was "mean". They asked to not go back. Our biggest disappointment was that there was no beach at the port in Costa Maya. There was a beautiful shoreline to view, but no ocean access. If I were to do it again, I would book a beach excursion or take a cab down to Mahahual. The port pool, however, was large and we enjoyed cooling off there. The markets and shops as well as the rest of the port had an "Epcot" feel to them. Not authentic, but nice nonetheless. We took in a few nightly shows and the whole family enjoyed them! We have younger kids and found the atrium and hallways noise to be pretty excessive, even well past midnight. We were just down the hall from O'Sheehans, I do think a lot of our noise was from our location. Embarktation was a bit chaotic and slow, Norwegian said they were having network system outages. We did the self assist disembark and were off the ship by 8:30am - very smooth process. Overall, a great trip!

Cabin Review

Obstructed Oceanview

Cabin OK
3 Helpful Votes
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