First I have to admit, we were very concerned when we read the large number of negative reviews concerning the Norwegian Dawn. Everything from bad food to surly crew was outlined in the reviews and we were concerned that these reviews were accurate and would result in a less than enjoyable experience on board the Dawn.

A little background on us. We are a 50ish couple who have taken 15 cruises in the past 10 years. We have sailed Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess. We are experienced cruisers who have always enjoyed every cruise we have been on. We have a saying, there is no bad cruise, some are just better than others. This brings us to the Dawn.

We arrived at the Port of New York at approximately 10:00 am on Sunday, April 25 for our 7 day cruise. We have found that by arriving early, you can generally get on the ship fairly quickly and can be on deck eating lunch by the time the lines form to embark. Our system did let us down a bit this cruise as the Dawn was going through a Coast Guard inspection and were not able to actually get on board until around Noon. We found the embarkation procedures to be well thought out and very simple to board the ship. After we got onboard, we went to the Welcome Aboard Buffet and had our first sample of the quality and taste of the food on the Dawn. Remember that one of the biggest criticisms of the Dawn was the quality of the food. We thought the lunch buffet was excellent and the food well prepared and very good. In comparison to the other cruise lines we have been on, it was completely comparable, no better and no worse. After sitting on the deck for awhile, where we were greeted by an extremely friendly and welcoming crew, our room was ready around 2:00. This is one of the downsides to freestyle cruising. Since the previous guests are allowed to remain in their stateroom until disembarkation, the rooms are ready a little later than other cruise lines. Read more