After a heinous embarkation that is still unexplained by NCL or the port of Tampa, it was a great cruise. The outside cabin(8130)was very roomy. A comfortable bed and huge amount of storage. The bathroom had the best shower I’ve ever had and the worst toilet! The shower was amazing. A large rectangular space. The toilet felt smaller than standard and you’re forced into this walled cubbyhole that anyone of a larger size is going to be very unhappy with. Friends traveling with us had an inside room that lacked the walled in toilet but still had the nice shower. The AC worked well. We’re usually too hot in most ship cabins. Not on Dawn.

The bars were varied with lots of interesting cocktails to sample. You could also order two drinks per cabin which was so convenient. NCL doesn’t hand you a receipt with every order either. Take note other cruise lines!

Food was very good. Not as good as HAL but better than RCCL. I really enjoyed the buffet. Tasty and never crowded. I easily found a table every time. O’Sheehans food was really good but needs to improve their service. Every order was usually missing something and getting refills on beverages seemed to be a big problem for the staff. The specialty restaurants were good but not elevated enough to justify the cost. Some of the food came right from the buffet. The included coffee wasn’t too bad. We saw it was ground coffee and not those atrocious bags of liquid swill. We never ate in the main dining rooms but friends did and they said it was very good as well. Read more