Norwegian Dawn Review

A Great Way to Bring in 2020...

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Dawn
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xuace
2-5 Cruises • Age 40s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
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Dining
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Entertainment
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Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2019
Cabin: Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony
Traveled with children

We are not "cruisers"...my wife and I took our 3 teenagers on this cruise as a way to get some warm weather and have some fun. In short, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I had been reading all the reviews about the Dawn the past few weeks and was scared to death what we had gotten ourselves into before departing. For those of you who have booked this ship, let me ease your fears and let you know that you will have a great time. This is only our second cruise as a family so we did not "nit-pick" the ship like other reviews. What I can tell you is the rooms were nice, the service was fantastic and the food was very good. If your expectations are a 5-Star restaurant then I would recommend the Ritz-Carlton. We had 2 connecting mini-suites on the the 11th deck. The rooms were big enough, the balconies were spacious and we were surprised that each bathroom had a tub so actually larger than expected. The ports were as expected, with lots of fun stuff to do or you could stay on the ship. A couple of things we really enjoyed were the Mexican Restaurant, the Tappanyaki Grill and even the Buffet was really good with lots of variety. The package we purchased included the drink package and 3 Dining Credits for the ala carte restaurants which worked out great. If you plan to drink, get the package as drinks are expensive and all have a +20% gratuity charge. The casino was nice, but got VERY smokey in the evenings (Note, that smoking should be eliminated on the ship). The Fitness Center was adequate, with lots of cardio machines. There were lots of planned activities on the ship, we enjoyed the "Behind the Scenes Presentation and Q+A with the Captain" and attended the card magic learning session which was a lot of fun.

The ship was a blast for New Years Eve....champagne toast, 4 different parties depending on your music preference and lots of party favors for everyone.

The staff on the Dawn provided service with a smile, some of our favorites were Noberick Molina who made crepes from 5:30-9:30 each night in the Garden, Made from Gatsby's bar and Antonio in the Italian restaurant. The shows were above average, especially the Magic Show with Jackson Rayne and the Elements Show on the second to last night. Again, overall it was a great trip and would recommend the experience, just set fair expectations going in. Cruise ships are crowded, many of the ports on this cruise were either islands owned by the cruise line (Harvest Caye) or ports created by the cruise line (Costa Maya).

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony

We had 11076 and 11078 which connected internally and was great for a family of 5. I really wish we could of opened the balconies but were told it was not permitted. The rooms were spacious and cleaned 2 times per day. Given the rooms were on the 11th deck it was a bit noisy from the pool music until 11 or 12 each night and you would hear the moving of deck chairs every now and then, but nothing some ear plugs could not handle. I HIGHLY recommend bringing adapters, there is only ONE 110v outlet in the room, but lots of European outlets.

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