Norwegian Dawn Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Let me start by saying we are not very experienced cruisers, so we don't have much comparison data. We booked this cruise to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. The last cruise we took was on our honeymoon, 20 years earlier. Our decision to go with Norwegian was primarily because of the interesting and diverse itinerary, but to us, the absolute best part of the trip was the wonderful staff. To a person they were pleasant, helpful and well-trained. They did everything possible to make our trip memorable. From Jhana in housekeeping to our butler, Rene (we were in a suite) to Bruno, the concierge, to all of the servers, people in every department were top notch. Shout out to Delta, assistant maître 'd. She was a delight. One of our servers was actually on the ship when we took our first trip 20 years ago. He remembered some of the specifics from that journey.
The food across the board was excellent. We never made it to the buffet because the other options were so good. We had no bad or even mediocre meals.
We scheduled shore excursions in almost every port. One was cancelled because of a scheduling snafu with the port. Only one shore excursion would be classified as less than top notch. Our guide was probably the worst guide we've ever had, but we still enjoyed the scenery and stops.
Cabin Review
Family Suite with Balcony
Our cabin was very large (penthouse suite room 10000). We intentionally chose a room directly on the bow. From our balcony we got 180 degree views, especially nice when entering and leaving port. When it was too windy or chilly to sit outside, we had large picture windows to watch the views. As with most smaller ships, the bathroom was tiny but functional. The bed was one of the most comfortable I've ever slept on, including those at high end hotels. Some note the lack of electric outlets, but we planned ahead and did not find that a problem.