Hi Everyone,
I finally was able to take my first vacation in 10 years so I decided to take a cruise on an older ship, but not too old because I didn't want to travel on a floating city like the ships that are being built now a days. These ships can hold 5000 + PAX and 2500 crew. I also wanted to leave from a port that was relatively close to my home. I live in Florida and we have quite a few ports to choose from when it comes to finding a cruise ship port. Luckily for me Tampa is really close. Well the long story short, I picked a balcony room for the NCL Dawn. The reason I picked NCL was because of my past experiences on NCL as a contractor for their ITV systems pre pandemic. I really enjoyed how their service, their food, and the entertainment was top notch back then. Unfortunately I can't say the same current day Feb 2023 post pandemic. Below I will list the Good, then the bad, and the Ugly.
The Good.
Too small compared to other balcony rooms on other ships. The Beds were awful, very hard my wife and I barely had any rest. The exterior of the ship was dirty and dingy compared to other ships from their competitors. The only time we saw anyone do maintenance on the ship was on embarkation day.
Went on the Kookoo Kachoo Island Tour we had a blast. Shania our tour guide was a very happy and cheerfully energetic. She managed to put a smile on everyone's face it was the high light of our vacation.
I hired a private island tour for my wife and I. Best way to see the Island when you have a limited time on shore. Remember to negotiate with the driver for the best price.
Very Disappointed with this port we were originally supposed to dock in Taino Bay in Puerto Plata, but instead we docked at some lame resort called Amber Bay. If you wanted to go check out Puerto Plata you had to take a taxi from the resort 30 min outside of town and $60.00 each way. If I wanted to go a resort I wouldn't have booked a cruise.