My First time on the Dawn and the first cruise in three years because of pandemic. Norwegian is a great line, but the Dawn needs improvement. The ship seemed short-staffed. Infection control measures appeared to be nonexistent. Only a few staff members were masked. The washy-washy disappeared somewhere during the cruise. Antiseptic containers were sometimes empty. Restaurants didn't seem to care whether one sanitized their hands or not. By the end of the cruise, half the ship was sick with an upper respiratory infection. Covid was present on the ship. I was sick myself and had to attend the ship hospital, where I was informed that COVID was present and I was suspect. I didn't have it, but I had an upper respiratory infection and almost couldn't fly home because it was so bad.

In my two cruises before the pandemic, hygiene was strict on those ships. It wasn't here, which is why so many got sick.

The food was excellent (as is typical of Norwegian cuisine), but the lines were lengthy. No timed dining means everyone scrambles to the main dining rooms at 5 p.m. and waits in line. I wish they'd open the dining rooms at 4:30. It would help thin out the crowd considerably. When we're onshore during the day, we often skip lunch, so we're starving when we get back. Waiting until 6 or 7 pm is just too long, and the buffet is always a zoo. Read more