Pre-CruiseWe stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay (Marriott Rewards) was clean and fresh (nice room 29th floor). We attempted to walk from the Marriott to the Bayside area (read about this on (Cruise Critic) on Saturday but I don't recommend it - the streets were busy with traffic and few pedestrians. We finally hoped on a #3 bus (trying to escape a gentleman who still had his St. Patty's (this was March 19th) beads on and begging for $$) which dropped us off across the street from Bayside. Since it was Saturday it was crowded and there was a very loud band playing with locals dancing, it was quite entertaining. From there we walked to the Capital Grill on Bricknell for burgers which we experienced 3 yrs. ago. As it turned out this was a luncheon selection but the chef made us two ($18.00 a piece, very expensive burgers). Cab back to Marriott was approx. $14.00.Left the Marriott for a 20 minute ride approximately $15.00- $20.00 dollars on Sunday morning for the dock. Took three cabs before the cruise in Miami, cabbies we found won't talk to you, but then most of them did not speak English. Cabbies in NYC and Puerto Rico are so much more talkative and friendly. Embarkation was a breeze on Sunday. We arrived at approximately 11:30 AM. The Porter was very impressive telling us he would make sure that our two pieces of luggage would arrive safely at our room under his care - tip time and I am sure he did not place them outside our door. Show the passports, take pictures for the ship ID, up to the waiting area before boarding the ship. We were the first group I believe) aboard the ship so seats in the Garden Cafe were plenty. By the time we were done seats were scarce; we enjoyed sharing our table and meeting our cruise mates. We made it to our room just before 2 o'clock. What a disappointment. There was a personal (about the size of your fist) item in the corner, dust along all the walls on the floor, beads in the closet from the previous occupants and crusted salt on the balcony chairs. Drawer fronts were dirty with? I am not sure. But I had my Clorox wipes and all surfaces were wiped down. I am not a germa phobe but I am a nurse and in High School was a maid at the Marriott so I do appreciate a clean room. On the positive side the bathroom appeared clean, but the bed linens did have that odor of human body oil on them, it hit you as soon as you entered the room. The day we left I took off the bottom sheet and lo and behold no mattress cover and multiple stains on the mattress! I wish I had checked this the first day. I can respect that the Dawn is worn and our carpet was faded that is OK. She has served the public well but upper management should be held accountable to the customer's expectations of a clean environment. Kevin Sheehan, Chief Executive Officer, the public deserves clean mattresses not filthy disgusting bedding. Try mattress pads if they become stained they can be laundered. Balcony Windows should be cleaned and the build up of salt on the deck furniture was something I have never seen in my past cruises. Our balcony was not as the advertisement photos depicted. Rather than having the full glass view under the wood railing as you see in the brochures and on line, the glass portion was two pieces of glass surrounded by the side of the ship. Instead of 100% visibility we probably had 50% visibility as with other balconies. We were expecting a full view balcony not a "partial view". As with other cruise critic reviews the Holland Line sets the bar for quality and NCL Dawn just wasn't there.Day Two: Sea day was relaxing there were many families with children and college age students all around the ship. With all the young people I never experienced lines at any of the restaurants as described in earlier cruises this month. We never ate any of the specialty restaurants food was as you expect from huge dining halls fair not great. NCL Freestyle dining is not quality dining. NCL wants to draw customers in by their pricing not quality dining. Observed several meals and desserts that were thrown out because they were "wrong" what a waste. Room Service was usually a 45min. wait. Second day: Grand Cayman, tendered off waited for approx. 15-20 min. to leave the ship. Electric wheel chair users were not allowed to tender off and they could not obtain a regular wheel chair from NCL. Shopping was fun. Coming back no long wait to be tendered back as described previously, maybe they read cruise critic. Third Day: Cozumel walked off the ship, did a little shopping. Haven't been to Mexico for many years prices have gone up but the hailing you into the stores has not. Some stores actually have set prices now at least those right next to the ship. Took a cab to Paradise Beach, beautiful beach swimming, trampolines in the water, plenty of lounge chairs. Food and drinks were present. Cab each way was $14.00. Before boarding I wanted to purchase a piece of tanzanite. I stopped at Diamonds International which was recommended by the ship. Apparently with a purchase you receive a free slide and necklace - great. But I would have to take the elevator back down and walk several blocks away to pick up the free gift. It just didn't set right with me so I walked away. I reported this to the Dawns shopping specialist. I am really beginning to doubt if they really represented the NCL customer as they boast. We were docked next to the Disney Magic our first family cruise ship it was so fun to see it and hear its horn.Fourth Day: Another day at sea. Went to another bingo. This game was a bit more reasonable only $20.00 a game! I didn't mention the first game we attended there were several game prices starting at $49.00 and going up to $89.00. Remember when bingo was fun because it was affordable? Blue Lagoon Restaurant food that was deep fried very greasy, French fries undercooked.Fifth Day: Had to be out of the room by 9:00 AM. But they announced you could still enjoy the ship such as the pool- but had roped over it as we passed. We used the easy Walk-Off where you can carry off your own luggage between the hours of 7:30am and 9:00am. All other guests were to leave by 10:20am. I know this was a little lengthy toward the end but hopefully a little descriptive for first time users.