This was our first trip on NCL. All former and future cruises will be on Royal Caribbean. Getting on board and checking in went smoothly. The lunch and staterooms were running extremely behind due to what we were told was a check from health inspectors. That set the tone for much of the week.
The first disappointment on the Dawn was the amount of children on board during our cruise. I almost thought for a moment I was in Disney instead of being on a cruise ship. Granted, it was late in the summer and going towards the beginning of school, but I never knew so many people brought their children on cruises and was extremely disappointed in the lack of supervision going on. There were nights when we would be up late enjoying the Spinnaker Lounge and the events (i.e. The Quest) that were specifically for adults and there were children in attendance.
The second disappointment following a cruise on Royal Caribbean was the dining. I was bored of the food (and actually was sick a large part of the cruise that I can only attribute to the food not agreeing with me) by the third day on board. The buffet had quite a few choices, but when you pay for a cruise the food is just as important as the rest of the vacation. We ate in both dining rooms and with the "Freestyle" dining, there was a lack of attention given to us at dinner. One night when I was not feeling well I asked to have my dinner brought to my stateroom and it took over 45 minutes for it to come down through room service. I missed the groupings and meeting a variety of people that came along with the scheduled dining on Royal Caribbean. It was myself and my mother, and I love her dearly, but I eat with her every night at home. The scheduled dining with other people really allows you to immediately make connections to other people on the ship.
Our cabin was an ocean view. We had an obstructed view and the ocean could only be seen through a rescue boat hanging outside our window. We were unaware of how obstructed it was when making the reservation.