This was the 10th cruise for my wife and I. We are empty-nesters, mid 50's. Have cruised on 5 different lines, but as of late our preferred cruiseline has been Norwegian. We have found the freestyle concept works well with us, we love the freedom to dine anytime we want, with a great selection of venues to choose from.

We took a 3 day cruise on the Sky right before this cruise, with a 2 day break before we set out on the Dawn. We flew into Fort Lauderdale and took the SAS shuttle to the port of Miami for the Sky cruise. After we disembarked Sky, we rented a car from Alamo (free shuttle from port) and stayed in beautiful Pompano Beach for 2 days. November is really a slow season for this area, we were able to score a 2 bedroom Wyndam Resort timeshare for only $150 per night. Did some Fort Lauderale sightseeing while we were in town, if you are looking for something to do, check out the Carrie B water tour. $22 for a 1.5 hour cruise around Fort Lauderdale. Get to see how the rich and famous live!

We dropped off our rental at 10am, boarded the shuttle to the port and were on board just after 11am. As this ship came from Boston with no pax aboard, all rooms were ready as soon as we boarded which was great!. Explored the ship a bit and ended up at the Bimini bar for a bucket of beer. Met up with the CC group for an informal Meet and Greet, then it was off to muster drill. On the Dawn you still have to report to your muster station, but no life jackets required. Read more