Norwegian Dawn

[forevertravel]

We have never cruised with Norwegian and are considering a cruise on Dawn. We are considering a balcony suite. Can you tell me something about the Dawn? How is the food, service, cabins, etc? We have cruised on Regent 7 Seas, HAL, and Royal Caribbean.

 

Thank you.

[clean1owner]

We have never cruised with Norwegian and are considering a cruise on Dawn. We are considering a balcony suite. Can you tell me something about the Dawn? How is the food, service, cabins, etc? We have cruised on Regent 7 Seas, HAL, and Royal Caribbean.

 

Thank you.

 

I have not sailed the Dawn, but have sailed NCL. In my opinion NCL is equal with Royal Caribbean. If you liked RCCL you should like NCL.

[KateQ22003]

We just got back from the Dawn on the 14th; it was our second cruise on her. We had a wonderful trip, and love this ship! The staff and crew are great, the food was quite good, and the the ship is in great shape. We had such a great trip the first thing I did when we got home is book her again for next year!

 

I have also sailed on HAL and RC; in my opinion NCL is much nicer than Royal Caribbean, but not the same experience as a HAL ship. I love the Holland America product when I'm traveling with just my husband, but for family trips or girls getaway week, NCL is terrific!

[VonChap]

Getting ready to sail on the Dawn for the third time next month. One of our favorite ships. Love the size and love the crew.

 

We enjoy dining in both the specialty restaurants as well as the MDRs. We are big fans of Freestyle and enjoy meeting up with different friends for dinners.

 

Give NCL a try!

[Lovemygreekgeek]

The crew really makes the Dawn for me. I recently posted a review from my 8/31 sailing in the reviews section of the website..not the forum, I was too lazy :). Anyway, I also had a balcony room and I loved it. I've never sailed HAL, but my guess is that the pool area on the Dawn might be a little bit of a different atmosphere than HAL, if so, you could get a spa pass and enjoy the more upscale and quiet pool and jacuzzis in there.

[jordans mom]

I have traveled largely on NCL - but also on Disney and Carnival.

 

Dawn is one of 6 NCL ships I have been on.

 

I have to say that DAWN is among the top 2 for cabin layout and balcony space. and incredibly tidy and well kept

 

Public entertainement spaces - eh,not so much - Other NCL ships have far better public entertainment space - the theater and large night club (Spinnaker) are comparable - but the smaller music spaces are sub par - too much music for awkward space -

 

Sports/Spa : among the best fitness center/spa layouts to date

 

MDR's: about par

 

Specialty Food: Food is as expected - but the spaces are weird - like Cagneys looks like a cafeteria and Moderno shared a open level with Blue Lagoon - Moderno's quality was a great surprise!

 

Ports: who can say anything bad about BERMUDA - really...this is ALWAYS the most relaxing cruise I have been on (2x)

 

Staff: very good and attentive - I had no complaints with anyone on this ship I came into contact with - SPECIALTY DINING STAFF:far more attentive and friendly than MDR staff - who hardly acknowledged we were there,when we were -

 

Embark/Disembark: smooth as glass

 

FAVSPOTS: Spa,fitness center, Pub, Moderno, Cucina

 

Cruise Director:AWESOME ! but went off ship this week - not sure who is up next- but the asst CD was a bit "off" to me - kind of weird actually

[Tatka]

We had a very enjoyable cruise on Dawn last year... Great service, entertainment. Pool area (there is only one if you don't count kids pool) can be very crowded though and cabins are on a smaller side.. but everything else is nice. We actually liked overall experience more than on our HAL's cruise.

[forevertravel]

Thank you everyone. The reviews I had read were mixed (as usual) so I appreciate your comments. We'll probably give it a try.

[mi3stooges]

I've been on the Dawn and the Jewel...booked for Epic and Breakaway! I LOVE LOVE LOVED the Dawn...prob cause of the entertainment and the CD. The Jewel was nice. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I will be sailing on the Dawn in 45 days :D Our first time on her but have sailed on the Star and Pearl just from my experience NCL is a few steps above RCI. ( No Not a fan of RCI) I have mostly cruise HAL and consider Non Suite NCL cabins and amenities just a baby step below HAL but when it comes to Suite Life and Amenities NCL beats HAL and 80% of my many HAL cruises were in Full Suites ;)

[amc40]

Cruised Dawn to Bermuda almost 1 week ago. The staff, food, cabin, entertainment were great. The ship layout is awful, public areas small, there is only 1 pool which is small....terrible on sea days. Casino WICKED smokey!! I wouldn't cruise Dawn again, unless I had to (like cruising from Boston to Bermuda since we live in MA). There are so many better ships to choose from. I've cruised RCCL, Celebrity, and NCL.

[catlady461]

We have cruised on the Dawn 3 times and love her. The crew is fantastic. You will have a great time.

[jdvmd]

Had a great time on the Dawn in July. Would love to sail on her again!

[NH Cruisers]

I cruised on the Dawn the last week of August. I would give it two thumbs up. It is up to par with Royal Caribbean and Holland America. NCL has much more dinning choices than RCCL and HAL. The ship is better maintained IMO than are on HAL (Zuiderdam). The casino then on the Dawn I had no issues with smoke. If you were to purchase a spa package you would pretty much have a lap pool all to yourself. I am sold now on NCL.

[jumpinjuju]

Just returned from the Dawn yesterday and I will not go with NCL again. I just do not like the Freestyle cruising. I could have just taken jeans, casual clothes and been fine. Lots of people like the casual, however, I just do not prefer that. The waiters in the MDR give you no attention at all. They wander around singing to themselves,, etc. very unprofessional. We did eat in the LaCuina Italian restaurant one night and the service there was exceptional as well as the food. The food in the MDR was very average, below average to me. Another big negative is the waiting line to get into the MDR every night - horrible. NCL tries the push the specialty dining rooms to makes extra money. I did like the fitness area, the Pearly King PUb was great and all the staff there as well. The room was comfortable; bathroom was exceptionally good. Room steward was very accomodating and pleasant. My first cruise experience was with PRincess and I really loved it. Sorry, but NCL just did not meet my expectations.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Just returned from the Dawn yesterday and I will not go with NCL again. I just do not like the Freestyle cruising. I could have just taken jeans, casual clothes and been fine. Lots of people like the casual, however, I just do not prefer that. The waiters in the MDR give you no attention at all. They wander around singing to themselves,, etc. very unprofessional. We did eat in the LaCuina Italian restaurant one night and the service there was exceptional as well as the food. The food in the MDR was very average, below average to me. Another big negative is the waiting line to get into the MDR every night - horrible. NCL tries the push the specialty dining rooms to makes extra money. I did like the fitness area, the Pearly King PUb was great and all the staff there as well. The room was comfortable; bathroom was exceptionally good. Room steward was very accomodating and pleasant. My first cruise experience was with PRincess and I really loved it. Sorry, but NCL just did not meet my expectations.

That is too bad your were disappointed but I think you did not totally understand the Free Style Concept and were possibly fighting it. I am an avid HAL cruiser, some would think that line is very traditional and when I cruise with HAL I like my fixed Early dining but when I cruise with NCL I love not having to worry about being formal and yes I bring my jeans I am totally relaxed. Although I do dress in Country Club Casual in the evening.I love it that the one and only Formal night is..."Formal or NOT Night" We always choose NOT. In just 6 weeks we are heading to the Dawn and DH is loving it that the Tux will stay home. ;)

[valleyvillage]

I have only been in Cagney's on the Star, it certainly did not look like a casino! Is the Dawn a different layout?

[knitlady037]

That is too bad your were disappointed but I think you did not totally understand the Free Style Concept and were possibly fighting it. I am an avid HAL cruiser, some would think that line is very traditional and when I cruise with HAL I like my fixed Early dining but when I cruise with NCL I love not having to worry about being formal and yes I bring my jeans I am totally relaxed. Although I do dress in Country Club Casual in the evening.I love it that the one and only Formal night is..."Formal or NOT Night" We always choose NOT. In just 6 weeks we are heading to the Dawn and DH is loving it that the Tux will stay home. ;)

 

Are you staying in a suite again Lisa? I love your live from threads and will be following this one if you do it. We are sailing on the Dawn repo April 2013 in an SJ family suite. Hope you have a great cruise!

 

Claire

[Sauer-kraut]

I have only been in Cagney's on the Star, it certainly did not look like a casino! Is the Dawn a different layout?

 

Nope it really looks like a speakeasy ... What's with Al's mugshots on the wall??

[Tatka]

Just returned from the Dawn yesterday and I will not go with NCL again. I just do not like the Freestyle cruising. I could have just taken jeans, casual clothes and been fine. Lots of people like the casual, however, I just do not prefer that. The waiters in the MDR give you no attention at all. They wander around singing to themselves,, etc. very unprofessional. We did eat in the LaCuina Italian restaurant one night and the service there was exceptional as well as the food. The food in the MDR was very average, below average to me. Another big negative is the waiting line to get into the MDR every night - horrible. NCL tries the push the specialty dining rooms to makes extra money. I did like the fitness area, the Pearly King PUb was great and all the staff there as well. The room was comfortable; bathroom was exceptionally good. Room steward was very accomodating and pleasant. My first cruise experience was with PRincess and I really loved it. Sorry, but NCL just did not meet my expectations.

 

Hmmm... We never had to wait to get into the MDR... during our sold out summer cruise.

 

Princess is my favorite line to, but on our last cruise (Grand) we were given pager to wait for our table in Anytime Dining room each night, except for one, when we arrived at 5:30.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Are you staying in a suite again Lisa? I love your live from threads and will be following this one if you do it. We are sailing on the Dawn repo April 2013 in an SJ family suite. Hope you have a great cruise!

 

Claire

Hi Claire, Thanks :) Yes I will definitely be doing my "Live From" again :D We are in SF 10728 so same location as 10666 on the Pearl. We absolutely love that location and even though we have been on many aft cabins/ Suite (mostly HAL) this will be our first aft in the Caribbean. We just realized that today. I think we will be spending a lot of time out on the balcony.

[alise007]

Just got off on 9/28 from a wk on the Dawn. Hubby and I agreed food was average. I had a few things I loved but nothing really exciting. I didn't cruise for the food though. We only waited 1 time-15 minutes to get a table one night but service did seem slow in the MDR in general. But we had small kids with us and they wanted to hurry and get to the kids club each night.

 

I loved not having to dress up but tons of people did and didn't seem to matter which night. I loved not having a set dinner time.

 

I did hear a woman complaining to the sweet hostess at the Aqua one night about how she didnt like freestyle dining but it isn't like you don't know BEFORE you sail that they don't have set times. If you want that that then DON'T sail on NCL IMHO!!

 

The only food we thought was consistently bad was Mac n cheese. On the buffet and room service- we tried a few times bc it is is our 4yr old favorite food.

I was disappointed in the artichoke dip at the blue lagoon. Not bad just not how I like it. More runny than thicker cheese dip where it is baked.

 

Loved the mushroom quesadilla in the MDR, grilled prosciutto panini at Blue Lagoon, I really liked all the MDR appetizers I had. Wasn't too excited by the cakes. We all enjoyed the different sherbet flavors.

[Bethwte]

I did hear a woman complaining to the sweet hostess at the Aqua one night about how she didnt like freestyle dining but it isn't like you don't know BEFORE you sail that they don't have set times. If you want that that then DON'T sail on NCL IMHO!!

 

Was it her first time on NCL? You usually can't tell if you will like something if you haven't yet tried it. I am hoping I will like it when I try NCL in a few weeks, but I may not like it either. It won't be NCL's fault of course, but I won't fault someone for trying.

 

Reading this thread has definitely been interesting as I look forward to my cruise :)

[micdee]

Can anyone tell me if there is a magnifing mirror in the bathroom? Does NCL provide bath robes? We are in a balcony cabin if that makes any difference. This is our first cruise with NCL.

[MelissaFreed]

Was it her first time on NCL? You usually can't tell if you will like something if you haven't yet tried it. I am hoping I will like it when I try NCL in a few weeks, but I may not like it either. It won't be NCL's fault of course, but I won't fault someone for trying.

 

Reading this thread has definitely been interesting as I look forward to my cruise :)

 

I have experienced both types of dining; set times on Carnival, and Freestyle on Norwegian. With Carnival I felt like cattle as everyone shuffled to dining room at the same time. My husband and I sailed on the Norwegian Pride of America in May of this year and I really liked the Freestyle dining. One thing to keep in mind is that, just like when eating out at home, the dining room is going to have it's busy times where you may have to wait for a table and the service might be slower due to the large number of people they are serving at the same time. I would avoid going to the MDR from 5P-630P. We always waited until about 645-700 and never had to wait.