We chose this cruise primarily because of the itinerary. Although we had been on two prior southern Caribbean cruises, this itinerary included six islands we had never been to before. It also excluded St. Thomas, which we are not overly fond of. We arrived in San Juan a day early and stayed at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel and Casino. Nice hotel with a convenient location to the piers. The night we arrived we went to Old San Juan and met a number of Cruise Critic friends at Barrachina. We had a good time but the restaurant was overwhelmed by our number. The next day, boarding did not begin until after 1:00 so we had time to explore San Juan. We went to the two old Spanish forts and they were well worth the visit. Embarkation was breeze. No waiting and we immediately checked in and went to our room The Dawn is one of NCL's older ships but it recently underwent a total refurbishment. The updated look was nice but couldn't overcome some of the ship's limitations. Some of the new restaurants seem to be out of the way and an after thought such as Los Lobos. Because it is a smaller ship entertainment options were more limited. The only venues are the main theater, the Bliss Lounge, the Atrium and Gatsby's. Our previous cruise was on the Bliss, which had a comedy club and a music club. We saw about half the shows in the main theater. Elements was great as always and the magician from that show had his own show the next night and he was great. The comedians were also entertaining if not a bit uneven.

We had a mid ship balcony, room 10618. The room is on the small side with limited storage. There is also only one electrical outlet which could become even more problematic as ship stewards are now instructed to unplug everything in unoccupied cabins. Fortunately we brought a strip that allowed for multiple USB plugins.

We were more than happy with the restaurants and bars. We had excellent dinners every night. We had a dining package so we ate all the specialty restaurants that charged a fee. Cagney's was good as always. La Cuchina has definitely upgraded their menu. Los Lobos is a little underwhelming for those coming from the Southwest. We were able to watch the Super Bowl from O'Sheehans as it was projected on a giant screen in the atrium. Good times. For the most part all service and help were friendly and accommodating. Our steward was particularly good. Read more