Norwegian Dawn Review

4.0 / 5.0
3,028 reviews

First time with NCL for 14 years.

Review for the Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Dawn
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wheeljammer
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details

Sail Date: Oct 2019
Cabin: Balcony

We sailed on NCL Pride of Aloha to the islands of Hawaii way back and had a really great time but we chose this cruise primarily for the itinerary and that it sailed from New York and not Florida. Anything that shortens flying time is a bonus! Since then it's been Celebrity pretty much every time. Anywho, after a hideous drive into Manhattan due to a 'non pick-up' at JFK by NCL (we had to arrange our own transport. NCL refunded the cost) we spent two nights at the Marriott Marquis. A beautiful hotel in Times Square! We dined at the Hard Rock Cafe on the first night becoming well aware of the high cost of NYC and a poor exchange rate! The next day we made our way to the Hard Rock at Yankee Stadium, taking the subway. Quite an experience! (I'm a HRC pin collector). The weather was bright but very cold due to high winds coming off the Hudson so our sightseeing was limited to Grand Central Station and a couple of other places.

The Saturday morning we were transported to the Norwegian Dawn and boarded without any hassle, our stateroom was ready for us and the luggage was already outside the door! Our first impression of the ship was positive, the public areas had recently been upgraded and we were impressed with the layout and facilities. The cabin was however a little disappointing in size and the lack of storage was apparent as we began to unpack. It didn't spoil the holiday. The cabin steward was very attentive and cheerful as one has come to expect on cruises these days. As usual the first thing was to get to the Garden Cafe buffet to get a snack and our traditional 'first beer of the cruise'. We had a free drinks package plus free wifi, pre-paid gratuities and various other 'sweeteners' that came with our booking. Result! The food was pretty standard fare in a very pleasant area on deck 12. We ate there every day for breakfast and even a couple of evenings. We never dined in the main dining rooms, The Venetian or The Aqua! Most unusual for us as we love the rapport and banter that usually comes with dining at the same table every evening. The reason was some of the entertainment was at a time that would have clashed with 'normal' dining times. We ate in Bamboo, an oriental restaurant a couple of times, lovely Chinese and Thai food. Also O'Sheehan's (get the pun) bar and grille. It offered Chicken wings, burgers, fish and chips, hot dogs etc. etc. done to a high standard. These are free-to-dine places, no cover charge. I have to say, the amount of dining options on this ship are extraordinary! I think there are fourteen in all!!

This brings me on to the music and entertainment. I have been a musician and entertainer for most of my life so my opinions and view of things entertainment are perhaps skewed and analytical compared to some people. Overall the entertainment was of a high standard. The production cast and their shows were superb and well rehearsed. The guest artistes, especially Jackie Barr, US stand-up comic, were great! The house orchestra was very good and accomplished too but an attempt to do a tribute to Doris Day was perhaps misjudged? DD had SUCH a perfect voice that any tribute MUST be of exceptional quality, it wasn't I'm afraid. The 'party' band Sonata on the other hand were EXCEPTIONAL! No genre of popular music was beyond their capabilities. From Louis Armstrong to Michael Jackson. From AC/DC to Abba. Nothing was beyond them. Superb guys!! The two lead singers (male and female) were flawless. A pity the same cannot be said about the Reggae band. The band themselves were good musicians but the female singer was pretty dire. Not that she couldn't sing but she was 'all over the shop'! She didn't seem to know some of the songs and the band struggled to find where she was in some of the numbers. More rehearsal guys. Also on board were a duo who appeared in the Atrium most days. From the little we saw of them they were OK and the female half was really good. The solo guitarist/singer was adequate, I have heard better in my local social club. Ditto the solo pianist/singer. Not really good enough NCL. There are a million acts 'out there' who could do a better job. The next subject, although linked to the previous category, was the so called back ground music on board. Bearing in mind the average age was conservatively 65, the type of music and the volume at which it was played we totally inappropriate! It became such an issue that, after two days at sea, we could no longer stand to be on deck, poolside. The constant 'four on the floor' dance music played by the DJ was excruciating and played a high volume to boot. This was exacerbated by the appearance daily of the aforesaid Reggae band. The bass boomed out across the open areas and destroyed any chance of resting or playing one's own music via headphones. Come on NCL, take a look at your audience and tailor the music to suit please. I appreciate there were younger people on board who perhaps appreciated the choice of material and the volume it was presented at, but majority rules eh?

Cabin Review

Balcony

Covered this already, but smaller than average, not too much storage.

Port Reviews

Aruba

Took a safari bus from the port. Brilliant, although Aruba has a different terrain from most islands, it is still a beautiful port.

Curacao

Signs of decline in retail sales are even appearing here. Many shops have closed. We were unable to take a trip on the road train as we did previously as the ship had monopolised the entire days trips!

Bonaire

Just walked around the market. Lovely!

Grenada

Perhaps our favourite island? Beautiful!

Barbados

Again, hired a local mini bus with a few others from the ship.

St. Kitts (Port Zante)

Took a safari bus from the port. Ruined trip due to six women, from a P&O that was in port ship, that got drunk and rowdy!

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