Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review Home > Reviews > Member Reviews > Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review |
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Member Rating 
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| Cruise Addicts Assessment of NCL Dawn to Bermuda |
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| Background Info: This is my 25th cruise since Jan. '05. I've traveled to No. & So. Europe, So. America incl. Galapagos Is., Tahiti, Caribbean & 4 Transatlantic voyages. My cruises have been on Oceania, Celebrity, HAL, RCCL, & NCL. I'm a retired gentleman in mid 60's with extensive travel experience both land & sea. Was not impressed with Reservation dept. at NCL. Was able to send request directly to other cruise lines to request complimentary upgrades, which I received on several occasions, on all of my other cruises. NCL wouldn't hear of it and wasn't pleasant about it. Price of trip dropped $150 prior to sailing & requested either rebate or shipboard credit. Neither was granted. Was offered upgrade for fee instead. Travel to Port: I live in NYC & took public transportation to the ship. This is the greatest way to get to a ship IMHO. Worked out great. Ship Info: Have been interested in sailing on this ship for a few years since it sails out of New York. I prefer newer, larger ships because of the expanded venues and roaming space. This ship was very adequate & the decor was tastefully presented throughout. Ship is well maintained. Flow to main dining areas was a bit disruptive but not real problem. Stateroom: Had a balcony stateroom in forward portion of ship. Found it to be a bit tight in space. Closet was adequate but shelves for putting items was located inside of closed instead of drawers that could be accessed from outside. This was very poor design. TV was old style & station selection poor. Other ship have better utilization of space. Balcony was small but adequate & enclosed. Not my favorite. Beds were comfortable. Nightstands on NCL consist of an open metal table which is not adequate. There was only one in the cabin. It was relatively quiet in cabin throughout voyage. Dining: Food was good to very good. There were inconsistencies in quality. Some nights were just great others very ordinary. Very disappointed in new menu structure. Most lines offer daily menu with a set of fixed options that are always available. This ship had fixed menu with limited daily menu. Choices not great. Lunch & dinner menu same in main dining room. Buffet was good to very good but also limited in selection compared to other ships. Layout was cafeteria style compared to stations on RCCL which I prefer. Entertainment: Entertainment was generally excellent! Production shows, performed by Jean Ann Ryan Co., were great. Didn't care for magician but all else top notch. Comedian, Dave Heenan, was outstanding. Probably one of best on any ship. Had opportunity to have lunch with him in buffet one day. Super guy. Lounge acts were also above average even though a bit repetitious. Activities: Cruise Director was very good but activities were mundane. No lectures & only one cooking event that was put in over crowded area. Some of venues were in inappropriate venues for size of crowds attending. They need to reevaluate. Fitness Center: This was probably one of the best gyms I've seen on any ship. All the machines you could need and plenty of equipment in a very efficient, spacious layout. Service: Excellent throughout. Staff were great everywhere. Cabin Stewards were attentive, pleasant & organized. Dining room staff were pleasant, friendly, gracious, competent & relatively efficient. Only area lacking was Maitre d seating. There was aversion to accommodating sharing in main dining rooms. Have always requested sharing large table on every cruise I've taken. Never had problem before but on this ship it was not encouraged or implemented. Asked on several occasions with no success at all. I'm single person & enjoy meeting others at dinner to share experiences. This did not happen on this ship. Maybe due to nature of NY crowd but believe it is responsibility of dining room management to facilitate. Port: Port was great! Docking facility was also great. Easy access on & off ship with minimal amount of inconvenience. There is a lot to do in Bermuda & it is a beautiful island. Utilized 3 day pass for bus & ferry transportation at $28 total. Good value & although a bit grueling was fine. Went on Jesse James Snorkeling trip & would highly recommend. Went to 3 sights. Snorkeling is a passion & although Bermuda is not best did enjoy myself. Also went for day to Tobacco Bay. Snorkeling not best either but did enjoy setting. Will try Church Bay when I go back. Disembarkation: This went very smoothly. Really like NCL policy of letting you have access to cabin until you disembark. They are one of only lines that allow for this. Summary: Overall trip was enjoyable. Weather was rough on way down to Bermuda & also day back but otherwise weather & seas were great. Freestyle cruising is wonderful concept & really enjoy but NCL needs to fine tune their service offerings. Not impressed at all with their res department in accommodating past passengers. Will probably not travel with NCL in future. Other lines are more attractive to me overall even though I really like freestyle concept.
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