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Tourist trap GALORE by
Nat R from tampa, fl Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: the staff Cons: the tenders, the lines, the wait, We were on the Nowegian Dawn from December 30th through January 6th. The ship is nice, the staff extremely courteous, professional and kind. The food outstanding.
The company I don't have in high esteem. They tried to make every penny on anything. From touring the behind the scene facility, overpriced drinks etc They even charge you $12. tip per person per day which doesnt go to the staff. We checked with many employees and although they seemed happy with their paycheck, they dont get extra tips. We choose to opt out and gave tips directly to our servers and cabin maintenance personnel. its simply another way for NCL to profit. We we opted out they explained that the money goes to the staff behind the scene: chef, maintenance personnel etc. I'm sorry but when I go to a hotel, I don't tip the guy that cleans the pool, the one that washes the salad etc...I tip my cleaning lady/guy, the server.
The AC on the ship is too cold, we were freezing all the time. Many complained about it. We are going on a trip in the tropics to be warm people! Some of us caught a cold. The AC is automatically on when the door is open on the balcony suite, a big disappointment.
But mostly: ALL PORTS ARE TOURIST TRAPS! Everything is overpriced, beaches, drinks, tours. It is at least twice a much as it is in the US. We felt we've been had on many occasions. On top of it all, we don't get to really visit any of the country. Each port is a facade of marketing galore.
It was our last cruise.
Ship Qualitybeautiful decor and tasteful decoration, very clean, however the AC is TOO COLD EVERYWHERE. I saw people with winter coats. The constant contrast of warm sun and freezing cold AC will trigger a cold in many.
We didn't appreciate the hour wait for the tender in Cozumel Dining/FoodVery good and portion controlled. The personnel is extremely polite, helpful and well trained. Stateroom QualityBeautiful rooms (we had one with a balcony) Quality linen, very comfortable. However the AC is set to be on to the max when the patio door is open. We should be able to control that ourselves. Ship Staff QualityOutstanding staff. Polite, smiling, having fun with us, courteous, well trained, clean. They seemed happy to work on the ship.  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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  fantastic voyage by
janet t from Henderson, Nv Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: great shore excursions, great dining options, wonderful rooms, full bath Cons: not enough onboard activities nice sized atrium, some areas of wasted space that could be utilized better, very friendly staff all around. excellent photo dept and reasonable pricing Ship Qualityonly had one pool and it was always full of children even tho they had their own pool area Dining/Foodfantastic food in both of the main dining rooms. too much indian cusine on the buffet, more 'comfort food' Stateroom Qualitygreat stateroom, excellent bathroom, nice sized closet, some noise problem-could hear people walking and talking alot when trying to sleep Ship Staff Qualitynot one single complaint, everyone was friendly and helpful Entertainment & Activitiesneed more on board entertainment options 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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fun cruise by
phil from near Spokane, WA Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: the balcony room, our cabin person, the ports of call that were chosen, open dinner times Cons: loud music deckside during the day when everyone was tired from excursions, lack of info from excursion deck, dress down codes in main dining rooms & rules not followed, shows were medicore, safety drill was sooo poor! speciality restuarants too pricey, the ship was average to good, kept clean, bathrooms were always clean, cabin person was excellent and kept right on top of things for cleaning, Ship Quality
Dining/Fooddinner food was okay but always felt rushed and staff not treated nicely by superiors was upsetting to us, in turn the staff seemed stressed and upset, we tried to reassure them. Stateroom Quality
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Good time on ship by
Eileen H from Boston Sailing date: Apr 2012Pros: Ease if traveling Cons: Room Trip was good. Room above lounge very noisy. Not alot of concern on crews part for discomfort. Should have been handled better. Ship Quality
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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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nice selection of ports by
A Traveler from Cincinnati OH Sailing date: Feb 2012Pros: we stopped at islands we had never been to before Cons: food quality was not as good as previous cruises Staff were very friendly and helpful, entertainment was top notch.
We really enjoyed many of the ports, especially St Kitts and Dominica. We also stopped at Dominican Republic, a very sad country with so much poverty. There was little to do there. We did really like that the ship would spend most of a day (8-9 hours) at each port, rather than the 3-4 hours we had on other cruise lines. This way, we had an entire day and could see more of the island and enjoy sightseeing, beaches, and shopping.
Now for the less positive things...
The food quality in the primary dining rooms was not what we expected, many dishes were mediocre. To get the best food, you have to pay extra to eat in one of the specialty dining rooms. We did not have a situation like that on other cruise lines where all food was included in the cruise fee, so we were disappointed. Also we were disappointed there were no laundry facilities for passengers to wash our own clothing, we had to pay the ship for all laundry. Ship Quality
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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a good cruise by
Andrew G from westport MA Sailing date: Aug 2011Pros: entertainment Cons: No adult pool entertainment was first rate. Food was ok, not great unless you paid more for the specialty resteraunts. The cabin was ok, NO table on my balcony, I requested one it never came. Ship Quality
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5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Anniversary Trip by
Trudy and Rich from Maspeth, NY Sailing date: Jul 2010Pros: The food was fabulous! Cons: There were many extras to pay for Overall the cruise was good. One aspect that we weren't too happy with was the wait for dinner at Aqua. I guess we prefer set dining times with the same wait staff instead of Freestyling! Ship Quality
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Ship Staff QualityEveryone was absolutely wonderful, especially Rosa Santiago in the Aqua dining room. She was above and beyond. We were just sorry that we met her on our last night! Entertainment & Activities
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King's Wharf, BermudaGret market place and the snorkel park is a must see and go!
Don't Miss: The market place area 3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Wonderful Team by
Michele B from San Francisco Sailing date: Dec 2009Pros: The staff Cons: The pool was too small therefore crowded This was our second time cruising on the Dawn and for the most part enjoyed it very much. The pool deck and the actual pool itself is very small and doesn't lend itself to too many sun bathers. The crew on this boat and the entertainment was stellar! We cruised on this boat in 2008 as well and found the variety of food and the quality to be better last year. We would recommnend this ship for first time cruisers! Ship Quality
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Freestyle or Pay to Eat??? by
Rich B from New Jersey Sailing date: May 2009Pros: Ship was beautful & the Staff was great Cons: Paying to eat I have been on 5 previous cruises this one being the first on NCL. They have two main "free resturants" in quotes because I paid for my cruise which included food. The other five resturants you have to pay for. The two main resturants have the same menu every night with the exception of the chefs special which changes daily. I have a family of four and found it terrible that I had to pay $15.00 per person $60.00 total to eat at the Bamboo which is Asian. I could have had that at home for the same price. The steak house is $25.00 a head and if you want to order a "Chefs Special there is an additional cost of another $25.00. The itailian is $10.00 per person. I will never cruise or recommend NCL. Instead of Freestyle is should be called pay to eat. Ship Quality
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21 out of 26 people found this review helpful.
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Good, but not great by
Travelling Large from Las Vegas, NV Sailing date: Jan 2009Pros: The service was excellent Cons: The stateroom was small The ship itself was beautiful on the inside, always clean and polished. The service was excellent - I have no complaints there! And the entertainment was fun. But the ship's layout was confusing, the stateroom bathroom was really quite small, and the "freestyle dining" definitely isn't free. Ship QualityThe layout was confusing - navigating from our aft stateroom to some places located forward required getting off on deck seven, crossing from aft to forward, and riding another elevator down. Also, we frequently had to walk though restaurants to get to another location on the ship. Not the best layout. Dining/FoodOne of the reasons we chose this cruise was for its dining options. We've cruised before and found the rigid dining times often meant we missed dinner. So, when we saw that we had a variety of restaurants available and no set time to go, we were excited. When we got on board and saw that all of the restaurants we wanted to go to charged some sort of cover we were a little surprised - nothing we read in the cruise literature before boarding indicated that these restaurants charged. We went anyway and the food was generally excellent. The teppenyaki was a fun show with excellent food, the steakhouse was absolutely divine, and the Mexican restaurant, Salsa, was delicious. The Italian restaurant, Impressions, was okay, but nothing to rave about. However, each of those restaurants charged a cover - between $10 and $25 per person. It's worth it, but be prepared to pay for it. As for the rest - bar food and buffet food - good, but nothing to write home about. Stateroom QualityWe had a balcony stateroom. The balcony was wonderful - room for two to sit and watch the sea. The rest of the room left something to be desired. The bed was literally two twin beds pushed together, which by the end of the night had separated and left both of us with aching backs. There literally was not room for more than one of us to move anywhere at the same time - one of us had to be seated or laying in bed for the other to go anywhere. The bathroom, though was the worst. The toilet portion of the bathroom was partitioned off from the rest of the bathroom area with glass doors. That partition made it very difficult for us to use the bathroom in our stateroom - it was difficult to use the facilities and clean up afterward. It was bad enough that we made a point during our cruise to use the bathrooms around the ship and avoided using our own. Ship Staff QualityThe staff was excellent overall. They were attentive without hovering, pleasant, and thorough. There were a couple of exceptions, but they were all the more notable because the service was so good overall. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe ship offered different entertainment every night, and sometimes two different shows each night. It felt like there was something for everyone every night. We only saw one show - Second City - but it was excellent. The balcony area where we were seated had only a mildly obstructed view of the stage, but we didn't miss a thing and the sound quality was excellent.
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Road Town, Tortola, B.V.I.Tortola is a cross between Samana and St. Thomas - rustic without locals out to rip you off any way they can. The shopping was more craft-based, which was also enjoyable.
Cayo Levantado (Samana), Dominican RepublicAs the port guide said - the Dominican Republic is a third world country. Very little shopping, very few excursions, and the locals will rip you off if you go with them for a tour or a ride.
Don't Miss: The ship. Stay on board. Great Stirrup Cay (Cruiseline Private Island), BahamasWe ended up being redirected from Great Stirrup Cay to Nassau. Nassau was another fun port with lots to see and do, great shopping, and friendly locals. Another place I'd like to go back to.
Don't Miss: Atlantis Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.St. Thomas is for shopping and it was wonderful. All the shops you could hope for, friendly locals, lots of places to go visit. I'm planning to go back just to visit St. Thomas.
Don't Miss: The shopping! 14 out of 18 people found this review helpful.
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