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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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  had a very good cruise by
Tom B from North Yarmouth, Maine Sailing date: Apr 2012Pros: the overall quailty of the staff Cons: the location of our state room/lots of activity above us all night This was our 7th cruise. #6 on NCL. There were lots of things to keep us busy. The staff, the food, the shows, the service, very good Ship Quality
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1 out of 2 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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Subpar service by
Stefanie B from Portland, ME Sailing date: Oct 2011Pros: The island of Bermuda. Cons: The food and service of the staff was terrible. The ship was nice but the staff was not friendly, a lot of them seemed to have poor attitudes. The people at the front desk did not speak very good English and were always questioning everything said to them. It took 3 and 4 times of repeating before they understood what we were saying. The food was terrible. I would not suggest the specialty restaurants because the food is not much different from the main dining. One example is that the "Rib Eye" steaks were about 1/8 of an inch thick and did not contain any bone for flavor. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodSee review above. Stateroom QualityBedding and towels had yellow stains on them and we went without a top sheet for 3 days on our bed. A top sheet was only put on once we complained at the front desk. Ship Staff QualitySee above review. Entertainment & Activities
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King's Wharf, BermudaHamilton is a must see. That is the only city we were able to visit. Horseshoe Bay Beach is a definite see. The scenery was absoultely beautiful! I heard from other passengers that St. Georges wasn't all that great. It's a very old city and not much to see.
Don't Miss: Horseshoe bay Beach 3 out of 6 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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First Time Cruise by
Mike V from Chicago, IL Sailing date: Dec 2010Pros: Food was very good. Cons: Process for getting off the ship at the end of the cruise Just returned from my cruise on the Norwegian Dawn (first time cruise). Staff was excellent, very friendly and seemed to enjoy the job. The food was also very good and I enjoyed the Freestyle format which provides great freedom of choice in dinning and other activities.I don't recall when the ship was last refurbished but it does show a bit of wear in some areas, but everything functioned properly. I would definitely recommend Norwegian Cruise Lines based on this first time experience. Ship Quality
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Entertainment & ActivitiesSecond City was great!
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Cozumel, MexicoI visited the Mayan Ruins at Tumal. It was very interesting and I would recommend this excursion to anyone with an interest in history. Be aware that the trip does involve a ferry ride and lengthy bus trip.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Wonderful Cruise by
Max B from Brooklyn, NY Sailing date: Sep 2010Pros: Entertainment, freedom to enjoy it at your own pace, ports of call Cons: Tendering to shore............ The Dawn is a beautiful ship, lots of things to do onboard, entertainment was wonderful, staff very friendly and helpful throughout the ship. Ship Quality
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Bar Harbor, MaineBeautiful and quaint town, make sure to walk around lots of stores to visit. Our tour here was probably our favorite. (Whale watching) We were skeptical but we had a chance to see around 20 whales. Make sure to bundle up and where something to keep you dry.
Don't Miss: whale watching Boston, MassachusettsDon't Miss: Quincy Market..... Newport, Rhode Islandforget the tours just walk around and you will be satisfied absolutely wonderful...
Halifax, Nova Scotiawas wonderful. we took an excursion and enjoyed it. (lighthouse/lobster) just walking around was nice also.
Saint John, New Brunswickjust did our own thing here. Lots of history and City Market is a must when you visit.
Don't Miss: City Market ( fish & Chips, fried Clams) 7 out of 10 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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Worst cruise so far by
Leonid K. from Fair Lawn, NJ Sailing date: Jun 2010Pros: Bermuda Cons: Penny-saving policies of the NCL That was our 4th cruise and first one with NCL.
Based on our excitement of previous trips our friends had decided to celebrate their 20th anniversary at the Norwegian Dawn.
Unfortunately, after this trip I am not sure if our friends are going to cruise again - so many disappointments we had experienced. Most of the things we got frustrated with must be NCL policies compared to other cruise lines we'd been to.
I will try to describe them below.
1) Rooms.
Our party included me, my wife, our 20 years daughter and 10-years old son. We had outside cabin with large window. The room was very small.
There were 2 single beds on the sides and one folding out bunk bed. The bed for the fourth person was set between two single beds making one 3-people surface. Pretty awkward setup when you have 20-years old daughter in your party.
Our friends' room was one with the balcony. It was so small even for 3 people. When their beds were prepared for sleep there was almost no way to get to the balcony.
2) Restaurants.
There were 2 restaurants (large Venetian and smaller Aqua) and 2 cafes included in price of the cruise.
On the first day of the cruise it took us 3 hours to dine (including an hour of waiting in line). When we complained, we were told that it's "free style cruising" and therefore to avoid lines we have dine at "unpopular" times.
At the same time there were 7 or 8 restaurants with cover charge (usually from $15 to $25 per person) which were promoted by NCL staff at every corner of the ship. Most of those restaurants stayed completely empty for the duration of our trip. Imagine how much precious ship space those useless restaurants took
2) Food.
Cafes
Food quality was OK. But variety of food was very mediocre. Exact same menu every day within seven days is not what we expected for. By some strange reason Ice cream had to be given out by the cruise staff member and that always caused lines.
The only drinks included all the time - tea and coffee. No soda for free whatsoever. Free juices only included at breakfast.
Glass cover above the food counter was set out so far, that it was extremely inconvenient to get any food located far from the edge of the counter.
Restaurants.
Food quality was OK. Service was on a slow side. Taste wise the food was very mediocre, absolutely nothing to be excited about.
3) Duty free shop takes a hefty part of the ship. Never seen it's been that big on other ships.
4) Pool - extremely small for 2000 guests. Never enough lounge chairs. $25 deposit to get a towel by the pool. Jacuzzis were always full and no staff managed rotation of people in there.
5) NCL collects $12 per person per day as a service charge. For our party it was $350 for the duration of the cruise - pretty good tips in my opinion.
But getting food to the room, for example, was not free. Waiters on the ship sell drinks so aggressively that for 10 minutes of sitting with a bottle of beer I was asked by about 10 of them if I want more. Nobody seemed to manage them.
6) No ESPN and therefore no World Cup 2010 coverage huge disappointment. Sports bar had only ESPN2 channel showing college baseball or something similar. The bar was empty for 7 days.
7) Personnel on the ship was friendly, but pretty unsmiling. There was no atmosphere of celebration which I always felt on my previous trips.
I will not going to cruise with NCL again. Ship QualityMoving around the ship is not very convenient. Pool area is extremely small and always overcrowded. Dining/Food2 included restaurants against 8 you have to pay for. Stateroom QualityExtremely small room. Very inconvenient setup for 4 people. Ship Staff QualityVery good people, but very unsmiling. No "going above at beyond" at all. Entertainment & Activities
23 out of 28 people found this review helpful.
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First cruise and we had a great time. by
Maureen and Vinny from Flushing, NY Sailing date: May 2010Pros: The staff treated us like gold. Cons: No gulden's mustard, haha. This was our first cruise. We would recommend this ship to others. Again, the staff was fantasic. We took the Bermuda tour and had an excellent guide. One of the gacuzzi's on one partiuclar day was not too hot. Ship QualityI know bathrooms are an issue. The overall ship was kept in tip top shape. Dining/Food
Stateroom QualityGreat Bed. Ship Staff QualityNelson and Perfecto were perfect hosts. Kirstina from the Bulgaria, everyone was fantastic Entertainment & ActivitiesJose and Pattie were great listening. 5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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