NCL Dawn

I have never cruised with NCL and I have the option to book a cruise on the NCL Dawn next March! What are the pros and cons on cruising on this ship? Any advice & helpful hints would be greatly appreciated! :)

I have never cruised with NCL and I have the option to book a cruise on the NCL Dawn next March! What are the pros and cons on cruising on this ship? Any advice & helpful hints would be greatly appreciated! :)

I'm afraid this question is far too broad to be able to answer. I'd really recommend that you read some reviews. If you have specific questions I know they'll get answered much quicker than a broad question like this.

Q. How is the food on NCL Dawn?

A. We find the food very good to excellent

Q. What is the dress code?

A. the dress code is resort casual.

Q. How many formal nights are there?

A. None, however, you can dress up any evening you choose.

Q.......? you got questions... you'll get answers..

Cheers

Connie

I'm in the middle of my review of the Dawn on this board. We sailed on 8/15. You won't be going to Bermuda, but I've got a fair amount of detail about the ship as well. I sailed with my husband and kids, so my focus might be different from yours, but there are still many photos of the ship itself.

Have fun!

I'm in the middle of my review of the Dawn on this board. We sailed on 8/15. You won't be going to Bermuda, but I've got a fair amount of detail about the ship as well. I sailed with my husband and kids, so my focus might be different from yours, but there are still many photos of the ship itself.

 

Have fun!

Looking forward to your review as I am booked for next August.

I'm wondering this myself. I don't think the Dawn (and Star) has an indoor forward observation area anymore (taken out to create more dang suites), but I'm willing to stand corrected. That's a con for me, but not a dealbreaker.

I'm wondering this myself. I don't think the Dawn (and Star) has an indoor forward observation area anymore (taken out to create more dang suites), but I'm willing to stand corrected. That's a con for me, but not a dealbreaker.

Just to be fair, they also created more inside cabins too. Not just those danged suites. Full disclosure, we've been in one of those new suites already and have two more cruises in them booked. Great use of an underutilized space.

I'm wondering this myself. I don't think the Dawn (and Star) has an indoor forward observation area anymore (taken out to create more dang suites), but I'm willing to stand corrected. That's a con for me, but not a dealbreaker.

You're right - there is no more forward lounge space with the floor to ceiling windows. (Spinnakers.) Spinnakers has been moved to the back of the ship on a different deck. That is a big draw back for a lot of people. However, we have been the lucky inhabitants of those "dang suites" and we love them! :D

We were just on the Dawn. We liked Spirit better but Dawn was okay. Venetian was our favorite complimentary dining. Cagney's and Teppanyaki were excellent. The crew are such awesome people!! We had a mini suite and it was a good size. Some wear but nothing major. The shows were very good. The comedian (Tim K.) was really funny. Our daughter loved the kids club and the kids pool.

I will be happy to answer any questions.

I have never cruised with NCL and I have the option to book a cruise on the NCL Dawn next March! What are the pros and cons on cruising on this ship? Any advice & helpful hints would be greatly appreciated! :)

Great ship. Have sailed it multiple times. Some people do not like it.

Will you love it? Hard to say.

Best advice I can give newbies is to scan through posts from the past few weeks to see what they find. Read some reviews, then come back and ask specific questions.

We sailed on her in April/May. It was our first ever cruise so I have nothing to compare it to but we loved it. We saw many negative reviews and I chose to ignore them and make my own opinion. The Dawn is an older and smaller ship. We arent foodies so found the food to be just fine. We found the crew to be friendly and accomodating.

If you have any specific questions like people said above Id be glad to try to address them.

I'm wondering this myself. I don't think the Dawn (and Star) has an indoor forward observation area anymore (taken out to create more dang suites), but I'm willing to stand corrected. That's a con for me, but not a dealbreaker.

This is true, but we still enjoyed ourselves on the Dawn.

we are booked on the Dawn in October, we did the Breakaway last September. were not thrilled with the food so this time we booked the UDP for the week. The best thing about the cruise is the 3 days in Bermuda!!

I have never cruised with NCL and I have the option to book a cruise on the NCL Dawn next March! What are the pros and cons on cruising on this ship? Any advice & helpful hints would be greatly appreciated! :)

Just off the dawn yesterday.... my 3rd w ncl (all different ships) NO complaints at all. It's not massive like breakaway but same as gem and spirit. Loved our trip, many family's , seniors and our age group on board. Food is great in dining room, acceptable in buffet ( not bad, just buffet,,, ;) staff is outstanding.. planning our next already!:)

We cruised the Dawn and NCL for the first time earlier this summer. The ship itself was ok but not great.

WE found the food in the two MDRs and at the buffet to be average and the waitstaff was hit or miss. We ate at only one of the pay restaurants, Tepenyaki, and found the chefs to be very entertaining but the woman who was acting as the server was terrible. She never smiled once.

WE found that the whole ship was about the pay restaurants and as a result there was limited space for anything else. Evening entertainment space was at a premium with only one lounge and one pub.

The cabin was small but not uncomfortable for two people and the attached balcony was a good place to sit. The cabin steward that we had was second to none.

We may give NCL another try but probably not this ship.

Evening entertainment space was at a premium with only one lounge and one pub.

Two shows were held nightly at the Stardust Theater as well.

Two shows were held nightly at the Stardust Theater as well.

Yes but once those shows were done, and they were done early, the only other entertainment was in the Spinnakers Lounge or Karaoke on the Pub. Both became very crowded quickly.

HI ALL

you mean there was no music going in any of the other lounges or bars...this does not seem likely.......NCL most always has music going in at least 4 places a night......am I wrong......

jus' me.....jim

Yes, there was lots of music every night! In the lounge next to blue lagoon and the java cafe they had a singer doing Sinatra songs one night. Another night they had Motown music! It was fantastic!

While I never wrote an official review, we did the Dawn on the last cruise for the season in October last year. Best vacation I've ever taken! Older ship, but kept up and lots to do! Enjoy.

The Dawn is an older ship, but well kept and clean. If you're bringing children, this ship does not have all of the bells and whistles of the newer ships. There are no water-slides, bowling allies, or rock climbing walls. However, kids do enjoy the kids' programs and teen clubs.

The staff is wonderful, food and entertainment---very good, and I was always happy with my cruises on the Dawn.

There are two water slides at the T-Rex kids pools. My daughter was on them every day. I liked the fact that the water in the pool was not salt. On the Spirit it was salt and my daughter didn't like it.

There is plenty to do on the Dawn. We were always doing something.