REVIEW - On the Dawn for Spring Break, family trip with young kids

Hi all, I'm just back from the Dawn cruise, Mar.12-19. The reviews here are always so helpful to me so I'm going to share my thoughts while they are fresh in my mind! It will probably take me a few sessions to get it all down, so bear with me. :D Feel free to ask questions if you have them and I'll do my best to answer.

For background, my husband and I travel with our two boys, ages 8 & 3 and this trip we were traveling with another couple with kids ages 5 & 2 so I'll mostly focus on how the trip was for us as a family. We've also only been on Carnival before so I'll be comparing some things between the two.

Overall we had a fantastic vacation but I would definitely say that Norwegian is oriented more toward older cruisers than families. More on that throughout the review...

Embarkation -

Norwegian's embarkation process was a real mess compared with what we experienced with Carnival. We drive to port and park in their parking lot/garage for the week. Norwegian sails out of the Julia St. Port, which apparently doesn't have an attached parking garage. It's hectic from the start as you have to pull over on the side of the building to give your bags to the porters, get back in your car and then drive to the fenced in lot to park. It was pretty disorganized with people pulling in and backing out everywhere, rushing with bags, etc. Not a great start but we rolled with it.

It didn't get much better inside with long lines, and no real signage directing us where to go. The line snaked around all over the place, then you are stopped and told to sit down to fill out forms. Then they dismiss you row by row to get in yet another line. It took over an hour and a half and there was lots of confusion for all the passengers. They also have the staggered boarding times but maybe everyone just ignores those on Norwegian? The Dawn's capacity is only 300 or so more than the last Carnival ship we were on so I can't imagine that making such a big difference.

When you do finally board the ship, you enter in the small elevator corridor instead of the grand atrium so that was kind of a bummer to not have that "wow" factor. On the plus side, the refurbishment of the Dawn is beautiful! Everything is fresh, clean and up-to-date. Very impressive as we explored the different areas of the ship.

Cabin -

We had a sideways inside cabin, 12039 and we really enjoyed it! It definitely felt more spacious to me with the door in the middle. My oldest loved the pull down bunk. Our little guy would likely roll off so he just slept with us. It was very quiet in this area and I love being close to the pool and Garden Cafe.

The new decor is very nice and the layout of the bathroom works great. I loved the shower, great pressure, always hot and the hand-held shower head was great for my three year old.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

And the shower because I forgot to put in the last post! [emoji38]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Interested - keep it coming:D

Keep the pics coming we.leave in 27 days on the dawn

Sent from my SM-G920P using Forums mobile app

We leave in 2 months and are in room 12015, happy to hear about it being a quiet area! Looking forward to more of your review.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Dining -

I think this is where the Dawn really shines. Foodies would love all the choices. Both dining rooms are very nice and the food was great. The menu is the same every night in both (both the regular and featured items), so if you don't feel like dressing up, you aren't missing out on anything. (The Venetian is "smart casual" vs Aqua just "casual.") The specialty restaurants are gorgeous. We only ate in Los Lobos and it was delicious - well worth the a la carte up charge. The bill for my husband and I was $22.

Of all the specialties, only Teppanyaki & Bamboo were consistently booked up. We really wanted to try Bamboo, the complimentary part but couldn't ever get in. We didn't make a reservation because life is too unpredictable with little kids but we had no trouble walking up to any of the others.

We also really enjoyed O'Sheehans and ate there often. It was the only 24 hour option, not that we ever ate that late - we left that to the spring breakers. [emoji23]

I didn't care for the layout of the Garden Cafe buffet - the food line is very enclosed and hard to see what's offered without being in the line. I also missed the separate stations for pizza, sandwiches and ice cream like on Carnival.

The Garden Cafe

Table side guacamole at Los Lobos

Our favorite little dining nook just outside the doors to the Garden Cafe from the pool deck

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Sailing in October! Can't wait to read the rest!

Loving the review - 2 weeks until we head out!

Kids Club -

The counselors were really great; our kids had a blast and begged to go all the time. They had fun themes every night, with the last night being a pajama party so pack accordingly!

My only complaint was that there were absolutely no options for kids under 3. Carnival offers a pay service and even in-cabin babysitting for the younger kids so that was really a disappointment for our friends with their two year old. Even offering something on just one of the nights would have been much appreciated; they were really looking forward to at least one kid free meal. There is already a playroom right next to the main kids club set up for under 3s that sat empty the entire cruise because it was unsupervised. A waste of space for sure.

We also missed the kids dinner from Carnival; my son really enjoyed getting to eat with his new friends (and without us!) a couple times during the cruise. Not a big deal, we just fed them before the kids club opened back up at 7pm then ate dinner ourselves after that.

No pictures because parents aren't allowed after registration and there aren't any windows to check on them unobtrusively.

Overall we were happy and the kids definitely loved it.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Ports - Cozumel

Norwegian docks at Punta Langosta in Cozumel, which we had never been to before. It has a nice little two level shopping mall right at the end with restaurants, shops, excursions, taxi stands, etc.

We booked a dolphin encounter through Dolphin Discovery at Chankanaab Park. I purchased it through Groupon for $65pp, much cheaper than through the cruise line and our 3yo was free. It included admission to Chankanaab as well, which is $21 pp. We took a cab there which was $12 each way for the 4 of us.

I can't say enough about how much we loved the dolphin encounter. It was a very small group and we were in the water with "our" dolphin Ramsey a long time, I think around 45 minutes. Every single one of us got to have multiple up close interactions. I only wish I had some photos but they don't allow cameras and the professional photos are absolutely ridiculously priced. They wanted no less than $140, even though I really only wanted one picture of the four of us. [emoji19]

Chankanaab was beautiful too and had lots to do - a free sea lion show, snorkeling ($), restaurants, nice pool, beach, shopping, and nature exhibits. We stayed there all day and had a blast.

Shopping mall at Punta Langosta

Chankanaab beach

Pool

Shallow kids part of the pool

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you for sharing your review with us.

Thanks for the review.

Enjoying your review and the nice photos.

We leave in 2 months and are in room 12015, happy to hear about it being a quiet area! Looking forward to more of your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

The rooms on 12 were added back a few years ago after the previous drydock. Suites added on the outside areas and they added the inside rooms to the interior area. Very quiet area and short walk to pool. Those insides are the only ones on Dawn with two beds on the wall from all the years I've looked.

Thank you for the review! My 4 yo loves NCL kids clubs!

You put a dollar sign next to the snorkeling at Chankanaab. Just FYI, there is very good snorkeling right off the beach there and its no added charge. I would imagine that if you need to rent gear then there is a charge for that though. We had a blast at Chankanaab.

Thank you for the review! My 4 yo loves NCL kids clubs!

 

You put a dollar sign next to the snorkeling at Chankanaab. Just FYI, there is very good snorkeling right off the beach there and its no added charge. I would imagine that if you need to rent gear then there is a charge for that though. We had a blast at Chankanaab.

Yes, that's right - it's a charge to rent the equipment but you can bring your own and snorkel for free. Sorry, I should have been more clear! I was thinking most people probably wouldn't have their own.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Yes, that's right - it's a charge to rent the equipment but you can bring your own and snorkel for free. Sorry, I should have been more clear! I was thinking most people probably wouldn't have their own.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Lol...well apparently you missed the memo that alerts you that there are strange humans who think they are fish and travel nowhere in the Caribbean without their own snorkeling gear.

I always tote an entire carry on suitcase with nothing in it other than beach supplies, including full snorkel sets for myself and my 2 kiddos lol.

Anxiously looking forward to the rest of your great review 😁. Thanks!

Ports - Roatan

Roatan has a nice port also with a two level shopping mall at the end. I loved that it was a short distance from the boat. Our excursion didn't leave until noon so we had time to shop and explore a little and then go back to the ship before we left for Gumbalimba. The kids loved looking at the fish in the clear water right at the pier.

We booked the Gumbalimba Nature Preserve through NCL. They transported us by buses and we got to see quite a bit of the island on the way - it's about a 25 minute ride over to the West Bay area. Our guide was on the bus with us and she was great about pointing things out to us and giving us lots of information about the area. So sit up front if you can!

We had another awesome day here. The walking tour was about an hour and a half and around 3 miles. I'd recommend a carrier for very young children/toddlers. Strollers wouldn't fare well on the terrain. Our kids absolutely loved the monkeys and macaws. There is a small pool and beach area if you want to swim after. Food service was SLOW so we didn't have much time before the tour operator came looking for us for the last shuttle back. I guess that's the perk of booking with the cruise line! I wished we could have gotten there earlier though to spend more time exploring on our own.

The pier and shopping

Proximity to the ship

Iguanas everywhere

Swinging bridge on the walking tour

Monkeys

Macaws

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Embarkation -

Norwegian's embarkation process was a real mess compared with what we experienced with Carnival. We drive to port and park in their parking lot/garage for the week. Norwegian sails out of the Julia St. Port, which apparently doesn't have an attached parking garage. It's hectic from the start as you have to pull over on the side of the building to give your bags to the porters, get back in your car and then drive to the fenced in lot to park. It was pretty disorganized with people pulling in and backing out everywhere, rushing with bags, etc. Not a great start but we rolled with it.

 

It didn't get much better inside with long lines, and no real signage directing us where to go. The line snaked around all over the place, then you are stopped and told to sit down to fill out forms. Then they dismiss you row by row to get in yet another line. It took over an hour and a half and there was lots of confusion for all the passengers. They also have the staggered boarding times but maybe everyone just ignores those on Norwegian? The Dawn's capacity is only 300 or so more than the last Carnival ship we were on so I can't imagine that making such a big difference.

 

When you do finally board the ship, you enter in the small elevator corridor instead of the grand atrium so that was kind of a bummer to not have that "wow" factor. On the plus side, the refurbishment of the Dawn is beautiful! Everything is fresh, clean and up-to-date. Very impressive as we explored the different areas of the ship.

I'm curious what time did you arrive at the Terminal? We're boarding the Dawn in two weeks, and are staying 2 blocks away. Just trying to plan what time we'll head down to check in.

Thanks for your review!:D

Nice review and photos, thanks!

I'm curious what time did you arrive at the Terminal? We're boarding the Dawn in two weeks, and are staying 2 blocks away. Just trying to plan what time we'll head down to check in.

 

Thanks for your review!:D

Happy to help! :D

Our assigned time was 10:30-11am and we got there around 11. If I had it to do over, I'd choose a later time. Would much rather get on the boat a little later than stand in a long line, especially with kids!

We sailed on the Dawn the week March 4 - 12. We had the same problem off loading our luggage, parking and getting through the terminal. Getting off, our porter took the luggage to the car. That was a breeze. We also agree the ship looks great. We had UDP and Dinning. Food was very good. I found if you tip the bar staff a little extra you can get the top shelf stuff. Overall we had a great time.

Ports - Harvest Caye

This port was so beautiful! Since it just opened late last fall, everything is shiny and new. We took our time and got off the ship around 10. The kids wanted to get in that huge awesome pool immediately and we had no trouble finding loungers right next to the zero entry side, which was perfect for our group with the little ones.

The four of us adults took turns exploring the rest of the island while the others watched the kids swim. It seemed like there was something for everyone - shopping, zip lining, restaurants and nature exhibits for those who don't want to swim, water sports, beach cabanas, a kids splash park, and maybe even more we didn't see....

The kids would not budge so we ordered lunch by the pool from the Landshark Grill. It was OK and fairly overpriced but we expected that. The UBP does not include this port but I knew that going in. We spent around $65 total for drinks and food, not too bad for the day. That included alcoholic drinks for the hubs and myself.

After lunch we finally got the kids to move to the beach and splash park. My only complaint about the entire island was the quality of the sand. I'd read this in another review before we got there and I thought it was just someone being sensitive but no, it really is so coarse that it hurts your feet after awhile. I did notice as we walked the length of the beach they must have brought in some sand from elsewhere because it's much finer towards the middle of the beach and coarse near the edges. So keep that in mind when choosing loungers! Or maybe plan to wear water shoes. It didn't seem to bother our kids one bit though.

Speaking of loungers, there were always plenty available especially if you keep walking down towards the cabanas. And plenty in the pool area also. Could be because we were on one of the smaller ships, but nothing here ever felt crowded to us.

Rain set in during the afternoon so we headed back earlier than we would have liked. I'd definitely visit this port again!

Zero entry at the pool

The beach

Splash park

The pier

Zipline over the beach

The lagoon for kayak, SUP, boat rentals

Sent from my iPhone using Forums