Cruise Ship: Norwegian Dawn
Cruise Destination: New York to Eastern Caribbean
Cruise Dates: January 12-22, 2006
Guest Contributor: Danielle
My Norwegian Dawn cruise review is directed towards first-time cruisers and those that don't mind reading a lengthy, personal description of a stranger's vacation. I'm a 28 year old female and I took my very first cruise with my (girl)friend aboard the Norwegian Dawn on an 11-day cruise through the Eastern Caribbean in January, 2006. All in all, we were pleased with our vacation. However, there were a few disappointments that made me want to run home and tell other first-time cruisers about what to expect and/or look out for.
The ship itself is beautiful. The restaurants are all uniquely decorated in a way that makes you want to look around, especially the Venetian. We expected a much older crowd (less kids that way), but there were people of all ages aboard (you can tell the hard-core cruisers are the ones that get all decked out on formal night).
One of my concerns before I boarded the ship was that of sea-sickness. I've been told otherwise about other ships, but the Dawn rocked back and forth the entire length of the cruise. I was bothered by nausea the first two days, but after a long nap and a healthy dose of Dramamine, I got used to the rocking motion. In conversations with other passengers, I found I wasn't the only one who had felt sick. So pack some Dramamine just in case. Even if you're not prone to sea-sickness, you might need it after being forced to listen to the cruise director's daily "let's have fun!" speech over the P.A.
We started the cruise in a porthole stateroom. The room was decorated with the birthday package we had ordered, but the crew negligently left the garbage from the decorations sitting on my bed. It was definitely tiny, but we managed to store all of our clothes away in the space provided. There were two extra beds in the room (one above and one tucked underneath another bed), but I can not imagine rooming more than 2 people in such cramped quarters. After 3 days, we were moved to a balcony room by management, who claimed "maintenance issues" were the reason for our transfer. Needless to say, we were enthusiastic about the upgrade. Surprisingly, we discovered that the balcony room offered less storage space than porthole room, although the bathrooms seemed the same size. Having stayed in both types of rooms, I will never settle for less than a balcony room again. It is absolutely worth the extra expense, especially if you're cruising in warm weather. Other than the conventional use of a balcony, other conveniences included: being able to step outside in the morning and check the weather firsthand, taking aerial pictures of the islands, and having a place to lay out our wet bathing suits. There was also a fridge in both rooms, though we made no use of it. We had no intention of "bringing home" food from the dining rooms, and if we did, what utensils could we eat it with? Plus, there are no vending machines on the ship, so we couldn't even keep cold soda in our room (there are no cans or bottled beverages available to purchase, either; everything comes out of a fountain or soda gun). If you're thirsty, you have to leave your stateroom and find the nearest bar on another deck in order to get something to drink. Do yourself a favor and pack some bottles of water or iced tea to keep in your room.
Speaking of drinks, the soda package is a MUST. Spend the $50 bucks for unlimited soft drinks and sit back and laugh at all of the other suckers who are paying two and three dollars per drink (although, I must mention that the soda was flat half of the time). The package can be ordered prior to embarkation or will be available poolside after you board. You'll be provided with a reusable mug and a sticker to put on your room card. Ditch the mug; there's no sense in carrying it around and you need only to flash your special sticker to get a glass. And unless you plan on packing some dish soap, there's no feasible way to wash the thing out. Drinking out of the same mug for 10 days without cleaning it did not appeal to us.
Page 2 > > More of the Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review > >
