Ireland from Southampton, 29 July 2025 (10 nights)

We are regular cruisers with Norwegian and Dawn is far from the best ship in their fleet. However, Norwegian hospitality was just as exceptional as it usually is. We would not sail on Dawn again but would not hesitate to book with Norwegian again

The Norwegian Dawn was a practical ship offering suitable cabins, a number of eateries and very friendly staff. However, it was a little dated and old fridge and not very nice toiletries The food was a little repetitive and the specialties restaurants was a little steep in price. The shows were acceptable and I love the acrobat's, however not to the standards of other cruises. There were a lot of sickness aboard and although we were instructed to wash our hands, there were no signs to advice the use of masks to prevent spread. We wore our masks and thankfully did not become infectious. We lost our stop at Reunion due to the cyclone sadly, however with previous changes to the itinerary, we ended up with additional sea days. Sheehan bar was our favorite, nice people, drinks and breakfast! The size of the ship was fine but not many seating in areas and a lot of waiting to be seated.

An Older ship but kept in excellent condition. Staff were always sweeping and mopping the buffet floors, clearing and cleaning the tables was done quickly and always with a smile. The buffet staff always spoke, were very polite. We were pleasantly surprised at the number of supervising chefs present at every meal overseeing the serving staff. The buffet food was so good we did not visit the sit down restaurants except for the extra charge Le Bistro. That food was ok but not worth the extra charge. Our inside cabin was in excellent condition and, surprise, the shower was large and had a sliding door, not a shower curtain (which no matter how careful you are, drips from the shower curtain would always seep onto the bathroom floor. ) The cabin steward had to work hard in order to complete his number of cabin beds and bathrooms within the allotted time. We have been on many cruises over the years with many cruise lines and the Norwegian Dawn defies its age when compared with some newer ships on other cruise lines. Unfortunately due to weather, our cruise from Mauritius was delayed by a day and missed out on Reunion completely. The other ports of call between there and Cape Town were not great with not a lot to do unless booking g a ship excursion, which we didn’t because of the cost. Around $100 or more each person for a half day trip. We would choose Norwegian Dawn again, if it was visiting more interesting stopovers than what we experienced between Mauritius and Cape Town. The theatre performances were not to our taste except for the last night with what amounted to a variety show with singers, dancers and a magician. The ship and it’s crew, officers, chefs buffet staff and bedroom staff along with the excellent attention to detail and cleanliness made this cruise very worthwhile. Overall 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the ship, it’s crew and officers but only 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the quality of the shore visits.

It was much better than I was expecting after reading many negative reviews, would go again. Embarkation/disembarkation was a joke, ridiculous queues and also huge queue for various admin requests. Bands were really good around the ship but the theatre production was weak compared with other cruise companies. Buffet very busy and main restaurant repetitive menu but no real complaint. Speciality restaurants excellent. Really enjoyed the sun lounge areas, provided you could stand the heat. Drinks best I've experienced. Excursions were extortionate even if you had a cabin credit. Sounds a bit negative but we did enjoy and would book again with better knowledge of how to deal with various issues. P. s General staff were very helpful and I even managed to get a kettle for the cabin!!