Norwegian Dawn to North America

Norwegian Dawn might not be the newest ship in the company fleet, and she might have lacked some of the cutting edge bells and whistles on the newer ships, but she proved an ideal size for this mid summer cruise down to Bermuda and back. As each cruise spends three days and two full nights docked in Bermuda, we used her essentially as a 'floating hotel'- coming and going pretty much at will, even in the small hours of the morning.

With the hugely flexible 'Freestyle Dining', we were able to eat on the ship pretty much where and when we wanted; from the formal, extra tariff Le Bistro, to grabbing a quick snack at the Blue Lagoon casual eatery, it was all consistently good quality fare. This flexibility in on board dining really allowed us to maximise our time ashore on Bermuda itself, without compromising in terms of quality or choice.

Entertainment on board ranged from full scale, high energy theatre shows to pianists, live bands, jazz and blues and, of course, an on board disco. Under Bermuda law, the casino and shops had to stay closed while the ship was in port (though I hear that this will soon change). As for our time ashore, there was no 'curfew' of any kind, so we could also enjoy the local nightlife in town.

Unusually for a big cruise ship, Norwegian Dawn has a large, covered upper deck pool right aft, as well as the main pools and hot tubs set up in the middle of the upper deck. Though the ship was very busy on this summer trip, it was never a problem finding a sun lounger, or somewhere to just simply relax.

Cabins range from insides and outsides, to balcony cabins that are a tad small on floor space, but fitted with smart, sliding doors for the shower compartments. At the top of the line, there are some really large, expansive upper deck suites that can accommodate entire families.

Norwegian Dawn is a good, quality buy for this cruise in particular, with the perfect combination of sea days and days spent ashore exploring one of the most beautiful islands on earth. A great week all round.