Our first experience with Norwegian Cruise Lines was this past January, when we took an 11-day cruise out of New York City on Norwegian Dawn! This was our 13th cruise, and it has become one of our favorites! In fact, we are booking the very same cruise again next year, inviting family, friends, and acquaintances to join us for the voyage of a lifetime!

To begin with, the pricing was great for an 11-day cruise, and the ship was magnificent! The “Freestyle Cruising” concept made each day easier to plan…. with no set mealtimes and optional formal nights, we could spend every day doing “our own thing” without having to worry about getting to the dining room at a specific time or bringing a separate suitcase full of formal wear!

There are at least 10 wonderful dinner restaurants, others also open for lunch, and a couple are open 24 hours. With so many dining options all day, we could choose at the last minute where we wanted to eat. And the food…. an amazing selection was always available, including French, Italian, Mexican, Japanese with sushi….. as well as a New York-Style deli, vegetarian buffet, fish and chips, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza…… and almost every day there was a barbecue out by the pool with ribs, steaks, chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers….. a changing menu each time. Even breakfast was a culinary delight, with changing items on the buffet as well as made-to-order omelets and waffles. The main restaurants served International Cuisine as well as American Specialties, with excellent beef, chicken, seafood, and vegetarian options every single night! Only three of the main restaurants had an added service charge….. we never even needed those restaurants, because there was so much to choose from at no added charge!

Tipping is easy; a $10 per day per passenger debit comes off your credit or debit card or cash deposit every day. At the end of the week, there it was: $110 per person tip, which assures that everyone who serves you all around the ship gets a fair share. Since seating isn’t traditional, you almost never get the same waiter, waitress, or bus person twice…… so this policy streamlines the process for you and makes sure no one is ever left out. The people who serve you every day, with no complaints, are an amazing cross-section of the diversity of populations around the world. There are usually well over 80 countries represented on every cruise line, and these people work hard to keep us happy, pampered, and never wanting for anything. So many of them come from countries that have few jobs with decent incomes, so their hard-earned money is sent back home to help their families. I always think about the homesickness they must endure in order to provide this well for their families. And I keep that in mind when I think about giving extra tips to people who serve you more frequently, such as the cabin stewards.

We had an inside quad cabin, which means we were VERY CLOSE together! Compared to other ships we’ve been on, these cabins were quite small. But the monetary savings was so great that it was worth a few extra Tylenol PM’s and earplugs! And when I say small……. I do mean it! The two lower beds have just enough room between them for a third roll-away bed; there is one upper bunk. Now THAT was close! The bathrooms were quite roomy, and the closet and drawer space were fine. It’s that darn sleeping space! But let’s face it, you don’t spend much time in the cabin…….. do you?

The ship’s features and amenities were fantastic! The pool area had plenty of room for all……. with lots of lounge chairs as well as tables and chairs, a good-sized pool, two big hot tubs, a raised stage for the calypso band, a big bar for drinks and ice cream, and a large area for the barbecues. There is also an upper deck on each side of the pool and an arena-style tiered deck with lounge chairs. The spa was truly world-class, with a large gym as well as a big swimming pool, a couple of different types of hot tubs, comfortable lounge chairs facing the big windows at the stern that looked out at the ocean wake, saunas, steam rooms, Japanese plunge pools……. and lots more! And right up front on this ship is a large hot tub where we immersed ourselves, despite the cold January air, for the BEST view as we sailed out of New York City in the dark! The hot water meeting the cold air gave off a great bunch of steam, and we were truly floating along in a misty, ethereal fantasy world!

There was wonderful entertainment all over the ship……… the big show lounge had three seating levels, and there was plenty of room for hundreds of people at a time. The shows there were among the best we’ve ever seen. There were also smaller lounges where we could enjoy other entertainers. Our personal favorite was Dave Morgan in Dazzles Lounge; he is an amazing classic and popular rock guitar player and singer with a sound system he created that gives a full band backup sound.

My only complaint about any of the areas aboard this ship is that there are too many inside places that allowed smoking on the port side of the ship…… those of us who sat on the opposite side in these lounge areas weren’t free of the effects. I wish they would make all confined areas smoke free…… then those who want to smoke must be outside on the port side by the pool or on the open decks. As long as they don’t throw their butts over the side, I guess we’ll leave them alone!

There were also card and game rooms, a quiet reading and writing room, and a nice library. There were plenty of shops specializing in all sorts of duty-free bargains, from jewelry and porcelain to rum and champagne.

Now, you may think I’ve said everything I like about this cruise; but I am now going to tell you the other BEST PART! The itinerary! One thing I’ll say is that we rarely, if ever, take a tour associated with the cruise line. You can do all of the same tours for less money with certified guides and taxi drivers everywhere you go in the Caribbean…… and with personalized service, you’re not stuck with way too many people being shuffled around whether you’re ready to leave a sightseeing vista or not.

After two and a half days cruising from winter into the warmth of the Caribbean, we arrived in St. Thomas. We’ve docked every other time in St. Thomas, but there were three ships already docked and the Dawn and one other ship anchored in the harbor and we took the tenders (life boats) to shore. Our favorite destination, since we’ve traveled all over St. Thomas in the past, is to take a cab to Red Hook and then ride the ferry over to St. John; our favorite beach there is Cinnamon Bay, where we happily swim, sun, and snorkel all day! It’s not an expensive trip and well worth the cost to get away from the crowds on St. Thomas. Coki Beach on St. Thomas is another option for an inexpensive cab ride…… beautiful emerald water, wonderful snorkeling, but the beach is more crowded. Just go down to the far left, though, and the crowd thins out. Then, of course, there is beautiful Magens Bay beach, one of the most famour beaches in the world. It tends to be crowded, but the scenic beauty there is worth staking out your spot on the sand.

Our second island is Antigua, known for its 365 beaches. With a history rich in sugar production, there are beautiful sugar mills still standing that are photogenic as well as interesting. We passed by several beaches and our driver left us at one of them and came back for us several hours later, at a prearranged time.

Next we visited Barbados…… very British, drive on the left, with both Caribbean side (almost no surf) as well as wild Atlantic side (surf’s up!) beaches, a butterfly farm, caverns, wonderful architecture…….. Barbados really has something for everyone!

Grenada, the Spice Island, is a jewel in the sea. Its harbor is said to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and I’m sure that’s true. There is a rich history there, as well as all over the Caribbean, but part of this island’s history includes the U.S. liberation as the Cubans were gaining a stronghold there. There are signs everywhere thanking the U.S., although it’s obvious that not everyone agrees that it was something good for Grenada. Anyway, Grenada is lush and with all of the spices grown there, the air is perfumed with their amazing aroma. After a wonderful tour with the same driver we had there 13 years ago, we ended up at the beautiful Grand Anse Beach, where we swam and sunned (not much snorkeling there) until it was time to head back to the pier. We took water taxis back to the pier and from there we took the tender back to the ship. This is always a tender port, as they don’t have room for the large cruise ships to dock.

The next island was Dominica (not to be confused with the Dominican Republic)…… which is the most mountainous island in the Caribbean and boasts 365 rivers, which means lots of amazing waterfalls; much of the island is covered in rain forests; the largest boiling lake in the world is here on Dominica. At the end of our private tour, we went to a beach to swim and snorkel among the “champagne bubbles” that bubble to the surface from way below. That particular beach, however, was not sandy but rather it had cobblestones that weren’t the easiest to walk on. But the walk was worth it when we swam out and looked below with our masks to see brilliant fish as well as bright yellow pipe coral, huge pot coral, fan coral, and so much more.

Our last island, and the shortest day, was Tortola. The choice to either stay on Tortola and go to a beach or take the ferry to Virgin Gorda to The Baths was an easy decision; we took the nice ride across to Virgin Gorda! The geologic wonder known as The Baths is truly a must-see! If you’re not in the best shape, once you reach the end of the initial descent, you might want to stay at that beach and not take the path that continues on to the left and toward the lagoon. You will still be swimming among the rocks for less expenditure of energy. If you decide to head toward the lagoon, it is a challenge to scale rocks, climb ladders and steps, and crawl through little tunnels and low-hanging areas…. but once you get to the lagoon you know it’s worth the trip! The huge boulders that have tumbled into the sea are an incredible sight to behold! The snorkeling is even better, just because of the backdrop of these ancient rocks! This was a wonderful setting for our last port of call.

The last two and a half days we sailed back into winter, and the last morning we awoke to find several inches of snow on the deck. It was at this point that we wished we could do a back-to-back cruise and just stay onboard to sail southward again……… into the turquoise and emerald waters and the beautiful islands that beckon us every year.

I think you get the idea that we really loved this cruise. In fact, we have already booked it again for next January 9, 2005. Our son Jared is a travel agent, and we are inviting everyone we know (and even anyone we don’t know yet) to join us on this sailing! If you want more information about our big group, please email Jared at travel@madriver.com for info! If you would like any information from me, please email to lulu@madriver.com!

On a scale of 1 to 10, this cruise was at least a 12!