Embarkation: Embarkation in NYC was a minor nightmare because the Dawn was 3 hours late getting into port. We came from Boston by bus and our driver wasted some time for us but still we stood in a line for over and hour. We got very little information about what was happening but eventually we got checked in. Luggage came to our balcony cabin on deck 10 quite promptly.

Food: Typically we'd have breakfast at the Garden Cafe, lunch at the buffet or the Venetian and dinner in one of the main restaurants (Venetian, Aqua, Impressions). The food was very good with nice variety, service often a bit slow, and the ambiance quite pleasant. My wife complained about the lack of fresh pineapple at breakfast, a serious problem. Choices at the buffet or the outdoor BBQ never seemed to change.

Entertainment: We only went to one show and it was very good (Bollywood). We were part of a group that share the hobby of ballroom dancing and we were disappointed in the small dane floors and shortage of the music we wanted. Most often we ended up taking over the Atrium to dance to an "easy listening" quartet. With the average age of the passengers being quite high, it was unfortunate that too much music was loud and "disco". There were several perks for our group of 25 that made it an excellent time despite NCL. Sing-a-longs with Stacy MacAdams in Pearly Kings pub were great fun and he'll probably remember our group for a while.

Ports: The itinerary changed because of the late departure so we had 1/2 day in San Juan, full days in St. Thomas (gotta have time to shop), Antigua, Barbados, Dominica and 1/2 day in Tortola (we love Tortola and wished we were there longer).

Debarkation: Returned to NYC 4 hours late and sat and sat until we could disembark. Sailed past customs and eventually got back to Boston.

Overall: Dawn is a nice ship, but not great for ballroom dancers. We'll find another for our 5th annual cruise.