seashell77

End of the day, everyone's cruise experience is different and you'll usually find those that review are the ones that had a negative experience over a positive one.

Me- I've cruised NCL 5 times on both big and small ships and never had a bad experience

Be mindful that Dawn is one of the smaller, older NCL ships so doesn't have all the 'bells and whistles' and entertainment that the newer, bigger ships do.

Also- the older ships do tend to have smaller cabins so another thing to take into consideration.

We've never had a bad cruise with NCL and enjoy the laid-back freestyle dining. If you're someone who enjoys formal dining and dressing up every night then this may not be a cruise line for you (though you still can if you want- it's freestyle).

I personally find the drink packages great even though I'm not really a drinker- no need to sign for every drink or worry about a large bill at the end.

Have most recently been on NCL Spirit and definitely notice fewer staff than before the restart, but this seems to be same across all cruise-lines from others I have spoken to.

Logged on this morning to another round- reported about 10, but can't keep up with the number coming in- hopefully this person can be blocked

33 minutes ago, subaru94 said:

Do you know if this is for all cruise lines?  

I was on NCL Spirit a couple of weeks ago and there was no requirement for crew or passengers to wear masks, but there were a few crew and passengers that still chose to wear them

Just got off NCL Spirit- they were charging USD$15 return in both cities

I regularly use an overseas website and find that even after fees and taxes are added on (these aren't shown on the initial fare) I find it can be significantly cheaper than purchasing direct from the cruise-line or a NZ TA. The risk is the exchange rate as this is all done in US$- they do give indicative rates for other currencies though- that's how I work out if it's a good deal for me or not.

Anyone heard any feedback about NCL Spirit re: Covid yet? I know it's only on it's first cruise around these parts.

We're on it in 2wks and are taking all precautions to ensure that we don't get it before we board.

Whatever happens after that? Who knows- at least we're in a balcony if the worst happens

I personally haven't found crossing the Tasman to be particularly bumpy. If I ever start to get a queasy tum,I always go for ginger ale, green apples and fresh air outside- seems to work like a charm for me!

Thanks for a great, well balanced review. It's highly appreciated, as reviews on this ship since it has been based in Australia are hard to come by!.

I am on the Splendor early April and this will be my first time on Carnival as well. Majority of our previous cruises have been on NCL.

It will be interesting to compare those two lines!

I will be going on my first Carnival Cruise in April 2020. Pretty sure I can behave pretty well 😉. Have done five cruises before this, NCL and RCCL. This cruise is out of Sydney, Australia and Carnival Australia does not sell alcoholic beverage packages, mainly because Aussies and Kiwis are known to drink a fair bit and odds are they were losing money! lol

Seriously though, there have been several instances in the media over here about Carnival cruises where large groups had to be thrown off the ship due to fighting, intimidating and disorderly behaviour which is why I imagine they have put in this policy. Maybe they need to do the same in the US?

@yialanliu which sailing are you on? If it's 13th Jan, might see you there!