Right choice?

[New2cruise1483]

We are booked on a western caribbean cruise in January on the Norwegian Dawn. I've seen a lot of negative reviews, so now I'm wondering if I made a mistake choosing this ship and was wondering if its too late to book on a different cruise or should I just stick it out and see what transpires. This is our very first cruise

[cb at sea]

You will have a great time! No worries! Do some research on your ports, to get the most out of you time ashore!

 

Stop reading reviews....make you own opinions! It's all good!

[psbtrvlr]

We are booked on a western caribbean cruise in January on the Norwegian Dawn. I've seen a lot of negative reviews, so now I'm wondering if I made a mistake choosing this ship and was wondering if its too late to book on a different cruise or should I just stick it out and see what transpires. This is our very first cruise

 

I've read reviews of cruises that I was on and wondered how our views could be SO different! According to the reviews, some of the cruises I've been on have been the worst ever! I've never been on a bad cruise. Have had small, minor issues sometimes, but never a bad cruise. Take reviews with a grain of salt.

[KOOLBEANS]

Don't worry about that and please don't let it give you a misconcieved perception before boarding. Bad news travels faster then good news. Some people simply can't be pleased and if they didnt talk negative they would be quiet. As mentioned, read about your ports here and on tripadvisor, have a good attitude, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. I have never been on a bad cruise and can't even imagine. It is an amazing experience all the way around.

[kitty9]

At this late date, you really can't cancel this cruise without incurring some kind of penalty, so you really can't cancel. First cruises are always special, and because you have nothing to compare it to, everything will be fine.

[Lerin]

I'm glad I didn't discover Cruise Critic until I had several cruises already under my belt.

Probably would've cancelled my first cruise and never even considered another one.

 

My suggestions to you are:

A) Take all reviews with a grain of salt

B) Read the positive reviews

C) Post your questions or concerns on the NCL board

or

 

D) Stop reading altogether and enjoy your cruise.

then

E) Come back here and write a review of what a great time you had.

[Keith1010]

In the end you will be the judge of the cruise.

 

Focus on all that is good and I am sure you will have a great time.

 

Keith

[dorisis]

Go on your cruise and enjoy it. It will be what you make of it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Go and enjoy your cruise.

[jim1reed]

I agree with koolbeans. Some people just can't be pleased and look for bad things. I hope in your mingling you don't spend much time with this type of people. They will ruin a cruise for someone else.

 

 

Jim

[jim1reed]

I've only been on 2 cruises and on different lines. Both were awesome. There might have been a couple issues but nothing that wasn't worked out or even worth mentioning.

 

Jim

[meatball_nyc]

Agreed with all the good advice for OP. GO and enjoy your first cruise!!!!

It will be your adventure of a lifetime!

Go with the flow. If one place is crowded, just head in the opposite direction and come back later.

You will make those memories count!!

 

Come back and let us know what a great time you both had!

 

Happy Sailing

 

 

~robin and brian

(summertime jersey shore beach bums)

 

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[che5904]

I'm glad I didn't discover Cruise Critic until I had several cruises already under my belt.

Probably would've cancelled my first cruise and never even considered another one.

 

My suggestions to you are:

A) Take all reviews with a grain of salt

B) Read the positive reviews

C) Post your questions or concerns on the NCL board

or

 

D) Stop reading altogether and enjoy your cruise.

then

E) Come back here and write a review of what a great time you had.

 

Bolded above: words to live by and great advice after.

 

I did discover CC just before I cruised for the first time, but didn't have much time for researching reviews. Thank goodness, I probably would have been running for the hills ;)

 

OP my very first cruise was on the Dawn and returning to her in February. I'm very excited to be going back on her.

 

If there is one or two things that really worry you, ask on the NCL board from people who have actually cruised her. Remember a lot of things like food is subjective and what one person finds fabulous, someone else thinks is horrible.

 

Go with a positive attitude about your wonderful first experience and you will have a great vacation.

[momoftwinteens]

I just spent 2 wonderful weeks on the Dawn. Go! You will have a great time. The ship is filled with a great crew that will see to your every need and the itinerary sounds like fun. Have a terrific cruise!

[hladygirl]

We are booked on a western caribbean cruise in January on the Norwegian Dawn. I've seen a lot of negative reviews, so now I'm wondering if I made a mistake choosing this ship and was wondering if its too late to book on a different cruise or should I just stick it out and see what transpires. This is our very first cruise

 

In Cozumel go to nachi cocom. Great day! Just google it!

[Colorado Kat]

We are booked on a western caribbean cruise in January on the Norwegian Dawn. I've seen a lot of negative reviews, so now I'm wondering if I made a mistake choosing this ship and was wondering if its too late to book on a different cruise or should I just stick it out and see what transpires. This is our very first cruise

 

Don't worry about any negative reviews. Go with an open mind, and be open to new experiences. You will have a wonderful cruise!

[crewzr]

We are booked on a western caribbean cruise in January on the Norwegian Dawn. I've seen a lot of negative reviews, so now I'm wondering if I made a mistake choosing this ship and was wondering if its too late to book on a different cruise or should I just stick it out and see what transpires. This is our very first cruise

 

I feel the same way. My fiancé and I are booked on the Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Royal Princess this February. We have never cruised before and were concerned when we saw the plethora of negative reviews about the ship on this website. Had we also made a mistake? I have been trying to read everything I can, so we can be prepared, but most of the reviews are overwhelmingly negative. I’m sure we will have a good time, but I hope we didn’t pick a dud. :/

[Gunner22aa]

Go on the cruise with an open mind. Focus on the positive. Don't let every piece of chipped paint ruin it for you. Don't go on board thinking that your room will be like a hotel room because it won't be. It will be smaller because that's the way ships are built. Don't expect the staff to be wearing white gloves because they won't be, NCL isn't Cunards Queens Grill nor are the rest of the main stream lines. Take all reviews with a grain of salt especially the really bad ones and the exceptional ones.

[che5904]

I feel the same way. My fiancé and I are booked on the Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Royal Princess this February. We have never cruised before and were concerned when we saw the plethora of negative reviews about the ship on this website. Had we also made a mistake? I have been trying to read everything I can, so we can be prepared, but most of the reviews are overwhelmingly negative. I’m sure we will have a good time, but I hope we didn’t pick a dud. :/

 

First of all when you read the negative reviews, is there anything in them that you feel would adversely affect your own vacation? Are the complaints something that is subjective like food or comfort of a bed or "needs refurbishing", would it really affect your enjoyment of your vacation if the hallway to your cabin looked a little worn? Or room very small...you are on a ship of course the cabins are small, I guess the question to that one, is how much room do you require to sleep? Since the 2 cruise lines I've been on had mega storage in their cabin.

 

If the complaints seem more factual like they overcharged me by $100 on my fancy drink. OK mistakes happen, did they actually state whether the mistake was rectified in an appropriate and timely manner?

 

What are your own expectations for this vacation and would this meet those expectations.

 

Most complaints are due to having unrealistic expectations and the attitude of the person going into the vacation. For example expecting your meal to be prepared as if you were in a 50 person capacity restaurant instead of a room thats trying to feed 450 people at once. No vacation is perfect, but most times the positives far outrank a couple of negatives.

 

I had 2 cousins that went on a cruise, hated it would never do it again. Curious cruiser that I am, I asked why. Their response, we hated being surrounded by water. :confused: OK, did they think the cruise ship drove down the highway? :rolleyes:

Edited December 2, 2013 by che5904

[crewzr]

First of all when you read the negative reviews, is there anything in them that you feel would adversely affect your own vacation? Are the complaints something that is subjective like food or comfort of a bed or "needs refurbishing", would it really affect your enjoyment of your vacation if the hallway to your cabin looked a little worn? Or room very small...you are on a ship of course the cabins are small, I guess the question to that one, is how much room do you require to sleep? Since the 2 cruise lines I've been on had mega storage in their cabin.

 

If the complaints seem more factual like they overcharged me by $100 on my fancy drink. OK mistakes happen, did they actually state whether the mistake was rectified in an appropriate and timely manner?

 

What are your own expectations for this vacation and would this meet those expectations.

 

Most complaints are due to having unrealistic expectations and the attitude of the person going into the vacation. For example expecting your meal to be prepared as if you were in a 50 person capacity restaurant instead of a room thats trying to feed 450 people at once. No vacation is perfect, but most times the positives far outrank a couple of negatives.

I had 2 cousins that went on a cruise, hated it would never do it again. Curious cruiser that I am, I asked why. Their response, we hated being surrounded by water. OK, did they think the cruise ship drove down the highway?

 

I went over several of the reviews again and I think a lot of the complaints were a result of people having unrealistic expectations, compounded by the fact that they didn’t do their homework.

 

The Princess website has A LOT of information including things like room size, ship deck plans, etc. I'm sure that other cruise line websites have similar info. I don’t think all of the people writing these reviews are taking the time to research their ship before booking, resulting in their own disappointment at a later date. Had they looked into the detail more, perhaps they could have chosen a ship that suited them better.

 

From what I have seen, many of the complaints listed in the reviews were related to various design features of the ship, but I really don’t think any of those mentioned would be a deal-breaker for us. Boarding the ship took a while? Staterooms / balcony too small? There’s a wait for the elevators? Eh, that’s not a big deal, from our perspective. From all that I’ve read, that’s just the nature of cruising in general… especially when you are on a ship that can hold 3,500+ passengers!

 

Despite the negatives, I am definitely going to focus on the positive for this trip! Then I’ll write my own review! :)

[dolita22]

My parents were just on the Dawn last week and said it was by far their most favorite cruise! Don't worry. Just go and have a good time. :-)

[caffine]

I have been on the dawn already, im going on the dawn again in a month. Clearly I enjoyed it!

 

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