Our First Cruise aboard Norwegian Dawn

This was pretty typical Norwegian Cruise Line food—perfectly fine, but food isn't the main reason we choose Norwegian. One meal that does stand out, unfortunately, was the Brazilian steakhouse. We didn't think it was very good at all. With Hellen being Brazilian and our family having plenty of experience with authentic churrascarias, it fell well short of what we expected. I remember thinking that I felt bad for anyone eating there as their first introduction to a Brazilian steakhouse, because a good churrascaria is a completely different experience.

One thing that has remained remarkably consistent across our cruises is the service. We've yet to take a cruise where we felt the service wasn't excellent, and this trip was no exception. The crew took great care of us throughout the week.

Looking back, we really didn't take advantage of much of the entertainment on this cruise. At this point in our cruising history, we were much more focused on the destinations and what we were going to do in each port than planning our evenings around shows or activities onboard.

The cabin was small—but honestly, we didn't care. We were broke college kids on our honeymoon, and just being able to take a cruise felt like a luxury. We certainly weren't worried about balconies, suites, or extra space back then. It gave us everything we needed: a place to sleep, get ready, and rest between adventures. Looking back now, after experiencing much larger cabins on other cruises, it's funny how little the room mattered to us. We were newly married, on our first cruise, and just excited to be there.

We didn't participate in any of the family activities on this cruise. This was our honeymoon, long before we started cruising as a family with Ollie, so family programming simply wasn't something we paid attention to at the time. Because of that, we can't really judge what the ship offered for families or kids on this particular sailing.

From what we remember, Norwegian Dawn was in good condition. Nothing about the ship's condition stood out as a problem, and we remember it being a comfortable and enjoyable ship for our first cruise.

We've always found Norwegian Cruise Line to offer great value for what it is. It may not provide the most luxurious experience or the best food at sea, but we've consistently felt that we get a lot for our money. For us, Norwegian has always been about affordable cruising, good itineraries, and a relaxed experience, which is a big reason we've continued sailing with them over the years.

Norwegian Dawn is where our love of cruising really began. It was our first cruise, and while we don't remember enough about the ship itself to give it a detailed review, we definitely remember the experience. The ports—especially Roatán and Belize—introduced us to incredible snorkeling and helped start something that would become a huge part of our family's travels. We boarded the Dawn as first-time cruisers and left loving both cruising and snorkeling. For that reason alone, this ship will always be special to us.