This Thanksgiving, I am taking Victor on a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines on the Norwegian Dawn leaving from Miami.

Has anyone had any prior experiences with the cruise line or the specific ship we'll be taking? We have never done a cruise before so any tips/insights would be appeciated.

I'm sure Iceman or Rudy will chime in with their knowledge ;) :thumbsup:

A good forum when searching for infos on cruises.

I'll be cruising the Caribbean later this year with Carnival, my first cruise ever, so I can not give you tips/insights.
But the above forum is very informative. They also have reviews and member reviews there.

My advice is to stop eating now...unless you want to come back and not be able to fit into your car! ;)

Ha ha. I am already on a pretty serious diet. During my two month trial this winter, I weighed as much as 240 lbs -- heavier than I ever weighed in my life. Not surprisingly, my doctor read me the riot act. I do want to see my Victor grow up and I want to be there for him so I am trying to mend my ways when it comes to food. So far, I am down to about 215 but hope I can keep this up and get down to 190 or so. The cruise is probably going to be a major test of my willpower.

Awesome scenery around the Lofoten Islands. Stunning! I recommend from Oslo all the way around the Fjords up to Lofoten Islands and beyond the arctic circle.

i keep going back and back! I went there earlier this year right? Or was it last year? I forgot. I am going to NCL AGAIN next month! I cant wait. I gotta find someone to help me with my sales. :lol: I'll post up something good.

cruises are fun, you will be on a "seefood diet"!! back in the day, carnival was known to be the party boat due to attracting younger crowds; we had a blast!! i dont know if they still hold that reputation, but now that im "mature" :lol: i dont know if i would be a passenger. i also dont care for the set dinner time along with the same seating with the same people, unless of course its with hot girls! :drool:
i did the norwegian dawn sailing from ny, nice cruise, not too many kids. i liked their freestyle dinning which gave us the flexibility of when to eat dinner.

if you want to go to any excursion, book them on the first day cuz they get booked very quickly.
for specialty dining book them early so you can get preferred seatings.
if youre a boozer, buy bottles and pre game at the room. :teehee:
lastly, mingle and get crazy :dance:

Glad to hear you liked NCL. Where are you cruising to John?


I am really glad to hear you liked the Dawn as that's our ship. I booked shore excursions on the NCL website that I thought would work for both my mother and Victor -- mainly the beach or sightseeing combined with the beach. I will book the specialty restaurants when I get on the ship. We are staying in an AB Penthouse suite so we share a concierge with the 9 other AB Penthouse suites. I hope we get a good one who can get us some good hook ups.

I really wanted to do the Jeep 4x4 excursions (which Victor would love) but those are not for my mother.

Thanks for the tip. I would like to see the Norwegian Fjords one day.[/quote]
It's looking like I jumped in without reading the rest of the thread [guilty]. I thought you were considering a Norwegian cruise :D