Norwegian Dawn

History

The ship was completed on December 4, 2002 at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and sailed her maiden voyage in Europe on December 7, 2002. She was intended to operate with Star Cruises under the name SuperStar Scorpio, but it was decided that she would be delivered to Star's subsidiary, Norwegian Cruise Line as Norwegian Dawn. Norwegian Dawn was christened December 16, 2002, in an elaborate ceremony in Manhattan by actress Kim Cattrall.

Norwegian Dawn was the first NCL vessel to carry hull art. Planned as a way to promote the vessel, the concept was well received and hull art was incorporated on most other NCL vessels, with the exception of those vessels scheduled to transition out of the fleet within the next few years. Norwegian Dawn the de facto official ship of R Family Vacations, a cruise designed for gay and lesbian families.

Incidents

On April 16, 2005, after sailing into rough weather off the coast of Georgia, Norwegian Dawn encountered a series of three 70-foot (21 m) waves. The third wave damaged several windows on the 9th and 10th decks and several decks were flooded. Damage, however, was not extensive and the ship was quickly repaired. Four passengers were slightly injured in this incident.

On November 27, 2009, Norwegian Dawn lost all power while returning to Miami. United States Coast Guard ships and helicopters were dispatched to the scene to assist. During the power outage, the more than 2,000 passengers on the ship had no access to running water, electricity, air conditioning or toilet services in the hot Caribbean environment. The temperatures in the area at the time were around 85 °F (29 °C) with 67% relative humidity. At least some power was restored and the ship was able to make port in San Juan, PR, not Miami as the itinerary dictated, to allow repairs to be made.

On August 27, 2010, Norwegian Dawn experienced engine problems. The ship had to leave Bermuda early to return to New York at a slower speed.

On August 24, 2013, Norwegian Dawn lost power in the evening due to an engine failure. Lighting was restored almost immediately, but the Dawn floated for nearly two hours in the Atlantic. After fixing the issue, evening events went on as planned and the Dawn reached Bermuda the next morning at her scheduled time.

On May 19, 2015, Norwegian Dawn ran aground in Bermuda shortly after leaving port. The incident was attributed to a minor malfunction in the ship's steering, sending her off course to hit a sandbar. The ship was floated off the sandbar six hours later with the high tide, and allowed to continue to Boston after underwater surveys showed no damage.

Vessel class

Norwegian Dawn was the second in a line of two ships with this design, constructed at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Her sister ship is Norwegian Star, which entered service in November 2001. At the time of their order with Meyer Werft, these two ships were designated as Libra-class (Dawn-class in NCL publicity, as the Libra-class designation was because of its original assignment by Star Cruises until they were assigned to NCL operations). NCL continued using the same class designation for these ships. Her original designated name was Superstar Scorpio, when destined for Star Cruises.

Amenities

As with her sister vessel, Norwegian Dawn has restaurants, bars, entertainment and activity areas, and an eight-deck high atrium. One of her more distinctive features are twin Garden Villa staterooms.

2016 refurbishment

In May 2016 the ship underwent an extensive multi-million dollar renovation focused on enhancing the guest experience. The Freestyle Cruising ship received enhancements to its public areas, suites and restaurants.

New enchanted Dining and Bars include:

Public Areas and Staterooms Include: