Norwegian Dawn Itinerary

What Norwegian Dawn's Autumn Season Is Actually Like

Quick honesty note first: our database doesn't record Norwegian Dawn's ports for these sailings. Everything below comes from third-party listings, so confirm your exact date with NCL before you book anything non-refundable. With that said, the season is really two different products.

The 14-night crossing: Lisbon to Jacksonville

The 1 November sailing is a one-way transatlantic, ending in Jacksonville on 15 November. One listing shows the ship making these calls:

Do the maths: six ports, nine sea days. That's a lot of ocean, and it suits you if you like a book, a buffet and no schedule. It won't suit you if you need a new postcard every morning.

Expect the weather to change as you go. Casablanca in November is mild, roughly 18–22°C (mid-60s to low 70s°F) depending on which source you trust, and rain gets more common. Ponta Delgada runs about 18–19°C (64–66°F) with a sea around 19–20°C, and November is one of its wettest months. The open Atlantic in November is no millpond, so motion-sensitive cruisers should pack remedies. Then you reach the Bahamas and it's swimsuit weather again, with a possible hurricane footnote. The season officially ends 30 November, and storms after that are rare.

One quirk: Great Stirrup Cay used to be a tender-only stop. Norwegian's new pier took its first ship on 28 December 2025, so it should be a far smoother beach day than it once was.

The Jacksonville loops: 4 and 5 nights

From 15 November our data shows nine 5-night sailings through 2 January, plus four 4-night sailings (10 December, 24 December, 7 January and 11 January). The ports aren't in our data, and the listings show them shuffling from one sailing to the next. On the 5-nighters, the Cruise Timetables tracker, which samples NCL's website, shows Freeport and Great Stirrup Cay on 15 November. It shows Freeport, Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay on 20 November, 25 November and 28 December. CruiseWeb also lists a Key West version of the 5-night, but its listing doesn't say which dates run it, so confirm yours with NCL.

The 4-nighters are just as fickle. The same tracker shows Freeport and Nassau on 10 December, Freeport and Great Stirrup Cay on 24 December and 11 January, and Freeport alone on 7 January. Check your exact date on ncl.com before you get attached to a port.

The weather on these is a split personality. Jacksonville in December averages a 68°F high and a 46°F low, so you'll be in a jacket at sail-away. Nassau in December runs roughly 79°F by day and 64°F at night, with the sea in the upper 70s. Pack layers, a light rain shell, and a swimsuit you'll actually use by day two.

Who should book what

• 4 nights: first-timers, long-weekend escapes, or anyone testing whether a 2002-built, 92,250-ton ship (refurbished 2016, 2,340 passengers) is their kind of vibe.
• 5 nights: the same crowd, plus one more night.
• 14 nights: sea-day devotees and anyone repositioning to Florida who'd rather sail than fly.

Pricing and crowds

Holiday dates cost more. The fares on CruiseWeb are quoted per person, with taxes and fees included, so multiply by the number of travellers in your cabin. Its 5-night listings start from $249 per person for the Great Stirrup Cay and Grand Bahama version (sailings from 15 November) and from $319 per person for the Key West version (sailings from 30 November). Those are season-wide "from" prices, so expect your date to cost more, especially at Christmas and New Year, when the ship will also be family-heavy. CruiseWeb lists the 14-night crossing from $819 per person, again with taxes and fees included. Other sellers show different starting fares for the same sailing, so compare them against NCL before you book. Fares are cheapest outside the holiday weeks.

Before you book, check the ship's page and its CDC score of 84 from 29 March 2026. The CDC's passing line is 85, so that's one point short, and the inspection lookup shows what was flagged. Planning nine sea days? Read our alcohol policy guide before you do your drinks-package maths.