Norwegian Dawn is a cruise ship that entered service in 2002 and is in operation with Norwegian Cruise Line.

History

The ship was completed on 4 December 2002 at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and sailed her maiden voyage in Europe on 7 December 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 16 December 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.

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 multimillion-dollar renovation to its public areas, suites and restaurants.