Just cruised NCL first time- Oh how I missed you Royal!!

Just returned from a cruise on NCL the Dawn. We went to see the America's Cup which gave us 3 full days there, which Royal doesn't. Won't compare since I did a short review on NCL. Can't really compare the Dawn to what we're used to on Royal. We love the Oasis class.

Though other services you can compare, food, staff, entertainment. Everything was much better on Royal for us. I tried to not keep comparing the two, but I couldn't help myself. We love Royal and know why. So much to do, wonderful staff, beautiful ships. We found ourselves bored : ( I know the larger ships are probably much better. Just made us appreciate Royal that much more after going.

Now to figure out our next one!

Thank you for your post. This is my fear, that I will try another line, pay just as much, and not enjoy it.

Just returned from a cruise on NCL the Dawn. We went to see the America's Cup which gave us 3 full days there, which Royal doesn't. Won't compare since I did a short review on NCL. Can't really compare the Dawn to what we're used to on Royal. We love the Oasis class.

Though other services you can compare, food, staff, entertainment. Everything was much better on Royal for us. I tried to not keep comparing the two, but I couldn't help myself. We love Royal and know why. So much to do, wonderful staff, beautiful ships. We found ourselves bored : ( I know the larger ships are probably much better. Just made us appreciate Royal that much more after going.

Now to figure out our next one!

I will agree, the Dawn is pretty boring. It's the convenience for us as to why we've been on her more than once.

Appreciate the comparison report.

Thank you for your post. This is my fear, that I will try another line, pay just as much, and not enjoy it.

We actually paid twice as much!!

I will agree, the Dawn is pretty boring. It's the convenience for us as to why we've been on her more than once.

We found most people were from Boston. Much different feel than our normal cruises.

So the food was much better on rccl? I really enjoyed Escape food on NCL, a notch higher than rccl, but wondered if all ncl food would be similar to Escape.

I was considering Dawn in the future, can you give more details about what you didn't like on Dawn?

A lot of the active stuff on rccl I don't actually participate in so bar service, food, and how efficiently get off ship and into port would be of interest to me about Dawn. Thanks

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Oasis class are big ships. The Dawn is one of NCL's smallest. I found the food on Brilliance ots far inferior to the food in the MDR on the Gem or on the Dawn. Everyone was complaining about the food and the poor service in the MDR on Brilliance.

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Just returned from a cruise on NCL the Dawn. We went to see the America's Cup which gave us 3 full days there, which Royal doesn't. Won't compare since I did a short review on NCL. Can't really compare the Dawn to what we're used to on Royal. We love the Oasis class.

Though other services you can compare, food, staff, entertainment. Everything was much better on Royal for us. I tried to not keep comparing the two, but I couldn't help myself. We love Royal and know why. So much to do, wonderful staff, beautiful ships. We found ourselves bored : ( I know the larger ships are probably much better. Just made us appreciate Royal that much more after going.

Now to figure out our next one!

Thanks for your review. I am sailing on Dawn in July for my Mom's 80th bday but she was also on the same sailing as you. What a nightmare it was in there on Friday! They were in the first group off after self disembark and they weren't off the ship until after 10am! The traffic to pick them up was crazy! It took we 15 minutes to go from Drydock Ave to the curb at the terminal to get them.

I hope it is better in July!

A more valid comparison would be Dawn vs Radiance or Vision class.

We were just on Dawn's repo to Boston and had no complaints. Freshly refurbed and a great crew:) MDR food better than RCL Liberty last December.

YMMV, obviously did!

A more valid comparison would be Dawn vs Radiance or Vision class.

We were just on Dawn's repo to Boston and had no complaints. Freshly refurbed and a great crew:) MDR food better than RCL Liberty last December.

YMMV, obviously did!

I know you can't compare the two. I wasn't trying, but I think just overall experience with Royal period. Some things you can compare no matter which ship. I'm sure we'd enjoy the larger ships more..hopefully.

Thanks for your review. I am sailing on Dawn in July for my Mom's 80th bday but she was also on the same sailing as you. What a nightmare it was in there on Friday! They were in the first group off after self disembark and they weren't off the ship until after 10am! The traffic to pick them up was crazy! It took we 15 minutes to go from Drydock Ave to the curb at the terminal to get them.

 

I hope it is better in July!

Yep, was in the same group trying to get off the ship with self disembark. Hoping that wasn't the norm!

So the food was much better on rccl? I really enjoyed Escape food on NCL, a notch higher than rccl, but wondered if all ncl food would be similar to Escape.

 

I was considering Dawn in the future, can you give more details about what you didn't like on Dawn?

 

A lot of the active stuff on rccl I don't actually participate in so bar service, food, and how efficiently get off ship and into port would be of interest to me about Dawn. Thanks

 

 

You know it really depends on what you want out of a cruise. The ship is very important to me. I like options and not to just sit around and read. I don't really count participating in group activities as stuff to do. Some are content with smaller ships and that's fine.

 

I used to think that food was the same on all the ships. Personally thought Royal had better food and more of a selection of foods.

I think we may have picked a bad day to get on and off the ship. They couldn't help the machine that broke down while trying to board. It was backing up quite a bit. We had to be in the line that was doing it manually which took a while. Getting off was crazy! Worse we've encountered. Though once we finally got off, we didn't have to look for our luggage which was nice.

 

Pool area was very congested as that's the only pool.

 

 

Things that are important to us maybe not for others. I can't compare to small ships from other lines as we stick with larger ships. Size aside, there's still areas of improvements. JMO.

 

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask.

If you wanted a 7 night Bermuda cruise (3 days docked in Bermuda) why didn't you go on Celebrity's Summit? it sails out of Cape Liberty, Bayonne, NJ. IMO Celebrity is much better than NCL.

Dawn ruined me for NCL. I since returned on Escape, and loved it, but I will never cruise Dawn or any of their similar ships again. This is what we were met with when we checked into our room...

I don't even want to know what this is on the mirror...

And our balcony was nasty. The decking was falling apart and there was debris on the deck. We couldn't walk barefoot out here because the non-skid stuck to our feet.

Oh, and the ceiling was falling. This is how they fixed it.

This was just the beginning, and these issues lasted all week. All in all, Dawn was my worst cruise out of 53. I'll never set foot on that ship again.

Aquahound, was your cruise before or after the big refurb they did last year? I hope it was before. We are sailing NCL for the first time, hoping we get better than that cabin!

Aquahound, was your cruise before or after the big refurb they did last year? I hope it was before. We are sailing NCL for the first time, hoping we get better than that cabin!

Yeah, I was thinking nicer after refurb and ship getting same food for MDR right? Shouldn't the food be roughtly similar Escape MDR and Dawn MDR on 7 night cruise?

And specialty restaurants like Cagneys and La Cucina have a pretty similar menu and quality even if the restaurant settings are better on newer ships?

I know on RCCL I can't compare Radiance to Oasis in terms of flowriders and diving show. But I'd sort of expect the venues they have in common to be similar; Chops, Boardwalk doghouse, etc.

Older ships are different than new with different offerings but what's the point of having a "brand" if some things aren't similar.

 

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks!

Did you have the beverage package? How were drinks and service?

How did your cabin appear? Clean enough? Beds comfortable?

Did you go to any specialty restaurants on Dawn, if so, how were they?

How was it getting off the ship in ports? This is where I've been really happy with RCCL, even on Oasis class w so many people. Had a rough Carnival Freedom cruise where we must have stood in line 45mins to ding our cards and walk off ship. Nearly missed our excursion.

I guess impt to me is food, drinks, cleanliness, bed comfort and port debarkation efficiency. :)

If you wanted a 7 night Bermuda cruise (3 days docked in Bermuda) why didn't you go on Celebrity's Summit? it sails out of Cape Liberty, Bayonne, NJ. IMO Celebrity is much better than NCL.

Didn't know til we were actually on the cruise. I heard they were a much older crowd??

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Thanks!

 

Did you have the beverage package? How were drinks and service?

 

How did your cabin appear? Clean enough? Beds comfortable?

 

Did you go to any specialty restaurants on Dawn, if so, how were they?

 

How was it getting off the ship in ports? This is where I've been really happy with RCCL, even on Oasis class w so many people. Had a rough Carnival Freedom cruise where we must have stood in line 45mins to ding our cards and walk off ship. Nearly missed our excursion.

 

 

 

I guess impt to me is food, drinks, cleanliness, bed comfort and port debarkation efficiency. :)

We didn't do a drink pkg. Even tho it was "free", would have cost 99.00 pp. I don't drink and both would have to have it. They don't want you to share pkg's. dh had beer and just one mixed drink. Said there was more alcohol in it than Royal : )

Cabin was clean and comfy beds. Bathroom had sewage smell a few different times. Not sure what that was about. It came from the sink.

Went to 3 specialty restaurants. Los Lobos, Cagney's and Teppanyaki. All three are great!

Since we just went to Bermuda, I wasn't in a hurry to get off as we normally would be. We did get off shortly after we could. Not a problem. But we gave it some time, so not a good indication of how well they normally do.

Hope this helps!

Those shims in the ceiling are to stop the creaking noises you would hear. Very common on ships!

 

Hope this helps!

Thanks, it really does!

"Oh, and the ceiling was falling. This is how they fixed it.

Those shims in the ceiling are to stop the creaking noises you would hear. Very common on ships!Really over 60 cruises under my belt and have never once seen this???? Very common, I don't think so.:rolleyes:

I've come off NCL Epic and found it really boring. Not a lot of activities for adults at night. The main shows were great but nothing extra for adults.

Also there was no flow to the ship. Really difficult to navigate.

Looking forward to Oasis in December. [emoji41]

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Haven't tried NCL yet, but when I do, I will most likely look at their Breakaway or Breakaway Plus ships specifically because I have enjoyed (and prefer) the newest and largest ships on other cruise lines (including Oasis on Royal) and because I fear that I will feel like the OP did.

Although I'm pretty sure that I can enjoy any cruise, specially if I'm trying something new, I know that an older and smaller ship would leave me wanting something more.

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