Disliked PoA, would I like the Dawn any better?

[Shep_Proudfoot]

Went on the Pride of America a few years back and was very underwhelmed. It did not compare to Celebrity or even Carnival in many ways, and apart from freestyle dining, which I like, there was basically nothing better about PoA vs. the other ships I'd been on, though much of it was comparable. The service and non-extra cost food were much worse than the others, however.

 

Now sometime later I find myself very unhappy with Celebrity (and by extension Royal C) due to poor customer service. This was previously my preferred line but will probably never sail them again. So I am now in my early 40s and considering trying Princess (Emerald Princess), Carnival (Miracle) and NCL on the Dawn. I dislike huge ships so I am a little leery of the Emerald Princess which holds over 3,000 passengers but other than that it seems like maybe worth a try. The Miracle seems to be at or near the top of the ratings for all Carnival ships, but Carnival feels a little been there, done that to me at this point. The Dawn seems a far better deal (9 days for the price of 7 on the others) and has a superior itenerary for me since I've already been to the majority of Eastern and Western Carribbean ports.

 

My question is, is the Dawn that much better than the Pride of America or pretty much the same? In terms of service specifically with its international vs. all American crew? Is the food or any other aspect of the ship any better? Or are they pretty much the same apart from the All American vs. mostly international crew? (the ships seem to be near twins other than the Dawn is a little older and has a casino). Is there any decent entertainment on the Dawn, I don't mean evening lounge shows but bands or singers in the outdoor areas during the day and cocktail hour? The PoA really lacked this compared to the Carribbean cruises I've been on and not sure if it was an NCL vs. Carnival/Celebrity difference or an NCL America -Hawaii vs. Carribbean difference.

 

Basically, I like good food, not fighting for a deck chair, not too many children running amok, a lively atmosphere (people at the bars!), live music and decent service. I don't care about evening shows of any sort and don't need a luxurious cabin as long as it is clean. Will the Dawn fit the bill or would it be another PoA disappointment?

[Giantfan13]

I haven't been on either ship, but we were on the Pride of Hawaii when she sailed there, and we have been on 4 other NCL ships.

that said, an Hawaiian cruise is nothing like any other cruise. You are basically only cruising at night and it is more like a floating hotel than anything else. People are there to see Hawaii, and cruising Hawaii gives you the chance to sample multiple islands at one time. Any other cruise, the cruise is the main thing, with ports close second. On the NCL Hawaiian cruise, you do ahve an American crew and when we sailed we were very disappointed in that crew. They are nothing like a 'foreign' type of crew that makes it a career instead of just a job for the summer if you know what I mean.

Shows are also a bit secondary, as well as entertainment on the ship. I know, many people are just too exhausted after a day in Hawaii to really enjoy a lot of the amenities on the ship, so maybe those amenities are a bit lower. Again, when we sailed, we rarely did get to a show, and were never on board during the day to even see what is going on.

 

I would have to think all cabins on any ship are clean, and Hawaii is the perfect place to book an inside cabin. The food was good to very good when we sailed and I would assume that on any NCL ship, the food is about the same. Some have different opinions of it, but for the most part, I would not classify it as great, but better than average.

 

Any other ship from the NCL fleet would be a different experience than Hawaii. Most people who have sailed on the dawn have written glowing reports about it. It's like comparing apples and oranges to compare the POA cruise to any other NCL cruise.

[Jamisonke]

We, too, found the experience in Hawaii (on Pride of Aloha) did not live up to the expectation we had from prior NCL experience. We have since sailed the Pearl and will sail the Sun on Nov 3. We found the negative experience to be isolated to NCL America ships in Hawaii. I wouldn't let the one experience keep you from trying NCL again.

[Vyhanek]

My opinion is that the food on NCL is basically identical fleet wide. I've never been on POA though, perhaps POA has a unique food experience but I doubt it. As far as the food, NCL food has definitely not improved in the last few years. It's not like if you come back it's going to be any better.

 

As far as kids go, I think the same issue is going to affect you regardless of cruise line. If you try to cruise on any school holiday there will be kids. If you attempt to cruise in March or April there will definitely be kids, lots and lots of kids no matter what ship or what line. Just avoid those weeks.

 

NCL has reduced the outdoor poolside entertainment in the past couple of years. Now the bands might play a couple songs and then be done where as before they might have played an hour. I think that would disappoint you given that you like outdoor entertainment.

 

NCL has great cabins and decor but that sounds like it isn't important to you at all. Same with the shows. NCL wins on these too but you don't care about that.

 

One thought, on Carnival which I believe has much better food, they are experimenting with open dining on some ships. Also, Princess cruises has the Anytime Dining.

[ictcruiser]

We loved our 7 day cruise on the Dawn earlier this year.

 

Going on a 9 day itinerary will push the age bracket up a little (fewer kids, more retirees) but I believe that to be the case with any cruise.

 

While we enjoy our meals in the main dining rooms, we tend to always book suites so we had great meals in Cagneys for breakfast and lunch. We don't use them every night but we do think the cover charge in the specialty restaurants is worth it a few nights given the more intimate atmosphere and superb food quality / preparation.

[Umbarger]

I have been on both and found them to be different as night and day. The service on the Hawaii cruise was poor. We could never get reservations to the dining room so ate in the buffet every night. We however liked the buffet food pretty well. Also, getting your room cleaned was hit and miss. I think we got our room cleaned twice on the 7 day cruise. You have to read the reviews and realize this is really just a floating hotel not a mainstream cruise ship vacation. You book this cruise to experience Hawaii not get a fancy cruise.

 

We also took the Dawn and it was fab. Just as good as any of the other mainstream cruise lines. Never had to wait to be seated in the dining room. Great service. Room steward was excellent. It was a fantastic cruise and nothing like the Hawaii cruise.

 

I don't want to offend anyone but I think the American crew on the Hawaii cruise had a effect on my opinion. I overheard many of the crew complaining loudly about their jobs and how much they hated them and it showed in their service. I never heard this with crew on other cruise lines, however, if they probably did this they did it in their native language and I didn't understand.

 

Hope this information helps.:)

[terrymtex01]

OP.. I am just going by your posting, as I don't know you, so forgive if I am way off base. It is just my impression that for you the cruise ship is more the destiny than the actual ports. The reason I have that impression is I have always had the idea that for Alaska and HI the cruise ship is merely a way to get from point A to point B, not really the main thing folk focus on. There are some people who the cruise ship is the end all be all of the vacation and there is nothing wrong with that. I just don't know that NCL provides the onboard experience that other cruiselines do. I do not think NCL provides the entertainment that Carnival does during the day (as far as bands by the pool, games, etc) at least they don't to the level CCL does. As far as food, as much as we love NCL, I do have to say that for us CCL and RCCL overall had the better food in the MDR. I will be able to give you a personal opinion of the Dawn very soon (in about three weeks) as we are about to go on a two week cruise aboard her.

 

Again I maybe way off base with my impression of what you are looking for, but I would say maybe you should see if you could get a good deal on Crystal or Costa as they would probably have a very nice onboard experience. Or maybe even Princess. I have heard a lot of good things about Princess as well.

[newmexicoNita]

Went on the Pride of America a few years back and was very underwhelmed. It did not compare to Celebrity or even Carnival in many ways, and apart from freestyle dining, which I like, there was basically nothing better about PoA vs. the other ships I'd been on, though much of it was comparable. The service and non-extra cost food were much worse than the others, however.

 

Now sometime later I find myself very unhappy with Celebrity (and by extension Royal C) due to poor customer service. This was previously my preferred line but will probably never sail them again. So I am now in my early 40s and considering trying Princess (Emerald Princess), Carnival (Miracle) and NCL on the Dawn. I dislike huge ships so I am a little leery of the Emerald Princess which holds over 3,000 passengers but other than that it seems like maybe worth a try. The Miracle seems to be at or near the top of the ratings for all Carnival ships, but Carnival feels a little been there, done that to me at this point. The Dawn seems a far better deal (9 days for the price of 7 on the others) and has a superior itenerary for me since I've already been to the majority of Eastern and Western Carribbean ports.

 

My question is, is the Dawn that much better than the Pride of America or pretty much the same? In terms of service specifically with its international vs. all American crew? Is the food or any other aspect of the ship any better? Or are they pretty much the same apart from the All American vs. mostly international crew? (the ships seem to be near twins other than the Dawn is a little older and has a casino). Is there any decent entertainment on the Dawn, I don't mean evening lounge shows but bands or singers in the outdoor areas during the day and cocktail hour? The PoA really lacked this compared to the Carribbean cruises I've been on and not sure if it was an NCL vs. Carnival/Celebrity difference or an NCL America -Hawaii vs. Carribbean difference.

 

Basically, I like good food, not fighting for a deck chair, not too many children running amok, a lively atmosphere (people at the bars!), live music and decent service. I don't care about evening shows of any sort and don't need a luxurious cabin as long as it is clean. Will the Dawn fit the bill or would it be another PoA disappointment?

 

Some of what you experienced on POA you will find on all ships, one, the deck chair problem. We have cruised about 25 times, on all lines and have rarely not had a problem. I think HAL was the only time. Food is subjective as we all know, so I won't even go there. As for service, the reviews on POA are much improved over a few years ago and the Dawn is the post repeated NCL ship, so someone must be happy with it.

 

As for kids, well, that depends on the time of the year and not the cruise line necessarily and as for service, all the lines are suffering from the lack of service we were used to many years ago. When prices remain pretty much the same for years, something is going to suffer.

 

I am a total NCL loyalist as most know, but I can't advise if this would be a good match for you. It seems you have very deffinite wants and needs.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

OP.. I am just going by your posting, as I don't know you, so forgive if I am way off base. It is just my impression that for you the cruise ship is more the destiny than the actual ports. The reason I have that impression is I have always had the idea that for Alaska and HI the cruise ship is merely a way to get from point A to point B, not really the main thing folk focus on. There are some people who the cruise ship is the end all be all of the vacation and there is nothing wrong with that. I just don't know that NCL provides the onboard experience that other cruiselines do. I do not think NCL provides the entertainment that Carnival does during the day (as far as bands by the pool, games, etc) at least they don't to the level CCL does. As far as food, as much as we love NCL, I do have to say that for us CCL and RCCL overall had the better food in the MDR. I will be able to give you a personal opinion of the Dawn very soon (in about three weeks) as we are about to go on a two week cruise aboard her.

 

Again I maybe way off base with my impression of what you are looking for, but I would say maybe you should see if you could get a good deal on Crystal or Costa as they would probably have a very nice onboard experience. Or maybe even Princess. I have heard a lot of good things about Princess as well.

 

Terry, we haven't done Hawaii, but have Alaska. You are completely right, the cruise experience when doing the Caribbean is very different. Both Hawaii and Alaska are very port intensive. Very few people choose those 2 destinations by ship, they just want to see the area.

 

Nita

[Shep_Proudfoot]

OP here, just wanted to thank everyone for their input and insights. Haven't made any decisions, but I certainly appreciate the info.

[LJH1]

You made your own mind up about POA so you need to decide yourself and not leave the decision up to others. And if so I got some swamp land to sell you in Florida.

[Shep_Proudfoot]

You made your own mind up about POA so you need to decide yourself and not leave the decision up to others. And if so I got some swamp land to sell you in Florida.

 

Actually, NCL and/or the travel agency made up my mind-the price went up $500/pp before I could pull the trigger on what seemed to be a too good to be true deal. Looks like no NCL this time around, well maybe the Jewel would work, though 7 days for the same price as the Dawn for 9 and much less appealing ports is making it hard to reach for my wallet.