NCL Dawn for 'kids' first sailing?

[kkttc]

Hi, Finally ready to book a summer cruise with our family of 5 - my wife and I, and 3 'kids' - ages 19/16/13. 2 boys, 1 girl.

 

NCL Dawn is so easy for us out of Boston, we are less than 1 hour from the port. Many people though have told me Breakaway would be better, but the quotes I got from my TA show it $1.5K more than Dawn. Given that the kids have never sailed before (my wife and I have to Carib) I think it will be fine, as they really don't have anything to compare it to.

 

I figure the days at port we will just be 'doing' Bermuda, and the sea days will just be nice for relaxing, eating, swimming, etc....

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks.

[mdvlprof]

Dawn is a lovely ship.

 

Don't have input on organized teen activities, but if it's the kids first cruise, what would they compare it to? When my kids were teens, the all-you-can-eat, all day long, was a big bonus :)

 

If it's an hour away, go for it.

[AEckhardt]

I've been on the Dawn without kids and had a great time. It's a wonderful ship and I will booking a Boston to Bermuda again shortly! I just recently did the Gem with three kids, 14/13/6 and although not sister ships, they are very comparable. The older kids were GONE as soon as we got settled. They were signed up for the teen club and I swear.. I barely saw them again. ( Well, port days, but I suspect it was only because they had no other choice!) They met up for breakfast with the club and were busy until late evening, seeing them only for a quick change of clothes or occasionally bumping into them at karaoke. ( God Forbid Mom sees us singing with our friends!! )

 

I have to admit, with them being younger teens I was worried about safety, about behavior, and even about peer pressure to do stupid things. I laid ground rules prior to even steeping foot on board, and they respected them.

Rules such as:

Do not bring friends into our cabin(s) without us there

Do NOT go into anybody else's cabin

Be respectful to all fellow passengers and all crew

When I say you need to meet me somewhere, be sure to be there

Give me a general idea of where you are going (pool, teen club, buffet, etc)

 

We also had sticky notes to leave messages in the cabin back and forth. (They were also helpful communicating with our room steward)

 

I was happily surprised by how they handled all the freedom on the ship. No incidents, plenty of great memories!

 

The 6yo was in and out of the kids club and he enjoyed his time there, too, although he mostly just wanted to be with us... in the arcade. :o

 

I think a smaller ship is easier to keep an eye on the older kids than a mega ship. Way less people and it was pretty easy to run into them.

 

Oh, just be aware that the 19 yo will not be allowed in the teen club, as it is 13-18. Don't worry. There will be plenty of things for him to do, with or without the younger siblings. Also, he may drink on board with your signed permission. Even if you do not give him permission, he may befriend others who are drinking and they might help him if they are so inclined. You may want to discuss your policy on that prior to sailing.

 

I'm sure it will be a phenomenal family vacation! Happy cruising!

[kkttc]

Thanks for your replies - been very helpful and encouraging.

 

I'm sure the unlimited food will be an enticement for them!

[Sparkygirl]

I've been on the Dawn without kids and had a great time. It's a wonderful ship and I will booking a Boston to Bermuda again shortly! I just recently did the Gem with three kids, 14/13/6 and although not sister ships, they are very comparable. The older kids were GONE as soon as we got settled. They were signed up for the teen club and I swear.. I barely saw them again. ( Well, port days, but I suspect it was only because they had no other choice!) They met up for breakfast with the club and were busy until late evening, seeing them only for a quick change of clothes or occasionally bumping into them at karaoke. ( God Forbid Mom sees us singing with our friends!! )

 

I have to admit, with them being younger teens I was worried about safety, about behavior, and even about peer pressure to do stupid things. I laid ground rules prior to even steeping foot on board, and they respected them.

Rules such as:

Do not bring friends into our cabin(s) without us there

Do NOT go into anybody else's cabin

Be respectful to all fellow passengers and all crew

When I say you need to meet me somewhere, be sure to be there

Give me a general idea of where you are going (pool, teen club, buffet, etc)

 

We also had sticky notes to leave messages in the cabin back and forth. (They were also helpful communicating with our room steward)

 

I was happily surprised by how they handled all the freedom on the ship. No incidents, plenty of great memories!

 

The 6yo was in and out of the kids club and he enjoyed his time there, too, although he mostly just wanted to be with us... in the arcade. :o

 

I think a smaller ship is easier to keep an eye on the older kids than a mega ship. Way less people and it was pretty easy to run into them.

 

Oh, just be aware that the 19 yo will not be allowed in the teen club, as it is 13-18. Don't worry. There will be plenty of things for him to do, with or without the younger siblings. Also, he may drink on board with your signed permission. Even if you do not give him permission, he may befriend others who are drinking and they might help him if they are so inclined. You may want to discuss your policy on that prior to sailing.

 

I'm sure it will be a phenomenal family vacation! Happy cruising!

 

This was our exact same experience and the Dawn was our first kids sailing. The teen club is on deck 13 the Garden Cafe, sprinkles ice cream and pool on Deck 12, Sports Deck and the one single hot tub up on the top of the ship in the front was where we would find the teens when not in the club. It is a smaller compact ship that provided plenty of happening to pass each other without being on an active search. We sailed with my step kids mom, stepdad, my husband and I, between the four of us we spotted and took note of where the kids were without being overly formal unless we saw something that was against the ground rules.

[bosnatis]

We were on the Dawn in April 2014 with our three boys 8, 11 and 12 years old. First cruise for them and they loved it. As others have said they will have nothing to compare it to. My kids loved the club and the basketball court. This ship does not have all the bells and whistles the newer ships have. The pool on the Dawn is small and does not have slides like the Getaway. The newer ships definitely have more to do but they are more expensive and have almost twice as many passengers. Just do it and they will have a blast. We are now booked on the Pride of America in April 2015.

[ray8905]

I would use the 1.5k and upgrade to a suite on the Dawn.

That's just me.

Edited January 7, 2015 by ray8905