Dawn v. Epic for family with tweens?

[DawgDad93]

Trying to pick a cruise for next March four our family of 4, including our then 11 and 13 year old daughters. The Dawn out of New Orleans looks like a great option for us because we could drive to the port rather than fly to Florida, we like the itinerary - especially the idea of the new private island - and the price is very reasonably for a family suite w/ balcony. My only concern is whether there is enough on board to keep the girls entertained. (Their only previous cruise was this year on the Disney Fantasy.)

 

The big water slides, rope course, rock wall, etc. on the Epic are all things they would like to do, and I don't see any of that available on the Dawn unfortunately. I am a little concerned about the Epic crowds and mediocre reviews, but I think those would be alleviated if we were to get a suite in the Haven. That, of course, is much more expensive than the suite on the Dawn.

 

Anyone have experience with kids that age on these or comparable ships that can provide some thoughts?

[Quincella]

I have 12 and 13 year old daughters who have both been on the Epic (twice) and the Dawn.

 

The Epic is far and away the better choice for that age group.

Frankly, it's a better choice for the adults in my family, too.

 

Don't get me wrong....we enjoyed our cruise on the Dawn very much, but if you're just comparing ships side by side, there really is no comparison.

[gail-s]

We've done the Dawn twice. Last year DD was 13 for the Boston to Bermuda. She had a blast with the kids club and wanted to hang out with them more than she wanted to hang out with us. The Dawn is smaller and there is less to do, but also less places for them to get lost. For us, the $2000 minimum it would cost for 4 of us to fly to Miami v. getting on the boat in Boston is a huge factor. We had a Family Suite with a Balcony on the Dawn and loved it. We actually have the same trip, same room booked for this summer that I have to reschedule :( I'm waiting (impatiently) for the Summer 2018 trips to come out so I can move the trip to then. 4 people will be fine in the room you are thinking of on the Dawn and the itinerary sounds more appealing. Personally, I'd go with that over the Epic in your situation.

 

ETA: How old will both girls be when you're going on the trip? The "kids club" becomes the "teen club" and they're pretty strict about not letting the kids from one age group in with the other.

Edited March 25, 2016 by gail-s
added comment

[outtabux]

I am very interested in the responses you get. We have this same dilemma for next Feb. We can choose the Escape, Dawn or Getaway. I'm a little worried about making reservations for dinner and getting show tickets in advance. I kind of like the ease of a smaller ship but maybe those are too boring for tweens. We will be sailing with a group of 20 that all have 13 year old boys, so I know the boys will want the big ship but the parents might want the smaller ship.

[gail-s]

Try to make your dinner reservations in advance if you can. We scheduled the whole week before we cruised. We ended up changing a couple of the reservations onboard, but that wasn't a big deal really. If you do go on the Dawn, and you like Italian food, try their Italian restaurant. My dad is 100% Italian and 1st generation American. They hadn't tried it before but we went on our last trip with them. The food was MUCH better than we expected. He actually asked me to change our Cagney's reservations for the last night of the trip to the Italian restaurant instead.

[DawgDad93]

The decision may have been made for me, as the girls got a look at pictures of the Epic last night and are pretty fired up. Anyone know if the 11 year old would get to go to the 12+ "teen" club so she wouldn't be separated from her 13 year old sister?

[Mistizoom]

The decision may have been made for me, as the girls got a look at pictures of the Epic last night and are pretty fired up. Anyone know if the 11 year old would get to go to the 12+ "teen" club so she wouldn't be separated from her 13 year old sister?

 

NCL Entourage (teen club) is 13-17. 11-12 years old would not be allowed in.

[DawgDad93]

NCL Entourage (teen club) is 13-17. 11-12 years old would not be allowed in.

 

Gotcha. Was thinking 12+ for some reason. Conversely, any chance the 13 y.o. can be in with the 10-12 y.o. "dolphins?"

[Mistizoom]

Gotcha. Was thinking 12+ for some reason. Conversely, any chance the 13 y.o. can be in with the 10-12 y.o. "dolphins?"

 

No.