From Gem to Dawn.

[elron]

Has anyone been on both the Gem and Dawn? We enjoyed the Gem. Will it be hard to go to the Dawn once you been on the Gem? Similiar, I know! What differences are there? Thanks

[Cosmopolitan]

Has anyone been on both the Gem and Dawn? We enjoyed the Gem. Will it be hard to go to the Dawn once you been on the Gem? Similiar, I know! What differences are there? Thanks

 

The Dawn is our favorite ship.

We do not do buffets if that matters to you...Jewel/Gem buffets are better than the Dawn from what we've viewed.

 

Gem night-life is more upbeat....depends on when (time of year) you are traveling.

 

Ask specifics on what your prefer..you may receive better answers :-)

[may1021]

We have been on the Dawn twice and the Gem once. We are going on the Dawn again in a week.

I liked them both but I prefer the Dawn.

Loved the Gem buffet with stations.

The decor of the Gem didn't do it for me...sort of garish but this is personal taste. I was on the Gem last February and felt it had a few kinks that had to be worked out but we had an enjoyable time.

I like the feel of the Dawn better. I also liked the Spirit...very pretty ship.

[cruzdek]

I've been on both the Dawn and the Gem and I prefer the Dawn, but the ships are very similar. My favourite of all is the Majesty with the Spirit a very close second. The Spirit has a more fun feel than the Dawn, the Majesty has a real old-style feel to it and the Gem is very modern and a little too flashy for me. The library in the Gem is fantastic as well as the Latitutes Only room. The gym on the Dawn is great, I prefered it to the Gem. The gym on the Spirit was amazing, especially considering it is the only ship I know of which offers a lap pool at no extra charge. It really sucks that the other ships charge for it and include it with all the spa stuff which I stay away from due to the outlandish prices!

 

Anyway all that to say is that the Dawn and the Gem are very similar, not too much of a noticable difference.

 

Enjoy!

[westerly]

been on both .each has its own identity.both great

[lukes]

We have sailed both, twice on the Dawn. Both ships are great. Since you enjoyed the Gem I think you would enjoy the Dawn. You obviously like NCL - freestyle so there should be no problem there. The Dawn does not feel smaller and has some better things about it than the Gem. I like the tiered seating around the pool. You still have a feeling of being around the pool but with a better view. We loved Dazzles lounge on the Dawn, usually excellent entertainment there and it is also a great venue for late night karoke. Anything specific about the Dawn that you want to know?

[elron]

Thanks everyone for the replies. As I remember, I'll ask.

 

Do they have Indian food on the Dawn at the buffet everyday as they did on the Gem?

 

I thought I read no cappucino machines in buffet area. Do they have any at all onboard? Can you order them throughout the day and are they complimentary? Ice cream machines?

 

The Dance Club: What type of music did they play and was it crowded? On the Gem, I had seen some entertainment staff and officers getting their dance moves in order.

 

Also, on the Gem, you could go to the Italian restaurant if the buffet was overcrowded for breakfast and lunch. Is there a place near the buffet you can carry over to if there is no seating room on the Dawn?

 

One last thing, I thought I also read that Dawn has an indoor pool and a movie theatre? Or is that wishful thinking on my part?

 

Thanks again, Ron

[coffeebean]

I have been on Dawn three times and Gem once. There are two big differences between these ships. First, the centrum on the Dawn is several decks high and it is always filled with music. This music travels to nearby decks which adds to the wonderful ambience of the ship. Gem's centrum is only two decks high and has a two deck high screen which show outlandish images on the screen at times. It can give you a headache if you watch the images too long.

 

The Dawn rings with music everywhere because the music venues are spread out on the ship. As you stroll through the decks in the evening, music will follow you where ever you go on the common area decks. It is a wonderful feeling and makes me love cruising that much more. I don't get this feeling on the Gem as it doesn't ring of music like the Dawn.

 

The Gem and her sister ships, Pearl, Jade and Jewel, have the best buffets at sea with their action stations. Dawn's buffet space is smaller, hence not as nicely set up, less action stations and folks generally don't realize you DO NOT stand in a long line. You are supposed to go from station to station in any order you want to, but folks on Dawn still want to stand in the long line because it's not as easy to walk past the folks waiting at the stations because of the limited space.

 

Other than that, the night life is the same on both ships. With Freestyle 2.0 in full swing, there are theme parties on all ships and they are great entertainment.

 

Regarding the entertainment...As of my last cruises on Dawn and Gem...Dawn still employs the Jean Ann Ryan company of singers, dancers and specialty acts. The Gem does not have the JAR group and their production shows are not as good. The JAR company are the best at sea, IMHO. I'm glad they are still on Dawn.

 

In conclusion... I would go back on either ship in a heartbeat. Love them both.

[colmil]

Our first cruise was a real bargain, it was on the Dawns first proper voyage, transatlantic to New York so it will always be special to us, we went on the Gem last year, again transatlantic, this time to Boston, both wonderful!

 

As a Brit, we loved the 'pub' on the Dawn which was our second home on board, we have also been on the Jewel and feel that replacing the pub with the photo gallery was a big mistake.

 

The only criticism I would have is that all of the bars feel the same, except for the pub, of course!

[montycjv]

Thanks everyone for the replies. As I remember, I'll ask.

 

Do they have Indian food on the Dawn at the buffet everyday as they did on the Gem?

 

I thought I read no cappucino machines in buffet area. Do they have any at all onboard? Can you order them throughout the day and are they complimentary? Ice cream machines?

 

The Dance Club: What type of music did they play and was it crowded? On the Gem, I had seen some entertainment staff and officers getting their dance moves in order.

 

Also, on the Gem, you could go to the Italian restaurant if the buffet was overcrowded for breakfast and lunch. Is there a place near the buffet you can carry over to if there is no seating room on the Dawn?

 

One last thing, I thought I also read that Dawn has an indoor pool and a movie theatre? Or is that wishful thinking on my part?

 

Thanks again, Ron

 

We have sailed on the Dawn twice and are going on the Gem next April '09 for the first time. There are no cappucino machines on The Dawn (for guests to use as they please), but you can request them in all the main dining rooms...they are not advertised on the menus....we asked and ordered them every night...no problem!!

 

On The Dawn.....There is soft serve ice cream in the buffet area and ice cream served at the pool daily...so you can get either one you prefer.

 

*The buffet is crowded for breakfast and lunch on The Dawn (usual peak times)...often..... we took our food back to our pool chairs because we could not find a table for the 4 of us!! They also make great burgers and grilled chicken at the poolside grill!! (shorter line too!!)

 

It will be nice to compare the 2 ships, even though we have been on other NCL ships. I like the idea of the stations you describe on THE GEM!!:)

 

Also....You are correct..........The Dawn has an indoor pool..if you wish to pay to use it....:( but the movie theater is free..:o though they show the same movies in your stateroom.....

 

perhaps we can continue to swap handy tips..since we are "swapping" ships!!

[Dolphins]

The Dawn remains our favorite NCL ship. We love the soaring atrium, decor throughout and the excellent musical interludes throughout the ship. Our only complaint is that they should replace the JAR shows Bollywood and South Beach Rave. Five years is enough.

[montycjv]

The Dawn remains our favorite NCL ship. We love the soaring atrium, decor throughout and the excellent musical interludes throughout the ship. Our only complaint is that they should replace the JAR shows Bollywood and South Beach Rave. Five years is enough.

Agreed...the shows need a bit of updating!!:) and yes.....The music was great throughout the ship!!

[elron]

I have been on Dawn three times and Gem once. There are two big differences between these ships. First, the centrum on the Dawn is several decks high and it is always filled with music. This music travels to nearby decks which adds to the wonderful ambience of the ship. Gem's centrum is only two decks high and has a two deck high screen which show outlandish images on the screen at times. It can give you a headache if you watch the images too long.

 

 

The Dawn rings with music everywhere because the music venues are spread out on the ship. As you stroll through the decks in the evening, music will follow you where ever you go on the common area decks. It is a wonderful feeling and makes me love cruising that much more. I don't get this feeling on the Gem as it doesn't ring of music like the Dawn.

 

The Gem and her sister ships, Pearl, Jade and Jewel, have the best buffets at sea with their action stations. Dawn's buffet space is smaller, hence not as nicely set up, less action stations and folks generally don't realize you DO NOT stand in a long line. You are supposed to go from station to station in any order you want to, but folks on Dawn still want to stand in the long line because it's not as easy to walk past the folks waiting at the stations because of the limited space.

 

 

 

In conclusion... I would go back on either ship in a heartbeat. Love them both.

Sounds great Coffee! I like the larger atriums also. The idea of being able to hear the music at different locations seems soothing which makes cruising all the better and relaxing.

As far as the buffet, we'll miss the action stations but I guess we'll have to be adaptable.

[elron]

We have sailed on the Dawn twice and are going on the Gem next April '09 for the first time. There are no cappucino machines on The Dawn (for guests to use as they please), but you can request them in all the main dining rooms...they are not advertised on the menus....we asked and ordered them every night...no problem!!

 

On The Dawn.....There is soft serve ice cream in the buffet area and ice cream served at the pool daily...so you can get either one you prefer.

 

*The buffet is crowded for breakfast and lunch on The Dawn (usual peak times)...often..... we took our food back to our pool chairs because we could not find a table for the 4 of us!! They also make great burgers and grilled chicken at the poolside grill!! (shorter line too!!)

 

It will be nice to compare the 2 ships, even though we have been on other NCL ships. I like the idea of the stations you describe on THE GEM!!:)

 

Also....You are correct..........The Dawn has an indoor pool..if you wish to pay to use it....:( but the movie theater is free..:o though they show the same movies in your stateroom.....

 

perhaps we can continue to swap handy tips..since we are "swapping" ships!!

Monty, the Gem cappuccino machines were a really nice touch. I thought the chicken and burgers on the Gem were great also. So no change there. Pay for indoor pool= That stinks! Movie Theatre= Cool! Soft serve ice cream=Yummy!

 

Thanks all!!