Eqty

There is a parking garage at Black Falcon Terminal. No need to make reservations.

This is a very interesting topic for me. I'm currently looking at 2 similar Itineraries, one on Carnival Dream, one on NCL Dawn. Both out of New Orleans and both go to Belize. <snip>

Nice problem to have! And you've already had sexperience with both cruise lines.

If it were us, price would certainly weigh in the decision of which line to go with. Dream is a newer ship so might have more updated amenities whereas Dawn had a major upgrade in 2011. Cabin selection would not be as important since the ship will be visiting more ports and you might be spending more time on land and less in the cabin.

After that I think it all comes down to personal preference. Entertainment goes to NCL. Deserts and dining room entertainment provided by the wait staff goes to CCL.

One thing I forgot to mention in my original comparison is the "Washy Washy Happy Happy" girls on the Dawn. It's been 2 years since our last Carnival cruise, but do they also now have "Washy Washy" girls?

Just got back from a cruise on NCL Getaway last week and went to Bermuda last year on NCL Breakaway. Loved them both. We have a "free" cruise certificate on Carnival from Trump Plaza casino. Its free so we are going to give it a try and I am concerned if I will like Carnival after cruising NCL. You're posts have been helpful. I think it will be fun to try something different since Breakaway and Getaway are almost identical. Still trying to make the final decision. We were awarded an inside cabin and were wondering if we should upgrade since the past two we had balcony cabins. Are inside cabins much smaller? What about oceanview? Any thoughts on CCL Breeze vs Sunshine vs Glory? I really appreciate any suggestions from those who have experienced any of them. Thanks!

I have heard from others that both the Breakaway and the Getaway are fabulous and look forward to trying them someday. I've been lucky enough to have been on the Breeze, Glory and Sunshine (when it was the Destiny.) My personal favorite was the Breeze. Even though it carries more pax then the other two, it never seemed overly crowded except at the buffet during breakfast. The Glory is a nice ship also, and I wouldn't hesitate to book it. I haven't been on the Sunshine since it's conversion, so I'll leave it to others to speak for it.

In general, inside cabins and ocean view cabins are the same size. The biggest difference between the two is the view. Balcony cabin is also the same size with the additional space the balcony provides. FWIW, we normally let the itinerary of the ship determine what type of cabin we choose. If there are a lot of sea days we will lean towards a balcony because it's a nice place to spend some quiet time with a book and a drink. If it's a port intensive cruise we will usually opt for an inside or an ocean view as we probably won't be spending much time in the room.

Two "secrets" I can share with you regarding the cabin selection - take a close look at the deck plans. On the Glory (and probably on the other two) there are cabins all the way forward on decks 6 & 7 that Carnival prices as inside cabins, but actually have windows that face forward. We call the "Captain View" cabins as you get the same view that the Captain gets.

If you are considering a balcony, on some of the higher decks toward the aft of the ship you will find a couple of odd shaped rooms that double the balcony space. Unless Carnival has adjusted their pricing, these are normally sold as regular balcony cabins.

On our Breeze cruise we had a friend that got a Cove Balcony. Closer to the waterline and a little less expensive then the full balcony.

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

Thank you for your fair review.

 

Last year I did have a cruise booked on NCL Epic for quite some time, and was eagerly looking forward to it. I have no doubt I would have loved it, but sadly had to cancel because one of my parents was ill, and I didnt know if he would be better by sailing date, so cancelled it before my final payment was due.

 

NCL and freestyle does really appeal to me a lot, just as much as I love your time dining on Carnival. I will never go back to traditional early or late dining again unless I travel with someone who prefers it.

 

I am currently booked on a Carnival cruise for November, great rate, and excellent cabin for that rate, as well as Carnival is what I am used to, so am looking forward to this cruise immensely.

 

However...for 2015...I am still looking to Norwegian for good deals, but since I travel solo now, Carnival still comes up with the best pricing for me. Some day though I will get back on NCL.

 

Still, after Carnival...NCL appeals to me most, and then maybe HAL, yes HAL..then maybe princess.

And isn't that the crux of it? Different cruise lines will appeal to different people. We've tried CCL, HAL, RCI and now NCL and have never had a bad cruise. (Fortunately we have never been on a cruise that caught fire, lost power, had a large noro outbreak or some other newspaper headline event.) And I can pick out things that really resonated with me on each ship. Looking forward to trying Princess, Celebrity, MSC and Cunard at some point in the future. And I'll probably write comparisons for each one. Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks for your responses.

When you say they added a whole new section do you mean they cut the ship in half and added a section like they did to the old Dreamward and Windward or do you mean they gutted the middle of the ship and totally reconfigured it?

 

I think the Dawn at 92550 tons-958 ft in length is more in comparison to the Spirit class ships at 88500 tons-963 ft in length, then to the Fantasy at 70367 tons-855 ft in length.

 

I will say the Spirit class ships are great to navigate compared to the Dawn.

 

Bill

In 2011 the ship underwent an extensive refurbishment which including a top-to-tail overhaul of the ship and some major layout changes:[9]

Addition of Moderno, a Brazilian restaurant in half of the former "Endless Summer" restaurant.

Relocation of the Blue Lagoon snack bar from deck 7 to deck 8, in half of the former "Endless Summer" restaurant.

Relocation of the photo gallery into the former site of the Blue Lagoon snack bar.

Removal of Dazzles Bar and Dazzles Nightclub.

Relocation of the Tax and Duty Free stores into the former location of Dazzles.

Conversion of the Spinnaker Lounge, Conference Rooms and Card Rooms into suites and staterooms.

Conversion of a cinema into new conference spaces.

Relocation of Spinnaker Lounge into former retail space.

Renaming of Impressions restaurant into La Cucina.

Forgot about the steakhouse. We opted for it the final sea day at $30. I think Carnival is the same price. With CCL , at least the last time we did it, it was an unhurried 2-3 hour experience with complimentary appetizers from the chef. With NCL it was more of a "get em' in, get em' out" vibe.

The bone in ribeye was very good and cooked perfectly, but the experience lacked any "wow" factor.

My wife and I, along with three other couples sailed on the Norwegian Dawn from Boston (our hometown) to Bermuda. We have been loyal (Platinum) Carnival cruisers for years and decided to peek over the wall to see what the grass looked like on the other side. Following is our opinion and a comparison between the two lines. Please note, it says "opinion" and not "fact."

Your mileage may vary.

The Norwegian Dawn is an older ship that went through a major refurb in 2009. In size and passenger capacity it would compare to Carnival's Fantasy class ships. I'll try to hit the big differences first and save the minutia for the end.

Cabin size and choice: We chose a Standard Midship Balcony on Empress (Deck 7). I found Norwegian's pricing a little confusing., but that may be because I am used to Carnival's pricing, which I find pretty straightforward. With NCL there were 6 or 7 different balcony prices based not only on which deck, but also whether you prefer midship, forward or aft. Our cabin was extremely efficient, but it had to be because it was also somewhat cramped. With regard to cabin and balcony size, I would give Carnival the edge as the cabins are roomier. Where I would give Norwegian the edge is the bathroom and balcony door. On the Dawn the bathroom was divided . A toilet separated from a sink separated from a shower by sliding doors. No pesky shower curtains to assault your ankles. And the door to the balcony was also a slider, so took up no room opening and closing.

Ship Layout: No question that Carnival has done a better job here. To be fair, when they refurbed the Dawn, they added a whole new section in the middle of the ship which must have been an engineering nightmare. But the way it was left is that to get from one place to another often means running into a wall and having to go up/down to another deck. We ran into this on Carnival Conquest class ships, but it seemed more frequent on the Dawn.

Food: always a subjective subject, but this will depend on where and when you like to eat. NCL had by far the better buffet. Because they have many stations open at the same time the lines were always small and moved quickly. Also, they had a much better variety then CCL. In the main dining room I think both the food and the overall experience favors Carnival. NCL features "Freestyle" dining, which means show up whenever you want. Unfortunately most people show up at the same time so there is often a wait. In fact, we were given a beeper one night and had to wait 35 minutes to be seated. The other problem with the Freestyle model is that the wait staff is slammed from 6:00 - 8:00, so there was often a long delay between courses. Also, as friendly as the wait staff was on the Dawn, it was a different team every night. Of course, this is a personal opinion, but part of our cruise experience is getting to now the our wait staff and being able to interact with them. Freestyle dining doesn't lend itself well to this.

Entertainment: NCL had top notch entertainment. Second City Improv, , a first rate comic, edgier production shows, etc. Entertainment was clearly better on NCL. The problem was the room. I now appreciate Carnival's showroom layout with long bench style seating and little two tops to accommodate drinks. The dawn was traditional theater style with not quite enough legroom.

On to the minutia.

Announcements: This seems to be a big deal on these boards, so here goes. NCL had almost no announcements, and when there were some they were in the public areas only. Not in the rooms.

Other passengers: From what we observed, passengers on NCL tended to be a little older then what you find on CCL. This may be due in part to the itinerary (only one port - Bermuda) as opposed to a Caribbean cruise. Not as many kids, but more scooters and walkers. Also, even though Norwegian markets itself as "Freestyle" with no dress code, more people tended to be dressier after dinner.

Summary - there's no such thing as a bad cruise, and a lot of the cruise experience revolves around who you go with and your own attitude. We had a ball on the Norwegian Dawn, and fell in love with Bermuda. But, for us, given the choice between the two lines, Carnival is a better fit.

I have been a faithful follower of Cruise Critic for almost 10 years and this is one of the top three reviews I have ever had the pleasure of reading. My hat is off to you and your family.

Alan - fabulous review and breathtaking pictures! 27 days can't pass fast enough.

-Bob & Gay

I purchased a mono-pod, very lightweight with a case and strap from Amazon, haven't tried it yet, we are cruising on the Breeze Oct 1st. I saw the Pieta at the NY Worlds Fair, when I was 9.

 

 

Sam

 

Sam

Sam - we are on the same Oct 1st cruise and, coincidentally, also saw the Pieta at the NY Worlds fair when I was 9.

CRUZN BUCKEYE - 0HIO

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Zydeco is right. There are some islands in the Caribbean that are tolerant of topless/clothing optional beaches. Grand Caymen is not one of them.

Last February my wife and I visited Majesty to purchase a pair of diamond earrings. We bought the earings for $1,200 and a pair of emerald earrings for $800. We had them appraised when we got back to the states. $1,200 earrings appraised for $1,800 and & $800 earrings appraised for $1,500.

No complaints here.