Ship Choice?

[Tggrtoes]

Hi everyone - we are shopping for our next cruise for Jan-Mar 2012 (before spring break) and are strongly considering NCL. (am also considering Disney as it's the other line we haven't tried, but sooo expensive). So kind of a very general question I know, but anyone have strong feelings towards one ship or another? The choices are the Sun, Star, Pearl, and Epic. (is epic the obvious choice because it's new)? OR... the Dawn isn't that much more for the 10 night Southern itinerary... worth it?

 

About us:

We've cruised most of the major lines and really think a cruise is what you make of it, so we're not that picky. We want a 7 (or more) night and would book a Mini Suite - preferably something with a bigger balcony as we do spend a lot of time there. We have a 4 year old (seasoned cruiser) and the kids activities & club are important, as is food quality (which is subjective, I know) and service levels. We enjoy the entertainment, but they aren't deal breakers - nor is itinerary that big of a factor.

[Scoop_MSU]

Most (if not all) NCL mini-suites do not have balconys any bigger than a regular balcony room. Try to get an aft balcony (or penthouse). Much longer ones are located there. We're on the Dawn 11 day next year and have an aft on deck 10 (which are bigger than the afts on decks 8 & 9). Loved the Star but maybe a little slanted since she was our first cruise. Have heard great things about the Pearl. Epic is NCL's largest ship - those sort of choices are up to you. Went on Oasis last May and enjoyed the big ship.

[TPEINC1958]

Most (if not all) NCL mini-suites do not have balconys any bigger than a regular balcony room. Try to get an aft balcony (or penthouse). Much longer ones are located there. We're on the Dawn 11 day next year and have an aft on deck 10 (which are bigger than the afts on decks 8 & 9). Loved the Star but maybe a little slanted since she was our first cruise. Have heard great things about the Pearl. Epic is NCL's largest ship - those sort of choices are up to you. Went on Oasis last May and enjoyed the big ship.

 

Actually the mini suites do have a larger balcony that regular balcony cabins. The balcony cabins are 162 sq. ft. with a balcony of 38 sq. ft. and the mini suite are 251 sq. ft. with a balcony of 54 sq. ft. These are the sizes for the Jewel class ships. The Dawn and Star are about the same, while the Sun has an even larger difference in size.

[VideoTech]

.... So kind of a very general question I know, but anyone have strong feelings towards one ship or another? The choices are the Sun, Star, Pearl, and Epic. (is epic the obvious choice because it's new)? OR... the Dawn isn't that much more for the 10 night Southern itinerary... worth it?....

 

Everyone has their favorite NCL ship, so you'll get plenty of different answers here.

 

Personally, though, I think if you look at the total NCL cruise experience, there's not much difference between all the NCL ships except the Epic. All of the ships will have a few basic differences in cabin sizes and layouts, # of pools, restaurants and so on, but overall you'll always get the same great level of service and the same level of amenities on NCL's regular ships.

 

Epic is in a class by itself for NCL, for several reasons. First, it's much bigger than all the other NCL ships. Second, it has sometimes controversial room layouts, and there's a general feeling that the regular rooms are, if not actually smaller, more crowded feeling.

 

On the other hand, the Epic has by far the best entertainment & dining options, has a huge casino, and if you can afford it, the most luxurious level of suite life of all the NCL ships.

 

Our personal preference is for the smaller NCL ships. We like a less crowded ship, and having done the Epic in a suite in the Haven already, we don't feel a huge need to do it again.

 

So how do you make your choice? Well, you probably owe it to yourself to try the Epic, particularly if you can afford a Haven Suite. But you should also try one of NCL's "regular" ships too, and for that you can choose largely based on itinerary and length of cruise.

 

Hope that helps a little!

[camz]

The Dawn is my favorite ship of the NCL fleet thus far, however, I have not been on the entire fleet. The Dawn has a great Kids Club with an amazing swimming/play area at the back of the ship away from the adult activities. It is very nice and the children seem quite happy. My son was a teenager so he was in the Teen Club which is also great on this ship. In my honest opinion, with the Freestyle Concept you can't go wrong with any of the ships in the NCL Fleet.

[weltek]

I've recently tried to understand what really varies (that matters) by ship on NCL. Aside from the EPIC (which has quite a few "different" features in terms of dining, shopping, casino and stateroom options), here are some (important) things I find can differ from ship-to-ship, even if they are fairly similar:

 

-Spa size, layout and sometimes pools/showers/tubs (if you are going to pay for the spa pass...)

-Buffet layout

-Outdoor seating at back of ship by buffet

-Kid's pool

-Size of the bar that's designated the "pub"

 

Some remodeling has been taking place, so some ships have undergone some significant changes (most notable, replacing the great viewing in the forward Spinnaker lounge with staterooms...if you have one of those staterooms, it's a great view, I'm sure!). If you get a ship pre-remodel, it may still have the Spinnaker views.

 

Ships that haven't yet had the remodel may also still have older tvs in the staterooms (not flat screen).

 

Can others chime in with "important" things (I get these vary by individual taste) that vary ship-to-ship? I think there may be an ice cream issue lurking in here, but it's not something I care about, so I don't pay a bit of attention! :)

[fsuhockette]

We've only been on one NCL ship - Epic. We are cruising again on her in February. While we didn't take our toddler boys we did enjoy the food, entertainment, rooms, pools and bars very much. Good luck choosing!!

[Scoop_MSU]

Actually the mini suites do have a larger balcony that regular balcony cabins. The balcony cabins are 162 sq. ft. with a balcony of 38 sq. ft. and the mini suite are 251 sq. ft. with a balcony of 54 sq. ft. These are the sizes for the Jewel class ships. The Dawn and Star are about the same, while the Sun has an even larger difference in size.

 

You're correct - I tend to forget the mini-suite rooms are a little wider than the balcony rooms therefore making the balcony itself wider (and bigger). Still prefer the 'depth' increase you get with the aft ones.

[Ask4Jay]

@Tggrtoes -

Smallish, intimate ship and large balcony? DW and I would take an aft balcony on the Sun in a heart beat. Plenty of room for four chairs and protection from the wind. Check out our pix at smugmug.

 

 

 

Juergen (and Helen)

Via Tapatalk & iPod touch.

[fiftyguy]

I would recommend the Dawn 10-day. My wife and I really noticed the difference a couple of extra days makes compared to a 7-day. We were so relaxed by the end of the cruise, we hated to leave.

From what I've heard NCL spent some money on the kids area while it was in drydock back in May.

It may be too late, but check out the B1 balcony cabins on 10 or the SF suites on 10. The cabins are good size and have big balconies.

Happy Planning!

[Tggrtoes]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! Exactly what I was hoping for. Appreciate each of you giving some background to help frame our planning. I know it was a really general question, so I appreciate the leniency. :rolleyes: I'm still just as indecisive as ever, but at least I feel like I have some of the gaps filled in.

 

That 10 day Dawn sounds wonderful... although I'm drooling over those suites that were recently posted in the "suite life" review on this board. Might be worth sticking with a 7 day so we can afford that. :cool: I'll check out the room categories mentioned - and we've never had an aft balcony yet (we keep talking about it) so it just might be the time.

[Clay Clayton]

2 thoughts.

Any NCL ship with a "Great Outdoors" beats one without.

If you can snag one of Sun's aft mini suites you will have a huge balcony...it is like a real suite, albeit without the perks.

[roger001]

Actually, the regular balcony rooms on the Sun have a slightly larger balcony than do the other ships regular balcony rooms....and the Sun balcony rooms are just slightly larger also.

[Tggrtoes]

Oooh - thanks! Great tips! There are a couple of Aft Mini Suites available still on the Sun the week in February that I most want to be on ship (our anniversary, although we don't HAVE to go that specific week).

 

I'll do a search, but are there any benefits to a certain deck for these? looks like they are available on decks 8, 9, 10? (Did I read that deck 10 had the best one?)

[dexddd]

Oooh - thanks! Great tips! There are a couple of Aft Mini Suites available still on the Sun the week in February that I most want to be on ship (our anniversary, although we don't HAVE to go that specific week).

 

I'll do a search, but are there any benefits to a certain deck for these? looks like they are available on decks 8, 9, 10? (Did I read that deck 10 had the best one?)

 

We were on deck 10 aft mini last year - I'd go with 9.

[Warm Breezes]

Hi everyone - we are shopping for our next cruise for Jan-Mar 2012 (before spring break) and are strongly considering NCL. (am also considering Disney as it's the other line we haven't tried, but sooo expensive). So kind of a very general question I know, but anyone have strong feelings towards one ship or another? The choices are the Sun, Star, Pearl, and Epic. (is epic the obvious choice because it's new)? OR... the Dawn isn't that much more for the 10 night Southern itinerary... worth it?

 

About us:

We've cruised most of the major lines and really think a cruise is what you make of it, so we're not that picky. We want a 7 (or more) night and would book a Mini Suite - preferably something with a bigger balcony as we do spend a lot of time there. We have a 4 year old (seasoned cruiser) and the kids activities & club are important, as is food quality (which is subjective, I know) and service levels. We enjoy the entertainment, but they aren't deal breakers - nor is itinerary that big of a factor.

 

IMHO, if I had a 4 yo traveling with me I would either do Disney or NCL EPIC for the characters (as long as your 4 yo isn't afraid of them) and the Disney/Nickoledean shows. We took our kids on Disney when DD was 4 and DS was 7. It was "Wonder"ful seeing the Disney experience through DD's eyes. We had such a great time with the kids we did it again 3 years later even though it was more expensive (Castaway Cay is awesome BTW). I have not doubt I will try to do it again someday when I have Grandkids who I can experience it through.

 

FYI we are going on the EPIC in Dec. My kids are now 14 and 17 and looking forward to a new and different ship experience. We have sailed on CCL and NCL since our first DCL cruising experience. To me, DCL is well worth the cost when the kids are young enough to be awed by the Disney magic. Not so much as they outgrow it.

[Clay Clayton]

Oooh - thanks! Great tips! There are a couple of Aft Mini Suites available still on the Sun the week in February that I most want to be on ship (our anniversary, although we don't HAVE to go that specific week).

 

I'll do a search, but are there any benefits to a certain deck for these? looks like they are available on decks 8, 9, 10? (Did I read that deck 10 had the best one?)

 

 

I vote for Deck 9 also, you don't have the great outdoors directly over your head like on 10 so no scraping chairs but still an easy two flights up to get a cookie! You may want to do some searching about Sun's kids program, I have no idea what it is like - but given it is an older ship, I suspect the facilities are not nearly what you would find on Epic and of course the Mouse presumably has the best program in the world.

[Sauer-kraut]

Okay, I vote the SUN but I am biased. Considering what I am looking at for a Disney cruise I can really be satisfied with NCL's prices. The SUN is an older ship, it has a children's pool forward just near the Observation Lounge. Which, imo, is the BEST place to hang out on that ship. Floor to ceiling windows to see where you are heading.

 

The layout of the SUN isn't bad, MDR on 5, buffet on 11, sports bar for comfort food 5 pm - 5 am service.

 

For children, I was on a transatlantic cruise there weren't hoardes of them, but the ones we did see seemed to be having fun. There was a pirate parade on the pool deck at some point. They really seemed to keep them busy and happy so that says a lot.

 

The EPIC has tons of stuff, but the lower energy on the SUN was truly relaxing. I enjoyed my 14 days on her.

 

Whatever you choose, have a wonderful time!

[dexddd]

The kids pool by the observation lounge is tiny. I only saw it used once on our 12 day trip and it was by a woman in her 70s with a shower cap. She wasn't large, but she took up most of the pool.

[Cubechick]

I'd vote for the Dawn 10-day. Longer/better itinerary is always a win for me and the Dawn is a lovely ship.

[DevilsFan38]

I would recommend the Dawn 10-day. My wife and I really noticed the difference a couple of extra days makes compared to a 7-day. We were so relaxed by the end of the cruise, we hated to leave.

From what I've heard NCL spent some money on the kids area while it was in drydock back in May.

It may be too late, but check out the B1 balcony cabins on 10 or the SF suites on 10. The cabins are good size and have big balconies.

Happy Planning!

 

I'd vote for the Dawn 10-day. Longer/better itinerary is always a win for me and the Dawn is a lovely ship.

 

I third these opinions. The more time you can get in the Caribbean the better!