NCL Dawn vs Carnival Legend for singles 30-40

[thepumpkin]

I am thinking of doing a cruise out of NYC during September.I went on Carnival a few years ago and enjoyed it but now I am a little older.I have no experience with NCL but have noticed good reviews regarding Dawn and like the concept of freestyle cruising.No one has really commented if they have noticed a lot of singles or travelled on Dawn as a single .I would appreciate any advice.....

[SueSea]

I've sailed Carnival as a single several times. As a single, I like traditional dining. You really get to know the people you are dining with and you don't feel so 'alone'. On each of my cruises, Carnival put me at a table with others cruising alone, so I didn't feel like a fifth wheel. Personally, I wouldn't like Freestyle as a single. I enjoy meeting new people, but I meet plenty of people during breakfast, lunch, and other activities. It's nice to have some familiar faces to meet up with at the end of the day as you do with traditional dining.

[shoreguy]

I've sailed Carnival as a single several times. As a single, I like traditional dining. You really get to know the people you are dining with and you don't feel so 'alone'. On each of my cruises, Carnival put me at a table with others cruising alone, so I didn't feel like a fifth wheel. Personally, I wouldn't like Freestyle as a single. I enjoy meeting new people, but I meet plenty of people during breakfast, lunch, and other activities. It's nice to have some familiar faces to meet up with at the end of the day as you do with traditional dining.

 

The question is have you tried Freestyle as a single???

 

I have and there are in fact benefits. You get to chose who you eat with. I am happy that you ended up with a table of people you enjoyed every night. The opposite could be true as well.

 

Having the option to eat when and where and most importantly with whom is great. If you want to have diiner with a group you can request that when you go to dinner on the Dawn

 

It worked out great for me. It would have been terrible had I not been able to eat with the wonderful people I met onboard.

 

The Dawn has a number of gatherings for those travel solo.

 

Carnival did a good job of matching me up as well when I went to Alaska with my teenage sons. We ended up at a table for 6 with another single dad and his 2 teenage kids.

 

thepumpkin either ship will work but you will need to be proactive and make your own great time. For me Freestyle and it's choices work better. It is not like a family cruise where everyone needs to get together at the dinner table. It is all about trying different things by yourself and meeting new people.

 

I even ate one night in the Bistro by myself because I wanted to. It was great. Never a lack of conversation between the staff and other passsengers stopping by that I had met onboard.

 

Never had a bad cruise just different ones :D

[TrinaLC]

anyone had experience with going to a freestyle main dining room and asking to be seated at a singles table?

[shoreguy]

anyone had experience with going to a freestyle main dining room and asking to be seated at a singles table?

 

Not sure that it exists. They do not seat you at a table already in the middle of a meal. What you can go is request to be seated with others that want a larger mixed group table. They will ask you to wait. As soon as they have enough passengers they will seat the group together.

 

It could be made up of singles, couples, and even sub groups of 3 or 4 who just want to enjoy dinner with others. The one way to do this for sure is attend one of the solo passenger receptions usually around 6 pm. and put your own group together. :)

 

If you mean will they seat you as a single - no problem

[judyf]

I've recently sailed both those ships and loved them both. We cruise mother and daughter and I would say to meet more people go with the Legend. I love freestyle, but it's better if you have a group you are cruising with or a family and don';t want to sit with others. As a single CCL would be a better choice. This of course is just my opinion. I would sail either ship and line again.

[SueSea]

The question is have you tried Freestyle as a single???

 

I have and there are in fact benefits. You get to chose who you eat with. I am happy that you ended up with a table of people you enjoyed every night. The opposite could be true as well.

 

 

No, I haven't tried Freestyle as a single. I have, however, done Freestyle when sailing with a friend. I do have to say by mid-cruise, I was bored to tears of having to hear myself and my friend answer, yet again, the same questions everyone asks people they just met: what do you do, etc. I became quite adept at turning the conversation back to whomever we were with. While I do enjoy meeting new people, it's nice to get past that superficial (not meant in a derogatory way) stage and really get to know folks.

 

With Freestyle, unless you ask to sit with specific people, you aren't really choosing with whom to eat. You are escorted to the first available table and are seated with whomever is there.

[Zeno]

SueSea:

Why didn't you and your friend just ask for a table for 2 if you did not wish to make small talk with new people every night?

[SueSea]

SueSea:

Why didn't you and your friend just ask for a table for 2 if you did not wish to make small talk with new people every night?

 

Actually, we did on occasion. But my point wasn't just that I don't like making small talk with new people every night, but that you don't really get to know someone that way like you do during traditional dining.

 

Freestyle has its pros and cons, just like traditional dining. I was just explaining why I would prefer traditional when traveling solo.

[niya305]

With Freestyle, unless you ask to sit with specific people, you aren't really choosing with whom to eat. You are escorted to the first available table and are seated with whomever is there.

 

Actually, that is the point.... eating with whom you want is -either eating by yourself or with others. Of course, you would have to request to eat with those specific people b/c you would somehow know them by then. I don't see someone walking into a restaurant, scoping out the place, & saying "sit me over there with them"....

You don't have any choice with traditional dining- you're stuck with the same people for the entire cruise.

[SueSea]

Actually, that is the point.... eating with whom you want is -either eating by yourself or with others. Of course, you would have to request to eat with those specific people b/c you would somehow know them by then. I don't see someone walking into a restaurant, scoping out the place, & saying "sit me over there with them"....

You don't have any choice with traditional dining- you're stuck with the same people for the entire cruise.

 

Actually, you do have a choice with traditional dining. If you don't like the people you are sitting with the first night, you simply ask to be moved to a new table. There are advantages to Freestyle, like no set dining time, but I don't see choosing with whom you eat as one of them. Your only real choice is to eat by yourself or not, and I can do that with traditional dining.

 

Seems we have a difference of opinions here, that's what makes these boards interesting.

[judyf]

I agree, I love freestyle but it did get boring with just my mother and I. It has it pros and cons. IMO freestyle did not have solo cruising is mind or a group of just two. Unless you're into eating alone as I'm sure many couples are but we weren't.

[WeBeCruis'n]

In my opinion, if I were travelling alone I would definitely choose the Legend. Carnival does a wonderful job of making sure that singles have plenty of opportunities to meet. I love the traditional dining experience because you do get to know people on a deeper level than just the "Hi, how are you, what do you do for a living" kinds of conversations. You also get to know the wait staff, who really go out of their way to get to know you as well. I must say that the best wait staff I have ever had in all my years of crusing was on the Legend.

 

I haven't been on the Dawn yet, or experienced freestyle cruising, but have plans to do so this fall. We decided to try freestyle cruising on this year's cruise, but I must say that I'm starting to get a little nervous about it. I hope we're not making a mistake. :confused: