RCI Legend or NCL Dawn for Canada.New England Itinerary

[luv2zdworld]

Looking for insight from cruisers who have cruised on both NCL and RCI. I have cruised 6 times on RCI (Serenade x 2, Majesty x 2, Adventure and Freedom), reaching Platinum this year.

I had been looking to cruise Canada/New England and finally booked on the Legend on September 2014 a 10 day cruise departing from New York and disembarking in Quebec City (overnight in Quebec City). This cruise would bring me up to Emerald status. Itinerary:

Day -----Port

23-Sep Cape Liberty, New Jersey Depart 4:30 PM

24-Sep Cruising

25-Sep Bar Harbor, Maine Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

26-Sep Portland, Maine Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 4:30 PM

27-Sep Saint John, New Brunswick Arrive 7:30 AM Depart 4:00 PM

28-Sep Halifax, Nova Scotia Arrive 9:30 AM Depart 6:00 PM

29-Sep Sydney, Nova Scotia Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

30-Sep Cruising

01-Oct Saguenay (Quebec), Canada Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

02-Oct Quebec City, Quebec Arrive 10:00 AM Overnight

03-Oct Quebec City, Quebec Disembark AM

 

Everything was fine until my husband mentioned yesterday that his friend is doing a Canada/NE cruise round trip from Boston, and asked me to check out the route. This was a Holland America cruise; basically two 7-day cruises back to back, with exactly the same itinerary up and down. I explained this to him and we agreed this was not for us and that we would look at the other lines to see their itineraries. That’s when I saw the itinerary for NCL Dawn, 14 day, sailing from Boston round trip with an overnight in the middle in Quebec. This itinerary is a combo of two 7-day cruises with different ports (except a repeat in Halifax) on each leg:

 

Dates Sailing Sep 26 2014

Fri Boston Depart 5:00 PM

Sat Portland Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 3:00 PM

Sun Halifax Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Mon At Sea

Tue Charlottetown Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Wed Gaspésie, Quebec Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 4:00 PM

Thu La Baie, Quebec Arrive 11:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Fri Quebec City Arrive 8:00 AM

Sat Quebec City Depart 6:00 PM

Sun At Sea

Mon Sydney Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Tue Halifax Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Wed Saint John (Bay of Fundy) Arrive 10:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Thu Bar Harbor Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Fri Boston Arrive 8:00 AM

 

I really like the itinerary on NCL Dawn. Cost for RCI per person per day is $114 while cost for NCL is $135.

 

For those cruisers that have cruised both lines (NCL and RCI) how do these lines and ships compare? Are the on-board activities, food and shows in NCL comparable to RCI? How about staterooms, service? Any feedback will be wonderful. This cruise is a long way to go, I know, but if I decide for the NCL I need to move the NCC I used for the Legend (purchased February this year, before the NCC changes) to another cruise.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Aquahound]

Talking just about the ships, no comparison. I was on Dawn this past December and it came nowhere close to RCI in terms of service, cleanliness and overall ship maintenance.

 

The ship is oddly designed because they changed what was their primary entertainment lounge into a bunch of suites, moving the lounge to a small, clausterphobic room with horrible sight lines.

 

Stateroom service isn't even close. We had numerous cleanliness and maintenance issues in our room and balcony that, despite numerous complaints, did not get fixed.

 

Dawn is a ship I said I will never sail again. If I were you, I would book Legend.

[Starry Eyes]

I sail both lines regularly.

As Paul mentioned, NCL Dawn and her sister ship Star were remodeled to add suites. I was on Dawn before the remodel. I have been on Star before and after the remodel. If you can afford a suite, Dawn will give you a nice experience. NCL excels in suite perks. At the other end of the spectrum, if you plan an inside cabin, I'd tend to avoid NCL Dawn and Star. The loss of that observatory lounge is significant if you have an inside cabin, especially if you hit inclement weather. the remodel took away a delightful public space with windows and replaced it with a windowless space that is fine as a disco, but not so nice for watching the ocean/sky. I have occasionally had service issues on NCL. Some stewards are better than others. Oh, but that, of course, can (and has) on RCI, too. On average, service is in my experience a bit better on Royal Caribbean than NCL. Entertainment, on average, tends to be a tad better on NCL, in my opinion. Food is so subjective that you will never get a consensus. I have never gone hungry on either line, but I generally like Royal Caribbean's menus a bit more. NCL tends to be more casual without true formal nights (dress up or not).

 

If you love the itinerary, go ahead and give NCL a try. If you are torn, I'd stick to Royal.

[deanna41]

We sailed the Dawn, and said never again on NCL, well ate my words as we went on the Sun, with daughter and grandson whole different experience. I would still never sail the Dawn, all sort of issues with crew negativity, and non working fixtures in cabin. Stick with RCI in my opinion.

[jgsterling]

We are booked on the Legend cruise to Quebec next September. We like the fact that the ship gets to Quebec on a Thursday morning and disembarkation is not until Friday. We are staying two extra nights in Quebec so we can have 3 full days there. We were on the Explorer of the Seas in Bermuda September 2012 when the NCL ship moored behind us broke its moorings and hit us.

[Starry Eyes]

OP, in case you are curious, here is a link to the event in Bermuda last year. Caused by sudden gale force winds, the officers acted promptly as did local tug boat operators, preventing a more severe event. Though opinions might vary, I was impressed that the bridge handled the event well; I believe Royal Caribbean's officers would handle it just as well should such an event occur. I do not think that incident should influence your selection of your New England/Canada cruise.

 

http://bernews.com/2012/09/transport-minister-on-cruise-ship-breaking-free/

[luv2zdworld]

Thanks for your responses.

 

Starry Eyes:

I sail both lines regularly.

As Paul mentioned, NCL Dawn and her sister ship Star were remodeled to add suites. I was on Dawn before the remodel. I have been on Star before and after the remodel. If you can afford a suite, Dawn will give you a nice experience. NCL excels in suite perks. At the other end of the spectrum, if you plan an inside cabin, I'd tend to avoid NCL Dawn and Star.

I was not planning on a suite. As it is I have booked on Legend a panoramic oceanview and the only cabin I could consider in NCL Dawn is an oceanview with a porthole, which is already more expensive.

 

jgsterling:

We are booked on the Legend cruise to Quebec next September. We like the fact that the ship gets to Quebec on a Thursday morning and disembarkation is not until Friday. We are staying two extra nights in Quebec so we can have 3 full days there.

jgsterling, that was our original plan, to stay at the end and enjoy Quebec City.

 

I think for now I will keep my booking on Legend. There's plenty of time to read reviews of both ships and change my booking, if I were to change my mind in the future.

 

I think what's pulling us is the fact we could leave from Boston. DH and I met in Boston and lived in the city for 5 years when first married. This cruise is a chance to visit places seen back then and visiting new places.

[beamteam]

I've been on 20 cruises and the Dawn along with Holland Ameirca's Nordam are my favorite ships.

[Starry Eyes]

Thanks for your responses.

 

I was not planning on a suite. As it is I have booked on Legend a panoramic oceanview and the only cabin I could consider in NCL Dawn is an oceanview with a porthole, which is already more expensive.

 

jgsterling, that was our original plan, to stay at the end and enjoy Quebec City.

 

I think for now I will keep my booking on Legend. There's plenty of time to read reviews of both ships and change my booking, if I were to change my mind in the future.

 

I think what's pulling us is the fact we could leave from Boston. DH and I met in Boston and lived in the city for 5 years when first married. This cruise is a chance to visit places seen back then and visiting new places.

I once had a porthole on deck four on her sister the Star. that cabin had only a small porthole, maybe 12 inches in diameter, so it let in little light. then we hit rough seas, and the bridge ordered the porthole cover to be tightened into place. So, For almost half the cruise, it added no light or charm! I actually like many of the obstructed OV's on deck 8 better than the deck four small portholes. I am just sharing that thought in case you continue to watch the Dawn cruise, but I do think you are making the right choice keep your Legend cruise.

[Topo Gigio]

Ask the same question on the Norwegian board.

[luv2zdworld]

Starry Eyes

I once had a porthole on deck four on her sister the Star. that cabin had only a small porthole, maybe 12 inches in diameter, so it let in little light. then we hit rough seas, and the bridge ordered the porthole cover to be tightened into place. So, For almost half the cruise, it added no light or charm! I actually like many of the obstructed OV's on deck 8 better than the deck four small portholes. I am just sharing that thought in case you continue to watch the Dawn cruise, but I do think you are making the right choice keep your Legend cruise.

Starry Eyes, thank you for the information. I was actually thinking about those obstructed view to get a bigger window.

 

Topo Gigio, I posted the same information on the NCL forum at the same time I posted it here.

[DCT61]

I've been on the Norwegian Dawn twice, and it's crew is among the friendliest and most professional I've experienced.

[luv2zdworld]

I've been on the Norwegian Dawn twice, and it's crew is among the friendliest and most professional I've experienced.

 

Thanks, DTC61. How did the ship compare to other RCI ships?

[Aquahound]

How did the ship compare to other RCI ships?

 

Maybe this will be of some assistance, because it's from my perspective as a usual RCI cruiser. I wrote a photo review of Dawn after my December cruise and tried to keep it as balanced as possible. Here is a link. Take a look.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1759414

[phoenix1181]

We've been on both ships & they both have their good & bad.

 

RCCL seems to have larger cabins with better storage & layout.

 

Food, for us, is okay on both. Not great, but we always found something that made us happy.

 

Entertainment we think is comparable. If the casino is your entertainment of choice, NCL takes top billing. The casino is larger & staff is much friendlier.

 

The pool area on Dawn is ridiculously small.

 

Dawn has great windows that you can sit it to read, talk, or people watch.

 

Public rooms are much better designed on Legend than Dawn.

 

Staff in general is pretty comparable. We've encountered good & not so good on all our cruises. But............. the Dawn

[Starry Eyes]

We've been on both ships & they both have their good & bad.

RCCL seems to have larger cabins with better storage & layout.

Food, for us, is okay on both. Not great, but we always found something that made us happy.

Entertainment we think is comparable. If the casino is your entertainment of choice, NCL takes top billing. The casino is larger & staff is much friendlier.

The pool area on Dawn is ridiculously small.

Dawn has great windows that you can sit it to read, talk, or people watch.

Public rooms are much better designed on Legend than Dawn.

Staff in general is pretty comparable. We've encountered good & not so good on all our cruises. But............. the Dawn

We're you on the Dawn before or after the remodel? sadly, post remodel, I think there are fewer great windows to sit, read, talk, etc.

[phoenix1181]

We're you on the Dawn before or after the remodel? sadly, post remodel, I think there are fewer great windows to sit, read, talk, etc.

 

After the remodel. There may have been more windows beforehand but what's there are still enjoyable & we never had a problem finding an empty one.............