Dawn or Sun?

[mitsugirly]

Which would you pick if you had the choice and why?

[Sika Dellick]

You forgot a couple of choices...

 

Both

Neither One

 

 

:)

[biker@sea]

I prefer the classy old school Sun . :D

[mitsugirly]

You forgot a couple of choices...

 

Both

Neither One

 

 

:)

 

That's because neither one of those are choices for me. :D

[don't-use-real-name]

I have been on the SUN so therefore my vote is in favor of that ship.

I will be on the STAR this October.

The STAR is a DAWN class ship (sister).

You will have to keep this poll open till then or offer a redo later.

Still yet the STAR is not the DAWN - so how do I know !

[mitsugirly]

I have been on the SUN so therefore my vote is in favor of that ship.

I will be on the STAR this October.

The STAR is a DAWN class ship (sister).

You will have to keep this poll open till then or offer a redo later.

Still yet the STAR is not the DAWN - so how do I know !

 

We have sailed the Star before and know that the Dawn is the sister ship and they are almost alike. But we haven't been on the Sun. I know the Sun is a much smaller and older ship, but I'm just not sure which to book and want opinions of what people think between the two.

[dasmonkey]

Sun > Dawn

 

Sun is very similar in size to the Spirit and also has The Great Outdoors which the Dawn does not have.

 

I enjoyed the Sun very much.

[don't-use-real-name]

We have sailed the Star before and know that the Dawn is the sister ship and they are almost alike. But we haven't been on the Sun. I know the Sun is a much smaller and older ship, but I'm just not sure which to book and want opinions of what people think between the two.

 

NCL SUN STATS-INFO from Cruisedeckplans.com:

Stats-

Built 2000 Years old 14 Passengers 1936- 2323

Cabins 968 Space Ratio 34 Tons 78309

Speed 23.0 Length 848 Beam 105 Crew 847

Refurbished: 2011

 

Info-

The Norwegian Sun started sailing in 2000 . The Norwegian Sun has 968 cabins. 45 percent of the staterooms on board have balconies.

You can expect 2323 passengers on a typical sailing. This means that the Norwegian Sun has a space ratio of 33.7 . (A space ratio less than 33 means that you may find the ship crowded in areas. A space ratio greater than 39 means that there should be plenty of space for each passenger.)

The Norwegian Sun has 847 crew members on board. There are 3 passengers for every crew member on board. There are no self serve laundromats on this cruise ship. The ship has 2 pools and 5 hot tubs.

 

The ship last major refurbishment was in 2011.

 

NORWEGIAN SUN is sister to NORWEGIAN SKY. She is slightly different with more balconies. She is also the first ship in the NCL fleet to carry the new funnel markings. She displaced the NORWAY.

 

NCL DAWN STATS-INFO from Cruisedeckplans.com:

 

Stats-

Built 2002 Years old 12 Passengers 2340- 2808

Cabins 1170 Space Ratio 33 Tons 92250

Speed 25.0 Length 965 Beam 105 Crew 1010

Refurbished: 2011

 

Info -

The Norwegian Dawn started sailing in 2002 . The Norwegian Dawn has 1170 cabins. 45 percent of the staterooms on board have balconies.

You can expect 2808 passengers on a typical sailing. This means that the Norwegian Dawn has a space ratio of 32.9 . (A space ratio less than 33 means that you may find the ship crowded in areas. A space ratio greater than 39 means that there should be plenty of space for each passenger.)

The Norwegian Dawn has 1010 crew members on board. There are 3 passengers for every crew member on board. There are self serve laudromats on this ship. The ship has 2 pools and 6 hot tubs.

 

The ship last major refurbishment was in 2011.

[NJLVW]

I have been on both several times. My personal opinion is I prefer the Sun. I find that the ship is a bit more intimate. More personable. The staff fantastic. I have always felt most comfortable on the Sun. Yes, she is a bit older but when I am on vacation I do not start looking at paint, paper & carpet..lol... I am on vacation to relax. To get away from the everyday grind. Don't get me wrong the Dawn is a beautiful ship. We do prefer to eat at the specialty restaurants and I have found that on the Sun they are a bit more intimate as well. The staff really seem to go above & beyond. Always a friendly smile. The buffet on the Dawn is much bigger then on the Sun. Although there is no outdoor buffet area where as on the Sun you have the Great Outdoor buffet area if you want to watch the wake of the ship. Beautiful! The kids pool on the Dawn is aft so while sitting with your child it would be a great view just maybe not as relaxing! Plus, I know my way around the Sun. I will say I have been on the Dawn 5 times and coming up on 5 times on the Sun with a few others in between..I still had a hard time finding my way around the Dawn but yet when on the Sun I feel like I am at home. :). Yes the Sun is my favorite ship. I am sure everyone has their own opinions. I will say I am doing the same loop next January out of Tampa that we just did on the Dawn so I can cruise on the Sun again. You will form your own opinion depending on which ship you decide to cruise. I say try the Sun. You can never have a bad cruise. As it is what you make it. By the way I understand a lot of the rooms are bigger on the Sun then the other ships.

 

If you have specific questions I may answer for you let me know.

 

Whichever you decide, Enjoy! Remember we all have our own opinions this is just mine. :D

Edited March 26, 2014 by NJLVW

[polySeraph]

I have been on both and greatly prefer the Sun because the forward Observation Lounge with its wonderful ceiling-to-floor windows is still intact. (In the Dawn that area has been replaced with suites.) The Sun has the Great Outdoors while the Dawn has the T-Rex pool. I always book interiors, ocean views, and the occasional balcony. As a "value cruiser" I feel that the Sun gives me more choices when it comes to finding quiet public places to relax and read a good book.

[garycarla]

Either one.

 

We pick a cruise based on a mix of dates, schedule, days, price, departure port.

 

What is the purpose of the question?

[Laszlo]

My wife and I just did the Dawn out of Tampa in November. We liked the itinerary so much we are doing the Sun in 2015. I like the idea of less people, we have a forward mini suite.

[BurtonRiderT6]

I voted Sun, my reason is we stayed in the inside cabin 0327 and had so much room. It's a big inside cabin. That and I've never been on a Dawn class ship.

[cliffd64]

The Dawn has been one of our most favorite NCL ships and it's more to my liking set-up wise than the Sun is. All things being equal (itinerary and cabin) I would pick the Dawn over the Sun.

[debnjoe1438]

Which would you pick if you had the choice and why?

 

 

Either would depend on where they were going

 

 

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[zounds]

Given the same itineray, we've chosen the Sun. We sailed her in Dec.'11 and willagain in Jan.'15, due to the forward obser. lounge and Great Outdoors. steve

[Aquahound]

I would choose just about any cruise ship over the Dawn...therefore Sun was my vote.

 

Curious...why are the votes hidden? :confused: I've never seen that before.

[mitsugirly]

BOTH ships are going to the same places (Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya).

 

The only difference is Sun out of Tampa and Dawn out of NOLA. We have been to NOLA several times, never to Tampa.

 

It's the same amount of days and pretty much the same price (with only a $3.58 difference :eek:)

 

I have been on the Star and loved the atrium and also the munchkin loved the space ship pool on the back. So I KNOW I would love the atrium and the dinosaur kids pool on the back as well.

 

However, we have been considering the Sun for awhile now (since we were pulled up beside it on a previous cruise).

 

I just wanted to hear thoughts about either of them and especially the Sun since I know it's a smaller ship. I love ships with that "wow" factor (grand atrium stories tall and beautifully decorated around the ship). I am just afraid that the Sun might be too "blah" for us with not a lot to do?? I do love the great outdoors and I absolutely loved the Spirit (it's my second favorite ship in the fleet that I have went on). I'm just so undecided and thought maybe the fine people off cc could give me their thoughts and the reasons why to help sway my decision. :)

[vols_159]

Been on both ships sun has larger interior rooms. Dawn is a newer ship buffet is set up better theater is better.. Would sail both again dawn gets the nod tho

 

 

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[mitsugirly]

Everyone seems to say that the Sun has bigger rooms. I'm just looking at the cheapest interior room I can get (this is just going to be a cheap, one last getaway for the year and I'm not looking to spend a lot of money this time around since we are going on the Getaway in a few months).

 

Looking at the cheapest interior rooms, they look to be about the same in square footage listing Dawn with 142-157 or Sun 145-172 for interiors. I'm pretty sure if I'm booking the cheapest interior, that will end up being on the lower end of the square footage scale (142-145) which probably won't make a bit of difference in picking which ship to book.

 

Just throwing that out there as one of my factors that probably won't matter in my situation. :)

[Djmkab]

I didn't really care for the Sun when we sailed a few years ago. Not a specific reason why, it's just not on my list to sail again. Still enjoyed the cruise, don't get me wrong. We loved the Star, and for that reason we are sailing on the sister ship, Dawn; same itinerary as you mentioned earlier. Hope it lives up to my expectations.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Djmkab

[time2cruise1]

I have been on the Dawn 14 times and the Sun 6. Before they remodeled the Dawn it would be a toss up. Today the Sun would be my choice. Delighted to see the Sun is coming to Tampa even if it is only for one year. I would book the Sun before it heads to South America and a cheap cruise on the ship vanishes.

 

The sun has much better outdoor spaces and still has a forward observation lounge. Dawn used to have the best interior space before they turned Spinnakers into suites and inside cabins, converted Dazzels bar to retail space, and turn the aft retail space into the cave they now call Spinnakers.

 

The Sun is less then 2 years older then the Dawn and a great size.

[Cruise_More_Often]

We've done 3 cruises on the Sun, and I'd love to go back on her any time. Why, because all the cabins we've been in are larger than on NCL's other ships, yet the ship itself is intimate; love the Great Outdoor Cafe; love her Le Bistro; her crew has always been our favorites.

[njhorseman]

 

NCL DAWN STATS-INFO from Cruisedeckplans.com:

 

Stats-

Crew 1010

 

NCL says the Dawn has a crew of 1032

 

Info -

There are self serve laudromats on this ship.

 

No...NCL removed all its self serve laudromats several years ago.

 

 

Note my comments in red above. There could be other errors on items I haven't bothered to check.

 

This is an example of why it's best not to rely on third party websites for information.

[Karysa]

Another SUN lover. The Observation Lounge and the Great Outdoor Cafe are the two reasons the SUN gets my vote. I was on the SUN twice last year and the Dawn pre and again post refit. I didnt like the refit on the Dawn.