Dawn or Sun?

[djmess]

Awesome. So glad you could chime in on this. Actually, you were the "icing on the cake". When I came across you picture with your son in it and seen the layout of the room, I knew it had to be special. It pretty much convinced me that I wanted to book this ship. I had originally considered booking that cabin, but my TA wouldn't offer me anything on that deck for some reason. So I found the "biggest" looking cabin I could (according to the blueprints) and booked one on deck 8. We ended up booking 8313, which in the pictures of the layout, it looks HUGE compared to some of the others that are on the other end of the ship in that category.

 

It says that the rooms are 145-172 sq ft, so I'm assuming since this rooms looks like one of the bigger rooms, it might be the 172 sq ft room. I just wonder if it will have the layout yours did. I like that layout. :)

 

 

Yes, if you know where the links to the rooms thread is, I would love that.

 

 

My daughter can entertain herself anytime, anywhere. Trust me. She has no problem doing that. So the ship will be fine for her. She's not too hip on the small slides (like you find on the Jewel or Pearl) after going on the Carnival Dream and experiencing their HUGE twisty water slide. But then again, she has fun on anything. She always plays in the kiddie pool on every ship we go on. So if they have a kiddie area on the ship, I'm sure she'll have a blast no matter what.

 

 

I would say we are going on an "off" time (mid November). We have cruised off season almost every time and there were always tons of kids for her to play with in the kids club. Now I'm kinda worried when you say there were just two. :eek: I don't think I have ever seen that. Hopefully they'll still have it open then. It's her favorite thing to do on the ship. She BEGS to go to the kids club and we pretty much have to drag her out of there when we want her with us. We have found the NCL staff at the kids club are so special.

 

I have seen some pictures of the kids club, but I can't confirm that it's really the Sun, but it comes up a lot when I'm searching. If it is, then it looks like a room I would like to spend time in. :D Is this really it?

 

It looks like it has windows on the wall that is slanted to look out of. No matter how hard I search, I can't find a bigger picture than this to view it.

 

But then again, when I search, I also come up with a different picture that looks like it's in a totally different area.

 

It doesn't even have the slanted walls. So I'm confused. Maybe they redid it after they updated the ship?

 

 

Thanks again.

 

I think you will be good with the cabin selection. I remember talking with my cabin steward and he told me a lot of the cabin on deck 8 were similar in layout to mine.

 

Also another Sun cruiser said 9304 and 9308 were the same layout. They are listed as cabins holding 5 passengers.

 

Let me clarify on the kids thing. We had 8 and 9 y/o boys. There were quite a few 5-8 y/o girls. The boys were not interested in the girls and the boys hit it off with a wonderful male counselor that took them under his wing. There just seemed to be more girls than boys on our particular sailing. Our 2 boys were the only boys that consistently went to the program. There were others that popped in every once in a while

 

They did combine the ages of 6-12 y/o, which happens a lot on the smaller ship and non prime time.

 

Our particular sailing was February, Not Presidents weekend.

 

I've also sailed November over Veterans day weekend and there were a few more kids as many schools do have a day or so off for that holiday, depending on where you live. I live in a military community.

[Sammy Sailor]

I haven't been on either however I just booked the Sun on Friday for next February. I appreciate you throwing this out there. I enjoy reading people's feedback, know what to expect. I've never been to Tampa so that affected my decision a little bit. Plan to get down there a couple days ahead to get away from our harsh winters !

I enjoy your reviews !

[mitsugirly]

I haven't been on either however I just booked the Sun on Friday for next February. I appreciate you throwing this out there. I enjoy reading people's feedback, know what to expect. I've never been to Tampa so that affected my decision a little bit. Plan to get down there a couple days ahead to get away from our harsh winters !

I enjoy your reviews !

 

Hi there and welcome to cruise critic. I hope you find a lot of useful information on these boards.

 

I have never "cruised" out of Tampa before and it was sort of one of those contributing factors to my decision as well. We have friends in Tampa and hope to spend some time with them while we are there. :)

[ComputerTravelGuy]

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.

 

 

Agree with PolySeraph, the lack of public spaces on the NCL Dawn - especially the Spinnaker with its great ocean views - makes the NCL Sun the better choice.

[mitsugirly]

Agree with PolySeraph, the lack of public spaces on the NCL Dawn - especially the Spinnaker with its great ocean views - makes the NCL Sun the better choice.

 

 

We have sailed the Star (sister ship of the Dawn) so we kinda knew what to expect with the Dawn, but haven't been on anything like the Sun and didn't know. Also, we really aren't the kind of people that stay put for very long (always on the go and busy), so I know everyone complains about them getting rid of the front viewing areas and making them into cabins, but things like this really don't bother us. We would never just sit in those rooms staring out at the ocean. I get too bored, to easy. :D

[HokiePoq]

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 !

 

 

Agree, things like itinerary and crew make a big difference. I like the Jewel class ships better than any of these three as far as the ships themselves. We had such a great time on the Star this winter that it comes to the top of my list now. Staff leadership makes all the difference, IMHO, and that can vary from year to year. I'd want to sail again on any ship where Tony Winkler is the hotel director. The Star was the most hospitable ship we've ever been on and that was during a noro precaution period. I felt the same about the Jade when Gary Glading was the cruise director, but alas he is no longer with NCL . (Nothing against the new CD...he's good but Gary made the cruising experience beyond any we've ever had.) I didn't particularly care for our cabin on the Sun or for the layout of the theater. Had a good time on both Star and Dawn, even though we had inside cabins for the first time on those cruises.

 

Is anyone seeing the poll results? I see "Hidden". Would love to know how this is going.

Edited April 26, 2014 by HokiePoq

[bluesea777]

Mitsugirly, knowing you are a fan of the White Hot parties, you'll be interested to know that during our recent Southern Caribbean cruise (in Jan) it was held on the pool deck and it was superb and great fun - a big turn out!

 

We don't normally attend these parties but the one on the SUN was on the pool deck so we attended.

 

We have been on both Star and Dawn as well as the SUN, and we prefer the SUN over the other 2.

Edited April 26, 2014 by bluesea777

[punkincc]

I would choose the Sun for Il Adagio ( soon to be La Cucina. I hope they don't change it too much ), the Great Outdoors on the aft and that forward observation lounge, currently an endangered species on NCL. And the crew! Definitely the friendliest in all our cruises.

[Barb Nahoumi]

We have been on the Dawn Numerous times, since it is home-ported in Boston for the summer. That said, we sailed to Bermuda and the repo cruise from Tampa to Boston, enjoying every minute.

 

However, if the Sun had an itinerary which interested us, homeported nearby, we would certainly be willing to cruise on her. I love the great outdoors, which I enjoyed on the Pearl, and the fact that the spinnaker is still intact.

 

We did have the pleasure of sailing in one of the Dawn's new suites, and yes we had the huge windows. However, the relocated lounge left a great deal to be desired. It was smaller with a few small windows along the sides. I hope that NCL will not desecrate any more ships like that.

[dna529]

The Sun seemed to have an older crowd compared to the Dawn. But we enjoyed both and our kids loved the clubs on both!

 

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[DMH15]

We have sailed the Star (sister ship of the Dawn) so we kinda knew what to expect with the Dawn, but haven't been on anything like the Sun and didn't know. Also, we really aren't the kind of people that stay put for very long (always on the go and busy), so I know everyone complains about them getting rid of the front viewing areas and making them into cabins, but things like this really don't bother us. We would never just sit in those rooms staring out at the ocean. I get too bored, to easy. :D

 

 

The observation lounge forward were awesome when sailing the Chilean fjords or glaciers in Alaska. That is mainly what will be missed.

[Partyatsea]

Do we ever get to see the results? :confused: