Sun or Dawn for Christmas Cruise?

[mrminsky]

Looking to book Oceanside Cabins for either one of these cruises. We live in Atlanta and driving distance will be the same. Itineraries on these ships are the same as well.

 

Great prices on both. Both ships have a great availability (LOTS) on their Ocean cabins but very little on Balcony. Somewhat surprising considering all the other lines are quite full and when available quite expensive.

 

So here is the scoop. Traveling with a 13 year old boy and 15 year old girl. I am assuming there will be lots of kids being that is a holiday cruise. So want to make sure they are having a good time and they stay busy. Good programs for kids?

 

Both cruises have mid ship ocean cabins, but the Dawn we can get connecting cabins which is a great great bonus which would allow us to have a Big Suite. We can get cabins next to each other on the Sun but not connecting. The overall trip will cost more by $450 on The Dawn due to the connecting cabins and perhaps the cruise itself is more expensive

 

I have traveled on NCL before, the Dream, the Sky, and the Epic. All the trips have been average at best. Always a good time, but I can't recall there was anything that stood out when compared to RCL, or Celebrity. the kids are now a little older so my wife and I can enjoy ourselves a little more as well.

 

Reading some of the post here, it is concerning to read the conditions of the ships. We went on the RCL Brilliance of the Seas last year which is an older ship as well, and everything seemed fine. We had a good time, but again you can see that RCL has cut back as well. We had been in many many RCL ships and the food was average too. Some is good and some is not so good. I never went hungry on a cruise.

 

So since these two boats are similar in age, which one is in better shape. Which one will be the better cruise experience? Amenities, pools, gyms, etc. Any opinions will be welcome. Thanks

[rjm11]

I have been on both ships, with kids, though mine are younger than yours. We enjoyed both. I did like have connecting rooms the one time we did it (on the Dawn)- makes for a very nice big space with two bathrooms. The downside to our Dawn cruise (over spring break) was that there were SO MANY kids the kids club and all the kids spaces (pools, game room, kids buffet, etc) were completely overrun. In comparison, we were on the Sun this past week over Thanksgiving and there were *only* 400 kids onboard- which never seemed like too many. Enough that the kids made friends, but not so many as to affect access to things. I think that the Sun may be less popular with families, and therefore not as likely to be overwhelmed with kids. We thought that was better!

 

I really like the Asian restaurant, and it's on the Dawn, but not the Sun (Sun has Teppanyaki and sushi, but not the full Asian restaurant). They both have decent pool decks, but the Sun's was wider and nicer with better main pools. The Dawn had a nice kids pool aft, but geared toward much younger kids than yours... so I'd give the pool edge to the Sun for your group. Neither have water slides. I don't think this helped very much, but it's my two cents anyway!

Edited December 2, 2014 by rjm11

[nets33]

DH and I were on the Dawn to Bermuda this summer and the Sun last November. We enjoyed the Dawn so much more. The Sun is a smaller ship compared to the Dawn and we both enjoyed having a little bit more variety in places around the ship.

 

The crew on both ships were great and the condition of both ships was fine. I don't recall seeing and big condition issues with either. NCL has been rolling out new menus on their ships and DH and I really enjoyed the new MDR menu options on the Dawn.

 

It sounds like both options would work for you and are comparably priced - if it was me I would choose the Dawn. Have a great trip!

[MKsol]

The lovely wife and I were on the Dawn in 2011 and the Sun 2012. I would agree with the previous posters between the two I would say the Dawn.

 

Both ships were very nice and I would say the one thing the Sun had over the Dawn is the Spinnaker Lounge is on the high deck still with Floor to Ceiling windows, unlike the Dawn (this was made into Suites on the Dawn).

 

Both ships are nice so I dont think there is a bad choice here, but if it were my choice to make - I would choice the Dawn.

 

Enjoy the trip either way you go.

[mrminsky]

Thank you for your responses... Just booked the DAWN with the two connecting cabins. Hard to beat the mini suite feel. From the time the agent booked the cabins (24 hour courtesy hold) , the price went down another $20 per person :) Hopefully we will have a great cruise. The reviews have been quite mixed, but based on last minute holiday planning and budget available, it sounds like a great place to be. Thank you again.

[Samstress]

Thank you for your responses... Just booked the DAWN with the two connecting cabins. Hard to beat the mini suite feel. From the time the agent booked the cabins (24 hour courtesy hold) , the price went down another $20 per person :) Hopefully we will have a great cruise. The reviews have been quite mixed, but based on last minute holiday planning and budget available, it sounds like a great place to be. Thank you again.

 

Have a great cruise!

I have also noticed all the 'mixed' reviews & since you are set to sail before us maybe you would post a few observations when you return. It would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Sandra

[princess tu tu]

We have the Dawn booked for May 2015 Boston to Bermuda...

Would love to hear about your trip upon your return, such as food quality, ships condition etc... The reviews lately haven't been too good! Have a great trip !

[nets33]

We have the Dawn booked for May 2015 Boston to Bermuda...

Would love to hear about your trip upon your return, such as food quality, ships condition etc... The reviews lately haven't been too good! Have a great trip !

 

DH and I were on the Dawn 8/29 - 9/5 to Bermuda. We had a great time. The ship was in good shape, the crew was great and we very much enjoyed the new menu items. I don't have one negative thing to say about the Dawn so go with a positive attitude. :)