NCL Dawn vs RCL Liberty of the Seas

[tripchick]

We've cruised NCL Dawn several times and LOVE the itinerary. RCL Liberty of the Seas looks like a superior ship with all the activities; however we prefer the itinerary of NCL. If we go RCL we lose NCL's stops at Costa Maya which we love and NCL's new private island which would be great because Belize is one of our least fave stops (we've done most everything there). So, should we go with the itinerary we prefer (NCL) or a ship we've never been on? This will be during spring break (gotta go then) and we'll have our 9 year old daughter with us. She loves more beach stops, thus NCL. She's shy and usually doesn't want to do the kids clubs, but maybe RCL will win her over and my hubby and I can actually enjoy some quiet adult pool time? My concern is that with it being Spring Break RCL will have even more kids due to all the cool water slides and activities and the lines will be long. Should we go with the cruise with the itinerary we prefer over exploring a new ship at a busy time like Spring Break?? We've sailed NCL at Spring Break before and had no problems. I think I know the answer just from writing this out. Haha Still, I welcome the advice of others.

[Aquahound]

I've been on both the Dawn and Liberty of the Seas. It is my opinion that Liberty is better in every way. The ship is better, activities are better, and the entertainment blows away Dawn. The ice show and the 90 minute production of Saturday Night Fever are some of the best shows I've seen on any cruise.

 

Your 9 year old will love the Dreamworks characters and the parades they put on in the Royal Promenade. Heck, you probably will too. It's a lot of fun.

 

Ref the crowd you'll get at Spring Break, it's hit or miss on any RCI or NCL ship. If you've been ok in the past on NCL, you got lucky. It could go either way on those 2 ships.

 

On Liberty, there is pretty good separation between the H20 Zone, main pools, Solarium pool and the Sports Zone (waterslides and Flowrider). This keeps people separated pretty good so no one spot gets too crowded.