NCL Dawn vs. RCCL Explorer to Bermuda

[SanFranBayCruiser]

I know this is like comparing apples and oranges but, just looking for general opinions. We are trying to decide between a 5 night Bermuda cruise on Royal Carriban Explorer or a 7 night Bermuda/Bahamas cruise on Norwegian Dawn. I don't believe freestyle cruising will have much effect on us but, then again we do like formal night in the main dinning room and don't want to be the only people dressed if we go with NCL Dawn. We are looking at sometime in May and no school age children are involved. We have been to Bermuda at least a dozen times and we still love it. We sailed to Bermuda several years ago on Nordic Empress and had less than a positive experience...to the point where it turned us off Royal Caribbean but, we have never sailed on any NCL ship. I would like to try Explorer because it is a Voyager class ship but, then again, having so many dinning choices on NCL Dawn is appealing (and no we don't mind the surcharge restaurants).

 

Anyone care to offer an opinion of which you'd select and why?

[abridalmaven]

We have done Voyager class and NCL Dawn, and there is no comparison, they are so very different. I like formal nights and on NCL there were people dressed formally, but those who did not were very rude to those who were. I had one jerk, dressed as a real slob say to me, whoa where do you think you are going, to a wedding? I did not bother to reply, but felt like saying and are you going to a garbage dump, but refrained. I did not care for Freestyle because service was uneven. You got the best service at the paying restaurants where you can also leave a tip, to bad ( with one or two rare exceptions) in those you can not tip ( the tips are added to your tab automatically so you have no say as to who gets more or less). Plus the dinner service was really slow and if you had more than 2 in your party you had to wait many times. So we missed many a show. On RCI the shows are geared to the seating times.

[Twaincruisers]

There certainly is no comparison of NCL and Voyager class ships except that they both float. We have been on the Norway (great, traditional dining) and the Spirit. My predominant memory of the Spirit service-wise is being "traded" to another waiter for coffee and dessert..and then being ignored. Service was very uneven. On the other hand, the NCL Spirit is a very unique ship...I wish they had left the moat which it had when sailing for Star! Voyager class ships are also unique because of the promenade and ice rink...we greatly enjoy the NOS with its wine bar as well as Mojitos.

[zotzer]

We were on the Radiance in Dec, and the Dawn was frequently in port with us. It looked like a lovely, well-maintained ship.

 

Funny story.....the family met up for lunch at Margaritaville in Ocho Rios just as the DJ for the day started to get things going. He said "there are three ships in port today...." and began rattling them off by name. First he called the Westerdam (I think that was the ship), then the Radiance, and people cheered loudly for both ships. Lastly, he called out for people from Dawn and the whole place was silent. In his very cute Jamaican accent he simply said "that ship sucks", and the crowd roared with laughter. Hopefully, some Dawn passengers showed up later to prove them wrong! LOL

 

Maybe you "had to be there". :)

 

Tracy

[mabinbklyn]

I have been on the Voyager class ships a few times and the Dawn once. I prefer RCI, but would happily sail on the Dawn or other NCL ship again if the itinerary and price were right. Which brings me to my recommendation that you go with the Dawn for a trip to Bermuda, despite the fact that my loyalties are primarily with RCI.

 

The 5-day Explorer only gives you a day and half in Bermuda, and you will be docked at the west end. Which means you have some traveling to do to get to Hamilton or St. George, and not much time to do it in. Don't know where the Dawn docks in Bermuda, but even if you spend the whole time in the West End, which I don't think you do, you have more time to travel around. And Bermuda is too darn beautiful to spend only a day and half there!

 

 

M

[mav]

Just a thought! Forget the cruise and stay in Bermuda. I have cruised to Bermuda and wish I had flown over and stayed on the Island. We flew over 2 years ago and stayed a week at The Reefs. What a great island. Did I mention the restaurants are to die for and the Beaches are beautiful. You won't be sorry. Look into it.

Melissa

 

P.S. I'm not bashing cruising because we Cruise a lot but you really want to spend time on the island.

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Thanks for all the input and, yes thanks for the land suggestion. We have done land based vacations in Bermuda - twice at Elbow Beach Resort and twice at the Southampton Princess (my husband is a golfer). We're going with both sets of parents - all of whom have been to Bermuda too, we just find it easier to cruise in this situation.

[cruisin4kicks]

Can't say anything about Bermuda but I have been on the Dawn and loved it. One thing Norwegian has that I wish RCI would do is have cookouts by the pool every day for lunch... grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, chicken, steak, bratwurst, etc. We ate there every day for lunch.

 

In my opinion, Norwegian "broadway shows" are better than RCI as well... at least on the cruises we've been on. Norwegian does have "formal night" although it is completely optional. There are still lots and lots of people that dress up for dinner on the formal nights.

 

On NCL, I've only cruised the Dawn and Star (sister ships) and have nothing bad to say about either one. I would go on either one of them again in a heartbeat. If any craps players are reading this, the casino on the Dawn offers 5x odds at the table instead of single odds like RCI does on all its ships.

 

I'm two cruises away from Diamond status on RCI (next cruise is 1/22/2006 on the Rhapsody) so my overall preference is still RCI but I have really enjoyed my experiences on the Dawn and Star.

 

Tim

[threeofus]

One is not great and the other horrible.

We sailed on the Star and freestyle is not a bad way to travel. Many of the restaurants were wonderful and few were ok. Service on NCL was just ok. Buffets were fair at best.

Outside pool was great - huge slides that exit into a separate pool so the kids aren't landing in the main pool.

They also have BBQ's on sea days for lunch where they bring out huge grills and cook steaks, burgers, corn etc. poolside.

The sail-a-way party is also a huge poolside BBQ so you don't have to rush to the dining room and miss the fun.

I'd love to combine all the great features of all the ships.