Thoughts on Cruise NCL Dawn or NCL Bliss to Caribbean

[BarnCat1]

Looking at two cruises out of NYC, both to the Southern Caribbean. Totally different ships and dates.

 

The Dawn leaves mid October for 14 days with 8 ports stops. The Bliss is 12 days and leaves the first week in December with 6 ports stops.

 

Dawn is still in hurricane season and Bliss is not. Both have 5 sea days.

 

The common ports are: St Lucia, St Thomas, Barbados, St Kitts

Dawn stops at Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire & Grenada. Bliss stops at San Juan, St Johns with San Juan being a 4pm arrival.

What do you do at night in San Juan?

 

The Bliss is less money and it's a brand new ship, big plus.

 

Should I decide based on ship alone? Are the extra 4 ports on the Dawn worth it over the 2 extra ports on Bliss?

[KateQ22003]

I can't speak for the Bliss, but I can tell you that Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire are my 3 favorite ports. They are incredibly beautiful. I would take that over San Juan ANY DAY.

[www3traveler]

I would take The Dawn or The Bliss just for the ports of call.

 

The biggest issue would be the price. Divide the price for each by the number of days-- which is better??

 

I have traveled in hurricane season several times without a problem. Like any other weather related issue, you cannot plan for that. The Bliss could have weather issues dealing with high winds, ice, snow-- no why to know.

[BarnCat1]

I can't speak for the Bliss, but I can tell you that Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire are my 3 favorite ports. They are incredibly beautiful. I would take that over San Juan ANY DAY.

 

Especially with NCL docking at 4pm, this is not a plus for this cruise.

 

I would take The Dawn or The Bliss just for the ports of call.

 

The biggest issue would be the price. Divide the price for each by the number of days-- which is better??

 

I have traveled in hurricane season several times without a problem. Like any other weather related issue, you cannot plan for that. The Bliss could have weather issues dealing with high winds, ice, snow-- no why to know.

 

 

The Dawn is the least expensive of the two when broken down by daily rate. I also have been out during hurricane season with no issues, but it's always a thought, especially for 14 days.

 

 

We've also never cruised on a megaship. Only smaller ships similar in size to the Dawn.

[KarimaJ]

Do you have time to do the bio bay excursion in San Juan? I wish we could but will only be there in daylight.

 

 

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[BarnCat1]

Do you have time to do the bio bay excursion in San Juan? I wish we could but will only be there in daylight.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

We would have time, but I would like to see more of the historical sites for our first visit. I wish it was in the daytime.

Edited August 1, 2018 by BarnCat1

[newmexicoNita]

Looking at two cruises out of NYC, both to the Southern Caribbean. Totally different ships and dates.

 

The Dawn leaves mid October for 14 days with 8 ports stops. The Bliss is 12 days and leaves the first week in December with 6 ports stops.

 

Dawn is still in hurricane season and Bliss is not. Both have 5 sea days.

 

The common ports are: St Lucia, St Thomas, Barbados, St Kitts

Dawn stops at Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire & Grenada. Bliss stops at San Juan, St Johns with San Juan being a 4pm arrival.

What do you do at night in San Juan?

 

The Bliss is less money and it's a brand new ship, big plus.

 

Should I decide based on ship alone? Are the extra 4 ports on the Dawn worth it over the 2 extra ports on Bliss?

My opinion and that is all this is: of course the Dawn is going to be more, there are 2 more days and 2 more ports. I think that goes without saying. As for which is best or which would I rake? Well, if I had been on neither I would probably choose the loner cruise. It is tempting to try a newer, larger ship but for those of us who have cruised the Dawn, it is a fantastic and exceptionally friendly ship.

 

If lots of activities are your thing the Bliss might be your thing, if friendly crew, relaxed activities, etc Dawn would work the best. We have not done the Bliss but have done 3 mega ships and they are not for us. This is not saying we wouldn't take one again, but we lean toward the smaller ships.

 

Oh as for the Oct sailing, yes, it is still hurricane season but very seldom do we experience a really bad hurricane as late as mid Oct The other side of the coin, even early Dec. can play hell with the plans for Christmas. We have done that before. We will most likely never cruise again from the second week in Nov until after New Years. Well to be honest, I think our sailing days are about running out anyway. Age does catch up with all of us if we live long enough. :cool:

[NJGeorge]

Never sailed on a mega ship and don't think I want to either. That being said, the Dawn itinerary is way better and the ship is nice. If the Bliss had the same ports of call as the Dawn I might be tempted to try the floating amusement park ship.

My .02

Edited August 1, 2018 by NJGeorge

[lb0456]

The Dawn is our favorite of the seven NCL cruises we have done. The staff, the entertainment, the activities. Everything was fabulous!

[cherrypop]

We always sail in October and haven’t had a problem. We are going on the Dawn in 2019 out of New York. We are going on the Bliss in November this year through the Panama so I can’t comment on that ship. We have been on the Dawn before and there was an amazing singing duo on board that played most night in the atrium that made the cruise amazing. We are crossing our fingers that Jose and Patti will be on the Dawn next year when we sail.

[BirdTravels]

We would pick the Bliss on the shorter itinerary out of hurricane season. The Dawn is an older ship and one of the smallest ships in the fleet. The Bliss, obviously, is the newest ship with more bells and whistles. We have sailed on both, and would pick the Bliss.

[lb0456]

We always sail in October and haven’t had a problem. We are going on the Dawn in 2019 out of New York. We are going on the Bliss in November this year through the Panama so I can’t comment on that ship. We have been on the Dawn before and there was an amazing singing duo on board that played most night in the atrium that made the cruise amazing. We are crossing our fingers that Jose and Patti will be on the Dawn next year when we sail.

It's great to hear Jose and Patti are still playing. They are fantastic. They made our cruise over the top,

[newmexicoNita]

It's great to hear Jose and Patti are still playing. They are fantastic. They made our cruise over the top,

ours as well. I know some people love the newer, mega ships and that is fine If we all felt the same, think of how boring life would be. As I have said before, give me the smaller older ships. And the entertainment overall on the Dawn is so good, more down to earth and with a port intensive cruise, which both of these are, I don't need a bunch of nightly shows. For cruises with more sea time it is different.