Tell me about the DAWN.....

[Neversay]

… The good, the perfect, the ugly.

 

We have sailed from NYC the past two years on NCL, and although there are things we like and things we disliked we had enjoyable times.  We simply love leaving from NY but do not want to revisit Bermuda and are considering one of the voyages that go further South this year on the Dawn.  Our concern, is the ship is older and we have seen/read some not so nice comments.

 

So tell me what you know?  Have you been on the Dawn recently what did you think.  As a reference point we have been on the Breakaway and the Escape for NCL.  (truth be told we are avid Disney cruisers, and we have also done Royal and Holland America).  We will be sailing with 3 15yrolds so anything that might be of interest for them on the Dawn would also be helpful... is there enough to hold their interest?

 

Oh, please also share your thoughts on Great Stirrup Cay - How is tendering - is it difficult for one with some mobility issues?  How do the Cabanas work - are they costly and are they difficult to get to?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

NeverSayNever

Edited March 19, 2019 by Neversay

[tmgrry]

My wife and I have been on the Dawn twice, both times out of Boston.  She is a great ship but in my opinion may not be the best option for 15 year olds as there aren't any fancy bells & whistles for them.  There's no giant slides, no go carts, no laser tag, no climbing wall, etc.  There is a crowded pool, a few hot tubs, a basketball court, and a video arcade.  We love the Dawn for the smaller ship feel, the excellent restaurant selection, and the ease of leaving from the Northeast.  If the 15 year olds are "old souls" that enjoy lounging with a book or taking in a show at night then it may be a good option for you, but if they're the more adventurous type then they may go a little stir crazy on the 2 1/2 sea days to and from the Caribbean leaving from NYC.

[brookie848]

This is only my opinion...and as an FYI, we don't have kids and are in our 40s/50s. Also pertinent, we've been on the Dawn twice and have also sailed the Epic (x2), Getaway, and the Escape (x2). We sail in suites.

 

There is much less to do on the Dawn than on a megaship. With kids that age, if you are going to have a lot of sea days and they love the water slides/ropes course/rock wall, this might not be the best ship for you. There is a pool, sports deck, a decent-sized library with games, and the teen club and arcade. 

 

We've enjoyed our cruises on the Dawn, but we cruised for the itinerary (out of Puerto Rico with five ports and one sea day). If I was going on a "typical" itinerary, I would choose a megaship simply because there are more options of things to do.

 

We do love that the shows change each night and there are no reservations for shows. We also love that the shows are only about an hour long. This was a nice change from the mega ships. 

 

We're in the minority here, but we greatly disliked Great Stirrup Cay. If you have mobility issues, this is not a great place for you. In order to get to the cabana area, it is a decent walk, some of it through the sand (no boards/cement to walk on). There are walkways in front of the cabanas, but in order to get to that area, it is a walk through sand that goes up a bit of a hill. The large cabanas are up on a hill and are no accessible (there might be one on ground level that is accessible). I would consider the small cabanas accessible. However, to get to the beach from the small cabanas, it is a long walk downhill and the entryway to the water is extremely rocky. 

 

We booked a small cabana when we were there (on the Escape last year) and the cost was $500 or more. The cost of cabanas varies depending on the ship you are on and the number of ships in port with you (there were two the day we were there). 

 

The tenders we used had two levels. When we entered from the ship, we entered the top level. In order to disembark on the island, we had to go down stairs to get off the tender. So, the ability to do stairs is needed, unless NCL is able to make alternate arrangements for you (call if you want to try -- they are pretty good about these things). 

 

The other problem we had with the tender is that we sat in the hot sun for 30+ minutes in before it left to get back to the ship. People on the tender with us had been there an hour. People were miserably hot and there was no shade. I talked to others on the ship that had waited over an hour on a tender in order to get back to the ship. Maybe we just had an off day, but the tendering along would make me not visit GSC again. 

 

If the itinerary is right, I would sail on the Dawn again. It has been newly updated, the crew is great and we love the bar Gatsby's. However, if you are used to taking advantage of all that a megaship offers, you might find the Dawn a bit lacking, especially if you have a lot of sea days.

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions. 

[alexgtp]

Sailed Dawn for NYE 2018 and sailed Breakaway in April of 2018, so both ships are fresh on my mind.

 

If you are looking for the experience of the Breakaway the Dawn will leave you disappointed, The Dawn (since it was refurbished to resemble the Breakaway class) is essentially a smaller version of the Breakaway without all the excess that the Breakaway offers at  half the space.

 

For example the Dawn has a smaller pool area , no water slide's, no rock wall, no "THE  Plank" and no miniature golf. All the other "similar" area's/restaurant are smaller and more compact.

 

I would recommend you search on you tube ""NCL DAWN walkthrough"  so you can get an idea of the ship and it's layout. 

 

We enjoyed the Dawn as it had less people and we choose it due to it's itinerary.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

[Neversay]

Thank you all!  This is great stuff - and very useful for our decision making.

 

 

[newmexicoNita]

17 hours ago, Neversay said:

… The good, the perfect, the ugly.

 

We have sailed from NYC the past two years on NCL, and although there are things we like and things we disliked we had enjoyable times.  We simply love leaving from NY but do not want to revisit Bermuda and are considering one of the voyages that go further South this year on the Dawn.  Our concern, is the ship is older and we have seen/read some not so nice comments.

 

So tell me what you know?  Have you been on the Dawn recently what did you think.  As a reference point we have been on the Breakaway and the Escape for NCL.  (truth be told we are avid Disney cruisers, and we have also done Royal and Holland America).  We will be sailing with 3 15yrolds so anything that might be of interest for them on the Dawn would also be helpful... is there enough to hold their interest?

 

Oh, please also share your thoughts on Great Stirrup Cay - How is tendering - is it difficult for one with some mobility issues?  How do the Cabanas work - are they costly and are they difficult to get to?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

NeverSayNever

ok, here goes: we have done the Dawn twice in the past year and love her. With that bing said: no she isn't Disney or HAL and yes, she is older and smaller than the Escape, etc. The outstanding feature in our opinion is the friendly service plus we do love the smaller ships.

 

Sailing with 15 year olds: you know you kids but if they need to be entertained a lot I think the Dawn might be a disappointment. 

GSC: it is doing about with mild mobility challenges but obviously not as easy as when the ship is port side. Again, it depends on the mobility issue. I the person can walk well and has decent balance the crew are very good at helping them off and onto to the tender. That is my husband. If they really do have challenges walking I would be careful to say the least. Hubby does use a walker on ships but rarely any other time. I will add, for us, the hassle is not worth it if you are talking GSC. Some tender ports are worth it. 

[CozGurl]

The Dawn had the worst buffet food of any of the two Carnival and one Royal Caribbean ship I've sailed before. Now that I think about it probably the worst MDR food too, but not awful, just not the best.

 

Our favorite part of the Dawn was Gatsby's. Unfortunately they stop the live music fairly early leaving us bored most nights. We're not into the atrium entertainment so we'd pass by but never stopped to stay long.

[newmexicoNita]

18 hours ago, CozGurl said:

The Dawn had the worst buffet food of any of the two Carnival and one Royal Caribbean ship I've sailed before. Now that I think about it probably the worst MDR food too, but not awful, just not the best.

 

Our favorite part of the Dawn was Gatsby's. Unfortunately they stop the live music fairly early leaving us bored most nights. We're not into the atrium entertainment so we'd pass by but never stopped to stay long.

My it sounds like you didn't have a very positive experience on the Dawn. We think quite differently. As for the buffet well I am not going to comment on that as we are not buffet eaters. I will say we didn't love the buffet on RCI and don't do Carnival or haven't for years. When we do the buffet on NCL it is just to grab a quick meal. The MDRs are much like any mass marketed lines in food and service. As for Gatsby's, yes, it is our favorite place as well, but for those who stay up later there are other choices. What about the Bliss? They have entertainment way into the early morning hours? I will add, the Dawn isn't the ship for those who think vacation is for partying. This is just my opinion because that is all our posts are, opinions and not fact. 

[CozGurl]

Oh no, we had a great time! I haven't met a vacation yet that I didn't like ;)

 

Just my opinion that the entertainment just wasn't quite our speed. We're not late night partyers but 11:00 or 12:00 doesn't seem so late to be doing something besides "disco lounges." Even if just the Bimini bar had stayed open until 8 or 10:00. Just something to do besides the atrium.

[PatandStu]

I agree with CozGurl, the Dawn was a disappointment for night life.   After 10pm it looked like only about 50 people were out and about. 

It's older but that didn't bother us.   We aren't cabin people - only there to shower & sleep and we were kinda bored.

 

[WickedRed]

The Dawn and the larger ships are a different experience.  I've been on the Dawn 3 times, once before refurbishment and twice after.  Then I went on the Getaway last year.  Honestly I prefer the Dawn over the bigger ship, but only because it was a more personal experience between me and the crew.  They seemed to be more into getting to know you on the Dawn than the Getaway, and they remembered you. Some of them will remember you a  year after you were last on the ship.  A lot of the ship activities are the same on both ships (like mr sexy legs, not so newly wed show, etc...)  Entertainment on both ships were top notch.  Things do tend to slow down early on the Dawn compared to the Getaway.  Food was good on both ships aside from the desserts on the Getaway.  It turned into a running joke with the group that night after night the desserts were terrible.  I'm a fat chick and really enjoy dessert, so this was a real bummer for me.  Also the Dawn has a poolside burger buffet and ice cream sundae place.  I really missed this on the Getaway.  Having to actually go to the buffet to get lunch was soo inconvenient.  I brought my son on the Dawn when he was 17 and he managed to entertain himself well.  His only other cruise experience was on the Caribbean Princess and he barely remembered that.  IF these boys are expecting water slides, climbing walls, rope courses and things like that...  They will be disappointed.  Pretty much there is the teen club, basketball court, chess, ping pong, shuffle board, golf net, and arcade.  You really are comparing a single scoop hot fudge sundae with a banana split with all the fixings.