Which ship should I chose?

[Smitheroo]

 after reading the reviews I think I would enjoy a cruise on the Dawn.   What other ships in the NCL fleet would be similar?  I dont really need the arcade/water slides type of amenities.   What does it mean by the "class" the ship is in?   

[Two Wheels Only]

Ships are in a "class" in a similar way that cars and trucks are made on platforms. For example, a Chevrolet Tahoe, a GMC Yukon, and a Cadillac Escalade all share a platform under the skin but have differences that the general public can see. 

 

The Dawn and the Star are in the same class. It's a bit complicated since they were originally called the Libra Class because they were originally intended for Star Cruises (SuperStar Libra/SuperStar Scorpio). From a guest's perspective, the code names/class names aren't really important. Nobody cares that the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade are built on the GMT T1 platform, for ex. 

 

 

The ship was recently refurbished so don't let the age of the ship worry you. It does have an arcade, a kids' area, basketball court, and a gym but there are also relaxing areas such as a Spa, a library, casinos, pools, etc. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Two Wheels Only

[Liljo22]

Cruise lines will usually order several ships with the same layout to save costs.  The class of the ship is usually the name of the first ship built in that layout.  The Dawn and Star are in the same class and they will just have different decor and the names of some of the venues will be different.

 

You will probably also like the Jewel class ships(Jewel, Jade, Pearl and Gem).  They are slightly bigger than the Dawn Class but still in the "classic" cruise style before they started to add the family geared activities.  

Edited June 27, 2023 by Liljo22

[RB9643]

 

Don't be overly concerned with "class of ship". Just look at the deck plans and see what they have. 

 

Some think the Breakaway+ class is the one with the go-carts.  While it is true that the ships with go-carts are Breakaway+ (and Prima), not all Breakaway+ have go-carts.

 

The Dawn is an old ship, but refurbished in 2021, so has "new" stuff. It's smaller, for sure, and in its own class. There are a number of relatively similar size ships in the "Jewel class", but they are all a little different in their own ways.

 

Just explore the deck plans and see what hits your mark.

 

 

[insidecabin]

Pick ones that are going where you want to go.

 

Star Dawn and the Jewel class are all very similar, medium size these days.

 

Good size easy to get around.

 

We like some of the newer bigger ships with more food options and a pub location with a beer selection.

 

 

[pete_coach]

We really enjoyed the Pearl.

Great inside and the pool deck is large with lots of room.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Smitheroo said:

 after reading the reviews I think I would enjoy a cruise on the Dawn.   What other ships in the NCL fleet would be similar?  I dont really need the arcade/water slides type of amenities.   What does it mean by the "class" the ship is in?   

The small, old ships are all about the same. Dawn, Sky, Sun. Just slightly bigger Jewel, Jade, Gem. Pearl. And the Spirit. They all have gone through major dry docks, but they are all old school ships. 

[omahabob]

Not sure if you've seen this. They don't really do much of a 'side by side' comparison. But if you spend some time, you'll get an idea of the differences.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship