Explorer vs. Norwegian Dawn

[melsdt]

Hi everyone,

I need a little help! My stepmother wants to take my father on a surprise cruise and has invited me, my sister and our siginificant others. Since neither her nor my father have never been on a cruise, she asked for my help in picking it out. Given the time frame, I recommended the 9 day out of Bayonne. This would be Late May or early June. I also sent her Princess and Norwegian cruises that are leaving from up here during the same time. She picked out the Norwegian Dawn 7 day Bermuda and Bahamas trip. It is a tad cheaper than explorer but also 2 days less. She liked this one because it is 7 days and she said it has longer times in port. She thinks my father will go stir crazy on a 9 day cruise and might be better off with 7. Now, being that she is taking me free of charge I will go on any cruise, but should I steer her away from the Norwegian and towards the Explorer anyway. I was on Explorer in january and I dying for another meal at Portofino's. I have mixed feeling about the freestyle dining, and am know that I love RCI. I have been on 5 RCI and haven't tried any other lines to compare. Does anybody have any advice? Maybe been on both ships? Or have advice on how to handle or recommend to first time cruisers?

[melsdt]

Please excuse the poor grammar and many mistakes in my previous post!!

[rustyroo]

my husband and i were on the ncl dawn summer '05. we liked freestyle dining and were fine with it. we really liked the ship and the entertainment too, and leaving out of ny was so easy. we had been on a carnival ship before that, and were able to compare free style, to non free style and were really fine with both. this summer we're going on the explorer to bermuda, which will be our first rcl cruise and we're really excited about it. but i think i would go back to ncl, especially on their new ships that are coming out, or the dawn which is also newer. so either way, i think you'll be fine.

[fozziscooter]

My mother in law just got off the Dawn a couple weeks ago, and she had a great time with her sister and mother. She did say that 75% of the passengers were her age 50, or older. They had a great time and would go on the ship again. We are going on the Explorer next month, and have heard SO many great things about it.

In my opinion I think you should try the Explorer again, it would be a great first cruise for them!

[ILoveScotland]

The Dawn is a beautiful ship. DH and I sailed out of New York on her last summer, and it was thrilling both going out of and coming back into New York harbor.

 

I've now done both RCCL and NCL and love them both. I particularly like the freestyle because you have the flexibility to eat when and where you want without being locked in to one table and one time all week.

[aebalc]

Her Dime - Her choice. I think the only words coming out of my mouth would be thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

I understand loving the voyager class and I understand wanting as long of a cruise as possible but I think the most important thing of all is that your stepmother be comfortable with her choice and if you openly second guess her it could detract from her joy before the trip even begins. If you read these boards often you will see it is very common for the decision makers planning a cruise to stress out over making the "right" choice and to place uncertainty into that persons mind after they have made a desicion just doesn't seem kind. So I say stick with the Dawn and experience something new.

 

Tell us how you like the freestyle. Enjoy

[ILoveScotland]

DH and I sailed Windjammers in the 90s so our first traditional ship was the NCL Majesty out of Charleston in November 2005. It was a perfect "first" cruise as we didn't have to worry about formal nights or dressing properly or being on time for dinner and all of the other things that go with RCCL.

 

Now I've had the experience of the Brilliance transatlantic and loved all the formal stuff, but I think I enjoyed it more because I had a sense of what to expect.

 

And I have to agree with aebalc that it's her ultimate decision. It's nice that she asked your opinion, but if you can let go of your love of Explorer and let them experience of the seas on the Dawn I bet you get back to the Explorer eventually.

[cantwait2cruize]

My husband and I just returned from an 11-day cruise on the Dawn. We had a great cruise, however we enjoyed the Explorer much more! We found that the Dawn was just not up to the RCCL standards...Dont flame me!!! :p In my opinion, the overall atmosphere on the Dawn was not at positive as the Explorer. Everything from our room steward and our waiters, to the cabin and the ship decor. We love cruising, and do so many times a year and I dont plan on booking a vacation on the Dawn in the future. We much prefer RCCL!!! ....however, if it were a FREE cruise on the Dawn I woulnt object!! :D :D :D

[tortoni]

We've been on the Explorer and the Dawn and in my mind there is no comparison. I'd choose the Explorer hands down. I'm not saying that I did not like NCL--it had a lot of great features. Freestyle was nice because you could try a lot of different restaurants--I think there were 11. But on the other side of that, we did not get the personal attention and service we got from out wait staff on the Explorer. The food on the Explorer was also superior. I'd give NCL the edge for the entertainment and casino, but RCCL the edge for all the other entertainment, games, activities, etc. You'll have a great cruise with either--but if I could pick, I'd take the Explorer.

[ontheopenseas]

I have not sailed on the Explorer yet (have to wait until '08 for that). However we did sail on the Dawn in April '05 mostly on my father in law's dime! I didn't feel that they offered as many activities as some of the other cruises that we have been on. However, the entertainment was great and the ship was beautiful. Although I missed having the same wait staff every night, it was fun to pick which restaurant to eat in at night and to have more food selection each night (we really enjoyed the mexican restaurant). My in law's have sailed on the Dawn many times mostly due to the Freestyle Cruising. They love this shiop! As mentioned it is quite a thrill to sail past the Statue of Liberty too. We had a wonderful trip and I feel fortunate that I will always have the memory of cruising with my extended family (FIL payed for 11 of us to go!)

 

I'm very much looking forward to sailing on the Explorer and think it will be a better fit for my family (we have two teenagers), however I think that you will have a great time either way! Best wishes!!!

[threeofus]

Sailed on the NCL Star several years ago - also sailed on the Explorer.

Lots of good things to say about NCL - that freestyle cruising is a nice feature. There are a number of good restaurants onboard - different cuisines. You really feel like you are at a resort. If you being on a ship for 9 days would annoy your father - then having to be a dinner same time same place every night might annoy him as well.

 

Some of the restaurants have a specialty charge (like chops and portofino) but others do not.

 

Another nice feature was the poolside BBQ on sea days - grilled burgers, ribs chicken, dogs, corn....

 

I will say though I found the service to be "ok" not terrific. I believe everyone prepays the tips if I recall.

 

All in all if that is what your stepmother chose - unless you hear something awful about it - and you haven't...then you might want to go with her choice.

[melsdt]

Hi everyone. Thank you for the input. Let me just mention one thing. She did not ask for just my opinion, she asked me to basically find out all the information and plan the cruise. I faxed her some the print outs from the web which state the prices and itinerary. Yes, she will ultimately decide which cruise since she is paying, but she knows absolutely nothing about cruising. She saw my pictures after me and my bf went in January and saw that my father expressed interest in going and basically thought it would be a good idea. I agree that I will go on any cruise that is free!! But my concern is two fold. First, I have never been on anything besides RCI, so I cannot really give advice or explain to her much about NCL or how any other cruise lines operate, and I cannot determine which would be a better fit. Every cruise line is different, and I think that many first time cruisers think they are all the same. Second, the itinerary is not that good from what I can tell. She liked this one because it stays at the ports longer, but not much longer with the exception of Nassau till 1 am. One of the islands is a private island with only two excursions that are not very good. And the Bermuda stop is at Kings Wharf, I believe, and have seen that this is away from everything. So, these are some of my concerns. I guess I feel more confident in RCI. I know the itinerary well. I know the ship. I plan on bringing over my labtop and some information and going over it with her on Saturday. So, we shall see what happens.

[ILoveScotland]

melsdt, thanks for the explanation. Maybe instead of talking to her in generalities you could come up with a list for each cruise that would include: Itinerary, length of cruise, cost of cruise, type and location of cabin, meal options (i.e. freestyle/traditional with explanation of what that means including no consistency of wait staff), alternative dining restaurants, entertainment, tipping policy, formal nights vs. non formal nights, shore excursion options and others aspects of cruising.

 

Put RCCL Explorer at the top of one column and NCL Dawn at the top of another and let her rate each of these options on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. Then add up the scores.

 

Even if tge two of you decide not to go with the higher score she will have had a chance to be an active participant in the decision and you won't feel like you've forced her to make a decision for your favorite. And who knows the Explorer might get the higher score or she might decide it's best after looking at all the options.

 

It's a thought.

[DPurcell58]

I've been on both also. If your Mom is a first time cruiser, maybe she doesn't understand that even though the Dawn stays in Nassau till 1AM, she's not going to be walking around on the streets till midnight. I believe the Explorer also goes to Kings Wharf for the first time this year (at least that's where we're stopping in Aug.) but I think I would still pick the Explorer.

[Maxima81]

Hi everyone. Thank you for the input. Let me just mention one thing. She did not ask for just my opinion, she asked me to basically find out all the information and plan the cruise. I faxed her some the print outs from the web which state the prices and itinerary. Yes, she will ultimately decide which cruise since she is paying, but she knows absolutely nothing about cruising. She saw my pictures after me and my bf went in January and saw that my father expressed interest in going and basically thought it would be a good idea. I agree that I will go on any cruise that is free!! But my concern is two fold. First, I have never been on anything besides RCI, so I cannot really give advice or explain to her much about NCL or how any other cruise lines operate, and I cannot determine which would be a better fit. Every cruise line is different, and I think that many first time cruisers think they are all the same. Second, the itinerary is not that good from what I can tell. She liked this one because it stays at the ports longer, but not much longer with the exception of Nassau till 1 am. One of the islands is a private island with only two excursions that are not very good. And the Bermuda stop is at Kings Wharf, I believe, and have seen that this is away from everything. So, these are some of my concerns. I guess I feel more confident in RCI. I know the itinerary well. I know the ship. I plan on bringing over my labtop and some information and going over it with her on Saturday. So, we shall see what happens.

 

You are correct with the itinerary differences and port times. You should explain that one of NCL's stop is actually just a private island with a beach - nothing else. If your folks are into sightseeing, visiting towns, etc. the Explorer stops in 4 different locations (King's Wharf, Bermuda is also there if you choose the May sailings, and I believe it's Haiti or DR if you go with the Explorer in June), so you actually have more port time overall with RCI.

 

If price will be a driving factor, then NCL will definitely be the way to go. My first cruise ever was on NCL Dawn last year and we had a blast (even though we had nothing to compare it to). I like the Freestyle concept as you're not forced to eat at any specific time or place. The trade-off being a different waiter / server every night unless you specifically request one and go to the same dining venue each night.

 

In terms of activities, there was always something to do even on the sea days, although it doesn't quite seem to stack up to what RCI has to offer (mini-golf, ice rink, rock wall). The Explorer definitely seems more to my liking and age group (mid-20's) with the onboard activities. If you're into swimming pools, I'll have to admit that NCL's main pool is somewhat disappointing. I think the Dawn is catered better to a laid-back crowd who are just looking to relax, sunbathe, enjoy the seas, etc. The shows on NCL are great and the ship overall is well laid out and in great condition.

 

That being said, our next cruise is this May on the Explorer and I'll have NCL Dawn as a benchmark to compare it against.

 

In the end howver, I believe the cruise is what you make of it. If you anticipate not having fun or don't make an effort to enjoy yourself, you'll have nothing but a negative experience. As you've already pointed out... you'll be cruising on someone else's dime, what more can you ask for? :)

 

Enjoy yourself and have fun anticipating the moment you set foot on the ship - whichever one it may be.