Dawn or Epic

[laxlove6]

Trying to decide betwen the Epic 7 day and Dawn 11 day cruises. Obviously the ports are much better on the Dawn.

 

Can anybody tell me what the is crowd is like on the Dawn 11 day cruises?

 

Is it an older, quieter crowd? Is the casino busy past 11pm? Is there any life past at the nightclub?

 

I've read that the longer cruises tend to attract an older crowd and not really the party crowd?

[sdmike]

Same price? While I loved the Epic, seems 11 is better than 7

[laxlove6]

Ya I'm worried that the crowd would be a lot older and there would be no kids in the kids club or no night-life for the adults in our group. 11 days is a long time.

[tbmrt]

Ya I'm worried that the crowd would be a lot older and there would be no kids in the kids club or no night-life for the adults in our group. 11 days is a long time.

 

On our 11 day trip (left 12/14/11), I was surprised to see so many children and young people (good thing)!...In fact, the White Hot Party was "rockin" with both (could have done without having the children there....They were supposed to leave at 11pm from what I remember, but didn't see the dance floor clear of children/very young teens til around midnight.

 

I also read about longer trips attracting an older crowd....Perhaps this trip had more children and young people because it was the week BEFORE Christmas and I believe Hanukkah also (We arrived home on Christmas Day)

 

We didn't do the late night club since we were really tired after back to back excursion days so can't comment on that.

 

The Dawn ports were absolutely amazing....That would be my choice...See my review and port comments under Member Reviews.

Barbara

[nikimouse]

Id love to go on both of these ships! but Epic is the one Id prefer, even though the dawn has a great itinerary I think Id have more fun on Epic.

 

Ive cruised for itinerary in the past but next time im picking the ship not the ports.

[tinker 4]

If you ae looking for fun then I would pick the Epic. On the eleven day cruise (if you are not going during a Holiday week or summer) it would tend to be an older group of people as then tend to have more time. That being said you wold still have fun. But I think most things would close early.

[wacopolumbo]

Speaking for the ships, I have to say the Epic has been my least favorite NCL ship. The haven was wonderful though. We haven't been on the Dawn yet, but we did sail her sister ship the Star and liked the ship layout better than the Epic. Aside from the Haven, I prefer the other NCL ships to the Epic. But hey, we are just starting out with cruising. I would say, if the price was the same for a comperable room, I would go with the 11 night on the Dawn. Aside from St Maarten, the ports on the Epic cruise left much to be desired.

[genegri]

The Dawn cruise is for the ports and the Epic cruise is for the ship.

 

If I had enough vacation days I would jump on the Dawn cruise. I have been drooling over it for a while. But again I am not a party animal. :p

 

If you worry about Dawn being not as alive as Epic, I think you will be proved right. You might want to stick with Epic.

[VideoTech]

Trying to decide betwen the Epic 7 day and Dawn 11 day cruises. Obviously the ports are much better on the Dawn.

 

Can anybody tell me what the is crowd is like on the Dawn 11 day cruises?

 

Is it an older, quieter crowd? Is the casino busy past 11pm? Is there any life past at the nightclub?

 

I've read that the longer cruises tend to attract an older crowd and not really the party crowd?

 

Having done both the Epic and the Dawn, I'd take the Dawn (or any of NCL's smaller ships) any day. But then, we prefer smaller ships, and we're not "party animals."

 

On our recent Dawn 10 day, the casino was busy all night, every night, and all the shows, bars and lounges seemed constantly busy and in use.

 

I suppose it might be true that the longer cruises attract a larger proportion of the people who have the time to take them, i.e. those who can afford to skip work or those who are retired. But our Dawn cruise in early December had plenty of people of all ages, and fair number of school age kids (always wonder how they manage that).

[willysgrandma]

Now I'd take the Epic - there is so much going on during the cruise, I was NEVER bored.

 

How many kids will depend on what time of year you are traveling - if you are traveling when school is in session, you are going to see an older crowd, and for exactly the reason you note - they have the time to take an 11 day cruise.

[fiftyguy]

I would vote the Dawn and the 11 day itinerary. I love longer cruises and favor more traditional styled ships. The Epic is too new and big for my taste. We were on a 9 day last year (Dawn) and the age of the passengers was mixed and there was definitely a night life.

Happy sailing no matter what you choose.

[Jokelady]

There were lots of kids on our Dawn cruise. I found the Dawn better. The Epic squeaked a lot in our room. I prefer the older style ship, the promenade for walks and the entertainment. The Blueman Group and the The Legends was good... I liked the offerings the Dawn had with Jose and Josie and their music reviews, magic, comedy etc.

 

Either one is great but I would take 11 days over 7 any day!

 

Kathy