Celebrity Eclipse vs NCL Dawn

[Ugaaucruisers]

We've traveled on the Eclipse twice and loved it! We are thinking of doing a cruise on the NCL Dawn in December with our kids (24, 21, 20) and another family with children about the same age. Anyone have any thoughts/comparisons....on the two cruise experiences?? Thanks for your help!!

[kitty9]

Better entertainment on NCL, but IMHO a lot worse food and service.

[Whippets]

I have sailed on both NCL Dawn (twice) and Celebrity Eclipse (once). Both ships have lots to offer. Things that may or may not be important to you and your families are:

itineraries

cost

on board enrichment programs

fee based specialty restaurants

on board daily activities

assigned seating times vs. freestyle (Celebrity has select dining, but you must pay your gratuities when you book your cruise)

evening entertainment

 

I have not had negative service experiences on NCL or Celebrity. I would rate Celebrity's food preparation and evening dining better. The many food choices that you have with NCL are a pleasant change if you are on a longer cruise.

 

There are cheerleaders for both cruiselines, do your homework and decide the important factors for your family group. Either way, you are bound to have a good time just gathering your loved ones around you.

[bighairtexan]

Oh gosh I've done both lines. I'm not married to Celebrity, but I'd go on Carnival before I'd go on NCL. Just MY opinion .

[debshomespun]

We have not yet done a Solstice class ship (doing Eclipse 14 night in Jan) but have been on the NCL Dawn. As the others have said, it depends on what your priorities are. Not knowing the cost, all things equal, what is the difference in the ports? Have the others cruised before? What are the interest of the majority of the cruisers?

 

Having sailed on X Millie, we fell in love with X. I would probably want to sail on Celebrity. The food is definitely better, and the overall cruise experience is a step above NCL. NCL would not be a bad cruise choice, just not as good as the Eclipse. The most important aspect of the family cruise is you are sailing with family, and you can have a great cruise on which ever ship you decide to go on.

[CruizeCast]

As everyone else has said, it depends. The Eclipse is a gorgeous ship with an amazing activity schedule and food. If you want something a little more kid-friendly though, and like the freestyle thing, maybe NCL would work better for you.

[johnb0529]

We have done both lines once. Don't think we will go back to NCL. Wasn't a bad experience, but for some reason the ship, crew, food, etc just didn't appeal to us in the way Princess or Celebrity does.

 

We only ate in the MDR once on NCL because the food didn't impress us, but a couple of their Specialty Restaurants were great! We ended up eating in Le Bistro 3 of 7 nights...

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Oh gosh I've done both lines. I'm not married to Celebrity, but I'd go on Carnival before I'd go on NCL. Just MY opinion .

Are you serious? I'm just wondering because I considered going on NCL Epic. Is it really worse than Carnival? :eek: My dermatologist went on NCL Epic and gave it an excellent report.

[Gonzo70]

Are you restricted to those lines? Generally RCI's large ships (Allure, Oasis and the Freedom Class ships) are best for people in their young 20s. So many fun activities and venues geared towards young adults, but plenty for older adults as well. That's the line I would be looking at if I was travelling with the demographic you mentioned.