NCL Newbie! Tell me your FAV ship, and why

[Mandy923]

We've only been on 1 NCL cruise (Pearl)- I am pretty unfamilair with the Ships. Even though I've been reading reviews like crazy! haha! I'm planning a Jan 2016 Family cruise (kids: 18, 10, 7) and me and my husband. I'm curious to seen what everyone's favorite ship is- and why. If the ship offers THe Haven (I understand some older ones don't?) then we will be staying in the 2 bedroom family suite in the Haven. If a ship doesn't have THe Haven- we'll probably get 2 Balconies. But feel free to offer other options that may be better. If we Sail on the Epic we might get a suite or Balcony for the 4 of us, and get a studio for the 18yr old.

 

So....What's your all time most favorite NCL ship, and what did you love so much about it?

[Carnac767]

All of the NCL ships have the Haven, with the exception of the Sun Class (Sun & Sky), Dawn Class (Dawn and Star) and Spirit. Spirit is the smallest ship, at around 73,000 tons, while the Sun class is about 78,000. The Dawn class are 92,000 tons while the Jewel Class is slightly larger (93,000 tons). The newest ships are in the roughly 150,000 ton category.

 

Even though the Sun and Jewel class ships are smaller than the Epic, Breakaway and Getaway, they are NOT small ships. As a point of reference, Dawn is twice the size of the Titanic. The new class ships do have a lot more entertainment venues.

 

Our favorite NCL ship was the first one we cruised on, the Dream, because she was small enough to fit through the Kiel Canal. The only specialty restaurant she had was Le Bistro and she wasn't designed for the Freestyle Cruising Concept, though they did a good job of adapting.

 

We love the Jewel class. Their suites are terrific and the best value in the industry, we've found. To us, it's the perfect mix--not too crowded but big enough to have a good mix of restaurants and entertainment.

 

I didn't think I'd ever want to cruise on one of the mega-ships with 4000 passengers. I did enough cruising with a cast of thousands on aircraft carriers. But after watching some Youtube videos of the Getaway and Breakaway, we're going to take the plunge.

 

IMHO, you can't go wrong on any of the ships. The best way is to try them all. That's our goals. Good luck.

[Kimberlyr22]

Our favorite is the Gem, but it's purely for selfish and personal reasons. 1 - She currently sails out of New York, and we don't fly for cruises. 2 - Cabin: Deluxe Owner's Suite is the best room ever (Garden Villa is probably better, but we're only 2 people). 3 - Dining options: just enough, not too many, and we've never not found something we wanted to eat when we wanted to eat it. 4 - Crowds: The big ships are just too big, my husband doesn't do waiting or standing in line on a cruise ship.

 

My 13 year old stepson would say the Breakaway is his favorite ship for his own selfish and personal reasons: more activities, better water slides, better entertainment, more food options. Although he did say the Gem had better virgin strawberry daiquiris.

[Oldgoat61]

We have yet to cruise on one of the mega ships, but as a previous poster mentioned, it will happen. We have sailed on the Star, Dawn, Jewel, and the Pearl. Our favorite is the Pearl. I like the layout of the Pearl, (very similar to the Jewel), the "freestyle" concept, and the entertainment.

 

People either love the Epic, or hate it, (at least from the reviews I have read) so be aware. :)

[Carnac767]

We've only been on 1 NCL cruise (Pearl)- I am pretty unfamilair with the Ships. Even though I've been reading reviews like crazy! haha! I'm planning a Jan 2016 Family cruise (kids: 18, 10, 7) and me and my husband. I'm curious to seen what everyone's favorite ship is- and why. If the ship offers THe Haven (I understand some older ones don't?) then we will be staying in the 2 bedroom family suite in the Haven. If a ship doesn't have THe Haven- we'll probably get 2 Balconies. But feel free to offer other options that may be better. If we Sail on the Epic we might get a suite or Balcony for the 4 of us, and get a studio for the 18yr old.

 

So....What's your all time most favorite NCL ship, and what did you love so much about it?

 

I forgot to mention that you can book a two-BR family suite (SC) on the Jewel Class and not be in the Haven, if you wish. It's an identical cabin at a cheaper price to the 2-BR in the Haven. It still comes with all the privileges of being in a suite. You just don't have Haven access. The Dawn class also has the 2-BR family suites. We've used the SC on Jewel and Gem and really liked it.

[AKR2011]

I've only traveled on three so far myself, but The Sun was our favorite. My DH and I were definitely floored by the staff, and we enjoyed the atmosphere of a smaller ship. With kids, this probably would not be your best choices as there were less options for activities, no big water slide, and less kids in general on board. However, we loved the intimacy, and it was a great value. I remember it being $419/pp for 10 nights just last April! That also fueled my love for the ship, as we had more money to spend on excursions and other fun things on board.