Norwegian Dawn vs. Crown Princess...

[redhotpepper]

Here's our situation. We have a group of 10 in my family that are planning a cruise for Jan '08. There will be 6 adults and 4 kids (3, 5, 8 and 8). My brother, his wife and 2 kids want to be in the bowels of the ship. He likes it that way so he can sleep well.

 

All the adults have cruised on Norwegian before. My husband, best friend and I went on the Dream last January and were able to upgrade to an owners suite. Needless to say, we're a bit spoiled with the concierge and the butler! I don't think we could go with anything less than a mini-suite.

 

With children, we've decided that we want freestyle/personal choice dining, hence the choice between the 2 lines.

 

So, what I'm wondering is, which ship is better for childrens programs? What would be a good accomodation for the 4 adults and 2 kids (that's minus my brother since he likes the deep, dark)?

 

I like the idea of the Princess family suites but they are obviously not easy to get ahold of. We would not mind all bunking together if we had 2 bathrooms. Adjoining mini-suites would be ok too.

 

Also, we're talking 5 ports on the Crown as opposed to 4 on the Dawn. Which would be better with kids? We'll take turns staying on the ship on port days but will probably pick one or two kid friendly excursions to take them on.

 

All the kids are girls, not that makes any difference but my 2 are very outgoing and are extremely excited about spending time in the kids program. My nieces are not quite as outgoing and may want to stick closer to mom and dad.

 

So, bring the opinions on! I'm also going to post this on the Princess board.

 

Annie, aka redhotpepper

[Browezilla]

If this is the Crown Princess Southern Caribbean route, I would go with it just for the itinerary. I think it is nice departure from the typical S. Carib routes.

[red devil]

Here's our situation. We have a group of 10 in my family that are planning a cruise for Jan '08. There will be 6 adults and 4 kids (3, 5, 8 and 8). My brother, his wife and 2 kids want to be in the bowels of the ship. He likes it that way so he can sleep well.

 

All the adults have cruised on Norwegian before. My husband, best friend and I went on the Dream last January and were able to upgrade to an owners suite. Needless to say, we're a bit spoiled with the concierge and the butler! I don't think we could go with anything less than a mini-suite.

 

With children, we've decided that we want freestyle/personal choice dining, hence the choice between the 2 lines.

 

So, what I'm wondering is, which ship is better for childrens programs? What would be a good accomodation for the 4 adults and 2 kids (that's minus my brother since he likes the deep, dark)?

 

I like the idea of the Princess family suites but they are obviously not easy to get ahold of. We would not mind all bunking together if we had 2 bathrooms. Adjoining mini-suites would be ok too.

 

Also, we're talking 5 ports on the Crown as opposed to 4 on the Dawn. Which would be better with kids? We'll take turns staying on the ship on port days but will probably pick one or two kid friendly excursions to take them on.

 

All the kids are girls, not that makes any difference but my 2 are very outgoing and are extremely excited about spending time in the kids program. My nieces are not quite as outgoing and may want to stick closer to mom and dad.

 

So, bring the opinions on! I'm also going to post this on the Princess board.

 

Annie, aka redhotpepper

Annie there are a few things to ckeck out.

1. Crown is 10 days Lvs from San Jaun

2. Dawn is 7 days Lvs from Miami

3. Most important check the price Crown much more $$$$ than Dawn.

REd

[palmtre2]

In choosing our up coming cruise - the kids were a priority. I looked at all of the lines out there we haven't cruised on and it seemed to me NCL has a better children's program. NCL is more geared toward families than Princess.

[danixbanani]

While I've never sailed the Dawn (I will be in April! yay!) I did sail the Crown Princess this summer. In fact, my cruise was the one set to depart right after the "tipping" occured. My voyage was cut down two days and I was a nervous wreck but I ended up going with my family anyway. So, I'd have to say that the Crown Princess is a BEAUTIFUL ship, great food, great entertainment. Me and my bf LOVED the Movies Under the Stars outside theater. The only downside was the very very small inside theater where the shows took place. I also didn't enjoy this cruise very much because the boat could not be put on autopilot after the "tipping". :eek: With all that being said, I would have to agree that the Crown is not geared very much toward children. From what others have said, I think that NCL is a better choice especially because of the freestyle dining. Good luck making a decision!

[PhoneGoddess]

I also didn't enjoy this cruise very much because the boat could not be put on autopilot after the "tipping". :eek:

 

I'm just curious, how did this affect your cruise experience?:confused: