Garden Villa: Dawn vs. Pearl

[cruisin'bulldog]

Hi everyone,

 

My family recently sailed in the Garden Villa on the Pearl and are now considering a cruise in the Villa on the Dawn. I know the two suites and Deck 14 are different on the 2 ships and I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on the different suite layouts, as well as, the experience as a whole.

 

Also, I know the Dawn is a bit older than the Pearl. Is she showing her age at all? We are mostly interested in the Dawn because she will still be sailing from New York when we are thinking of traveling.

 

Last, some reviews indicate that the service on the Dawn is declining. How much truth is there to this?

 

Any information (and/or photos;)) will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[flyingpirate]

Hi Bulldog!

 

While the gv itself on Dawn is a nicer cabin, the ship is a little shabby and thehospitality is lacking in comparison to other ships in the fleet.

 

The gv on Pearl is much smaller, with a very small outdoor area, but the ship is beautiful with a fantastic, attentive crew, happy guests and spirit lifting decor. We found the food better prepared and presented and all facets of our cruises on her much better than our Dawn cruises.

 

If you click the link in my signature and look at Pearl Transatlantic pictures, you'll see photos of 14000 pn Pearl. Happy to provide more detail if you need.

[cruisin'bulldog]

Thanks for your response.

 

So, I guess the question is, would we enjoy our stay in the Garden Villa if we went on the Dawn. We are mainly selecting the ship for the departure from NYC this suite which looks like it may be even better than the one on the Pearl, which we loved. A little wear and tear on the ship should not bother us. We do like good service, but we have experienced bad service before and it never ruined or cruise. My major concern would be food. Food is another big draw for NCL, is the food bad or just, not great? Would you recommend we sail on this ship?

[msescada]

we were on the ship in 14500 in December. Flyingpirate is right, the poor GV is beginning to look a little worn, but it is still absolutely fantastic (we've been in the gv on the dawn, star and jewel) and you should absolutely do it.

 

As for food, the line cooks for 2,000+ people at a time-- but given that fact, it's not terrible and it's not routinely superb (I'm in NYC, so my basis of comparison is the NYC restaurant scene), but some spots are really bright. We loved Impressions (smaller than Venetian, but with the main menu and really nice service) and Cagneys. Some like Le Bistro (I don't but that's me). Point is, if you are in the GV and let the concierge make your dinner reservations for you, the service will be impeccable so even if you don't like what you've ordered, you can change it.

 

There are differences, btw, between 14500 (port) and 14000 (starboard) and I prefer 14500-- it has a lovely little kitchen and bar in the living room whereas 14000 has an industrial kitchen instead of the nice one.

 

BTW, just so you know, we've been on the dawn itself 4x and always in the gv. Money permitting, there's no other way I'd cruise and if you like the itinerary, the Dawn can be just a wonderful ship.

 

Thanks for your response.

 

So' date=' I guess the question is, would we enjoy our stay in the Garden Villa if we went on the Dawn. We are mainly selecting the ship for the departure from NYC this suite which looks like it may be even better than the one on the Pearl, which we loved. A little wear and tear on the ship should not bother us. We do like good service, but we have experienced bad service before and it never ruined or cruise. My major concern would be food. Food is another big draw for NCL, is the food bad or just, not great? Would you recommend we sail on this ship?[/quote']

[Judyb]

You will love it! Suite 14000 may be more suitable if there are more small children. There are multiple refrigerators and a commercial microwave. The kitchen is a good place to store, bottles, cups and souvenier glasses. There is also a chaise lounge in the livingroom area. Suite 14500 has a smaller kitchen with a microwave and refrigerator, but has a very nice bar area with stools( as Msescada noted.) No chaise lounge in 14500.

 

The decor in the livingroom, dining room and bedrooms are similiar. The livingroom areas in both suites have a leather sectional couch, as well as, wide swinging chairs and a round cocktail table. There are baby grand pianos in both suites. The dining room table seats six comfortably and is great for any meal you may choose to have there.

 

The garden areas are similiar with hot tub, sauna, and pergola dining area. They both have teak lounge chairs and tables. Just slight differences in the garden style. The upper level sundecks are exactly the same for each suite with plastic lounge chairs.

 

The bedrooms are very luxurius. One bedroom has sliding glass doors that open into the garden area and the bathroom is fantastic. The middle bedroom is not as opulent, but well laid out and very large. The largest bedroom, again is outstanding with, again, a huge, fantastic bathroom. The larger bedrooms have wonderful walkin closets. I believe the master bedroom in 14500 has a larger walkin closet with tons of space.(someone can correct me if I'm wrong on this) The middle, smaller bedroom has an interesting closet space, as well. It doesn't have the outrageous bathroom that the other bedrooms have, but it is still more that adequate. The middle bedroom also has a game table with chairs.

 

There are more TVs and telephones and gadgets (toys) and switches in the suites, than you will ever use. LOL;) Be sure to carry your phones while you are out and about the ship, just in case you need to call your butler or the concierge.:D

 

Having said all that, although we've stayed in both, we prefer 14500 and will be sailing for the 3rd time, in the best suite available on the ocean, in May:D

 

Happy Sailing,

JudyB