Dawn Aft penthouse 8670

[bbryan5]

The only thing that could ruin my cruise would be to miss it

 

You got the right attitude! I'm the same way, I don't sweat the small stuff! Thanks again for the info! :D:D:D

[karenlovesparis]

I am on the cruise as we speak in an aft penthouse suite. I'm sadly disappointed in this room. It is midnight and the music is so loud from the Spinnaker that I can hear every word to every song, I can hear the people yelling, etc. I can't even hear my own tv. It is absolutely horrible. I talked to the butler and concierge about it and they said they go through the same thing with every cruise with all the aft penthouse suites on deck 8 complaining. It isn't just a sound of base, it's like having a band at the end of my bed. It ends somewhere around 1-2 in the morning. The room is not as nice or as big as the Grand Suite on Royal. I can write about that later when I'm not paying so much per minute.

[bbryan5]

Karen, I'm so sorry to hear that your having problems! What you are experiencing makes me think I need to change rooms! I really, really hope they somehow rectify the situation so you have a better time! What cabin are you actually in? 8672? I appreciate your update!

[biker@sea]

You got the right attitude! I'm the same way, I don't sweat the small stuff! Thanks again for the info! :D:D:D

 

Drinking heavy may help . :)

 

Wishing for smooth sea and warm breezes for ya .

 

Cheers . :D

[bbryan5]

Drinking heavy may help

 

I am planning on buying the UBP :D:D:D

[kjquilts]

I am on the cruise as we speak in an aft penthouse suite. I'm sadly disappointed in this room. It is midnight and the music is so loud from the Spinnaker that I can hear every word to every song, I can hear the people yelling, etc. I can't even hear my own tv. It is absolutely horrible. I talked to the butler and concierge about it and they said they go through the same thing with every cruise with all the aft penthouse suites on deck 8 complaining. It isn't just a sound of base, it's like having a band at the end of my bed. It ends somewhere around 1-2 in the morning. The room is not as nice or as big as the Grand Suite on Royal. I can write about that later when I'm not paying so much per minute.

 

 

Karen, have you talked to the hotel director on the ship? I would ask if there is any stateroom available you could have for sleeping purposes while keeping your stern penthouse. We (my then 82 year old mother with dementia) and myself were in one of the center stern balcony staterooms on the Pearl directly over Bliss nightclub. I had searched for noise complaints prior to booking stateroom and found nothing. The vibration from the bass literally shook the floors and walls and like you we could hear the words to the songs. With her dementia Mom couldn't remember that we had just discussed how loud it was and how the room shook and we went over it again and again ..... I KNEW there was at least one empty stateroom on the ship because someone in our roll call mentioned they had gotten a stateroom upgrade after they boarded. Anyway, long story short, after visit to the stateroom by NCL to monitor the noise and after their requests for band to turn volume/bass down failed to resolve situation we were given a port side balcony cabin for sleeping purposes. It was not an ideal situation but we were able to sleep at night and still enjoyed our stern balcony during the day and evening.

[negc]

Karen, have you talked to the hotel director on the ship? I would ask if there is any stateroom available you could have for sleeping purposes while keeping your stern penthouse. We (my then 82 year old mother with dementia) and myself were in one of the center stern balcony staterooms on the Pearl directly over Bliss nightclub. I had searched for noise complaints prior to booking stateroom and found nothing. The vibration from the bass literally shook the floors and walls and like you we could hear the words to the songs. With her dementia Mom couldn't remember that we had just discussed how loud it was and how the room shook and we went over it again and again ..... I KNEW there was at least one empty stateroom on the ship because someone in our roll call mentioned they had gotten a stateroom upgrade after they boarded. Anyway, long story short, after visit to the stateroom by NCL to monitor the noise and after their requests for band to turn volume/bass down failed to resolve situation we were given a port side balcony cabin for sleeping purposes. It was not an ideal situation but we were able to sleep at night and still enjoyed our stern balcony during the day and evening.

Lots of luck with that. My daughter's suite on the Dawn suffered from some serious leaks and the staff was either unwilling or unable to do anything to help her, either by fixing the leaks (couldn't do that until the ship returned to Boston!!!) or moving her and her family to another room. Overall the attitude of many of the staff was that they couldn't be bothered. We did encounter some wonderful staff, but the number of less than helpful persons in positions of authority was sad. Good service was not the hallmark of our cruise on the Dawn.

[bbryan5]

Karen, if you're following this while at sea, give us an update, did the crew offer any solutions?

[bbryan5]

I'm actually considering a downgrade, to a mini suite, just to get away from Spinnikar..

[meglet]

Hi Bryan

 

Are there any suites at all left on your sailing?

 

How about availability of the two balcony cabins on deck 10 between the aft suites? The cabin itself is regular balcony size, but the balcony is huge. I don't know if the deck 9 counterparts of these cabins have a larger balcony also.

 

I don't know when you're sailing, but it sounds like the kids will be back in school, so the ship may be a little quieter than in the summer. The main reason we booked the aft penthouse last July was to have some private, quiet space.

 

As you know, every ship has some "quirky" cabins that because of ship design are larger. Maybe someone who knows the Dawn really well could chime in. Since you mentioned the mini suites, maybe get one on the deck the spa is on and buy a spa pass?

[karenlovesparis]

The first night of the cruise I called the Butler and the concierge about the Spinnaker lounge and the noise. Both were very nice but offered nothing for the issue. At 2 AM I walked down to guest services to try to talk to someone about it. They said the ship was completely full so they couldn't move us. There would have been just a few rooms that I would have even considered going to. I paid big bucks for this aft penthouse suite and I wasn't about to downgrade. For the first five days of the cruise the concierge and the room steward would ask how things were with the noise. Of course never offering any solutions or help.

 

On the second to last night, our concierge called and offered us a free dinner at one of the specialty restaurants for one of the following two nights. There were no reservations left to a restaurant we wanted to go to. I really thought the gesture was way too little and way too late. Why couldn't they have offered this on the very first night? I felt they waited until there were no reservations to be had.

 

The aft suite was just okay. It was smaller than I had hoped. Definitely tight with three people. The services we received were no more than a low average. The Spinnaker lounge really did us in though. Last night the music didn't start until 1 AM and went until 3 AM or so. I realize that many people on cruise ships don't go to bed until 3 AM, but we are not one of them. We were forced to stay up until 1 AM or 1:30 AM. and the music was still going every single night.

 

Needless to say, we are absolutely exhausted today.

[bbryan5]

Hi Bryan

 

Are there any suites at all left on your sailing?

 

How about availability of the two balcony cabins on deck 10 between the aft suites? The cabin itself is regular balcony size, but the balcony is huge. I don't know if the deck 9 counterparts of these cabins have a larger balcony also.

 

I don't know when you're sailing, but it sounds like the kids will be back in school, so the ship may be a little quieter than in the summer. The main reason we booked the aft penthouse last July was to have some private, quiet space.

 

As you know, every ship has some "quirky" cabins that because of ship design are larger. Maybe someone who knows the Dawn really well could chime in. Since you mentioned the mini suites, maybe get one on the deck the spa is on and buy a spa pass?

 

Unfortunately there are no more penthouse suites at all for our sailing. The only cabins left are the very expensive family type suites. I am sailing in October, so I hope there won't be many kids, and I REALLY hope that spinnaker isn't that loud.I ran my idea of downgrading and my fiancé didn't want to.. this will be our honeymoon so I want our trip to be as perfect as possible! Thanks for the tips! :D:D:D

[bbryan5]

Karen, I'm SO sorry you didn't have a great cruise! Which stateroom were you actually in? 8670? I know theres 4 aft penthouses over spinnaker. Was there loud music every night? What was the average time the music stopped? Thanks for the information Karen, I really appreciate it! :D:D:D

[brucelegs]

We have been in both 8670 and 8172. Keep your 8670 - the noise did not bother us in 8670 this past May and it had a cool walk-around extension of the balcony - just for a walk not chairs or anything. It was never so loud that you could know the songs, just a bit of boom-boom from bass line of a song. No big deal to us. Enjoy your honeymoon with the boom-booms - just adds to the experience;-)

 

There was a bit more loudness from 8172.

 

Enjoy the suite aft life - have your butler do at least one breakfast and dinner en suite for you - pampering at its best. Please also let then know of any special requests for snacks (we got our peanut M&Ms for a chocolate candy fix

 

Happy honeymoon to you and your bride

[bbryan5]

We have been in both 8670 and 8172. Keep your 8670 - the noise did not bother us in 8670 this past May and it had a cool walk-around extension of the balcony - just for a walk not chairs or anything. It was never so loud that you could know the songs, just a bit of boom-boom from bass line of a song. No big deal to us. Enjoy your honeymoon with the boom-booms - just adds to the experience;-)

 

There was a bit more loudness from 8172.

 

Enjoy the suite aft life - have your butler do at least one breakfast and dinner en suite for you - pampering at its best. Please also let then know of any special requests for snacks (we got our peanut M&Ms for a chocolate candy fix

 

Happy honeymoon to you and your bride

 

Thanks so much for your information!! It certainly makes me feel a bit better. Do you remember around what time the music ends? The more I think about it, the more I feel like it won't be a problem. We usually stay up till at least 1-2am every night anyway. We hit the casino, and the different bars till pretty late. I saw that wrap around area, but will they open the divider for us? I have heard they don't. We have done 4 NCL cruises but NEVER a suite.. needless to say we are really excited! What other things did you have the butler do? Thanks so much for the info, I really appreciate it! :D:D:D

Edited August 23, 2014 by bbryan5

[cruiser1955a]

Thanks so much for your information!! It certainly makes me feel a bit better. Do you remember around what time the music ends? The more I think about it, the more I feel like it won't be a problem. We usually stay up till at least 1-2am every night anyway. We hit the casino, and the different bars till pretty late. I saw that wrap around area, but will they open the divider for us? I have heard they don't. We have done 4 NCL cruises but NEVER a suite.. needless to say we are really excited! What other things did you have the butler do? Thanks so much for the info, I really appreciate it! :D:D:D

 

We were in one of the corner aft suites 2 weeks ago (9232). We didn't ask if they could open the divider, but it's a very narrow door (maybe 14 inches), and a narrow walkway around the bend. Their mounted window washing cage was around the bend. I suspect that they don't want passengers to have access to it, for safety reasons. Deck 8 may be different.

 

Another benefit of the corner suites is that there's no foot traffic outside your door. Your door is 10 feet down a private hallway. We've noticed foot traffic (and loud voices) on other cruises, even in some family suites on the Dawn, but none in this suite. On a recent (first & last) Carnival cruise, we were surprised that there were large vents at the bottom of each cabin door, which allowed for much hallway noise in the cabin. It's not a big deal, except for late at night, when loud groups are stumbling back to their cabin. Or early morning, when you're hoping to sleep in.

 

You will love the suite. The extra space is nice. The smell of baking bread & cinnamon rolls was a real treat. We never use the butler for anything special, but if you like to be pampered, the sky is the limit. There's a built-in dvd player in your large screen tv, and a menu of dvd's that your butler will deliver (free) to your cabin if you care to relax & watch a movie. The ship's movie channels were showing mostly "super-hero" movies all week. We were out and about most of the cruise, so we didn't spend enough time in the suite (other than sunning on the balcony) to watch a movie.

Edited August 24, 2014 by cruiser1955a

[brucelegs]

Thanks so much for your information!! It certainly makes me feel a bit better. Do you remember around what time the music ends? The more I think about it, the more I feel like it won't be a problem. We usually stay up till at least 1-2am every night anyway. We hit the casino, and the different bars till pretty late. I saw that wrap around area, but will they open the divider for us? I have heard they don't. We have done 4 NCL cruises but NEVER a suite.. needless to say we are really excited! What other things did you have the butler do? Thanks so much for the info, I really appreciate it! :D:D:D

 

The music ended around 1AM on our cruise. The wrap divider had no door, but as another poster said it is a squeeze to get around, but worth it for the different views.

 

Our butler kept us pretty happy - we were pretty low maintenance - a couple of breakfasts in the cabin, requests for our M&Ms, cheese and crackers (hubby told him I liked my cheese and crackers and we were set for the week;-), we did not make DVD requests but the list was in the room - do not be afraid to make a request - they want you to have a happy vacation. We are fans of the Lavazza machine and had him keep it well stocked for us. Let them know you are on your honeymoon - you may get a few little surprises like special cakes and sweet towel animals.

 

Get to know your butler and steward - we had great convos and learned a bit about them - for example our butler (Rashon) is married and his wife is currently on a contract on another NCL ship - we got the story on how they met and how they hope to get a contract soon so they can be on the same ship. Our steward (Angelo) had a few kids back home and chatted about how difficult it was at times to be so far away from his wife and sons - Every crew member is approachable - talk to your wait staff, bartenders, anyone - they like to talk about their homes and families.

 

The concierge (John) made sure to touch base with us every day even stopping by the room if he did not see us at Cagney's breakfast.

 

You will feel the love from the Dawn's great crew - our favorite ship. The crew likes the Dawn - it gives them a chance to easily contact their families since she stays in Bermuda for a few days and the crew gets a good wi-fi deal from a company in Bermuda to allow them to keep in contact for short money. They also like being based in Boston. Just a great, great crew and Alain, the Hotel Director takes very good care of them - he is a friendly, open man with his staff and with customers on the ship.

[bbryan5]

Cruiser1955 and Brucelegs, Thank you both so much for tall the information! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! I was a bit nervous with the lounge being below us, but now I'm thinking it won't be a big deal. Thanks again!! :D:D:D