NCL Dawn Question:

[kismet618]

Penthouse with Large Balcony SE or Aft-Facing Penthouse with Large Balcony SF? We are looking to book the January 7-17th, 2018 NCL Dawn cruise from San Juan to Tampa. This will be my girlfriend and my 50th birthday cruise, and we loved the itinerary. Question to those who have been on the Dawn since her refurbishment, which cabin would we enjoy more? The aft-facing is $100 less per person. I've never been in a forward balcony. Any thoughts from those of you who have experience with either? Looking at suite 10500 forward, or 10728 aft. As always, your input is greatly appreciated.

Edited April 11, 2017 by kismet618
added info

[BirdTravels]

We like the forward facing SE for scenic cruises. Most recently we had one for Alaska and a New England cruise from Boston to Quebec down the St Lawrence river. This is the absolute best room (better than Havens rooms) for those itineraries. We did an aft facing on Alaska too, and regretted it,,, the forward facing was so much better.

 

SE definitely don't work for stormy, windy weather.

 

I think you'll have a lot of sea time and the SF is probably better.

[dja1031]

Aft facing on deck 8 are directly above the nightclub if noise is an issue

[Jojo27]

We were in a front facing suite on the Dawn, deck 10 and while the room was wonderful (pre-rehab) the balcony was not as great as the Aft balconies, way to windy when at sea and at night you have to have all the lights out or curtains drawn so the light does not affect the bridge which is directly above. When we can we always get aft balconies or suites.

[biker@sea]

:) Aft. :)

 

.

[cheshyrkat]

I've sailed in an aft suite and in an OS with two balconies...one of which faced forward. It was virtually unusable during sea days. That might be something to take into account. The suites in the aft might get soot on them from the stacks, but it didn't bother us much.

[Perini3]

One more for aft make sure you get level 10 bigger balcony's on Dawn

[df5250]

Another vote for Aft, especially deck 10 Aft... Nice deep balcony!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Demonyte]

Always fwd. :)

[gail-s]

We've done a couple of Aft Balconies on other ships and loved them. I agree with the others that the balconies in the front of the ship would be unusable on sea days, where as the aft balconies are fabulous on sea days.

[Demonyte]

Fwd balconies are definitely not "virtually unusable on sea days". In fact one of my best sea day experiences was on a windy day on Adriatic sea just laying on a lounger with the wind being blocked just enough by the solid railing but still making the heat bearable (with steady flow of frozen drinks brought to us by the butler off course ;)).

[300dtc]

We loved our forward facing suite on deck 10 on the dawn..enjoyed it a lot while cruising down the Mississippi River out of New Orleans...at sea was iffy...but we are usually doing other stuff then anyway..really enjoyed an early breakfast served in our room with the door open and the beautiful scenery!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[pauln_dtd]

Stayed in 10228 Aft on the Dawn out of NOLA and would book again in a heartbeat.

 

The room and balcony aren't as big as the forwards, they are private and you don't have to worry about the wind and in our room on deck 10, there was still room for the loungers to be perpendicular to the back of the boat (barely).

[gamblinrose]

Done 10728 several times to Bermuda, and will be in 10726 in 2 months (for my 50th). Aft is always quiet, you don't get the wind like forward (never a smoke stack issue) and the smell of cinnamon rolls wafting into your cabin in the morning is worth the price of admission.

[kismet618]

Thank you all for the informative feedback. We just booked the Aft-Facing 10728 suite and couldn't be more excited.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[VideoTech]

Thank you all for the informative feedback. We just booked the Aft-Facing 10728 suite and couldn't be more excited.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Too late to influence your choice, but another vote for the forward facing Penthouses on the smaller NCL ships. Fabulous views, definitely quite usable on sea days, absolutely great for scenic cruises like Alaska.

[jakesnana]

Thank you all for the informative feedback. We just booked the Aft-Facing 10728 suite and couldn't be more excited.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I am sailing with a group of Veterans on this cruise. So far we have 18 cabins. If you're a Veteran and you see any of us around (we usually have group shirts), please feel free to approach any of us :)