Dawn suites - private restaurant?

[erdoran]

For an Dawn aft facing penthouse SF, I think we get butler/concierge?  Do we also have ‘’private dining” in Cagney’s and Moderno’s, the way we would on Jade?  TIA

[amygutman]

Yes and yes...

 

Butler and concierge - they have both been wonderful for us (Roel the concierge and Isidor the butler). 

 

Cagneys and Modernos for breakfast and lunch. 

 

All of the great buffet breakfast items are there as well as the regular menus. The lunch menu is fairly limited, but the highest quality. Today, we rather enjoyed a double shrimp cocktail that was lovely.

 

Have a great trip! Amy

[erdoran]

Other than the “production shows” what else do they have?  And how is the “casual” music around the ship?  We’re looking at a last minute 6/29 NY-Bahamas cruise, more for the ship than the itinerary.

[BirdTravels]

Lots of casual music and dance music around the ship every night. Enjoy!

Edited June 21, 2019 by BirdTravels

[NLH Arizona]

I found the private breakfasts and lunches rather limited, since there was no change in the menu, but had no issues eating in the MDR, buffet or by the pool for those meals.

[NLH Arizona]

Pros:  Great price, you don't care where your cabin is, you don't care about any perks

Cons:  You could get a really lousy cabin, no perks

[amygutman]

14 hours ago, erdoran said:

Other than the “production shows” what else do they have?  And how is the “casual” music around the ship?  We’re looking at a last minute 6/29 NY-Bahamas cruise, more for the ship than the itinerary.

This is one of the most lively ships I have ever been on - a little bit of everything. 

We are sadly on our last day of the cruise but when we get back I will post a review. 

If it helps, yesterday we did / saw the following (family of late 40 yo parents, 10 yo son): pool, arcade, trivia (general knowledge), deal or no deal, jazz musician (dinner), walked through country musicians (country music generally makes my ears bleed, so we walked quickly 🙂), dancing on the pool deck and motown on the pool deck and in the Bliss, and canvas by u. There was also Elements - the main show, but we were too busy having an amazing dinner at Los Lobos to get up and make our way to the theater, then I was too busy making a deposit in the casino to go to the 2100 showing. 

Nights are hopping here...but honestly - give me my balcony and a good book and I am a happy gal. There is something for anyone here!

Amy

[klandersnitrox]

We are sailing on Dec 19 on the Dawn. We are in the 10002 back of the ship Penthouse Suite.

 

Any opinions? Should we consider asking to switch to a different suite?

 

Thanks ahead of time

[don't-use-real-name]

5 hours ago, klandersnitrox said:

We are sailing on Dec 19 on the Dawn. We are in the 10002 back of the ship Penthouse Suite.

 

Any opinions? Should we consider asking to switch to a different suite?

 

Thanks ahead of time

Your cabin 10002 is FORWARD on the DAWN - adjacent to the OS cabin 10000.

 

On 6/20/2019 at 7:26 PM, erdoran said:

For an Dawn aft facing penthouse SF, I think we get butler/concierge?  Do we also have ‘’private dining” in Cagney’s and Moderno’s, the way we would on Jade?  TIA

The suites Breakfast and Lunch are in Moderno's with overflow into starboard side Cagney's.

[klandersnitrox]

In your opinion is it better to be in the suites on the front or back of the boat?

[dznymom]

2 hours ago, klandersnitrox said:

In your opinion is it better to be in the suites on the front or back of the boat?

 

In my opinion AFT is the way to go.  Wind can be factor in the front, and there may be restrictions about keeping your curtains closed after dark.  There is nothing better than sitting on your aft balcony with a drink in hand being mesmerized by the wake.  I always choose Aft when it falls in my price range.

[kb777]

3 hours ago, klandersnitrox said:

In your opinion is it better to be in the suites on the front or back of the boat?

If you can get cabins 10000 or 10500 forward, grab one of them. They have extra cabin space due to the bump out from the Bridge above. Otherwise, I would choose the Aft cabin.

[dexddd]

9 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Your cabin 10002 is FORWARD on the DAWN - adjacent to the OS cabin 10000.

 

The suites Breakfast and Lunch are in Moderno's with overflow into starboard side Cagney's.

OS on Dawn are 10006 or 10506.  10000 and 10500 are in the center.

[dexddd]

4 hours ago, klandersnitrox said:

In your opinion is it better to be in the suites on the front or back of the boat?

Generally people prefer aft as front can be windy.  If you sit down on front balcony though rail blocks a good chunk of wind.   If doing a scenic route like Panama Canal you'd probably want forward.

[klandersnitrox]

1 hour ago, dznymom said:

 

In my opinion AFT is the way to go.  Wind can be factor in the front, and there may be restrictions about keeping your curtains closed after dark.  There is nothing better than sitting on your aft balcony with a drink in hand being mesmerized by the wake.  I always choose Aft when it falls in my price range.

 

So if Aft is not available, should we consider changing over to a Family Suite with a Balcony? I think they are bigger inside but smaller balcony? They are 50 bucks per person less expensive.

[saretaj]

Not the Dawn, but I sailed the Gem on 8/23 in a penthouse suite - deck 9 - right at the very front of the ship.  It was kind of a last minute vaca, so what I wish I knew beforehand was we could NOT access the balcony at all during sailing days - they lock the door and tie down the furniture.  Makes sense - it's just too windy.  But I did not know this, and the main reason I book a balcony is for the extra room w/my 6 year old.  We also had to close the curtains every nightfall as the Captain was right above us (I did know this prior to sailing, no biggie).  

 

On the plus side, the balcony was HUGE and we utilized it during port days.  

[BirdTravels]

On 9/21/2019 at 6:21 PM, klandersnitrox said:

We are sailing on Dec 19 on the Dawn. We are in the 10002 back of the ship Penthouse Suite.

 

Any opinions? Should we consider asking to switch to a different suite?

 

Thanks ahead of time

10002 is a forward facing penthouse under the bridge. We greatly prefer the forward facing suites for the spectacular views. We were in 10000 on a cruise from Boston to Quebec and loved the room. 

[klandersnitrox]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

10002 is a forward facing penthouse under the bridge. We greatly prefer the forward facing suites for the spectacular views. We were in 10000 on a cruise from Boston to Quebec and loved the room. 

 

BirdTravels - Did you see comments from Sara a couple of posts earlier. Do they every limit you ability to access the balcony on sailing days? Also what about the closing of the curtains do to the captain being above you?

Thoughts?

 

Appreciate the info

[dexddd]

9 hours ago, klandersnitrox said:

 

BirdTravels - Did you see comments from Sara a couple of posts earlier. Do they every limit you ability to access the balcony on sailing days? Also what about the closing of the curtains do to the captain being above you?

Thoughts?

 

Appreciate the info

In bad weather they do that but not usually for the whole trip, never read any reports of that before.

 

Yes, curtains closed at night though.

[don't-use-real-name]

On ‎9‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 6:34 AM, dexddd said:

In bad weather they do that but not usually for the whole trip, never read any reports of that before.

 

Yes, curtains closed at night though.

I believe that you can open the curtains if you TURN DOWN/OFF the cabin interior LIGHTING.

Check with your Butler or other source for the official answer.

It is the light reflection off the white painted balcony surfaces that is bothersome to the Bridge.

No reflection - should no problem !

 

There is something to be able to use that forward balcony with or without that wind in your face component.

A good place to view the stars and the pole borealis if near that cruise area.

[kitty-sail]

On 9/22/2019 at 11:19 AM, dznymom said:

 

In my opinion AFT is the way to go.  Wind can be factor in the front, and there may be restrictions about keeping your curtains closed after dark.  There is nothing better than sitting on your aft balcony with a drink in hand being mesmerized by the wake.  I always choose Aft when it falls in my price range.

Agreed, aft is great on Dawn and smaller ships with terrific views AM & PM.  Escape, etc. it's too far a walk to Haven proper.

[kitty-sail]

On 9/22/2019 at 9:41 PM, saretaj said:

Not the Dawn, but I sailed the Gem on 8/23 in a penthouse suite - deck 9 - right at the very front of the ship.  It was kind of a last minute vaca, so what I wish I knew beforehand was we could NOT access the balcony at all during sailing days - they lock the door and tie down the furniture.  Makes sense - it's just too windy.  But I did not know this, and the main reason I book a balcony is for the extra room w/my 6 year old.  We also had to close the curtains every nightfall as the Captain was right above us (I did know this prior to sailing, no biggie).  

 

On the plus side, the balcony was HUGE and we utilized it during port days.  

Keeping curtain closed in evening due to under bridge, is common on most ships. If you sit on balcony at night, can't have balcony light on.  Forward facing balcony too windy when ship moving.

[Loucat]

We have been on NCL ships in forward facing suites and never had an issue with wind.

Yes, closing curtain at nights and no lights to impact the bridge could be an issue.

We loved seeing where we were heading to, rather than where we left. Loved the views sailing forward.

Loved seeing the prep work as staff came up to prepare for docking.

So, having been in both forward and aft, we would do both tomorrow if we could.

Our last NCL aft suite was on Pearl. Our attendant said be careful of food dropping into your balcony.

Sure enough, we returned to find a big ice cream cone splat on the floor, having flown down from the outdoor eating area. Glad we were not there when it happened 🙄 Also found forward balconies larger but I am sure that is dependent on the ship and stateroom.

Enjoy wherever you are. They have the best suite amenities of the lines we have sailed.

[dexddd]

18 hours ago, Loucat said:

We have been on NCL ships in forward facing suites and never had an issue with wind.

Yes, closing curtain at nights and no lights to impact the bridge could be an issue.

We loved seeing where we were heading to, rather than where we left. Loved the views sailing forward.

Loved seeing the prep work as staff came up to prepare for docking.

So, having been in both forward and aft, we would do both tomorrow if we could.

Our last NCL aft suite was on Pearl. Our attendant said be careful of food dropping into your balcony.

Sure enough, we returned to find a big ice cream cone splat on the floor, having flown down from the outdoor eating area. Glad we were not there when it happened 🙄 Also found forward balconies larger but I am sure that is dependent on the ship and stateroom.

Enjoy wherever you are. They have the best suite amenities of the lines we have sailed.

Yes, on the ships which have a Great Outdoors aft that can be a problem with food (like the Sun and Jewel Class).

 

When we were aft on Sun we ran into that problem a bit with things like tops of buns ending up on our balcony.  The related problem in port is the birds are attracted which then creates another unique by-product.  Lastly, soot can be hit or miss on aft balconies.