New Dawn deck plan and family suites with balcony

[goodml]

I happened to be checking pricing this morning for our Sept 2012 Bermuda cruise on Dawn and noticed that there is now pricing available for the new SJ Family Suite and SD Family Suite with balcony on deck 12. I'm pretty sure when I checked a week ago those weren't there.

 

I was also surprised to see on the new deck plan that there will be 10 family suites with balcony on Dawn as opposed to just 4 on Star. I must have missed that info on the boards. I guess they're addressing the fact that they seem to be having to discount the ones without the balcony on Star. Huge price difference though between the two. $500 per person on my Dawn sailing for the balcony.

 

So 12020, 22, 26, 28, 30 and 12520, 522, 526, 528 and 530 will be the family suites with balcony (SD). Interesting.

[goodml]

Oddly enough the deck 7 plan hasn't been changed yet on the website. I was curious about Spinnaker's but no changes showing there yet. They must just want to get the new cabin bookings going.

[dexddd]

You are correct, the new rooms just showed up recently.

[tiggerfan616]

I was also questioning that when I booked our Feb cruise last week. When I spoke with my PCC he said they have not been told which cabins will have the balconies yet and is not sure how they are going to be added on such a short dry dock. Currently deck 12 has no cabins and no balconies. I took the aft penthouse to be safe, I can always move once the dry dock is complete and we get an exact word on which cabins have and dont have balconies.

The other downfall of deck 12 for us anyway is that it is the pool deck, I was concerned about alot of traffic and noise

[goodml]

I was also questioning that when I booked our Feb cruise last week. When I spoke with my PCC he said they have not been told which cabins will have the balconies yet and is not sure how they are going to be added on such a short dry dock. Currently deck 12 has no cabins and no balconies. I took the aft penthouse to be safe, I can always move once the dry dock is complete and we get an exact word on which cabins have and dont have balconies.

The other downfall of deck 12 for us anyway is that it is the pool deck, I was concerned about alot of traffic and noise

 

The deckplan I looked at today shows which ones will be the SD cabins and the description says family suite with balcony.

[tiggerfan616]

The deckplan I looked at today shows which ones will be the SD cabins and the description says family suite with balcony.

 

Yep we had that same conversation, he said he was told she was going to be exactly like the Star. The Star doesnt have that many balcony's on deck 12, just 4 I think the OP said. According to the new layout the Dawn will have more. So I think its a wait and see game when she comes out of dry dock

[Norwegian Cruise Line]

Hi, the renovations to Norwegian Dawn are going to be very similar to Norwegian Star, particularly on Deck 7. There will be more Family Suites on Dawn and they are bigger with larger balconies. We will be releasing more details in the near future.

[DiBob]

Hi, the renovations to Norwegian Dawn are going to be very similar to Norwegian Star, particularly on Deck 7. There will be more Family Suites on Dawn and they are bigger with larger balconies. We will be releasing more details in the near future.

Sounds great! We have one of the four family suites with balcony booked on the Star...as much as we love Disney, NCL hits it out of the ball park with accomodations for families!

[tiggerfan616]

Hi, the renovations to Norwegian Dawn are going to be very similar to Norwegian Star, particularly on Deck 7. There will be more Family Suites on Dawn and they are bigger with larger balconies. We will be releasing more details in the near future.

 

Great thanks, looking forward to seeing the info when it comes out

[veggie59]

When exactly is this dry dock happening?? And what else will be done. We are sailing on the Dawn this September. Will it be before or after?? thanks

[swedish weave]

If the work is done like the Star, they will be working on installing the deck 12 cabins after the ship comes out of drydock.

 

RE - The question about noise. You shouldn't hear much from the pool area because it is behind the area to be converted.

[CruiseBoston]

I noticed the deck 12 renovated cabins had showed up last night, though maybe they were there earlier. I was surprised to see that the deluxe owner's suite price point was so very close to the 2BR family suites on deck 11, even though it has 160 extra square feet. This is especially surprising, since the 2br square footage includes the balcony, which, though very nice to have, is not the same thing as having more living space to spread out in, and the deluxe owner's suite views really would be hard to complain about. For the date we are sailing in august 2012, the price difference with no promo codes applied is only $100 per person for guests 1 & 2.

 

For folks sailing with two adults and two children, there were already lots of category options, but for those sailing with 6, all of these suite options are really attractive compared to getting two separate cabins, especially when special obc's and suite perks are added into the equation. I hope they do well with them.

[NC22]

I believe the dry dock is from May1st to 27th, therefore you should be fine by september. She will be as good as new after they fix the engine issues and fix the leaks (hopefully).

[Linda the Book Lover]

I read an article written by Johanna Jainchill for Travel Weekly about the Dawn getting 58 new cabins during dry dock. 28 new suites with the owner suites in the front of the ship (forward) offering the same view as the captain. Now that sounds really nice.

[Preds]

I spoke with Food and Beverage director Klaus on the Star this past week. He confirmed that they are indeed retrofitting the Dawn to match the Star. In fact his 4 month contract is split 2 months on the Star, and 2 months overseeing the retrofitting on the Dawn.

 

Off the record, he doesn't care for the re-design either.

 

Personally I hated the new setup. The suites were nice, but the loss of public space was very noticeable and disappointing,

[swedish weave]

I spoke with Food and Beverage director Klaus on the Star this past week. He confirmed that they are indeed retrofitting the Dawn to match the Star. In fact his 4 month contract is split 2 months on the Star, and 2 months overseeing the retrofitting on the Dawn.

 

Off the record, he doesn't care for the re-design either.

 

Personally I hated the new setup. The suites were nice, but the loss of public space was very noticeable and disappointing,

 

Can you clarify the "loss of public space" comment?

 

The Spinnaker at the new location has greater capacity than it was before the change. The library is still there on deck 12 along with 4 meeting rooms, and the card and game players are using the Endless Summer during the day. What public space was removed ?

[Preds]

The Movie Theatre is gone, the Card room is gone, the Latitudes room is gone, the Cigar Lounge is gone, Dazzles is gone.

 

None of that space has been truly replaced elsewhere on the ship.

 

Klaus in particular commented on the probems of not having the cigar lounge and how it was giving him lots of complaints, which he's thus far tried to resolve by converting the port side of the Bier Garten into a Cigar smoking area, however is hasn't gone over well and has led to other complaints.

 

Endless Summer was only OK for cards during the day and late evening. It was unavailable during dinner hours. The meeting rooms were unavailable due to a group reserving them for the length of the cruise. People were playing cards all over the ship because there wasn't a central area for them to go, particulary for larger groups to sit together.

 

The loss of the forward viewing Spinnakers was extremely noticable to us having sailed the Star before the conversion. Yes they now have slightly more space in the back, but it's just not the same. Honestly I went from loving the Star class design to really disliking the new layout, to the point where I won't book her again (or the Dawn once her conversion is complete).

[swedish weave]

The Movie Theatre is gone, the Card room is gone, the Latitudes room is gone, the Cigar Lounge is gone, Dazzles is gone.

 

None of that space has been truly replaced elsewhere on the ship.

 

Klaus in particular commented on the probems of not having the cigar lounge and how it was giving him lots of complaints, which he's thus far tried to resolve by converting the port side of the Bier Garten into a Cigar smoking area, however is hasn't gone over well and has led to other complaints.

 

Endless Summer was only OK for cards during the day and late evening. It was unavailable during dinner hours. The meeting rooms were unavailable due to a group reserving them for the length of the cruise. People were playing cards all over the ship because there wasn't a central area for them to go, particulary for larger groups to sit together.

 

The loss of the forward viewing Spinnakers was extremely noticable to us having sailed the Star before the conversion. Yes they now have slightly more space in the back, but it's just not the same. Honestly I went from loving the Star class design to really disliking the new layout, to the point where I won't book her again (or the Dawn once her conversion is complete).

 

To keep this simple, the theater was used for movies (now on TV) and seminars which are no longer being done due to poor attendance. The lattitudes room was converted to a shop before the conversion (again due to lack of use. The cigar room was not used much, and there has never been a Dazzles on the Star that I am aware of. The Endless Summer is available to card players during the day until shortly before the restaurant opens for dinner. Not much loss IMHO.

[Preds]

To keep this simple, the theater was used for movies (now on TV) and seminars which are no longer being done due to poor attendance. The lattitudes room was converted to a shop before the conversion (again due to lack of use. The cigar room was not used much, and there has never been a Dazzles on the Star that I am aware of. The Endless Summer is available to card players during the day until shortly before the restaurant opens for dinner. Not much loss IMHO.

You can snidely dismiss the changes all you want, the Star is NOT the ship she used to be and not for the better. She is a shell of herself. I will not sail her again due to the re-design. I'd now rank the Sky well above the Star and soon to be destroyed Dawn, and I'm not a huge fan of the Sky.

[mikewrit]

On the Star, the Spinnaker observation lounge was our favorite place when we cruised the inside passage to Glacier Bay. The new Spinnaker on the Star when we did the Panama Canal from San Pedro to Miami was indeed larger. Also like a cave and stuffy. The only time we spent more than a couple of minutes there was for the comedy pastry show featuring the chef and the cruise director. We went to the Latitudes general reception in the Spinnaker; more than half the passengers on that cruise qualified for invitations and the room was packed beyond all sanity. We understand why ships are changed to maximize profit potential. We don't have to like it.

[swedish weave]

I spoke with Food and Beverage director Klaus on the Star this past week. He confirmed that they are indeed retrofitting the Dawn to match the Star. In fact his 4 month contract is split 2 months on the Star, and 2 months overseeing the retrofitting on the Dawn.

 

Off the record, he doesn't care for the re-design either.

 

 

OFF THE RECORD ???? Not now !!!!!! The whole world knows !!!!

[leestar]

Hi, the renovations to Norwegian Dawn are going to be very similar to Norwegian Star, particularly on Deck 7. There will be more Family Suites on Dawn and they are bigger with larger balconies. We will be releasing more details in the near future.

 

Please clarify. Is the forward facing Spinnaker lounge being removed from the Dawn and the space turned into cabins?

[2Cruise4Ever]

Please clarify. Is the forward facing Spinnaker lounge being removed from the Dawn and the space turned into cabins?

 

Yes. Take a look at the deck plans for the Star. The layout will be similar.

[roger001]

Please clarify. Is the forward facing Spinnaker lounge being removed from the Dawn and the space turned into cabins?

 

I just got on the NCL site to schedule a Bermuda cruise. And yes, if you look at the deck plans for sailings after April 30th, the Spinaker lounge and all the rest on deck 12 has been changed into something like the Star now. As stupid as it sounds, without the forward observation lounge I've decided against the Dawn...and the Star also.

[leekel619]

I spoke with Food and Beverage director Klaus on the Star this past week. He confirmed that they are indeed retrofitting the Dawn to match the Star. In fact his 4 month contract is split 2 months on the Star, and 2 months overseeing the retrofitting on the Dawn.

 

Off the record, he doesn't care for the re-design either.

 

 

OFF THE RECORD ???? Not now !!!!!! The whole world knows !!!!

 

Poor Klaus, thrown under the bus....

Do you know for certain where the dry dock will be? A while ago we had some discussions on CC and I was hoping it would be in Boston, since I live 10 minutes from the dry dock and I had planned to go and take pictures to post. Then I contacted the owner and he said it wasn't happening in Boston.

I saw a posting it would be in Freeport. Whatever...with all that. I'm booked for May 27, out of Boston. So I certainly hope the engine work doesn't take long! I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this. The more I see a question asked, the more info I gather!

Another post said there's a 6 night cruise on the Dawn right before our May 27. So I was thinking that was a repo from Freeport to Boston???

We've never been on the Dawn, so it will be all new to us, renovations and refittings. I'm POSITIVE we'll have a great time! We always do.