The "Suite" Life - Dawn Review - 9/2/11

[Kellismom]

Thank you for the review, I look forward to more. I am on the Dawn next week! It is interesting to hear about the new suites. I am in an aft penthouse on deck 8 and am concerned about noise. As many of the new family suites are open it might be a possibility that I could switch into one, have been working with my PCC. But so far--not having heard from anyone who actually had one--AND loving the idea of an aft--I have stuck with the aft penthouse and hoping for the best. One of my biggest concerns was the size of the balcony in the new suites--sounds like yours was very nice though--so I am wondering again. . .

 

Glad you had a good time! Waiting for more.:)

 

I was just on the Dawn in the aft penthouse on deck 8 and yes the noise is bad! If you are bothered by noise, I would attempt to switch.

[mrclean1]

Did you find there was much traffic around your rooms? I was wondering because its near the pool and an elevator just towards the bow?

 

Great pictures by the way, thank you!

 

There was a fair amount of traffic in the hallway, just about everytime I went in or out I would see someone, but don't worry, there is no noise, the bath and closet pretty much isolate your actual cabin from any hall noise. Also, the hall is wider there then on lower decks.

[mrclean1]

John,

 

It's a work in progress, find it here...

 

My "Suite" Life review aboard NCL Dawn

[mrclean1]

OOPS....posted that last one on the wrong thread.

[mrclean1]

9/4 (Day 3)

Our day began with us waking at 6:15AM and with the skies starting to lighten, we got to watch the Bermuda coastline slide by our glass wall on the close in approach, talk about a room with a view! Gian delivered coffee and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise until it was disturbed by a pop up tropical downpour. All was well as we docked around 7:45AM and the sun was shining under a party cloudy sky. Breakfast again was at Cagney’s where the crab cake benedict was wonderful. My DW is not an early riser and most days does not do breakfast, so usually upon leaving Cagney’s, Virginia, our concierge and I have cappuccino’s together discussing life and travel.

I’m not normally a “cabin” person, but in this case find myself spending more and more time there, it is just so comfortable. I really don’t feel a need to go exploring the public spaces, I’m content right here, after all it is “freestyle” isn’t it? Planning this itinerary? Your options will be varied and extensive, trust me you won’t be bored.

Going ashore, our plan was immediately shot when we found that the ferry to St. George’s doesn’t operate on Sunday, we opted not to purchase a transport pass when we were informed they may not operate on Monday either because of the holiday. Hamilton does not really interest us, as we have been there 3 times before and most of the shops are closed anyway and St. George just wasn’t going to be worth spending several hours on a pink bus, with everything closed up there too. Horseshoe Beach was a brief option, but we decided that with most of the ship there we really needed to do something else. So we strolled the dockyard area on foot for about 2 hours and returned to the ship having done all of the shopping we intend too while here. Tomorrow’s day will be determined on the fly, we’ll see when we get to it, seeing as how no one seems to really be sure of what the holiday schedules are going to be. I feel bad for those passengers who are visiting for the first time. I knew most things would be closed on Sunday, but did not realize Monday was a holiday there as well as in the States. Unless you were planning a beach vacation there probably was more than a little disappointment. It made no difference to us, when we booked a month ago, DW was a little leery because we have been to Bermuda 4 times, I told her then that it wasn’t the island I was looking forward too, but more that there are no cell phones or e-mail. I’m content to stay right on the ship!

With the ship mostly deserted, we had a very enjoyable afternoon poolside, nibbling from the buffet, drinking and lounging in the sun, and by 4:00PM, my battery had pretty much run down, back to the cabin for a quick shower and nap… I was in the casino until 1:00AM, up early, and we lost an hour due to the time change. Once again we experienced intermittent hot water, on again, off again but I was too tired to bother with it. DW attended mass on board celebrated by a local priest, then woke me at 6:30PM and it was off to the show, Sideshow Bert, a comedian, juggler, etc. There were some funny moments, but we have seen much, much better. After the show we decided we had enough, got a quick bite in the buffet and once again ran into Captain Stephan having ice cream with another officer at the table next to us. We had a laugh about someone stalking us again….. Captain still says it looks like we will have to depart early to avoid Katia, we are currently scheduled to depart tomorrow at 6:00PM, but the final decision will be made in the morning, the storm has been very erratic, one minute it looks good, the next it looks bad, it is a very large storm and will somehow impact Bermuda on Wednesday and they are taking no chances. Early night for us, we won’t be making it to the deck party.

On a side note, it was really cute, and we had a good chuckle, when a young girl (8 or 10) in a wet bathing suit and towel comes up to the Captain’s table, asks “how are you guys doing”, then pulls out a chair and settles right in and begins to carry on a conversation without being invited. Captain was most gracious and showed no signs of annoyance while carrying on a conversation, and after several minutes, Mom arrives to reel her in and Captain gives her a hug and sends her on her way, before heading back to the bridge, a real gentlemen!!

[m4rcla]

Mrclean, your suite looks amazing and looks VERY new! Did Norwegian renovated their whole cabins or just the suites?

[cjcruiser27]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review, I am enjoying it! I am cruisng in 2 weeks (from yesterday!)and I am excited to see what NCL is like, I usually go with Celebrity or Carnival. Never been to Bermuda so it'll be fun, hope the weather cooperates. Enjoy your trip and relaxation!;)

Do it if you can, problem is you will be spoiled for life!!! Yes, we utilized the buffet quite a bit, we never did the dining rooms, we did Moderno, Le Bistro and Cagney's each one night and used the buffet the other four. After big breakfasts or lunches in Cagney's, I just couldn't do big dinners too!! My wife and I both thought that the quality of the food was much better than we have experienced in the past, maybe it is the ship, maybe the chef or perhaps it is true fleet wide. We never had a problem finding seats, especially towards the stern.

 

We too booked a deck 9 balcony and upgraded the week before we sailed. I booked through the CAS department, so really don't want to make it public here, but e-mail me privately and I'll let you know the deal in case it helps you to negotiate if you go that route. Slachowetz at AOL dot COM, just insert the appropriate symbols. It was the best upgrade we ever bought...

 

And yes, there are 5 more days coming, as quick as I can put them together. I outlined them while on board and have to use my notes to write them.

 

Thanks, Steve

[mrclean1]

Mrclean, your suite looks amazing and looks VERY new! Did Norwegian renovated their whole cabins or just the suites?

 

The ship was refurbished during drydock back in May I think, the spinnaker lounge was moved at that time from deck 12 down to 7 and the new suites have been under construction while they have been traveling the Bermuda route. We were the first passengers to use that new area.

[bean24]

Did Virginia take over as the concierge permanently or was she just covering for Anoop? We were on the Dawn last year and he was wonderful.

[Kruizin'Kath]

Even though we are only in an inside cabin on deck 12, I'm enjoying your review immensely! Thank you!

[mrclean1]

Did Virginia take over as the concierge permanently or was she just covering for Anoop? We were on the Dawn last year and he was wonderful.

 

Virginia was transfered in from the Star to open the new suites, she will be aboard until December. She goes home then, and after that back to the Star.

[mrclean1]

9/5 (Day 4)

Bermuda is a bust! Greeted by a beautiful sunny morning, we breakfast at Cagney’s, and then share cappuccinos with Virginia in the concierge lounge next door. Here we found out the ferries are not running to St. George due to the holiday. Bummer, this is the 3rd trip to Bermuda where we have not been able to get out there. We could have taken the bus but had no desire to spend our day traveling. We opted to ferry over to Hamilton, but on arrival found next to nothing open, it was like a ghost town, we did however get to take in their Labor Day parade, a rare treat.

We returned to the ship and spent the afternoon poolside, where I met up with Mitch, a deck waiter, that remembered us from past trips on the Spirit. We sailed the Spirit more than a year ago and I am truly amazed that he could remember us from that long ago. We had lunch picking on the buffet and with a burger from Topsider’s. Overall, a great day. On a positive note, I noticed far less chair hogging this trip than on others, and have yet to have an issue finding a table or lounger. A picture perfect day for the pool!

Back to the cabin for a shower and power nap, BUT, we have no hot water, and this has been an intermittent issue since we boarded, this time we called it in and the deck supervisor came immediately, returned minutes later with 2 others and fixed it within 20 minutes. According to my DW, I managed to sleep through all of the excitement, but then she says I could sleep through a hurricane anyway. Speaking of which, the Captain makes a final announcement at around 2:00PM to say we will in fact leave Bermuda at 6:00PM today, a day ahead of schedule. We will slowly make our way back to Boston ahead of the storm and it will probably cross our track behind us at some point. I met some unhappy folks because of the itinerary change, but for us it makes no difference as we love sea days.

Our evening plans were to have dinner on our balcony from Cagney’s, but it was not to be, DW crashed at about 7:00 due to exhaustion, too much sun and being in party mode all day. We’ll try again tomorrow. The show tonight was the “V” show, not really my style, so I left early. I went to the Chocolate buffet where VIP’s (another suite perk) were allowed early access before it was opened, and it was a huge hit! It remained very, very busy for the rest of the evening. Dining alone, I went to the buffet and then finished the evening in the casino, staying there until 1:30AM. A very productive couple of hours it was.

Speaking of casino’s, what a difference a ship makes…. After an hour at the blackjack table, playing 25 – 125 per hand, I order a Padron Silver tequila on the rocks, I have a drink card but the waitress says I have to pay for it as they only serve well drinks, I tell her to ask the pit boss and he refuses to authorize it, that has never happened before on the Spirit. Either there has been a change in policy with CAS or the floor people on this ship just flat out suck, either way it is just very poor business. In that hour, the dealer’s received at least 70.00 in tips from me alone at that table and they couldn’t pick up the $4.00 difference between a premium and well drink? I went to the bar and bought my own, but not before letting the pit boss know I was keeping future tips to pay for the drinks. I then collared my casino host to get his take and he shrugged his shoulders and said there was nothing he could do. An hour later I was back after I cooled down and resumed tipping the dealer as it really wasn’t her fault. Called it a day after turning a profit and went to bed. We are now seriously in the plus column…..

[chief d]

Thank you Mrclean, I'll be in a SJ in 3 weeks. So looking for the vacation.

[jimswims]

9/4 (Day 3)

Our day began with us waking at 6:15AM and with the skies starting to lighten, we got to watch the Bermuda coastline slide by our glass wall on the close in approach, talk about a room with a view! Gian delivered coffee and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise until it was disturbed by a pop up tropical downpour. All was well as we docked around 7:45AM and the sun was shining under a party cloudy sky. Breakfast again was at Cagney’s where the crab cake benedict was wonderful. My DW is not an early riser and most days does not do breakfast, so usually upon leaving Cagney’s, Virginia, our concierge and I have cappuccino’s together discussing life and travel.

 

I’m not normally a “cabin” person, but in this case find myself spending more and more time there, it is just so comfortable. I really don’t feel a need to go exploring the public spaces, I’m content right here, after all it is “freestyle” isn’t it? Planning this itinerary? Your options will be varied and extensive, trust me you won’t be bored.

 

Going ashore, our plan was immediately shot when we found that the ferry to St. George’s doesn’t operate on Sunday, we opted not to purchase a transport pass when we were informed they may not operate on Monday either because of the holiday. Hamilton does not really interest us, as we have been there 3 times before and most of the shops are closed anyway and St. George just wasn’t going to be worth spending several hours on a pink bus, with everything closed up there too. Horseshoe Beach was a brief option, but we decided that with most of the ship there we really needed to do something else. So we strolled the dockyard area on foot for about 2 hours and returned to the ship having done all of the shopping we intend too while here. Tomorrow’s day will be determined on the fly, we’ll see when we get to it, seeing as how no one seems to really be sure of what the holiday schedules are going to be. I feel bad for those passengers who are visiting for the first time. I knew most things would be closed on Sunday, but did not realize Monday was a holiday there as well as in the States. Unless you were planning a beach vacation there probably was more than a little disappointment. It made no difference to us, when we booked a month ago, DW was a little leery because we have been to Bermuda 4 times, I told her then that it wasn’t the island I was looking forward too, but more that there are no cell phones or e-mail. I’m content to stay right on the ship!

 

With the ship mostly deserted, we had a very enjoyable afternoon poolside, nibbling from the buffet, drinking and lounging in the sun, and by 4:00PM, my battery had pretty much run down, back to the cabin for a quick shower and nap… I was in the casino until 1:00AM, up early, and we lost an hour due to the time change. Once again we experienced intermittent hot water, on again, off again but I was too tired to bother with it. DW attended mass on board celebrated by a local priest, then woke me at 6:30PM and it was off to the show, Sideshow Bert, a comedian, juggler, etc. There were some funny moments, but we have seen much, much better. After the show we decided we had enough, got a quick bite in the buffet and once again ran into Captain Stephan having ice cream with another officer at the table next to us. We had a laugh about someone stalking us again….. Captain still says it looks like we will have to depart early to avoid Katia, we are currently scheduled to depart tomorrow at 6:00PM, but the final decision will be made in the morning, the storm has been very erratic, one minute it looks good, the next it looks bad, it is a very large storm and will somehow impact Bermuda on Wednesday and they are taking no chances. Early night for us, we won’t be making it to the deck party.

 

On a side note, it was really cute, and we had a good chuckle, when a young girl (8 or 10) in a wet bathing suit and towel comes up to the Captain’s table, asks “how are you guys doing”, then pulls out a chair and settles right in and begins to carry on a conversation without being invited. Captain was most gracious and showed no signs of annoyance while carrying on a conversation, and after several minutes, Mom arrives to reel her in and Captain gives her a hug and sends her on her way, before heading back to the bridge, a real gentlemen!!

 

This is a nice picture! Thanks :D The blue catamaran is the Rising Son II. It is a beautiful boat. I have been on it 3 times.

[chipsmom]

wow Mr clean...thank you !!!

I am in an SJ next May with 86 yo mom and 19 yo son.

CAN NOT WAIT !!

I will share the photos with my Mom and hope:) you post more.

[WMQueenie]

MrClean....did you get my email? I am planning to call NCL tonight about upgrading and was hoping to hear from you before I call...thanks!!!

[mrclean1]

MrClean....did you get my email? I am planning to call NCL tonight about upgrading and was hoping to hear from you before I call...thanks!!!

 

I got and answered a couple, not sure if any of them was yours. I responded a short while ago, as I was out all day yesterday at a classic car show. We won the "President's Choice Award":D This just keeps getting better and better..:D

 

If I didn't answer, try again, or post your address here and I will get back to you.

 

Steve

[WMQueenie]

I got and answered a couple, not sure if any of them was yours. I responded a short while ago, as I was out all day yesterday at a classic car show. We won the "President's Choice Award":D This just keeps getting better and better..:D

 

If I didn't answer, try again, or post your address here and I will get back to you.

 

Steve

 

Congrats on the award! Which auto show? We live nearby in Agawam... No, I did not receive a response from you...I think I may have signed it with my real name and not my Cruise Critic screen name! please contact me at aloj at comcast dot net

Thank you so much!

[mrclean1]

Congrats on the award! Which auto show? We live nearby in Agawam... No, I did not receive a response from you...I think I may have signed it with my real name and not my Cruise Critic screen name! please contact me at aloj at comcast dot net

Thank you so much!

 

It was at the 31st Annual Melha Shriner's Vintage Auto Show in Chicopee..

[Island Beachdog]

Looking at the pictures of the balcony, it appears that they are not covered. Is this correct or is it just the angle from which the picture was taken?

[mrclean1]

9/6 (day 5)

I had a very lazy morning after a really late night last evening. DW and I do breakfast in the buffet, relax on the balcony and really have no plan for the day. Feels like we are just floating northward, can’t be traveling more than 5 knots or so, and the weather is beautiful with temps in the mid to high 80’s, with humidity about 80%. I believe we are going to just lounge around in the nice weather before making a run for Boston sometime late in the day Thursday.

Mid morning we power walked the promenade, spent some time in the photo gallery and shops, DW made her debut in the casino, visiting for the first time and did her part to fatten the bottom line of NCL,:) freshened up and off we went to Cagney’s for lunch. I had the Ahi tuna burger for the second time and it was wonderful along with the shrimp cocktails. Then, off to the pool deck (which conveniently is only about 50 yards from our cabin) and while there, we experienced another first, when early afternoon poolside a guy jumps up onto the bands gazebo and proposes to his fiancée in front of hundreds of us, not the way I would have done it, but cute, good thing for him she said yes….:eek: I’m sure they had more than a few drinks purchased for them around the ship after that…The rest of the day was spent on our balcony which on this return trip home faces west. Beautiful sunrises going down and spectacular sunsets going home….

Not really being cabin people, we always spent most of our time out, but this time living in such a beautiful space, we find ourselves being in the cabin much more, either entertaining friends or flat out just enjoying the day on our balcony. Not normally being suite travelers, we may have to re-think that plan going forward.

Gian, our butler delivered menus from Cagney’s and Le Bistro and is anxious to work harder for us, so we agree to dinner en suite at 7:30PM from Cagney’s. This guy is great! He stops by around 5:30 and takes our order for dinner. I’m off to the internet café to take care of business and personal e-mails, as it is little sis’s birthday tomorrow.

Arrive back to the cabin about 7:15PM to find the dining table set up on our balcony, wine chilling in the bucket and a spectacular sunset in progress. I wanted a table with a view, and there surely is not a better one to be found than right here, right now.

I was a little leery about spending 50.00 for dinner and having it arrive late, cold, etc. None of which was an issue, we were served by Gian as if we were sitting right there in Cagney’s, not rushed and everything arrived hot and fresh.

Oysters Rockefeller and clam chowder, followed by salads, a spectacular filet and rib eye with béarnaise sauce, along with garlic mashed potatoes, Cagney fries and creamed spinach. We spent 2 hours over dinner and enjoyed every minute of it…. We finished with cappuccino but no dessert. Would I do this again? You bet, and Gian is trying to convince us to do it again tomorrow night, this time ordering from Le Bistro, we’ll see…

Show tonight is Second City, not our favorite, so we did not go, we did miss Dave Heenan the comedian in the atrium due to dinner, but he will be in the theater tomorrow, so we will get to see him then. Finished the evening late in the casino, where I graciously returned some of their money to them :(

[yoyocruiser]

Love the pictures--have never ordered the meals en suite--kids were with us and I couldn't put the butler through that!! LOL But that looks absoltuely georgeous! :)

[2boyzmom]

Booked the SJ for our 10 day Caribbean trip Easter week. Psyched!! Thank You for the pics :)

[mrclean1]

Looking at the pictures of the balcony, it appears that they are not covered. Is this correct or is it just the angle from which the picture was taken?

 

They are uncovered. There is a metal frame above and I'm not sure if the future plan is to cover them, or leave them the way they are.

[fiftyguy]

The set table on your balcony looks very inviting. We also dined on the balcony our last trip, but didn't. I think this needs to be on our "must do" list for next year. If I understand you correctly Gian brought each course separately and not all at once? Did you ask for the meal to be delivered in this manner or did Gian do it this way?

Thanks for the informative review.