Dawn forward Penthouse suites

[mderaba]

Hi, everyone, this is my first post for this upcoming cruise in April aboard the Dawn, and I'm getting very excited! This will be our first true "suite" experience, as on our previous two cruises we had the mini-suites, but this time we booked the Penthouse suites SE on Deck 9, forward facing. I've read alot of posts about the aft suites but not too much about the forward suites.

 

Does anyone have any pictures, tips or info to share about the forward suites? Is it true it's really windy on the balconies? What about privacy or noise?

 

I am really excited to take advantage of the suite life perks! We have three other couples going with us, and we're all in forward Penthouse suites.

[Doughboy139]

Hi, everyone, this is my first post for this upcoming cruise in April aboard the Dawn, and I'm getting very excited! This will be our first true "suite" experience, as on our previous two cruises we had the mini-suites, but this time we booked the Penthouse suites SE on Deck 9, forward facing. I've read alot of posts about the aft suites but not too much about the forward suites.

 

Does anyone have any pictures, tips or info to share about the forward suites? Is it true it's really windy on the balconies? What about privacy or noise?

 

I am really excited to take advantage of the suite life perks! We have three other couples going with us, and we're all in forward Penthouse suites.

 

Go to http://www.youtube.com and key in the ship and penthouse suite plus room number and a video will probably come up.

[mderaba]

Thanks, Doughboy, did try YouTube, and found two short videos; however, I didn't get specific answers to the questions about windy balconies or noise.

[Walt724]

Hi, everyone, this is my first post for this upcoming cruise in April aboard the Dawn, and I'm getting very excited! This will be our first true "suite" experience, as on our previous two cruises we had the mini-suites, but this time we booked the Penthouse suites SE on Deck 9, forward facing. I've read alot of posts about the aft suites but not too much about the forward suites.

 

Does anyone have any pictures, tips or info to share about the forward suites? Is it true it's really windy on the balconies? What about privacy or noise?

 

I am really excited to take advantage of the suite life perks! We have three other couples going with us, and we're all in forward Penthouse suites.

 

We had a SE on the Star last year. No noise issues at all. The dividers between the balconies taper towards the front, so you can see around into your neighbor's balcony, but it's not really an issue.

 

Wind. Yes it can get windy when the ship is under way. There is more wind at the front of the balcony than the rear and there is a ton of space. We made good use of the balcony every day.

 

The one thing to watch for is opening the door to the balcony. It is a heavy "sea" door and can be difficult. Also, you definitely want your suite door closed when you open the balcony door.

 

You will need to keep your curtains closed at night or keep your lights off.

[ksimpso3]

Hi, everyone, this is my first post for this upcoming cruise in April aboard the Dawn, and I'm getting very excited! This will be our first true "suite" experience, as on our previous two cruises we had the mini-suites, but this time we booked the Penthouse suites SE on Deck 9, forward facing. I've read alot of posts about the aft suites but not too much about the forward suites.

 

Does anyone have any pictures, tips or info to share about the forward suites? Is it true it's really windy on the balconies? What about privacy or noise?

 

I am really excited to take advantage of the suite life perks! We have three other couples going with us, and we're all in forward Penthouse suites.

 

We had a forward facing mini suite and connecting balcony on the Sun and loved them!! We loved seeing everything in front of us. I don't remember it being too windy. I have a couple pictures of the balconies on deck 10 and deck 9 from our bridge tour (deck 11 is bridge). You can see that the balconies are not too private but I think you will enjoy them regardless. I love the Dawn!

 

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df02b3127ccef27b5354703c00000030O08EaMWrVq0cg9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00009455501420130124022034957.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df02b3127ccef27a08aa910b00000030O08EaMWrVq0cg9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00009455501420130124022127365.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

[H&J]

Looks like my post didn't click so I'll summarize. Forward have larger balconies but no privacy due to the bridge. The outer door must be secured or the wind will whistle in. The aft suites have smaller balconies but are more private is sunbathing al fresco and amore al fresco are your intent. We prefer the aft after sampling both numerous times.

[JMHAM1]

We are just off the Jewel on our first true suite experience. We had forward penthouse suites 10000 & 10500. It was really too windy for us while underway. When in port, it was nice. You can see into the balconies on either side and deck 10 can see onto a portion of deck 9 balcony. I think allmour kids really annoyed the couples on either side of us by just existing. I think I heard them refer to us as "breeders" which is probably a testament to their character and not a commentary on our kid's behavior because they were being quiet while out there....whatev. We did have to keep the curtains drawn or the lights out at night. I loved the windows with the ledge you could sit on and the door was very secure for the little ones due to its weight and difficulty opening.

[garycarla]

Hi, everyone, t....

 

 

Mderaga: You need to correct your signature. The links are bunched together and do not show up correctly. Add some spaces or separate lines.

[DCP]

We just sailed the Dawn, and were in suite 9500. LOVED it. I am going to try to post some links to pics, I took a ton of them.

 

Definitely windy when under way, but AWESOME when they were under 15 knots. We took naps out on ours in the loungers on a couple of the days!

 

There was some privacy, there is like a *ledge* for deck 10, and if you are under the ledge, no one can see you.

 

We could walk out to the end of the balcony and look up and see the officers in the bridge looking out the windows!

[DCP]

You can see a little bit of the *overhang* in this pic...that is the part where you have some privacy on the balcony. I am on our balcony (suite 9500 on the Dawn) looking up at the bridge here.

Edited December 30, 2013 by DCP

[DCP]

It was a crappy day...and it was windy as you can see here. We're under way and moving pretty quickly.

[DCP]

View of the balcony from the doorway of suite 9500 on the Dawn.

[DCP]

This is the BIG door! I called it the submarine door, hubby kept correcting me saying it was a waterproof door! The butler would come in every night about 7 or so and shut it. (we were never there when he did this) We found out that they PREFER the door be shut at night when you are under way....but don't REQUIRE it to be. If it isn't shut, you definitely hear whistling from the wind when under way.

[DCP]

Our suite!! 9500 Forward Penthouse Suite on the Dawn.

[Da-Painter]

We were on the Star in a forward suite, going through the Panama Canal, best cabin for viewing the locks.

But windy, mostly too windy to sit out there all day, and no shade.

When you open the front doors, the incoming breeze shakes everything in the cabin. And you can not open the front door and the hallway door at the same time. We had wind whistling in thru the front door, and at nite usually had to close the heavy door to keep it quiet.

At nite you have to close the door and curtain for the bridge above, as the cabin lites reflect out, hampering the bridge.

 

You can not keep the forward deck door open like you can on a side or aft balcony.

 

We just did our first aft on the Jewel last month, and really enjoyed them. We have 2 more aft suites booked for the future. On the aft, you can have more flexibility for keeping the door open day and nite.

We would not do a forward again, unless another PC cruise, but love the afts.

Anyway, any suite on NCL will keep you happy and spoiled. :)

[mderaba]

Wow, thanks for the great pictures from the Dawn, DCP! That "submarine" door is something else...hubby will get a kick out of that!

 

Garycarla, I'm not sure what you mean about my "links being all bunched up"?? I didn't include any links in my original post...do you perhaps mean the signature "Sailed" blocks? If so, I have no idea how to correct them, since the website designs those somehow. When I view my post, everything looks fine. Sorry for any confusion.

 

In any case, it appears everyone has provided good info about the forward penthouse suites. I guess we will just have to put up with the suite life...!;) Thank you!

[DCP]

If you have any questions, just ask! Our Butler was Lazarro and the Concierge was Rael. Lazarro was great, he knew I was a tad sea sick, and he was so sweet, he brought me a plate of soda crackers and ginger ale, and we didn't even ask for them. There were lots of little things that make this trip so awesome. You will have a wonderful time....I am now looking to see where we're going to sail next!! (we bought 2 FCC on this trip!)

[DCT61]

We were in 9502 some years back, and it remains one our favorite cabins to date.

 

*On our cruise, we experienced little or NO wind issues at all.

*The balcony is huge, and when we were seated, we could not feel any wind at all.

*Our steel hatch door remained open and secure the whole cruise.

*Although the curtains were drawn at night, it was not an issue, because if the cabin light

was on, the window became a giant mirror and you couldn't see out anyway.

*If you opened the front door to the cabin, and the balcony door was open, everything

loose was sucked into the hallway.

*The closer you are to the balcony door (when on the balcony) the less likely you are to

be seen from above.

*Its very very quiet at the front of the ship.

*The suite has a doorbell.

 

There was a thread a while back about one of the forward facing suites being "haunted"

It was quite humorous. (do a search)

Have a great time!

[TSUmom]

Thank you for the info everyone. We too will be in our first suite in April but we will be on the Pearl. We have PH suite 10500, it is forward and we have always been aft. I have read a lot of good and some bad things (mainly wind) but we are looking forward to the new experience.:D

[bguppies]

Shouldn't the Garden Villa's really be the Penthouse suites, as they are the highest and biggest on the ship?

 

Some of NCL's suite names don't make much sense, other than throwing fancy sounding names on them.

 

Penthouse suites that are not Penthouses, but just a suite somewhere in the middle.

Owner's suites which sound like they should be the best, also, but clearly are not.

 

Mini suites, that really are NOT suites, but XL balconies...

[legion3]

 

This is the view from the top passenger deck 13, limited by my camera lens, but only the front part of the balcony can really be seen. The railing below my viewpoint is the one the ships officer is on seen in another shot in this thread.

[NH Cruisers]

I have done a cabin crawl on the Gem and Dawn and have seen the different Penthouse locations. We decided for our 20th anniversary the wife and I will splurge for a forward Penthouse on the DAWN suite 10000. We decided this because the stateroom itself seemed a little larger than the afts (due to the front bump). The balcony is definitly larger. We were underway and the wind may have been traveling the same course as us because we did not overly notice it. We were informed that we would have to keep the blinds closed at night or keep the lights off. Not a big deal to me, as the window becomes a mirror in the dark anyhow.

 

(Has nothing to do with this thread) I just wish the Dawn had a bridge viewing room like the Gem. I spent a lot of time there.

 

We are really looking forward to this cruise and hope it is all we are hoping. Never done any sort of a full suite on board a ship before, so this should really be special.

 

Bermuda or bust!!!!

 

Jon

[philip_eunice1]

Few photo from 10006

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bguppies]

Few photo from 10006

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Do you have to roll across the bed to get to the balcony?

 

That is a crazy small suite.

[philip_eunice1]

Do you have to roll across the bed to get to the balcony?

 

That is a crazy small suite.

 

No you don't have to roll across the bed

 

The second photo is the view from behind we're the first photos were taken from second balcony is on the left and behind the wall is a table and 4 chairs

 

 

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Edited January 1, 2014 by philip_eunice1