Urgent opinion needed - Dawn Suite Conundrum!

[c6mq]

We just booked a SJ suite for Feb 1st which will be our first cruise with NCL. We will be eagerly awaiting your experience with the SJ suite!

[Mrs. H.]

DH and I LOVE the Dawn.

We had SJ on he Gem and absolutely loved the space!!!

Amazing how much space here is in SJ.

Didn't miss he balcony at all. I just had to try the SJ and was so glad we did.

We were just talking about this the other night and I wasn't sure if I liked this cabin better than the cabin with two balconies and 1 & 1/2 bathrooms. lol

 

You really can't go wrong with SJ. Enjoy!

[Demonyte]

We had SJ on he Gem and absolutely loved the space!!!

 

 

Only ships with SJ suites are Dawn and Star.

[DCT61]

We were in 12516 on the DAWN to Canada/New England. The lack of balcony made no difference to us. We didn't miss it at all. The room was a great size, and we loved the floor to ceiling windows. The pool deck is just a short walk at the end of the corridor. We RARELY heard any noise from overhead. These are great rooms...go for it!

[Mrs. H.]

Only ships with SJ suites are Dawn and Star.

 

I stand corrected. It was the Star.

 

lol My husband and I were just talking about this cabin 15 minutes ago.

Like he said, we didn't even miss the balcony.

Loved the Haven! Had the place to ourselves so many times. :)

[Demonyte]

I stand corrected. It was the Star.

 

lol My husband and I were just talking about this cabin 15 minutes ago.

Like he said, we didn't even miss the balcony.

Loved the Haven! Had the place to ourselves so many times. :)

 

There is no Haven on those (Dawn class) ships - that is the whole reason why SJ suites exist. :D :D :D

Edited January 8, 2015 by Demonyte

[Barb Nahoumi]

I was in 12502 in 2013, and loved it.

[DaisyGoldberg]

We LOVE the SJ suites on the Dawn. I love a balcony, but honestly did not miss it in the SJ suite. The floor to ceiling windows are amazing -- I wish we'd had them in Alaska!

 

You truly have the best views of the sea on the ship from your room. So much of the rest of the ship has those plexiglass walls -- and so would a balcony. No such obstruction of the view in the SJ!

 

I usually take the Murphy bed which is right by the window. Nothing like parting the curtains and watching the sunrise from bed!

 

The view of the old fort in Bermuda (and the sea beyond it) was lovely. The view of the Chateau Frontenac a few blocks directly across from us in Quebec - amazing!

[don't-use-real-name]

There is no Haven on those (Dawn class) ships - that is the whole reason why SJ suites exist. :D :D :D

 

"HAVEN" aka Garden Suite

 

Wouldn't the poster be referring to the two Garden Suites on Deck 14 ?

As close to a Haven as one is going to get on the Dawn class ships.

[GeezerCouple]

"HAVEN" aka Garden Suite

 

Wouldn't the poster be referring to the two Garden Suites on Deck 14 ?

As close to a Haven as one is going to get on the Dawn class ships.

 

You mean "Garden Villa".

 

And those are PART OF "The Haven" on the ships like the Pearl. They aren't The Haven in and of themselves.

 

However, after seeing the private patio/hot tub area of the Garden Villa on the Dawn (passengers kindly gave us a tour), DH and I definitely felt it was a haven in it's own right :)

It felt like we had just stepped into a private patio in Florence.

 

GeezerCouple

[bonvoyagie]

The Garden Villas on the Dawn were the beginning of the deluxe multi bedroom suites - they are still the largest ones. When they first came out they had a flat rate/week - something around 26k - I think you could sleep 8 or more with ease.

 

With the Jewel class ships they added more suites the courtyard and pool and made the area exclusive to those suites (none of the other suites on the ship have access) They called it the Courtyard.

 

When the Epic came along, they added the bar and grill and restaurant. Eventually the whole thing was branded "The Haven" - even on the Jewel Class ships.

 

I really think that I could do without a balcony as long as I had the windows to the world.

[dexddd]

The Garden Villas on the Dawn were the beginning of the deluxe multi bedroom suites - they are still the largest ones. When they first came out they had a flat rate/week - something around 26k - I think you could sleep 8 or more with ease.

 

With the Jewel class ships they added more suites the courtyard and pool and made the area exclusive to those suites (none of the other suites on the ship have access) They called it the Courtyard.

 

When the Epic came along, they added the bar and grill and restaurant. Eventually the whole thing was branded "The Haven" - even on the Jewel Class ships.

 

I really think that I could do without a balcony as long as I had the windows to the world.

 

They did allow 8 up until a couple years ago. Not sure why they changed - maybe the 8th ended up in a rollaway?

[Demonyte]

They did allow 8 up until a couple years ago. Not sure why they changed - maybe the 8th ended up in a rollaway?

 

Beds are available for six, seveth person sleeps on rollaway (or one of the chairs opens up as a bed).

[GeezerCouple]

The Garden Villas on the Dawn were the beginning of the deluxe multi bedroom suites - they are still the largest ones. When they first came out they had a flat rate/week - something around 26k - I think you could sleep 8 or more with ease.

 

With the Jewel class ships they added more suites the courtyard and pool and made the area exclusive to those suites (none of the other suites on the ship have access) They called it the Courtyard.

 

When the Epic came along, they added the bar and grill and restaurant. Eventually the whole thing was branded "The Haven" - even on the Jewel Class ships.

 

I really think that I could do without a balcony as long as I had the windows to the world.

 

As to "access to the Haven Courtyard", on the Pearl (at the least), the four Owner's Suites forward on Decks 9 and 10 also have full Haven access. It's just a bit of a walk to get there.

 

As far as I know, those are the only suites not physically "in" the Haven that have access.

Other suites have all of the other suite perks (breakfast/lunch, expedited entry/exit at ports, butler & concierge service, etc.) but not access to the Haven.

 

GeezerCouple

[Guindalf]

This will be our first suite experience, so really looking forward to the extra pampering!

 

Question: What are the typical gratuities for the butler and concierge? I know this varies depending on services provided, but just a general idea.

[fridaythe13th]

I'm a balcony person but my sister and I decided to go for more floor space and no balcony, booking an SJ. The extra space is really nice but I actually missed the balcony. I enjoy getting up in the morning and heading right out to the balcony with my room service coffee (or use the latte' machine provided) and relaxing.

[Va. Plumber]

This will be our first suite experience, so really looking forward to the extra pampering!

 

Question: What are the typical gratuities for the butler and concierge? I know this varies depending on services provided, but just a general idea.

 

Darn, I wish you hadn't asked that. If you google the topic, you will find a ton of useless reading material on the subject. You will get opinions ranging from zero to ridiculous sums.

 

We were in Dawn SJ in October. Loved the suite and loved the service from concierge, butler and steward. For the butler we followed the oft-quoted $10.00 per day per person. We easily interacted with him at least

five times a day. The concierge got $100.00. She handled our dinner reservations and was very personable. I also figured she was getting a gratuity from every suite on the ship. (or perhaps not based on some posts.) We gave steward $50.00 since he is covered under the pool system.

[dexddd]

Beds are available for six, seveth person sleeps on rollaway (or one of the chairs opens up as a bed).

 

Correct. But I had never heard why they made the change from allowing 8 people to book some of the GVs to then only allowing 7.

[Guindalf]

Darn, I wish you hadn't asked that. If you google the topic, you will find a ton of useless reading material on the subject. You will get opinions ranging from zero to ridiculous sums.

 

~

 

That's precisely why I asked. I've searched and Googled and found everything from $25 (for a bad butler) to $200+!

 

We're not wealthy and really only have the suite for the perks, so adding another few hundred for tips over and above the norm was not budgeted. However, we don't want to be cheap either.

[fridaythe13th]

That's precisely why I asked. I've searched and Googled and found everything from $25 (for a bad butler) to $200+!

 

We're not wealthy and really only have the suite for the perks, so adding another few hundred for tips over and above the norm was not budgeted. However, we don't want to be cheap either.

 

Well, I'm one of the cheap ones. We didn't use our butler at all but he still delivered goodies each afternoon so I only gave him $20..... :eek:

[All-ready2cruise]

Well, I'm one of the cheap ones. We didn't use our butler at all but he still delivered goodies each afternoon so I only gave him $20..... :eek:

 

When we were in a suite, we didn't request anything from our Butler either, and our Butler sweetly complained about us not utilizing his services enough. Perhaps he was afraid we'd stiff him. We would never, knowingly, "stiff" our butler or concierge (I'm sure you didn't know either so this is just for future reference) since they are NOT included in the DSC, it means they get very little for their work.

 

We do ascribe to the $10/pp per day amount for our Butler and slightly less for the Concierge and if our Steward is as good as usual we give him extra as well.

 

Cheers,

Connie

Edited January 9, 2015 by All-ready2cruise

[hondorner]

We spent 24 days in an SJ on Star last year, loved it, best cabin in which I've ever sailed. We opened it up for a cabin crawl, and everyone was amazed. I introduced the cabin to folks by pointing to each quarter of the cabin, saying, "This is our bedroom, and this is our living room, and this is our dining room, and this is our dance floor! Yes, it's that spacious.

 

A tip -- use something to tie all the window curtains together at the center. I used a spare belt. This opens up all the windows to their full, magnificent view!

Edited January 10, 2015 by hondorner

[fridaythe13th]

When we were in a suite, we didn't request anything from our Butler either, and our Butler sweetly complained about us not utilizing his services enough. Perhaps he was afraid we'd stiff him. We would never, knowingly, "stiff" our butler or concierge (I'm sure you didn't know either so this is just for future reference) since they are NOT included in the DSC, it means they get very little for their work.

 

We do ascribe to the $10/pp per day amount for our Butler and slightly less for the Concierge and if our Steward is as good as usual we give him extra as well.

 

Cheers,

Connie

 

While I do realize they are not in the DSC, don't they have a totally different salary than those in the pool? Just curious if there is a next time.

[AF-1]

So if someone books a suite; in addition to the normal $12 per day for tips; a suite guest is also expected to tip the butler and concierge; the amount depends on how much you use them; and its based on the total days for a cruise. So a 7 night cruise would be at least $70 for butler and $50-$70 for concierge or vice versa. Is this somewhat correct? I know some people will leave more and some less; but for a baseline does this seem reasonable? Thanks

[pathubia]

So if someone books a suite; in addition to the normal $12 per day for tips; a suite guest is also expected to tip the butler and concierge; the amount depends on how much you use them; and its based on the total days for a cruise. So a 7 night cruise would be at least $70 for butler and $50-$70 for concierge or vice versa. Is this somewhat correct? I know some people will leave more and some less; but for a baseline does this seem reasonable? Thanks

 

 

Yes.

 

 

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