Family Suite on the Dawn

[Two Rileys]

Hi All. My husband and I are booked in an inside cabin on the Dawn that leaves New Orleans this weekend. We received an upsell email offering us a Family Suite for a very good price. For those of you who have stayed in a Family Suite, what are the advantages of being in such a cabin? There is no balcony but there are floor to ceiling windows and I do like that. There is a butler, but I really don't want a butler hovering about. It is just my husband and me and we are very easy to take care of. Leave me some clean towels and make my bed and I'm happy. What would be the other benefits of upgrading to a Family Suite?

[Crusin33]

The Family Suite on the Dawn is really nice. It has lots of room. The butler brings your afternoon snacks and invitations to special gatherings. He never seemed like he was hovering. The daily breakfast and lunch at Cagneys was good.

 

 

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[coffeegirrrl]

We stayed in a family suite in February....it was an awesome experience. The butler will only come by to drop off afternoon snacks, unless you request something else (such as room service) speaking of which- room service is included in the price for suites. You do get to have breakfast and lunch in Cagneys everyday if you want, that is a perk we used often. The concierge is there if you need him (we did use him for priority tendering and he also whisked us on and off the ship during embarcation and demarcation which was nice) Hano was in Cagneys every morning chatting with everyone and he uses the bar across the way as his office in the mornings. We are not fancy or high maintenance - we did try out room service once 😉, but we absolutely loved the whole experience. Also, if one of you is a late sleeper, there's a wall that folds out on one side of the "bedroom" and a curtain on the other side to allow one to enjoy the great views while the vampire can get some shuteye.

[Freespir8]

The family suite is wonderful. Lots of space and the floor to ceiling windows make the room feel even larger. We didn't miss the balcony when we were in this suite. If the price is reasonable, I would jump at it for sure! It's one of our favorite suites. Also, the suite perks can't be beat. It's a no brainer....just do it! You won't be sorry.

[partigus]

we were in a sj family suit for thanksgiving.SO relaxing with the wall off windows looking out at the ports or ocean!

[herdingdogmom]

You will have so much more room in the SJ Family suite than in an inside. A walk in closet, a dining table with 4 chairs, a sofa and 2 chairs next to the wall of windows and best of all a very large updated bathroom with double sinks, separate bathtub and shower. Go for it!

[Love my butler]

Many, many reasons to upgrade to the suite. The suite perks are simply awesome. The room is simply awesome. The bathroom is awesome. Do it. You won't be sorry.

[jethrojam]

I wrote a review on the sj suite last year. It may help you. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2206991

 

 

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[Meredithe]

Well, you cannot go wrong with Hanno as your concierge if you upgrade. He is just lovely! We will be in a Family Suite this Sunday on a 14 day TA and I am so super excited for it! I would JUMP at the offer!

[mypleasure]

These rooms are great. My sister and I had one in January and my husband and I have one in a couple of weeks time. The main area is very open and spacious with plenty of storage.

 

There is a lot of wardrobe space in the area between the main room and bathroom for hanging clothes. The bathroom has a bath, which we didn't use, a spacious walk-in shower and double sinks. Again plenty of storage space too.

 

The butler was friendly, he asked what snacks we prefeerred to get and they appeared every afternoon. He also came to collect the plates. He was not obtrusive in any way, shape or form. I think he was probably glad we didn't really want him as others seemed to want him all the time!

 

It was nice to have the perks that came with the suite such as breakfast and lunch at Cagneys, we didn't use our beverage package very much but it was there if we wanted a drink.

 

We were very happy with the room. Nice furnishings and a good location for the pool deck and casino.

[pathubia]

You will love it!! We were in the family suite with a balcony January and family suite without a balcony in November and loved both.

 

The family suites are on deck 12 and very close to the pool and the sundeck...

 

The butlers don't hover, lol. We only saw ours if we were around when he dropped off our afternoon snacks and we had in-suite breakfast once.

 

We are on the DAWN May 8 for our first 10 day cruise :), we are in a family suite with balcony, just the two of us, its the same one we were in last January.

 

Bon Voyage!!

[Freespir8]

Okay, so now I am dying to know...did you do it? Please come back and tell us! :) Oh and I second the comments about Hanno. He was probably the most attentive and visible concierge we have had.

Edited April 13, 2016 by annietownsend

[LAnn]

We were in an Owner's Suite -- although it is larger, it is similar in that it has no balcony but has floor to ceiling windows with beautiful views. Such an amazing experience to be able to wake up in the morning to the sight of the ocean and great puffy clouds above.

 

And if you have any special requests or needs that you could not have anticipated, it is invaluable to have someone in your corner like Hanno who not only knows how things work and how to get them done, but follows up to ensure they are done.

 

You should consider yourself fortunate to have received an upsell offer. We've stayed in suites on other lines, and the NCL suite experience is excellent. We loved it.

[pathubia]

We were in an Owner's Suite -- although it is larger, it is similar in that it has no balcony but has floor to ceiling windows with beautiful views. Such an amazing experience to be able to wake up in the morning to the sight of the ocean and great puffy clouds above.

 

And if you have any special requests or needs that you could not have anticipated, it is invaluable to have someone in your corner like Hanno who not only knows how things work and how to get them done, but follows up to ensure they are done.

 

You should consider yourself fortunate to have received an upsell offer. We've stayed in suites on other lines, and the NCL suite experience is excellent. We loved it.

 

I called to see what the upsell would be for the Owners Suite and it was $350 (in addidition to the $400 upsell we already took), if there were 4 of us I probably would have taken it.....Maybe next cruise!!

[LAnn]

I called to see what the upsell would be for the Owners Suite and it was $350 (in addidition to the $400 upsell we already took), if there were 4 of us I probably would have taken it.....Maybe next cruise!!

 

So it would be $350 total, or $175 per person? If so, that is a surprisingly excellent deal. I wonder if it's because most people want a balcony. We didn't miss the balcony because of the amazing views through the windows, and the fact that the pool deck is just a walk down the hallway. In addition to the regular suite perks,the owner's suites include complimentary liquor (three bottles), mixers, sodas and bottled water.

[gail-s]

If you can swing the price difference I'd do it in a second. We had a family suite with a balcony on the Dawn and it was fabulous. The room is much bigger than a balcony or outside room (sorry I don't know how big the inside rooms are) and the bathrooms are gigantic and wonderful. I wanted to bring the waterfall shower home with me. The perks of being in a suite are great. You get priority boarding and departures. The butler is awesome about bringing you snacks every day. The concierge was great for helping with booking dinners at the specialty restaurants. We were completely spoiled by being in a suite. I loved it. The concierge got to know my parents who were in a balcony and made sure that they were with us for boarding and leaving. The private seating at the shows was nice too. No jostling with people and having to sit squished in the middle of the auditorium.

[pathubia]

So it would be $350 total, or $175 per person? If so, that is a surprisingly excellent deal. I wonder if it's because most people want a balcony. We didn't miss the balcony because of the amazing views through the windows, and the fact that the pool deck is just a walk down the hallway. In addition to the regular suite perks,the owner's suites include complimentary liquor (three bottles), mixers, sodas and bottled water.

 

It is $350pp, we had already paid $400pp to upsell from the balcony to the family suite with balcony. So it would have been a $750pp upsell if we had taken it. There are still three owners suites available for our cruise, if they call and offer it for 0, I may give up my family suite with balcony....The complimentary liquor doesn't really matter, we have the drink package anyways and don't usually drink in the suite.

[FraudBroad]

Hi All. My husband and I are booked in an inside cabin on the Dawn that leaves New Orleans this weekend. We received an upsell email offering us a Family Suite for a very good price. For those of you who have stayed in a Family Suite, what are the advantages of being in such a cabin? There is no balcony but there are floor to ceiling windows and I do like that. There is a butler, but I really don't want a butler hovering about. It is just my husband and me and we are very easy to take care of. Leave me some clean towels and make my bed and I'm happy. What would be the other benefits of upgrading to a Family Suite?

 

DO IT!!! We just did the same on our Star sailing (sister ship to the Dawn) and the suite is amazing....you won't be disapointed!

[fonrouge82]

We have booked a family suite with a balcony for our family of four in August. I just can't wait! It will be our first time in a suite and this reading this has made me even more excited. Silly question, but what did you ask for from your butler for afternoon snacks? I need some suggestions!

[mypleasure]

We are low carb and do not eat bread, cookies, things with sugar in which is most of the snacks. I also avoid cheese as it gives me migraines. He said how about fruit. I said we eat berries a lot so he brought us some lovely fruit plates each day with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi and watermelon. Perfect for us.