Family Suite - Do you Miss the Balcony ?

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

We are hoping that cruising will be back in full swing by the Spring of 2022 - and are looking at the Transatlantic from N/Y to Southhampton -

on the NCL Dawn - April 2022

We have always loved the Aft Balcony suites - to enjoy watching the wake - and just sitting out on the balcony

HOWEVER - Now looking at a Family Suite - (12006 - Category SP) near the front - just a little bit bigger (although there are only 2 of us seniors) but no balcony.  The attraction for us to this category is the separate tub and shower. (I know, sounds silly, but whatever !) 

Since a good portion of the itinerary is "at sea" our thought is we probably would not be using the balcony all that much.

Would appreciate comments or suggestions (or sharing of experiences)

  

THANK YOU ! 

 

[samiam0403]

I sailed in a Family Suite on Dawn a few years ago - and had the same worries. Turned out I didn't miss the balcony at all. It was only one flight up (with stairs right by the room) to the open decks, so that helped. Loved the floor to ceiling wall of windows and would book one again without hesitation.

[complawyer]

28 minutes ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

We are hoping that cruising will be back in full swing by the Spring of 2022 - and are looking at the Transatlantic from N/Y to Southhampton -

on the NCL Dawn - April 2022

We have always loved the Aft Balcony suites - to enjoy watching the wake - and just sitting out on the balcony

HOWEVER - Now looking at a Family Suite - (12006 - Category SP) near the front - just a little bit bigger (although there are only 2 of us seniors) but no balcony.  The attraction for us to this category is the separate tub and shower. (I know, sounds silly, but whatever !) 

Since a good portion of the itinerary is "at sea" our thought is we probably would not be using the balcony all that much.

Would appreciate comments or suggestions (or sharing of experiences)

  

THANK YOU ! 

 

sorry, i gotta have a balcony. may be at sea for a number of days, but nothing beats sitting on the balcony with a glass of wine ,and watching the sunset.  a number of haven suites have tub and separate stall shower

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

5 minutes ago, complawyer said:

sorry, i gotta have a balcony. may be at sea for a number of days, but nothing beats sitting on the balcony with a glass of wine ,and watching the sunset.  a number of haven suites have tub and separate stall shower

No haven suites available on the Dawn - darn 

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

1 hour ago, samiam0403 said:

I sailed in a Family Suite on Dawn a few years ago - and had the same worries. Turned out I didn't miss the balcony at all. It was only one flight up (with stairs right by the room) to the open decks, so that helped. Loved the floor to ceiling wall of windows and would book one again without hesitation.

THANK YOU !! 

Just booked it !! (Cabin 12006) 

[knitlady037]

they are not just a little larger, they are double the size. Plus the much larger bathroom. The Dawn also has family suites with balcony for a higher price. But I did not miss the balcony at all!

 

[mtrancher]

Going from an Aft balcony to no balcony would be tough for me. We are testing a Haven balcony after being in a Haven Aft balcony. My wife wants to try being up in the Haven versus walking to the Haven. For me not a big deal and I loved the aft balcony. I agree with an earlier poster... if you are one deck below the pool deck maybe not so bad.. plus the floor to ceiling windows aren't a bad substitute ... but  to me not sure all that substitutes for the zero wind, always comfortable aft balcony.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

On 1/15/2021 at 4:30 PM, knitlady037 said:

they are not just a little larger, they are double the size. Plus the much larger bathroom. The Dawn also has family suites with balcony for a higher price. But I did not miss the balcony at all!

 

Good to hear that the are DOUBLE the size ! - Thanks

(No Family  Suites with Balconies currently available for our Itinerary - but will keep checking!) 

[kjquilts]

We've had family suites with and without balcony on the Norwegian Star and really enjoyed both staterooms.   I think one of these staterooms would be excellent for a transatlantic.

 

Found you a youtube video of 12506 on the Dawn done by Richard Schultz Dec 2017 ... port side version of your stateroom.  In this video the murphy bed is made up into a bed so the stateroom is more crowded than when murphy bed is tucked away in the wall.

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2021 by kjquilts

[rachiem]

I find the air circulation without the balcony makes my throat so dry. I always end up with a nasty cough and wake up feeling 🤢.

So, for me, the balcony is just as important for the fresh air as it is for the view.

[roger001]

For us...no balcony, no cruise.  Gotta have one.  

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Now some of you have me worried !!

 

Oh well - will try to remember to post a review after the cruise ! 

[mafig]

We had one of those once.  Years ago.  Unfortunately, I got sick on that cruise, not Noro, but I felt like crap for a day or so and really missed going out on the balcony for some fresh air.

[njkate]

On 1/15/2021 at 4:12 PM, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

We are hoping that cruising will be back in full swing by the Spring of 2022 - and are looking at the Transatlantic from N/Y to Southhampton -

on the NCL Dawn - April 2022

We have always loved the Aft Balcony suites - to enjoy watching the wake - and just sitting out on the balcony

HOWEVER - Now looking at a Family Suite - (12006 - Category SP) near the front - just a little bit bigger (although there are only 2 of us seniors) but no balcony.  The attraction for us to this category is the separate tub and shower. (I know, sounds silly, but whatever !) 

Since a good portion of the itinerary is "at sea" our thought is we probably would not be using the balcony all that much.

Would appreciate comments or suggestions (or sharing of experiences)

  

THANK YOU ! 

 

I did a trans Atlantic on The Jade in 2018, we very rarely used the balcony as it was too chilly. I think I would miss being able to open the sliders for a bit to hear the sound of the ocean though. If that isn't important I'd go with the family suite

[Turtles06]

On 1/15/2021 at 4:12 PM, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

Since a good portion of the itinerary is "at sea" our thought is we probably would not be using the balcony all that much.

For us, sea days are the best days for using a balcony. 

[cruisinmeme]

We have had the family suite without balcony at lease 4 times and it worked fine for us. We brought 2-3 grandkids on all these trips. They loved laying in bed with the wall of windows. 

The times we took them and did have a balcony i stayed a nervous wreck. A balcony can be a crap shoot. I cant count the times the weather rendered it useless.

[complawyer]

the weather may end up being a factor, but i'll always take my chances... i'm not giving up a balcony. even if its a crap shoot and comes up snake eyes for most  of the trip, if the weather is that bad, the cruise will probably be a bummer also.

[deefer]

Did not miss the balcony at all. I think that’s because the cabin is so large and you have a wall of floor to ceiling windows.

if the decision is between a regular balcony or club balcony cabin vs family suite.  My vote would be for the family suite for sure.  
 

When we booked the family suite on the Star the decision we had to make was family suite or aft penthouse suite (which has a balcony but room is much smaller).    We had never sailed without a balcony but because the 9 day cruise only had 2 sea days we decided the larger space and $$ saved by going with a family suite was worth a try.  Absolutely loved this cabin!

      

[dexddd]

4 hours ago, deefer said:

Did not miss the balcony at all. I think that’s because the cabin is so large and you have a wall of floor to ceiling windows.

if the decision is between a regular balcony or club balcony cabin vs family suite.  My vote would be for the family suite for sure.  
 

When we booked the family suite on the Star the decision we had to make was family suite or aft penthouse suite (which has a balcony but room is much smaller).    We had never sailed without a balcony but because the 9 day cruise only had 2 sea days we decided the larger space and $$ saved by going with a family suite was worth a try.  Absolutely loved this cabin!

      

Did you have any fogged windows?  That had been a problem for suites on 12 since conversion but not many reports last couple years, excluding past twelve months.

[pinklady65]

On 1/15/2021 at 11:20 PM, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

THANK YOU !! 

Just booked it !! (Cabin 12006) 

I did a TA last year on the Star in 12068.  DIdn't miss the balcony and if I had seen your post earlier I would have suggested deck 12 as you walk out onto the pool deck.  The room is massive, I struggled to find the bed the first few nights.

Edited January 21, 2021 by pinklady65

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

THANK YOU - great pictures - ! 

[deefer]

On 1/21/2021 at 3:42 AM, dexddd said:

Did you have any fogged windows?  That had been a problem for suites on 12 since conversion but not many reports last couple years, excluding past twelve months.

 

We were in 12030 and had no issues with fogged windows.  This was in 2016.

 

The nice thing about this cabin is the window cut out a bit so you actually have a bit of a forward facing view also. 

[brookie848]

We've been on the Dawn twice. Once in a Family Suite with Balcony and once in one of the forward facing DOS without the balcony.

 

The major issue we had with the Family Suite was the step up into the bathroom. You can see it in the photos posted above. It will likely cause you issues at least once on the cruise. We loved the size of this cabin for two people. It was great. The balcony was also large and we did use that some -- we only had one sea day on that cruise, so we didn't have a lot of down time.

 

The second time we were on the Dawn, we chose the DOS with two bedrooms because our friend was traveling with us. We did miss the balcony some, but we had great forward-facing views. If you are already wiling to be without a balcony, you might want to check the prices on these. We got a good deal on our suite because it didn't have a balcony. Even though we had the drink package, it was nice to have the bottles of alcohol and all the mixers in our cabin.

 

While we don't spend a ton of time on the balcony I would always prefer to have one. The Family Suites/DOS are good alternatives because they offer great views and you don't feel enclosed.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

On 1/23/2021 at 1:34 PM, brookie848 said:

We've been on the Dawn twice. Once in a Family Suite with Balcony and once in one of the forward facing DOS without the balcony.

 

The major issue we had with the Family Suite was the step up into the bathroom. You can see it in the photos posted above. It will likely cause you issues at least once on the cruise. We loved the size of this cabin for two people. It was great. The balcony was also large and we did use that some -- we only had one sea day on that cruise, so we didn't have a lot of down time.

 

The second time we were on the Dawn, we chose the DOS with two bedrooms because our friend was traveling with us. We did miss the balcony some, but we had great forward-facing views. If you are already wiling to be without a balcony, you might want to check the prices on these. We got a good deal on our suite because it didn't have a balcony. Even though we had the drink package, it was nice to have the bottles of alcohol and all the mixers in our cabin.

 

While we don't spend a ton of time on the balcony I would always prefer to have one. The Family Suites/DOS are good alternatives because they offer great views and you don't feel enclosed.

Thank you for this information

The only suites that are not SOLD OUT (still) at this time are the Family Suites -(SP) 

but I will keep looking ! 

[RosieRoo]

I’ve been in those cabins both with the balcony and without. They are definitely large. For me, I missed the balcony because on sea days we had a really hard time finding a quiet spot on deck in the shade to sit and read. I also really like being able to open the door and get fresh air. That being said, my sister loves those cabins and books them all the time. To each their own.