MrsTabs

There were hash browns aplenty on the Dawn in September

Thank you to everyone that has answered so far, some really good suggestions that I am looking into as we speak! I'll let you know how I get on

Looking for advice, I'm thinking of doing a transatlantic on my own. Need advice. I'm female from UK 49 and three quarters (lol) it would be my first solo cruise. probably looking Southampton/Miami 2025 ish, indoor cabin ( possibly studio) which way is best? and early in year or late in year? Smoothest sailing? Ship wise looking at Breakaway, Getaway, Encore, Bliss or Joy - any favourites for TA and why? I know these questions are subjective, so looking for people that have done either and can advise. Looking to find things I may not have thought of to consider. And I'm fine with multiple sea days, I love them, and not prone to sea sickness. Thanks in advance!

Hi We never had any trouble getting a seat in the buffet and had no queuing at all, but we did not choose peak times to use the buffet so this probably reflected that, we found by going 30 mins later that we had no issues, on port days we used O'Sheehans for breakfast and it was not crowded and allowed us to have a leisurely unhurried breakfast thus avoiding the crowds getting off it worked for us

Before I sailed I looked everywhere for a recent review and could not find one so here is everything I wanted to know. I (49F)have cruised before my daughter (24F) had not, we are from the UK so chose a UK cruise on an older ship, figuring if she liked that then cruising is for her. We sailed from Southampton on the 14th Sept, and ended in Southampton on 24th Sept 2023. We visited Edinburgh(Newhaven Tender) Inverness(Invergorden), Kirkwall (Orkney), Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin (Dun Laoghaire Tender) Cork ( Cobh) and Portland Yes the ship is older but she is still in good shape. We had no complaints about the decor or furnishings. We had a balcony cabin it had 2 outlets on the desk an UK and a US or EU ( we never used that one) and one more under the fridge again US or EU didn't use it. No usb in the room at all - not really a problem we managed and charged our phones one at a time ( this may be a problem if more people in the cabin) plenty of space, plenty of storage. Very clean and room steward was brilliant (and received a good tip to reflect this) didn't really miss two cleans a day, one was more than sufficient. No robes or slippers in the room or beach towels. ( Towels were available on the pool deck and easy to get) We had the spa pass and robes were available there when we needed them. We were in Cabin 9662 which has been flagged as 'noisy' we found it absolutely fine, very easy access to the quiet lounge on deck 9 (literally outside the door) and yes you could hear noise from the atrium when bands were playing and this door was opened but it ended at 10pm ish so no issues unless you wished to sleep before then. We ate at Cagneys, Bamboo, Buffett, Venetian, Aqua, Modernos, O'Sheehans and Le Bistro - all good Le Bistro was exceptional. Being from the UK we wondered whether our phones would work as normal - in port they did no issues at all even on the ship, out to sea they were hit and miss depending how far from land we were, and in Southern Ireland we needed to use the wi-fi in port. We have not been charged any roaming fees. Weather was surprisingly good for the first 2 days and the last 3 days, the pool and hot tubs were used a lot. Colder for the other days ( but people still in the hot tubs all hours of the day and night) We only missed one port ( Liverpool) due to the weather as it was stormy and we could not dock - not a problem for us, we only live an hour away and had planned a ship day that day, but a lot of people were looking forward to it so that was a shame. All other ports we got off and did our own thing, with the exception of Orkney where we took a tour ( glad we did much bigger than we thought) Belfast was the only let down, not much to do or see and didn't really seem set up for cruise ships. We loved all the others. Smoking area deck 13 bimini bar was large and covered ( one side of bar) and in Casino when playing deck 7 - we were also allowed to use the cigar lounge on the day when rough weather meant the outside areas were closed. The staff were fantastic, they work so hard and always a smile. We had no issues while onboard and would happily sail her again! All in all a fantastic cruise, my daughter loved it so we will be booking another. Any questions feel free to ask

my bid was just into the fair category and yes very happy with the location, from my understanding there are quite a few empty cabins still so maybe that is why we got the upgrade early ( suites are practically sold out but everything else is up for grabs) my reasoning was because there were so many available most people would stick with minimum bid or just above, so I went to fair straight away, and it seems to have worked! More than happy with the price we paid ( original fare plus upgrade), still under what they are asking for a balcony now, even with a price drop.

Received notification today of our upgrade!! On the Dawn 14th Sept British Isles - from inside to balcony - £160 each - 58 days out First time I ever won my upgrade bid - very happy