Questions - Dawn Garden Villa

[AlbertaCruisers]

We booked the Garden Villa for next April on the Dawn, and we are beyond excited. I have been reading every review I can and looking at pictures, but I have a few questions I can't seem to answer. We were in a DOS in 2012 on the Star, but we didn't use the butler that much, and spent days out at the pool etc. Now that we plan to spend more time in our own space, I have some questions:

 

1. We want to spend a ton of time in the GV, can we ask the bartender to bring us rounds of drinks (of course we would have to pay) or is that asking too much? (I'm talking about beers, mudslides, etc. above the 6 bottles we get in the room) It seems like too much, but I'm sure someone here will know. If not, it looks like the Star bar may be a convenient location to send one of our party down for drinks.

 

2. In connection with question #1, how many rooms will our butler have to care for? Does that ever change? (if he has lots of rooms, I realize he will likely not be able to bring us drinks).

 

3. If he does bring us drinks now and then, I think the auto 15% only goes to the bar staff, so should we tip him extra per round (cash?) or just take that into consideration with our over all tip?

 

4. It appears there is a "guest bathroom" in the main lobby between the two garden villas, is that the case?

 

5. I have read that it appears if we have a party, we may be able to request that they send a bar server up to take orders (of course each person would have to pay), is that a possibility?

 

Thanks for any help!

 

Sue

[toyotaford]

We have never stayed in the GV on the Dawn but have stayed in the one on the Star which has the same deck plans a couple of times. On the Star the little room between the two GV's is a storage room and actually has a small area for the room steward to rest. We don't drink so I can't answer any of those questions for you. I can tell you that the GV on the Star and Dawn are amazing. We have stayed in others on the other ships but the HUGE deck on those two are awesome. I can't remember if there is a guest bathroom on the Star. I know there is in the foyer on the Gem and Jewel but just can't remember where it would be on the Star and Dawn. And the best bedroom in my opinion is the one that opens up to the deck. The first time we were on the Star it was just my husband and myself and we stayed in the Master Suite closest to the living area. The next time we brought my parents and gave them that room and took the 3rd bedroom. It was definitely our favorite. Have a great time. You will truly be spoiled.

[SuiteCruiser]

I have not yet been in the GV, but am slated to be in one for 12 days in October and have read everything I could find. My understanding is that in the Star (Dawn's sister) there is a guest bath on the deck by the hot tub. It is also where the steam room is.

 

I plan on reviewing my cruise, hopefully live, and will let you know all I can on my return.

 

I totally get that crazy excitement though, mine's been booked since November and I'm still freaked out about it.

 

Enjoy!

[DMLyons]

Since you get 6 bottles of booze and all mixers as part of your room (and you can ask the butler for a mixer...the electric kind...a cooler of ice, and ice cream when you want to make an ice cream drink), why bother paying for it to come in rounds? Just order the alcohols you want as part of your 6 bottles, and order others (by the bottle) if the 6 doesn't cover them all, and you will almost invariably pay less that way than you would paying for rounds of drinks to be brought to you...and not have to wait for the next round run to drink. Another thing to consider is that the UBP does NOT cover drinks delivered to the room, so don't count on that to help with price.

 

You hit the nail on the head on the rounds of drinks, IMO. The butler probably won't have time to do that repeatedly for you. If you search for the butler threads on CC, you'll see that the average number of rooms/people the butlers handle is pretty high, and they've got to juggle them all. In fact, I don't know how many drinks you're talking about in a round, but I'm not entirely certain the ship will be comfortable with handing a tray of a half dozen drinks or more to a passenger to carry through the halls, though they would hand it to a food services person or butler.

 

You could try to tip the butler will each set, but some people have reported that the butlers have asked them to just wait to tip at the end, probably so they aren't trying to hold that much money while they are running room to room. I'd just plan to pad the tip at the end for whatever you ask.

 

I've never ordered a bartender for a party on a cruise ship, but I've done it at hotels. It's probably not MUCH different. They need heads up to when you want to do this...not an hour...a few days would be good. If you're having an open bar, they will send up a bartender, and you are billed for the booze served AND the bartender's time (in my experience). If you want a cash bar (at a hotel), you pay for the bartender and the cashier (they don't have the bartender do both, though the key swipe system might make it easier to have a bartender do it all on board ship), and they charge the attendees for the booze. But having never done it on a cruise ship, I'm only assuming it will run the same.

 

I'd say many of these questions are ones you want to ask the pre-concierge line. They can probably give you more precise information about what's available to you. And if you can book a bartender for a party, they would be able to add that information as a "special request" for you.

 

DML

[time2cruise1]

We have never stayed in the GV on the Dawn but have stayed in the one on the Star which has the same deck plans a couple of times. On the Star the little room between the two GV's is a storage room and actually has a small area for the room steward to rest. We don't drink so I can't answer any of those questions for you. I can tell you that the GV on the Star and Dawn are amazing. We have stayed in others on the other ships but the HUGE deck on those two are awesome. I can't remember if there is a guest bathroom on the Star. I know there is in the foyer on the Gem and Jewel but just can't remember where it would be on the Star and Dawn. And the best bedroom in my opinion is the one that opens up to the deck. The first time we were on the Star it was just my husband and myself and we stayed in the Master Suite closest to the living area. The next time we brought my parents and gave them that room and took the 3rd bedroom. It was definitely our favorite. Have a great time. You will truly be spoiled.

 

I agree the 3rd bedroom with sliding doors to the courtyard is my choice as well.

 

That little room was originally planed as the butlers quarters to insur rapid 24 hour response.

 

There is a half bath to the left of the entrance to 14500 on both the Star and Dawn. I never found it until my 3 rd time in a GV on those ships.

[time2cruise1]

We booked the Garden Villa for next April on the Dawn, and we are beyond excited. I have been reading every review I can and looking at pictures, but I have a few questions I can't seem to answer. We were in a DOS in 2012 on the Star, but we didn't use the butler that much, and spent days out at the pool etc. Now that we plan to spend more time in our own space, I have some questions:

 

1. We want to spend a ton of time in the GV, can we ask the bartender to bring us rounds of drinks (of course we would have to pay) or is that asking too much? (I'm talking about beers, mudslides, etc. above the 6 bottles we get in the room) It seems like too much, but I'm sure someone here will know. If not, it looks like the Star bar may be a convenient location to send one of our party down for drinks.

 

A. Your butler will take care of bringing you drinks. Just call.

 

2. In connection with question #1, how many rooms will our butler have to care for? Does that ever change? (if he has lots of rooms, I realize he will likely not be able to bring us drinks).

 

A. Your butler will only have the 2 GV and perhaps the 4 SFs on deck 8. His/her number one priority will be to bring you what you want when you want it. They may even get other butlers to help out. We had 3 one night to serve dinner

 

 

 

3. If he does bring us drinks now and then, I think the auto 15% only goes to the bar staff, so should we tip him extra per round (cash?) or just take that into consideration with our over all tip?

 

A. The bar staff gets the 15%. I always just take all services into account for the final tip.

 

 

4. It appears there is a "guest bathroom" in the main lobby between the two garden villas, is that the case?

 

A. See above but yes there is a 1/2 bathroom in the hall to the left of the entrance to 14500

 

 

5. I have read that it appears if we have a party, we may be able to request that they send a bar server up to take orders (of course each person would have to pay), is that a possibility?

 

A. Very possible and something your butler will take care off arranging.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

Sue

 

I tried above to provide some answers. Hope it helps.

[AlbertaCruisers]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to answer!!! :D

 

SuiteCruiser - I look forward to your review!!!

[Relax@Sea]

We booked the Garden Villa for next April on the Dawn, and we are beyond excited. I have been reading every review I can and looking at pictures, but I have a few questions I can't seem to answer. We were in a DOS in 2012 on the Star, but we didn't use the butler that much, and spent days out at the pool etc. Now that we plan to spend more time in our own space, I have some questions:

 

1. We want to spend a ton of time in the GV, can we ask the bartender to bring us rounds of drinks (of course we would have to pay) or is that asking too much? (I'm talking about beers, mudslides, etc. above the 6 bottles we get in the room) It seems like too much, but I'm sure someone here will know. If not, it looks like the Star bar may be a convenient location to send one of our party down for drinks.

 

2. In connection with question #1, how many rooms will our butler have to care for? Does that ever change? (if he has lots of rooms, I realize he will likely not be able to bring us drinks).

 

3. If he does bring us drinks now and then, I think the auto 15% only goes to the bar staff, so should we tip him extra per round (cash?) or just take that into consideration with our over all tip?

 

4. It appears there is a "guest bathroom" in the main lobby between the two garden villas, is that the case?

 

5. I have read that it appears if we have a party, we may be able to request that they send a bar server up to take orders (of course each person would have to pay), is that a possibility?

 

Thanks for any help!

 

Sue

 

 

Most of your questions seem to be answered, as far as getting drinks delivered to your room once our six bottles have been depleted, we asked the Concierge for a private bar server for a couple of parties (3 Total) we had and they were provided, one of the times was for 8 hours and the other two were for 3-4 hours each there was no charge for this but the server we got was on his off time so we tipped him very well the first time and we got him again the other two times. The rest of the time we got to know 2 bar servers from the Star bar and as long as we requested them to bring up our drinks they were allowed to bring them up to our GV we just had to send someone to open the door between to 13th and 14th floor, we cleared all this with our Butler and the Concierge so the bar servers would get in trouble (they are not allowed in this area). When you get on the Ship talk to the Concierge and let them know what you need and they will help find a way. Remember that all these extra services are usually at no charge so remember to tip at the end of the service.

[toyotaford]

I have not yet been in the GV, but am slated to be in one for 12 days in October and have read everything I could find. My understanding is that in the Star (Dawn's sister) there is a guest bath on the deck by the hot tub. It is also where the steam room is.

 

I plan on reviewing my cruise, hopefully live, and will let you know all I can on my return.

 

I totally get that crazy excitement though, mine's been booked since November and I'm still freaked out about it.

 

Enjoy!

It is just a steam room and shower on the deck. No restroom facilities out there.

[SuiteCruiser]

It is just a steam room and shower on the deck. No restroom facilities out there.

 

Thanks, see that's what I get for reading too much about it!!

[DMLyons]

as far as getting drinks delivered to your room once our six bottles have been depleted, we asked the Concierge for a private bar server for a couple of parties (3 Total) we had and they were provided, one of the times was for 8 hours and the other two were for 3-4 hours each there was no charge for this but the server we got was on his off time so we tipped him very well the first time and we got him again the other two times. Remember that all these extra services are usually at no charge so remember to tip at the end of the service.

 

Good to know. Just goes to show the difference between shore and ship. The ship depends on making money on alcohol, so they would encourage this to make more money.

 

DML

[time2cruise1]

Good to know. Just goes to show the difference between shore and ship. The ship depends on making money on alcohol, so they would encourage this to make more money.

 

DML

 

The big difference at most hotels you have union bartenders that make a living wage paid by the hotel. On a ship 90%+ of the bartenders income is the 15% added to each check. It costs NCL nothing to provide a bar server.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone - Jim

[DMLyons]

The big difference at most hotels you have union bartenders that make a living wage paid by the hotel. On a ship 90%+ of the bartenders income is the 15% added to each check. It costs NCL nothing to provide a bar server.

 

Yes and no. I'm not sure if the bartenders ashore make a living wage before tips either, since it is common to tip them. Not all bartenders are union, for certain. It doesn't cost NCL more, since the bartenders are paid salary and tips, but I think it's more likely that the bartender would like the chance to earn the extra cash. I haven't seen NCL's contract, but I'm betting it says they can't force an off-duty bartender to do this on his/her sleep time (considering the hours they are already required to work), but if the bartender knows he'll/she'll be earning 15% of every drink plus any additional tips, it's a great incentive to get one of them to agree to the extra time.

 

All the way around, it's easier for NCL to extend this to passengers than it is for hotels on shore to do the same.

 

DML

[time2cruise1]

DML. No salary for bar staff. They get $1000 a month draw against tips. The extra we leave on a check and they don't make the draw it will not be seen.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone - Jim

[DMLyons]

DML. No salary for bar staff. They get $1000 a month draw against tips. The extra we leave on a check and they don't make the draw it will not be seen.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone - Jim

 

You're serious, aren't you? Honestly, that sounds like a raw deal to me.

 

DML

[AlbertaCruisers]

It is just a steam room and shower on the deck. No restroom facilities out there.

 

- That is what I thought. That is really the only "negative" anyone has to say about the room!

 

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

Here is another question, so for the "master bedroom" where the bathroom faces the pool deck, can people see in or is it that good reflecting glass? I don't seem to remember being able to see in, but I also don't know if I would have tried! :D

 

Sue

[time2cruise1]

- That is what I thought. That is really the only "negative" anyone has to say about the room!

 

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

Here is another question, so for the "master bedroom" where the bathroom faces the pool deck, can people see in or is it that good reflecting glass? I don't seem to remember being able to see in, but I also don't know if I would have tried! :D

 

Sue

 

After dark with lights on your are on stage to everyone out the window. There are wooden power blinds to cover all the forward facing windows.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone - Jim

[samsam22]

When you are in a Dawn GV, your wish is their command. I have done the GV on the Dawn once and on the Star once, and I don't know how I will sail outside a GV ever again. You are going to love it. Just ask for whatever your want, and if it is possible it will happen (although, know that those helping all work on tips). And before you sail, you should get a letter with a number you can call to pre-order your liquor bottles, etc, so you can ask for a lot of things up front (although they may not all be waiting for you when you arrive).