How many suites on Dawn

[vent1020]

I tried to find this answer and couldn't. Does anyone know how many total FULL suites there are on the Dawn? And how many butlers cover those suites?

 

And while I'm asking questions any(and as much) information you can provide on hosting a cocktail party in your suite would be appreciated. How is the alcohol paid for? Can each person order a different drink or do you just buy one bottle of a certain type of alcohol(like vodka) and then mix it? What is the best time of day to host one? The more information the better.

 

Thanks.

[computerworks]

64 suites on the Dawn have Butler service.

 

There is one guy who runs his butt off. ;)

[vent1020]

64 suites on the Dawn have Butler service.

 

There is one guy who runs his butt off. ;)

 

Wow, that's more than I would have thought. Thanks.

[computerworks]

S1 - 2

 

sa - 4

 

sb- 4

 

sc - 10

 

sd - 10

 

se - 8

 

sf - 12

 

sj - 14

[rvsullivan]

Each butler services about 8 and sometimes 10 suites. So on the Dawn there would be 6 or 7 Butlers. If you want a party, I would check with the ship as to how to host it and pay for it. There is no way a Butler could run to a bar doing individual orders for folks and keep up. I think you would order a bar set up and pay to have a bartender. You can order hors d'oeuvre's from the ship in advance. Don't forget to tip whoever is your server.

[NH Cruisers]

There are 64 suites with the butler service. A butler will take care of roughly 8-10 suites on the same deck. So they do have to run the ships length. I dont know how they work the butler in the Garden Villa, they must work other suites too I would think. There is only one concierge, he or she is the boss of all the ships butlers.

 

This is true as far as I know. I was told this by (John d'Souza) the concierge from my last May sailing on the Dawn.

 

We had a party in our suite. We set it up through the butler and concierge. They gave recommendations and such. The alcohol (unless you have it complimentary in suite) will have to be paid for, and having mixers to mix your own would most likely be the way to go.

 

In our particular case we were provided compliments of our butler and consierge, fruit, finger sandwiches, pitchers of tea and leomonade, a nice $60 ships price champagne and a alcohol free sparkling wine. We paid for 2 plates of chocolate covered strawberries and 2 $5 pizzas. We went to the buffet on our own and made a fancy cheese platter. It was a highlight of that cruise.

 

We had our party at 1:30 pm on the first sea day after leaving Bermuda.

Edited November 17, 2014 by NH Cruisers
wrong number

[Fishbait17]

I tried to find this answer and couldn't. Does anyone know how many total FULL suites there are on the Dawn? And how many butlers cover those suites?

 

And while I'm asking questions any(and as much) information you can provide on hosting a cocktail party in your suite would be appreciated. How is the alcohol paid for? Can each person order a different drink or do you just buy one bottle of a certain type of alcohol(like vodka) and then mix it? What is the best time of day to host one? The more information the better.

 

Thanks.

 

We have hosted a few cocktail parties with 4-30 guests (plus ourselves) in the GVs and OS. Basically, one time we used the liquor that came with the GV (or you could order a bar setup) and pre-ordered wine and beer a few days prior to hosting. We felt uncomfortable using the provided unlimited mixers for the liquor, so we asked our guests to bring their own mixers and glasses from their cabins/minibars or by stopping at a bar on the way. The liquor part didn't go as well as planned the first time (people arriving without glasses or mixers), so we never offered it again, after that it was strictly beer and wine. Even so, we had problems with glassware - the butlers requested each time that the provided glassware stay in the suite, but of course guests would take them with them when they left, causing issues with replacement for the butlers. The butlers would set up the tables with snacks, the bar with glasses and barware, etc about an hour or so before the party, then leave, returning after the party to clean up - they were needed too much by other suites for us to ask them to hang around and serve anything, especially anytime after 4pm when other suites were having meals and snacks delivered. For each party, we tipped the butler roughly $100-200 extra. We decided after a few of these that it was too much hassle (not to mention the expense with several hundred $$$ in extra bar bills) to do this in the future. We have since hosted just a few guests (4-8) in our suite, depending on the size of the suite, requesting they bring their own drinks, and had the butler simply set up a couple basic, uncomplicated snacks (chips, cheese plate, finger sandwiches, popcorn). We found this much easier - most people come with a mixed drink in each hand or a bottle of wine and glasses or a bucket of beer. This also helps to clear them out- nobody hanging around more than an hour or so (at one party we had to kick out guests after more than three hours!). Hope this helps!

 

Robin

Edited November 17, 2014 by Fishbait17

[rvsullivan]

Robin, thanks for posting this! Seems like with some regularity someone wants to host a suite party. I think most think they have a butler and this should be easy. For those of us that have tried it, find it's not quite what you think!! Ought to make this a sticky for future reference.

Once you get a large number of non suite guests in the room and booze is flowing, it's not easy to end it. Hope this helps many in the future.

Good job!!

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks Robin for sharing your experience. The DH and I attended a get-to-together once where the cabin owners told everyone they had reservations at a certain time so everyone would have to leave or move the party when it was close to the time. I thought what they did was an excellent idea.

[garycarla]

Ordering drinks is not practical.

 

There is no bar nearby. Whomever was taking the order would have a long ways to go to get a drink. Not realistic.

[vent1020]

We have hosted a few cocktail parties with 4-30 guests (plus ourselves) in the GVs and OS. Basically, one time we used the liquor that came with the GV (or you could order a bar setup) and pre-ordered wine and beer a few days prior to hosting. We felt uncomfortable using the provided unlimited mixers for the liquor, so we asked our guests to bring their own mixers and glasses from their cabins/minibars or by stopping at a bar on the way. The liquor part didn't go as well as planned the first time (people arriving without glasses or mixers), so we never offered it again, after that it was strictly beer and wine. Even so, we had problems with glassware - the butlers requested each time that the provided glassware stay in the suite, but of course guests would take them with them when they left, causing issues with replacement for the butlers. The butlers would set up the tables with snacks, the bar with glasses and barware, etc about an hour or so before the party, then leave, returning after the party to clean up - they were needed too much by other suites for us to ask them to hang around and serve anything, especially anytime after 4pm when other suites were having meals and snacks delivered. For each party, we tipped the butler roughly $100-200 extra. We decided after a few of these that it was too much hassle (not to mention the expense with several hundred $$$ in extra bar bills) to do this in the future. We have since hosted just a few guests (4-8) in our suite, depending on the size of the suite, requesting they bring their own drinks, and had the butler simply set up a couple basic, uncomplicated snacks (chips, cheese plate, finger sandwiches, popcorn). We found this much easier - most people come with a mixed drink in each hand or a bottle of wine and glasses or a bucket of beer. This also helps to clear them out- nobody hanging around more than an hour or so (at one party we had to kick out guests after more than three hours!). Hope this helps!

 

Robin

 

Thanks for all the responses and especially Robin. I think we may forgo a cocktail party as it seems like a little bit of a pain. It was just going to be for family anyway. :D

[Fishbait17]

Thanks for all the responses and especially Robin. I think we may forgo a cocktail party as it seems like a little bit of a pain. It was just going to be for family anyway. :D

 

Lol, I didn't mean for it to sound like a major PIA, but it can be when you go higher in numbers or if you plan to offer anything more extensive. Family can be easier than new friends, because you're generally more comfortable with them and telling them it's time to leave lol.. Hosting something like a BYOB for a port-of-call sail away is pretty easy, and can be very nice if you have a very large balcony, just ask your butler in advance to set up snacks and you're pretty much good to go. As someone said, it's very impractical/unrealistic to have the butler running back and forth to the bar, but if they BYOB it goes pretty smoothly.

 

Ps - we tried the "we have reservations" thing, but some people just don't really give a darn lol. They move at their own speed and often do what they want, even when you ask them nicely not to. Our largest party was in the GV at the end of a cabin crawl. While not a "cocktail" party (although we did end up going through six bottles of wine that we had brought onboard), that one had over 45 guests, and some were wandering the Haven upon departure (when we specifically asked them not to), some stayed until we literally kicked them out, and it took six of us to lead everyone in and out (the locked Haven stairway and elevators) for the duration - we even had a couple of "party crashers" that simply joined the cabin crawl while in progress lmao. Most people are excellent guests, but there's usually a few in any large crowd that don't "get the hint". It's for this reason that we will likely not host a M&G or another cabin crawl in the GV. It's just a lot of work to do during a vacation.

 

Robin

Edited November 18, 2014 by Fishbait17

[time2cruise1]

Here is the butler breakdown

 

1 butler has both GVs and the 4 aft suites on deck 8

2 butlers split the forward siites on deck 12

1 butler has all the family suites on 11

1 butler has all the suites on deck 10

1 butler has all the suites on deck 9

1 night butler

 

For a total of 7 butlers that rotate assignments

[NH Cruisers]

Here is the butler breakdown

 

1 butler has both GVs and the 4 aft suites on deck 8

2 butlers split the forward siites on deck 12

1 butler has all the family suites on 11

1 butler has all the suites on deck 10

1 butler has all the suites on deck 9

1 night butler

 

For a total of 7 butlers that rotate assignments

Thank for the info.

[Va. Plumber]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but when we were on the Dawn last month we walked a couple of times from the spa forward to our SJ suite.

 

Along the way, I noticed there were a couple of "named" suites located

mid-ship. What are these?

[time2cruise1]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but when we were on the Dawn last month we walked a couple of times from the spa forward to our SJ suite.

 

Along the way, I noticed there were a couple of "named" suites located

mid-ship. What are these?

 

 

They are the SC 2 bedroom family suites on deck 11

 

 

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