Norwegian Dawn Cabins

[Jancruz]

First time on an NCL ship in 20 years so need help..Booked cabin 12508 with no balcony as the aft PH were sold out..I always have a balcony so not sure about this..anyone have comments that may help me decide what to do or what other equal cabin to book??

Thanks in advance

Jancruz1

[herdingdogmom]

We were in 12518 a couple of years ago and did not miss the balcony. The room is open concept with a wall of windows. The bathroom is very large and modern. The suites on 12 are close to the pool deck and also the sun decks on 13. If a balcony is a must, look into the family suite with a balcony cabins on 12 - category SD.

[Got Tequila?]

We never missed the balcony with the SJ suites, and would pick the SJ again instead of an aft or forward Penthouse suite. We loved the open space in the SJ suite, and it's an easy walk out to the pool area or up one deck to the forward hot tub that gets very little use. :)

[don't-use-real-name]

First time on an NCL ship in 20 years so need help..Booked cabin 12508 with no balcony as the aft PH were sold out..I always have a balcony so not sure about this..anyone have comments that may help me decide what to do or what other equal cabin to book??

Thanks in advance

Jancruz1

 

OK here is the scoop - on Deck 12 forward there are 7 suites sans balcony and

5 with balconies on the Port side and the same number on the starboard side.

Grand total 24 - 10 with balcony and 14 without.

The suites without balcony go for a considerable savings almost $2000 on some sailings.

These suites are every bit as large just missing the balcony. Where

you would be out on a balcony the interior is smaller - with the balcony missing

the floor plan goes out to the edge of the ship to where the balcony railing

would be.

 

Now here is something that you need to be aware of the balcony suites have

no shelter from the elements - no roof (aka awning) and the worst part is

the lack of privacy - from Deck 13 above anyone can look down on to whatever

you are doing !

AND still yet another thing the first 5 suites either side of the ship just forward

of the ships library have the ceiling just under the old jogging running track.

There is a tunnel passageway on Deck 13 that was the former jogging and

running track - it was moved further aft and is now over the buffet area.

But no one told the runners and joggers that they could not use this are using

it for a bigger lap. So at odd hours you can hear the Thump-thump-thump of feet

tramping on your suite ceiling. NCL has heard the complaint and all they

can do is put up a sort of roadblock with deck lounge chairs to divert the

traffic - but then at night and in the morning the crew is complicit in moving

the chairs around to clean and wash the deck - again noise.

A complaint is going nowhere it is the nature of the beast on this ship.

 

If you are still dead set on a suite with a balcony in this location - Keep bugging

your TA or NCL the four suites on either side of the elevators and stairs are

in flux almost all the time - reason noisy proximity to a high traffic area.

On my recent sailing on the DAWN these were appearing and disappearing

on the sales radar right up to sailing. Keep at it you will score !

Another thing of interest the two suites (no balcony) on either side of the

library are Handicap accessible and the flux on these is moving all the time

up until sailing - beware the roof noise but the convenience of being almost

right outside the pool deck is great - +s and -s !

 

So there you have it from a recent NCL DAWN cruiser (1/11 W Caribbean

suite 12030).

[GeezerCouple]

First time on an NCL ship in 20 years so need help..Booked cabin 12508 with no balcony as the aft PH were sold out..I always have a balcony so not sure about this..anyone have comments that may help me decide what to do or what other equal cabin to book??

Thanks in advance

Jancruz1

 

Hi Jancruz,

 

Someone recently posted some pretty good photos of this category:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1536165

 

We peeked in when we were onboard in September, and they are very spacious, especially if there are just 2 of you, although these suites can sleep more.

 

We were in the starboard corner DOS, right above the bridge, and that also has no balcony.

The floor to ceiling windows are amazing.

However, to be fair, in the DOS, these windows wrap all around, and even offer that little view from the "wing", looking back down the side of the ship.

(The floor plans show this as regular wall, but it is all floor to ceiling window, until the common wall with the first of the suites like you are thinking about.)

 

There is something about just looking down and seeing "water" ;-)

And even from a bit further back, with that floor to ceiling, it's a pretty special effect.

 

But IF balconies are really important, for example, having private coffee in the morning, or a glass of wine in the evening, then see if you can get one of the suites just a bit further down. Same amount of space AND the balcony.

 

Yes, the pool area, and lots of open air, is just a short walk down the hall (not far at all), but that is often a rather crowded/busy area, not a peaceful outdoors setting.

 

We chose a Haven 2BR suite for our second NCL cruise, and that was wonderful, and we used the balcony a lot, just to sit and read on sea days and evenings, etc.

But there wasn't anything like the sense of "openness" from a FULL wall of windows.

 

When are you traveling?

Perhaps as final payment approaches, there will be some cancellations?

 

GeezerCouple

[Jancruz]

OK here is the scoop - on Deck 12 forward there are 7 suites sans balcony and

5 with balconies on the Port side and the same number on the starboard side.

Grand total 24 - 10 with balcony and 14 without.

The suites without balcony go for a considerable savings almost $2000 on some sailings.

These suites are every bit as large just missing the balcony. Where

you would be out on a balcony the interior is smaller - with the balcony missing

the floor plan goes out to the edge of the ship to where the balcony railing

would be.

 

Now here is something that you need to be aware of the balcony suites have

no shelter from the elements - no roof (aka awning) and the worst part is

the lack of privacy - from Deck 13 above anyone can look down on to whatever

you are doing !

AND still yet another thing the first 5 suites either side of the ship just forward

of the ships library have the ceiling just under the old jogging running track.

There is a tunnel passageway on Deck 13 that was the former jogging and

running track - it was moved further aft and is now over the buffet area.

But no one told the runners and joggers that they could not use this are using

it for a bigger lap. So at odd hours you can hear the Thump-thump-thump of feet

tramping on your suite ceiling. NCL has heard the complaint and all they

can do is put up a sort of roadblock with deck lounge chairs to divert the

traffic - but then at night and in the morning the crew is complicit in moving

the chairs around to clean and wash the deck - again noise.

A complaint is going nowhere it is the nature of the beast on this ship.

 

If you are still dead set on a suite with a balcony in this location - Keep bugging

your TA or NCL the four suites on either side of the elevators and stairs are

in flux almost all the time - reason noisy proximity to a high traffic area.

On my recent sailing on the DAWN these were appearing and disappearing

on the sales radar right up to sailing. Keep at it you will score !

Another thing of interest the two suites (no balcony) on either side of the

library are Handicap accessible and the flux on these is moving all the time

up until sailing - beware the roof noise but the convenience of being almost

right outside the pool deck is great - +s and -s !

 

So there you have it from a recent NCL DAWN cruiser (1/11 W Caribbean

suite 12030).

 

Wow this is a great help..what I really wanted was an aft PH but they are all sold out..as you suggest, I will keep trying for them..any other suite aft someone can suggest??

Jancruz1

[Pikaia]

These suites are every bit as large just missing the balcony. Where you would be out on a balcony the interior is smaller - with the balcony missing the floor plan goes out to the edge of the ship to where the balcony railing would be.

This is not correct. On the Star' date=' the SD balcony does take up some of the floor space that you'd have in the SJ. But on the Dawn, the SD balcony was built out off the side of the ship. The inside square footage of the SJ and SD on the Dawn are the same. The SD balcony is added square footage.

 

Now here is something that you need to be aware of the balcony suites have no shelter from the elements - no roof (aka awning) and the worst part is the lack of privacy - from Deck 13 above anyone can look down on to whatever you are doing!

Technically true, but a careful search of the forums here will probably convince you that this is not a problem unless you need shade or shelter from rain. People on deck 13 have to lean out quite a bit in order to look down on the SD decks. So maybe it's not the cabin you want if you prefer to drink your morning coffee in the nude. And yes, you'll hear music from the pool deck and probably some voices from the deck above.

 

Regarding overhead noise, as long as we've been forward of the current jogging track, we've heard no significant noise from deck 13, either during the daytime or the night.

 

If you are still dead set on a suite with a balcony in this location - Keep bugging your TA or NCL the four suites on either side of the elevators and stairs are in flux almost all the time - reason noisy proximity to a high traffic area.

There may be a perception that this area is noisy, but it isn't. We've sailed in the cabins right at the forward stairwell on decks 11 and 12, and were never bothered by noise from the hallways. In fact, my DH now insists I book those cabins for the convenience of stepping right out the door to the stairs.

[PCLMassachusetts]

Where

you would be out on a balcony the interior is smaller - with the balcony missing

the floor plan goes out to the edge of the ship to where the balcony railing

would be

 

I have seen other people state the same thing. Having just got off the Dawn a few weeks ago and being in a Family Suite with a balcony (12520), which was next to a suite without a balcony, I did not find the one next to us extending any further out than ours. While standing on our balcony the exterior wall of the one next to us was virtually equal to our exterior wall. It may have extended perhaps a foot more than ours but certainly not out to our railing.

 

The rest of of your comment I agree with. Our suite was one the ones just outside of the elevator banks and it was noisy at times. I could sometimes hear foot traffic above. None of it was unbearable and I would book this same suite again.

 

I think it all comes down to personal preference. The wall of windows in the non balcony suites did look as though they would give you a great view to the outside. However, we prefer the ability to be out on the balcony in the fresh air without needing to deal with the crowds and noise of being on deck. As far as the balconies being uncovered and a lack of privacy, the people above on deck 13 really need to look almost straight down to see your balcony. It is still more private then being on deck with 100's of other people around you.

 

We spend time on deck as well, it is just nice having the option of a little quiet time when it is wanted.

[Jancruz]

Thank you all so much for the wonderful information..We are traveling to Canada New England in September and I know the weather can be cool perhaps rainy but we do love to stand out on the balcony (or sit) with our coffee and soak in the clean Ocean air..I will take your advice and keep checking for a cabin with balcony..I am sure in the next several months something will open up and now I know what to look for..

Jancruz1