Dawn Mini suite vs Penthouse w/lg balcony SE

[volvo geek]

Hello,

 

Looking to get peoples take on Mini suite (MA) vs Penhouse w/large balcony (SE).

 

Promotion right now for mini suite is 130 OBC with one perk and kids sail free. Penthouse would be 300 OBC and all 4 perks for a 9 day cruise.

 

Sailing with 2 kids, the extra room would be nice, unsure how bad the head wind would be with the forward facing penthouse.

 

Trying to justify the extra cost of penthouse to myself.

 

Is booking the penthouse suite on the dawn similar to booking the Haven on the breakaway (without the segregated areas). Do they still get priority boarding/disembarkation, tendering??

[shark with a laser]

Suite guests get priority boarding and tender, breakfast and lunch in a private dining room, butler and concierge service; pretty much all the perks of being in the Haven except the private courtyard. The upgrade to the penthouse would be worth it for the extra space and perks.

 

The forward balcony can be a bit windy when the ship is fully underway (the railing blocks a lot of the wind if you're sitting down), and unusable in rough weather, but it's a very nice place to sit and have coffee or a cocktail coming in and out of port. Your steward will close the metal sea door when turning down your room for the night, but it's no problem to open it if you want to go on the balcony. Unless you turn off all the lights in the cabin, you do have to keep the curtains closed and minimize the time you have the balcony door open at night or you'll get a call from the bridge.

 

 

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[volvo geek]

Suite guests get priority boarding and tender, breakfast and lunch in a private dining room, butler and concierge service; pretty much all the perks of being in the Haven except the private courtyard. The upgrade to the penthouse would be worth it for the extra space and perks.

 

The forward balcony can be a bit windy when the ship is fully underway (the railing blocks a lot of the wind if you're sitting down), and unusable in rough weather, but it's a very nice place to sit and have coffee or a cocktail coming in and out of port. Your steward will close the metal sea door when turning down your room for the night, but it's no problem to open it if you want to go on the balcony. Unless you turn off all the lights in the cabin, you do have to keep the curtains closed and minimize the time you have the balcony door open at night or you'll get a call from the bridge.

 

 

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Interesting...Is the use of balcony allowed at night, or is this a tolerated bending of the rules???

 

Our kids go to bed early, so we typically will hang out on the balcony until we feel like going to bed. It has always been a side balcony.

[shark with a laser]

I got the impression that it's allowed. I've had 2 penthouses with the forward balcony, and we used them frequently at night. We did get 1 call from the bridge, but they just said close the curtains, they didn't say we shouldn't use the balcony. It does get windier at night out there as that's when the ship tends to move the fastest.

 

 

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[SteelCityCruiser10]

If it were me I would take the forward penthouse. Suite perks alone are worth it. We had the aft penthouse on Dawn which was a great cabin.

 

 

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[volvo geek]

It is a 9 day Cruise 9+ months out, so i think the penthouse would yield 27 latitude points. Which would put us to Gold tier for our next cruise.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

27 pts..Bonus!

We always get a suite. Embarkation is so much faster, there's a private waiting room for suite guests at the terminal and you get escorted to the ship. The exclusive breakfast and lunch everyday is awesome.

 

 

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[GeezerCouple]

Hello,

 

Looking to get peoples take on Mini suite (MA) vs Penhouse w/large balcony (SE).

 

Promotion right now for mini suite is 130 OBC with one perk and kids sail free. Penthouse would be 300 OBC and all 4 perks for a 9 day cruise.

 

Sailing with 2 kids, the extra room would be nice, unsure how bad the head wind would be with the forward facing penthouse.

 

Trying to justify the extra cost of penthouse to myself.

 

Is booking the penthouse suite on the dawn similar to booking the Haven on the breakaway (without the segregated areas). Do they still get priority boarding/disembarkation, tendering??

 

You'll get all the regular "suite" perks, including the priority boarding, and special assistance with disembarkation when you wish.

 

However, non-Haven suites are NOT at all the same as Haven suites, by virtue of the Haven area(s) itself.

(And on some ships, the newer ones, that Haven also has its own restaurant, yet another benefit.)

 

I guess most importantly, the non-Haven suites don't have the same quiet hallways/etc., even if you don't use the Haven "common areas".

 

Also, the Dawn is an older ship (although there's been a recent dry dock), so that's going to be another difference.

 

But the NCL suite perks are superb, especially if you are able to use the Butler services to best advantage (customized treats, en suite dining) :)

 

(As for space with 2 children, I assume you've checked the prices of the 2BR Suite? Those are terrific.

Or the Dawn also has the forward (side) Family Suites on Deck 12, some with balcony, some without, and those are very large.)

 

Beware: Once you've sailed in an NCL suite... you'll be very spoiled :D

 

Enjoy!

[BirdTravels]

However, non-Haven suites are NOT at all the same as Haven suites, by virtue of the Haven area(s) itself.

(And on some ships, the newer ones, that Haven also has its own restaurant, yet another benefit.)

 

I guess most importantly, the non-Haven suites don't have the same quiet hallways/etc., even if you don't use the Haven "common areas".

 

So,,, there is no Havens on the Dawn. The Suites are the best you're going going to get.

[BirdTravels]

Interesting...Is the use of balcony allowed at night, or is this a tolerated bending of the rules???

 

Our kids go to bed early, so we typically will hang out on the balcony until we feel like going to bed. It has always been a side balcony.

 

It's your balcony,,,, so you can use it any time you want.

 

That being said, it is a forward facing balcony and depending on where you are and the weather, it can be very windy up there. If you sit, much of the wind will sweep up over your head (because of the hull).

 

On Alaska cruises, we spend hours on our balcony.

 

On a cruise from Boston to Quebec on the Dawn, we spent less time on our forward facing SE balcony due to the wind and cold (on windy nights, the steward will tie all of the balcony furniture to the bulkhead at night).

 

We would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the SE over a minisuite on the Dawn.

 

wrt to the age of the Dawn, it was recently refubished (taking all of the public areas down to the sheet metal). It is beautiful after the refit.

 

Enjoy!

[Demonyte]

However, non-Haven suites are NOT at all the same as Haven suites, by virtue of the Haven area(s) itself.

 

 

...

 

 

 

I guess most importantly, the non-Haven suites don't have the same quiet hallways/etc., even if you don't use the Haven "common areas".

 

You are waaayyy overgeneralizing. On all ships that have Haven, there are also Haven suites not located there and hence do not "have the same quiet hallways etc".

 

So having a Haven suite really does not guarantee anything more than access to Haven - some of those suites are also located there, some are not.

Edited January 8, 2017 by Demonyte

[Turtles06]

I guess most importantly, the non-Haven suites don't have the same quiet hallways/etc., even if you don't use the Haven "common areas".

 

 

I think you are over-generalizing. For example, the aft-facing penthouse suites (SFs) on the Jewel class ships by definition are as far back as you can go; it's pretty quiet in those halls. I'm guessing the same is probably true for the SE forward-facing penthouse suites.

[BirdTravels]

I guess most importantly, the non-Haven suites don't have the same quiet hallways/etc., even if you don't use the Haven "common areas".

 

In my opinion, the non-Haven suites on the Jewel class ships are much preferable to the ones in the Haven. The forward/Aft facing suites and owners suites are beautiful.

 

And you get all of the Haven's perks (with the exception of using the [very tiny] Havens court yard) including access to the dining room, invitations to all of the parties and events in the Havens, access to the concierge. Your butler is still there to serve you.

 

On the Megaships, many of the Havens rooms are not in the courtyard. We recently sailed on the Escape in a forward facing Havens room, and hiked through the noisy, narrow hallways with the non-havens guests.

[volvo geek]

We pulled the trigger, but opted for MA class family suite with large balcony. Hopefully its location near stairs/elevator on deck 12 (pool deck) will not be regrettable. Excited to see just how much bigger it will be than a breakaway balcony room!

[Demonyte]

We pulled the trigger, but opted for MA class family suite with large balcony. Hopefully its location near stairs/elevator on deck 12 (pool deck) will not be regrettable. Excited to see just how much bigger it will be than a breakaway balcony room!

 

 

Category MA is a midship mini-suite, I think you got the code wrong - or are in for a nasty surprise.

[volvo geek]

Category MA is a midship mini-suite, I think you got the code wrong - or are in for a nasty surprise.

 

Good fact checking...Correction SD

[shark with a laser]

We pulled the trigger, but opted for MA class family suite with large balcony. Hopefully its location near stairs/elevator on deck 12 (pool deck) will not be regrettable. Excited to see just how much bigger it will be than a breakaway balcony room!

 

 

Check out "Dawn - Live 11/27" by TheDougOut on the NCL board (I don't know how to link it through the the app) for some great photos of the SD, including some with the privacy wall around the bed extended.

 

 

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[volvo geek]

Check out "Dawn - Live 11/27" by TheDougOut on the NCL board (I don't know how to link it through the the app) for some great photos of the SD, including some with the privacy wall around the bed extended.

 

 

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Found it. Wow that's a lot of info in there!

[cb at sea]

The bridge just doesn't want LIGHT shining out at night...it reduces their view. If you keep the drapes closed, you can be out there all you want.

[ttally]

Does the mini-suite MA have a pullman?

[volvo geek]

So...What is the "butler" supposed to do for you? I never expected to have a butler experience, LOL.

[shark with a laser]

So...What is the "butler" supposed to do for you? I never expected to have a butler experience, LOL.

 

 

Your cabin steward does the basic care of your room. The butler takes care of any of your in-room needs above and beyond what everyone gets with the steward. You want dinner from Cagney's or Le Bistro in your cabin? That's your butler. Daily snacks are brought by the butler. Bar setups are kept stocked by the butler. Espresso machine is maintained by the butler. We one time we happened to be on the same excursion as one of our butlers. She was offering us snacks she brought. I'm sure there are more to their formal responsibilities, but this is what comes to mind from my experiences with butler service.

 

 

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[SteelCityCruiser10]

As much or as little as you want. The butler will bring you DVDs if you want to watch a movie (all free), bring fruit, chocolate, cheese dishes to your room, replenish the coffee/espresso/tea machine capsules in the room. The lavazza coffee machine in the suite is probably my favorite perk - unlimited coffee/espresso/tea! Other than taking care of the coffee supplies we have not used the butler services all that much.

The concierge can help you get priority show and tender tickets, recommend and reserve excursions for you and escort you off the ship on the last day with priority just to name a few.

 

 

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[Lessum]

We are on the Dawn in May to Bermuda and are in a mini-suite with a balcony. Anyone know what amenities that comes with? My parents booked it so I have no idea. TIA!

[shark with a laser]

We are on the Dawn in May to Bermuda and are in a mini-suite with a balcony. Anyone know what amenities that comes with? My parents booked it so I have no idea. TIA!

 

 

The only perks in a mini-suite are the promos that everyone has access to and any associated with your Latitudes status. Mini-suites don't get any suite perks, they're really just slightly larger balcony rooms.

 

 

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