Live from Silver Dawn - Copenhagen to Copenhagen, Aug 26 - Sep 5, 2024

[PinonNoir]

We boarded Silver Dawn today in Copenhagen for our 10 day Norwegian cruise.  We arrived at the vessel at 1345 and checking in was seamless.  We went onboard and had lunch to wait for the clearance for staterooms, which came at 1410.  The Caesar Salad and Mahi-Mahi at lunch were excellent!  The chocolate and cinnamon gelato was even better!  The wine at lunch was a great Sauvingon Blanc from Chile, a decent Pinot Grigio from Italy, and a really good Rose from France.  All of this was a very good sign!!

 

We are in a Silver Suite, and the moment we stepped inside we realized this is a big step up from Oceania.  The room was very well laid out, spacious, and on the 11th deck, well away from any noise or activity.  I'm not sure how new the Silver Dawn is, but it feels like it just came out of drydock.  Our deck overhead is spic and span with no signs of rust or even salt from the prior sailing.  There is plentiful storage and the bathroom area is huge for a cruise ship!  We did an Owners Suite on Oceania last year and this suite simply BLOWS IT AWAY!

 

We loved the staff on our prior Oceania cruises, but you can tell the Silversea staff have been trained to a higher standard.  It feels like we are dealing with Michelin star staff!  Our butler is amazing!

 

We just finished a walk around of the ship and there are a LOT of public areas, to the point you feel like the ship is maybe half booked....no crowding anywhere!  I'm very hard to impress, and so far I'm quite blown away.  This is by far the nicest cruise ship we've been on so far.  All that remains to be seen is food quality during dinner, and of course the included shore excursions. 

 

Tonight we are at La Terraza, so fingers crossed!  I will be trying to post every day or so as we cruise, so if you have any questions about anything please let me know.

Edited August 26 by PinonNoir

[goldengatecruisers]

Thanks for starting this thread.  I know you will have a terrific time on board Silver Dawn.  

[spinnaker2]

Enjoy it all!!!

[Lois R]

Glad you are enjoying her😀 I love The Dawn!

[Luv2Cruise1016]

Love the Silver Dawn!  Enjoy.  Maiden voyage April 2022, so still very new.

[PinonNoir]

While we were in Dolce Vita for the mandatory drill I was looking over the drink menu.  I'm not a cocktail guy, sticking mostly to wine, but I've decided to try a new cocktail a day.  Tonight is the Corpse Reviver #2 (no idea what happened to #1), with Tanqueray #10, Cointreau, Cocchi Americano, Fresh Lemon and Absinthe. Excellent!  This trip may change me forever!

[PinonNoir]

7 minutes ago, Luv2Cruise1016 said:

Love the Silver Dawn!  Enjoy.  Maiden voyage April 2022, so still very new.

It definitely feels new, except for the staff, who seem very seasoned!

[goldengatecruisers]

Try and find Joel, who in my opinion, is one of the best bartenders currently on board Dawn.  Most recently he was working in the Observation Lounge - just down the hallway from your gorgeous suite.   However, they do rotate.  He would create cocktails for me based on ingredients I would suggest.  He is so talented and understands what concoctions work well together.   We always try different cocktails while on board as it's a great opportunity to get introduced to something new.   Definitely consider having pre-dinner drinks at S.A.L.T. bar where the cocktail menu is unique to that venue and region specific.

 

Ashley

Edited August 26 by goldengatecruisers

[PinonNoir]

32 minutes ago, goldengatecruisers said:

Try and find Joel, who in my opinion, is one of the best bartenders currently on board Dawn.  Most recently he was working in the Observation Lounge - just down the hallway from your gorgeous suite.   However, they do rotate.  He would create cocktails for me based on ingredients I would suggest.  He is so talented and understands what concoctions work well together.   We always try different cocktails while on board as it's a great opportunity to get introduced to something new.   Definitely consider having pre-dinner drinks at S.A.L.T. bar where the cocktail menu is unique to that venue and region specific.

 

Ashley

Awesome info!  Thanks!  Will definitely try to find Joel.

[PinonNoir]

Dinner tonight at La Terraza was excellent!  The homemade Papardelle Pasta with Duck Ragu is one of the best Italian dishes I've had in years....since we were last in Italy!  The included wines were decent, but the Italian white was too cold.  The Barbera d'asti was quite good!  The gelato was excellent again....they have that down!  So far so good!

[RyanJCanada]

Thanks for posting… look forward to following along!

[PinonNoir]

Ok, discovered my first complaint last night.  We were in the Observation Library, the only public forward part of the vessel, just after dusk.  All of the lights were on, and reflecting off the windows, so you couldn't see a thing.  I asked the bartender if she could shut off the lights by the windows and just leave on the bar lights.  She said no, they were all on one circuit.  As a matter of fact, she was about to close all of the blinds so the lights from this space didn't impact the bridge's view.

 

If the blinds are closed at night, it is no longer an "Observation" area.  Why not just turn off the interior lights so we could watch the lit up shores of Denmark and Sweden sail by?  I'll be having some discussions about this today.

[Fletcher]

I cannot understand why the designers of new cruise ships have abandoned outside decks at the front of the ships, what we used to called Observation Decks.  I like to see where I am going, I like to photograph where I am going.  By not providing such a deck or by closing the blinds in the Observation Lounge seems to be sending a message - 'You don't care where you are going, you only care about having a drink.'

 

I'm on the Dawn later in the year and will be following this thread. 

Edited August 27 by Fletcher

[jpalbny]

Looking forward to following; we'll also be on Silver Dawn next January for a WC segment. Glad you're having a nice time so far.

[Fletcher]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Looking forward to following; we'll also be on Silver Dawn next January for a WC segment. Glad you're having a nice time so far.

 Methinks, alas, that you both get on where we get off - Honkers.  

[FlyerTalker]

Keeping lights off at the front of the ship is a standard practice to allow the bridge staff to keep their night vision.  I've been on many ships where you'll find lights ablaze from about 1/4 back, but nothing in front.  Even on ships with forward outside decks, they are blacked out at night.

 

Why not head over to Spaccanapoli, where you will be able to see plenty of lights ashore?  Or the pool bar?  Or at the stern with the Panorama?  Or the Arts Cafe?  Seems you have plenty of other options.

[les37b]

27 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Keeping lights off at the front of the ship is a standard practice to allow the bridge staff to keep their night vision.  I've been on many ships where you'll find lights ablaze from about 1/4 back, but nothing in front.  Even on ships with forward outside decks, they are blacked out at night.

 

Why not head over to Spaccanapoli, where you will be able to see plenty of lights ashore?  Or the pool bar?  Or at the stern with the Panorama?  Or the Arts Cafe?  Seems you have plenty of other options.

 

I think you've misunderstood (or maybe I have!)

 

 

On the new Nova class, any forward observation is behind glass. You can no longer be outside to set up cameras to time lapse for example. The Muse Class ships you could and everything prior. Not important to some of course, but you cant video or take photos through glass without negative effects. (Or ability to fix a gopro for video)

 

Its why I'd never chose to sail on those ships.

 

On most sailings Ive been on, you will see my cameras setup and left. (3 for the Panama transit.) Here is one of them - impossible on the Nova.

 

 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, les37b said:

I think you've misunderstood (or maybe I have!)

 

Pinon wants the lights off so he can look out at the nighttime lights.  And he wants the blinds open. 

 

I said that there were plenty of other places to see those sights.  And I explained that darkness is important for the benefit of the bridge.

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Enjoy.

 

We all feel your Obs Bar pain and lack of front balcony.

[PinonNoir]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Keeping lights off at the front of the ship is a standard practice to allow the bridge staff to keep their night vision.  I've been on many ships where you'll find lights ablaze from about 1/4 back, but nothing in front.  Even on ships with forward outside decks, they are blacked out at night.

 

Why not head over to Spaccanapoli, where you will be able to see plenty of lights ashore?  Or the pool bar?  Or at the stern with the Panorama?  Or the Arts Cafe?  Seems you have plenty of other options.

I completely understand the issues of lights affecting the bridge....I have a maritime background so I get it.  But there is no reason they couldn't outfit the forward lounge with red floor lighting so we could observe from the bow rather than other areas.  Our stateroom is on the 11th deck just outside the Observation lounge, so I'm just looking at the practicality of it.  I appreciate the suggestions though!

[PinonNoir]

Today was an at sea day, which perhaps is good as many of the guests just arrived a day or two ago.  I can't imagine arriving that close to cruise departure, but at least people can get over their jet lag.

 

We tried to eat at Kaiseki since it's free for lunch, but they were jam packed, so we ate at Atlantide.  I had the meatballs and they were great.  My wife had the tuna wrap and she said it was excellent!  So far the food is hitting on all cylinders!

 

I had two more cocktails after lunch; the Last Word (No. 3 Gin, Green Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino, Fresh Lime), and the Espresso Martini (Vodka, Kahlua, Espresso).  The Corpse Reviver #2 remains the champ...so far.

 

We spent some time in the Observation lounge working on a puzzle, and when the Bridge players showed up they were not happy that some tables were being used.  Oh well, we were there first!

 

It's formal night, and we don't do that, so dinner at The Grill tonight with our new friends from Florida, Paul and Trudy!

[mchell810]

@PinonNoir  Your point about the lights is right on point.

 

 

As Les noted there is an outside forward deck on the Dawn; one can access it from the Observation lounge.  Ofc, if the staircase is closed off one would be sorely disappointed. 

 

I enjoyed the sail out from San Juan in March. 

 

 

Edited August 27 by mchell810

[PinonNoir]

Dinner at The Grill tonight.  I had the center-cut filet and my wife had the salmon, both of them on the hot rocks.  My filet was great....but took awhile to cook even with the hot rocks!  My wife advised the salmon was "ehhh", and "nothing to write home about" (her exact words just now).  I'm not a big fan of the plastic stemware at The Grill....and the red wine on offer was way too tannic.  We asked for the Barbera d'Asti we had last night and they found it maybe 10 minutes later.  I did like that they just left the bottle on the table after pouring, so we ended up finishing the bottle!

 

Likely won't hit The Grill again, even though we have reservations.  Probably do the pizza joint (Spaccanapoli) on the second formal night.

 

By the way, if you don't do foo-foo formal, the Observation Lounge was empty when we got there after dinner, and almost nobody who showed up afterwards was actually in formal attire.

[PinonNoir]

Forgot to mention, we had the cheesecake for dessert at The Grill.  It was awful!!  It wasn't even cheesecake...just some light fluff of crap made to look like cheesecake.  Nasty!

 

Also, the wait staff claim to not have a wine list of the wines that are included with the cruise fare.  They just have the Premium $$$ wine list.  I would like to be able to pick through the various wines they have included with the fare versus just taking the wines the "Somm" offers when you are first seated. 

 

By the way, we've only had one "Somm" who actually seemed knowledgeable (our first day at lunch).  The others haven't even pronounced the names of the wine varietals correctly.  This area needs some work!

 

Overall still very happy....these are minor issues....after trying the nasty cheesecake we went to the pizza spot and got gelato.....and all was right with the world!

[PinonNoir]

3 hours ago, mchell810 said:

@PinonNoir  Your point about the lights is right on point.

 

 

As Les noted there is an outside forward deck on the Dawn; one can access it from the Observation lounge.  Ofc, if the staircase is closed off one would be sorely disappointed. 

 

I enjoyed the sail out from San Juan in March. 

 

 

I will check it out when we get underway tomorrow.  Thanks!