Dream Review 3/27/05 sailing

[love2snorkel]

I thought I'd give a review since I so much appreciated all the previous reviews about the Dream. First I need to apologize for my poor grammer and spelling. I'd also like to state that I enjoyed our cruise. When I think about our trip it brings nothing but happy thoughts to mind. I don't want this review to seem negative, I just want to point out factual things that occured.

We arrived at the port at 1:00 pm and had practically a zero wait time in line. No problems checking in but my husband's small flask full of brandy was confiscated while our carry-ons were being screened. We were given a receipt and explained that it would be returned to our cabin the night before we disembark. We received a personal escort to our cabin. Our cabin was on deck 4 Mid/outside (4216). It is one of the very few cabins that are guaranteed to sleep 4. I was expecting one small port hole but was pleasantly surprised to have two larger port holes. The fabric covering couch and bed was pink and unappealing to look at. The couch had to be folded out and made into a bed by housekeeping. When I tried to fold it out, it sloped downwards instead of being level. kids bed not what I expected but they stated bed was comfortable. The main bed was two twin beds put together. Bed was surprisingly comfortable and very roomy. Bathroom was what I expected. It was hard to shave my legs in the shower but I managed. Soap and shampoo dispensers in shower with two small metal grill like shelves. Hot water was endless in the shower and water pressure excellent. Still not sure what the red button located on shower knob is for. The blow dryer looked like a hose from a vacumn cleaner. I brought my own hair dryer from home but cabins would have worked for me since I have thin hair. My sister-in-law who has thick hair was complaining about the hair dryer. Three glass shelves in corner next to toilet. Empty suitcases were placed under the bed. There was a privacey curtain to seperate the two sleeping arrangements. My two girls enjoyed the curtain and so did my husband. There was a small vanity/ desk which I used to put make-up on and do my hair. There was a safe in the closet, about 12 hangers for clothes, and 8-10 shelves which my husband and I used to place our folded clothes. On either side of bed was night stand with two shelves and a light coming out of wall. T.V. was on top of small shelf(4) and drawers(4) which my two daughters used to store their clothes. The ledge by port hole was also used to store their shoes and backpacks. Our cabin could have been worse or better but it felt like home for 7 nights. Our 3 pieces of luggage arrived one by one. The last one came with a note. My husband brought needle noise pliers to cut the zip ties on our suitcase zippers. We like to know if someone has gone through our luggage. Well the note stated my daughter could pick up the pliers on the day of disembarkation. On our Disney cruise in 2003 pliers were not confiscated. It gave us something to joke about since my husband had two items confiscated. The dinning rooms entrances had tables decorated for Easter with candy. The Easter Bunny was seen around the ship. There was a Easter candy hunt in a disco area and for small children under the age of 5 they were given a NCL stuffed bunny. It was nice to have some acknowledgement of Easter. After dinner we retired to our cabins. We had been up for 36+ hours staight and needed sleep. I awoke at 1:30 in the morning because the ship was rocking like a craddle we had reached the Gulf. I felt like the ship was going to tip over. It made me feel anxious so I went up on deck to get some fresh air. When I went back to my cabin it took me along time to go to sleep because of the creeking noise our cabin was making because of the craddle rocking of the ship. We were told the ship had stablilizers but it sure did not feel like they were being used. I had the same experience the next night also. Everyone had the same complaints. Surprisingly out of the eight people we were traveling with not one got sick the first six nights. Pool was closed on Monday (day at sea) because the current was rough causing the pool water to rock like a craddle. If you want a lounge chair or any chair I would suggest you get up bright and early because by 9:00 am we could not find one. This ship was packed because of spring break, other sailings might not have this problem. We managed to find a couple of retired chairs up by basketball court which we probably should not have taken since they were partialy tided up in stacks, but we wanted to enjoy the gorgeous weather outdoors. We arrived in Cozumel 30 minutes late. It took another 15 min. to get the approval to leave the ship. We had an excellent time ashore. We took a taxi to Dzul-Ha and snorkeled from the beach. The snorkeling was 10 times better than Chakanab park which we had visited two years prior. Across the street was Del Mar Estates. We had an authentic Mexican meal and the kids enjoyed the pool. It was a slow day at Del Mar Estates. We went back to ship to get cleaned up. We went back out to do some shopping. Kids enjoyed picking out items at dollar style mini-shop. We stayed away from the mall. The better deals can be found further from the ship. We did purchase 2 bottles of flavored tequila and my brother managed to get them through the screener. We never opened the bottles, we just like having control of our property. The last night we encountered the staff at the back of the ship sorting through all the confiscated alcohol items. We noticed several bottles were broken. I wonder what they do about replacing those items. My daughters and I were driven back by tricycle. We got back to our cabin in time for my husband to take a picture of the girls sitting in the port holes from the pier (one of my favorite photos). The Next day we arrived in Roatan 30 min late and once again it took another 20 min. to get approved to leave the ship. We made plans to visit Luna Beach resort near west End. Once off the ship we were greeted by Native band. Just past the pier taxis and buses are lined up. They wanted $15 pp round trip to West End. I was told by resort we could get a taxi for $15 one way. I guess the ship has an agreement with taxis to charge $15pp rate. We continued past the gates and found a van that could seat the 8 of us for $60 all day where ever we wanted to go and we paid at the end of the day. It was a scenic drive to Luna Beach resort. We were shocked that it is normal to drive vehicle on beach. We enjoyed our relaxing day in Roatan. We boarded ship by 6:30.

Next day was Belize. We booked our excursion Shark Ray Alley through Coral Breezes. I will write my review of this in Ports of call. Time in ports was shorter than stated on confirmed itinerary. Last tender was at 3:30pm. We sailed away by 4:30pm. Departure time stated as 5:00pm. One thing that bothered me is they would state that you had to be onboard 30 minutes before departure time. I wish my Sailing Itinerary would have state departure time as the time they wanted you back on board or last tender time. So Roatan and Cozumel would state 6:30pm instead of 7:00pm. Belize would be 3:30pm instead of 5:00pm. I would not have felt cheated out of time ashore. As it is I always feel that I need more time in each port. I'd love to spend a week in all three of these ports. We missed Cancun due to rough seas. I was not too disappointed because I had such a fabulous time in previous ports and had previously visited Cancun for a week. Girls were bummed because we planned to have their hair braided in Cancun. I was hoping to get some shopping done in Cancun and husband wanted to purchase additional alcohol. The second to last day we hung out around the pool in the back of the ship for part of the day and the rest we spent up in the sports bar playing cards. The last day was the worst as the ship was rocking front to back. 5 out of 8 in our party got sea sick. All the kids and one adult. We spent the majority of the day in our cabin resting or on deck trying to get some fresh air. Gift shop on board had very little left. We were the last cruise. Ship is now in dry dock getting cleaned and updated. Items left were costume jewelry, glasses and other misc. items that had nothing to do with NCL. They did have some deaply discounted pens, christmas ornaments with the NCL logo but that was it. Gift shop completely closed Thursday night. I would like to comment on how friendly the staff was. Whenever we would pass each other in the halls you were always acknowledged with a smile. Several mornings my daughters favorite choice of cereal(frosted flakes) was always gone. All three mornings when I asked if they had anymore the staff always went into the backroom and came out with two boxes. All questions and requests were met. Our cabin was made up every night. 4 out of 7 nights we had a towel animal which the girls enjoyed. I would have to say that the Meals on this ship was the best I have had with the exception of dessert. I've had richer desserts on the Disney cruise. The menu changed daily and had something to please everyone. I was expecting the worse and was pleasantly surprised. We experienced better service and wait time in the Terrace's. We had a party of 8 and were seated within ten minutes 5 out of 7 nights. The formal night we had to wait 40 minutes and the optional formal night we waited 25 minutes. We missed the nightly entertainment the first 4 nights so I can not comment on those performances. Comedian and juggler Pete Mattews was hilarious. The not so newlywed game was also hilarious and much to revealing. I felt bad for the contestants. Some spouses revealed things that were x-rated and very private. Comedian Chris Rich started of slow but ended with a lot of good laughs. The Liar's club was hilarious and very creative. The talent show was entertaining. The cruise director was entertaining and enthusiastic. I enjoyed watching him crack up and amuse himself. Our pictures were taken three times, I initiated them once but I was not happy with how they turned out so we purchased zero pictures. $10 for 5x7, $20 for 8x10, I did not see anything advertising picture packages. I was pleased with service provided and was very happy to pay the $30 daily mandatory tipping charge. I can't comment on kids club because my two daughters did not participate. They enjoyed playing with their 2 cousins. Staff went out of its way to please our family. It was very rare to see staff standing around, they were always busy. Debarkation went as stated. We enjoyed assistant cruise directors comedic explaination of each color being excused. It was an easy process claiming pliers on our way out. If the stabilizers worked well I would definetly cruise the Dream again but until that time it won't happen. We left the ship with a lot of happy memories and good feelings that will last a lifetime. That reminds me I still owe my 6 year old $5 for eating an escargot. I hope you all can learn something from my review. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

[MAHICK]

Great review!! My family and I will be on the Dream in June for Alaska.

Per the stabilizer problem, it is my understanding that another is being added while she is in DryDock.

 

I would be interested to know if all quad cabins are as you described or do some have pulkl down bunks?

 

Mark

[love2snorkel]

When walking the halls and peaking into rooms with doors open I did not notice any pull down bunks. That would be great news if the stabilizer is being replaced. Fold out bed worked for my 6 & 9 year old daughters and also my 10 and 13 year old nieces but I can't see it working for two teenage boys or older.

[rmoore926]

Thank you for your honest review. We are looking forward to our July Alaska cruise. Glad to hear stablizers (sp?) are being added before our cruise.

[trvldog]

Nice review, really appreciate all the information. I will be on the Dream May 30th

[crazy4cruisn]

When you say that "Meals on the ship were the best I have had but desserts on Disney were richer" I guess you have cruised Disney and other ships? Did you mean the dessers were ok, good? I have read other comments that desserts were awful and meals only mediocre. My DH loves to cruise partly for the food so this would be a disappointment. :confused: Could you clarify? Great review! Thanks.

[love2snorkel]

I enjoyed the desserts on the Disney Magic more than I did on the NCL Dream. I love chocolates and sweets and from what I can remember Disney desserts were sweeter. NCL dream dessert were good just not the best that I've experienced compared to Disney Magic. The selection of ice cream was great on the Dream. My girls enjoyed the lemon sherbert ice cream. Ice cream sundae's were excellent. One thing I have to say looking back over the menu is that the entree's titles were to fancy for me. What I mean is the title did not explain well what you would be eating or it did in another language which I did not understand. Example "Foie Gras Napoloens" The waiters did not explain the food choices at all. When we questioned the waiters their answers were short. I just ordered what I could understand. I might have missed out on trying something different in fear of it not being good. Lots of fruit available. Vegetables were prepared perfectly. Salads were different every night. With the exception of ice creams and always available main course items, menu never repeated itself. Proportions were perfect. I'm not a meat eater but Beef Welington and prime rib were excellent. Cheese board had a different variety of cheeses each night. I wish I had a copy of the menus in front of me to refresh my memory. I hope this helps.

[crazy4cruisn]

Thanks, that was great! I am not as concerned now. Do you happen to remember if a cold soup was offered? They used to do this on the NCL Sky with a different cold soup each night......outstanding!

[love2snorkel]

Cold & hot appetizer, cold & hot soup, 2 salads, pasta entree, 2-3 main course, 2-3 desserts all change every night. We never tried the cold soup.

[vette]

On some of the other NCL ships they have a BBQ outside on the pool deck every afternoon - does the Dream have one?

 

Thanks for your review. We are cruising her in November and I have been hoping to read an honest opinion about her. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

Vette

[love2snorkel]

We enjoyed the BBQ for lunch on the first full day at sea. It had chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, chow mein, and salads. I had and enjoyed the chicken and chow mein. In my opinion, any meal I don't have to cook I enjoy.

[MobileMystic]

We had a quad on deck 9 (cabin 9103) that had pull down bunks.....They were the same width as the lower beds, and were more stable than I'd thought they would be. They also have a short but very functional rail along the outside edge....

[BrynnP]

Thanks for the great report. My husband and I were on the Dream 3/20 to 3/27. We had an excellent week!