Dream - anyone just back?

[Camahr]

Anyone just back from the last Dream Baltic Cruise.

 

What time did embarkation start? Did anyone use NCL Transfers? Details?

 

How about post cruise anyone use NCL transfers from the ship to London Hotels?

 

Thanks for any info.

 

Cathy

Norwegian Sky,May, 2002

Carnival Spirit,March, 2003

 

6/6 Norwegain Dream

[Cheery]

I think that they are at sea for another week. I got back last Tuesday and they were headed out again for the 12 day trip...I think...

The disembarkation and embarkation was a "dream" Smooth and easy...

[Camahr]

Did you use NCL Transfers?

 

What time did the buses leave the airport and arrive in Dover, Pre cruise?

 

Do you know what time you board the buses post cruise and what time they arrived at the hotel? How long did check in take at the hotel.

 

We are trying to determine what we can schedule for our first afternoon evening in London post cruise.

 

Thanks

 

Cathy

Norwegian Sky,May, 2002

Carnival Spirit,March, 2003

 

6/6 Norwegain Dream

[Cheery]

I thought that maybe I had saved the disembarkation papers but no...sorry. So from memory I think that the first group might have left the ship at 6AM, I had a 4PM flight so I was one of the last 2 groups and my time was 8:30AM, we pulled out of the port at 9AM and was at Heathrow at 11AM. Seems to me that you would have time to plan something interesting in London with that time frame.

I loved my schedule for arrivial, the plan arrived around noon, went thru immigration etc met by lovely NCL staff, didn't have to wonder what to do next they were right there to direct all of their passengers, had to wait about 45 min which honestly was just fine, game me time to regroup and clean up a bit. Other passengers arrived from other flights and we all boarded the bus they had told us it was about 2 hour ride, we did make a "rest stop" so it was 2 1/2 hours, embarkation was smooth, they start to feed you as soon as you enter the terminal! Went to my stateroom and it was time for the lifeboat drill... it was perfect for me!

[xda92]

Due to my jet lag upon returning from the most recent Dream/Baltic trip, I am up at 4:30 a.m. to reply to your message.

 

My family (my husband, myself and my 11 year old son) just returned yesterday. My feedback is based soley on my experience and others may have different perspectives.

 

We used Norwegian's pre-hotel package and stayed at the Hotel Thistle near the Tower of London. It is a nice hotel and the location is very good. We had a view of the Thames River and Tower Bridge. Since we booked air through NCL we had transfers from the airport to the hotel, the hotel to the port and from the port back to the airport. It was very convenient and I think worth the money. For example, the transportation from the pier to the airport ran about 100 pounds or about 130.00 US (I think I am using the right exchange rate).

 

Check in at the port was simple and not to crowded. Our transfer picked us up at the airport at 11:00 and we arrived by 1:00 p.m and was able to get on the ship. As you know, this is an older ship so do not expect a lot of fancy stuff.

 

Upon embarkation, we received a letter stating that we would not be able to go to Tallin due to the continuing problem with one of the engines. They have been waiting for a part since March and have expected delivery every sailing. The captain said that the last communication with the manufacturer says the part should be delivered by end of June. Not going to Tallin may also be due to oncoming weather fronts. They have take into consideration weather, seas and winds along with engine output. NCL only allowed $100 credit per cabin for this missed port. Defintely not enough.

 

If you have booked shore excursions either by online or by phone and do not have tickets with your docs or in your cabin upon arrival. Go directly to the shore excursion desk, stand in line and confirm that you have the excursions. That happened to us for our stop in St. Petersburg and they had no record (I even had the e-mail confirmation from NCL). Fortunately the excursions were not full so we were able to get them.

 

The restaurants were fine and I would agree with others that The Terraces is the best one for service. The Italian restaurant which does not cost extra is also very good. However, if you want wine or other mixed drinks with your meal, please ask for a wine steward right away. We ate there twice and no wine steward appeared even when we asked for one in the middle of our meal.

 

The Sports Bar is where a lot of people go to eat the breakfast buffet. It is ok and there is not much room to sit at peak times. People do take their trays out on the deck if the weather is nice and not too chilly. They also try and do a barbecue buffet on the deck for lunch, but several times during our trip the minute the first grill came out it started to rain. They were able to do two or three buffets like that and they were very good.

 

The Dream's staff is very nice and there are no complaints there. The talent was pretty good. The comedian was very funny, the magician, Zoltan, was ok. He specializes in card tricks and I thought he was a bit rude to some of his volunteers.

 

The Jean Anne Ryan Dancers did three shows with the second show by far their best. The talent is very good, but the last show was a dud.

 

Now to the ports. We didn't go to Tallin like I said, but the port at Warnemunde was very good. It is a quaint fishing village and good for shopping and just walking around the town. I forgot to mention that the sail up the Keil Canal was awsome even though we got there late and only saw a portion of the transit. (another engine related disappointment)

 

We then crossed the baltic and went to Stockholm. The archipeligos (sp) were just beautiful and the city was very nice. We went to the Vasa Museum. That is something you have to see.

 

Our next stop was Helsinki. Because of our changed itinerary, we ended up in Helsinki on a Sunday. Not a good thing if you don't have a shore excursion planned, because everything is closed. We took a trip to the Helsinki Zoo (which was open). It was one of the best zoos I have ever seen. Definitely worth the trip. We also went on a harbor tour. That was also very nice.

 

St. Petersburg was our next stop. We did the Peterholf, Hermitage and Russia through the eyes of the People. The Peterholf was fabulous and the gardens unbelievable. The Hermitage was great, but very crowded. An elderly lady from our ship fell down some of the stairs there and blackened her eyes, so be careful if you go there. The tour through the eyes of the Russian people was very interesting. You get a short trip on the Metro (their stations are quite ornate). Don't try and take a picture however, or you will be fined like I almost was. You also go through a farmer's market or food market and then a government market. The difference is the food market they let you try their products before buying and they take US dollars (small denominations)The government market has some pretty great stuff too, but they only take rubels or credit cards. Since rubels are a restricted currency, you must use your credit cards. We ended up at a vodka tasting which was a lot of fun.

 

Overall, I think you will be quite surprised at how depressed the city of St. Petersburg looks even years after the "fall" of communisim. They have only a 4% unemployment rate, but the cars, public transportation and apartments are so depressed looking.

 

The last port was Copenhagen. It is a stark opposite of St. Petersburg. Clean, beautiful and definitely a place I want to go back to. Tivoli Gardens was great and we spent about 6 hours there. You can tell where Disney got his inspiration. For all the cars in St. Petersburg, there are as many bikes in Copenhagen. There are even public bikes that you can use all day for 20 kroner.

 

Lastly, getting off the ship. They want you off quick. We were off the ship by 7:30 a.m and at Gatwick by 9:00 a.m. Unfortunately, our flight (made through NCL) was at 3:45. We paid the xtra dough to leave on a flight at 11:00 a.m. It was more than we wanted to pay, but it was worth getting back at a reasonable hour.

 

Any way, I am sure I left some things out due to my jet lag and early hour of this post. I will watch the post and if there are any particular questions any one has, I will try and answer them.

 

Oh yes, the weather. Everytime they predicted rain. It was sunny and mild. I can't guarantee that's the way it will be for future sailings, but it sure did make this one nice.

[xda92]

As I thought, I made a booboo. Our bus picked us up from the hotel around 11:00 and we got to the port around 1:00. Whew.

[ukbound]

Thank you for posting! What did you do in Germany? I am curious about what excursion to take.

[mrsbubs]

Thanks for the posting. We're on the Dream on the 30th June and would be grateful if you could answer a few queries. It sounds as if you found it easy to get around on your own. Did you have taxis or bus into the cities or could you walk? Also this is our first NCL cruise and we wondered what the bar prices are like? We've seen the wine list and have heard that they do a special deal if you buy five bottles on some boats. Do they do this on the Dream?

Thanks for your help,

Carol.

[xda92]

In Warnemunde you can easily walk from the ship into the town. It takes about 5-10 minutes. In Stockholm, you can walk into "Old Town," but it takes about 20-30 minutes. There are taxis at the pier. NCL provides a shuttle into Helsinki and back to the ship. You cannot go ashore in St. Petersburg on your own unless you have your own visa. Otherwise, you must be on an NCL tour. They stress that you must stick with your NCL tour or if you get lost or stray from your tour find any NCL tour (the guides hold paddles up with the NCL name and tour bus number) and join them. In Copenhagen, it's another pretty good walk to city center, but there is a hop-on, hop-off bus like in London, where you can buy a ticket and just look around the city and get off when you want. However, they stop running about 3:15 to 4:15 in the afternoon.

 

The only tours we signed up for were those in St. Petersburg. We are sort of independent travelers and only do the NCL tours where we could not see things on our own for less $.

 

As far as the wine or drink prices, they are a little high compared to your typical bar, but not too far out.

[xda92]

For ukbound, we didn't do any tours in Germany. We just walked around the town. It is very quaint. I think the people who took the tour to Berlin thought it was nice.

[Neon Coaster]

I sailed this route many seasons and loved the Baltics. As previous posters stated, you can explore any of the cities on your own (Russia being the exception).

 

In Warnemunde you can explore the town in a short (hour or so) while then (perhaps) take the train to Rostock (30 or so minutes) for a larger town with some nice places to eat and shopping. Many crew go to Rostock for those purposes. The Berlin tour (via chartered train) is nice, but makes for a long day.

 

In Estonia, insure you see the town...Tallin old town is beautiful. It is a long walk (30 minutes) to town center but easy...or cab it. Lots of handmade things like sweaters from vendors and very inexpensive shopping.

 

The sail in (and out) of Stockholm is very beautiful. Don't set your alarm to see the sail-in...you sail out the same way (lol). It is an easy walk to Old Town in Stockholm (as was previously posted). Great shopping and places to eat..but you'll see high prices for food.

 

In Copenhagen there is a city bus that stops very near the ship that goes to town center...I believe it was a dollar one way. The bus runs until late evening. The Little Mermaid, however, is just a 1/4 mile away..a beautiful walk. I used to walk to city center along the waterfront then bus back (the walk was hour or so)

 

Like others stated, the Kiel Canal day is gorgeous. With the Dream being the largest cruise ship to sail the canal, it's quite an event for the little towns and villages...so lots of locals along the shore to see you sail by.

 

My favorite cruise, by a long shot.

[jip]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Camahr:

Anyone just back from the last Dream Baltic Cruise.

 

What time did embarkation start? Did anyone use NCL Transfers? Details?

 

How about post cruise anyone use NCL transfers from the ship to London Hotels?

 

Thanks for any info.

 

Cathy

Norwegian Sky,May, 2002

Carnival Spirit,March, 2003

 

6/6 Norwegain Dream

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;6;6;16;0;00&timezone=GMT+0000<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

WE WILL BE SAILING ON dREAM FROM dOVER O MAY 13TH. wHO ELSE IS GOING? eMAIL ME

CB2052@WAVECABLE.COM. CHIP

[jip]

just returned from may 13 sailing to the Baltics. Best cruise ever! Dream is clean and well taken care of. Smallest ship we have ever sailed, but fine. Friedliest crew wew have ever sailed with. Unfortunately, Denny Anderson was cruise director, however he left the ship in the middle of cruise and Pedro Serra took over. Much better!!!! I love to talk about cruise, so e mail me if you want day by day tips. I will try to answer your question. Do NOT be put off by the bad reviews you read on here about dream. It is no better or worse than Sun, Sky or others!!

My email is cb2052@wavecable.com

 

Chip Brady

 

WE WILL BE SAILING ON dREAM FROM dOVER O MAY 13TH. wHO ELSE IS GOING? eMAIL ME

CB2052@WAVECABLE.COM. CHIP

[xda92]

I have to agree with you. The Dream is a fine ship and that it is time for Denny to retire. Pedro left at our stop in Copenhagen to become the cruise director of the Majesty. I am sorry I didn't get to see him in action much.

 

I think overall my trip was great. The only real complaint I had (an many others had) was missing Tallin. St. Petersburg, Stockhom, Helsinki and Copenhagen are great, but there is something about walking through a town like Tallin. I just wish we knew a little more in advance and that the onboard credit had been a little more. Considering what we paid for the trip, I think the compensation of $100 per cabin was not enough.

[TheDivineMsM]

Hi...

 

The really BIG question...

 

Did they have a chocolate Buffet???

 

Dream on 9/22/04

[Cheery]

OH YES, in the 4 Seasons! There was even some chocolate upstairs in the sports bar...

[ukbound]

Thank you SOOO much for the positive statements about the Dream. Having never sailed on her, I was getting worried about my choice. We leave July 12 and are very excited!

[Guest RFJohnson]

How can the stroll from the ship to Old Town Stockholm be only 20 minutes? It is almost an hour away by car? The ship does not stop in Stockholm, but in Nynashamn.

 

Cunard CARONIA (18 days, North Atlantic) '01

Cunard QE2 (Transatlantic) '00, '01

HAL VEENDAM (Alaska) '02

Royal Olympia VOYAGER (Carib. & Amazon, 16 days) '02/'03

[Cheery]

The port that we stopped in was Stockholm,( May 13th trip) I did take a taxi to town, many folks walked. We were one of the first ships for the "season" and the town folks were thrilled to see us!! ( and our $$)

It was a great trip... you will find it quite special!!

[xda92]

RF, I think you are thinking of another ship. You can definitely walk from the ship into Old Town, Stockholm. We chose not too because we went to the Vasa Museum first.

[Neon Coaster]

RF is correct. Occasionally (not that often) other ships take the slot normally used by the Dream. Then the Dream is sent to Nynashamn, which is quite a ways out of town. In four years of sailing the route I recall berthing there twice.

 

Same holds true with Helsinki. Occasionally the Dream docks at the shipyard, which is ways away from the central district.

[xda92]

How many times have you done the Baltic route? Always on NCL?

[Neon Coaster]

xda, I worked for NCL's Cruise Staff aboard the Dream and sailed the Baltic route for the initial 4 years it was offered. Not sure exactly how many times it was..maybe 8 to 10 voyages a year or so...sometimes I did the transatlantic repositionings (to and from)so the number varies.

 

I also sailed the Dream in So. America, Canal, and Caribbean, the Wind in Alaska and Hawaii, the Norway in the Caribbean (and one visit to Europe), the Sea out of Houston and the Sky's initial runs in Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. I also did "time" on the Sea, Majesty, the Dynasty and original Crown.

[Chief Officer]

Wow, that Denny guy is still a cruise director? He was the director on the Sunward back when I took my first cruise in 1987.