Dream Review 5/30 Alaska/Short

[jjfla]

Just arrived home late last night as we spent 3 days after the cruise driving around Washington. If you have time Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Ranier are well worth the trip.

 

I must start by saying that after reading so many bad things about the Dream that I was concerned!!! Don't listen to any of it!!! Small things can go wrong but the Ship was very nice, Crew was excellent and the weather we had was awesome!!!!!!! Nice calm seas and sunshine the whole trip.

 

The food was ok, nothing special. Sometimes I think they went a little overboard with the sauces trying to make it something it was not, but we never went hungry. True, the lines can be bad at times but the whole 10 days we only had to wait the most 10minutes and we ate at all the of them and at different times. The breakfast buffet was nothing to write home about but it was not that bad either. Think Shoney's buffet and you won't be too disappointed. The weather was so nice they had 4 Barbacues on the pool deck. Hamburgers, sausages, hot dogs, ribs, chicken and salads!!!

 

We had an outside cabin deck 4, 4235, nice big portholes and room enough for 2 people and 4 bags. Plenty of closet and drawer space. Warning!!! Shower is tiny, if you are big and tall you best leave the shower curtain open not to mention for you ladies shaving can be a challenge!! lol

 

We met some very nice folks on this cruise, everyone had a smile and was having a great time, never ran into anyone that was'nt happy with the experience.

 

Hubbard Glacier was perfect!!! We were the only ship in and the Captain positioned the Dream right along side the Glacier, spent about 2 hours watching it calve. Bright sunny day out so the Blue Hue was spectacular.

 

Forgive my spelling on this today as I have a bad case of Jet Lag!!!

 

Only problem on the whole trip was that Delta lost our bags on the way back to go through JFK and since the plane from Seattle was running behind we had 5 minutes to catch the little one to Tallahassee and our bags did'nt make it. Good news, they found all our dirty clothes so now I have to go do laundry!!!!

 

Will try to write more at length later.

 

We did have a meet and great on the first day at sea for all of those that are thinking about it. The Captain even showed up to introduce himself and we met all the nice folks we see on this forum!!! It was great!!!

 

Any questions just ask and I will try to answer!!

[2fun]

Would you suggest the port holes over somewhat obstructed (lifeboats) picture windows?

 

Chloe

[Whitewhale]

We are thinking of taking a trip to Mount Saint Helens after the cruise. How long of a drive is it to get there from where the boat docks. Can you hike near there? Are there hotels near there? I teach volcanoes to my students and thought it would be great to see this one. I thought it would only be about an hour and then someone said it would be over three hours. Now I am not sure what to do. Any help you can give would be great.

[calee]

We are thinking of taking a trip to Mount Saint Helens after the cruise. How long of a drive is it to get there from where the boat docks. Can you hike near there? Are there hotels near there? I teach volcanoes to my students and thought it would be great to see this one. I thought it would only be about an hour and then someone said it would be over three hours. Now I am not sure what to do. Any help you can give would be great.

 

It's been at least 10 years since I was there last but I can tell you that, from the dock, it's at least a 3 hour drive. As for hotels, as I remember, there were numerous motels, guest houses and B & B's in the area but little in the way of hotels.........hope this helps some.

[jjfla]

Whitwale

 

It would be about a 3 hr drive from the docks. Hwy 504 off I5 takes you to Johnston Ridge Observatory which looks directly at the crater, if there are no low clouds you will be able to see it. You can hike in various places on the mountain and in the National Monument. From I-5 you would take exit 49, it is 49 miles to Johnston Ridge which is the end of the road, only way out is to take 504 back again, there are 4 visitor's centers along this road all well worth a stop so this takes up quite a bit of time as well. This is an awesome experience that everyone needs to see if given the chance.

 

We were off our ship and in a rental car at 10:30 on a Thursday, took the senic route around Puget Sound south to Tacoma and Olympia, then 101 to the coast to Cape Dissapointment at the mouth of the Columbia river, stayed the night at Astoria Oregon, Friday drove over to connect with I-5 then up to exit 49, over to Mt. St. Helens, stopped at all the places, came back down that road and connected with I-5 again went up and got off at sr 12 and headed over to Mt. Rainer, stopped in a town called Packwood for the night, there were Elk grazing out the back window. On the road about 9 the next morning and went through the Stevens Canyon Road to Mt.Rainer and back in Seattle Sat evening about 4. And we took our time so in the time frame we had we managed to see quite a bit.

 

There is another viewing area that puts you right at Spirit Lake, and the crator but it is much longer. Take I-5 to Elbe (71 miles) take rt 7 to Morton, pick up Rt 12 east to Randle,131 south for 1 mile then 25 south to 99 and that takes you to Windy Ridge, looks quite curvy on the map, mileage from Randle is 37 miles, according to the trip guide I am looking at you can take the Sand Ladder at Windy Ridge, 400+ steps up a pumice laden ridge to view Spirit Lake.

 

Seems I have rambled on but wanted to give you as much info as I had, hope that you get to make the trip.

[herewego]

Astoria is a LONG way off of the Mt. if that is all you want to see BUT if you are heading down that far I would suggest a stop in Cannon Beach instead of Astoria. It is a wonderful beach, one of the best we have visited and we have been to beaches all around the globe. It is a wonderful little town and well worth the time of a day and/or overnight visit. Much nicer than the Wa and Ca coastal beaches - try it and I bet you'll agree :)

 

Samantha

[Whitewhale]

Wow, thank you for all the great information. We are still trying to decide. We have a friend living in Sequim, whom we are going to visit as well. I looked on the map and Mt. St. Helen's and Sequim were in two different directions.

 

I have another question, for those of you who were on the Dream just a few days ago. We have cruised with NCL twice before and have enjoyed the Chocoholics buffet. We are taking our children, and they are really looking forward to the buffet. I have not seen anyone mention it, nor did I see it in listed in someone's menu's. Does anyone remember anything about it.

 

Thank you for all your help.

[jjfla]

Wow, thank you for all the great information. We are still trying to decide. We have a friend living in Sequim, whom we are going to visit as well. I looked on the map and Mt. St. Helen's and Sequim were in two different directions.

 

I have another question, for those of you who were on the Dream just a few days ago. We have cruised with NCL twice before and have enjoyed the Chocoholics buffet. We are taking our children, and they are really looking forward to the buffet. I have not seen anyone mention it, nor did I see it in listed in someone's menu's. Does anyone remember anything about it.

 

Thank you for all your help.

 

Yes they did the Chocoholic Buffet and I must say it was wonderfull. I have heard folks mention on these boards that it was bland and no dark Chocolate, There was plenty of dark Chocolate and the Fresh Strawberries coated in it were just awesome!! I think I put on an additional 5lbs that night!!!!!!:)

[Whitewhale]

You have been great! We are getting nervous. We leave tomorrow night. This will be the longest cruise we have ever been on, especially with children. Ten nights in those small cabins. I am just trying to think of everything.

 

When you cruise by the two glaciers College Fjords and Hubbard glaciers, is there a good spot to be on board the boat?

 

Did you happen to do Portage Glacier? I am wondering if after the two we go by on the boat and then Mendenhall if it would be to much for the kids to do another.

 

I am not sure what we are going to do in Sitka or Prince Rupert, any good suggestions?

 

Once again, Thank you so much.

[hotspur]

When you cruise by the two glaciers College Fjords and Hubbard glaciers, is there a good spot to be on board the boat?

On the May 19th cruise, we did only the Hubbard Glacier. The Dream has several open decks at the front of the ship. We stood on deck 8, where the very center of the open front deck is sheltered nicely by the deck above if it should happen to be raining or misting.

[FOGGY DAZE]

Mt. St. Helens Will Be At Least Three Hours..better Seen If Your Heading To Portland Or...well Worth The Trip...

[FOGGY DAZE]

I AGREE ABOUT ALOT OF WHAT YOU SAID...I WONDER IF YOU HAD TO TAKE THE TENDER BOATS TO VISIT SITKA???THAT WAS REALLY A BAD EXPERIENCE...NEEDED TO BE MORE ORGANIZED ...BUT OVERALL..THE DREAM WAS A GOOD TRIP...AFTER YOU FIGURED OUT THE LAYOUT OF THE SHIP..

Just arrived home late last night as we spent 3 days after the cruise driving around Washington. If you have time Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Ranier are well worth the trip.

 

I must start by saying that after reading so many bad things about the Dream that I was concerned!!! Don't listen to any of it!!! Small things can go wrong but the Ship was very nice, Crew was excellent and the weather we had was awesome!!!!!!! Nice calm seas and sunshine the whole trip.

 

The food was ok, nothing special. Sometimes I think they went a little overboard with the sauces trying to make it something it was not, but we never went hungry. True, the lines can be bad at times but the whole 10 days we only had to wait the most 10minutes and we ate at all the of them and at different times. The breakfast buffet was nothing to write home about but it was not that bad either. Think Shoney's buffet and you won't be too disappointed. The weather was so nice they had 4 Barbacues on the pool deck. Hamburgers, sausages, hot dogs, ribs, chicken and salads!!!

 

We had an outside cabin deck 4, 4235, nice big portholes and room enough for 2 people and 4 bags. Plenty of closet and drawer space. Warning!!! Shower is tiny, if you are big and tall you best leave the shower curtain open not to mention for you ladies shaving can be a challenge!! lol

 

We met some very nice folks on this cruise, everyone had a smile and was having a great time, never ran into anyone that was'nt happy with the experience.

 

Hubbard Glacier was perfect!!! We were the only ship in and the Captain positioned the Dream right along side the Glacier, spent about 2 hours watching it calve. Bright sunny day out so the Blue Hue was spectacular.

 

Forgive my spelling on this today as I have a bad case of Jet Lag!!!

 

Only problem on the whole trip was that Delta lost our bags on the way back to go through JFK and since the plane from Seattle was running behind we had 5 minutes to catch the little one to Tallahassee and our bags did'nt make it. Good news, they found all our dirty clothes so now I have to go do laundry!!!!

 

Will try to write more at length later.

 

We did have a meet and great on the first day at sea for all of those that are thinking about it. The Captain even showed up to introduce himself and we met all the nice folks we see on this forum!!! It was great!!!

 

Any questions just ask and I will try to answer!!

[jjfla]

I must say Hubbard Glacier was awesome!!! We were the only ship there so the captain pulled as close as he could, about 1 mile away but it seemed much closer and positioned the port side of the ship along side the length of the Glacier, it was sunny and cool and it was calfing every few minutes and sometimes you heard this Thunder, which was comming from the Glacier as it broke off.

 

I was not impressed with College Fjord after that but it was a nice cruise by the different College named Glacier's.

 

I envy you getting to go tommorrow, I wish I was back there. We had just great weather and everyone, staff and guest's were just great on our trip and I wish for you the same experience.

 

The ship is nice, it has a lot of viewing areas that are open or under cover. In the evening's we enjoyed sitting on the Starboard side in one of the lounges, nice chairs and couches just watching the mountains or sea go by.

 

The Observatory lounge is nice, but they seem to always have something going on so it was not as nice to sit in there.

 

We did not do Mendanhall as I thought nothing could beat Hubbard, so we took the tram up to Mt. Roberts, 24.00 from where the bus drops you off, that was great. They have an injured Eagle that you can view up close and a nice trail around the mountain to hike on. Then we just went and experienced Juneau. Red Dog Saloon for lunch, pricey but a nice experience.

 

Enjoy your cruise and post when you return and let us that went before you know how your experience went!!!!!:)

[jjfla]

I AGREE ABOUT ALOT OF WHAT YOU SAID...I WONDER IF YOU HAD TO TAKE THE TENDER BOATS TO VISIT SITKA???THAT WAS REALLY A BAD EXPERIENCE...NEEDED TO BE MORE ORGANIZED ...BUT OVERALL..THE DREAM WAS A GOOD TRIP...AFTER YOU FIGURED OUT THE LAYOUT OF THE SHIP..

 

Yes tendering in Sitka was a hassle.. We did not have an excursion planned there so when I got the tender tickets it was in the 300's, but some nice gentleman in the hallway on deck 4 (which is where our cabin was) had ticket in the 190 range that he was not using. Took us about 2hrs to finally get on a boat and to shore.

 

Warning for those that may not have an excursion and want to get to shore early, be the first in line for those tickets.!!! Since we were ship #4 we were quite a bit away from the docks. Sitka is beautiful;!! Did you see all the Eagles. They are everywhere.

[SpiritSong]

Hi,

 

I'd like to do an independent kayaking trip in sitka but I'm concerned about the timing of getting off the ship. If I have a reservation for a kayak trip can I get an early ticket to get off the ship or does it have to be booked with Ncl's excursions to be eligible to get off early.

 

What's the process?

 

Thank you,

 

Laurie

[jjfla]

Hi,

 

I'd like to do an independent kayaking trip in sitka but I'm concerned about the timing of getting off the ship. If I have a reservation for a kayak trip can I get an early ticket to get off the ship or does it have to be booked with Ncl's excursions to be eligible to get off early.

 

What's the process?

 

Thank you,

 

Laurie

 

If your excursion is not booked through NCL you will have to stand in line to get your tender ticket. Get there early!! Even if you get the ticket with a low number it still may be awhile before you get off ship. They are not very organized and if the seas are bad and the ship is a ways off the dock as we were they may cancel the Tender's into the dock as well and you may have to by pass Sitka!! All considerations when doing excursion's on your own!!