Dream 1-14

[redhead101]

Finally have the time to get at least part of my review done. I had to return to work on Sunday the 22nd and then got sick.

 

A little about our group: My husband and I have cruised once in 2001 on Carnival, our friends in the cabin next to us three times before with NCL, RCCL and Carnival. Our friends sister, brother in law and two children booked with us and our cabins were all in a row. 8053, 8053 and 8054. They have never cruised before at all.

 

A couple of months after we booked last May, our friends cousins, brother and sister and thier families booked also. They were on different decks but we did plan to do a number of things together as well as doing things seperately during the cruise. Both families have cruised once before on Carnival.

 

Embarkation:

 

We arrived at Bush airport at 11:50am. We had purchased transfers and I would make one recommendation. Eat something before you get your luggage.My husband is a diabetic and they must eat on schedule. We landed at terminal E and walked and walked. And walked some more to baggage claim which ended up being a good 20 to 25 min walk and downstairs. We had passed all the eating courts in several terminals and by the time we reached the baggage claim where there were several NCL reps there to help, we couldn't face a return trip to get a bite to eat.

 

We got onto the bus with little fuss and the drive was about 40 mins to the pier where we saw a long line snaking out of the building and half way around the parking lot. We got appologies about how there were customs problems with the previous disembarking cruise but the line did move quickly. Once inside we snaked our way to the counter and got our key cards and headed uo the ramp to the ship. NCL did have a selection of juices and cookies for a snack but nothing sugar free so that didn't help hubby's problem of needing to eat.

 

We were just one floor up from where we entered the ship and I do have to say, I really missed the atrium setting we had on the Sensation. There was a nice receiption area but not the grandness looking up at the floors and decor we saw on the Carnival ship. Our suitcases were waiting on us when we got to our room! So we tossed them on the end of the bed and dumped out carryons and headed for the sports bar and grill for a bite to eat.

 

I was very disappointed by the buffet for the first impression of the food for the Dream. I realize it was 3pm by this time and they were stopping the serving for muster at 3:30, but I still thought the selection was poor. No bread or rolls in any basket on either line and no lettuce mix for salad. The hot food was skimpy and a bit dry and the dessert section was empty. They did not refill anything while we were there. I told my hubby, don't worry about it, we shouldn't eat too much anyway because we would only be heading out in a few hours for dinner.

 

Muster went quickly and we returned to our cabin to arrange our things. Since we didn't have anyone but us two in our room, we decided to hang up only the dressier items we bought to minimize wrinkling and we set out suitcases on the couch and the coffee table. We really didn't need the over the door shoe holder for the bathroom as there were plenty of shelves to hold all of our stuff. We caught up with our group and checked out the rest of the ship.

 

The first thing my hubby mentioned, and he kept repeating himself, was how small this ship is. We later learned that the Dream is only 50,000 tons where the Sensation is around 77,000 I think. This didn't bother me but we did notice that there was a lot more movement on this ship compared to our first cruise. Some days and nights it was quite bad especially for my husband who has a signifcant limp from an auto accident. One of our group had trouble with sea sickness, her patch had come off when she showered, but the reception was handing out meds and after a couple of hours she was fine.

 

Dinner the first night: I had the prime rib, ordered it med rare and it came just as I ordered it. Hubby had the anytime grilled chicken breast, steamed veggies and a baked potato. I thought the potatoes were barely warm enough, but no one else complained. I have to admit I like my baked potatoes steaming hot. Our waiter told my hubby his chicken wasn't done and he had sent it back. When he got his plate a few mintues later the chicken was over done and very dry. Hubby ordered this meal once again the next night and had the same results. Chicken overcooked and dry. The veggies were steamed very crisp the first night so the second night he asked for them to be steamed well but they came hard again.

 

We ate once in the Trattoria, twice in Four Seasons and the rest of the cruise, dinner was at the Terraces. We prefered the Terraces atmosphere over the other dining rooms. We had to wait once for about 15 mins to seat 9 of us at the Four Seasons and once we waited 5 or 10 mins to eat for two in the Terraces. Neither wait was overlong.

 

We breakfasted mostly at the sports bar and grill. Typical breakfast items and much the same quality as a Golden Corral breakfast buffet. The cinnamon raisin french toast was very good. We ate in the Four Seasons once and I wish I had eaten breakfast there more often. I could order my eggs freshly done, over easy along with grapefruit juice, the only place I found it. I did wonder, since we could wear jeans in the dining room due to "Texas culture". where in the world was the biscuits and gravy? They had grits but no gravy.

 

We ate different places for lunch; the Pizzeria, the BBQ on deck or the sports bar and grill. The BBQ was good each time we ate there, the pizza just average and the sports bar and grill was a typical buffet. Some good stuff some so-so stuff. I can say that not once did I get a decent cup of coffee and cutting it with half hot water didn't help it any. I gave up after the first day and switched to hot tea. They had a wide selection of teas and they were all good.

 

All the wait service were great. Friendly and helpful, they were willing to get you anything they could if possible. All the staff were friendly and helpful and we never encountered anything like some of the complaints I read here about other cruises. Our room stewards, Gary and Ed were fantastic and we tipped them over the service charge.

 

We saw several shows while on board and we really liked Bill Hilldebrant the comedian on the two nights he played. The Jean Ryan Company of singers and dancers did three shows, we saw two of them. Rock This Town was a bit of a disappointment as it wasn't rock but thirties and fourties music that barely touched on rock and roll. The second show by the company was Country Gold which was more our speed and we liked it better than Rock This Town. We didn't see any of the other shows but Jane Powell "The Chocolate Goddess of Love" got rave reviews from a lot of the passengers who saw her.

 

One of our group, one of the cousins, who by the way pretty much did thier own thing and we saw them here and there about the ship, went to the casino the first night and won 2000 dollars on a couple dollars worth of bets. We went once and hubby lost 5 dollars while I lost 9 before I hit two white 7's and a triple. First time I ever went home with more money than I left with on a vacation!

 

Disembarkation was quick, our color was the first called. Customs was a formailty as we were on a bus and off to the airport in no time at all.

 

I will post a seperate review for our shore trips and the ports of call.

 

All in all we had a good time but if I ever cruise with NCL again, I will pick a bigger ship. One I hope won't rock all the time. I thought the food was sometimes good, mostly fair and a few times poor. We both felt Carnival's food was several notches above the food on this cruise. But the staff and the service on board was excellent and I have no complaints at all about how we were treated.

[Jayhawk]

Thanks for the review! Looking forward to part 2.

[redhead101]

So sorry it took so long to finish this review. Not only did I get ill but had to keep working since I returned and this has been my first day off since we got home!

 

A couple of things I didn't mention in my review of the ship in the first part:

 

The lounge between the Terraces and Four Seasons, the coffee bar and the internet/library were also along this stretch, always seemed to have an odor. Reminded me of the nursing home where my grandfather stayed. A stale urine kind of smell and wasn't pleasant. Never did figure out why this section was the only one to smell that way.

 

Ice cream was only avaliable for a few hours each day on deck where at Carnival it was 24/7. But instead of Carnival's soft serve, this was hand dipped.

 

The chocolate buffet. We headed down from the Stardust Lounge after the PG-13 comedy show and was stuck in a hall as others who where coming down a stairwell filed into the rear entry to the Four Seasons. There was plenty of room to make two lines, one from the stairs and one from the hallway but the stairway people got pretty nasty about letting us through. We finally gave up once we reached the end of the hall when one very bitchy lady refused to let us into the line. Since we were only going to see the buffet and not planning to eat anything, we just pushed through and down the stairs to our cabin. We later learned that the main enterance had barely anyone there and our friends had left our line and walked up the stairs and then back down to main enterance. They got right in and to the buffet and were back in thier cabin before we left the line!

 

Ok- Ports of Call

 

Cozumel: Got into Cozumel early, as a matter of fact, we were early in each port! Tendering was quick and efficent but since the pier was heavily damaged and the buildings were partitioned off as they worked to repair them, there was not much space for the tours to gather their people. We had booked the ATV Jungle and Beach adventure. We found our tour and we squeezed together until everyone was accounted for. Then we snaked our way around and between other groups to the street where a number of vans were waiting for us.

Carlos and Charlies was right across the street from where we were loading up into the vans and we got a chance to see quite a bit of the damage and how well they have repaired and recovered from the hurricane. I can say they had a lot done but still a lot more needed doing but there were a lot of workers hard at it.

We drove through town until we headed across the island to where we were to get our ATV's. You could really see what the hurricane did to the countryside as we headed down the two lane highway. The trees were either shorn off or blown sideways. Homes where damaged, many looked beyond repair but people were out working at most places we passed.

We reached the other side of the island where we were divided up into two groups, single and double riders. My hubby and I chose to ride single, our combined weight would have been over the 350lb limit for double riding, but they were two ATV's short in our lineup. The tour guide quickly sent someone to get two more ATV's and we quickly started our bikes and headed out after we donned our helmets and got a thorough saftey lesson.

Our guide suggested we put our bikes in 3rd gear for the trip instead of changing gears all the time and my hubby found that his ATV was stuck in 1st. One of the tour people came and jerked until the gears were in 3rd and we took off.

Hubby discovered quickly why this ATV wasn't in the original line up as the seat wasn't hooked down and when he got off, it got off too. The man in front of him had the same problem except once when he stood up on his feet when we went over some very rocky ground, his seat flew off and he had to stop to recover it. These were minor annoyances and we just laughed them off.

I will warn anyone taking this tour, it does and they do warn, there are many parts of the trail where its very, very rocky. Its jarring and hard on your bottom. That is why we would stand up as we crossed these parts of the trail, we were trying to save our rear ends from the hard bounces. I believe someone said that the hurricane blew some of the sand from the trail and it made the going rougher than it used to be. This is also another reason why I was glad we chose to ride single instead of double. I would also reccommed taking the goggles they offer or you will be wiping sand and dirt from your eyes constantly.

But, we chose this tour for the ability to see more of the island than the town and shops, also for the adventure! The tour description said 10 miles through the jungle and a beach portion and they were modest. I thought five miles there and five miles back. I had set the trip meter on my ATV and discovered it was well over 15 miles to the beach and then back.

The ocean was up and rough that day so the tour guides said we could'nt kayak to the reef and snorkel. Once I looked out and saw the waves crashing on the reef, I didn't want to go either. Stripped off my jeans and top and went for a dip though along with several of our group then we got out to have some sandwiches, chips and a drink.

We did pass along the way a station where several army soldiers were camped out. The buildings were rather ramshakle but they stopped and waved at us as we passed by the first time. On our way back we passed them in full fatigues and with weapons on the trail and out on the beaches. Our guide informed us, as it was starting to get into twilight, that they were on duty now due to this undeveloped side of the island being used by drug smugglers and cubans. They did not wave at us this time.

We stopped once to check out a small Mayan ruin but we got back as quickly as possible to load up back in the vans. We made it to the last tender to the ship and didn't have time to shop but we hadn't planned to shop in Cozumel.

A full but tiring day and we enjoyed it very much. Our friends took the deluxe Playa Mia beach break and said it was good. Plenty to do, plenty to eat and free drinks!

 

Roatan:

 

Again we were early and I really enjoyed being out on deck to take pictures of us rounding the northwestern tip of the island as we came into Coxen Hole to dock. We were quickly cleared and out of the ship.

We didn't book a tour though the ship for this port and I took a reccomendation from the ports of call boards here and booked online with Victor Bodden. It was a choice I will never regret.

One thing though, when I first contacted Victor I only booked him for the original nine of us who were cruising together. We had dinner one night with our friends cousins and families who booked the same ship several months after we did. When we talked about the stop in Roatan and how I had booked Victor, they said it sounded like a good deal and wanted to go.

So I emailed Victor and upped our reservation to 15.

That was 25 dollars a person and a guide with an airconditioned van for the entire day. When we met on the pier to go to meet Victor and his two vans, the other 6 who had me book for them suddenly decided to take a taxi to the beach as they heard it was 15 a person and they didn't want to take the island tour.

I was sooooooooo mad at them for this. It was very unfair to Victor and the other guide he had gotten to back out of the tour they had arranged. When we left the gate, they went directly to the line of taxis to talk to them about going to the beach, while we found Victor. He was not happy as the man he got to take the second van would be out of a days work and he went over to talk to the others in the second party. He ended up charging them 20 dollars a person to take them to a beach, pick them up later for a bit of shopping and then back to the ship. The other group found out, it was 15 dollars a person to the beach and they would have to pay to get back taking the taxis.

Anyway, we got into the van and were off! Victor is an excellent tour guide and ambassador for his home. He clearly loves his island and is proud of his home. He took us for a scenic drive, past several shipwrecks, some good spots for pictures while he told us about Roatan and its history. He was so good about answering any and all questions we had and he was very interested in us also. He asked what we did for a living back home, about where we came from and asked after our families.

He took the five of our group who wanted to do the canopy zip line to the southeast side of the island. When I asked if this was the same as the ship tours went to he said it wasn't. That one was close to a beach where after zipping, they swam and ate I think he said. This canopy tour I heard only had 6 or 8 zips and a couple rope bridges. I hadn't read anywhere here where someone posted about the ship sponsored canopy tour. OUr canopy tour here was 45 dollars, the ships tour, 109.

The canopy tour Victor took us to had 16 zips, 4 bridges and one tunnel, at least that is what the others said, I didn't do this part of our tour. Everyone who went had a blast. We met them at the bottom of the zipline tour where there was a small hut with cold drinks. We got a chance to visit quite a bit with Victor about his family, home and he asked us all those earlier questions I mentioned.

Once we finished the canopy part of the tour, Victor took us early to avoid any crowds, he took us to a resort called Fanatsy Island where we were able to feed the abundant spider monkeys. We stopped along the way to pick up some kind of red furry nuts to feed the monkeys and Victor made sure we recieved a FULL bag of nuts for our dollar. He kept motioning to the street vendor who came up to our van until the bag he had handed Jack was brimming. Jack's son Tanner was so excited at this part of the tour! He is almost three and he was beside himself at being able to feed the monkeys.

I should mention that the monkeys were quite tame and gentle and at no time did I feel uncomfortable with them.

Next we went to the iguana farm where we were surrounded by hundreds of the beasts. Even Tanner enjoyed this part of the tour and I had been concerned that he would freak out when we got there. The only thing- he had a yellow rubber ducky he had gotten on board the ship with him and the iguanas started to rush him. Victor quickly moved in and had Tanner give him the duck, explaining to us that the iguanas ate leaves provided to feed them but they also ate fruit and they thought the yellow duck was a piece of fruit! The iguana farm cost 5 dollars per person and well worth it. They had fish and parrots along with monkey also there to see. The lady running the farm was not a native but had lived there for years. She mentioned to me and my husband while we waited for the others to come back up the hill that Victor was the best tour guide and one of the nicest on the island.

We had to agree.

After we finished with the iguana farm, we headed to the west end of the island, passing Victor's home and his brothers house. We stopped at his small, and I do mean small, convience store. People these are not Quick Trips or Seven Elevens! This was a 12x12 shack along the main road where he sold groceries and soda. I bought my vanilla here for $1.50 a pint. I gave it as gifts to the girls I work with. I should mention I am a baker by profession and two of the ladies commented this last week about just how good the vanilla is! Better than the pure vanilla you buy in our stores.

We went to a beautiful beach and shopped. I had seen several carved wooden boxes that I just loved but didn't buy because they were over 30 dollars. Victor showed us several shops and I found one for only 18 dollars! We were able to pick up a number of necklaces and ear rings for our daughters and grand daughter along with t shirts and a shot glass for my husband who collects them.

We headed back after dark to the ship and I have to mention that was did pass a lot of very poor sections of the island but everyone was clean and so friendly! They were all proud of thier island and homes, it was easy to see. The only thing I did notice was the condition of the roads. Very bad. Victor often drove on the shoulder to avoid the potholes and make our trip more comfortable.

We paid Victor when we got back to the ship and he was allowed to pull in past the gate now that the ship sponsored tour busses and vans were gone. He did mention to us that we were the only ship that week and we could possibly get some good deals from the vendors shops on the pier as they would probably go down on prices to make sales.

We tipped Victor generously, beyond the 25 per person as he was well worth the money.

Roatan became the highlight of our trip.

 

Belize:

We arrived early but were quite a ways out from the shore, unlike Cozumel. Our tender pilot said we were over 4 miles out and that was unusual. We never did learn why.

We had booked the Lamani and New River Safari so was on first tender off of the ship. We were put on a bus and immediatly left the pier to head out of town.

Our guide spoke most of the way, about 1 hour 15 mins from town, telling us about the history, people, and culture of Belize. We passed though town but not through any poor sections. We arrived at a staging area where we got into boats for the river part of the tour. The guide in the bus was the driver of the boat. These were good sized flat bottomed boats that sat approx 50 people. Ours was not full. They had two 200 yamaha outboard motors and could almost fly over the water.

We stopped often to see different wildlife and flora as we headed towards Lamani. We saw storks, what they called Jesus birds that walked on the water lillies, and crocodiles.

We got about half way there when some weeds wrapped around the prop on one engine and we stopped to fix the problem. 40 minutes later, and with some help from a smaller tour boat, the new prop was on. Only to discover the lower unit's gears had stripped. We continued on, with no stopping, on one engine.

We arrived at Lamani, and to very different vegetation. The first part of the river trip the trees and banks were shrubs. Now the trees towered over us and we could see we were in the jungle rainforest.

We had lunch, a bit cold for us as we were late. But food was plentiful and good. We walked around the park, saw the museum and then checked out some howler monkeys up the the canopy before our guide took us around the Mayan ruins.

This was an impressive sight, seeing the escavated temples and seeing structures that were not uncovered yet but you could see them in the mounds of vegetation covering them. If you had arrived there before they had found the ruins, you would have thought the country side was hilly.

Between the first and second temple, I began to feel strange and unlike myself. I mentioned it to my hubby, the light headedness, but I didn't get sick and thought it was probably from being on land after rocking on the ship for three days.

We were hurried by the guide at the last temple so we could get back. While we toured the ruins, they had brought a new boat for us. There was no stopping on the return boat ride except where he had to slow for another canoe so he wouldn't swamp them with our wake. We made it back in 40 mins and got onto the bus.

We made the pier with about 15 or 20 mins to shop before the last tender of the day.

The return was very choppy and it was more difficult than when we got off the ship that morning.

Our friends didn't take any tour and just tendered in and got a taxi. They commented a lot about the proverty and how different it was in Belize over Roatan. They said people just threw thier garbage out into the street and children were playing out in it. Said the city was dirty and much different than what we experienced in Roatan.

 

Well, this is all I can really say about our ports of call and the tours we took. If you have any questions, feel free. Here is a link to some of the photos I took while on the cruise.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/redhead191956/album?.dir=74eb&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

 

BTW, that lightheadedness? Seems I had an ear infection and it only got worse. By the time I got home and returned to work I was quite sick.

[mmeb7882]

Thank you for the information. I will be going on the Dream at the end of the month. What activities did your 3 yr old take part in on the boat? I will have my 5 yr old with me.

[redhead101]

The three year old was our friends son. He went daily to the Kids Crew and seemed to really look forward to going. I remember them painting faces, Tanner was spiderman, dressing as Princes and Princesses, and going to the galley to make their own pizzas with one of the chefs.

I know twice our friends used the after 10 to 1am babysitting service so they could do a few things. They had nothing but good things to say about Kids Crew and the babysitting service.

Our other friends had a 10 yr old daughter who would watch the clock each evening when we had dinner. She didn't want to miss out on whatever her age group was doing for the evening.

 

Julie

[mmeb7882]

Thanks for the info! Do you know what they did with the kids from 10pm-1am? Did they put them to sleep?

[electricron]

Yes, the New River Safari and Kamani tour was fun, worth every dollar!

Did you get lucky and have full sunshine? On our cruise last December, it rained off and on. Everyone in the boat got soaked........:D

As the tour guide was fond of saying, "You're on an adventure". :eek:

It definately was rememberable. I'll never will forget how much fun we had getting soaked.

 

There's a few photos of my Lamani excursion in my signature below.