NCL Dream--Carribean cruise questions for first timer

[mitzykka]

Hi all, I've been reading posts on the board and have found so much usefull info. I do have a couple questions for folks who have been on the Dream in the carribean. any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

1. are there many activities during the 3 days at sea? We're worried we're going to be bored. How is the weather at the pool when the ship is at sea? We're thinking about taking the Feb 10th -17th and would love some relaxing time in the sun at the pool.

 

2. did anyone not take the NCL shore excursions and do their own thing? My wife is fluent in spanish so we're comfortable exploring on our own.

 

thanks again!

[ken98230]

Depends on what you like to do on vacation in my experience 3 sea days on a one week cruise is perfect. Great to sleep in, read, gamble, enjoy the ship...just relax.

 

We rarely book tours through the cruise line. They can be expensive. The only time that I would go through the ship is if I am pushing the time limit. Such as a 7.5 hour excursion during a 9 hour stop. If something goes wrong on your excursion and you are late the cruise line will know about it. If you are on your own, you are completely on your own for getting back to the ship on time or paying to catch up to it!

 

We normally just hire a cab or local tour operator.

 

 

The only thing I would recommend is that if you do go on your own make sure that you have your passport and a credit card with you just in case you do need to get yourself to the ship in the next port of call....you won't get far without your passport and it's going to be expensive.

[ute_fan]

We did basically this same cruise on the Sea -- twice, but it only had 2 sea days. They do have some activities scheduled -- usually an ice carving demonstration, the always expensive bingo games, usually a trivia contest, and usually stuff going on the by pool. One of my favorite things to do is to just lay around on the pool deck and listen to the band play -- except I always end up dozing!

 

As far as weather at the pool, it just depends. For our January cruise, it was obviously cooler than the one in May, but there were people laying out there during both cruises. Obviously, if you hit rain or wind, it may not be something that you'd enjoy. We take our own entertainment in the form of reading material and word puzzle type books. I LOVE sea days, and think that three of them would be just about perfect, but I really enjoy just relaxing, and don't expect constant entertainment.

 

For excursions, having your wife fluent in spanish would help. I tend to judge whether to book private excursions by three factors. 1) How long is the excursion compared to port time? 2) What is the different in price? 3) Is the ship docked or tendered? In Cozumel, if you're going to the beach or snorkeling, I'd be comfortable doing that by myself -- and we have done. If I was going to Tulum, which involves taking the ferry across to Playa del Carmen (unless the Dream's current itinerary drops you off there -- I forget that), I'd be more comfortable going through the ship. In Belize, when we did the Lamanai excursion, we booked through NCL. The excursion was only 2 hours shorter than the total port time --- it was a tender port, which meant we needed to add in 15 minutes tender time both ways, and the NCL excursion was only $10 more pp than the private one. You have to make the call for yourself.

 

Happy cruising!

[electricron]

In Belize, I highly suggest booking an excursion either through the cruise line or privately, unless you plan to stay near the boat landing area.

 

In Cozumel, if you're wishing to go to the Mexican mainland, again book an excrusion. But, if you're just going to the beaches or shopping in the stores on the island, many are within a short taxi drive.

 

In Progresso, you can also take a taxi for the beaches, but if you're into touring Mayan ruins, book an excursion. There just aren't that many shops in Progresso.

[ctcoolcruiser]

We went on this cruise the beginning of December, 2006. We are both in our mid-forties, active and in good health.

 

1) There are activities scheduled -whether they interest you or not is a different story. Not much sparked our interest except a wine-tasting for $15pp in Le Bistro. The weather was cool, cloudy and very windy so the pools were closed or unoccupied for the better part of our 3 days at sea, which may have effected some of the planned activities. In February, I would imagine you would probably have much better weather. We spent our time reading and catching up on some much needed rest.

 

Three sea days are a lot for a 7 (6) day cruise, but the price is much better than the Caribbean cruises that leave from Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, which typically include a day on the cruiseline's private island. You have to decide what is best for you. Despite the weather, we had a great time (how can you NOT have a great time on vacation) and I feel we got what we paid for. I suggest you search for posts that include copies of the "dailys" so you can get a feel for what the sea day activities are like.

Also, be advised that February is school break month, so there may be a lot of kids at the pools during sea days. It may get loud on occassion.

 

2) I have to agree 100% with the previous posters about exploring on your own, especially what was said about Belize. If you plan one ship excursion, it should be on Belize. We did ship excursions in Cozumel and Belize. We planned to beach it at Progresso on our own, but it was too windy on the beach (and we are die-hards!) It was completely empty and most of the shops & restaurants across the street were closed. It would have been a great day, though, the beach looked beautiful. There's a flea market 2 blocks away that had the best prices of the 3 ports for souvenir items.

 

Tours were also available from the locals at the entrance to the flea market. Just be super careful of the time. It was rumored that someone on our cruise was left behind in Progresso at a resort beach-break. (not the ship's excursion, but a local tour) We were on deck waiting to watch them cast off the lines at 4pm, our scheduled sailing time. The crew kept looking down the pier as if waiting for someone, but no one got on board. We finally cast off at 4:15pm, the only time I've been on a cruise ship that didn't leave the dock on time. Later that night at dinner was when we heard they left someone behind. We also heard from another source at dinner the next night that the person got back on the ship in Cozumel. I don't have first hand knowledge so I can't say that it's absolutely true, judge for yourself. I am just trying to make the point to watch your time if you explore on your own because they will leave you behind. Have a great time.

[elisamarie]

My favorite cruise days are the days at sea. I love to eat,lay by the pool, have a cocktail, read, eat, play trivia, have a cocktail, listen to the band at the pool, eat, play bingo, have a cocktail, shop in the onboard shops, eat, sleep...well, you get the picture.

 

Three days at sea are normal for a cruise for me. I try to find those, even out of FL where we usually sail from because my parents are in Palm Beach. Last cruise in NOvember was on Caribbean Princess and we went to St. Martin, St. Thomas and private island (which is like a day at sea) and three full days at sea. I LOVED it. Of course, they had Movies Under the Sun (MUTS) at the pool and that was my favorite part of the trip...(see above for my days at sea schedule.)

 

We are on the Dream 1/26 and are excited about our days at sea. I have NEVER been bored on a cruise, sea day or port day. You can be as active or lethargic as you want.

 

As for shore excursions you book on your own, we always do this. We either read the CC boards and book with one of the recommended tour companies or plan something when we get off the ship. In Progresso, we are planning on getting a cab to the ruins (they start with Dz...) and then getting lunch and cocktails on the beach after our trip. In Belize we have a snorkeling trip planned with Coral Breezes who we will meet when we get off the ship. And in Cozumel, we are going, on our own, to the Tequila Museum and then to Chen Rio (it's a beach) to...well you know, eat and drink some more. However, we have been to Cozumel many times before, so we really do know our way around the island and where we like to go.

 

Enjoy your first cruise...I hope you love it as much as I do.

 

elisa

[ucane]

I dont have a passport because NCL told me I did not need one till 08'...thus my question being will I not be allowed to explore as many places in mexico compared to a person that does have a passport?

[elisamarie]

The passport regulation originally was to go into effect January 1, 2006 but was put off by Homeland Security until 2007.

 

You won't miss anything in Mexico without a passport, but you may not be allowed to come back into the USA.

[electricron]

The passport regulation originally was to go into effect January 1, 2006 but was put off by Homeland Security until 2007.

 

You won't miss anything in Mexico without a passport, but you may not be allowed to come back into the USA.

 

Yes, you can if traveling on the surface, either by land or sea.

But, if flying into the USA, you will need a passport.

[mjtx]

When we got to Belize we decided (at the last minute) to take a tour. When you get off of the tender there are oodles of people trying to sell you a tour. The people are dressed in nice clothes and show you a board with wonderful looking vehicles. We booked a tour with one of the tour companies, but you really need to be careful. First they told us the tour would leave in about 20 minutes. Then we waited and waited some more because the tour people wanted to add more people to the tour. Finally, about an hour or so later we left for the tour. They took us to a very worn out looking van ( not at all like the one in the picture) and off we went (so we thought). A few blocks down the road our driver received a call from the tour operator that there more people to add to the tour so the driver pulled over and we waited some more time for the people to arrive. Because there were more people we had to transfer to a larger ( and rattier looking) bus.

 

Our driver/tour guide was very good, we did get to our destination and back in time to do some shopping. However, we heard that one of the ship's tours had a bus break down. The gist of the story, is that had we been on the bus that broke down and if we hadn't gotten back before the ship left Belize we would have had to fend for ourselves getting to the next port. Because the bus broke down during a ship's sponsored tour, the ship would have waited until the people could get back to the ship.

 

If you want to go cave tubing in Belize, there are some companies that have gotten very good reviews on the boards. I recommend doing some research before you go if you want to go cave tubing.

[mjtx]

When we got to Belize we decided (at the last minute) to take a tour. When you get off of the tender there are oodles of people trying to sell you a tour. The people are dressed in nice clothes and show you a board with wonderful looking vehicles. We booked a tour with one of the tour companies, but you really need to be careful. First they told us the tour would leave in about 20 minutes. Then we waited and waited some more because the tour people wanted to add more people to the tour. Finally, about an hour or so later we left for the tour. They took us to a very worn out looking van ( not at all like the one in the picture) and off we went (so we thought). A few blocks down the road our driver received a call from the tour operator that there more people to add to the tour so the driver pulled over and we waited some more time for the people to arrive. Because there were more people we had to transfer to a larger ( and rattier looking) bus.

 

Our driver/tour guide was very good, we did get to our destination and back in time to do some shopping. However, we heard that one of the ship's tours had a bus break down. The gist of the story, is that had we been on the bus that broke down and if we hadn't gotten back before the ship left Belize we would have had to fend for ourselves getting to the next port. Because the bus broke down during a ship's sponsored tour, the ship would have waited until the people could get back to the ship.

 

If you want to go cave tubing in Belize, there are some companies that have gotten very good reviews on the boards. I recommend doing some research before you go if you want to go cave tubing.