Is the Dream a nightmare?

[Boat_Drinks]

She has cruised many times before and was so disappointed because it was the first cruise for her boyfriend and he hated it! She is very easy going and just wanted to relax and have fun. The teenagers for her were also annoying. (Drinking too much!)

 

I spoke with a woman who has also cruised many times, and FINALLY got a bunch of friends and family to join. Together, they had 10 staterooms (I don't know how many people per room, but we're talking about a group of at least 20 people here), and were mostly first-time cruisers. She told me the same thing, that her first-time cruising friends couldn't understand WHY she likes cruising, and hated the cruise (I'm sure they loved Bermuda, it was the issues reported above that soured them).

 

Originally, I was planning a large group for the Dream - including my Mom. It would have been her first cruise, and I would have fealt SO bad (she's heard my stories of wonderful cruises for many years now). Instead, her first cruise will be in Europe in a Villa on the Jade in 2009.

 

PS: Yes - Aage Hoodevik was the Captain, great sense of humor and indeed he did quote poetry at least once.

[CruiseKing]

From memory (and I'm sure I am not spelling it correctly), but his name was Aag (and I don't know if that's his first name or last name, but if you recognize it and it is unique perhaps that helps).

 

Aage Hoodevik. He was awesome! Great sense of humor and he quoted poetry!

Thanks for the info.

[Smellytoes]

Boat Drinks, you say you waited about an hour to get through the embarkation process (I think it was you) do you think it would be worthwhile for me to call ahead for handicapped assistance?? I'm sailing with my 85 yo MIL and she can't stand for long periods. She's not in a wheelchair but waiting in line would be painful for her. See, this is why your review is so useful. I never would have thought of this issue on my own.

[chief d]

Boat Drinks,

 

First the frig should have been address before you boarded. I sure you told them you needed it for meds. Your point. +1

 

Second being a multi cruiser, you should have known better than taking a cabin on the promenade deck. Not a really good move on your part. -1

 

Third your cruise date choice. Very bad timing if you don't want a lots of kids. May-Sept kid friendly cruise months. -2

 

Fourth food being bad well as you said, we weren't there. +2

 

Fifth again teens drinking, can go both ways, Parents, and ship. Both need to do a better job watching them. EVEN

 

Sixth teens in casinos, again PARENTS. Some parents, not all think it's the ship's responsibility to BABY SIT their kids. They think because they payed their kids can do anything they like. -3

 

Seventh the crew. As you know the Dream is going BYE-BYE right after the 10/26 cruise (which I'm on). Maybe some or all really don't care about return cruisers. +3

 

As you can see we are booked on the Dream 10/26. I hope I don't have a sorry cruise as you. And I/we have had bad food on another NCL cruise. And you will enjoy the VILLA. :)

[Boat_Drinks]

Boat Drinks, you say you waited about an hour to get through the embarkation process (I think it was you) do you think it would be worthwhile for me to call ahead for handicapped assistance?? I'm sailing with my 85 yo MIL and she can't stand for long periods. She's not in a wheelchair but waiting in line would be painful for her. See, this is why your review is so useful. I never would have thought of this issue on my own.

 

Hi SmellyToes,

 

Yes, try to make advance arrangements. Get the actual NAME of some customer liason that will be working the check-in area so you have a specific person you can ask for.

 

Having said that, they have "greeters" at the entrance and I know they were waiving certain people around the check-in line. They would probably make an exception for your MIL, but don't risk it - make advance arrangements if at all possible.

 

And again, don't forget to check the non-Lattitudes check-in area. On my very first cruise (NCL Majesty in 2001) my fellow travellers were all Lattitudes members, I was not. They got in the Lattitudes line, I went to the non-Lattitudes. I waited 5 minutes, they waited over 45 minutes. :)

[kruzingtogether]

For people who had cruised the Majesty out of Boston, is the Dream significantly different/worse? I know the Majesty was old, but service/food were still good enough, cabins weren't too worn, and we had a great time. All of this talk about the Dream is making me nervous about our upcoming cruise ... wish we were just doing the Dawn out of NYC. We settled on the Dream, though, b/c we live in Boston and b/c we liked St. Georges so much...

[Boat_Drinks]

Hi Chief,

 

This was an unusual cruise for me, I didn't book it myself and since we accepted a special rate we had no choice over cabin. Interestingly, when I called Miami to try and change the cabin (in advance) I was told "Don't worry, you can change the cabin at check-in, subject to availability". That's why we arrived at 11am. But when we got to check-in we were told "Sorry, you have to see the Purser on Deck 7 after you check-in". So we immediately went to the Purser's desk after boarding. They had a sign up saying something like "Absolutely no room changes, we are sold out". This may or may not have been true, but I tend to think it wasn't because just 24 hours earlier there was a ton of availability in almost all classes (suites and balconies were the only categories sold out). I spoke with the Purser just the same and he said "Maybe we can do something later, come back after 7pm". So I came back after 7pm and again was told they were sold out.

 

They may actually have sold out, you never know - but they must have filled a LOT of rooms in 24 hours. We knew going in that this was a Promenade room (basically an inside cabin with curtains! :rolleyes: ) so we got what we bargained for. No gripes about that other than to warn others that these are NOT desirable rooms.

 

Same deal with the sail date, we didn't have a choice of dates on this specially priced itinerary.

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head with regards to the negative reports that are coming out of Dream. I personally believe both the ship's crew and NCL have already written the boat off all together, despite the fact that they are still operating it (poorly). Maybe the staff that has a bad attitude has already been told they won't be reassigned to another ship, so they're just going through the motions (and pissed off about it).

 

Regardless of any perceived reason or justification for the poor service, NCL has an obligation to run this ship as a member of their fleet until the very last day, and run it properly and professionally. Don't ignore complaints about bad service with the "oh well, we're getting rid of this ship in THREE MONTHS anyhow..." excuse, that is three months of passengers who may have ruined vacations and may write off NCL for future cruises.

 

You are cruising Dream during her last week of service with NCL, THAT should be interesting. Looking forward to hearing your report (but wishing you smooth sailing, of course).

[greywillow]

For that matter, have you EVER been on the Dream? I include my past cruises in my sig line, so you know a little about me - I know nothing about you.

I've spent 27 nights on Dream, pal. Enjoyed every one. A trans-Atlantic and an Alaska cruise. Food was just fine. Service was just fine. From reading the experiences of everyone but you on this thread, I gather they had similar recent experiences to mine. So you are the extreme outlier, interestingly enough. That tells me a lot. In particular, not to buy what you're selling. At all. Sorry.

 

I can look back to my cruise on Celebrity's Galaxy and write a description of our Sky Suite that is dazzlingly positive. I can also write one that makes the suite sound like a dump. Everything I'd say in both descriptions would be absolutely 100% true. If my intention was to trash the ship and cruise line, I'd write the second one--which is what you've gone out of your way to do here.

 

Nothing is 100% good or 100% bad. Which description one chooses to write here is very often a direct outcome of a single experience that colors everything else from that point on. We've seen it here time and time again. Only the "bad" stuff registers, and the "good" is discarded from memory.

 

As I said above, I don't buy for a minute that Dream was as awful as you make it out to be, and I think you're doing a real disservice to people coming here for information on Dream.

[scm200]

:o We sailed on the DAWN last summer and that was not a real pleasant experience in many ways either. We went the week after July 4th and our cruise was to leave at 4pm - we never set sail till almost 8 pm and were almost a day behind in our travels - we got to the bahamas after 7pm (were scheduled to have most of a day there) and you should have heard all the complaints then...and there were lots of Whines about getting money back heard on the last day...

 

:o Granted, the DAWN has lots of specialty resturants, but we spent more time eating in the Venetian and enjoyed it very much. I have found that there are "good" and "bad" staff on each ship I have sailed on, and now I just "walk away" from the "bad", life is way too short to let it ruin my vacation. We spent way too much to let it.

 

:D I am looking forward to my Dream cruise, I just hope my "4" teens (16, 17,17,19) all behave appropriately, if they get too out of line you will hear me back in Boston I have one awesome "IRISH WHISPER" as my friends call it. I don't think under 21's should be allowed to have beer and wine on the ship, but its not my call. I have never seen that on Carnival (as a posted avaialbitiy) but whatever...I am hoping that the 10 August cruise will have a few less kids, and I know my teens hope there are plenty to hang out with. The youngest is interested in Basketball, the middle 2 are interested in each other (boy is my nephew, girl is his girlfriend) and the oldest wants to do Karioke (do you know if there is Karioke on the ship?)

 

:) We are on decks 4 and 5 and hopefully we will enjoy our cabins and the cruise, I am sorry to hear you did not have a good time. I am in it mostly for the getting away, and getting to Bermuda part. I don't drink much, and gambling is not what I go on a cruise for. I think some of the newer ships have wonderful resturants, but you sure pay extra for the privelage. We did the Gem on a 3 day out of Boston last December and it was nice to see how a new NCL ship looks, but give me the luxury of not flying to get to the cruise and less people on board and I will be happy just cruising.

[Boat_Drinks]

I've spent 27 nights on Dream, pal.

Good, why don't you update your profile or at least put something in your sig line. It might give YOU some credibility (and I'm not your Pal, from reading your posts slamming other cruisers who don't agree with you, I'm sure I'd never want to BE your Pal).

 

From reading the experiences of everyone but you on this thread, I gather they had similar recent experiences to mine.

It's not too late for night school, maybe you should think about it! Go re-read ALL of the posts on this thread, and try not to choke on those last remarks of yours.

 

As I said above, I don't buy for a minute that Dream was as awful as you make it out to be, and I think you're doing a real disservice to people coming here for information on Dream.

I really don't care what you "buy", the only one doing a "disservice" here is you. You attempt to bully other members and stifle information which YOU don't like. Tell you what, Pal, you are under no obligation to respond to posts which do not support your limited "view of the world" - feel free to move on without comment whenever you see a post of mine.

 

And lastly, whether you were on the Dream 27 days or 27 weeks - I really could care less what you have to say. You were NOT on the Dream last week, your opinions are therefore utterly useless.

[navybankerteacher]

If the statistics Cruise Critic post in the Reviews section are to be believed, the terrible service on the Dream is readily explainable by looking at the relative ratios of crew to passengers.

 

Dream: 483/1754 or .2753 per passenger

Dawn: 1100/2240 or .4910

Jewel: 1154/2376 or .4856

Majesty: 570/1462 or .3898

Spirit: 920/1996 or .4609

 

The average of those other NCL ships' ratios is .4568 (that on Holland America runs from .4570 to .5000)

 

Thedifference betweenthe ration on the Dream and the average for the other NCL ships shown is .1815 less crew per passenger. Applying that difference to tghe total of 1754 passengers on the Dawn worksout to a shortfall of 318. Clearly, NCL is stripping the ship of its crew -- imagine how much better service and maintenance would be if there were 318 more crew. (The numbers assigned to bridge and engine room are likely to be the same on any ship -- so all of the shortfall hits service.)

[Smellytoes]

:o We sailed on the DAWN last summer and that was not a real pleasant experience in many ways either. We went the week after July 4th and our cruise was to leave at 4pm - we never set sail till almost 8 pm and were almost a day behind in our travels - we got to the bahamas after 7pm (were scheduled to have most of a day there) and you should have heard all the complaints then...and there were lots of Whines about getting money back heard on the last day...

 

:o Granted, the DAWN has lots of specialty resturants, but we spent more time eating in the Venetian and enjoyed it very much. I have found that there are "good" and "bad" staff on each ship I have sailed on, and now I just "walk away" from the "bad", life is way too short to let it ruin my vacation. We spent way too much to let it.

 

:D I am looking forward to my Dream cruise, I just hope my "4" teens (16, 17,17,19) all behave appropriately, if they get too out of line you will hear me back in Boston I have one awesome "IRISH WHISPER" as my friends call it. I don't think under 21's should be allowed to have beer and wine on the ship, but its not my call. I have never seen that on Carnival (as a posted avaialbitiy) but whatever...I am hoping that the 10 August cruise will have a few less kids, and I know my teens hope there are plenty to hang out with. The youngest is interested in Basketball, the middle 2 are interested in each other (boy is my nephew, girl is his girlfriend) and the oldest wants to do Karioke (do you know if there is Karioke on the ship?)

 

:) We are on decks 4 and 5 and hopefully we will enjoy our cabins and the cruise, I am sorry to hear you did not have a good time. I am in it mostly for the getting away, and getting to Bermuda part. I don't drink much, and gambling is not what I go on a cruise for. I think some of the newer ships have wonderful resturants, but you sure pay extra for the privelage. We did the Gem on a 3 day out of Boston last December and it was nice to see how a new NCL ship looks, but give me the luxury of not flying to get to the cruise and less people on board and I will be happy just cruising.

 

Hey my 15 DS plays AAU basketball. I'll bet they meet up on the court.

[chief d]

Hi Chief,

 

This was an unusual cruise for me, I didn't book it myself and since we accepted a special rate we had no choice over cabin. Interestingly, when I called Miami to try and change the cabin (in advance) I was told "Don't worry, you can change the cabin at check-in, subject to availability". That's why we arrived at 11am. But when we got to check-in we were told "Sorry, you have to see the Purser on Deck 7 after you check-in". So we immediately went to the Purser's desk after boarding. They had a sign up saying something like "Absolutely no room changes, we are sold out". This may or may not have been true, but I tend to think it wasn't because just 24 hours earlier there was a ton of availability in almost all classes (suites and balconies were the only categories sold out). I spoke with the Purser just the same and he said "Maybe we can do something later, come back after 7pm". So I came back after 7pm and again was told they were sold out.

 

They may actually have sold out, you never know - but they must have filled a LOT of rooms in 24 hours. We knew going in that this was a Promenade room (basically an inside cabin with curtains! :rolleyes: ) so we got what we bargained for. No gripes about that other than to warn others that these are NOT desirable rooms.

 

Same deal with the sail date, we didn't have a choice of dates on this specially priced itinerary.

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head with regards to the negative reports that are coming out of Dream. I personally believe both the ship's crew and NCL have already written the boat off all together, despite the fact that they are still operating it (poorly). Maybe the staff that has a bad attitude has already been told they won't be reassigned to another ship, so they're just going through the motions (and pissed off about it).

 

Regardless of any perceived reason or justification for the poor service, NCL has an obligation to run this ship as a member of their fleet until the very last day, and run it properly and professionally. Don't ignore complaints about bad service with the "oh well, we're getting rid of this ship in THREE MONTHS anyhow..." excuse, that is three months of passengers who may have ruined vacations and may write off NCL for future cruises.

 

You are cruising Dream during her last week of service with NCL, THAT should be interesting. Looking forward to hearing your report (but wishing you smooth sailing, of course).

 

Boat Drinks,

 

I wish you had stated this was a special deal cruise. Then I would have looked at your report differently. When you have no choice in cabin assignment it sucks. I believe the purser was just Not doing his/her job. A cruise is NEVER EVER completely full. It may have cost you but hey, it may have been worth it.

 

The same goes for the sail date. I believe thats why cruiselines offer these deals because they can't fill them. Sometimes good sometimes bad.

 

I/we DW choose the last cruise just because it's the last from Boston to STG. I do hold some reservations about what or how the last cruise should go. Hopefully it will be a "CAN'T MISS CRUISE". But time only will tell. After this cruise our next will be RCCL again. Good Luck on your next cruise, just think, it can't get worst.

[Boat_Drinks]

When you have no choice in cabin assignment it sucks. I believe the purser was just Not doing his/her job. A cruise is NEVER EVER completely full. It may have cost you but hey, it may have been worth it.

 

Actually, I offered to pay to move, and offered to accept a "downgrade" to a lower cabin class - but they stuck to their "We are 100% sold out" line (which I didn't believe either). There were several other people seeking a cabin re-assignment as well, it's so much easier to say "Sorry, can't help you" than to actually have to deal with customers.... :(

 

Happy Cruising Chief, I hope your cruise does turn out to be the "Can't Miss Cruise". Who knows, maybe NCL will see these posts, see that they have some problems that need to be attended to, and resolve them prior to your cruise. I do know that NCL reads these forums, one of the senior ship's officers joined me and AR at our table at La Bistro on Saturday and mentioned this. We had an excellent talk over martinis for at least 45 minutes, during which he shared some of NCL's vision for the future (in particular FreeStyle 2.0). I'll be happy to send you his contact info privately if you like, if you run into ANY problems with food service, quality, or even getting a table - he's the man to know (I wish we had met him at the START of the cruise....).

[Alzarine]

If the statistics Cruise Critic post in the Reviews section are to be believed, the terrible service on the Dream is readily explainable by looking at the relative ratios of crew to passengers.

 

Dream: 483/1754 or .2753 per passenger

Dawn: 1100/2240 or .4910

Jewel: 1154/2376 or .4856

Majesty: 570/1462 or .3898

Spirit: 920/1996 or .4609

 

The average of those other NCL ships' ratios is .4568 (that on Holland America runs from .4570 to .5000)

 

Thedifference betweenthe ration on the Dream and the average for the other NCL ships shown is .1815 less crew per passenger. Applying that difference to tghe total of 1754 passengers on the Dawn worksout to a shortfall of 318. Clearly, NCL is stripping the ship of its crew -- imagine how much better service and maintenance would be if there were 318 more crew. (The numbers assigned to bridge and engine room are likely to be the same on any ship -- so all of the shortfall hits service.)

 

 

And if that's the case, NCL management is the problem and the passengers are being denied the service they have in good faith paid for. Why not move some staff to the smaller ships or give larger paychecks to the crew that services these smaller vessels ? It's not rocket science and Dream/Majesty sailors shouldn't be penalized because they are sailing on about to be retired vessels.

 

Do you think anyone from NCL corporate reads these boards ? This is the audience they should listen to...... most of us love to cruise and want enjoyment for all passengers. That's why we contribute to this board to help others with ideas and suggestions. :)

[greywillow]

It's not too late for night school, maybe you should think about it! Go re-read ALL of the posts on this thread, and try not to choke on those last remarks of yours.

 

While it isn't worth my while to invest more than a few minutes to put the lie to what you've written above, here are some quotes from what others have posted on just the first two pages of this thread about their recent Dream cruises: wonderful; great time; awesome time; no complaints about the food; great cruise; crew was great; loved the cruise so much; loved the trip; had a great time; favorite cruise yet; love that ship. Someone on your cruise even said he'd "take another NCL cruise in a heartbeat."

 

Quite a difference from your negative screed, don't you think? In fact, the only two negative postings on those first two pages are yours and your roommate's. Conclusion's pretty clear, I'd say.

 

Maybe you can find time for "night school," eh? Oh, wait: The teacher would be incompetent, the school would be a dump, and you'd be posting on the internet in a heartbeat.

[CruiseKing]

Happy Cruising Chief, I hope your cruise does turn out to be the "Can't Miss Cruise". Who knows, maybe NCL will see these posts, see that they have some problems that need to be attended to, and resolve them prior to your cruise. I do know that NCL reads these forums, one of the senior ship's officers joined me and AR at our table at La Bistro on Saturday and mentioned this. We had an excellent talk over martinis for at least 45 minutes, during which he shared some of NCL's vision for the future (in particular FreeStyle 2.0). I'll be happy to send you his contact info privately if you like, if you run into ANY problems with food service, quality, or even getting a table - he's the man to know (I wish we had met him at the START of the cruise....).

I will be leaving soon on the Dream. I'd like that contact info if you don't mind. You may use the email link in my signature.

Thanks,

[Boat_Drinks]

the only two negative postings on those first two pages are yours and your roommate's. Conclusion's pretty clear, I'd say.

 

Entirely clear, you have somehow confused the word "ALL" with "first two pages". Clear as a bell.

 

Someone on your cruise even said he'd "take another NCL cruise in a heartbeat.".

 

Was it me? It could have been, because I AM taking another NCL cruise in 2009. What does that have to do with the problems on the Dream?

 

Maybe you can find time for "night school," eh? Oh, wait: The teacher would be incompetent, the school would be a dump, and you'd be posting on the internet in a heartbeat.

 

Not to worry, I'm sure that if I did you'd be there to beat me up for having an opinion different than your own. Frankly, I don't see how ANYONE can possibly post ANYTHING negative about NCL - you'd just try to tell them how wrong they are, and how right you are, blah blah blah.

 

Tell you what, put down your NCL pom-poms for a moment, clear your mind of all predisposition (if at all possible), remind yourself that the word "ALL" is not the same as "first two pages", and go re-read ALL the posts. Here, I'll help you out:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=15422073&postcount=28

"I can echo most of Boat_Drinks said above."

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=15425922&postcount=48

"friend had exact same experience as Boat Dream. "

 

Neither was posted by me or my roommate. So try not to choke, and DO try to get some help from a good night school. A mind is a terrible thing to waste you know..... :cool:

 

PS: To the original poster, if you will contact me privately I will give you a contact on the ship who can ensure you do not have ANY of the problems which I reported above.

[NCLDreamer]

PS: To the original poster, if you will contact me privately I will give you a contact on the ship who can ensure you do not have ANY of the problems which I reported above.

 

I will be leaving soon on the Dream. I'd like that contact info if you don't mind. You may use the email link in my signature.

Thanks,

 

Boat_Drinks,

CruiseKing is sailing with me, could you send along that info at the email address he provided? I really would appreciate it. Thanks ;)

[Boat_Drinks]

Boat_Drinks,

CruiseKing is sailing with me, could you send along that info at the email address he provided? I really would appreciate it. Thanks ;)

 

Yep, already on it. I'll get it to you this weekend. :)

[navybankerteacher]

While it isn't worth my while to invest more than a few minutes to put the lie to what you've written above, here are some quotes from what others have posted on just the first two pages of this thread about their recent Dream cruises: wonderful; great time; awesome time; no complaints about the food; great cruise; crew was great; loved the cruise so much; loved the trip; had a great time; favorite cruise yet; love that ship. Someone on your cruise even said he'd "take another NCL cruise in a heartbeat."

 

Quite a difference from your negative screed, don't you think? In fact, the only two negative postings on those first two pages are yours and your roommate's. Conclusion's pretty clear, I'd say.

 

Maybe you can find time for "night school," eh? Oh, wait: The teacher would be incompetent, the school would be a dump, and you'd be posting on the internet in a heartbeat.

 

Greywillow - Just what is your position with NCL? Can you explain why they chose to strip the ship of significant numbers of the crew? Do you really want otherposters to believe that any reasonable level of service can be maintained with a 25% reduction in staff?

[mbisson]

Greywillow - Just what is your position with NCL?

 

Personal foul. Cheap shot (especially when without substantiation)---15 yard penalty

[soccermommy]

Boat Drinks, I want to thank you for a very balanced review, even if some of the things you wrote about are things no one wanted to hear, much less experience! I've been on the fence about booking the Dream, especially since one of our daughters got engaged. There goes the discretionary (vacation)income! I, for one, found your review fair, just a straight recital of your experience. Since food is so subjective, I don't know if I would have the same reactions, but the problem with the refrigerator was inexcusable.

Thanks for the heads-up about the Latitude/non-Latitude lines at the terminal. I just hope more cruises are offered from Boston, and maybe the problem will be corrected (did I just say that about MassPort?)

[chief d]

Thanks Boat Drinks, it always helps to have a in if you need it. And I promise to write a fair and impartial review on our return.

 

E-mail

cgoodguy at aol dot com.

[navybankerteacher]

Personal foul. Cheap shot (especially when without substantiation)---15 yard penalty

 

I'll admit to a bit of hyperbole; however the insistant denigration of the detailed comments of a fellow poster (which were fairly often echoed by other posters ), while not offering any rationale - or even suggestion of first-hand experience on the ship - smacks too strongly of a company-man mentality to let go unremarked.