Review (Brief) of Dream Eastern June 4-11

[Umphreak2010]

Just off the Dream yesterday after a 7 day eastern carribean cruise. I spent a lot of time leading up to the cruise reading info on the Dream and wanted to post my own opinions.

 

Having been our second cruise, the first on the sensation 18 months ago, I really don't have a huge base for comparison but I can tell you about a few of the issues I noticed. I actually went aboard and wanted to see what the complaints were all about.

 

Overall, our trip was great. We did not really have good weather at any port except Nassau, which is a short port. St Thomas was kind of rainy during the day on and off. We made the trip by ferry to St Johns and did a little snorkeling at Trunk Bay, which has a pretty decent little snorkel trail. Being my first trip there, I'm hesitant to judge it based on the poor weather but I thought the beaches looked nice and we had a good lunch at Duffy's Love Shack in Red Hook right across from the ferry.

 

St Maarten was also very rainy, quite heavy early in the day. A friend of mine from high school cruised with us along with one of his college friends. While my wife and son were not at all interested in going onto St. Maarten in the rain, we were determined to go to Maho beach so we ventured out. I'll say that, rain aside, this was the hightlight of the cruise as we took an inexpensive ($10 each) taxi to Maho Beach. This was about a 45 minute ride due to the heavy rain and lack of sufficient drainage but the island has some incredible views along the way so we weren't too bothered. Sunset Bar and Grill is on the edge of Maho Beach which is famous for it's runway being surprisingly close to the beach...it's only separated by a small two lane road. The planes landing there fly about 60 feet overhead while you either enjoy cocktails and food at the bar or stand out on the beach for quite an exhilarationg experience (in our case, it was all of the above, which I highly recommend!!). This, in my opinon, is a must see if you visit the island. Really a cool destination.

 

The first sea day back had decent weather until rain in the late afternoon and evening. The second sea day was rainy and overcast all day. Some people were pretty bothered by the weather but, with nothing you can do about it, we just made the best of it and found a covered spot on the Vista deck overlooking Lido and had some drinks, hit the casino, shows etc.

 

Complaints I heard about--

1)Crowding at the buffet lines - Yes, it's a cruise. I'm pretty sure it happens frequently. I will say the the Mongolian Bar was always quite busy. I tried it the first day and got lucky only waiting about 15 minutes but at one point I saw people waiting well over an hour as I went to a different buffet, ate, went back for desert, ate it and returned inside for a drink and to find my wife and found the same people still waiting. It's good, but not worth an hour wait. Other than that, I probably never waited more than about 10 minutes all together to get through at buffet line. Also the pasta bar gets overlooked easily but they hand out a little card to put your order on, then give you a number and you sit and wait. It wasn't too long there but I did arrive right at 12 as they opened. Lesson being, if you don't want to wait for buffet, get there early and line up. Keep your options open and skip a buffet with a huge line..there's lots of other options like the Tandoor bar out on the back pool deck which is good if you like indian food. The deli is back there as well and sandwiches tend to go out pretty quickly. I ate at each buffet at least once and can say that, while good, none are worth stressing over the line. Just pick something else and try again.

 

2--Size of public areas--while I did see people standing at all shows due to a shortage of seats I really didn't notice a huge problem here but, once again, arrive early to something you want to see. I made it a point to get to the 9:45 comedy show about 9:15 or so and was generally at the front of the line. Everyone gets there about 5 minutes ahead and it's a scramble for seats. Same with the showcase shows, family comedy, trivia etc. More about your time dining in a minute ;)

 

3--"The Smell"--and I'm going to be blunt here....it's there. Some days are worse than others but you can smell what appears to be sewage in the passenger hallways. I didn't really notice it in the common areas but the hallways seemed to have it to some degree at most times. The blunt part is, we're all on one boat eating rich foods we're probably not used to eating, drinking more than normal and dining at odd intervals...I'd be a little surpised if it didn't smell like sh*t at some point! Unless they're dumping it overboard, it's gotta go somewhere which means it all travels with us. Not bad enough to ruin the trip at all, but it's definitely there.

 

 

Those were the biggest issues I went "looking" to find.

 

Other comments...

This ship is fantastic. It's noticeably larger than the prior class of ships and the decor is great. There's never a shortage of things to do. The Lido area is a little smaller than I'd seen before but I think more than makes up for it vertically with plenty of seating options as well as a second pool on the aft deck. The serenity area is quite spacious and very nice. We spent a couple of hours up there and never really had any complaints. No children, no loud young adults, good bar service, hot tubs and lots of seating options as well. Deck 5 was a definate favorite of mine with the casino taking a sizeable donation from me over the week. The adjacent bar and sitting area is large and has some nice music in the evenings. The Ocean plaza has a nice coffee/sweets bar (not free) as well as a martini/wine bar and full bar. Lot's of the trivia activities as well as late night party music with a rock band til 12:30 take place here...a good place to meet up with people for other events or just wander into looking for something to do. Further aft is the piano bar which is good for a late night carousing good time and the burgundy lounge which also hosts kereoke and trivia and turns into the punchliner comedy club at night. Next to it is The Song which is a smaller bar that has a variety of activties (kereoke, latin bands, etc.). I recommend the rock star kereoke for anyone that want's to sing with a live band...it's a pretty cool event. Also, you can audition for the Friday night show as a feature performer (the friends I went with both auditoned and one played Elvis, the other Sinatra).

 

The Kids club...My son (13) took his first cruise with us this time. He went to the meet and greet on night one and said there wasn't a whole lot going on. I was a bit worried even though he's usually good at making friends. He went back Monday and found that a lot of the kids were getting tired of the above deck activities (you can only ride the waterslide so many times) and starting to congregate in Circle C. He participated in a few organized activities but mostly just found stuff to do with the kids there. All the kids tend to take over that section of deck 4 which also houses the arcade and a fun hub. The can be found in the clubs playing video games, cards or just hanging out. They also have some age appropriate dance parties in the caliente dance club up on 5 and in the individual club rooms. Later at night, they've usually spilled out into the hallways and stairwells in that area but I guess it's better than all over the ship...just avoid that section of deck 4 and you'll be fine. Around 11:30 when the put out the late night snack, a lot of the kids move the Lido deck to eat and hang out. Security is pretty visible at this point and is on the deck constantly to make sure they're not causing problems. My son ended up loving the club and the friends he made there, and unless he was asleep, he was either there or with some of the kids he'd met onboard.

 

The staff was generally friendly and helpful. We ate in the MDR 5 of 7 nights and the service was great with the exception of one slow night. Food was fantastic as usual. 2 formal nights had great menu selections as well with a different menu both nights.

 

Overall we loved our Dream cruise and were sad to see it come to an end. Debarkation was very painless and we were off and at the shuttle within 15 minutes of them calling our zone. Sorry for the relatively short review but if anyone has specifics, please ask and I'll respond. We did stay in a cove balcony room which I'd highly recommend. Great view, very private, close to the waterline on a very sizeable balcony.

[jean0151]

Booked feb recess with kids and friends... just wondering about the thallasopery pool (fee?) and other activities that would be fun for 3 boys 11,15,19. belize, hondoras, casta maya, coz. thank you for any info. jean

[nikkinoo1011]

Did you feel any movement on the ship? I've seen quite a few posts about it. Thanks so much for the review! I think it was very detailed :)

[kellbellscruise]

We just sailed her ourselves in May.. same itin and also a cove balc. Loved it. It was our 2nd cruise as well and like you, the Sensation was our first. Had a blast and would sail her again in a heartbeat. Glad you enjoyed it too. Thanks for sharing.

[Beth]

Do you remember the menu at the pasta bar? We will be on the Dream in Oct. Thanks for any info. Beth

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

Thanks for the review. I'll be sailing the Dream for a second time this week -- this time doing the Eastern route. I'm very excited to see Maho Beach in St Maarten. Glad to also hear that you made the best out of the weather situation!

[Umphreak2010]

Thanks everyone! We really did enjoy the Dream and would definately sail her again. We've already talked about a back to back on her at some point.

 

jean0151--I asked about the Thelasso spa and saunas when I booked my wife's massage (which she thoroughly enjoyed!). I was told there was a fee and believe (but don't quote me) it was $239 for the week. I chose not to do that but if you enjoy that stuff, It sounded worth it.

As for activities for the kids, the 19 year old is kind of on an island by himself because the kid's club cutoff is 18 but the is old enough to hit the Caliente dance club late night. Also, the comedy shows, if you don't mind the dirty humor (which I love--nothing more than you'd see watching any comedian on HBO or see in a club..if the "F" word and explicit sex talk is too much..don't go) he would be able to attend. He's also old enough to gamble :-O the 11 year old has to be signed in and out of camp carnival but I've heard good things and saw groups of them doing activities at some point. The 15 year old is in the age group up from my son (13) but the looked to have a really good turn out. Most importantly, tell them to give it a chance and then go back after the first couple of days...the kids got tired of watersliding, ping pong etc and started to congregate. They were playing cards, video games and had options to do activities or sign themselves in and out of the room. I'm generally not a very paranoid parent but do check on mine regularly. As the week got on, I became very comfortable leaving him to run with the camp kids as they usually were in the club or arcade.

 

nikkinoo1011--I did notice some movement on the way out (gulfstream) and regularly, to a lesser extent the remainder of the cruise. The last night was the worst as we had 8-9 ft seas...I was taking bonine regularly as a preventative and never got sick (as I did on the Sensation in 10 foot seas). It's a 24 hour pill and one a day did it. I took two the last day because of the motion and could see probably getting sick if you were prone to motion sickness (as I am) and not taking medication (as I was). If you haven't tried bonine, I recommend it over Dramamine as I noticed no drowsiness.

 

Kellbellcruise--Haa! I'm your cruise copy cat! ;)

Should I go ahead and book my Liberty balcony?

 

Beth--I'll do my best..You get a little card with all the options.

Pastas (duh)-Bowtie, thin spaghetti (?), and the thick tubes (rigatoni?)

Sauces--Bolognase (meat), alfredo and one other I don't recall

Grilled chicken, garlic grilled shrimp, sausage, mushrooms, onions, eggplant....the list go's on but I don't remember. Bread...

I highly recommend it! Get up there a few minutes before 12 and the wait is short and they're quick getting your food to you. Served in a large bowl..quite good and filling.

 

JennLuvs2Cruise--If anyone going with you says it sounds like a stupid idea (as someone in our group originally did)...make them go, they'll thank you (he did!). This is a one of a kind experience, the cab ride is about $10 but the beach is free. Sunset Bar and Grill is awesome...flight times are posted on a surfboard right by the tiki bar and you can relax there head out on the beach for some really cool pictures when the flights come in. See the picture attached.

 

Thanks for reading and comments, everyone. Any more questions, I'll do my best!!

[Umphreak2010]

Views from the cove balcony--pretty spacious

Also on of my son off in Nassau with the Dream in the background

The Burgundy lounge during rock star keraoke...also the comedy club

One of the waterworks...pretty large and a lot of fun.

Big screen on Lido

Some more shots while cruising from the cove balcony

Posted the last one because I was amazed at the size of Royal Carribean's Oasis of the seas. That's her on the right with the Dream on the left. This is one massive ship! You can see the climbing walls on the inside of the rear as well as the interior balcony rooms.

[meatloafsfan]

You've brought back a lot of great memories for me. The dream is a beautiful ship and I loved Deck 5 (casino / ocean plaza) and found myself spending a lot of time there.

 

Great review and great pictures. :D

[LSUTigerFNP]

Great cruise for us too, but very disappointed that we didn't get to do a shore excursion at St Maarten. This was to be the highlight of the trip, but we made the most of our "liquid sunshine" anyway!

[Froufie]

Loved my 'Maho' experience (2 times) and thinking of the Dream and bringing the 3 kids along as well as I think they would enjoy it! I think I might book a private excursion which takes us there as well as I don't really want to spend $10 pp each way for transportation?

 

Wondering also how you got to and from orlando airport? Convenience? Cost?

 

Any info greatly appreciated!

 

P.S. I love Sunset Beach bar esp their guavaberry coladas! YUM :D:D

[Umphreak2010]

Loved my 'Maho' experience (2 times) and thinking of the Dream and bringing the 3 kids along as well as I think they would enjoy it! I think I might book a private excursion which takes us there as well as I don't really want to spend $10 pp each way for transportation?

 

Wondering also how you got to and from orlando airport? Convenience? Cost?

 

Any info greatly appreciated!

 

P.S. I love Sunset Beach bar esp their guavaberry coladas! YUM :D:D

 

It would depend on the cost of the excursion I guess. $20 round trip seemed pretty reasonable per person. Our driver on the way back was great and stopped for a few scenic pictures for us and pointed put some interesting features. While this was only my second cruise, I've found that I can do the excursions for cheaper and have the option to stop at different places for lunch, cocktails etc as opposed to being kind of coralled from place to place by carnival. Whenever I look off the ship and see those groups being hearded into lines to wait for buses and taxis, I'm glad I didn't pay. I find that with a little research ahead of time and some basic travel know-how, I can see what I want on my schedule.

 

As far as the trip from Orlando airport, we live in upstate SC so it was just a 7 hour drive for us so we just drive it. Now, last year my wife and I stayed in Orlando the night before. The drive is pretty simple...really just straight in on A1 from Orlando straight to the piers. It's about a 45 minute easy drive. There is a toll so be prepared with some cash. Maybe about 8 bucks. Not sure about a cab or shuttle.

 

Loved the sunset...the pink paradise is delicious...delicious enough that I had 4 of them!