Dream Review

[Dandylyon]

Here is part 1 of the review of our Alaska cruise aboard Dream, 7/21/05-8/1/05.

 

Embarkation:

When we arrived in Seattle, we proceeded to baggage claim and looked for an NCL employee. We immediately found a very nice young lady in a red coat. After collecting our luggage, she gave us luggage tags (we did not receive any in advance because we received edocs). Thanks to you all, we had brought preprinted labels with us; what a great idea! At that point we turned our luggage over to her and went to find our bus from airport to pier. I was a little concerned about that, because, once again, due to the edocs we did not have any ticket or voucher for the transfer—our TA told us that we would be on the manifest, which we were. We waited a short time for more passengers, then left for the ride to the pier. The bus driver was entertaining and kept up a running commentary all the way. At the pier, those passengers who brought their luggage to the bus had to reclaim their luggage to get dock workers to send them to the ship. We didn’t have to do this—I would recommend turning over your luggage at the airport; that way, you won’t have to worry about it again until it shows up at your cabin.

 

We were ushered into the terminal building. The check-in process was VERY quick and efficient. The whole thing probably took less than five minutes, and we were on our way to board the Dream. It was on our way there that we received the official NCL notification that our cruise would be skipping Sitka. We knew a few days ahead of time due to these boards and our TA, but many passengers later said that they did not know until that moment, or even until they were already on board.

 

After dropping off our carry on luggage and checking out the cabin, we left to explore the ship.

 

Cabin:

We were in cabin 0001, which is on deck 10 all the way forward. We had a large window. There is a public walkway in front of the window, so people could block our view, but rarely did. They could only see in the window if there were lights on inside and it was dark outside, or if they really stuck their face right up there to look. The cabin was equipped with a queen sized bed, two chairs, a sofa bed, a table and two ottomans. There was also a small built in desk with a chair. A nightstand was on each side of the bed, with room to store some items. Inside a cabinet were some drawers, a small refrigerator, and on top was a small television. There was a decent sized closet with some shelves and a small safe. The bathroom had some small shelves and an adequate shower. The room was clean, although furnishings, draperies, and bedspread were worn. There were stains on some of the furniture as from spilled drinks. There was a curtain that could be pulled across the room to separate the bed area from the sitting area—a nice feature.

 

We found the bed to be comfortable, but then, my husband likes hard beds with no bounce. We have one of those Select Comfort beds at home, so I am used to being able to adjust my bed however I like it. The bed in the cabin was much firmer and with less give than I am used to, but I found it comfortable nonetheless.

 

The cabin stewards were outstanding (Rae and Wilford were our stewards). In the morning they cleaned up and made the bed, and in the evening they turned down the bed. They refilled the ice bucket daily and also replenished our fruit dish. In the evenings they left a different towel animal each night. They were available whenever I had a question or request (easy to find—just look for the trolley), but stayed out of the way at other times.

 

Stay tuned for part 2.

[Dandylyon]

Dining:

 

Before commenting on dining options, service, and food, I’ve got to mention that my husband and I have been on an extremely low calorie diet since March, and are just now transitioning to eating more “normal” foods, albeit still low calorie. My husband has lost 55 pounds so far, and I have lost 45 pounds (over 20% of my body weight), so we were pretty worried about putting on a lot of weight during the cruise. This influenced our dining decisions quite a bit, as we avoided pastas, sauces, and desserts (except for the Chocoholic Buffet), limited breads, and so forth.

 

On embarkation day there was a buffet lunch served in the Sports Bar. The long line was discouraging, particularly considering some of the comments I had read here. Fortunately, that was the only time we had to wait. Our strategy was that if there was a line at one restaurant, we went to another. Our longest wait was about ten minutes, and we rarely had to wait even five minutes. For some meals we opted to share a table, for some we preferred to dine à deux. Most of our dinners were taken at either Four Seasons or at Terraces; we ate once at Le Bistro, the extra charge restaurant. For lunch we had some full service meals, but once I found the Indian food at the Sports Bar buffet, I had to get my daily fix. For breakfast we sometimes ate at the buffet in the Four Seasons, sometimes ordered room service, and sometimes ate breakfast bars we brought from home. We never ate at the Trattoria or the Pizzeria because I didn’t think I would be able to make good choices there.

 

We did not experience the rude treatment that some have reported here. Every person called my husband “sir” and me “madame” and seemed genuinely interested in giving good service.

 

Coffee: their standard coffee, served in all venues, was really awful. The espresso and cappuccino were much better.

 

Sports Bar buffet lunch:

This venue becomes QUITE crowded during peak times and is difficult to maneuver through with a tray of food whilst searching for a place to sit. We found that eating early or late solved this problem and made the experience much more relaxed and enjoyable. Hint: take your tray and go around the first food line—the second line around the back near the dessert area is usually less crowded and is identical to the first. I was not particularly impressed with the offerings here during lunch, except, as I mentioned above, I really enjoyed the Indian food. Another thing people enjoy is the Asian style soup that you can customize with your own selection of vegetables and noodles. Another hint: if there was a dessert you liked the night before, you might find leftovers served here. Employees were quick to remove trays, plates, etc. and to clean tables.

 

Buffet breakfast in the Four Seasons:

Breakfast was your usual assortment of items: scrambled eggs (not cooked enough for my husband), bacon, sausage, corned beef hash, potatoes, hot cereal, cold cereal, assorted breakfast pastries, juices. I enjoyed a toasted bagel with smoked salmon (lox). Sometimes they had blintzes. I am sure I am missing some things because I was trying to ignore it all! They also served fresh fruit and had an omelet station. Breakfast was open seating unless they were very busy.

 

Le Bistro:

Our first night on board we had dinner at Le Bistro, the extra charge restaurant. The room was nice, although I would have liked to have a view of the ocean. The service was very nice, and the meal was enjoyable and relaxed. The food was better than the standard food in the dining rooms. However, the meal did not compare with the wonderful meal we had last year in Celebrity Summit’s Normandie restaurant. On the other hand, it was the one time I actually got to eat salmon on the ship the entire cruise! Salmon was on the menu one night in the dining room, but it turns out that they substituted turbot because they didn’t have the salmon. My favorite thing about the meal was indulging in the chocolate fondue dessert, served with sliced bananas, strawberries, and grapes. Yum!! My husband was looking forward to some nice cheeses for dessert, or between entrée and dessert. The only cheeses they had were the same as in the other venues: a non-descript bleu cheese, Gouda, Swiss, cheddar and two others he cannot remember.

 

Four Seasons and Terraces:

These restaurants had the same dinner menus each night. We found the service the same as well, which is to say, it depends on your wait staff. For the most part, we found the service to be extremely polite and attentive. It was often difficult to get items without dressings or sauces, except for your standard dinner salad. Our favorite waiters by far were Ray and Roshelle in Four Seasons. The assistant maitre d’ was also very nice. Sorry, Ray debarked the same day we did for his vacation, and will be returning in a couple of months to another ship, I believe he said the Majesty.

 

Room Service:

We ordered room service for breakfast several times. We used the pre-order forms that you hang on your doorknob the night before, and specified our desired delivery time. I loved that they phoned our room when room service was on the way. They were always prompt, with items prepared as requested. They actually had a pretty wide variety of items available including juices, cereals (hot and cold), breakfast meats, eggs, breakfast pastries, etc.

 

Chocoholic Buffet:

Yum! I was watching the chefs set this up, and they took obvious pride in their work. Several of them took out their own video and still cameras to capture their final efforts. This was a highlight for me.

 

Part 3 tomorrow--I'm exhausted.

[cliffd64]

Excellent review so far: Let me get this straight... they have now moved the Breafast Buffet to the Four Seasons dining room? If this is true, then they have finally seen the light :) :) The Sports Bar and Grill is way too tiny for buffet breakfast. It was my only complaint on the Dream (and the Wind too) when we were on her. :)

[hotspur]

Excellent review so far: Let me get this straight... they have now moved the Breafast Buffet to the Four Seasons dining room?

I'm guessing the buffet in the Four Seasons is in addition to the one in the Sports Bar. On our May 19 cruise, they had a second buffet set up in the Trattoria, and the Four Seasons served sit-down breakfast. They are probably experimenting to see which combination works best, and which regularly sit-down restaurant operates most efficiently as a buffet.

[shoreguy]

Excellent review so far: Let me get this straight... they have now moved the Breafast Buffet to the Four Seasons dining room? If this is true, then they have finally seen the light :) :) The Sports Bar and Grill is way too tiny for buffet breakfast. It was my only complaint on the Dream (and the Wind too) when we were on her. :)

 

They had a full breakfat buffet in the four seasons when I was on the ship in 1997 & 1999. :cool:

[seashellt]

Dandylyon, you are so kind...all of the information you are providing will be so helpful when we cruise 9/1 on the Dream! Can't wait to read more...:D

[Dandylyon]

There was a breakfast buffet in the Sports Bar, but we never went to it. The buffet in the Four Seasons was billed as the "Breakfast Buffet and Omelet Bar." With a full complement of passengers, it seemed to work out pretty well.

[hotspur]

There was a breakfast buffet in the Sports Bar, but we never went to it. The buffet in the Four Seasons was billed as the "Breakfast Buffet and Omelet Bar." With a full complement of passengers, it seemed to work out pretty well.

Yes, the breakfast buffet served in the Trattoria on the May 19 cruise also offered made-to-order omelets, while the one in the Sports Bar did not. The latter did have waffles, however.

[gettingready]

So to get this straight (have patience with me) there are 2 buffets in the morning AND 1 sit down offering?

 

Then at lunch there is one small buffet and 2 (or is it 1) sit down choices?

 

At dinner, 3 FREE sit down restaurants, one small buffet and one small buffet?

 

And of course, 24 hour room service:)

 

I have one small other question, the OP mentioned hot foods from room service but only had an outside room (not a suite), is that correct?

 

Thanks for getting this all cleared up for me!

[Dandylyon]

Here is a typical day:

 

Breakfast:

6-7 a.m. Early Riser in the Sports Bar

7-10:30 a.m. Breakfast Buffet, Sports Bar

7:30-9:30 a.m. Breakfast, Terraces (sit-down dining)

7:30-10:00 a.m. Breakfast Buffet and Omelet Bar, Four Seasons

10-11:30 a.m. Danish and Pastries, Sports Bar

 

Lunch:

11:30-1:30 BBQ lunch, poolside (we rarely had this due to weather)

11:30-2:30 Lunch Buffet, Sports Bar

12-2:00 Soup & Sandwich Deli, Lucky's

12-2:00 Lunch, Four Seasons (sit-down)

12-5:30 Pizza, Pasta, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Pizzeria

3:30-4:30 Afternoon Tea, Sports Bar

 

Dinner:

5:30-9:00 Buffet dinner, Sports Bar

5:30-9:00 Dinner, Four Seasons (sit down)

5:30-10:00 Dinner, Terraces (sit down)

5:30-10:00 Trattoria (sit down)

5:30-close Le Bistro (extra charge restaurant)

 

These schedules would vary depending on if it was a sea day or a port day, and according to the port hours, but this an example of a typical schedule.

 

 

As to room service, yes, we had an outside cabin, category CC, not a suite, and had hot food available for breakfast from room service. The door tag/menu thingie did say "suite" on it, but it seemed that everyone had the same choices.

[hotspur]

As to room service, yes, we had an outside cabin, category CC, not a suite, and had hot food available for breakfast from room service. The door tag/menu thingie did say "suite" on it, but it seemed that everyone had the same choices.

We were in a category C, and did not have the "hot" food choices for breakfast. I believe CC and above have a more comprehensive menu. It was that way on our fall 2002 cruise on the Dream as well.

[gettingready]

Thanks Dandylyon that sound like a lot of choices!! Did you ever try Lucky's? I was wondering if they used the same menu daily and if there were a lot of choices.

 

Boy better go start dinner -- I'm hungry now LOL

[Dandylyon]

Nope, never tried Lucky's, although I saw some people with some decent looking sandwiches from there.

[Dandylyon]

Still not quite ready to post the third part of my review, just a comment.

 

I was reading on another thread that the poster often observed passengers being rude to staff--boy is that ever true. I don't know how they put up with it.

 

My husband spent quite a bit of time in the internet cafe (to each his own!), sometimes online and sometimes just playing card games on his laptop. In the course of that, he heard lots of abuse heaped upon poor Heather, the cafe manager. I also saw other crew members politely taking uncalled for rudeness from passengers.

 

I don't know about you, but I find that a smile and a polite word goes a lot farther than rudeness.

[GummyBear]

When we sailed from New Orleans on the Dream in April, the breakfast buffet was in the Pizzeria and the omlette bar was poolside. Its a great location while in the Caribbean but a little chilly for Alaska ;)

[hotspur]

When we sailed from New Orleans on the Dream in April, the breakfast buffet was in the Pizzeria and the omlette bar was poolside. Its a great location while in the Caribbean but a little chilly for Alaska ;)

There was also a breakfast buffet in the Pizzeria during our September 2002 Atlantic crossing on the Dream. It was "chilly" then, too...but convenient and with no wait.

[alderaniandad]

Just an additional thought ---- there has been comments made about the Captain's remarks during the crew briefing referring the Sitka issue to corporate and explaining that his job was to navigate the ship safely between ports. Some felt he was ducking the issue ---- uhh --- he was telling it like it is. He has no say on what ports of call will or will not be made. He does exactly as corporate tells him. He runs his ship -- not the company.

[Kathy Q]

Dandylyon,

 

Your posts have been very, very helpful. Thank you so much for posting great information on the Dream! I'll be on the Pacific Coastal repo cruise and am absorbing as much as I can... :)

 

Kathy Q

[MickyBridges]

Thanks Dandylyon that sound like a lot of choices!! Did you ever try Lucky's? I was wondering if they used the same menu daily and if there were a lot of choices.

 

Boy better go start dinner -- I'm hungry now LOL

 

After a big breakfast in the Four Seasons I just couldn't face a large lunch so I regularly endulged in then Soup and Sandwich combo at Lucky's. Sandwich's are pretty straightforward in that you get to choose what to put on it .. cheese, pickle, turkey, ham etc. If they haven't run out of whole wheat rolls it's half way healthy! Then they have the one soup which changes every day which can be very good ...although I never encountereted the pheasant dumpling :eek:

[loriadele]

Thank you so very much for your reviews Dandylyon. If you have time, we would love to read your next review before our 8/11 cruise. It was nice of you to take the time to post such a thorough report.

[NitaBcruising]

There was a breakfast buffet in the Sports Bar, but we never went to it. The buffet in the Four Seasons was billed as the "Breakfast Buffet and Omelet Bar." With a full complement of passengers, it seemed to work out pretty well.

 

This is the best thing I've read yet! I hope it's happening on the Wind, too! My only complaint on our Wind cruise nearly 2 years ago was the small buffet in the Sports Bar. But, even knowing that, I am on the Dream next month and the Wind in Jan.! Sounds like they have the small buffet problem figured out!

 

Thanks for sharing! :)

[Dandylyon]

Here is the final portion of my Dream review from our cruise of 7/23-8/01. Please let me know if you have any other questions I can answer for you.

 

Entertainment:

The entertainment on Dream was a highlight for us. This is one area that Dream trumped Summit. The entertainment was varied and of pretty good quality. I enjoyed the production variety type shows with the Jean Ann Ryan Company, although that gymnast that did a couple of tumbling passes in each show didn’t impress me much. In the closing show he did a very nice number, though. In addition they had a magician (Richard Burr), a hypnotist, and a wonderful comedian, Geraldine Doyle. She was very funny. Unfortunately, however, I believe she was leaving the ship the same time we did—but perhaps they’ll have someone just as great.

 

Our favorites were Andre and Francine. They are terrific ballroom dancers. In addition to doing numbers in some of the shows, they also hosted some dances and, best of all, provided dance lessons on each sea day. They taught the basics of a different dance each time: rumba, salsa, swing, Argentinean tango, and meringue. What fun! I had to drag my husband to the first lesson, but after that, he really enjoyed them. Then, later in the evening, we would be able to practice at one of the dances. Andre and Francine were a highlight of our cruise. If you see them, please tell them hello from Andrea and Kevin (you could remind them that Kevin is the guy who made the origami animals from dollar bills).

 

Several musical options were available each evening, ranging from a guitarist, a pianist, a quartet, the Norwegian Dream Showband (which played ballroom dance music, but didn’t sound so great), and the Two Tones playing dance music. They were great! They also had a DJ in Dazzles Disco, although we didn’t attend those events.

 

Activities:

There were many daily activities available on board. They had trivia games about three times each day, a craft lesson each sea day, casino blackjack and slot tournaments, karaoke, fitness lectures, wine tastings, a What’s My Line game, a Newlywed and Not-So-Newlywed Game (very funny), and a Liar’s Club Game (this was hysterical), lectures on our destinations by Dr. Nancy Pencavage, your usual Champagne Art Auctions, bingo games, shore shopping presentations (blech), and so on and so forth…

 

Spa and Salon:

The Mandara Spa offers many spa treatments. I went in and had my first ever massage, so I am not a good judge of the quality, but I can tell you that they are very nice. They also offer manicures, pedicures, and hair in the salon. I had a manicure, which was just OK. I did not find the manicurist to be particularly friendly. She came across as very bored, the only crewmember I met who gave off that impression to me.

 

Fitness Center:

The fitness center was a very busy place and offered a number of fitness classes. They had aerobics, pilates, power walking, and more. I did not partake of these, so I cannot comment.

 

Internet Access:

Dream has a small internet café, which is frequently busy despite the very high prices. It was 75 cents/minute. My husband purchased a package for 250 minutes for $100, which brings it down to 40 cents/minute. They also have wireless hotspots in several places on board such as outside the internet café, in the Observatory Lounge, and somewhere else, I don’t remember where. For wireless you have to have your own laptop, and either bring or rent the wireless equipment. The minute charge is the same as in the café. Heather, the café manager is delightful and very helpful.

 

Library:

Dream has a smallish library outside the internet café which has fairly limited hours, usually a couple of hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon during which you can check books in or out. They also have a shelf where you can leave old paperbacks and take one you haven’t read, sort of a book exchange. They also provide a daily crossword puzzle (easy—just right for me, but too easy for my husband). The same area has games available to check out including cards, checkers, chess, and perhaps a few others. The games were VERY popular because our cruise had several sea days. There were always groups of people playing cards and other games in that area. If you have a favorite game, and are going on a longer cruise like this one, you might want to bring one with you.

 

Smoke:

If smoke is an issue for you, you will find some areas of the ship that you will want to avoid. Smoking is not allowed in any of the dining areas, but is allowed in other public areas and in cabins. Most people were courteous enough to only smoke at tables where ashtrays were already located. Unfortunately for me, the smoking areas were often areas where I wanted to sit for the particular view I wanted. Oh well. Smoke really bugs me, and I was relieved that our cabin had zero smoke odor, although the corridors often smell of smoke.

 

Speaking of odors, I did occasionally notice a sewage type smell in some corridors, but it never was in our cabin or in other public areas.

 

Medical Center:

The medical center has quite limited hours, but they are very nice. We went down there to use their scale to be sure we hadn’t done TOO much damage.

 

Photos:

There are photographers taking every conceivable picture. If you enjoy having portraits done, this is a good opportunity to do so. They have a special for about $200 that if you purchase at the beginning of the cruise, you get EVERY photo taken of you and your cabin-mates for the entire cruise. Not a bad deal considering that 8 x 10 photos are about $20 each. You could go to all of the formal portrait backgrounds and have pics taken, have a pic with Captain Mogic, take your embarkation photo, photos at each port, photos in the dining rooms, photos at Hubbard Glacier, etc.

[vette]

Thank you so much, Dandylyon, for your review. We sail the Dream in November and I have been looking for some detailed information on the dining possibilities. My DH spends a lot of time eating and sleeping on the cruise, so I wanted to provide him with all the possibilities!

 

Vette

[herewego]

Wow what a great review!

 

Do you have more info on the photo package? Was this offered in the Daily? It sounds like a great deal for 4 -- my DH and I sailed alone and we bought a couple at the glacier, one at dinner and a couple of formals and it cost more than $100 so we could do REALLY well with the 4 of us for all the photos for just $200! It would be a great time to get some NEW family photos!

 

Thanks for the run down of the restaurants too -- and i am glad to know they have made to order sandwiches. Does luckys have milk and tea as well - for no charge?

 

I know there are movies in the room but are there also movies elsewhere? the Spirit only seemed to show them when we were in Port.

 

One last thing -- any great NON-smoking view areas?

 

Thanks for the help

[Velvet Teddy Bear]

Many thanks Dandylyon, a really great review...I am on the Dream its first cruise out of Houston ..10/15/05, and am really looking forward to it...I wasn't really worried about the bad reviews, but am glad to read a really good one......we are on deck 8....(Norway)....and have a outside/obstructed view cabnin....but plan to only sleep there.....

What can you tell us about the casino area, and its games....or did you play any...and did you attend the martini class....I hear they are great fun, you don't have to drink the whole thing (unless you want to, lol)

agan, thanks for the review......jim