NCL Dream

[Chalker Guy]

No recent posts or threads on NCL Dream: Must mean folks are happy with the ship, unlike last summer & fall. Any recent DREAMers with reviews of ship, excursions (especially snorkeling), port conditions (especially post-Wilma Cozumel)?

[kannruss]

I'll definitely have some words to say right now all I can say is I had a great time!! CAn't wait to book the next one. Promise a bettter update in a day or two when I can find the energy :)

[hotspur]

No recent posts or threads on NCL Dream: Must mean folks are happy with the ship, unlike last summer & fall. Any recent DREAMers with reviews of ship, excursions (especially snorkeling), port conditions (especially post-Wilma Cozumel)?

The Dream had one problem last summer and fall: a busted engine that slowed her down and caused NCL to revise her itineraries. The engine is now fixed. It was a treat cruising the Dream to Alaska last May, before her engine problem.

[PrairieGirl]

Has the Dream dropped a port? For most of last year it sailed an itinerary with four ports but is now down to three.:confused:

[Don Haynes]

Cancun is closed.... Its tenders are at Cozumel.... They will continue to stay at Cozumel until the docks are rebuilt.... However, many of the mainland shore excursions can be done from Cozumel, using the ferry....

[cruzingthebriny]

We sailed on the Dream Nov.27,2005 and had a Grand time! I was a little worried with all the negative posts going around, but it turned out great and would not hesitate to book on her again. The food was fine and you'll never go hungry on this ship. If you gamble at all, ask for a Casino At Sea card. Their slots don't have an slot card reader, but the casino attendants manually check your play and you will be rewarded at the end of your cruise with cash. Heck, I'm not a big time gambler but I do enjoy playing the slots and 21, and they were giving me drinks on the house! (I should say ship). This casino has the best and friendliest attendants that I have ever met. Felt like I was leaving friends behind when our cruise came to an end.

As far a Cozumel post Wilma all I can say is WOW, they sure cleaned up that city fast! I would have never guessed a huricane of that magitude hit there.

Streets were clean and buildings being painted. I'm sure the back part of the water front still shows damage but we stayed along water front and shopped.

Enjoy your cruise, the ship and her crew are top-notch and Patty the CD is a real KICK!

[Jayhawk]

I thought I'd bump up again for KannRuss.....to see if there is any new feedback from the January cruisers.

 

I really want to go on this cruise in Feb, as Houston is an easy trip from KC (and we have two little ones, benefits to nonstop flights!)

 

My husband is however very hesitant. We love cruises, but we like to maximize the number of ports. There's only 3 now....are you at all 3 for long days? Is it hard to get on and off the ship? Did anyone who likes port time gone on this cruise and thought 3 days at sea was too much? We cruised on the dream for our honeymooon in 99 but I can't remember what all they had on board in terms of entertainment....

[electricron]

To make a fair evaluation, look at what the other ships out of Houston and Galveston give for ports.

CARNIVAL - ECSTASY -ELATION

DAY 1 GALVESTON 04:00 PM

DAY 2 At sea

DAY 3 Cozumel (Yucatan)08:30 AM 05:00 PM

DAY 4 At sea

DAY 5 GALVESTON 08:00 AM

CARNIVAL - CARNIVAL CONQUEST

DAY 1 GALVESTON 06:00 PM

DAY 2 At sea

DAY 3 At sea

DAY 4 Montego Bay 08:00 AM 05:30 PM

DAY 5 Grand Cayman 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

DAY 6 Cozumel (Yucatan) 09:30 AM 06:00 PM

DAY 7 At sea

DAY 8 GALVESTON 08:00 AM

CELEBRITY - GALAXY

DAY 1 GALVESTON 06:00 PM

DAY 2 At sea

DAY 3 Cozumel (Yucatan)09:00 AM 07:00 PM

DAY 4 Costa Maya 07:00 AM 01:00 PM

DAY 5 At sea

DAY 6 Panama Canal visit 07:00 AM 03:00 PM

Cristobal Cruise Terminal 03:00 PM 07:00 PM

DAY 7 Puerto Limon 07:00 AM 07:00 PM

DAY 8 At sea

DAY 9 Grand Cayman 08:00 AM 06:00 PM

DAY 10 Montego Bay 07:00 AM 06:00 PM

DAY 11 At sea

DAY 12 At sea

DAY 13 GALVESTON 08:00 AM

NORWEGIAN - NORWEGIAN DREAM

DAY 1 HOUSTON 04:00 PM

DAY 2 At sea

DAY 3 Cosumel 01:00 PM 07:00 PM

DAY 4 Roatan 12:30 PM 08:00 PM

DAY 5 Belize City 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

DAY 6 At sea *(Cancun) *09:00 AM *03:00 PM

DAY 7 At sea

DAY 8 HOUSTON 09:00 AM

PRINCESS - GRAND PRINCESS

DAY 1 GALVESTON 04:00 PM

DAY 2 At sea

DAY 3 Costa Maya (Mahahual) (Yucatan) 10:00 AM 07:00 PM

DAY 4 Belize City 06:30 AM 01:30 PM

DAY 5 Grand Cayman 12:00 PM 07:00 PM

DAY 6 Cozumel (Yucatan) 10:00 AM 07:00 PM

DAY 7 At sea

DAY 8 GALVESTON 07:00 AM

ROYAL CARIBBEAN - SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS

DAY 1 GALVESTON 06:00 PM

DAY 2 At sea

DAY 3 Cozumel (Yucatan)07:00 AM 07:00 PM

DAY 4 Belize City 08:00 AM 06:00 PM

DAY 5 Costa Maya (Yucatan)07:00 AM 07:00 PM

DAY 6 At sea

DAY 7 GALVESTON 08:00 AM

ROYAL CARIBBEAN - RHAPSODY OF THE SEAS

DAY 1 GALVESTON 05:00 PM

DAY 2 At sea

DAY 3 At sea

DAY 4 Ocho Rios 08:30 AM 05:30 PM

DAY 5 Grand Cayman 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

DAY 6 Cozumel (Yucatan)09:00 AM 06:00 PM

DAY 7 At sea

DAY 8 GALVESTON 07:00 AM

 

Only one other ship on a 7 night cruise visits more than 3 ports, and that's the Princess' Grand Princess.

[cruiser-dude]

Is it hard to get on and off the ship?

We tendered at Cozumel and it was fine. I hear so many reports of folks upset over the long waits when using large tenders. I guess we knew we were in Mexico/Carribean and expected and wanted a laid-back approach to life while on vacation. And since we did NCL excursions, we knew that we weren't going to be left behind. Also, since Cozumel is beat up, it wasn't like we had tons to see and would be pressed for time anyhow. Yes, you could've swam to shore quicker on some tenders, but it was fine.

We docked at Roatan, and so were off and on quickly.

We tendered at Belize and went on an NCL trip. We were off the boat quickly and on again quickly. Other that simply went into Belize and also those on other tours told us that Belize was fine. As a metter of fact, we were back from our trip in time to take a tender and do a little shopping - no problem. This is mainly because Belize has always been a tender port and is an expert at it. Cozumel is having to do this because of a washed away pier. IMHO, Cozumel is doing an excellent job in handling the circumstances they have been dealt with.

 

Did anyone who likes port time gone on this cruise and thought 3 days at sea was too much?

We wanted the 4 ports, but we saw from Cozumel that it's silly to stop at a port that is beat up horribly with little to do (Cancun). And, after we spent major $ doing excursions with the family on the other three ports, a $500 - $600 savings was okay with us. We were with the two kids, and that takes up time just getting them back and forth to their activities. Little ones are more easily amused than us big folk. I think if it had just been my wife and I cruising, we may have found ourselves hunting for things to do. But we also would have slept later and gone to bed earlier, too. We relaxed and enjoyed the sea day together.

 

What all they had on board in terms of entertainment....

The Jean Ryan company was 'good'. They did three shows and the first two could have been a little better, technically. It was obvious that the main focus was on the last show, "Sealegs" which was well done. Jeffrey the juggler was a lot of fun. Sam the comedian was fantastic. There was also a wonderful new talent singer that had just been discovered from the passenger talent auditions.

The shows were wholesome entertainment, which was so refreshing to us. (Thanks SO much NCL!!!) They were so family-friendly that some nights the Kids Crew brought the children to the show as their nightly activity.

A bit of caution to you on some entertainment:

(1) The "Almost Newlywed Game" (or whatever it was called if I have the name incorrect) is PG-13. NCL makes sure that you know this. So - don't participate if you don't want everyone to know your most bizarre whoopie place, panty style and color, etc. This was a fun show for most, but I am glad I was not on stage with my wife. (Personal opinion and still was a fun thing for most.)

(2) We took the whole family to "Family Feud" (also was a different name) and specifically asked if it was okay to let my 7 year-old daughter play. She loves games and does very well. The staff okayed and encouraged her to participate. They drew her name first and she was therefore the team captain. The topic was "Items in a Man's Wallet". Yes, "condom" was out before I could do anything... Just a screw up, mistake on the staff's part. We took care of the situation with her. It just wasn't a necessary topic when they were tons of families and kids around. The game itself was a blast, and everyone had a fun time. Mistakes happen - but I bring this up in case you have little ones and NCL has the same 'script' for these.

[vette]

Cruiser-dude,

 

I agree with you on everything you said.

 

Even though Cozumel was showing signs of the hurricane, I was totally amazed at how much had been done in the month before we arrived. We had a fantastic day there. We went to Paradise Beach and they were working so hard at repairs the day we were there. After that, we went shopping in the stores near the dock and brought back lots of tequila!!!!!!!!

I think Cozumel was a great stop in spite of everything.

 

Vette

[kannruss]

Yes I saw tons of people working feverishly last week to restore her to her beauty. You could still see major destruction and it was very sad but I can only imagine what she looked like just a few short months ago.

[Jayhawk]

Thank you very much!

[planetcadillac]

We are thinking of taking the Dream western final transatlantic in September. Extremely good rates with air and its doable. But could we stand to be on the Dream for 17 days? Heard mixed things about the ship. We were on the Majesty in December and it worked out well.

[hotspur]

We are thinking of taking the Dream western final transatlantic in September. Extremely good rates with air and its doable. But could we stand to be on the Dream for 17 days? Heard mixed things about the ship. We were on the Majesty in December and it worked out well.

If you liked the Majesty there's no reason you wouldn't like the Dream. They are the only two NCL ships we've sailed, and we very much enjoyed both. Both are older and have the on-board feel of a traditional ship. Decor is muted with plenty of wood and brass accents. Colors are subdued, not garish. Neither has an overblown atrium, skating rink, billiards room, ski run, climbing wall, miniature golf course, or the like.

 

We found service on both to be just fine. Cabins are nicer on the Dream, unless you're in an AB or Owner's Suite on Majesty, with sitting areas. Outside cabins have a drape that can be pulled to separate the sitting area from the bed.

 

Both offer Le Bistro and two main dining rooms, although the Dream's main DRs have more glass and better views. The Dream's Trattoria is larger than and has a more extensive menu (not just pasta) than Majesty's pasta restaurant. Both ships' buffets are undersized for the capacity of the ship. Dinner menus seemed to be the same in both ships' main dining rooms, and we found the food comparable.

 

The Dream's theater has better sight-lines and a double-high ceiling, so the shows are more expansive--but there's no Rudy Macaggi. Casinos are casinos--and we pay them little attention. The Dream seemed to have more outside deck space, especially fore and aft. We'd sail either again with no hesitation.

 

Oh, our first Dream cruise was a trans-Atlantic, following the "path of the vikings," from Dover to Boston via France, Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. It was a terrific cruise, and very good value.