GOQ Posted May 10, 2019 #1 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Thanks to the forum members who provided me with advice on the choice of cabins on Dream, unfortunately I left it too late to pre-book a cabin. This is what happened. I was assigned cabin 5212 which was immediately adjacent to the capstans/winding gear at the rear of the ship. On the first night I was awakened at 2AM by the most horrendous noise and vibration. I went to investigate through the external door adjacent to my cabin and had a nice reception from some of the crew who seemed to be having a happy party, I was then was asked to leave by a formal lady crew member. I managed to get back to sleep but at around 6AM was again awakened by the same awful racket. I visited reception early the next morning and was was kindly offered, without any fuss or bother, an alternative cabin together with the offer of help to move cabin if it was needed. Reception were courteous and very helpful. The quality time which Solo travelers experience with Marella depends upon two factors, the personality mix of the guests (which is out of their control) and the quality/experience of the social host/hostess. I was very fortunate with both of these variables. The initial meetups were organized by our hostess and the arranged dining table continued to be reserved for us each evening. Our hostess was very helpful and several times arranged “VIP” seating in the Broadway Show Lounge so we might stay together. Very helpful and original thinking (she deserves promotion). Dream has been described by some members of this forum as a little old and tired with some evidence of corrosion and wooden bungs inserted into the paneling to stop the vibration. The ”wooden bung” description and vibration were certainly accurate but the ship itself was well cared for, clean and had a happy atmosphere. The only negative from my point of view was the lack of enough seating in the lounge areas during the evening leaving people sitting on windowsills and leaning against walls in order to watch the performances. Being an older ship of course it lacked some of the amenities of Discovery/Explorer, but this did not detract too much from the enjoyable experience. The quality of the food and service in the Orion Restaurant, was in my opinion, much better than my previous experience with the Explorer last December. The mooring lines got snagged in the rudder/props while we were leaving Lisbon then after clearing them they had to send down divers to check for damage. So this meant we missed our visit to Portimao. Pity, maybe next time. I have already pre-booked another two cruises on Marella Dream. However from the vibration/noise I experienced unless I can manage to pre-book a cabin away from the rear of the ship, hopefully to the suggested cabins on deck 10, I might have to consider canceling these bookings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensioncruiser Posted May 10, 2019 #2 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Thanks for your feedback, Dream is one of our favourites as a couple and we usually have a cabin on deck 9 which is OK so would imagine deck 10 would also be good. Pleased they sorted things out for you and it sounds like overall you had a good cruise hope you enjoyed 2 Intense probably our favourite group. Happy future cruises 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thexluckyxduck Posted June 11, 2019 #3 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Hello did you notice if Dream has the water stations to fill up glasses near the elevators similar to Explorer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOQ Posted June 11, 2019 Author #4 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Yes they do, but not quite so many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thexluckyxduck Posted June 11, 2019 #5 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Thank you. We're going in October having sailed on Discovery last year and are trying to see how Dream has changed now it's all inclusive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOQ Posted June 11, 2019 Author #6 Share Posted June 11, 2019 I am going on the re-positioning cruise from Majorca to Cyprus in October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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