Just back from the Dream...not too happy

[RobertScottMason]

We just did the Texarribbean out of Houston. We had a couple of days of rough weather; that certainly wasn't NCL's fault, but it did cancel the stop at Progresso, which is the only port that i had not already been to.

This was my tenth cruise. The most recent two were on the Carnival Conquest and the Carnival Destiny. I really liked those ships, so what i thought of the Dream was viewed through that prism.

I knew it was a smaller ship, but I had done the Majesty so I figured it had to be bigger and better than that. The Dream felt small though, in several ways.

On Conquest class ships, there is a real "Sports Bar", with mutiple TVs. I am not a big sports guy, but I have always been able to convince the staff to put on "Survivor" for me etc. The Dream just hung a few banners on the wall back at their cattle car buffet, and declared it a "sports bar". There were a couple of TVs back in the corners, but they were low resolution cheapo sets, and one could not hear anything at all.

The buffet dining ratio of chow lines to passengers was cocked. One had to go to 12 aft or the tiny "Pizza Bar" on the main pool deck. The lines were always too long, the selection poor, they ran out of stuff like coffee that I never saw happen once on Carnival.

The pizza was tired looking pepperoni only. On Conquest ships, one can at almost any time of day get gourmet pizza, and it is pretty good.

On the Conquest, after the show, we would mosey on up to the deli, which was also open almost all the time, and get a fine snack like a reuben. The Dream had no such thing. The pizza bar closes early, leaving one ONLY the choice of 12 aft, which remember is supposedly doubling as a sports bar.

The main hall, the Stardust Lounge, is too small, and filled up way more quickly than others I have been on. I only saw one show, one of those salute to Cruising things, and it was pretty rinky dink.

The average passenger on the ship was rounding third. My 17 year old was miserable; he was looking forward to repeating a Carnival experience, instead there were almost no teens on the boat, and there certainly was nothing like the dazzling disco on the Conquest ships.

I like inside rooms, because I sleep great in them. This one was ridiculously small. (I still slept great though, no window light, and the soothing hum of the engines).

It used to be that the breakfast menu would rotate, with things like Spanish omlettes and huevos rancheros cycling around. No more. The breakfast menu is static.

The free rum punch drinks at the mutli time cruiser party, and on deck one day to make up for the missed port and rough seas, had almost no detectable alcohol in them.

The mutli time cruiser benefit of a certain bar on ship where Latitudes members can drink a little cheaper, has vanished.

The casino is too small. I like it that on the Conquest ships, they are huge, and I can see a window. I don't like tiny tomblike ones.

This isn't specific to NCL, but the dealers were all pretty miserable. Part of the fun of blackjack is that it is a friendly game, and a funny dealer can make all the difference. This group looked like they all wanted to jump off the back and get it over with. They are made to work too many hours.

On the brighter side, rest of the staff on the boat were all very nice, more or less cheerful, and hard workers. Housekeeping was great, the food in the Four Seasons was very good and so was the service. We did the Tratorrie for the first time since I did not want the filet mignon or the lobster in the Main that night, and it was a very good experience.

I had previously done NCL Sea, Sky, and Majesty, but those were all before I did the Conquest ships. I know I waving the pom poms for Carnival here, but I like those Vegas glitzy ships, and a crowd that that doesn't have one foot in the grave. I will be giving NC a rest after this one.

[Don Haynes]

Yes, the Dream is an older smaller ship than the Carnival Conquest, literally half its size. The Dream has also been stretched back during the late 90s to get to the size it is today.

 

During the stretch the Dream added another main restaurant, but as you noted the Sport Bar buffet, and the Stardust Lounge were not expanded to meet the expanded passenger capacity. I agree with you, both are too small.

 

Of course you are comparing a old ship with a much newer ship. Its almost like comparing apples to oranges. I honestly believe if you book a newer NCL ship you will find the ship much more acceptable, especially if you liked freestyle dining. NCL's new ships built since 1999 are built for freestyle, the older smaller Dream isn't.

 

The newer ships are larger, and have more lounges and restaurants. In my opinion they are just as nice as the Conquest.

[Gypsea]

The Dream won't be around too much longer but I am sorry she was not as fine as the Majesty for you. NCL has lots of new builds in the next few years and plans to have the youngest fleet in the mass market by 2012.

 

Luckily the staff is always friendly and courteous. I like NCL but had an experience I was not fond of on Carnival. Everyone gets a less than perfect cruise experience once and I think this was yours. I'm guessing this was an easy port for you to sail from and this was your reason for choosing the Dream? cuz she wouldn't be my first NCL choice. You need to give a newer NCL ship a try someday. I love Majesty but she too is dated.

 

Thanks for the review,

Rita

[OrangeAndBlue]

Sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise but just a little research before you took this cruise would have probably have saved you from taking this cruise and instead taking one that would have been more geared toward the ship that you desired sailing on.

 

One of the newer ships such as the Pearl or Jewel would have been much more in line with a Conquest type class ship. I have sailed on both style ships and really enjoyed the Jewel. Looking forward to the Pearl in 3 weeks!

 

Paul

[Cosmopolitan]

The average passenger on the ship was rounding third. My 17 year old was miserable; he was looking forward to repeating a Carnival experience, instead there were almost no teens on the boat, and there certainly was nothing like the dazzling disco on the Conquest ships.

 

and a crowd that that doesn't have one foot in the grave. I will be giving NC a rest after this one.

 

I'm not sure how many "17 year olds" are cruising at this time of year..most schools are in session right now.

 

Not sure the seniors would appreciate you saying they "have one foot in the grave":eek:

 

You may want to try a larger NCL ship - the Dawn and Jewel are wonderful:)

[wbrown52]

We just got home from the same cruise. It was a rough trip down. Some first time cruisers in our group were very sad when we could not stop at Progresso, they were looking for solid ground! But we got to watch the Super Bowl in the Stardust on a projection screen, a fun time for all except the Bears fans..

 

I found our inside cabin a bit larger than the inside we enjoyed on the Star. I never expect too much from an inside cabin.

 

But the very best thing about the Dream was the price. 7 days inside for $450.00!

 

It's funny how the age thing works out, we book NCL for the more mature crowd. It is true the Hip-Hop dance class was not well attended, but I loved reading my book out by pool. The last half the cruise we had sunny days and dead calm seas.

 

We attended the early show some nights and some nights the late show, always found a seat, although we did sit in the back. We have a great time at the shows, but again they were aimed at a more mature audience.

 

We will be coming back to NCL later this year because of the cash we saved by booking the Dream. It was a fun, economical, and peaceful ship.

 

When I was 17 I too might have found the week dreadful, at 58, the Dream was just the ticket for an economical winter getaway.

[hotspur]

We've spent 26 nights on the Dream and enjoyed every one. Whining about the Sports Bar not being a place to watch sports is as silly as complaining that you didn't see the Tsar when dining in Tsar's Palace. It's the name of the buffet. That's all. And anyone who complains about the Dream not being glitzy didn't do his homework.

 

This all reads to me like someone who walked on the Dream and said: "This ship isn't as flashy as [name the ship of his choice] so I'm going to find everything possible to complain about and then rush back to Cruise Critic and spout off." First they ruin the cruise for themselves by their negative attitude..then they come here to try to ruin it for everyone else. Not an unusual pattern.

[RobertScottMason]

In terms of the number of 17 year olds cruising, we avoid school vacation weeks on purpose, because it is a zoo. It would seem that on other cruises, others were doing the same, but there were still alot of teens.

 

The poster who states that it is unreasonable to expect a sports bar to be a "bar" at which one can watch several different "sports" might want to consider getting their meds adjusted. The analogy about the Tsar walking in is ludicrous; do those caveman rhetorical tricks work for you elsewhere ? Do you think I expect Popeye to walk into his chicken joints ? On other ships the Sports bars have maybe 14 TVS, running 14 different feeds if that is what you want, right down to classic stuff that happened 30 years ago. I would say that most reasonable people would agree that such a place meets the definition of a sports bar. By the poster's logic they could have hung the "Sports Bar" logo on the ice cream stand up on the pool deck, and it would be OK, and one would be whining and negative to point it out.

 

I am not trying to ruin anything for anyone. The purpose in posting is so that others whose image of an ideal ship has shifted like mine might avoid a potentially underwhelming experience. Moreover, my comments are not all negative. After I posted I poked around in the forums and was surprised to read what some folks encountered on other ships in terms of greasy railings, poop in pools, and poor service. The Dream was nicely clean everywhere, which requires hard work to keep up with. The food and service in the Four Seasons was great (yummy oyster fritters, crab hot and sour soup, Chicken creole etc).

 

It is good to read about the newer ships already afloat and the ones coming, thank you posters. It means I do not have to write NCL off, just that the Dream wasn't the ship for me.

[calmac]

We have sailed twice on the Dream and think she is a great ship but she is both older and smaller than most of the cruise ships currently sailing. She doesn't have the glitz and glamour which many people seem to expect on a cruise ship these days and, in terms of the newer NCL ships, she doesn't have the large variety of dining options available.

 

We have also sailed on the Dawn and the Pearl and are booked on the Gem having loved the Pearl. Would we return to the Dream? YES.

[firefly333]

Looks like I wouldn't get to try out the Dream as she is leaving in April and I got a better price from RCI on the Rhapsoday. I'v heard RCI is very family friendly, come join us, I bet you would like RCI as much as Carnival. I have to admit so far Carnival's pizza is tops, better than Princess's. And yep those bistro sandwiches my sister loved. I was trying to watch my diet and didnt try one, but they sure looked good and HUGE.

[KeystoneCruiser]

Thank you for your fine, detailed review. (not just "terrbile food" but explanations) Makes your review more reliable and what we really want on here...fair reviews! (whether negative or positive.)

 

Thank you for also coming back to clear up questions.

 

I echo the others statements about trying NCL's larger ships, but let's give you the whole list of larger ships that may be more to your liking:

 

Star, Dawn, Jewel, Pearl, Spirit, Sun, Gem (soon), Pride of America and Pride of Hawaii.

 

The Pride of Aloha is the former Norweigan Sky and is a smaller ship.

 

Thanks for taking the time!

[Clutterlady]

We've spent 26 nights on the Dream and enjoyed every one. Whining about the Sports Bar not being a place to watch sports is as silly as complaining that you didn't see the Tsar when dining in Tsar's Palace. It's the name of the buffet. That's all. And anyone who complains about the Dream not being glitzy didn't do his homework.

 

This all reads to me like someone who walked on the Dream and said: "This ship isn't as flashy as [name the ship of his choice] so I'm going to find everything possible to complain about and then rush back to Cruise Critic and spout off." First they ruin the cruise for themselves by their negative attitude..then they come here to try to ruin it for everyone else. Not an unusual pattern.

 

Please remember this place is called "cruise critic"

 

Not everyone is going to say everything was beyond "wonderful"

 

Thought OP gave an honest review as he saw it....silly to even say he was trying to ruin it for everyone else.........gosh!!:mad:

[snowman]

Hotspur, the last time I looked the name of this web site was cruise critic, and people are entitled to their opions, I don't think the OP was trying to ruin anybodys cruise, he was just echoing his/her observations.

[ortho_rn63]

I would like to addto this post. I will be traveling on the Dream at the end of March with my to be 18 yr old daughter. We did our research and are aware the Dream is older. We are going for the time together, the experience and the chance to travel together one last time before she is off to college. We are not into partying and glitz, but into the travel and relaxation.... Can't wait for Spring Break on the Dream.... I'm sure we will get out of the trip what we put into it!:D

[shoreguy]

I am not trying to ruin anything for anyone. The purpose in posting is so that others whose image of an ideal ship has shifted like mine might avoid a potentially underwhelming experience. Moreover, my comments are not all negative. After I posted I poked around in the forums and was surprised to read what some folks encountered on other ships in terms of greasy railings, poop in pools, and poor service. The Dream was nicely clean everywhere, which requires hard work to keep up with. The food and service in the Four Seasons was great (yummy oyster fritters, crab hot and sour soup, Chicken creole etc).

 

It is good to read about the newer ships already afloat and the ones coming, thank you posters. It means I do not have to write NCL off, just that the Dream wasn't the ship for me.

 

Had you stopped by here before you booked and cruised the Dream much of what you found would not have been a surprise, In my view the biggest cause of disappointment on a cruise is unrealistic expectations.

 

The Dream was an outstanding ship in the early 90's. I remember be docked next to a new Monarch of the Seas thinking she was ridiculously large at Gross Tonnage: 73,941 half the size of todays newest ships.

[jmcdon7230]

This review was nearly a "dog bites man" story.

 

The real shocker would have been "The Dream blows the Conquest and the Destiny out of the water....I'll never cruise Carnival again!"

 

Soon the Dream, Majesty, and Crown will be gone and so will most of these "I'll never cruise NCL again" reviews.

[LaJollaCruiser]

Please remember this place is called "cruise critic"

 

Not everyone is going to say everything was beyond "wonderful"

 

Thought OP gave an honest review as he saw it....silly to even say he was trying to ruin it for everyone else.........gosh!!:mad:

 

Look up "critic" in a dictionary. It does not mean to criticize in a negative way or to find fault.

[billeelou]

First of all, I book off "kids season" been there, done that...wanted a ship that:

A. didn't have a floating shopping mall feel

b. Did not overhwelm the stop( you put 5,000 folks on an island of 15,000 all you are going to see is other cruisers )

c. Not have to dress up/regimented activities

d and $267.oo for two for a weeks worth of cruisin' ( Card PointsNCL)

 

I am 54 spousal is 39, will dance, sing, and party like a rock star until 10:30pm...then to bed so we can scuba dive at the ports, load up on stuff( liberate T shirts! etc.) We Work out at the gym, run on the decks, tan, play volleyball, and meet folks...I've seen the 13-19 year olds running amuck and don't want to live it again. When I compete in sports, its with the 30 plus crowd, I am not trying to impress some 23 year old about how I "dig" for the Ball...I do Vegas once or twice a year, so Vegas is what Glitzy Vegas should be, and cruisin is what cruisin should be

 

Even with the negatives, this was a good review..told me what I wanted to hear, small ship, good food,few kids, clean, good staff...

6 more days til I'll be cruisin!!

[calmac]

First of all, I book off "kids season" been there, done that...wanted a ship that:

A. didn't have a floating shopping mall feel

b. Did not overhwelm the stop( you put 5,000 folks on an island of 15,000 all you are going to see is other cruisers )

c. Not have to dress up/regimented activities

d and $267.oo for two for a weeks worth of cruisin' ( Card PointsNCL)

 

I am 54 spousal is 39, will dance, sing, and party like a rock star until 10:30pm...then to bed so we can scuba dive at the ports, load up on stuff( liberate T shirts! etc.) We Work out at the gym, run on the decks, tan, play volleyball, and meet folks...I've seen the 13-19 year olds running amuck and don't want to live it again. When I compete in sports, its with the 30 plus crowd, I am not trying to impress some 23 year old about how I "dig" for the Ball...I do Vegas once or twice a year, so Vegas is what Glitzy Vegas should be, and cruisin is what cruisin should be

 

Even with the negatives, this was a good review..told me what I wanted to hear, small ship, good food,few kids, clean, good staff...

6 more days til I'll be cruisin!!

 

You've done your homework and should have a great cruise. We've found the crew and officers on the Dream to be some of the friendliest afloat!

[AZaTaz]

One who tends to make harsh or carping judgments; a faultfinder.

[Host CMLA]

We just did the Texarribbean out of Houston.

Thanks for your review. Make sure to submit it to the official Review Section of Cruise Critic so your comments and ratings can be included in the ship's rating.

Please remember this place is called "cruise critic" Not everyone is going to say everything was beyond "wonderful"

As noted, critic is not always a negative thing. Funny, you never see anyone reminding people that this site has critic in the name when people say good things. :D

[Don Haynes]

I have sailed out of Houston with three different NCL ships and one Carnival ship within the past few years. One of the problems with a Houston departure other than the largest petrochemical complex nearby has been most of the cruises have a similar itinerary.

 

While Royal Caribbean and Carnival tend to go east west, NCL has continued to go north south, with Cozumel being the one port of call on every cruise lines' itinerary.

 

While everyone likes Cozumel, I have read complaints about the Jamaicans are to forceful, actually seeing Grand Caymen is a crap shoot, Roatan is not developed, Belize is too dangerous, Calica is a rock pit, and Progresso is a filthy fishing port. All I can say is welcome to the third world.

[newmexicoNita]

We just did the Texarribbean out of Houston. We had a couple of days of rough weather; that certainly wasn't NCL's fault, but it did cancel the stop at Progresso, which is the only port that i had not already been to.

This was my tenth cruise. The most recent two were on the Carnival Conquest and the Carnival Destiny. I really liked those ships, so what i thought of the Dream was viewed through that prism.

I knew it was a smaller ship, but I had done the Majesty so I figured it had to be bigger and better than that. The Dream felt small though, in several ways.

On Conquest class ships, there is a real "Sports Bar", with mutiple TVs. I am not a big sports guy, but I have always been able to convince the staff to put on "Survivor" for me etc. The Dream just hung a few banners on the wall back at their cattle car buffet, and declared it a "sports bar". There were a couple of TVs back in the corners, but they were low resolution cheapo sets, and one could not hear anything at all.

The buffet dining ratio of chow lines to passengers was cocked. One had to go to 12 aft or the tiny "Pizza Bar" on the main pool deck. The lines were always too long, the selection poor, they ran out of stuff like coffee that I never saw happen once on Carnival.

The pizza was tired looking pepperoni only. On Conquest ships, one can at almost any time of day get gourmet pizza, and it is pretty good.

On the Conquest, after the show, we would mosey on up to the deli, which was also open almost all the time, and get a fine snack like a reuben. The Dream had no such thing. The pizza bar closes early, leaving one ONLY the choice of 12 aft, which remember is supposedly doubling as a sports bar.

The main hall, the Stardust Lounge, is too small, and filled up way more quickly than others I have been on. I only saw one show, one of those salute to Cruising things, and it was pretty rinky dink.

The average passenger on the ship was rounding third. My 17 year old was miserable; he was looking forward to repeating a Carnival experience, instead there were almost no teens on the boat, and there certainly was nothing like the dazzling disco on the Conquest ships.

I like inside rooms, because I sleep great in them. This one was ridiculously small. (I still slept great though, no window light, and the soothing hum of the engines).

It used to be that the breakfast menu would rotate, with things like Spanish omlettes and huevos rancheros cycling around. No more. The breakfast menu is static.

The free rum punch drinks at the mutli time cruiser party, and on deck one day to make up for the missed port and rough seas, had almost no detectable alcohol in them.

The mutli time cruiser benefit of a certain bar on ship where Latitudes members can drink a little cheaper, has vanished.

The casino is too small. I like it that on the Conquest ships, they are huge, and I can see a window. I don't like tiny tomblike ones.

This isn't specific to NCL, but the dealers were all pretty miserable. Part of the fun of blackjack is that it is a friendly game, and a funny dealer can make all the difference. This group looked like they all wanted to jump off the back and get it over with. They are made to work too many hours.

On the brighter side, rest of the staff on the boat were all very nice, more or less cheerful, and hard workers. Housekeeping was great, the food in the Four Seasons was very good and so was the service. We did the Tratorrie for the first time since I did not want the filet mignon or the lobster in the Main that night, and it was a very good experience.

I had previously done NCL Sea, Sky, and Majesty, but those were all before I did the Conquest ships. I know I waving the pom poms for Carnival here, but I like those Vegas glitzy ships, and a crowd that that doesn't have one foot in the grave. I will be giving NC a rest after this one.

if you like the glitz and glamour you would probably love the newer NCL ships, but trying to compare the Conquest ships to ships like the Dream is worse than apples to oranges. I am surprised to hear you make comments about the age of the Dream clientele, usually NCL has quite a mixture of ages especially going out of Texas. Maybe you hit the older crowd because of the time of year. With this certainly being anything but school break time and the Dream being a smaller ship I would not expect there to be many kids for your son to hang with.

 

As for the BlackJack dealers, I can sympathize with you: one of the reasons DH doesn't gamble on ships is the attitude of the dealers both at the BJ table and the crap table: never very friendly. I find the cashieres about the same in many cases. Only once on a Celebrity cruise and again on the Jewel did I find smiley faces in the casino.

 

It is too bad when a cruise or ship doesn't measure up to expectations; we have all had this happen, but it sounds like you found a few positive things to post. Others have pointed out, in her day the Dream like the Sea before her was a wonderful ship, but time takes a toll on the ships just like it does on us. Of course the prices being charge reflect this; I hope your next cruise is everything you hope for and do remember research and taking price into consideration will help prepare you for what to expect. NMnita

[ce2000]

Before booking a cruise do you always come here and checkout what is being said on the boards. I have been on 5 cruises and have never done this. I always have high expectations for my cruise vacations, and I have enjoyed each one. I am considering an Oct. 2007 cruise at this time, and looking at the Mexican Riviera cruise on the Golden Princess or the Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Valor. I have been on 4 Caribbean/Bahama cruises but have not been to Belize, or Costa Maya. I have never been on a Mexican Riviera cruise, so am leaning more in that direction at this time. What specifically are you looking for on these boards before you decide to book the cruise. BTW, for me price is a consideration, but not the main consideration, is it yours? Thanks, I am interested in anyones opinion on this.

[RobertScottMason]

We really liked Costa Maya last year. It was a backup port since Cozumel had just been flattened again by a hurricane. It is a long , good quality beach with bar hut establishments, and lots of shaded tables and chairs. Setting aside the fact that I got sun poisoning for the first time in my life (unbelievable chills, teeth chattering, hit about 2 hours after leaving beach), Costa Maya is alot of fun, if you are cool with sort of one continuous interlocked beach party. I liked it alot more than the Carlos and Charlie interior tourist party, and it was much cheaper drinking.

Price is only one factor I look at btw. From here on, chasing newer, huger ships will be the main concern.