Someone sell me on either the NCL Sea or Dream...

[jimbug]

Hello,

I took my first cruise this summer on the Sapphire Princess to Alaska and became addicted to cruising. We are now planning a trip next spring to the Caribbean and I am amazed at the low prices coming up for the Sea out of Houston and the Dream out of New Orleans.

 

We live in driving distance of the Houston port and can get really cheap airfare to New Orleans...either is fine with us. Our ports limit us to the Carnival Elation or Conquest...the Grand Princess...RCL Rhapsody of the Seas...or these 2 NCL ships.

 

I need some NCL faithfuls to give me some good reasons why I should choose one of these over the other cruise lines. (And which ship is better, in your opinion....) From my limited research, I see that the Sea is very old and small...and the Dream has no central atrium (that seems dull to me). However, that said, I am still VERY open to cruising either of these ships and need some input as to why I should, other than just the low prices! :-)

 

Thanks so much for your information!

[like2cruise]

I recommend cruising the Dream for 3 reasons

1-Itinerary

2-Itinerar

3-Itinerary

Well at least that is why I booked the Dream. I would prefer a newer and at least a little larger ship, but the decision has to be based on what is most important to you and in this case for us it was itinerary. We LOVE Roatan and wanted to go back. We have never been to Cancun or cruised out of New Orleans. We cruise a fair amount and on each trip our priority is something different. I have been on every size of ship and on most of the main cruise lines...and I can honestly say I have never not had a great cruise. It all depends on your approach. We think each trip is a blessing and go an enjoy whatever that ship, staff and itinerary have to offer. I wish you only the best. Happy cruising!

[Host CMLA]

From my limited research, I see that the Sea is very old and small...and the Dream has no central atrium (that seems dull to me).

I've cruised ont he Dream 4 times and I liked it. I haven't been on the Sea. As for the Dream not having an atrium...that is true. But how much time do you spend in the atrium? If you choose the Dream, it's a good ship. I'm sure the Sea will be too. If I were you, I'd choose on itinerary and price. Oh, and the Dream has a few years on her too...built in the early 90's I think.

[like2cruise]

Dream was built in 1992 to be exact :-) Stretched in 1998.

[kadao]

We went on the Sapphire Princess for the pre-Inaugural cruise and then a week later went on the SEA! I loved the Sapphire, so big and new. But I also loved the SEA, older and smaller. It had great atmosphere and the ports were great, and I would definatly go on it again. We were on the Carnival Elation a few years ago and between the three I would probably choose the SEA or Princess and then Carnival. The RCC cruise we went on was okay, not as good as the others. I guess alot depends on personal preference. But I wanted you to know that just because we had sailed on the brand new Sapphire, we were not disappointed with the NCL SEA.

[ute_fan]

My first cruise in January was on the Sea -- I know what you mean about it being addicting!!! My only two cruises have been on NCL ships -- the Sea and the Sun. The Sea will not be nearly as glitzy as the Sapphire Princess. It is an older ship, and the rooms are small (our inside stateroom was about 114 sq. ft.). There are small wear spots showing in various places, but the crew does a very good job of keeping her clean and polished.

 

If I lived in Houston, I would have no qualms at all about going on the Sea again. We thought the food was wonderful, and for us, the smaller size of ship was an advantage since she was our first cruise. The crew was extremely friendly and gave what we thought was excellent service. The production shows were great, and the cruise director (Kevin) did a good job of providing entertainment on the ship.

 

The only downside I can see is going from (what I presume to be) a bigger, newer ship back in time. Some friends of ours took his boss on a cruise on the NCL Sun for their first cruise, which they loved. Their second was on the Sea & seemed a step or two backwards to them, and they weren't particularly impressed. Would I go back to the Sea -- if the price and itinerary were right I sure would, but I would do so knowing not to expect all the frills of the newer ships.

[98Charlie]

We have sailed on the Majesty (Dec 02), Norway (Mar 03), Wind (Feb 04) and Sea (May 04). We have enjoyed them all. The Sea can best be described as "cozy". It is easy to get around the ship, friendly staff and we enjoyed the ports of call.

 

I believe that next year it is to be sold over to Orient next spring. The one thing that DW and I noticed was that maintainance was not as obvious as on other NCL ships. The others had constant painting of the hull in port and lots of continuing work being done at sea.

 

Don't take this to mean that the ship was run down. However we wondered if they were just doing the minimum before the refurbishing and transfer to Orient.

 

If we had the opportunity we would not hesitate to take the cruise again.

[mswolffan]

We booked the Dream for the itiniary - Roitan, Belize and Cancun sounded better than the eastern Carribbean ports - our only other cruise was on the Carnival Holiday -- and anything would be an improvement over that cruise (but I won't beat a dead horse!). And I like the idea of free-style dining so we are looking forward to trying her out.

[sportsterjohn]

I have been on both the Dream and the Sea recently. IMHO the Dream was much better than the Sea. Having said that though, I would not hesitate to get back on the Sea if a good deal came along.

[tawcat]

Lot of good points about the bigger newer ships I am sure. But consider that the newer and bigger means more pax. The Sea is smaller with a pax capacity of somewhere around 1500. If the ship rather than itinerary is the reason you sail you may be disappointed with the Sea. I believe it is a great value for the $$$. And especially if you can drive rather than fly to the port. Living in Arkansas it is cheaper to drive, DW has a VW that gets great mileage. As for driving time, believe it or not, we can make from our door to the port in about 7.5 - 8 hours. If ya figure the time you have to get up to be at the airport the required 1.5 - 2 hours prior to flight etc. it ends up taking just about the same amount of time to fly. I say go Sea I don't think you will be disappointed.

[johnql]

As others have already pointed out, much of your decision will depend on what you value, what you're really looking for in a cruise or ship. If the ship is your destination, I would say the Sea is just okay. Her smaller size does lend itself to a more intimate atmosphere. But there are limited dining options, compared to a ship like the Dawn. The regular cabins are very small with very compact showers and bathrooms. I also didn't like the poor traffic flow in the buffet. If the itinerary is your priority, I don't think you'll be too disappointed in the ship. So, if the price is right and the itinerary is appealing, I say go for it.

[chip brady]

We just returned from 12 days on the dream a few weeks ago. This was our

5th sailing with NCL. However due to their terrible public relations and total lack of concern for customers probably our last. The dream is spotless clean and probably the nicest crew we have ever had. The ship is the smallest we have ever sailed. The Atrium is a dark little place and not pleasant at all. However how much time are you there?

Our balcony was very small, but suficient. Our room steward was wonderful and checked room twice a day. The food was terrific and the dining room service the best we have ever had at sea.

If you book the dream, I would suggest that you not book on the front half of the ship. When it was stretched, you now have to either walk through the 4 seasons dining room or thru the Show Lounge to get to everything you want to do!! We had a room at the very back of the ship and had no problems.We were on deck 8 and it was convienient to almost everything. There is no library. I agree with what others have said here. The itinerary is great and crew and food are too, so go and have a great time. The worst cruise I ever took was WONDERFUL.

 

Chip Brady cb2052@earthlink.net

[mikefast]

I have been on both the Sea and the Rhapsody. The Sea Dec. 2003, and the Rhapsody in October 2001, and September 2002. If the Sea would be your first cruise, I'd recommend it but if you have been on a newer, bigger ship, I would do a little thinking first. Our first cruise was on the Rhapsody, and our fourth cruise was on the Sea. I must say we were a little disappointed in the Sea, but like you said the prices are so great that it was hard to turn down. If you want to see some pics of both the Rhapsody and the Sea, I have a number of them at www.picturetrail.com/mikefast2 The Sea had much better entertainment, but the buffet was far better on the Rhapsody. The Rhapsody had a much better selection of food for both breakfast and lunch. As far as dinner in the restaurants, they were both pretty close. The Rhapsody has a beautiful atrium with a lot of chairs for just people watching, the Sea had no atrium to speak of at all, just a little two story fountain, and a couple of benches to sit on. Not very comfortable at all. If you go to the pics, the Rhapsody pics are in the albums titled Royal Caribbean Cruise, and Victory Class Cruise. The Sea pics are in the album titled NCL cruise Dec. 2003. If you have any questions that I can answer, feel free to e-mail me, and I will do my best to answer them. I became addicted to cruising after my first cruise and to my way of thinking there is no bad cruise