Dream Review, Boston to Bermuda, June 8th (super long!)

[Cubechick]

Cubechick -

 

Have you ever thought of becoming a travel writer? Your excellent description of the Dream and Bermuda were great to read. We had our doubts about our upcoming cruise on the Dream on August 10, but now we know we made the right decision.:D

 

Just a few questions:

 

Everyone gets a glass of champagne on boarding? Awesome!

 

I assume the bottle in your room is only for VIP's, correct?

 

How long and/or difficult is the walk to Tobacco Bay? If we had one place to snorkel, would it be a good choice?

 

If you had one place to grab some "pub grub", would you pick the Frog and Onion, White Horse Tavern, or Swizzle Inn? We've been to Bermuda twice and, of course, never missed an opportunity to experience the Swizzle Inn. Our budget is tight, and we may only get to select one on-shore eatery this time, and want to make the best choice possible?

 

Can't wait until our turn!:D

 

Thanks for the lovely compliment!

 

Yes, everyone gets a glass of champagne at embarkation.

 

You know, I'm not sure if the champagne was a Gold perk or a room perk. The Dream treated the CC as a mini-suite, and I'm not sure if the mini's get champagne now under 2.0?? We did have a lovely fruit basket delivered with a bottle of wine, and that I'm sure was a VIP thing.

 

From the Dream the walk to Tobacco Bay is about 15-20 minutes. About 1/3 of the walk is uphill. We do it every year without a problem. As far as one place to snorkel? Tobacco Bay does have great snorkeling, but can get "towel to towel", especially if there are two ships in port. Achilles Bay, which is a tiny beach that is positioned between Fort St. Catherine and a pub called Blackbeard's Hideout, has excellent snorkeling as well. Although the beach is small, it doesn't get crowded as it seems that a lot of people don't know about it.

 

As for your one pub dining experience, it depends on what you're looking for. We love the Swizzle Inn for both it's "pub grub" and it's beverages, namely the rum swizzle. However if you're more in it for the food than drink, the White Horse has a more comprehensive menu that goes beyond pub fare. And the seating on the water is lovely.

 

HTH! I hope you have a great time on your cruise!

 

Cube

[Lisa63]

Thank you for taking the time to write a review. I was also on the May CTN and am glad to hear that many of the kinks have been worked out.

 

Watching N. Majesty go through Town Cut must have been amazing! I've done that trip several times on N. Majesty, and once on Dreamward (pre-stretch), and saw N. Crown go through a few years ago.

 

Thanks again!

[dhkhth]

Hi Cubechic, I am glad you had a great cruise. Just curious what cabin # you were in? We are on deck 9, and CC outside cabin. There are 3 adults in the room, is there enough room?

Thanks for the great review.

[paiagirl]

Thank you for your review. I was worried when reading the reviews on the CTN since we'll be on it in Oct. It was disappointing to read the bad reviews since we were on the Dream in May, 2007 and we had the best crew. Am so glad that it has improved a lot from your first experience.

 

Do you know if Gose, from Macedonia, was the stir fry cook at the Sport's buffet? He always knew how I wanted mine done.

 

Was there a complete change of crew members?

 

Thanks.

[Cubechick]

Hi Cubechic, I am glad you had a great cruise. Just curious what cabin # you were in? We are on deck 9, and CC outside cabin. There are 3 adults in the room, is there enough room?

Thanks for the great review.

 

We were in cabin 9007. You're in the largest cabin that isn't a suite so you can't be in a better room. At night, when the loveseat is opened into a bed, it would be a tighter fit, but I imagine doable. Since we didn't use the pullout bed, I'm can't speak to how comfortable they are, or what is don't with the table and chairs.

 

There is plenty of storage space. There are only 3 or 4 drawers, but plenty of shelves in the closet. Although the bathroom is tiny, again there are enough shelves for everyone to tuck their stuff.

 

HTH!

[Cubechick]

Do you know if Gose, from Macedonia, was the stir fry cook at the Sport's buffet? He always knew how I wanted mine done.

 

Was there a complete change of crew members?

 

Thanks.

 

Unfortunately we didn't eat much in the buffet, so I don't know. I do know that a lot of the crew left the ship after the repositioning cruise, hence a lot of the problems that we experienced on the CTN.

 

However, I did see some familiar faces between that May and June cruises.

[paiagirl]

Thank you for your reply.

[Cubechick]

I received a question elsewhere about the entertainment around the ship which reminded me that I forgot to mention one thing in my review that I meant to.

 

We'd seen posts on CC about the "quiet areas" on the ships and about mellow music being played pool side. I guess in my mind I thought that the low key tunes were for the quiet area.

 

At least on the Dream this was not the case. The aft pool on deck 9 was the designated quiet area with no music playing.

 

The main pool area had a three piece band crooning Sinatra tunes and music of that genre. I have to admit that we didn't care for this at all. No offense to Frank (I loved hearing his music in the Star Bar aboard the Gem), but being at sea, steaming toward a beach vacation with a fruity umbrella drink in your hand calls for up tempo Caribbean music.

 

I know a lot of people seem to like the new "mellow" poolside experience but for us, it really didn't work at all.

 

Just my two cents!

[SGC777]

Can anyone tell me if you can walk to Tobacco Beach or Achille's Bay from where the NCL Majesty is usually docked? Any ideas for excursions to take "on our own"? We are travelling with our 3 children and are hoping to cut some expenses. We love the beaches and snorkeling.

 

Also, can anyone confirm if NCL still offers the Onshore Dining program for the NCL Majesty? She will be on the 7/5 cruise.

[Cubechick]

Can anyone tell me if you can walk to Tobacco Beach or Achille's Bay from where the NCL Majesty is usually docked? Any ideas for excursions to take "on our own"? We are travelling with our 3 children and are hoping to cut some expenses. We love the beaches and snorkeling.

 

Also, can anyone confirm if NCL still offers the Onshore Dining program for the NCL Majesty? She will be on the 7/5 cruise.

 

From the Majesty, Tobacco Bay is a 10-15 minute walk and Achilles Bay is about 5 minutes beyond that. (Depending on how quickly you walk.) If your children are young, you may want to opt for a cab from the pier as the walk to Tobacco Bay is uphill 2/3 of the way and the roads are narrow.

 

As far as the Dine Ashore program, that is no more. NCL couldn't reach an agreement with the restaurants in Bermuda. However you will have a booklet in your stateroom listing restaurants for each parrish and some of them do offer a discount if you show your ship's card. The Carriage House is one of them, offering a 10% discount.

 

HTH,

Cube

[sunluva7]

I've read somewhere on these boards that there is a local bus in St. George's that will shuttle you around town for $2. If so, will they drop you off at Tobacco Bay or Achille's Bay?

[welove2cruise232]

Will I have a problem using my 1875 watt blow dryer in the cabin?

[chipsmom]

SUNLUVA

Yes there is a mini bus system, I thought it was 3 $ pp each way, but I don't remember. I took it to the Tab Bay beach. Then a taxi back because they showed up first. They are located in the Town Square and the visitor center will help you.

:D

[sunluva7]

Thanks, Chipsmom! The St. George's mini-bus sounds like a great convenient option.:) The Cruise Critic Bermuda review had this blurb about it:

• 
  

"For $2, hop on the year round St. George's Mini-Bus from 7:30 a.m. to midnight for getting around St. George Parish and St, David's Island. They leave from King's Square -- but you can flag them down along the roadway."

 

Sounds good to me.:D

[electricron]

Will I have a problem using my 1875 watt blow dryer in the cabin?

 

The only NCL ship with a 500 Watt limitation in the cabin's power is the Spirit. All other NCL ships can handle your 1875 Watt blow dryer.

[cruizinwithkids]

Glad you enjoyed this cruise. I'm still hoping for a last minute bargain on a convenient week.

[welove2cruise232]

Glad you enjoyed this cruise. I'm still hoping for a last minute bargain on a convenient week.

 

Check out the prices right now for when we're going -- they've REALLY come down, and there's still quite a bit of availability!!

[mthayer295]

Can you tell me how much it costs for parking at Black Falcon for the week?

[CruisFran]

Parking $15 per day. Check out www.massport.com, click on ports, then cruiseport for all the info.