NCL Dream - July 6

[WinnipesaukeeLady]

I have been closely following the posts on this board for several months and have been anxiously reading anything about the Dream in anticipation of my cruise on 7/6. The negative comments were a bit unsettling, but there were also some excellent reviews for me to consider. This was my twelfth NCL cruise and my sixteenth overall. It is so wonderful to look forward to a cruise! It's exciting even when it is your 16th cruise.

 

I decided to post this for the cruisers who are now in that delightful anticipation state of mind. We had cruised on the Dream about ten years ago in the Caribbean and looked forward to another cruise on her. We were thrilled to hear that the Dream was sailing out of Boston, and we had an absolutely wonderful time last week. You have a lot to look forward to!

 

Here is my personal opinion on some of the issues that have been discussed:

 

The ship - yes it is a somewhat confusing ship to navigate. I enjoyed to novelty of trying to find my way around. It was an adventure that didn't stay an adventure for long. It is a small ship and it doesn't take long to learn how to get from one place to another. The broken up travel paths make for some cozier smaller public areas that I really enjoyed. I loved the aft pool and the view from a higher deck looking at the pool and the ship's wake. Near the other pool there was a great area for dancing. There were lots of quiet areas in which to just relax.

We were in an outside room on deck 6 and loved our room. It definitely larger than rooms we have had on the Majesty. There was plenty of storage space in the closet and in the bathroom.

The ship was clean!

The reported incident with a diabetic passenger not getting a refrigerator is unacceptable.

 

Checking in - We got there at about 1:00 and were on the ship by 1:45. The latitudes line was long, but it moved quickly.

 

Debarkation - Very smooth. Did not do express.

 

Food - This is a matter of taste, obviously. I enjoyed every dinner. My husband thought the food was "better than ever." We ate in the Bistro once and it was wonderful. The Terraces and Sun Terraces dining rooms have beautiful views. The Sports Bar buffet was only mediocre and was crowded. I don't like buffets anyway. We always took our food down to Sun Terraces where it was quiet, easy to get to, and with great ocean views. There was always an excellent lunch barbecue on the pool deck and that is also close to the seating in Sun Terraces. The Sports Bar did provide some delicious sandwiches and my husband loves the Indian food. We brought zip lock bags and brought the sandwiches to the beach.

They always had an omelette station and a waffle station for breakfast. I loved the waffles. NCL has improved their recipe. The waffles are much lighter.

 

Service - OK - I admit it. The service was not what we have enjoyed on previous NCL cruises. Our room steward was fabulous. I do not know what the ratio of service providers to passengers was, but I sensed that they were a little overwhelmed at times. Possibly they were stretched too thin, but they responded to our requests as well as they could (I felt). They responded graciously to friendliness and were (in my opinion) trying to do their best. We still enjoyed our dining time and the food.

 

Teenagers - Before I mention teenagers, I will say that there were many children on the ship who were well behaved. We spent some time with about 5 ten year olds in the hot tub and enjoyed their company. If they had annoyed us, I would have asked them to leave. I also encountered some children in the pool who were well behaved and with their parents.

We did observe some absolutely offensive behavior of teenagers. We enjoy dancing and we tried to enjoy this one night in the disco until about 2 am. Older children were buying alcohol for young teenagers. The place (small) was crowded with drunk teenagers whose bumping/grinding dancing was overtly sexual and offensive. They crowded the dance floor and would not make room for us older (but nonetheless cool :D ) dancers on the small dance floor. I did write a long report of this (on the "How can we make your cruise better" form) and gave it to the concierge. I did notice more security after that.

 

There has been much discussion about whose responsibility this is. I felt that there needed to be a security person present in the disco to prevent younger teens drinking (a legal issue). I teach in a very nice community and we always have a police officer present at school dances to prevent it getting that wild. That same logic should apply to the disco on a cruise ship. I am also amazed that parents allow their young teens (many were in the 14-15 range) to wander the ship after midnight. I think there needs to be a rule that parents sign that states that children can't be at large on the ship after midnight without a parent. I believe that the responsibility should be shared by parents and the cruise line. We have experienced this on other cruise ships also, but have found it to be less of a problem on larger ships that have room for a separate teen area.

 

As teachers we are forced to cruise when the kids cruise and don't have the option of going when school is in session.

 

Entertainment - not as good, but not that important to us. We didn't use the casino. The DJ was not good, didn't seem to care about the disco disaster, and cut the deck party short (something we love). Blackstreet Boys were moderately funny. That's about all we did for entertainment, so I am not a good one to report on this category.

 

Communication - the captain spoke several times about the impending hurricane (Bertha). He was reassuring. On the 2nd to last day we were asked to return to the ship by 6PM in case we needed to leave early. Most people, including us, seemed to expect that we would just leave Thursday instead of Friday. Much to our surprise, we departed at about 6:45 and went to Hamilton. This was a treat for me, because I have always been in St. George or King's Wharf. I thought it was great that NCL did this. Everyone would have understood if they left Thursday, considering the weather forecast. Kudos to NCL for making this extra effort.

 

Cruise tip: If your cruise is on the same time schedule as ours was (it should), you will pass near Long Island at about 6 PM on Saturday. We found a sport in a bar with floor to ceiling windows and pulled up two chairs. A lower deck is better for this. We were treated to the sight of about 10 dolphins leaping through the waves. Then another five, then 10, and then about 50! In a period of an hour we saw well over 100 dolphins up fairly close. We also saw whales in the distance. A wonderful experience. Ask ship personnel to find out the time for this. Don't miss it!

 

Bermuda- Glorious! Magnificent!

 

I wish all of you future Dreamers a fabulous cruise. We had a great time.

[mthayer295]

thanks for the details. We have also previously cruised on Dream in the Baltic Sea and Kiel Canal. We depart for Bermuda on the 27th and I am looking forward to it. We did the Bermuda cruise on Majesty last year and frankly i was disappointed with the Majesty. I know it has a loyal following but I found it too small and sorely in need of a refreshment. I did enjoy the convenience of leaving from Boston and the beautiful island of Bermuda. I think food is very subjective. When you read this list you don't know if food critique is coming from someone who frequents Chilli's or Capital Grille. The same really applies to entertainment - people just have very different tastes and interest. As for the unruly teenagers - that is something that is annoying to everyone. I think there needs to be stricter enforcement by ship security of inappropriate behavior and agree with another poster on a different thread who suggested imposing fines.

[Nikolle2]

Thank you so much for your VERY helpful review!!!!

[B4andAFT]

I, too, thank you for your detailed report. We are sailing in October so the "teen" issue shouldn't affect us (hopefully). We're looking forward to sailing on the Dream before it leaves the fleet. Last year we sailed on the Crown and, the year before, on the Majesty. I'm assuming our experience on the Dream will be just as good! :)

[Alzarine]

I will also be sailing on the 27th and sincerely thank you for a fair and balanced commentary. You have pointed out the pluses, the minuses, and addressed ideas for making the Dream's operation better.

 

What more can we ask for ??? Good job, WinnipesaukeeLady :)

 

Hopefully, no one will try to skewer you for mentioning any minuses ....:eek:

[Carnac767]

Nice review. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

[Purple4343]

Thank you for the information. This will be my second cruise and my father's first (he is going to be 78 when we cruise). I hope we have a wonderful time like you did.

:D

[Boat_Drinks]

Excellent review Winnipesaukeelady! :)

 

Like you, we found the dolphins and whales on the return trip one of the hilights of the trip! We spent at least 2-3 hours on the forward part of Deck 8 watching them, got some magnificent pictures. I just wish the whales had come a bit closer or breached for a photo-op.

 

Do you happen to recall what time they started the non-Express debarkation? We didn't allow enough time for the Express people, and when they hadn't even started "normal" debarkation we had to find our way off at 9am. Was it much after 9am that they started "normal" debarkation (for future reference, so I can allow additional time before having the limo show up and wait)?

[Smellytoes]

Was the aft pool adults only??

[Boat_Drinks]

Was the aft pool adults only??

 

Sadly, no. It was called the Quiet Pool if I recall correctly, but only because there was no live music, there were kids everywhere. Still, it was probably the better of the two pool areas, kids or not.

[WonderMan3]

Whenever I was near that pool I always saw kids there. I thought I read that it was a "quiet area" but not adults only. I didn't spend enough time there to determine if it indeed was quiet.

 

I did love the adults only pool on Princess. Do any NCL ships offer that?

[AnnieB925]

Thank you for taking the time to write a review of your recent cruise on the Dream. We'll be going in October and are looking forward to it. We'll make the best of whatever comes our way, as long as Bermuda is our destination!!! Thanks again.

[WinnipesaukeeLady]

I think that the express debarkation took place between 8:30 and 9. Probably more toward 9:00.

 

The aft pool did have many kids, but they all seemed to have parents with them. That makes all the difference.

 

I did mention negatives, but they most certainly did not interfere with having a great time. I hope that all of you who will be cruising on the Dream also have a wonderful time.

[cantin2]

Winnepesaukee Lady..........

Thanks for your great review....Looking forward to sailing on the 27th.....Will look for the dolphins off LI.....We love the small ships that sail Bermuda - even if they don't have all the super entertainment and are in need of refurbishing....

It's the experience and the time in Bermuda is "non-clock watching" as the other ships that cruise to a new port every day for a few hours.....

My favorite cruise - no matter on which ship............Again thanks for taking the time to report.

Jeannine

[CanadianTwosome]

I have been closely following the posts on this board for several months and have been anxiously reading anything about the Dream in anticipation of my cruise on 7/6. The negative comments were a bit unsettling, but there were also some excellent reviews for me to consider. This was my twelfth NCL cruise and my sixteenth overall. It is so wonderful to look forward to a cruise! It's exciting even when it is your 16th cruise.

 

I decided to post this for the cruisers who are now in that delightful anticipation state of mind. We had cruised on the Dream about ten years ago in the Caribbean and looked forward to another cruise on her. We were thrilled to hear that the Dream was sailing out of Boston, and we had an absolutely wonderful time last week. You have a lot to look forward to!

 

Here is my personal opinion on some of the issues that have been discussed:

 

The ship - yes it is a somewhat confusing ship to navigate. I enjoyed to novelty of trying to find my way around. It was an adventure that didn't stay an adventure for long. It is a small ship and it doesn't take long to learn how to get from one place to another. The broken up travel paths make for some cozier smaller public areas that I really enjoyed. I loved the aft pool and the view from a higher deck looking at the pool and the ship's wake. Near the other pool there was a great area for dancing. There were lots of quiet areas in which to just relax.

We were in an outside room on deck 6 and loved our room. It definitely larger than rooms we have had on the Majesty. There was plenty of storage space in the closet and in the bathroom.

The ship was clean!

The reported incident with a diabetic passenger not getting a refrigerator is unacceptable.

 

Checking in - We got there at about 1:00 and were on the ship by 1:45. The latitudes line was long, but it moved quickly.

 

Debarkation - Very smooth. Did not do express.

 

Food - This is a matter of taste, obviously. I enjoyed every dinner. My husband thought the food was "better than ever." We ate in the Bistro once and it was wonderful. The Terraces and Sun Terraces dining rooms have beautiful views. The Sports Bar buffet was only mediocre and was crowded. I don't like buffets anyway. We always took our food down to Sun Terraces where it was quiet, easy to get to, and with great ocean views. There was always an excellent lunch barbecue on the pool deck and that is also close to the seating in Sun Terraces. The Sports Bar did provide some delicious sandwiches and my husband loves the Indian food. We brought zip lock bags and brought the sandwiches to the beach.

They always had an omelette station and a waffle station for breakfast. I loved the waffles. NCL has improved their recipe. The waffles are much lighter.

 

Service - OK - I admit it. The service was not what we have enjoyed on previous NCL cruises. Our room steward was fabulous. I do not know what the ratio of service providers to passengers was, but I sensed that they were a little overwhelmed at times. Possibly they were stretched too thin, but they responded to our requests as well as they could (I felt). They responded graciously to friendliness and were (in my opinion) trying to do their best. We still enjoyed our dining time and the food.

 

Teenagers - Before I mention teenagers, I will say that there were many children on the ship who were well behaved. We spent some time with about 5 ten year olds in the hot tub and enjoyed their company. If they had annoyed us, I would have asked them to leave. I also encountered some children in the pool who were well behaved and with their parents.

We did observe some absolutely offensive behavior of teenagers. We enjoy dancing and we tried to enjoy this one night in the disco until about 2 am. Older children were buying alcohol for young teenagers. The place (small) was crowded with drunk teenagers whose bumping/grinding dancing was overtly sexual and offensive. They crowded the dance floor and would not make room for us older (but nonetheless cool :D ) dancers on the small dance floor. I did write a long report of this (on the "How can we make your cruise better" form) and gave it to the concierge. I did notice more security after that.

 

There has been much discussion about whose responsibility this is. I felt that there needed to be a security person present in the disco to prevent younger teens drinking (a legal issue). I teach in a very nice community and we always have a police officer present at school dances to prevent it getting that wild. That same logic should apply to the disco on a cruise ship. I am also amazed that parents allow their young teens (many were in the 14-15 range) to wander the ship after midnight. I think there needs to be a rule that parents sign that states that children can't be at large on the ship after midnight without a parent. I believe that the responsibility should be shared by parents and the cruise line. We have experienced this on other cruise ships also, but have found it to be less of a problem on larger ships that have room for a separate teen area.

 

As teachers we are forced to cruise when the kids cruise and don't have the option of going when school is in session.

 

Entertainment - not as good, but not that important to us. We didn't use the casino. The DJ was not good, didn't seem to care about the disco disaster, and cut the deck party short (something we love). Blackstreet Boys were moderately funny. That's about all we did for entertainment, so I am not a good one to report on this category.

 

Communication - the captain spoke several times about the impending hurricane (Bertha). He was reassuring. On the 2nd to last day we were asked to return to the ship by 6PM in case we needed to leave early. Most people, including us, seemed to expect that we would just leave Thursday instead of Friday. Much to our surprise, we departed at about 6:45 and went to Hamilton. This was a treat for me, because I have always been in St. George or King's Wharf. I thought it was great that NCL did this. Everyone would have understood if they left Thursday, considering the weather forecast. Kudos to NCL for making this extra effort.

 

Cruise tip: If your cruise is on the same time schedule as ours was (it should), you will pass near Long Island at about 6 PM on Saturday. We found a sport in a bar with floor to ceiling windows and pulled up two chairs. A lower deck is better for this. We were treated to the sight of about 10 dolphins leaping through the waves. Then another five, then 10, and then about 50! In a period of an hour we saw well over 100 dolphins up fairly close. We also saw whales in the distance. A wonderful experience. Ask ship personnel to find out the time for this. Don't miss it!

 

Bermuda- Glorious! Magnificent!

 

I wish all of you future Dreamers a fabulous cruise. We had a great time.

 

Thanks for posting! I'm really glad to see a positive review of the Dream with so much negativity lately. We loved sailing on her!

 

I especially wanted to thank you for your points about teenagers. You make a very good point about the Dream not having the kids/teen areas that the newer and larger ships do, and I think that makes a big difference. I am also very happy to see that not only did you make a point of making NCL aware of the issues in the disco, but that they responded by providing additional security. I think your suggestion about parents signing a 'responsibility contract' for their children is excellent (and I don't disagree with the fine suggestion that's appeared on a few threads either).

[sunluva7]

Thanks for a great review. I like your positive attitude. :)

 

Like you, we can only cruise in the summer months. Although kids and teens have never really bothered us, we were on larger ships and were always able to find a quiet spot. I suspect that may not be the case on the Dream. However, since we are early morning people, we will probably be up and out while they are still in bed sleeping the day away.;)

 

Did the crew say anything when you brought your bagged sandwiches off the ship in Bermuda? I was thinking of doing the same thing, but I thought food was not allowed off the ship. We plan on leaving in the morning and spending most of the day off the ship, and it would be nice to pack a lunch.:)

[mag]

Thank you for your review!!

[dtiger]

Nice review. I try to book when the schools are in session as I've seen the teenagers riding the elevators, not letting anyone else one, pulling the elevator buttons off and being unruly.

[Boat_Drinks]

Winnipesaukeelady - did you happen to see the children on the island in Hamilton Harbor during the sail-out? There was a school or camp of some sort on one of the harbor island, about 30-40 young children (maybe 6-10 years old) came running out to the beach waving, saying "GoodBye" and "Thank You for coming to Bermuda" - it was so nice!

 

Ranks up there with the dolphin sitings as one of the nicer parts of the cruise, I hope you were able to experience it.

[BS Criusers]

thanks for the review any one going on new england cruise 9/21/08

[CanadianTwosome]

thanks for the review any one going on new england cruise 9/21/08

 

Do you know how to find your roll call? Go to the list of message boards and look for 'roll calls'. Locate the Norwegian Cruise Lines roll calls and click. Once there, you will be able to find your ship, and then just look for your dates. I would have found you a link, but I wasn't sure if you were on the Dream or another ship... :)

[WinnipesaukeeLady]

We never heard jogging overhead when we were trying to sleep. I did a lot of walking myself on the sea days and didn't think there was much jogging traffic anyway. There are signs posted that state that there is no jogging between 8 or 9 am and 8 pm.

 

I don't know if it is OK to bring sandwiches off the ship, but that was never said. We had the zip lock bags in our beach bags and no one ever checked them.

 

We did see the children waving to us from the island in Hamilton. It was very sweet and, I agree, a special experience. I have a picture of them waving to us. Let me know if you would like me to e-mail it to you.

 

Thanks to everyone for giving me such positive responses to my review. I was a little nervous about it, but I want people who plan to sail on the Dream to know that they will have a great time with the right attitude. We were in a fairly large group and I know that some of us were more upset by certain details than others, but everyone had a great time. I saving up for the Spirit out of Boston next year.

[Boat_Drinks]

I don't know if it is OK to bring sandwiches off the ship, but that was never said. We had the zip lock bags in our beach bags and no one ever checked them.

 

You won't have any trouble bringing food (or anything else for that matter) OFF of the ship, they don't check your bags going OFF ship.

 

Coming back is another matter. We dined in Hamilton one evening and had a fantastic dinner, so much so that we wanted to bring our "leftovers" back for a snack later that night. Nope, you cannot bring food items onto the ship, I think it really only applies to prepared foods, not "sealed" food items (and frankly if we hadn't been carrying it in an obvious styrofoam "leftover container" they probably wouldn't have noticed anyhow, hint).

 

PS: I like the idea of bringing lunch from the ship to the beach, I'll have to remember that and bring some zip-lock bags with me next time!

 

PPS: Thanks for the offer of the cruise-out photos WL, we did take some though so we're good. The kids would have been great to have on video with sound - it was a perfect "last memory" of Bermuda. :)

[icecreammv]

We too can only go on summer vacations, so I appreciate your candid and positive review. We are leaving on the Dream soon and was troubled about the poor comments. We get one major trip and I try to make it wonderful for DH. I am more confident it will be thanks to you.

 

Since DH and I work with teens, they do not bother us much if behaved.When I see a group unruly, I just say,"gentleman" or "ladies" and they get the message...sometimes less is more.

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise..here's to many more.!

[fhiggins43]

My 6th cruise and by a wide margin the edgiest ship and worst service I have experienced.

I have 3 kids 7,8 and 12 and they did LOVE the kids programs and we are glad for that.

The ship is small, old and worn out. Rugs dirty, wood decks very worn,

Water constantly seeping into our cabin.

Dinner. Well I appreciate have time between courses but get real. 20 minutes after seating you are finally getting water and bread. 2-2.5 hours to sit through a meal. And the food was fair at best. The beef wellington stood out. Italian food was terrible.

Again, pleasant service but sloooooooooooooooooow to the point of rediculous. I chose the buffet last 2 nights.

Where is the midnight buffet? One night it was swedish meatballs and cheese cubes in the casino!

Yes the late night snacks in the sports bar are there but what about dessert with some imagination.

Boat too small, pools too small.

Gangs of wise ass teenagers everywhere.

What else can I say?

Glad to be home.

Captain did skillfully manuever aroung Bertha- only 3 hours let to the island. Was happy to get to Bermuda to get a decent- if expensive- meal.

Never again!

Sailed July 13-20th.

Entertainment was amatuer at best