Are all NCL ships like the Dream? A review, I guess...

[Nikolle2]

I hope not. We really LOVED cruising right out of Boston but we're not sure it's worth the $ to go on the Spirit next year.

 

We just got back and while there were some big "ups" (requested a fridge and we got one as promised, our stewardess was FANTASTIC, the cabin [better than the RCCL cabin we had last year - same category], some of the waitstaff and bartenders were incredibly friendly and attentive (and I stress SOME)... embarktion wasn't too bad and disembarktion? A BREEZE! It took 11 minutes from the time we started moving in the line until we got out of the building and awaiting our ride (express disembarktion). We live an hour west of Boston and we were home at 10:15. Great! They had cream everywhere which was nice and something I read that was a problem. But some days the coffee tasted as good as I expect used motor oil to taste like.

 

the negatives really had me thinking twice about cruising with NCL again...

 

random sewer smells in the hallways and on some decks sucked.

 

buffets? HORRIBLE, IMO. NOTHING diabetic friendly at all and what they did have was just blah, IMO. MH and I are simple eaters and even the burgers were terrible, IMO. Crowded and a horrible set-up as well.

 

dining rooms were okay but service was SOOOOOOO slow about 1/2 of the time we went. I mean, painfully slow. And it was spotty whether we'd find anything we liked. La Tratorria was good but only one entree was anything either MH or I would eat (MH - pizza, Me - pollo bianco) so we couldn't eat there often since the menu was the same nightly (and an hour wait no matter when we went. That is, if we wanted to go down there before 7pm).

 

Entertainment? While the entertainment was good (we really enjoyed the Hennings and Two for the Road), it was redundant. Same thing every day. We're in our 30s and really found nothing "young" and fun to go to or listen to. Granted, we missed last night's show at 10:45 (just too tired) and that might have been good. But otherwise? Kinda boring stuff.

 

Coffee shop? They ran out of 2 syrups in 2 days for lattes and such. They got my coffee wrong twice (at $3.50 each time). The 2nd time they got it wrong I gave up.

 

Ran out of blueberries for the bluezberry blast on day 2 - the alcoholic smoothie I really liked, figures. How do you run out of blueberries on the 2nd day? and if you didn't want a souvenier glass (at $10 / drink with the glass) you could get a drink without the glass for $2 less but the drink was 1/2 the freaking size. You can't win.

 

Non-alcoholic drinks. I only discovered they had diet sprite at the end of the week (2nd to last day). But even so, the coke program seemed incredibly expensive! You'd have to average more than 3.5 cans of soda a day to make it worth the while. More expensive than RCCL was last year, but maybe it's changed there too.

 

I can't believe they don't even offer non-alcoholic beverages as n/c at dinner. Blows my mind. I was dissapointed.

 

Chairs on deck? A premium. No where near enough for everyone. No where near it. and the pools are small.

[nautica34]

Thanks for posting the review. We leave next Sunday and the whole dining thing has been a concern of mine from the day we booked. I'm a picky eater and with the service being slow will have to somehow time everything.

[Jamrenjer]

We were on the Dream in Dec 2006. The ship itself is okay-- nothing extra grand or special... not like the Pearl for instance... For the most part though-- are food was pretty good. We ate in the restaurants for almost all meals. We had a large group and made reservations in advance. I think if you try a larger, newer ship you may enjoy it more. We like RCL too though-- to us they are very similar.:)

[newmexicoNita]

I hope not. We really LOVED cruising right out of Boston but we're not sure it's worth the $ to go on the Spirit next year.

 

We just got back and while there were some big "ups" (requested a fridge and we got one as promised, our stewardess was FANTASTIC, the cabin [better than the RCCL cabin we had last year - same category], some of the waitstaff and bartenders were incredibly friendly and attentive (and I stress SOME)... embarktion wasn't too bad and disembarktion? A BREEZE! It took 11 minutes from the time we started moving in the line until we got out of the building and awaiting our ride (express disembarktion). We live an hour west of Boston and we were home at 10:15. Great! They had cream everywhere which was nice and something I read that was a problem. But some days the coffee tasted as good as I expect used motor oil to taste like.

 

the negatives really had me thinking twice about cruising with NCL again...

 

random sewer smells in the hallways and on some decks sucked.

 

buffets? HORRIBLE, IMO. NOTHING diabetic friendly at all and what they did have was just blah, IMO. MH and I are simple eaters and even the burgers were terrible, IMO. Crowded and a horrible set-up as well.

 

dining rooms were okay but service was SOOOOOOO slow about 1/2 of the time we went. I mean, painfully slow. And it was spotty whether we'd find anything we liked. La Tratorria was good but only one entree was anything either MH or I would eat (MH - pizza, Me - pollo bianco) so we couldn't eat there often since the menu was the same nightly (and an hour wait no matter when we went. That is, if we wanted to go down there before 7pm).

 

Entertainment? While the entertainment was good (we really enjoyed the Hennings and Two for the Road), it was redundant. Same thing every day. We're in our 30s and really found nothing "young" and fun to go to or listen to. Granted, we missed last night's show at 10:45 (just too tired) and that might have been good. But otherwise? Kinda boring stuff.

 

Coffee shop? They ran out of 2 syrups in 2 days for lattes and such. They got my coffee wrong twice (at $3.50 each time). The 2nd time they got it wrong I gave up.

 

Ran out of blueberries for the bluezberry blast on day 2 - the alcoholic smoothie I really liked, figures. How do you run out of blueberries on the 2nd day? and if you didn't want a souvenier glass (at $10 / drink with the glass) you could get a drink without the glass for $2 less but the drink was 1/2 the freaking size. You can't win.

 

Non-alcoholic drinks. I only discovered they had diet sprite at the end of the week (2nd to last day). But even so, the coke program seemed incredibly expensive! You'd have to average more than 3.5 cans of soda a day to make it worth the while. More expensive than RCCL was last year, but maybe it's changed there too.

 

I can't believe they don't even offer non-alcoholic beverages as n/c at dinner. Blows my mind. I was dissapointed.

 

Chairs on deck? A premium. No where near enough for everyone. No where near it. and the pools are small.

just a few thought here: 1-you ask if all NCL ships are like the Dream? NO, the Dream is older and the only NCL ship (other than the Majesty) not designed for freestyle...The others are very different.

 

Soda card: too expensive in my view, but I don't drink sodas.

 

3-nothing offered at dinner (non alcohalic) no line offers soda at dinner as far as I know, not anymore, they used to. Can you go to a land restaurant and get soda for dinner? I don't think so. You can always get tea, or coffee at any meal and juice for breakfast, you can even ask for it for lunch. It may not be on the menu, but did you ask..??? NO, RCI does not offer soda at dinner.

 

Nothing Diabetic on the buffet, I really find this hard to believe...

 

Entertainment: a matter of opinion, but you said it was the same every night if I understand you comments. no, every night there is a different show.

 

It seems like your complaints are a bit on the minor side. Nothing is alway exactly what we think it will be. You listed so many positives and so few negatives. I can't believe you are questioning sailing NCL again.

 

Nita

[Nikolle2]

just a few thought here: 1-you ask if all NCL ships are like the Dream? NO, the Dream is older and the only NCL ship (other than the Majesty) not designed for freestyle...The others are very different.

 

Soda card: too expensive in my view, but I don't drink sodas.

 

3-nothing offered at dinner (non alcohalic) no line offers soda at dinner as far as I know, not anymore, they used to. Can you go to a land restaurant and get soda for dinner? I don't think so. You can always get tea, or coffee at any meal and juice for breakfast, you can even ask for it for lunch. It may not be on the menu, but did you ask..??? NO, RCI does not offer soda at dinner.

 

RCL used to offer soda. But do you go to a restaurant and eat for free? No. In this case, your meal is paid for with your cruise so it would be nice, IMO, if they included something other than water to drink with your meal.

 

Nothing Diabetic on the buffet, I really find this hard to believe...

 

Well, I'm not an idiot. So find it hard to believe if you wish, but mashed potatoes... baked potatoes... pasta station (without any wheat offerings), Pizza? Hamburgers and Hot Dogs (fine if you skip the bun but the burger was so bad I couldn't eat it)... various meats in sauces and some unidentifiable - none of which were "diabetic friendly." There were fish selections each night (one selection I could see...I don't eat fish/seafood of any kind), and a carving station each night (which was okay but I didn't care for the carving options most evenings when we wanted to go). I ate salad and chicken every single meal when we skipped the dining rooms. So no... not quite diabetic friendly.

 

Entertainment: a matter of opinion, but you said it was the same every night if I understand you comments. no, every night there is a different show.

 

Well, obviously this is a matter of opinion. The entertainment in the lounges and on deck was the same all the time. The "white hot party" was not exactly "hot" and the shows in the stardust lounge? I can't really say for sure since twice we went to attend but had trouble finding a seat.

 

It seems like your complaints are a bit on the minor side. Nothing is alway exactly what we think it will be. You listed so many positives and so few negatives. I can't believe you are questioning sailing NCL again.

 

 

 

Nita

 

Well, believe it. My complaints may be on the minor side to you but they were differences between NCL and RCCL that I felt were worth mentioning and areas that were disappointing to me. You order a drink on the 2nd day and they can't make it... both alcoholic and coffee? There were other things as well that I felt weren't even worth mentioning. And we weren't the only ones disappointed. We heard a lot of it. When there isn't much to do while at sea... not being able to find a chair on either deck 11 or 12... not caring so much for the food... and not being all that entertained makes for a less than perfect vacation. Was it horrible? NO! But it wasn't quite as great as we hoped. So my question was whether this was ship specific or cruise line specific... and it's all a matter of opinion, obviously. So I'm sorry you "can't believe I'm questioning saling NCL again" but believe it. I wasn't overly impressed for the amount of money we spent.

[Urban trekker]

I don't believe there is a large ship that sails anywhere that would have enough seating for every passenger on board on the upper or sun or pool decks.

 

I attended a white hot party on my most recent cruise and it was a blast - one of the best ones that I have seen on board.

 

No NCL ship has enough seating for all passengers to attend the lounge shows on the same night - that is why some of the shows are repeated.

 

Were you not aware that you can bring your own diet pop on board - I have done this and resupplied while in port and saved lots of money doing so.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Smellytoes]

Please, please, please. Do not judge NCL based on the Dream. We were on the Dream in Aug. and that sewer smell was AWFUL. It seems like it isn't reported on every cruise.

 

The service on this ship was spotty (in my experience) but, like you said, some of the staff were excellent.

 

The other, newer ships are nothing like the Dream:)

[d man]

The Sky also has a sewer smell, but as my father used to say "If you can't stand s**t, your not worth a s**t"

 

Enjoy

 

d man

[Jamrenjer]

It really seems that you had an "off" experience-- especially when it comes to your drink orders! As Nita mentioned-- the Dream wasnt built for the Freestyle concept... When we went on it-- it was the first cruise we took all the kids-- and our older ones-- they were not impressed at all!:) I assured them-- that other ships are much better! You definitely should give NCL another try. I was surprised about the buffet--as it had alot of diabetic --sugar-free stuff when we were on it-- but that was almost 2 years ago. Sorry you had a bad experience.

[Salt air hair]

Sorry, I've gotta agree with Nikolle2 on this. The sewage smell was awful!! and if that didn't get you, the diesel smell would. Service was slow and if you sat on the back pool deck, you were lucky if you ever saw bar service. DH ordered a helmut of beer and asked for a can opener (we already knew no one came around to back of the ship) and he was assured bar service goes there and they would open each beer as he needed it......needless to say we went back to the cabin with five beers unopened. IMO, NCL cut back on staffing thinking that the Dream was out of service at the end of the month (by the way did the deal finally go thru???) . Food was food, nothing impressive, sad to say. I know that the "tray debate" has well worn out it's welcome, but it would have been in the Dream's interest to keep them until she went out of service. The too small buffet made it necessary to trot down to the dining room below...not so bad, but if you have your plate, bowl and silverware, pray tell, where do you carry your coffee/tea??? You run back up to the buffet, get your beverage and trot back down again. My legs did get a workout on this one. I know, we could have gone to the dining room for breakfast, but the tales of waiting over an hour to get Just a lot on little annoyances that should have been avoidable by better planning on the part of NCL. But......Bermuda was beautiful as always and the Captain did give us a treat of slowing down and turning around the ship on the way home so that we could "whale and dolphin watch" on the way home. That was an especially nice addition to the trip.

[zamboni_girl]

But......Bermuda was beautiful as always and the Captain did give us a treat of slowing down and turning around the ship on the way home so that we could "whale and dolphin watch" on the way home. That was an especially nice addition to the trip.

 

That is pretty cool. Who was the Captain? I wonder if he will still be on board next week and do the same. :)

[AnnieB925]

We were on the same cruise and had a wonderful experience. Yes, there is a sewer smell when you're walking the promenade deck, at about the G mark. Easily avoided by going to the gym instead.

 

We ate twice at LeBistro and found it to be a lovely dining experience and well worth the $15 each. We ate at Terraces 3 times and our service was excellent. No wait to get seated at all. We ate at La Trattoria once and thought that was fantastic also. Again, no wait and good service. On our last night we had to wait about 15 minutes at Four Seasons, but it was well worth it. We got a romantic table by the window and again, very good service.

 

Our cabin stewards were very efficient. Room service was timely. The coffee bar was perfect and worth the money to get a really good cup of java.

 

We had to look for lounge chairs at the pool, but were able to find them, even if it meant moving one to another area. There are some "chair hogs" who put their towels down and don't come back for a couple of hours. I saw that firsthand right next to me.

 

Overall, it was a very positive experience......MUCH better than expected, based on what I read here.

 

Our expectations were low and we were pleasantly surprised!:)

[newmexicoNita]

Well, believe it. My complaints may be on the minor side to you but they were differences between NCL and RCCL that I felt were worth mentioning and areas that were disappointing to me. You order a drink on the 2nd day and they can't make it... both alcoholic and coffee? There were other things as well that I felt weren't even worth mentioning. And we weren't the only ones disappointed. We heard a lot of it. When there isn't much to do while at sea... not being able to find a chair on either deck 11 or 12... not caring so much for the food... and not being all that entertained makes for a less than perfect vacation. Was it horrible? NO! But it wasn't quite as great as we hoped. So my question was whether this was ship specific or cruise line specific... and it's all a matter of opinion, obviously. So I'm sorry you "can't believe I'm questioning saling NCL again" but believe it. I wasn't overly impressed for the amount of money we spent.

I certainly didn't mean to hit your button, I was pointing out a few things as I saw them. Of course put your comcerns together and they come up to a disappointment for you, separately most would not be a huge concern to many and yes, food is subjective. SOme love Carnival food, I have 2 different clients just off Carnival ships and were appalled at the food, I have cruised all the mass marketed lines and found RCI food to be the least enjyable and HAL to be the best, but some say HAL is too bland.

 

Again, I am sorry I pushed your button, that was not my intention. If you read what else I wrote, no, not all NCL ships are like the Dream, anymore than all RCI ships are like the Soverign, most are much better...

 

Nita

[*Wink*]

Although the Dream is a unique ship among the NCL fleet in that it's small and older, IMO your complaints would still be carried over to any other NCL ship.

Your complaints include, drink prices, running out of ingredients, coffee problems, dinner time length, entertainment, lack of chairs, a mediocre buffet, and soda card cost. These things are pretty consistent on all NCL ships except for maybe your coffee problems and lack of ingredients. So, I don't think NCL is for you.

 

We love NCL, but it's not for everyone.

[brokenarrowhd]

I was on the Dream in June and had a awesome time. I'm taking another trip on her in 5 days, can't wait.

 

The only problem I encountered on the Dream was extremely rude passengers that were in obvious need of an attitude adjustment.

 

People need to remember to relax when on vacation don't let a minor inconvenience ruin what could be a great time.

[newmexicoNita]

I was on the Dream in June and had a awesome time. I'm taking another trip on her in 5 days, can't wait.

 

The only problem I encountered on the Dream was extremely rude passengers that were in obvious need of an attitude adjustment.

 

People need to remember to relax when on vacation don't let a minor inconvenience ruin what could be a great time.

 

And the amazing thing, the unsatisfied passengers always find each other..LOL

[brokenarrowhd]

you aren't kidding! go figure.

[dtiger]

I didn't care for the buffet on the Dream either. It was far too small.

[Salt air hair]

We were on the same cruise and had a wonderful experience. Yes, there is a sewer smell when you're walking the promenade deck, at about the G mark. Easily avoided by going to the gym instead.]

 

 

If (and we were) your cabins were on deck 4, the sewer smell was unavoidable. We were fortunate enough to be in the middle of the ship, where the smell was undetectable, but those on the ends were not so lucky. Going to the gym wasn't helping them to avoid it. Not trying to be snippy....but you do not have all the info here. Additionally, I never said we had a bad time, just was pointing out some of the disappointments we encountered on the Dream, been on the Crown, wonderful, been on the Dawn, wonderful (except for the Easter break one and I'll never travel during that time again:eek: with any cruise line) so I was disheartened by how NCL execs let the Dream down.

[Salt air hair]

And the amazing thing, the unsatisfied passengers always find each other..LOL

 

Perhaps "we find each other" because when one who voices his/her displeasure of a cruise, they're very likely to get chopped up into little pieces and thrown overboard as shark bait. So, maybe others who expierenced some of the same things, come to validate some of the OP's complaints. I recall making some remarks about a NCL cruise and was tossed about by the "Cheerleaders" right down to being told that I wasn't on that particular cruise because "those in the know" disputed me on the dates that the Dawn sailed. I was only given the acknowlegement of having legit complaints when a long time poster came to my aid. She was also on the same cruise, validated my post and called the angry mob off.

[DMH15]

Nita - do you mean they found each other on the ship or on the board or both? Just wondering.

 

Negativity breads negativity in my opinion.

 

Even if I had a bad experience, I would not want to harp on it and bring it down even more. Silver lining thing.

 

Plus, if I was with my mom she woud tell me to "get over it".

[SailorJack]

Granted, its been nearly a year since we sailed the Dream, but we found it to be a good ship. The crew was great, the service was prompt, and the rooms comfortable. It is a smaller ship than many others so there is less food and entertainment options - but still enough to provide variety.

 

Ours was a two week trip and except for the unfortuate incident where we rammed a barge outside Montevideo we had a great time aboard.

[nautica34]

We were on the same cruise and had a wonderful experience. Yes, there is a sewer smell when you're walking the promenade deck, at about the G mark. Easily avoided by going to the gym instead.

 

We ate twice at LeBistro and found it to be a lovely dining experience and well worth the $15 each. We ate at Terraces 3 times and our service was excellent. No wait to get seated at all. We ate at La Trattoria once and thought that was fantastic also. Again, no wait and good service. On our last night we had to wait about 15 minutes at Four Seasons, but it was well worth it. We got a romantic table by the window and again, very good service.

 

Our cabin stewards were very efficient. Room service was timely. The coffee bar was perfect and worth the money to get a really good cup of java.

 

We had to look for lounge chairs at the pool, but were able to find them, even if it meant moving one to another area. There are some "chair hogs" who put their towels down and don't come back for a couple of hours. I saw that firsthand right next to me.

 

Overall, it was a very positive experience......MUCH better than expected, based on what I read here.

 

Our expectations were low and we were pleasantly surprised!:)

 

Glad you had a positive experience on the dream. We will be going on Sunday. What time did you dine at the restaurants? Just wondering if there is a better time to go and avoid the long waits.

[Vyhanek]

I've been on the Dream a couple times and several of NCL's newer ships.

 

The ship itself is definitely not representative of the NCL fleet. In fact, the newer ships on NCL are classy, tasteful and fun decorated and more spacious.

And, since they are newer, I think better maintained. The sewage issue has been an ongoing issue on the Dream for as many years as I have come to this bulletin board.

 

I think NCL's entertainment is better than the other cruise lines. I don't know specifically about the shows on the Dream but overall, I think the productions are great, I like the comedians, I like Second City and I think you should give NCL a second chance in this area.

 

As far as the food goes, NCL is a ways behind RCCL and Carnival. I don't care what ship you go on, I have sat thru so many very excruciatingly long dinners on NCL. On our Jewel vacation last year, we would sit for 2.5 hours in the dining rooms and finally have to leave before dessert just to make it to the show! That problem is absolutely fleet wide. You can avoid the Freestyle dining experience altogether if you pay for Specialty Dining. The newer ships have many more specialty dining options so that is possible. The overall food quality doesn't compare though from my experience with other cruise lines. I can't comment on the buffets, I hate buffets. I had all the buffet dining I could eat in college and can't stand another meal like that unless there were no other options.

 

As far as finding loungers by the pool on Sea Days. I agree with you, that pool area is far to small. I can't stand being so crammed in and I can't stand having to resort to being a chair hog just to have a place to sit. On the NCL newer ships there seems to be much more deck space. Maybe not in the terribly crammed area right around the pool but you can always find a spot somewhere around the front of the ship or the back of the ship or up on a different level away from the pool. I've also found that if you are resourceful in the very least you will be able to find a stack of loungers stacked up unused. With some help, you can carry those loungers wherever on the ship you want. This problem is not unique to NCL. The other cruise lines have the same terribly crowded situation around the pool on Sea Days. You have to either suck it up and make it work or you have to decide that a resort vacation is more your style if pool time is really that important to you. I understand that dilemma!

 

As far as the soda card goes, I completely agree with you. NCL has priced the card so high that its just too hard to justify. You say if you drink 3.5 sodas a day it pays for itself but WHO drinks that much during the days that the ship is in port. If you have a port intensive cruise it would be impossible to break even. NCL is just asking people to bring their own soda on board. That's exactly what I do. I wheel a 12 pack right on as a carry on and keep it in the refrigerator all week. I might buy 1 soda a day per person this way. This issue is not unique to NCL however. Its just one of those things you have to decide you won't allow your self to be taken advantage of.

 

So my advice is to give NCL another try. Go on a NEW ship, bring your own soda, make reservations at the Specialty Dining places and scope out a place for your sun lounger on one of the decks away from the pool area.

[Tiger55]

Glad you had a positive experience on the dream. We will be going on Sunday. What time did you dine at the restaurants? Just wondering if there is a better time to go and avoid the long waits.

 

We got back Oct. 5 and we never waited more than 5 minutes to get in any of the restaurants. Our agenda ended up working out great so that we were able to be dressed and ready by 5:30. We were out around an hour each meal, and dressed for the hot tubs by 6:45(which we got to enjoy on our own while others waited for dinner). Le Bistro we had a seating for 8pm the first night. This was a longer meal, since we were unwinding after a long day of getting on the ship. The key, get there early if time allows.

 

I was on deck 4, and never had the smell of sewage. Towards the back of the ship on deck 8 we caught a slight smell one night, but we just thought someone was having a problem in one of there stateroom bathrooms:eek:. The smell of diesel was pretty strong at certain times.

 

I was so worried about the made remarks about the ship, the crew, the food, that I had it in my head that things were going to be subpar. We had the time of our life, a wonderful time, without any flaws(except for the delaying getting off due to low tide, but it just extended our vacation some):D. It is what you make of it...I kept thinking where would I rather be, on this older ship in the middle of the ocean, or at work pounding my head on the wall due to id 10 t's!!!