Yet Another Dream Review

[bonnie voyage]

February 6 – 13, 2005

Western Caribbean

 

I read many reviews on this ship and I must admit that I was a bit concerned. For what it is worth, I am sharing our opinions of the ship, service, etc.

 

First, some background on our group. There were six adults (three couples, late 40’s to early 50’s, but young at heart) in our party. Four of us had cruised once on NCL and two had never cruised prior to this sailing. We are not difficult to please, but we do enjoy good food, pleasant, prompt and efficient service, and nice surroundings.

 

Dining Rooms:

 

We tried all of them and never had a bad meal. Only one time was the food not prepared correctly. That was in the Four Seasons – my husband’s Steak Dianne was a bit overdone and tough. Not bad enough for him to mention to the waiter or send back though. Most of our evening meals were eaten in the Terraces. The wait staff was great in every dining room – friendly, accommodating and prompt. I had read quite a few complaints about how long it took to get through a meal – we were usually out of the dining room in 1 to 1 ½ hours. This allowed us a leisurely dining experience, which we enjoy. We generally hit the dining room at around 7:00 p.m. and had plenty of time to catch the late shows in the Stardust lounge.

 

Most of our morning meals were eaten in the Four Seasons – we did not experience the runny eggs that I had read about, except at the Sports bar buffet. In fact, that was our least favorite place to have a meal. The only meal we ate there was breakfast, and that was on the mornings we needed to be someplace in a timely fashion. The cooked food was okay, pastries were good. Keep in mind that to me breakfast is breakfast – pretty difficult to ruin. I must agree with other posters that it was a challenge to find a table that all six of us could share, but we managed to find one on each of the mornings we chose to eat there.

 

Le Bistro – we loved it and thought it was well worth the up-charge.

 

Service:

 

All of the staff on this ship was fabulous. Of noteable mention is Adriana in the Coffee Bar – right on top of things. We also enjoyed the entertainment provided by Ariel. Our Cabin Steward and Stewardess, Lorenzo and Elayne were excellent. Our cabin was cleaned once we left in the morning and beds turned down during the time we ate our evening meal. I cannot think of one time that we were not greeted warmly by any staff member throughout our travels on this ship. It was always “good morning, have a wonderful day in port” or “good evening – did you enjoy your day in port?”, “I hope you are enjoying your time with us.”

 

Ship:

 

The ship is a tad worn, but we found it to be very clean. As far as rocking – we did notice that the last night was kind of rough. We chalked this up to the fact that the ship is smaller than the last one we were on. Also wondered about the waters we were in.

 

We had a great vacation on the Dream and felt that we got our money’s worth. Our only complaint – there doesn’t appear to be enough outside space for the amount of people sailing.

[alwysonvctn]

Thanks for the great review. I felt exactly the same as you upon our return a few weeks ago. I have submitted a review on the review board which should be up in a few days.

[like2cruise]

Welcome home and thanks so much for your review. We leave in 4 weeks for the Dream. We are really looking forward to the itinerary even though we have been to all of the ports, but Cancun. I would love to hear what your group did in each port including New Orleans. Do you remember how late the Le Bistro was open and how far in advance you recommend getting a reservation? We need an early tender in Belize...any suggestions?

 

Alwysonvctn, I look forward to your review!!!

[Carolyn1950]

It was good to read the positive review about the Dream.. My sister, husband and I are taking her from Houston in October.

We are pretty easy to please.. If I don't have to cook it and clean up the mess, it is a good meal for me.. And since we are not used to 5 Star eating, I suspect we will be fine..

 

like2cruise, I will look forward to your review also..

[MobileMystic]

:D My family and I are booked on the March 13th sail date. It's my 21 year old,s first,and we're pretty casual people so I suspect we'll have a great time....of course anytime I can eat without cooking, relax without cleaning, and spend time in the sun, I feel pampered!

[like2cruise]

I can do that...we have been on a few cruise from small to big, to older and brand new and on most of the main cruise lines and I am being honest when I say we have enjoyed all our cruises for different reasons. It is one of the things I love about cruising...Each experience is unique!

I never pay attention to reviews that contain a lot of generalizations such as no one every smiled, every meal was inedible...you just know at least someone smiled along the way and something...at least the cheesecake had to taste good!!!! We booked the Dream because of the itinerary and too be honest...it was cheap. We are splurging on a Back2Back in June for our 25th Annivesary. A similar itinerary as the Dream's was available on a NCL ship that was bigger and newer, but it also cost more. We know what we purchased and we are looking forward to the cruise and I look forward to sharing the details when we get back.

[Lisa&Neb]

MobileMystic - we are going to be on the same cruise as you. Do you have any excursions already booked (we are looking to cab share at some locations)

 

Lisa

[MobileMystic]

We have book the Tabayana Beach and Snorkel while 21 year old daughter takes the canopy tour in Roatan.....we're still discussing other excursions. The canapy was the only one that we were concerned might sell out, and we received confirmation today for it from NCL>

 

I think we are learning toward ship excursions though, at least for daughter....she tends to be scattered brained and would hate for her to miss the boat ;)

[Spring Breakers 2005]

Bonnie Voyage:

Thanks for the positive review! Seven sorority sister from Purdue will be on board March 13. :) Have any extra suggestions for us? Your favorite excursions?

[bkozer1]

We wear on the dream the same week as bonnie and had a great time to.

the food was a 8 out of 10 and we never waited more than 5 min. for a table.

but thare was only about 1700 people on the dream,not full.

the service was good to vary good,and if we asked for extra we gave a tip.

We went snorkeling on cozumel at dzur and it was vary good,I brought a few

zip lock bags with and got some bread from the buffet and put it in the bags and

feed the fish, it was vary nice to have all those fish eating out of my hand.:)

[nealthedeal]

Yes thanks so much! It's amazing how some people complain about everything then go again! I will always find a good time away on a cruise Good service good food-- no mess from the kids!!! it's the best!!;)

[nealthedeal]

Im hooked can u TELL :D

[LINDA of NJ]

Bonnie Voyage.........Thank you for your reply. I had been waiting to read since you previously stated you would post one upon your return. Great to read a positive posting for the DREAM. I am going on the 6/30 Alaska sailing and do feel relieved after reading your comments. Thanks again!

[bonnie voyage]

The only ship excursion we did was to Garrafon Park on Isla Mujeres. I think it was around $55.00 per person. Included all non-motorized sports equipment...kayaking, floats, snorkeling and such, as well as all your drinks and use of towels. A transport boat picked us up at the ship and took us right to the park (that was nice). There was supposed to be beer on the boat, but we didn't see any and at 9:00 in the morning it really didn't matter to us. The guys enjoyed snorkeling, but said the reef wasn't as nice as some other places they had been. I went mainly for the sun and sand.

 

Went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. Service was prompt and the beach well kept. Although there were alot of people there, it didn't seem like it. Was quite quiet. The food and drinks were great. Well worth the money spent.

 

In Roatan went to Foster's West End Beach...took a small tour of the island. Okay beach - not nearly as nice as Paradise Beach on Cozumel though. Tour guide was very friendly and informative. Is just getting his business started. He was very reliable and was at Foster's early to pick us up. Also made sure that we were well taken care of at Foster's upon arrival. Made sure we had chairs, palapa, etc.

 

Shopping in Belize - just so, so. Probably best to book an excursion there.