Live aboard the Dream 1/13/07

[troyphoto]

Cruise 2007 Blog:

 

January 13, 2007

 

Well, today got off to a rocking start. We hitched up our super shuttle at 12:30 from the airport, and made it out to the port of Houston by 1:30 – only to be turned away by a cop at the entrance.

 

It seems that Houston was fog-bound this morning, which left the Dream sitting off-shore for several hours. We were told that we couldn’t board until after 5 p.m. those on-board missed a lot of flights out of Houston as they had to wait until after 2 p.m. for most of them to begin disembarkation.

 

The only problem is that the Port of Houston is in a VERY industrial area. Right at the entrance, sits a container port with inter-modal trailers – you know, the ones that go from ship to truck to railcar to truck again. I counted one stack at least 10 cars high. But, there is nothing else around except for the Lion King Truck Stop and Taqueria. There is NOTHING else around. It would have been a 25+ minute drive to go anywhere civilized.

 

We made some good friends while we sat in the truck stop. New friends from Philly, Washington State, and New Mexico. Even though we had a four to five hour wait ahead of us before we could begin the trek to the ship, we all had good spirits and decided that we weren’t going to let a few things like a late arriving ship get us down.

 

Finally, sometime during the second quarter of the Colts/Ravens game, we all decided to flag down taxis and head off to the port. At 6:05 p.m. local time we got our first up close look at The Dream, and my feet hit the deck at 6:16.

 

Lifeboat Muster drill will be at 9:30 a.m. ships time tomorrow morning, so I hope that we don’t have too many Grumpy Gus faces during muster.

 

Remember, any day at sea is better than being shore bound. It helps to tell yourself that when sitting for four hours waiting to board!

 

You can also find this commentary with PICTURES on my blog at:

 

http://troyphoto.blogspot.com/

[electricron]

It's not often you see a night photo taken of the Dream in Houston.

Loved it!

[Don Haynes]

Pea thick soup fog happens occassionally. Be glad you boarded Saturday, sometimes fog will delay departure a day or more.

[clearlakecruisers]

Sorry you got stuck at a truck stop - although it is rather "Texan", isn' it??

 

Too bad you didn't drive about 5 miles south on Hwy 146 to the Seabrook/Kemah area. Tookies on Hwy 146 in Seabrook is known for their great hamburgers and the Kemah Boardwalk could have kept everyone entertained.

 

Although the current Port terminal is admittedly situated in a totally industrial area, "civilization" is much closer than 25 minutes to the south. In fact, NASA/Johnson Space Center is located within that 25 minute drive and we rocket scientists really like to be thought of as civilized :). There's also a brand new terminal in a much better area scheduled to open later this year.

 

Again, sorry for your bad experience. You'al come back and see us again some time, you hear!?

[hlfdzn]

My heart goes out to all the people who were waiting to board the ship Saturday. We woke up to the captain at 7:00 am telling us that we had not gotten a pilot yet due to the fog and that after the pilot boards it is another 3 hours to get into port. I tipped my room service guy and crawled back in my bed. I let the kids sleep, since there was no way we were getting off before noon.

They extended breakfast and served us lunch. I imagine it was the embarkation lunch we ate as we were making our way up to the port. The bars were open for cash only, but there was not much else to do. Last year when I was delayed getting off of the Glory ( everyone says this is our fault cuz the dream has never been late before LOL) They showed a movie in the lounge to keep people occupied. We were all wandering around the ship and eating our selves silly since there was nothing else to really do.

Of course as it got closer to the time to get off people gathered on the 2 floors of lounges 9 & 10 waiting to hear their color called and playing board games and trying to re-arrange flights, and make hotel arrangements. Most people were patient but there was one guy and (you know who you are)....who was a total A** and as we were trying to gather our things which included my in laws who were celebrating 60 yrs of marriage and yes he is in a wheelchair and they are 80 & 82, I set my carryon on a stair, since it was quite crowded on these 2 decks....and he screamed at me " why don't you keep your things off the stairs and out of the way?" The guy acted like he was the only person on the ship. People like that make me sick. Anyway..most people were tolerant and helpful, it is too bad there are jerks like that in the world.Believe me if there was room anywhere else to put my stuff I would have not put it on the stair in HIS way!!!

Anyway.... I felt bad for all the people who were waiting to board the ship. We are home now and I hope you all have a better week of weather than we did. It rained until Thursday and was generally crappy....but like I said ..we all had fun!!

[carol459]

we will be sailing on the dream 1/27/07.can not find out how to get to port area .coming in day before.does anyone know of hotels with shuttle or shuttle buses?

we found ones for galveston. but not Leporte area by ship. thanks for the heads up on Fog. is there any time of yr that it is worse or more often

thanks for info

ladies trying to find there way

Carol

[troyphoto]

As for getting to the port... Super Shuttle picked us up at GB Intercontinental Airport, and drove us as far as he could. Only about $30 + tip for 4 of us.

 

Here's the update:

Monday Jan 15:

 

Capt Lars made great time early on to get almost back on schedule. We’re arriving in our first Stop of Progresso Mexico about an hour behind schedule. A few of the excursions have minor changes, but, so far, I haven’t’ heard of any cancellations.

 

We hope to visit the smaller & closer set of ruins today. For once I’ll have to put down the computer and not work on anything.

 

The ship itself is pretty darn good. My one and only previous cruising experience was aboard NCL’s Jewel. I keep trying to relive my time on that boat. Just to get it out of my system, two things I like the least about the Dream compared to the Jewel are the buffet area, and the Theater..

 

The buffet area is MUCH smaller, and feels more crowded and less organized. Less food choices. I do see that the crew and hotel staff are doing the best with what they have. This ship just was not designed as well as the Jewell class of ships. The arcitechs have learned much since this ship was designed.

 

The theater features Café style seating, but does not have enough rise toward the back of the theatre. The front of the theater fills up quickly.

 

Things that are good: wireless connection is good in the advertised areas. The crew have all been wonderful – especially after dealing with two shiploads of grumpy people.

 

One thing we miss is the in cabin mini-fridge. Unfortunately, Carol’s mother is diabetic, and we’re having a difficult time getting a “suitable” container to keep ice in to cool her insulin. The ship doesn’t want us to use one of the regular ice buckets, but they aren’t coming through quickly with an alternative.

 

We’re in an ocean view cabin on deck 5 – just aft of mid-ship. Its been a very pleasant voyage – just a bit windy.

 

My favorite spot – the coffee bar – gets filled up with the Art Auction every afternoon. So, I’ve been heading over to Lucky’s in the afternoon to work on some wedding books I need to get designed (Don’t worry Betty, I’m working at a very slow pace, and enjoying my view of the Gulf as we sail). Also, I’m working on reading two different books at the moment. One, “Thinkertoys” makes me think, so I read a chapter and put it down.

 

Well, off to breakfast, then to Progresso.

[almitra]

I'm loving hearing all this--thanks, OP!

[acrna]

Carol

Here are some directions to the port:

http://www.portofhouston.com/cruiseinfo/cruiseterminal.html

 

Or use this one:

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/pdfs/locale-us/directions_to_port/houston_port.pdf

 

Brian

[hlfdzn]

We came in a day early and rented 2 mini vans from Enterprise. It was so easy too!!! The shuttle takes you to your rental car after you get your baggage and then we opted to stay near the airport since it was kind of late getting in. The Springhill suites was a great place for us, the King room with a sofa sleeper and kitchenette was only $79 online. A nice breakfast is included. This hotel is run by Marriott so it was pretty good...the neighborhood looks a bit scary, but we had no problems.

 

In the morning we loaded up, headed over to Walmart to get bottled water and pop for the kids and a few forgotten items. From there we drove to the port and unloaded the luggage and most of the people and then parked the cars for $3 in a gated lot with the keys in them. Enterprise picks up the cars on Monday.

 

When we got in, the girl had stayed late to accomadate us and had our vans waiting for us at the port.

 

I want to add, we had a group of 13, so this was a far more economical way than shuttles. It also gave us the freedom to go for a nice dinner the night before and stop at the store if need be. I hate feeling stranded. The cost of the mini van was about $80 for 24 hours. I am sure you could get a smaller car much cheaper. Just tell them you want a one way rental from the airport to the port in Houston.

[hlfdzn]

We came in a day early and rented 2 mini vans from Enterprise. It was so easy too!!! The shuttle takes you to your rental car after you get your baggage and then we opted to stay near the airport since it was kind of late getting in. The Springhill suites was a great place for us, the King room with a sofa sleeper and kitchenette was only $79 online. A nice breakfast is included. This hotel is run by Marriott so it was pretty good...the neighborhood looks a bit scary, but we had no problems.

 

In the morning we loaded up, headed over to Walmart to get bottled water and pop for the kids and a few forgotten items. From there we drove to the port and unloaded the luggage and most of the people and then parked the cars for $3 in a gated lot with the keys in them. Enterprise picks up the cars on Monday.

 

When we got in, the girl had stayed late to accomadate us and had our vans waiting for us at the port.

 

I want to add, we had a group of 13, so this was a far more economical way than shuttles. It also gave us the freedom to go for a nice dinner the night before and stop at the store if need be. I hate feeling stranded. The cost of the mini van was about $80 for 24 hours. I am sure you could get a smaller car much cheaper. Just tell them you want a one way rental from the airport to the port in Houston.

[troyphoto]

Apologies for the lack of names and proper Mexican terms, but I’m still wiped out from the excurision.

 

We’re back from ruins of the place I cannot spell or pronounce and the city of Merida. It was a good little excursion. Due to the ship being behind schedule, we ended up disembarking about an hour late, so the excursion was cut a bit short. Which was fine with my party. After wandering the ruins for over an hour, then riding bus around Merida, Stop for lunch, sat in the town square for half an hour then got back in the bus.

 

We had the excursion set up through NCL, which worked very well. Our tour guides and driver were Gabriel, Antonio, and Jose (the driver). The bus was a very comfortable tour bus, with good seats and air conditioning. Gabriel was very pleasant and informative throughout the drive. Once at the ruins, Antonio took over, and went at a slow pace so everyone could keep up. We even saw an iguana at the sinkhole thingie. The ruins here were a nice easy walk, and the Temple of the Dolls was even manageable by 70 year old grandmothers (who took their time getting up and down).

 

Once we got to Merida, we saw all sorts of American store and restaurants. We ended up stopping at a nice little Mexican cantina, one block down from the Cathedral. I need to remember to tell Enrique and all mi amigos at El Rodeo in Speedway that their food is much better!

 

Once we got back, everyone crashed for a while.

 

I’ll work on uploading pics from the ruins tomorrow.

[elisamarie]

Apologies for the lack of names and proper Mexican terms, but I’m still wiped out from the excurision.

 

We’re back from ruins of the place I cannot spell or pronounce and the city of Merida. It was a good little excursion. Due to the ship being behind schedule, we ended up disembarking about an hour late, so the excursion was cut a bit short. Which was fine with my party. After wandering the ruins for over an hour, then riding bus around Merida, Stop for lunch, sat in the town square for half an hour then got back in the bus.

 

We had the excursion set up through NCL, which worked very well. Our tour guides and driver were Gabriel, Antonio, and Jose (the driver). The bus was a very comfortable tour bus, with good seats and air conditioning. Gabriel was very pleasant and informative throughout the drive. Once at the ruins, Antonio took over, and went at a slow pace so everyone could keep up. We even saw an iguana at the sinkhole thingie. The ruins here were a nice easy walk, and the Temple of the Dolls was even manageable by 70 year old grandmothers (who took their time getting up and down).

 

Once we got to Merida, we saw all sorts of American store and restaurants. We ended up stopping at a nice little Mexican cantina, one block down from the Cathedral. I need to remember to tell Enrique and all mi amigos at El Rodeo in Speedway that their food is much better!

 

Once we got back, everyone crashed for a while.

 

I’ll work on uploading pics from the ruins tomorrow.

Oh, I LOVE El Rodeo. We go to the one in the Geist area when we visit my sister in Indianapolis...they are all owned by the same people. (home is small town north of Indpls but no one there anymore so we call Indpls home although we live in St. Louis.

 

We are going on the Dream on 1/27 and can't wait. First time on NCL and we have lower expectations than on most ships because of what we have read.

 

Let us know how the rest of your trip goes. At least you are in the warm and sun...

[arf2005]

Cruise 2007 Blog:

 

The only problem is that the Port of Houston is in a VERY industrial area. Right at the entrance, sits a container port with inter-modal trailers – you know, the ones that go from ship to truck to railcar to truck again. I counted one stack at least 10 cars high. But, there is nothing else around except for the Lion King Truck Stop and Taqueria. There is NOTHING else around. It would have been a 25+ minute drive to go anywhere civilized.

 

 

Just in case this happens to someone else, you don't have to go to Clear Lake/Kemah to find civilization (although the Boardwalk is wonderful). LaPorte is unfortunately very industrial now (thanks to the port that is now located there), but if you go down Main Street, or further south to Fairmont Pkwy., you will find several very good places to eat. Believe it or not, the area directly south of the port use to be where those from Houston who had money would summer along the bay. In fact, when you depart or return, you can see the Sterling Mansion which was built by a former governor to resemble the White House (interesting story behind that one). The builder of the Astrodome also had a home along the coast there. My point here is that the port has unfortunately taken a sleepy little town with a lot of character and turned it into a place that looks "uncivilized". While the port may have been a boom for the rest of Harris County, the residents of LaPorte have had to put up with the down side - and now the new port is creating the same issues on the southern side of the community. Those in Houston who vote for these things like the revenue while knowing it doesn't affect them directly. Those along the bay are outnumbered at the polls. Ok, I'll get off my high horse now. Sorry for the long post.

[troyphoto]

Tues, Jan 16

 

Another day, another nap.

 

Actually, today was my first nap of the trip. After visiting the ruins yesterday, I needed a nap. Walking in the heat took its toll on us. We were all a bit tired today. Everyone except the kid. She’s discovered a few friends in the Teen Club. When she sees any of us adults in the hallways at night, we just pretend we don’t know her, so she doesn’t get embarrassed.

 

Carol and Myrtle got off the ship and did some shopping in Cozamel, but only spent an hour or so there. I hung out on the ship. One striking difference I’ve discovered is that the shallower water in the Caribbean is such a beautiful blue compared to grey waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

 

We got a real treat today, as we anchored near the new NCL Pearl! Once I recognized her, I kept hoping that some of the other ships anchored nearby would move off. I never did get a very good picture of her. But, during dinner in the Terraces, we were seated at the very bottom near the windows and I had an excellent broadsides view of hear at dusk. If only I had my camera, and a tripod, and a cable realease, and our ship wasn’t underway causing all sorts of vibrations, I could have had an excellent image of her.

 

Most of the day we got to see the aft end of the Pearl. I could easily spot the new climbing wall right behind the funnel. Perhaps our next cruise will be on her.

 

But, back to the Dream. After having a few days aboard her, I’ve gotten a good feel for her. I’ve heard a few RCI and Carnival regulars complaining about the lack of this-or-that, but everyone does seem to be enjoying themselves.

 

I’ve decided that the only major complaint I have against this ship is that I’d like to find the original architect and slap him. Even if we take away the addition from the 1998 stretching of the ship, this is still a poorly designed floor plan. I am really happy with the new designs in cruise ships that I’ve seen or heard about.

 

The ship is kept in good repair, and fresh. Not all of the décor is new or modern, but this isn’t a new ship.

[troyphoto]

Things to note about getting around on the Dream…

 

The aft end is almost all sun decks with a pool. The easiest way to get there from anywhere else is to go to deck 7, and walk up from there. You can keep going up, all the way to deck 12 from deck 7, using outside stairways. Deck 8 is a covered area with deck chairs. Deck 9 and 10 are at the base of the terraces restaurant. There is no awnings or overhangs from this point up, so everything is usually exposed to the sun. Bad for me, since I’m a shade lover.

 

From deck 10, you’ve got a narrow and tall stairway to get up to deck 12, or during the day, you can duck into one of the doors and cut through the Trattoria restaurant.

 

Unfortunately, to give the restaurants the cool view, and have the sloped back, the designer sacrificed some valuable organization.

 

Now to the Bow… To get to the Overlook Lounge, where the ship band usually hangs out for some great music. One pleasant surprise was that we recognized a familiar face. The guitarist with the band, Eric Jones, was on the Jewel when we cruised a year ago. Now he’s featured as guitarist in one of the JAR stage shows. We really enjoyed his solo work in The Great Outdoors on the Jewel, and he’s been doing a wonderful job with his band members here on the dream.

 

To get to the overlook on deck 12 forward, go to deck nine, midship, and go forward. When you get to the forward elevators, go up to 12. The design of the lounge if funky as well, with a wall protruding through the center of the lounge, almost dividing the band’s area in half. It took me a few minutes to figure out what part was the wall, and what was actually the far side of the room.

 

The show last night was Harry the Magician. Harry was a riot. Very funny, and a great stage presence. My only advice would be to drop the linking rings as his opener. Every kid who studies illusions learns about the rings.

 

Wife and MIL just got back from the JAR Country Music spectacular. They gave it great reviews.

 

Pizzeria review… it’s just a buffet station with smaller area. There are a few small tables. Don’t think of a pizza restaurant. During the morning they’ve got a smaller version of the buffet in the sports bar (on deck 12 aft) – but I like the coffee better from the pizzeria. I know it’s the same coffee, but the brew machine is a few degrees cooler. I think the coffee in the sports buffet has a bit of a burned flavor to it. Just a personal preference.

 

For Lunch, you can hang out pool side for a slice of what my daughter called “school pizza” or a burger, hot dog, etc. Burgers were a bit drier than those served in the restaurants, which is what I’d expect from a buffet.

 

General food review… very good. Think of the restaurants on this ship as “Freestyle Lite” – you’ve got two main restaurants: The Terraces and The Four Seasons. Both are good venues, and they move people through in an orderly fashion. Unfortunately, that naughty architect had his hand in making the aisle ways in the terraces fairly narrow. The Four Seasons, since it was added during the stretch, seems better organized in its flow.

 

Tomorrow we’ve got reservations at La Trattoria, for Italian food.

 

NOTE: My blog version has more pics from that place I cannot spell. If you visit the blog -- be sure to hit F5 to refreash the view.

[troyphoto]

here's a pic of the aft end of the ship, showing the pool deck and the long walk up to deck 12

[troyphoto]

We’re sitting off Belize City right now. This port uses the small tenders, whereas Cozomel uses the larger 200 person tenders.

 

Had a lovely breakfast this morning in Four Seasons. I really recommend using the restaurants for breakfast if you have time. The buffet in the Sports bar fills up quickly, and sitting outside by the pizzeria isn’t always a dry experience, depending on the weather.

 

We met a nice couple from Vegas at breakfast this morning. They have a similar problem with medication that needs to be refrigerated. They were able to get a small fridge for their cabin, but said it needs a bit of help from a bag of ice to stay at the required temp.

 

Please note that I haven’t met anyone in a regular (non-suite) cabin with a mini-fridge. They just don’t exist on this ship. Bring a cooler onboard if you need to keep anything chilled in your cabin.

 

Now for the fun stuff: Last night, as I mentioned above, we pulled out of Cozamel ahead of the NCL Pearl. About an hour later I noticed her again off the starboard side. Over the next half hour she pulled ahead of us, and was gone in the night. I wanted to go find Capt Lars and tell him to step on it… but my wife wouldn’t let me. I decided to forego the drag race, since the Capt and crew had been so kind to run the heck out of the engines to make up for the lost time.

 

I’m sitting by the coffee bar and can see the Pear off the Starboard side. Unfortunately, she’s quite a ways off. I borrowed a 300 mm lens from a nice gentleman, but still couldn’t get a decent image of her.

[troyphoto]

I'll upload the pics to the blog, since I can't figure out how on this board.

[Texas2804]

Thanks for the continued updates...now, I really can't wait until March

 

Just a few questions:

What times did you arrive/able to get off the ship in Cozumel and Belize? (I know ya'll were late getting into Progresso)

 

Has anyone from you group been tendering? How long is the wait time before they do open tendering?

 

Thanks

[troyphoto]

I don't have the freestyle dailies in front of me, but I do remember that we were on schedule or early in Cozumel -- note, from what I've heard onboard, the Playa del carmen stop is skipped as offen as it is made. When they skip it, they usually get into Cozumel early, and ferry you over to PdC.

 

According to Capt Lars, they have safety issues due to how choppy the seas are there. Playa uses little tenders that don't do well in the straights, and its supposedly safer to get you to Cozumel early, and put you on a bigger ferry that can handle the waves.

 

I'll check with my wife once she's back onboard to see if her memory of times is better than mine.

 

Tendering is taken care of by getting a tender ticket in the Dazzles Lounge on 10... today they started giving out the tickets at 8:30, and I think the first tender headed out about 9:30 ish. By 11 a.m. everyone was off, and they called for non-ticketed tender operations.

[troyphoto]

I don't have the freestyle dailies in front of me, but I do remember that we were on schedule or early in Cozumel -- note, from what I've heard onboard, the Playa del carmen stop is skipped as offen as it is made. When they skip it, they usually get into Cozumel early, and ferry you over to PdC.

 

According to Capt Lars, they have safety issues due to how choppy the seas are there. Playa uses little tenders that don't do well in the straights, and its supposedly safer to get you to Cozumel early, and put you on a bigger ferry that can handle the waves.

 

I'll check with my wife once she's back onboard to see if her memory of times is better than mine.

 

Tendering is taken care of by getting a tender ticket in the Dazzles Lounge on 10... today they started giving out the tickets at 8:30, and I think the first tender headed out about 9:30 ish. By 11 a.m. everyone was off, and they called for non-ticketed tender operations.

[Don Haynes]

It usually takes about an hour before tendering starts after the ship has dropped anchor. It takes up to two hours to tender those with shore excursions, sometimes in a hour and a half. If you are freelancing and only wish to shop or drink at the local water hole, I wouldn't bother getting in line until after two hours.

 

When docked it takes a lot less time to unload, possibly an hour less. The tendering process takes a lot of time to accomplish.

[Katy P.]

Troyphoto, do the elevators don't go to all the floors or does it skip a floor? Just wondering because it's kinda difficult for some to be taking the stairs all the way to deck 12. (My husband uses a cane)Also, do you have to go down 1 floor then go up( i think i read this somewhere ) to go to the Terraces and four seasons restaurant even if you're on the same deck 9? How soon do you have to reserve a table at the main restaurants if you want to dine at a certain time? Where do you make these reservations, at the restaurants themselves? Lastly, the sodas. Did you purchase a soda card? Where and when do you purchase these cards? Thank you for all your postings. You have been a big help to everyone. :)

[bowbiter]

Thanks for the updates! It makes me want to leave now instead of a few weeks :D