Back from Dream June 7-12th...

[seasideliz]

This makes me "nervous" (not sure that's the right word) for the cruise we are planning to book fall 2012 on the Fantasy. We cruised on the Magic in Feb and were thoroughly impressed. We'd love to sail on the Magic again or the Wonder, but we prefer the 7 days out of Florida - as flying to the other ports makes it super cost prohibitive.
I hope the learning curve for the Fantasy will be shortened due to experiencing / working through many of the issues on the Dream!

 

[Dizzyworld]

Although we haven't been on the Dream yet, we have noticed on the last few cruises it does seem that DCL is making cuts on things. There is no longer an option on the dinner menus for a plain steak, only chicken and salmon. At the fruit stations on CC you could get cut up mango and papaya. I like that the portions are small because we have room to eat from more sections of the menus. I've noticed that the snacks served in the hallways in the evening are more limited. I wonder if DCL noticed that a lot was being wasted so they made changes in all these areas?

In the past, our serves have been attentive but they have always seemed really rushed to me. I thought it was becasue we were mostly first seating and they needed to turn over everything for the next group? And larger groups seem to get more attention than our table of 4.

We have had a dinner or two at Topsiders and have loved it. Very peaceful and relaxing. We hope to do at least one dinner at Cabanas on our upcoming cruises.

I do hope people are letting DCL know what they thought of what is going on in the dining rooms on the Dream. This is the only hope of getting things to improve.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

We just got off the Dream yesterday and I feel the same way about the dining room servers. I'm fairly certain that our assistant server let our drinks get empty every night before we ever got refills (and he was the one I liked most out of the 3), I couldn't even tell you who our "head server" was, and our server just wasn't quite up to par. For example...the first night we were asking about the kids eating and then going to the clubs. He explained it and we said "o.k. - sounds great". I realize we never came out and said that is what we would like to do, and I know what you do when you assume, but after all that, why would he think we didn't want to do that? Another example...our last night my husband (who is a very plain Jane kind of eater) was talking to the server about the appetizers and salads. I piped in that my husband would like the salads they offer on the kids menu. The server said o.k. and walked away. Fast forward an hour later when our entrees were being served and my husband didn't have anything. Our server never got his entree order. No problem, he says he will get DH one of what I had (which is what he would have ordered). DH asked him to bring him one with "nothing on it" and explained that he didn't want it in the sauce that mine was in. 10 minutes later, our server brings him a plate with a piece of beef in the middle with "nothing else on it". Just a big white plate and little piece of beef. DH never said that he didn't want the vegetables to go with it, just didn't want the sauce. Now I used to be a waitress at a little whole in the wall joint and know that that doesn't look right and I better make sure of what the customer wants. It wasn't enough to really complain about, but it sure wasn't anything exceptional that I've had on my 4 other cruises with DCL.

This. In fact I almost wonder if we had the same serving team, as our server consistently said "ok sounds great" and "no problem" and we had trouble getting refills from the Assistant Server. We were on the June 7th cruise, head Server was Mario, main Server started with an M and Assistant Server was Artha.

Overall the food was hit and miss. I loved some things and found others (1 or 2 items) almost inedible with most being pretty good (but not great). We had a mess up with our table (seated with others, despite requesting to be alone) and talked to the head server to get it corrected. He did fix it, but was pretty rude about it, and then never talked to us again, until he came by for his tip on the last night. Our server tried really hard but just wasn't quite up to par. Assistant server never had kids drinks waiting for them (all 3 got the same drink every single night). We consistently had to wait for refills. One night we didn't get our bread until after the entree despite asking for it twice. They only cut one of the kids meals for them on one night (on our first Disney cruise this was one of this things that had surprised and impressed me the most... my kids were younger than and it felt like such a treat to be able to eat while my food was still hot and have my kids food taken care of for them). No magic tricks or fun with the waiters and a bit of a language barrier with both server and assistant server, although they both tried really hard, and when we asked if they could speed up the meal a bit (we were consistently behind other tables who were seated and ordered after us), they did so. Again not bad... we always eventually got our food and drinks, if we made a special request it was honored, etc... it just was not that standard that Disney themselves set for us on the Wonder.... and frankly not even close to awesome servers we had on RCCL Liberty of the Seas.

Rest of the trip was great. Loved the ship, great staterooms, great stateroom host. Kids LOVED LOVED the kids clubs. We thought there was less adult activities than we had done in the past.... but it also could have been that our kids were wanting to go to the kids clubs at different times than in the past so we missed a lot of the scheduled adult activities we had been interested in as that was when kids were wanting to be with us and found ourselves with free time when not much was happening. Loved the double stop at Castaway Cay. Loved Palo and had amazing service there (same server for Brunch and Dinner) and she remembered me my love of a specific dessert and had it waiting for me at dinner although it is only served at brunch.

Overall we had come aboard prepared to rebook and opted not to. We are doing something completely different instead (non-cruising trip to France). It wasn't that it was a bad trip (it wasn't, it was great and lots of memories made) but there wasn't that feeling that we've had on previous cruises that made us ensure we'd have to be back.

 

[teamtilt]

20 minutes to get a coffee is extreme to me , I know there are more people and the crew seems brand new but.... asked for coffee three times one afternoon at Royal Palace and I'm still waiting.... One night wanted something to dip chicken fingers into asked for barbecue sauce 20 minutes later it arrived. I will say Room Service and Cabanas were on point for sure.

 

[kellyb2000]

This. In fact I almost wonder if we had the same serving team, as our server consistently said "ok sounds great" and "no problem" and we had trouble getting refills from the Assistant Server. We were on the June 7th cruise, head Server was Mario, main Server started with an M and Assistant Server was Artha.

Mario was our head server, but our assistant server was Alfredo, and I'm having trouble remembering our server's name. Pretty sure it started with a T and he was from India. He was the one where I absolutely felt like we hit a language barrier.

They only cut one of the kids meals for them on one night (on our first Disney cruise this was one of this things that had surprised and impressed me the most... my kids were younger than and it felt like such a treat to be able to eat while my food was still hot and have my kids food taken care of for them).

THANK YOU! I didn't want to gripe about that because I was sure someone would give me a hard time, but I had to cut my 3YO's chicken up every night! And I specifically remember one of the servers standing right beside me one night because I thought "I wonder if he'll offer to do this for me" but no. And again, not a big deal, I'm completely used to cutting my children's food, but when you've had that extra touch before, you always want it again!

No magic tricks or fun with the waiters

We did get this from the asst, but usually it was as our drinks sat empty. And then it seemed that the server was waiting on him to finish to do what he needed to do.

Rest of the trip was great. Loved the ship, great staterooms, great stateroom host. Kids LOVED LOVED the kids clubs....Loved the double stop at Castaway Cay.

We still rebooked, however it's just a dummy date so we'll see what happens.

 

[LissaW16]

We were on the June 7th Dream cruise with KellyB...

Our server was Edward from Puerto Rico, assistant server was Nixen, head server was Gabon from Hungary. We saw and spoke with Gabon each night, despite the fact that he was filling in for one of his servers on more than one night (the server was ill). I think we had a language barrier with Nixen, but he seemed to be trying. We were a party of 8, and I think Edward and Nixen also had another very large table. Service for us was totally sufficient. Nothing over the top, but very little to complain about.

One of the people in our party of 8 has a shellfish allergy, which she wasn't going to bother to mention until she was asked the first night (she was just going to not order food that contained shellfish). Our food took a little longer to arrive, as Edward explained that they made Barb's food fresh separately in the "non-shellfish" kitchen or something like that. It wasn't super slow, just a little slower than adjacent tables.

I was hoping for a little more "memory" from the waitstaff - like if I order decaf coffee the first night with dessert, either ask me again if I want decaf coffee the second night when you bring the dessert menus (like show me you remembered what I had the night before), or better yet, just automatically bring me a cup of decaf coffee after dinner. I did have to order my decaf each night when I ordered my dessert, but that's nothing to complain about. I got my beverage, and that's all I expect. I was HOPING for more, but I can't complain because of it.

And I wouldn't worry if you have an upcoming cruise on the dream after November 2011... everyone we spoke to is leaving in November for the Fantasy, so the Dream will have a totally different crew for 2012. Whether they are "new" or transfers from Magic/Wonder, I'm not sure. I just know that when we sail again (April 2012 on the Dream), the crew will be different, so one can only guess what service will be like...

And I think every person's service experience will be totally their own. It's going to be your interpretation based on past experiences and your expectations. I can't say service on the Dream was good, bad, or anything else - you will have to make up your own mind. I can say that I personally was totally satisfied with the service, despite what I read here on the boards before I cruised. I was not "wow'ed", but I was not upset either. Satisfied.

 

[Patg]

We were on the first 5 night sailing at the end of may. Our dining service was outstanding. We had 8 children and six adults at our table. After the first night, the assistant waiter had remembered our drinks and had them at the table practically before we sat down. They couldn't have done anything better. We had a vegetarian among us, and she always requested special things, sometimes numerous items, no problem filling her requests. Each night they suggested ther favorite entree for that evening, and usually brought us extra food to try, and always brought extra deserts. The head dining room server, Gabon, stopped at our table every night to make sure we were happy. We have been on both the magic and wonder, and the service on the dream was equally great. We were not disappointed in the least.

 

[sasser05]

This sums it up for me as well. If it would have been my first Disney Cruise I would probably be shouting rave reviews. But it was our second, and I didn't feel like the Dream exceeded my expectations. Disney sets the bar high and I felt like the missing link was the obvious stress on many of the CM's that got in the way of the pure joy that surrounded us on our trip on the Wonder.
All in all, it was still a fantastic vacation.

Totally agree with you!..This was our 9th DCL cruise...6 on the Wonder...2 on the Magic...The Dream is too Big for the quality the other ships hold

 

[mks001]

We just got off the Dream on the 17th (which sailed full) and our servers were fantastic. We never had any of the problems problems listed above. They were very attentive and we never had any issues with drink or food service. We hardly ever saw our head server - still not sure what that guy does other than ask if you are fine and come around the last night for his tip.

The Dream is big and at times she did feel a bit crowded. This included dinner as well. Still, we absolutely loved the Dream - the problem for us was five days is too short. We are planning to go on the Magic in 2012 and Fantasy in 2013 - from now on it is nothing shorter than 7 day for us.

 

[kellyb2000]

We hardly ever saw our head server - still not sure what that guy does other than ask if you are fine and come around the last night for his tip.

5 cruises later and I'm still trying to figure this one out!

But I do LOVE cruising with Disney...I don't want to sound too negative!