Dream is not my favorite ship

[shananigans]

Just got off a Memorial Weekend cruise (May 27-May 30). Our first cruise on the Dream was a HOTHS cruise in October 2021. We had subpar service to the point we questioned if Disney had lost its touch. Fast forward to Spring Break 2022 on the Fantasy and the service was exactly what I was anticipating. Fabulous and we felt so well taken care of! It was nothing short of outstanding!

This gave me high hopes that the Dream experience last October was a fluke. I’m sad to report that we were wrong. First night of dinner, we waited nearly an hour for food. Head Server stopped by and was pleasant, but seemed preoccupied. It was the only time we saw him.

Saturday evening, no Head Server. Our servers were quite busy and we sat there for a while after dinner was over and decided we would just skip dessert because things were taking so long. We did not attend Sunday night dinner or breakfast before debarkaking this morning. We did room service and ate at the airport instead.

This cruise was decidedly fuller than the Covid cruises we’ve been on. Much more waiting for things, etc. Ice cream is self serve. We did get our own table - but I wish we could have shared because others near us seemed to be having a great time. No magic tricks at all for our kids. The servers were polite - but nothing more.

We are currently booked on a British Isles cruise in September 2023, which is slated to be aboard the Dream. Seriously considering canceling, but going to give it one more try on our HOTHS cruise on the Dream this October. I’m embarrassed to bring my daughter, son in law, and grand daughter on this ship if they are going to experience the service we’ve had.

We aren’t high maintenance-I swear. We don’t even have any special requests. Just asking for the Disney service we’ve grown accustomed to, it’s hard when it seems to have disappeared.

 

[rochmom4]

I just got off the Memorial Day weekend cruise as well. Agree with above. Our server was the opposite of the above. We were served so quickly that we didn't have time to finish swallowing before the next course was brought out. It seemed as if our server was rushed. He also kept reaching in front of my husband to serve my daughter. This happened at every meal and with every dish. Odd..... There was also no cruise director, just someone helping out. There were minimal announcements on the PA system. Trivias were repeated as though there was no coordination between activity staff members. There was no club host to our disappointment. We were told that DCL eliminated the club hosts on all ships. We are also low maintenance and platinum cruisers and this cruise did not meet our expectations. This was our third trip on the Dream.

 

[shananigans]

I just got off the Memorial Day weekend cruise as well. Agree with above. Our server was the opposite of the above. We were served so quickly that we didn't have time to finish swallowing before the next course was brought out. It seemed as if our server was rushed. He also kept reaching in front of my husband to serve my daughter. This happened at every meal and with every dish. Odd..... There was also no cruise director, just someone helping out. There were minimal announcements on the PA system. Trivias were repeated as though there was no coordination between activity staff members. There was no club host to our disappointment. We were told that DCL eliminated the club hosts on all ships. We are also low maintenance and platinum cruisers and this cruise did not meet our expectations. This was our third trip on the Dream.

Makes us so sad because this isn’t what Disney is usually about. Love cruising - but we may start to look elsewhere or just avoid sailing on the Dream from now on.

 

[happycamper47]

It may have just been who you had for servers. We did a 3 day in Jan on the Dream and were very satisfied with the servers and the service. With all the shifting DCL is doing because of the WISH joining the fleet and getting as many back as possible post covid I think there's bound to be some issues. I think DCL is having the same staffing issues the other lines are experiencing.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Sad to hear this…we sailed on the Dream in April 2019 and had a wonderful time, and great servers.

We weren’t thrilled with our serving team on the Wonder last month. We felt so rushed, almost no conversation, etc. Everything came out so fast we sat there for at least half an hour after eating, waiting for the AP show. The timing just seemed weird. I feel like there is a lot of new staff and it can be hit or miss with servers these days (the team on my October ‘21 Wonder cruise was great!)

 

[JM_97]

I have a feeling that Disney is going to put all of their eggs into the Disney Wish basket. All the best servers, cast members, etc. will be on the Wish and so that is where all the attention will be for a few months. I'm sure they did the same thing each time with the current ships as well.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We just got off the Dream (May 16-20), and the MDR service was exceptional (Main Seating). Our server tested me with numerous quizzes. I loved it, the challenge. Got the first night quickly, then my DH told him I was an engineer. He ramped up the post-dinner challenges. Oh, the food and service were great. Only missed one quiz, but had a great time.

 

[Cheburashka]

Service is luck of the draw. It's the exact team you get, not the ship. The worst service I've ever had (still wasn't bad because it is DCL, it was just okay) was on the Magic & Wonder. Those are the ones people usually rave about the service, but not for us. On the Wonder, they minimally attended to us & spent a lot of time chatting with a bigger table. They even failed to get my son's picture into the Animation Magic show. On the Magic, it was a little better but still just okay.

The Fantasy is where we've had the best service & the Dream came in second.

But that was our experience based on our serving teams on those cruises. I know our experiences aren't universal, because different people get different servers, are in different table configurations, are concierge or not, all things that determine the level of service you receive.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

We’ve had fantastic and blah service on all ships- our favorite team was on the Dream in January. Absolutely amazing for us.

 

[Calantha]

We had an awesome team in January on the Dream for just DS and me. So much so that we sought them out at breakfast each day to make sure we had the same level of service. Our servers on the Fantasy in 2019 were meh (we were a large party of 12 and they weren't really very coordinated). I'll report back on the Wonder next week.

 

[MomOTwins]

I think it really is a bit of luck of the draw as to servers rather than a ship thing. I’d rate our servers as follows:

2018 Dream #1: Good
2018 Dream #2: Good
2019 Fantasy: Amazing
2021 Dream #3: Amazing
2022 Magic: Subpar

Good means we were completely satisfied with the service: very good service and at least some Disney touches (e.g little things to make our kids feel special). Amazing means we were absolutely blown away—they above and beyond to make sure we had a great meal and also did ALL the Disney magic. And subpar means it was not up to the level of service we have come to expect from Disney, with some noticeable mistakes.

I do wonder if some of the better servers are being poached by the Wish. Our amazing server team last fall on the Dream mentioned they had both requested to be transferred to the Wish.

 

[anricat]

I don't know that we've ever had magic tricks. I'd rather not have magic tricks and have solid service instead.

 

[bedgraynexl]

We were on the Fantasy in March and our service was excellent. Our server told us there was a lot of transferring going on due to the Wish coming on board and they were training a lot of new CMs to take places. Disney asked him to move over to the Wish but declined due to his seniority on the Fantasy.

I think that has to do with a lot of the service issues plus trying to bring new people on to fill positions left vacant following covid. I'd say in a year service will likely be back up to pre-covid standards.

 

[Kwami]

We were on the Fantasy in March and our service was excellent. Our server told us there was a lot of transferring going on due to the Wish coming on board and they were training a lot of new CMs to take places. Disney asked him to move over to the Wish but declined due to his seniority on the Fantasy.

I think that has to do with a lot of the service issues plus trying to bring new people on to fill positions left vacant following covid. I'd say in a year service will likely be back up to pre-covid standards.

They'll be shifting around staff a lot for ships 6 and 7, too. It'll be a few more years until things settle out from that.

 

[jeffers102]

Definitely view this as a server specific issue and not ship related. Our March 2022 Dream sailing the servers were quite good (not as exceptional as our April 2019 Dream sailing). However, our servers on the Fantasy a week ago were average at best. Even so, I'd sail the Fantasy again in a heartbeat!

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

That's too bad. We had excellent experiences on the Dream (September 2021 and March 2022). My daughter says it's her favorite ship, and even I have to admit the Dream gives my beloved Wonder a run for its money. We absolutely adore the entertainment staff on the Dream. This is not to discount your experience, but to encourage you to give the Dream another try.

 

[DCLMP]

I've been on 25 DCL cruises and have never had bad service. Some I like more than others, but never bad.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I have a feeling that Disney is going to put all of their eggs into the Disney Wish basket. All the best servers, cast members, etc. will be on the Wish and so that is where all the attention will be for a few months. I'm sure they did the same thing each time with the current ships as well.

When the Dream was being built, we were specifically told by the head server on the Magic that they could only pull approx 30% of staff from each ship, Magic and Wonder, or else the service on those ships would suffer. They have to pull some staff or else the new ship would be all brand new staff, again service would suffer.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I don't know that we've ever had magic tricks. I'd rather not have magic tricks and have solid service instead.

Some are pretty amazing. For our kids, that was one of their favorite parts.

 

[DCLMP]

Some are pretty amazing. For our kids, that was one of their favorite parts.

My kids loved them. They still do. Some servers do them some don't. It's never affected the service.