conandrob240
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2006
- Messages
- 2,470
I was on the now infamous Hurricane Irene 3 nt Bahamas cruise. I am going to ignore the issue of Irene and missing CC and simply review the ship itself. I have some issues with how Irene was handled (communications issues, mostly) and I was so sad about missing CC but this review is about the Dream itself. We have been on the Wonder 3 other times and also cruised Princess and NCL (sans kids).
Embarkation: We arrived around 10:45am. We dropped off our luggage and were told we had to go into the parking garage area and get in line. About 40 families in line. At exactly 11am, they let us in, checked our documents and proceeded through security. Short wait to check in, grabbed our kids club registration/bracelet and walked right on the ship at about 11:35am.
First Impressions: Wow, wow and more wow!!! Atrium was gorgeous. Greeters were all wonderful. Goofy was up 1 deck up waving from the elevator bank so we quickly walked up and had him all to ourselves for a few minutes- great start! Public areas- stairways, bathrooms, etc were all stunning. I marveled at the mickey head mirrors and gorgeous tiles in all the different bathrooms. So pretty!
Pool Decks: Went right to pool deck and again wow!. Gorgeous with an amazing big screen. Pools were really well done (great improvement from the Goofy pool on the Wonder) and the Nemo splash area was just great. Aquaduck was awesome! Got right in line and rode it righ when it opened at 12pm. Hot tubs were along the walls of the ship with plexiglass sides and a plexiglass window on the floor so they felt very open and spacious. Very cool- way better placement than those round ones right near the pools that every other ship has. Always tons of clean towels. Never really a problem finding a chair. Pools themselves got ridiculously crowded after Day 1 but were usually good before 11am or after 4pm. Adult pool was great- love the new design and the pool got lots of sun. Not enough loungers in that area though.
Food/Dining: I thought the food was the best I have had on any ship. It was consistently very good. Service in the dining rooms seemed rushed and chaotic. We had late seating and a tired 4 yr old so rushed was fine by us but I can see how it might be annoying. Cabanas buffets were really nice with a great set- up, good selection and very good food. Décor was great, seating very comfortable. Never seemed too crowded. Animators had good food but I really didnt enjoy the Crush show. Distracting and irritating. I greatly preferred the focus to be on the animation. It seemed like it didnt know if it was a Nemo restaurant or an animation restaurant or what. Enchanted garden- I loved this restaurant. The lighting and the décor was beautiful. Food was very good and this was our night 2 so the dining room seemed less chaotic. Royal Palace was also very nice- good food. We ate here for breakfast every day and for one lunch. Pretty restaurant but tables were ridiculously crowded together. We were literally 3 inches from the table next to us. Did not get room service at all.
Kids Clubs: Outgoing 4 yr old girl LOVED everything about the kids clubs. Programs were great, counselors were amazing. And I thought the Wonder had a nice kids space! -Well, the Dream has really outdone itself with this area. It was absolutely amazing. Shy 12 yr old boy less enthused with Edge. Few things he was interested in. The one or two things he attended werent led well ( for example, dodgeball scheduled for 1 hr, played 15 minutes after starting 10 minutes late- counselor said well, it is a little hot and youll all be on the next sailing, so well just play then. Um, no, we werent on the next sailing and it wasnt really very hot at all. ) Activities were limited in Edge and 75% of them revolved around playing video games inside the Edge room (which was pretty small BTW).
Entertainment: Shows were very good. Movie theater & show theater were beautiful. Adult area was amazing but badly underutilized. Bubble bar was gorgeous but we were the only ones there. Same with Skylnes. Drinks and service in adult areas was very good. I would have liked to see more schedule family activities. They seemed lighter to me than the ones on the Wonder. Midship detective agency was a big hit. Really cute concept and lots of fun. Mini-golf was also fun. Pirate night great with really good fireworks.
Service: Exceptional. Every single person was upbeat and friendly. Anything we asked for was greeted with a smile. Great team on this ship.
Room: Had a 4B cabin # 8620. Wow again! What a great design! Some much storage space. Great bed, bathroosm woith round tub and rain shower were awesome. Really light and airy room. Pull down wall bed had a star constellation on the ceiling above- such a nice little touch.
Spa: Had a massage and it was really nice. Therapist was great, and the spa itself was really pretty. Rainforest area looked great. It is silly there is a charge for it even on the day you are paying for a spa treatment. Not fair!
I would book the Dream again without hesitation! An almost perfect ship!
Embarkation: We arrived around 10:45am. We dropped off our luggage and were told we had to go into the parking garage area and get in line. About 40 families in line. At exactly 11am, they let us in, checked our documents and proceeded through security. Short wait to check in, grabbed our kids club registration/bracelet and walked right on the ship at about 11:35am.
First Impressions: Wow, wow and more wow!!! Atrium was gorgeous. Greeters were all wonderful. Goofy was up 1 deck up waving from the elevator bank so we quickly walked up and had him all to ourselves for a few minutes- great start! Public areas- stairways, bathrooms, etc were all stunning. I marveled at the mickey head mirrors and gorgeous tiles in all the different bathrooms. So pretty!
Pool Decks: Went right to pool deck and again wow!. Gorgeous with an amazing big screen. Pools were really well done (great improvement from the Goofy pool on the Wonder) and the Nemo splash area was just great. Aquaduck was awesome! Got right in line and rode it righ when it opened at 12pm. Hot tubs were along the walls of the ship with plexiglass sides and a plexiglass window on the floor so they felt very open and spacious. Very cool- way better placement than those round ones right near the pools that every other ship has. Always tons of clean towels. Never really a problem finding a chair. Pools themselves got ridiculously crowded after Day 1 but were usually good before 11am or after 4pm. Adult pool was great- love the new design and the pool got lots of sun. Not enough loungers in that area though.
Food/Dining: I thought the food was the best I have had on any ship. It was consistently very good. Service in the dining rooms seemed rushed and chaotic. We had late seating and a tired 4 yr old so rushed was fine by us but I can see how it might be annoying. Cabanas buffets were really nice with a great set- up, good selection and very good food. Décor was great, seating very comfortable. Never seemed too crowded. Animators had good food but I really didnt enjoy the Crush show. Distracting and irritating. I greatly preferred the focus to be on the animation. It seemed like it didnt know if it was a Nemo restaurant or an animation restaurant or what. Enchanted garden- I loved this restaurant. The lighting and the décor was beautiful. Food was very good and this was our night 2 so the dining room seemed less chaotic. Royal Palace was also very nice- good food. We ate here for breakfast every day and for one lunch. Pretty restaurant but tables were ridiculously crowded together. We were literally 3 inches from the table next to us. Did not get room service at all.
Kids Clubs: Outgoing 4 yr old girl LOVED everything about the kids clubs. Programs were great, counselors were amazing. And I thought the Wonder had a nice kids space! -Well, the Dream has really outdone itself with this area. It was absolutely amazing. Shy 12 yr old boy less enthused with Edge. Few things he was interested in. The one or two things he attended werent led well ( for example, dodgeball scheduled for 1 hr, played 15 minutes after starting 10 minutes late- counselor said well, it is a little hot and youll all be on the next sailing, so well just play then. Um, no, we werent on the next sailing and it wasnt really very hot at all. ) Activities were limited in Edge and 75% of them revolved around playing video games inside the Edge room (which was pretty small BTW).
Entertainment: Shows were very good. Movie theater & show theater were beautiful. Adult area was amazing but badly underutilized. Bubble bar was gorgeous but we were the only ones there. Same with Skylnes. Drinks and service in adult areas was very good. I would have liked to see more schedule family activities. They seemed lighter to me than the ones on the Wonder. Midship detective agency was a big hit. Really cute concept and lots of fun. Mini-golf was also fun. Pirate night great with really good fireworks.
Service: Exceptional. Every single person was upbeat and friendly. Anything we asked for was greeted with a smile. Great team on this ship.
Room: Had a 4B cabin # 8620. Wow again! What a great design! Some much storage space. Great bed, bathroosm woith round tub and rain shower were awesome. Really light and airy room. Pull down wall bed had a star constellation on the ceiling above- such a nice little touch.
Spa: Had a massage and it was really nice. Therapist was great, and the spa itself was really pretty. Rainforest area looked great. It is silly there is a charge for it even on the day you are paying for a spa treatment. Not fair!
I would book the Dream again without hesitation! An almost perfect ship!
