Disappointing Dream :(

[NancyIL]

I've seen several reports now of people not liking the shows on the Dream. What exactly is it about the shows you don't like? Would a first time cruiser like them, would adults not like them, but the kids will? Just wondering if sometimes we should skip the shows and do the other ship activities. I plan on skipping the hypnotist at least, I am just not interested...

I have enjoyed all of DCL's production shows - including Toy Story and Villains...although I dozed through the latter on the Dream! I especially enjoyed Hercules, and was fortunate to see it for the first and only time about a week before its last performance on the Wonder in January 2008.

I have read that Aladdin will be on Fantasy. If it's anything like the show at California Adventure, it will be wonderful!

Even though I haven't been impressed with the dining room service on 2 of my 3 Disney cruises, I think DCL's ships are beautiful, and I would sail on any again - with the right itinerary and price.

 

[MMDiva]

We 100% agree with everything you said except for the shows, we thought they were great. IMO, the crowds were the biggest disappointment. We have another Dream cruise booked next year and my husband wants me to cancel it He much prefers the Wonder/Magic and so I am trying to convince him to give the Dream another try.

Our waiters also forgot my hubby's birthday and attempted to sing Happy Birthday and present him with a pin and a plate of muffins and danishes AT THE END OF THE DISEMBARKATION BREAKFAST

We had the 8pm dinner seating and asked them to speed up the process after the first night, we even mentioned it to the Head Server and our daughters still never had their desserts before the Kids Club staff came to pick them up and usually they ended up asleep shortly after that anyway.

DH also felt that the food quality on Deck 11 has gone down. And the crowds made character meetings and photography lines IMPOSSIBLE. I wanted to get a picture CD but we didn't even get the opportunity to take as many pics to make it worthwhile. It was like we had to make a choice between taking pictures or being late for dinner or other scheduled events.

We were VERY impressed with the Dream's decor but the ambiance was ruined by the crowds of rude guests that had no sense of cruise etiquette.

I want to end on a good note though....LOL.... Our girls the shows and the kids club. My DD4 is a mama's girl and she would always page us within a hour to come and get her but she was always enjoying herself when we would come to get her, she just prefers to be where we are We did get a chance to chill at Serenity Bay and it was just as relaxing as we remembered it. We feel super blessed that we were able to get to Castaway Cay!

Overall, I do want to keep our Dream 2012 sailing booked but we plan on booking with the classics for the next couple of years unless we see some changes in future reviews.

 

[HallsofVA]

We also had a fairly slow, somewhat inattentive serving team on our August Dream cruise. In 6 cruises, we've been least thrilled with the servers on the Dream and Wonder, and I don't know whether it is something they do different on the shorter cruises (like increase the guest to server ratio or something) or whether it's because the shorter cruises don't give us enough time to "bond" with the servers as on the longer cruises.

We liked the musical shows, though Villians is our least favorite. I liked the updates they made to Golden Mickeys, and saw Believe twice and found it fun, though I did miss Dreams a bit...But then again we have young kids who are super excited about the musicals, but we skip the non-musical shows.

Our cruise was full, and the ship was crowded, but not obnoxiously so (nothing like rope drop at a Disney park or leaving a park after fireworks). We only got to ride the Aquaduck twice in 5 days, since the line was so long, but it was fun.

The Dream is a beautiful ship, though I'm still somewhat partial to the Magic at the moment, since we've spent much more time on her than the other ships.

 

[AndyR]

Also agree re servers. In 11 Magic/Wonder cruises we have always raved about the service - but our one Dream cruise the entire ship's staff seemed "off" - just didn't have that Disney magic we had gotten spoiled by - and our head server (Simone) was a nightmare.

Interesting, the last time we had Simone was on the Magic and he went out of his way to get/arrange things we asked for. I wonder if there's something significantly different in the way the Dream operates that make it seem so off. We were on the MV but I'd have expected things to have worked themselves out by now.

 

[budbeerlady]

Good reminder on the pool size. I had told Dd a while ago she might NOT swim on the ship because it is so crowded. I need to remind her of that again before we sail, get her time at the POP pool while she can!

 

[DMMarla07860]

DH also felt that the food quality on Deck 11 has gone down.

I thought the pizza on the Dream was the best I ever tasted on a cruise, usually on the Wonder/Magic I'll have one piece that isn't good. Now chicken tenders were better on the Magic/Wonder then on the Dream, everything else tasted the same to me for the most part

 

[RedSox68]

I thought the pizza on the Dream was the best I ever tasted on a cruise, usually on the Wonder/Magic I'll have one piece that isn't good. Now chicken tenders were better on the Magic/Wonder then on the Dream, everything else tasted the same to me for the most part

We absolutely loved their new fast food stations on the pool deck on the Dream. Better selections and really liked the wraps and the salads.

 

[DMMarla07860]

We absolutely loved their new fast food stations on the pool deck on the Dream. Better selections and really liked the wraps and the salads.

only thing I didn't like on Dream was chicken tenders, but the pizza and other food made up for that

 

[scootch]

Sorry you were disappointed. Our B2B Dream cruises in April were just perfect, best vacation we have ever taken. I did not like the Villians show, but thought the other two were very good.

 

[mmtska]

Also agree re servers. In 11 Magic/Wonder cruises we have always raved about the service - but our one Dream cruise the entire ship's staff seemed "off" - just didn't have that Disney magic we had gotten spoiled by - and our head server (Simone) was a nightmare.

Wow I'm sorry to hear all of this! We had Simone as our head server and he was great!! Zsolt was are server and I thought he was absolutely amazing. We had a fantastic time on the Dream so I'm sad to hear that you didn't enjoy your time!

 

[Tuliplvr]

Sorry about your experience on the Dream. I sailed in July and I have to say our servers were TOP NOTCH! They were fantastic. I do agree the pools were very disappointing but we made the best of it.

 

[hawaiian mickey]

Also agree re servers. In 11 Magic/Wonder cruises we have always raved about the service - but our one Dream cruise the entire ship's staff seemed "off" - just didn't have that Disney magic we had gotten spoiled by - and our head server (Simone) was a nightmare.

aloha,
We also had Simone as our head server an he was the best. Made sure everything was going good from the first night and throughout the cruise. My wife and her cousin said he was easy on the eyes especially on pirate night.

aloha,
hawaiian mickey

 

[TexasGirl]

We were on the Dream less than a month ago.

I'm glad we went and liked a lot about the dream. Agree the pools need to be larger. Kids really missed having the pirate ship slide in the kids club or something similar that was playground like...not just PCs.

I have to say our service was incredible. Near perfect. Our rooom steward was actually the same one we had on a previous Magic cruise and is our favorite.

The Servers were personable and very very fast. This was our 9th cruise and we've NEVER had our meals out so speedily. Awesome.

I also didn't care for the shows much.

All in all...had fun...but prefer the Wonder and Magic.

 

[pxlbarrel]

aloha,
We also had Simone as our head server an he was the best. Made sure everything was going good from the first night and throughout the cruise. My wife and her cousin said he was easy on the eyes especially on pirate night.

aloha,
hawaiian mickey

Yeah, my mom and I thought the same of Simone ...

 

[MouseLovinMom]

There are 2 Simones on the Dream, one is a Head Server/Restaurant Mgr, the other is a Head Server. They were both on the Dream together when we sailed over the summer. Maybe explains some of the mixed reivews.. The one that came from the Magic is from Italy, he's the one that WE love

 

[pxlbarrel]

There are 2 Simones on the Dream, one is a Head Server/Restaurant Mgr, the other is a Head Server. They were both on the Dream together when we sailed over the summer. Maybe explains some of the mixed reivews.. The one that was came from the Magic is from Italy, he's the one that WE love

Ahhh, that explains it.

 

[wvdcl cruisers]

Just curious what the average contract term is for servers / waitstaff on the Dream? It appeared as though alot of reviews through late Spring into Summer had mellowed out about service in the dining rooms; now it seems like we're back to the reviews posted right after the MV....cruisers reporting it was either the best ever, or the worst. Aren't the CM's contracts staggered by a few months to avoid a significant turnover at one time, and could that possibly explain why service is not as consistent as it should be?

 

[Aajay]

I have been on the Dream twice this year and have two more to go before the year is over. I think it's a great ship with a great crew. The shows were so so but I really didn't care for the shows on the Magic or Wonder either. The pools, yes a little small but the pools are small on the others too. Service was great at dinner and there were loads of food allergies in our party. The Wonder is where I had issues with the dinner service I think that if you go with the mind set that your going to have a bad time then you will. We go knowing we are going to have a blast and we do

 

[orlandothebeagle]

I have been on the Dream twice this year and have two more to go before the year is over. I think it's a great ship with a great crew. The shows were so so but I really didn't care for the shows on the Magic or Wonder either. The pools, yes a little small but the pools are small on the others too. Service was great at dinner and there were loads of food allergies in our party. The Wonder is where I had issues with the dinner service I think that if you go with the mind set that your going to have a bad time then you will. We go knowing we are going to have a blast and we do

 

[dsneygirl]

Sorry you had a bad experience. We had an amazing trip on the Dream in Feb and re booked immediately. Also can't wait to sail on the Fantasy.

Our server was awesome!!! His assistant was just ok. Last year on the Wonder they were mediocre.