Just off the Dream -- Our family's review

[shelleyr25]

We were on the same cruise as OP and I agree with everything posted. We never had a problem getting a chaise...yes, the pools were crowded but no more than the Wonder/Magic. We used the stairs or front and rear elevators whenever possible and it worked out fine. All in all, had a wonderful trip and would love to book a 7 night on the Fantasy, 4 nights is not enough time to enjoy all the ship has to offer!!

 

[gfly]

this was a very insightful post. thank you very much!

 

[Terri2007]

I didn't intend to completely shrug off all negative reviews. However, considering some reviews seemed completely imbalanced and slanted toward the negative, I felt compelled to write an alternate viewpoint which, from my perspective, acknowledged some of the chief concerns while giving a more optimistic conclusion. For example, few of the complaint-filled reports have mentioned empty elevators at the front/back of the ship when highlighting crowded elevators at mid-ship. Other complaints, such as the main elevator on deck 11 emptying out somewhat in Cabanas (it is a big, informal area) seemed overstated to me. Everyone I spoke to on the ship had no problem with it, yet after reading trip reports I was bracing for something appalling. Also, from reading trip reports here, I expected a MUCH higher percentage of the crew to have a limited grasp of English. On the contrary, I only met one guy (maintanance) who I felt didn't quite understand me. Aside from that, I was amazed at how all of these people from various nations could work so well and communicate with one another. The staff was great.

I suppose I must have missed those negative reports. I know that we were on the 5th voyage and were lucky enough to had a very experienced server from the Wonder. We had a very quick main dining service with much of the attention you would expect from DCL. There was an entire group of other posters that related, much more problematic MDR experiences. We had several conversations from our server about the fact that many of the crew were new and many had just up and left after the 1st month. He said there were a lot of growing pains but that in "6 months everything is going to be perfect". I believed him.

For us we expected these growing pains and still had a great time, because at its core the ship is beautiful and regardless of what problems we had the DCL staff clearly was vested into getting everything perfect. I think this is not possible with a new vessel. The only thing that was surprising to me (and continues to be so) was the size of the pools and the size of the terminal. The former is not possible to overcome. We never had a huge problem on the aquaduck. There were lines, but we expected them. How do you put 4000 people on a ship with 2 water slides and expect any difference. We never waited more then 15-20 min in general. I was surprised about that ice cold water that hits you in the back after that 1st dip.

Glad you had a great cruise. We look forward to our double dip next year. The only thing that is bothering me about the Dream is the price. Best.

 

[cseca]

To OP,
I'm glad to hear Dream has improved A LOT since the MV. Since we'll be on it again next year.

While this may be true, my guess is that would not be the majority nor true of the majority of people who wrote negative trip reviews. What a bizarre conclusion to reach. You are sailing months after those original reviews. How about, thanks all you maiden cruisers - Disney heard and reacted/improved.

Did anyone really expect any different? They didn't get the Conde Nast award (Magic/Wonder) and let everyone know about it and think to settle for less on Dream/Fantasy.

I agree...
But remember, there are some people with thoughts that if bad things don't happen to them it must've not happened at all. That goes for good AND bad reviews.
That's why everybody must remember that all reviews is a YMMV. And read them with a grain of salt

 

[Disney Magic Girl]

Thank you so much for this review! I was getting kind of scared after reading all of the negative reviews. we leave in less than 2 months, so this is usefull information!

 

[Dismom1025]

Thank you for your review, we leave on the Dream in a few weeks on our first cruise ever & I have to say I was scared to death reading all the negative reviews. My sister has sailed with DCL 5 times and has never had a bad experience, so I was floored with all the negative trip reports. But I then I started to think that there will always be a lot of bugs in the first few months of anything new, regardless if DCL has been doing this for years. I think there were a lot of expectations that the Dream wouldn't have hiccups because it was Disney, but everyone should expect problems in the beginning. It sounds like DCL is listening to everyone's opinions.

Your review has help ease my fears that our 1st cruise will be our last, so Thank you very much!

 

[mmouse37]

Moving now to the Trip Reports board.

MJ

 

[omalley1118]

Hey Rutgers, we are from NJ as well!!! I very much enjoyed your post and feel we may be kindred spirits. I also have no problem critiquing, honestly and specifically, when it is needed. I beleive that people think they are "owed" something on the ships. Common sense goes a long way!!!!! My family has absolutely no problem with taking the stairs and alternate elevators.

We sail on May 1st, and I am terribly excited!!!!! stya tuned for our TR!!! I only hope I can do as good a job as this guy!!!!

 

[pixiefairy]

Thanks for your review! We are first time cruisers sailing in October on the Dream and some of the trip reports have made me feel like perhaps this was going to be a big mistake and completely unpleasant. I know everyone has their own experience, but I do agree that I think sometimes the expectations are set a tad too high. Thanks again for helping put my mind at ease!

 

[zalansky]

Thanks for your review, we leave in 10 days! We've cruised the Wonder 4 times and I am going to miss it - but thanks to your review i am looking forward to enjoying all the positive things you mentioned!

 

[scootch]

Thanks for your report. We loved the Dream also! We did a b2b and thus two stops at CC, I found chairs very easily and we moved around from pelican back to the first gazebo, ect... a few times during the day. As far as pools... all cruises have one top deck, is there really any way to have a pool large enough for all cruisers? I really don't think so. That being said, it was not hard to find time to ride the duck or dip in the pools. My 11 year old rode it at least 10 times.

 

[goofy4tink]

Just got off the dream last thursday, and I agree with everything you said. Once the first rotation dining started the aquaduck was empty, so go at 5:30 to 7:00 and you won't wait very long. My only issue was that cabanas wasn't open for dinner. You either had to eat in the major dining rooms,go to the pizza/hamburger place by the pool ( a freaken madhouse most of the time) or room service. I missed not having another option for dinner time.

Only issue with that is what happens if you want to go to the show before your late dining seating??? I thought about doing just that but decided that we wanted to do the shows more than the AD. We rode it once...and as someone else noted, were really surprised when that first gush of water covered us!!! Too funny.

If I hadn't cruised the Wonder several times in the past, perhaps my expectations would have been lower. But, I expected things to be pretty similar. In fact, we had a friend who cruised the Dream over Feb vacation. He came back and said the food was not nearly as good as the food on Royal Caribbean ships and that the food at Cabanas was almost inedible. WELL....I got all in a huff. How dare he criticize my DCL??? Well....we had similar experiences to his, much to my dismay. The food wasn't nearly as good, or plentiful, as it had been on previous cruises. And my dh and I really found the food at Cabanas to be lacking. But, I think we are in the minority. We found CC to be horribly crowded, but we didn't get to the beach area until around 1-1:30ish. We had done a nature walk/kayak excursion that morning. I guess you have to make choices...either do an excursion or head to the beach. But it's tough to do both.

 

[clower5luvzdiz]

That's one problem I have with CC - lunch. Cookie's is only open for about 2-3 hours, so there is no way to avoid the crowds at lunchtime there. And if you don't eat during the time Cookies is open, you are out of luck.

On our trip last week, my daughter and I spent more time snorkeling than we thought we did and showed up at 2:15 to find it all shut down. They had even shut down the ice cream machines and most of the drink fountains. We had to get one of the bartenders to give us a couple bananas that they normally use for daiquiris to hold us over until we could get back to the ship and get some real food.

Do they have the pizza and hamburger places on the Dream? We love those for lunch without the lines! Always hot and fresh too

 

[babycrnp]

Thanks for the review! Sailing on the dream May 2011...almost here

 

[bonrea]

We sailed a 4 night cruise on the Dream from 4/17 to 4/21 and absolutely loved it. The ship is so beautiful and the CMs are so nice and knowledgeable and helpful we are having a hard time reacclimating to reality here at home now. We had stateroom 5186 and have posted a Stateroom Report here on the DISBoards.

Ask for Veronica from Brazil as your server next time you book on the Dream. She is the best! DH wants to adopt her.

Check out the Sunset on the Dream here> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZxv1nvabAQ