Our long-awaited return to Norwegian Dream was nice, overall. There were several glitches, however, that I attribute to being on the first cruise of the season. Supplies ran low, new crew and old crew hadn't yet gelled, and the port of Boston didn't have it all together yet. Hopefully, these will improve with time.

It also rained the whole time, so that kept everyone indoors. I suspect this cruise will get a lot of bad reviews due to the combination of the weather and the kinks mentioned above.

I had a great time, though. My goals were to leave life behind for a couple of days and to check out changes made to a favorite ship. Both goals were exceeded. I'll have a review in a couple of weeks (my trusted journal was with me again). In the meantime, if you have any questions, let me know.

Lisa, welcome back. Happy to here overall it was a good cruise and sorry to hear about the glitches.

Are they doing a good job of maintaining the ship? Just wonering since it's not going to be among their fleet much longer and that sometimes means they aren't as on their toes with keeping them in tip-top shape.

Cheers, Neil

Thank you, Neil. The ship seemed to be in great shape. Of course, she's 16 years old and it shows in some places -- such as bathroom decor -- yet she appeared very clean to me. Carpeting was in great shape; mattresses were firm and extremely comfortable. As with most ships, there was a lot of cleaning going on regularly, shining of banisters and the like. She just came out of a drydock and I'm not certain as to what was done.

The only issue I learned regarding the impact of her short time remaining in the NCL fleet was that NCL will NOT be implementing Freestyle 2.0 on N. Dream.

LisaP

Thanks for the info, always good to get the scoop from folks coming off a ship.

Cheers, Neil

Sorry to hear the weather didn't cooperate and they ran short of supplies. Is Boston a new port of debarkation for NCL?

I am glad to hear, though, that your missions were accomplished and you were able to get a little R & R. It won't be long and you'll be off again! Welcome home!

LisaP-Welcome Home! We are all glad for your return and that you were able to enjoy the cruise despite the weather! Those are the marks of the true cruiser. I'll bet that with the short time remaining that instituting the F2 policies is inappropriate for the Dream. Still we will be anxiously awaiting your review and We are happy to see you have other upcoming cruises-so long as you have those-you still have part of youself "at sea"!

BillyBuzzy

valentine, sorry to hear that so many things went wrong for you on this cruise. It wasn't a perfect one for us, either, but we went with the flow. Trust me in that this cruise was definitely out of the ordinary for NCL.

I'd like to address some points made in the above post.

Embarkation lines: We arrived to the ship at 4:00 pm, and the lines weren't bad then. Yet, we did hear that they were bad from noon until about 2:00. I attribute this to lack of communication between Massport and the cruise line. This was the first cruise of the season (that included embarkation), and it was clear that most were either either out of practice or new to the job.

Muster drill: Yes, it was long, but nowhere near an hour. Maybe 20 minutes.

Understaffing: Yes, that was definitely an issue, and one that should not have happened in the first place.

Weather: Very bad, but out of the line's control. There were storms up and down the New England coast...tough to avoid them.

Breakfast: I am looking at my Freestyle Daily for Saturday, and it indicates that the Sports Bar & Grill and both dining rooms closed for breakfast at 10:00. That is why there was no food available when you arrived around that time.

The Key Card: We were told numerous times that we needed to have this to debark, both in the final morning program (included with Saturday's Freestyle Daily) and in many of the announcements made that morning.

I don't mean to sound as if I'm picking apart the post, as there some valid statements within it, such as the embarkation waits, understaffing, waits for dinner (although I didn't experience this personally as we went early), and the lines (or should I say mobs) at the bars. But as I mentioned in my initial post, the bad weather kept everyone indoors, exacerbating the understaffing situation.

Now that it's been a couple of days since we disembarked, and the post-cruise euphoria has faded, we are indeed remembering more about this cruise we did not like. Some crew members had no idea about the cruise line or the ship, service was spotty, and Freestyle Dining does not work well on this ship. Yet for me, this was more than offset by the food (I'll admit this is subjective), our very comfortable cabin, and the wonderful performance by Jane L. Powell. Yet, the understaffing was a huge issue, and I truly hope NCL gets this cleared up soon -- otherwise there will be many unhappy pax this summer.

The pedicure from hell is enough for me. I'll never sail with NCL again!

quote:

Originally posted by penny3333:
Is Boston a new port of debarkation for NCL?

Penny, I only just realized I didn't answer your question. My apologies. NCL has been sailing out of Boston for at least a decade -- mainly Bermuda cruises in the summer. I think what happened was that a very large number of pax arrived at the same time, and they just got overwhelmed. Inexperience might have played a role here, too. The Latitudes line was nice, but completely bypassed where the photographers were set up for the embarkation photo. I did hear they provided snacks and beverages for those standing in line... in fact, our travel companions still had their snacks with them when they boarded after a 2-hour wait. (And they were on the Latitudes line, also.)

And to Penny and Billy, thank you for your kind words.

My wife and I went on this cruise, which was our first. Overall I have to say we loved it. While the weather was a bit choppy (the captain appeared to be maintaining steerageway in order to conserve fuel, which didn't help) and the service was sometimes slow we did not let any of the negatives (and they weren't many nor were they too bad, in our view) overshadow the many positives. We kinda went with the flow and tried to do things when other people weren't. We are currently planning a Bahamas trip next Feb. with all of the boys (5 teens and pre-teens). So this cruise didn't turn us off on NCL at all.

This was the first cruise for the Dream sailing from Boston this year. There were many new crew members and many new staff ashore.
The first cruise from a new homeport can have problems as everyone learns their new jobs and the different shore side facilities.
But it shouldn't take long for a routine to establish itself.

Back from June 8 thru June 15 (BOS.BDA.). It was our 30th wedding anniversary. We had this trip booked since Oct 07. Keep in mind that both the wife and I are disabled and walk with canes.
Day 1: Not able to use elevator closest to our cabin (CC9016-deck 9). Had to walk to the other end of ship then back (they used all three elevator banks for luggage fwd/mid). A/C not working properly.
Day 2: Called desk 11:00 AM for water and extra pillow three times. At 6:00 PM we got three towels. Personally went down to desk (deck 7) for those requests and finaly got what I asked for. 7:00 PM: was asked to wear pants at the Four Seasons (so much for "Free Style").
Day 3: Breakfast came to our room too early and wake up call came too late (yes we set our watches forward).
Day 4: Rope ladder hung in front of our window for maintenance from 2:30 PM until 9:00 PM (so much for privacy and view.
Day 5: 8:15 AM wake up call. Rope ladder slapping against the window (more maintenance).
Day 7: 1:00 PM: Ate at Four Seasons and ordered the Thai shrimp bisque. Hmm, what's this in my mouth? A piece of shrimp tail? NO, it was one of those pincher type bugs. No free drinks and nothing off the ships bill even though I asked and went down to the desk (cashiers) and asked for money off the bill.
The highlight of our trip was the Sunset Glass Bottom Boat,Ultimate Bermuda Triangle Tour and of course the Swizzle Inn. That said, If you haven't booked. Don't do it. Yes we are Latitude members who have sailed on the Majesty several times and loved it. I'm not buying into the line that it's a new crew blah,blah,blah. The Dream is only here for this summer and next summer then, it's bye bye. They don't care period. I just feel bad for the people of St. George (and Burmuda as a whole) as this will have a huge impact on their economy. If you haven't heard, NCL is selling out on the small ships that go to Bermuda and going MEGA size which are unable to get though the "cut" of St. George and shallows of Hamilton. For those of you that have booked, I realy wish you my best. Sorry for being so long winded.
Mike

Mike, sorry to hear of all your troubles on your anniversary cruise, what a shame. Thanks for the post and the feedback.

Cheers, Neil

Neil, That's not the end of it. I was just veiwing my online credit card account. I was billed $62.64 extra from what the bill we got at our stateroom. You know how you get your bill around four AM on Sunday morning right? Well the only thing we got that morning (Sun) was 3 pasteries and coffee. This order slip is made out the night before and suppose to be free servise. My wife joked and said they must have charged us for the bug We are still trying to call our credit card Co. and have the balance of $374.78 (with bug) taken off. That should get their attention Unfortunately our credit card Co.'s computers are down. I'll keep you all informed as to how we make out.
Mike

quote:

Originally posted by mike rivera:
I'm not buying into the line that it's a new crew blah,blah,blah. The Dream is only here for this summer and next summer then, it's bye bye. They don't care period. Mike

Mike, I hope that's not what's going on because if it is NCL needs to realize that their reputation is still on the line, even if this ship is being decommissioned. I was on the CTN in May and it was my first ever cruise. Fortunately for NCL I am a little more forgiving than others but from the feedback I've seen here and on other boards many cruisers have been completely turned off of NCL based on their experience on one cruise. I hope things work out for you.

quote:

Originally posted by sparks1093:

quote:

Originally posted by mike rivera:
I'm not buying into the line that it's a new crew blah,blah,blah. The Dream is only here for this summer and next summer then, it's bye bye. They don't care period. Mike

Mike, I hope that's not what's going on because if it is NCL needs to realize that their reputation is still on the line, even if this ship is being decommissioned. I was on the CTN in May and it was my first ever cruise. Fortunately for NCL I am a little more forgiving than others but from the feedback I've seen here and on other boards many cruisers have been completely turned off of NCL based on their experience on one cruise. I hope things work out for you.

sparks1093, This was our fourth cruise from Boston to Bermuda. The Majesty was excellent. The Dream, as I said, is only here for this season and next season. This is well known and weighs very heavely on the minds of every Bermudian. They even mentioned it on the two excursions we took. We took maybe 3 or 4 cabs (forgot after that last dark and stormy ) and the cabbies all had something to say about the economy going down the tubes after 2009. I realy do feel bad for those people. It truely is heartbreaking. It won't stop us from flying down there as most Bermudians are now promoting. One year we stayed at Groto Bay which is a hop skip and jump to our favorite place..the Swizzle Inn

Mike and sparks1093, thank you for providing your reviews of your cruises on N. Dream. As a longtime pax of N. Majesty, I agree that NCL needs to realize that there will be many disappointed pax who were used to the stellar service on N. Majesty.

And, welcome to cruise-chat.com!

To all, I had to put my review on the back burner due to some personal issues that needed my attention. I should be able to get to it in a couple of weeks.

LisaP

One thing I would like to point out is, if you have a problem with any billing issues don't expect to resolve them while onboard. I highly recommend keeping your receipts. As you all know everything goes onto your credit card. So, when you get home you can call your credit card company and dispute it, which is exactly what we are doing. Trust me, your billing disputes will fall on deaf ears while onboard AND off. The only way to get them to respond is to hit their pocket book.
Mike