Hallo!

We have booked a cruise with the NCL Dream from Santiago de Chile to Buenos Aires. The cruise is a 14-day cruise including Puerto Montt, Puerto Chacabuco, Punta Arena, Usuhaia, Stanley, Puerto Madryn, Montevideo.

Has anybody been there already and can give us some Ideas, which excursions we should do? How is the weather in february?
Does anybody has been on the NCL Deam before and how is the ship?

Thanks for your help
Silke

We did the same trip last February, but on a Celebrity ship, so the tours would vary. Penguins are the star attraction for most. Much to our surprise most tours were prebooked when we boarded. We were thankful we too had prebooked. I gather at some of these small ports there's no option to simply add another bus. Table mates with no knowledge of Spanish simply rented a cab. While they pretty much saw what we did, they didn't learn a single thing.

We FROZE on Port Stanley. I didn't even finish the walking tour we were on. We had our Canadian gloves along BUT no sweaters to layer under our gortex jackets. You could probably just walk on your own if you're not interested in history, but again penguins were the main attraction for many.

We encountered 45 foot high seas near the Str. Of Magellan which was all very exciting.

We were on our own for two weeks each before and after the cruise. Peru was incredible. Machu Picchu was well worth the huffing and puffing. And Iguasu Falls -- tours available from Buenos Aires are fantastic, as Clinton observed, "Poor Niagara".

Check out the CruiseReviews on the Dream..

It's a smaller ship that had 200 feet added to it...making it about 750 feet..still a small ship..Everything is smaller...read my review on Cruise Reviews...it was a nice cruise, but not one of our favorite ships....Nice Room though and good food and service...Enjoy your Cruise..

Bob E

We were on the Dream in Oct 2006 cruising from Houston to the eastern Caribbean at a very low price of $329.00 per person for a Oceanview room. It was a 7 day cruise.

Berick 1234 is absolutely correct, it is an older/smaller ship. The ship was stretched a few years back to make it larger. The ship is small compared to the newer NCL Jewel, Pearl, Gem, Jade, Star, Dawn ships. We found that while the ship was great for a 5-7 day cruise we would not sail the Dream for a longer cruise especially to South America. As an avid and loyal cruiser of NCL, I just don't think I'd want to be on this ship that long. The dining rooms are nice and the ship has a few specialty restaurants. The carpeting needs replacement.....the chairs and tables in the public areas are certainly out of date and tatered. The elevators are very small and narrow and limited in size. The showroom is a small, highly conjested/cramped area for the nightly shows. It is not a very comfortable area to sit and view the nightly entertainment, and would be a nightmare for exiting in case of a ships emergency. The pool areas are small and the outside pool eatery area is very confined, so the ship has an outside BBQ with large grills that are set up for topside lunches. For the outside breakfasts, the pool area is utilized into a few outside food stations for cooking omelets and waffles, which I felt was very inadequte for serving the guests. In fact during the breakfasts and lunches, since the area is so small, don't be surprised to see food spilled/dumped on the decks, as the area is confined and passengers tend to be very messy. We did not think there is enough crew members on the outside deck to keep the area clean. The Buffet is in an area called the Sports Bar, which is really set up for a Buffet. The buffet setup is very small and at peaks times, hard to find a seat since seating is limited.

I guess I would rate the ship a 6 out of 10, with 10 being the best, and I understand the Dream will be either repostioned or sold after the South America season/cruises end.

If I had my choice for a cruise of this caliber, meaning length of cruise, cost of cruise, and considering flights in and out of South America I would choose another ship.

I am sure that you can still enjoy the cruise, and this post is strictly our observations. Certainly don;t want to create any ill feelings, but have to be honest with our opinions and observations.

For what we paid ($329.00) per person we had a good time and thought NCL delivered value to us. However we knew the ship would be older, and once on board, we could have made several recommendations to improve the ships overall quality. I would sail on this ship only of the price was a special low price.

It's not worth sailing on the Dream if your paying for a higher priced cruise.

Here's a link to our CruiseReview of the Dream

http://www.cruisereviews.com/NorwegianCruiseLine/NorwegianDream79.htm

Richard & Mary
NCL Platinum Latitudes

NCL Pearl Sept 24th Van Couver to LA.
Diamond Princess Dec 3rd, 2007 15 day to Hawaii

We have been on the Dream twice. Last time was in 2005. It is a very nice ship, and easy to navigate. Richard & Mary spoke about the buffett and yes that is a tiny venue and not well set-up.

I very much enjoy this ship, and hope you will too. Note: Both my trips on her were for 7 days each.

The Dream is like taking a Ford instead of a BMW...but it will get you there safe and sound and a funtime along the way....Enjoy the Ride...

Bob E

Everyone has different thoughts and experiences with each cruise ship. While the Dream was not exactly a "memorable" ship because of its age, awkward layout and engine problems (Oct 2005), we still had a good time. From what I understand, the Dream is being sold to another cruise company overseas so hopefully NCL has her going out in "GRAND DREAM" style compared to other ships (SS Norway, SS Independence, SS United States, etc.). Have a GREAT time and please let us know how the cruise went. Happy cruising!