Wonderful but uneven

Item: Norwegian Dream
Rating: 3
Author: PaulineL1

Norwegian Dream Cruise Review to Bermuda

PaulineL1

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 29

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Bermuda (Boston Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 26, 2008

Ship: Norwegian Dream

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 14 years ago

Review summary

This was the last cruise of the season, and the last for this ship, and it showed. The staff seemed uninspired and tired. There was a fire on a lower deck, which had us out of bed at 3 a.m. The corridors were smoky, but they cleared after an hour. It was scary but an adventure that turned out for the best. There was also a flood in the hallway. The crew handled both mishaps well.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The food was sometimes amazing, and other times surprisingly careless. The different fresh fruit dishes were always the same mediocre fruit cup with different things poured on them, despite their exotic descriptions. On the way to Bermuda, there was no skim milk or wheat toast available. There were only two flavors of ice cream at the ice cream bar-- vanilla and lime sherbet. The coffee was passable on some days, and awful on other days. We brought dressy clothes, but they never enforced the posted dress code, so people in T-shirts were seated right next to us in our tux and gown. The various restaurants were nice, but the main dining room was my favorite; I was pleased by the variety of options on their menu from day to day. I loved the Cooking Light options, as I worried I might gain weight on the trip. I did not.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Very good.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

They seemed pretty overwhelmed and tired, but generally very nice.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship was aging and smallish, so you could feel all the waves, which I personally liked. I wish they wouldn't pipe the cheesy '70s music in so many locations. I wanted more quiet areas to relax with my book. The health club was dingy and small and half the cardio machines were broken. The hot tub was only tepid, which made it unbearable in the cold weather.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Our interior stateroom was well designed with plenty of storage space. The bed was fantastically comfortable. Excellent value.