| Cruise Reviews - Norwegian Dream | |
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OVERVIEW The Norwegian Dream was commissioned in 1991 and Diana Ross christened her on 12/6/92; she was built in St. Nazaire, France, at a cost of $240 million and was "stretched" in '98 by inserting a 130-foot midsection in Bremerhaven, Germany at an additional cost of $69 million. Her length is 754 ft.; beam 93.5 ft.; gross tonnage 50,764: height (keel to mast) 164 ft; draft 22 ft. and she has a passenger capacity of 1,750 with a crew of 614. This trip she sailed fully booked. EMBARKATION SHIP'S PUBLIC AREAS Caribbean Deck 4, Biscayne Deck 5 and Atlantis Deck 6 are mostly Cabins with the Medical Center located on the latter. Promenade Deck 7 has cabins and the main entrances to the Lobby, where the Information & Purser's Desks, Shore Excursion and Concierge Desks are located. Just like the great liners of yesteryear, outside is the wrap around promenade deck, also used in the early mornings as a jogging track (three and one-half times around is one mile). Norway Deck 8 is mostly cabins with balconies and the lifeboat/tenders. International Deck 9 forward has suites and inside cabins, midship is the Four Seasons Dining Room, and toward the aft there are the following public rooms: The Rendez-vous Bar, Le Bistro (up scale French cuisine, more about this later), the Library, Coffee Bar, Card/Game Area, and finally the multilevel Terraces Dining Room with a wall of windows overlooking the ship's wake -- very beautiful on sea days for dining. Star Deck 10 has cabins and suites forward, then there is the Star Dust Lounge/Dance Floor where shows and receptions take place (seating is a combination of couches and single upholstered arm chairs with some poles blocking the view of unlucky spectators seated behind them). Midship is the Monte Carlo Casino, Lucky's Bar and aft the well stocked shops. Sun Deck 11 forward has the bridge/radio room, midship are the Owner's Suites, Pool Bar, the Pizzeria, Conference Rooms, the Kid's Corner and aft are the Sun Terraces/Trattoria Dining Rooms again with surround windows; these are beautiful tiered dining rooms with a marvelous underwater mural in the background. Sun Deck 12 forward holds the Observatory Lounge (always crowded), Sauna, Spa and Gym areas, the Ice Cream Bar and aft is the Youth Center, Video Arcade, Snack Counter and the Sports Bar & Grille, where full breakfasts, lunches and meals are served throughout the day cafeteria style; this is a popular gathering place for those who prefer to eat informally. It is easy to get around this ship due to the three sets of elevators (forward, center and aft) and not half as much walking as there is on the gigaships of RCI (the Adventure, Explorer and Voyager of the Seas). Here most places were just a few steps away from one's cabin or elevator: Great for Vincent who is slowly graduating from the wheelchair to the cane! The overall feeling of this ship is nautical, no neon fantasies here. It is very comfortable and simple in design and execution. FOOD & SERVICE Free Style breakfast is as follows: Free Style lunch is as follows: Free Style dinner is as follows: There are also two specialty restaurants: 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm The Trattoria, Italian dining, where there is
a variety of foods and pastas, some excellent some not so good. Try the Spaghetti
Bolognese, the Osso Buco and the cannoli. Some good
appetizers, especially bruschetta and mozzarella with tomatoes and
basil. However, the waiters need to learn the Italian words on the menu,
since they usually resorted to some abbreviations to identify the items, e.g. P
& M for prosciutto and melon. But it was fun and we enjoyed
their mispronunciations. Chef Patrick is pleased with the Free Style dining, since it allows for a calmer galley when the work is spaced out over several time schedules and several venues. Using the "mis en place" system the line chefs are awaiting orders from the waiters and can devote special attention to every order. We were happy to hear that the galley crew likes it as much as the passengers. We had a tour of the galley and saw why the Dream rated a perfect score of 100 by the CDC during their last two sanitary inspections, in April and December, 2001. This perfect score is rarely achieved. BRAVO! Service on board is fast (24 hour room service) and friendly; there is a pervasive feeling of willingness to please. We always have good service because we recognize that politeness works both ways. Both water and coffee on board are excellent, no excessive chlorine taste here. The cruise highlight was dinner with Captain Sandvik. Mary was seated on his left and had a wonderful evening conversing with such an open and friendly man whose love of the sea is evident. He spoke of the Norwegian fjords and the cruises he will Captain there, on the Dream, this June. Chief Engineer Steinar Kruse added to the congeniality of the evening with ship lore and even Norwegian Fish recipes. Chef Joubert outdid himself with a dinner which included the following: Norwegian Seafood Platter, Wild Mushroom Bisque, Lobster Tail/ Filet Mignon, and a surprise dessert which descended from heaven (a cup crafted out of chocolate filled with an exquisite Cappuccino Mousse -- our compliments to the Chef! All this was accompanied by two California wines, a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon, all served under the watchful direction of Sr. Maitre d' Wolfgang Unger. Ah! a night to remember, wonderful food, wonderful drink and wonderful conversation! The best Concierge afloat is Carlos Zarate (Chile) whose personal knowledge of his homeland allowed us to explore the food and sights of Chile with the benefit of an insider's advice. He is capable, willing and able to solve any question which may arise. He is a dear new friend, who arranged a personal tour of Nobel Prize winner Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda's homes in Valparaiso and Isla Negra and some incredible meals in local restaurants. CABIN When entering the cabin on the right, there is the full bath with tub, shower, granite counter tops and mirrored cabinet. The far door leads to the bedroom, with a king size bed with mauve suede headboard, two night stands with wall sconces, a mirrored vanity/desk, a second small TV and wall-to-wall windows (for stargazing) with a private door to the balcony which holds two chaise lounges and a table -- excellent when we sailed through the Chilean Fjords right up to the Amelia Glacier. Memories are made of this: still blue waters with icebergs floating in them and silence all around and the fun of watching the crew in a small boat selecting the perfect iceberg to hoist aboard for the close inspection of the passengers. The French door leads back to the living area with another balcony door on the right and a bar on the left and two more chairs. This suite is restful in decor (shrimp and beige in color and natural woods) and very functional in design. We had an excellent stewardess, Lelica Koncurat (Croatia) and two butlers, Denny Muharran (Indonesia) and Roquel Dimaappi (Philippines) who were very efficient and quick to notice which cheese and fruit we liked. ENTERTAINMENT There was a good mix of entertainment featuring the Jean Ann Ryan Company, snappy dancers and singers, especially Elvy Rose in concert ("I Will Always Love You" and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" ). At the Coffee Bar pianist Katie Guglielmo played the Classics and a "Tribute to Frank Sinatra." There were a series of seminars and lectures on various topics, including psychology, geography, languages, etc..., and Argentine Tango lessons along with tango shows by the Duo Miro -- really smoooooooth! There was something for everyone to enjoy, plus lots of quiet places just for reading or doing crossword puzzles. ACTIVITIES & PORTS 1. Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sunday sailing time 4:30 pm. 2. Montevideo, Uruguay. Monday 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. 3. Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Wednesday 11:00 am to 7:30 pm. 4. Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. Friday 10:00 am to 3:30 pm. 5. Cape Horn, Saturday at sea -- this was phenomenal, sailing around the Horn, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Pacific, was every thing we thought it would be. The whistling winds came up; the seas grew high and wild; we saw through the binocular the Albatross Monument (inscribed with the "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner") and the guano covered mounts, and a vivid rainbow. We wondered how the courageous navigators of old ever rounded the Horn in their fragile sail ships. 6. Ushuaia, Argentina, Sunday 7:00 am to 12:30 pm. We then set sail toward Punta Arenas through the famous Beagle Channel (which rarely exceeds more than 2 miles in width) on calm waters with its spectacular snow topped mountain peaks and breath taking glaciers such as the Hollanda, Italia, Francia, Alemania and Romanche (the latter named after a ship). Ushuaia is also the southern most end of the Pan American Highway which starts in Alaska and ends here after 16,000 miles. 7. Punta Arenas, Chile. Monday 7:00 am to 6:30 pm. We went into Punta Arenas and with the help of Carlos and his suggestions. We had our first taste of Conger Eel and the best King Crab in our life at "Sotito's" Restaurant in O'Higgins Street, just three blocks from the Ship. We went with our travel companions, the Drs. Bozian and the Drs. Chen, who all agreed that this was a lunch to savor. 8. Tuesday and Wednesday were days at sea. We traveled through the Strait of Magellan and the Patagonian Channel with its wonderful scenery. 9. Puerto Chacabuco, Chile is the scenic part of Western Patagonia
where the ship's tenders took us ashore. 10. Puerto Montt, Chile. Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. 11. Valparaiso, Chile was our last port. Since we had a late evening flight, instead of taking a direct transfer to Santiago Airport, Carlos booked a private tour for the six of us with the Cocha Travel Agency of Santiago. We had a very special tour with English speaking guides, Gustavo and Cristobal, who made this tour extremely interesting with a handout of poems and detailed descriptions of the sites visited. The highlights of this tour were the visits to two homes of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, where we saw his life long eclectic collections (from masks to carvings taken from the prows of ships, from ship bells to fancy glass bottles, etc., etc...) He was a person of many interests, widely traveled and an inveterate collector. This tour gave us a personal glimpse into the poet as a man. The tour was 8 hours; the cost was $430 for the six of us. For the quality of transportation (a new mini bus), the sites visited and the pleasant company of Alicia Geisse, travel consultant, the guides and our friends, this was one of the best tour value we ever had. Thanks Cocha! Santiago, Chile has a very modern well organized airport and boarding was easy. SUGGESTIONS What was the problem with this cruise? It is unfair to criticize food, since what tastes delicious to one's palate it may taste inedible to someone else. However, to those who are biased toward the Italian cuisine, there is room for improvement in certain recipes, especially in regard to palate expectation. When we choose from the menu a specific item, we expect that item to have a characteristic taste to match our expectation; i. e., Fettuccine Alfredo or Bucatini alla Bolognese, are expected to have specific flavors, traditionally associated with those dishes, which are the results of given recipes and ingredients. Unfortunately, on the Dream some of those dishes, especially the Italian ones, did not meet our expectation. Recommendation #1. If NCL wants to offer a variety of dining options, it is important to use the appropriate recipes and ingredients. The chef of each specialty restaurant must be a specialist of that specific cuisine; i. e., trained Italian chefs for the Trattoria and French chefs for the Bistro. Recommendation #2. We had pasta tasting gluey, even though the chef at the Trattoria cooked it al dente just for us. The problem is not as much as in the cooking method, but in the quality of the pasta used. This seems to be a problem in common with some other ships. We suggest that, for a few more pennies per pound, a better quality durum wheat pasta should be purchased, possibly made in Italy, where pasta is the queen of that cuisine. It seems that our recommendations are becoming repetitious, since they are similar for most of the ships we have known. Probably it is common that the ingredients are obtained through centralized purchasing and that most cruise lines are using the same suppliers. Well, it was a great cruise. Happy Cruising!
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