Norwegian Cruise Line

MS Norwegian Dream

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Operator: Norwegian Cruise Line
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1992 / 1998
Length / Tonnage: 754 feet / 46,000
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 879 / 1,750
Officers / Crew: Norwegian / International
Operating Area: Hawaii, Alaska, Mexican Riviera
Telephone / Fax: Tel 130 5510 / Fax 130 5507

Riding high in the mid 1980's Kloster Cruises expanded its reach and by decade's end counted Norwegian Caribbean, Royal Viking and Royal Cruise Line among its holdings. 1988 brought Royal Cruise Line the CROWN ODYSSEY while Christmastime that year saw the ROYAL VIKING SUN join Royal Viking, a ship that instantly relegated RVL's original trio to the second rank among "luxury" cruise ships.

It was time to begin to add suitable tonnage to RVL. Kloster put naval architects and designers to work on a pair or a trio of new ships for the group's tony Royal Viking Line division. They were still at work on the plans for these ships when it was decided that competitors' new ships in the middle and mass market required NCL to introduce new tonnage or risk losing its competitive position in the 7 night cruise trade.

What luck for NCL's crowd that turned out to be for it brought the line a pair of great cruise ships...indeed, it's no stretch to call the Norwegian Dream and her slightly younger twin Norwegian Wind the two most underrated cruise ships in the business...we can think of few other ships that so well fulfill the intent of their origins and their owners' representations about them...Yes, you're right...read an oblique slap at many NCL competitors for overselling their products...NCL doesn't do that and that's one MORE thing we love about them! We've been aboard the Norwegian Dream and since we sailed in the Norwegian Wind not too long ago and know how good she is...we can recommend the Norwegian Dream with the same enthusiasm we hold for the Norwegian Wind.

We well recall that the attempt to keep NCL competitive with the other big players led NCL's owners to accept hideously disadvantageous financing terms for the construction of the Norwegian Dream and Norwegian Wind... reputed in some quarters to have called for 19% interest... that's like ordering the construction of a new ship and paying for it with a credit card...but the 1980s were a time of windfall profits and profligate spending...and at least NCL was able to take delivery of these exciting new ships even though it eventually led to the divestiture of Royal Viking Line and the eventual demise of Royal Cruise Line...but NCL got the Norwegian Wind into service.

Without going into too many details of corporate history, let's just say that it seems that in the last couple of years NCL has turned the corner and looks like it's here to stay....and all we can say is HURRAY!!! If any cruise line would accept a most improved cruise line award, NCL really deserves it, and our respect and admiration for this friendly company grows and grows! We remain ecstatically supportive of this phoenix of a line.

Maybe it's because the Norwegian Dream was designed as a ship, not as a hotel to fit into a floating hull...that makes her work so well... and the public areas, both indoor and outdoor, are better for it! Walls of glass and a wide range of public rooms and passenger amenities combine to make the Norwegian Dream one of the best cruise ships out there today. From the basketball court atop Deck 12 where the Observatory holds sway forward and allows magnificent views to the sides as well as forward, public spaces here are both well arranged and well designed.

We like the lack of any attempt to make the passenger spend money by blocking fore and aft passages with shops. Casinos, boutiques, bars....Yes there IS a centrally located bar...Lucky's....on Deck 10...and it's part of an entertainment complex including the main lounge, casino and the lower level of the shopping center...But you can avoid it with no trouble nor sense of detour...Nor will you get the feeling we get in so many other ships that you are there to be fleeced for your money...

The Norwegian Dream is extremely well laid out and if anything, the stretching will make her even better...We're even willing to overlook a few poor sight lines from some locations in the Stardust Lounge because it IS a lounge...one of those rarities today...a real main Lounge...not some oversized barn of an auditorium with theater style seating...A versatile room, a comfortable room, the Stardust Lounge soars two decks high and is used for functions as divergent as a captain's cocktail and a slide show...In here three times a week are production shows...NCL's trademark Broadway show was put on in here...But we like quiet entertainment and will spend many an evening listening to a pianist tickling the ivories in the Rendezvous Lounge...

We will like the Norwegian Dream for the same reasons we love the Norwegian Wind....quiet lounges, active lounges, a fast paced casino....and outside a terraced sun deck about the midships pool... Steiner's has the concession for the beauty salon...I remind you that no one can cut my thinning hair as well as they can! After her refit, shopping in the Norwegian Dream will be among the least "IN YOUR FACE" cruise ship shopping...the shops will be located aft and you will have to go to them...It'll be fun...the buyers here have a good sense of their audiences and well, ok... we DO tend to do much of our shopping at sea and we like the shops on NCL...Like most cruise lines today there are "art auctions" and though we don't much like them....we know that some others do...never mind that we find this cruise ship feature tacky and objectionable.

NCL menus include what people want to eat and eschew the unusual and the trendy. No pickled rattlesnake here!!! The Norwegian Wind kitchens worked wonders and we expect the Norwegian Dream can please your palate, too. Be HONEST now...even if you don't love the food on any given cruise ship...you didn't often go hungry, did you? Come on, now...confess...you didn't have to go out to the supermarket, schlep the groceries home, store 'em..prepare the meals, serve 'em... clean up after 'em...NOPE...so complaining through EVERY bite...you filled up anyway...I know I have!

Expect plenty of food here, much of it quite tasty. The Norwegian Dream feeds her passengers well and does it in several different dining rooms. In three different restaurants is assigned seating at each of two sittings. These rooms differ in decor and layout, and each appeals to the senses and sensibilities in its own way. Centrally located on Deck 9 is The Four Seasons Restaurant. This popular restaurant is also used for breakfast buffets and most late night buffets. Since this room is all on one level, this is the place to be seated if you are less than sure-footed. This is the restaurant that will be rebuilt, and re-emerge with wondrous bays on either side, and will make the Four Seasons the first cruise ship restaurants to give views not only to the sides but fore and aft as well...

By only a few dozen seats The Terraces is the largest dining room on board. This sensational, high ceilinged room looks out through massive windows beyond the aft pool to the world astern. Equally imposing views are out to port and starboard, making this our favorite place to eat aboard this ship. For many reasons, though, it's The Sun Terraces that has won the hearts and minds of devoted Norwegian Wind repeaters. Enter through its double doors aft on Deck 11 and let the feel of this "tropical oasis" take you away to another time and place...everyone seems to like this room's wood floors, cane chairs and palm trees. Not as formal as the Terraces, this one is special in its own way and if they are available, a seat at one of the tables for four in either of the two semi-private areas on either side may be the best place of all for romantic dining. We don't expect the ship's refit will change much in these rooms! All restaurants are now nonsmoking rooms, and best of all for the shy among us, there are many tables for two.

There's a fourth restaurant, Le Bistro, and it's open for dinner only. A dark, quiet room, it's neither too formal, nor at all pretentious. Main draws of a meal in here are these: you can go in for dinner anytime between 6:30 and 10:30PM, select items not on the menu in the other three dining rooms, and you can have a very nice, private dinner party with new friends who might be assigned to the other dining rooms. There's no longer an extra charge to eat in here (though there used to be - $35.00 per head PLUS tip - so it was EASY to spend a "C"-note on dinner for 2 in here")...now for a suggested gratuity of $5.00 per person, you can dine on specialties of the day or select from Le Bistro's main menu. Reservations are accepted but not required. Combining the five or so entrees from Le Bistro with the menus from the main restaurants means that each night you can consider at least 10 different main course choices every day of your trip...

Visiting the Norwegian Dream we were pleased to discover how nice the staff in the dining rooms is....same goes for the rest of the ship's hardworking crew...NCL looks to crew to be eager to please, and they are...professional and courteous, too.

There's a very small space off the Sports Bar where continental breakfast is available until 10am, and burgers, sandwiches, franks and salads are set out to feed the hungry between noon and 5pm. The food is good, hot and adequate for a tourist on the go. When the ship is with a full passenger load, this area gets a mite crowded, so you might consider it more as a snack grabbing area. Additional gobbling is available at the outdoor ice cream parlor, and besides the late night buffet...there are late night munchies served in the Observatory, and through 24 hour room service.

We PROMISE you, you won't go hungry!

Any way you count 'em, 623 cabins are a lot of rooms... and 879 after the stretching are plenty more. Of greatest interest will be a dozen new suites that are going to be built way up on 11 deck. But let's talk about the 623 cabins she has now. Every one of them is fine. Now we know that you have heard that the Norwegian Dream's cabins don't have a lot of storage space, and we thought they didn't either until we hopped on the Norwegian Wind at Vancouver a couple of months ago. Cleverly positioned in closets are shelves and a couple of storage baskets which fulfill the function of storage drawers....and while you may not get to pull them out to examine their contents as you might do with a drawer, nothing in this arrangement will roll open and slam shut if the seas (or cabin neighbors) are angry. Hear our stage whisper....Crystal Cruises, ever ready to declare itself the top, doesn't do as well in providing space in standard cabins (on the HARMONY, anyway) to stow your duds.

The 93 inside cabins are perfectly acceptable with two lower beds and TV. There's nothing minimum about the lowest priced outside cabins... they have two lower beds, (most convertible to a queen configuration,) a small living room alcove with love seat, easy chairs and coffee table, TV, satellite phone, and private facilities with shower only. Be warned that categories G and F have obstructed views. Superior deluxe suites and penthouses offer a little more room, a refrigerator and concierge service. These rooms are all pretty wonderful...almost as good as those we consider the best standard cabins in the business (hey..this is a review of the Norwegian Dream....so if you must know which we find the best in the business...read our other reviews...it's in there....it's in there....)

The penthouse cabins have balconies, and anyone who requires lots and lots of room would be wise to consider booking adjoining penthouses, thereby doubling the living space. Right now, top dollar buys any of the ship's six owners suites. These are big rooms with king size bed, generously proportioned sitting room, walk in closet, in addition to the standard double closet fitted in every standard cabin, and two good sized windows with views forward over the bow. There's a stocked bar and refrigerator, so the suite is an excellent venue for small get togethers. Of course, denizens of owner's suites are looked after by the concierge. The concierge also helps suite and penthouse passengers sort through things like what to do ashore, making reservations in Le Bistro, finding things out for you....things like that.

The refit in Germany will bring the ship some new luxury accommodation...but we won't tell you ANYTHING about those rooms yet...maybe if we keep quiet we will be able to get one of the new Sun Deck owner's suites...so convenient to both gym and pool...After the ship leaves the yard...maybe THEN we'll tell more...ok?

The Norwegian Dream is a great ship for anyone who wants a great cruise. Because NCL has a very active sports program they attract a lot of younger, active people, but since neither the Dive-In program nor Sports Afloat works is in any way obnoxious, no one should feel guilty if snoozing is as active as you want to get...it didn't get in the way of any of my late afternoon naps...Passengers here tend to be younger than those aboard corresponding ships of, say...Princess and Holland America....

The average age on many cruises is 47...(hey that's MY age...no wonder I feel so at home on NCL)...but the ship attracts and welcomes people of all ages from grandparents to newborns. The Norwegian Dream is popular with people of many nationalities but everyone seems to speak English...so you xenophobes can cruise easily!...almost everyone we hear from is very pleased with the ship, the food and the service. We like her and want to sail in her.

Norwegian Dream spends January through April sailing on 7-Day Hawaiian Island itineraries from Honolulu. In May she crosses the Pacific and heads to Vancouver for a summer series of 7-Day Alaska cruises round-trip from Seattle. After Alaska, she heads south to Los Angeles to begin sailing on 8-Day Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles. She is scheduled to remain based out of Los Angeles through next spring.

I wish every year had more Decembers and Aprils...that's when I do transAtlantic trips and I want to do a transAtlantic voyage with the NORWEGIAN DREAM...She's truly a lovely liner...a winner....a people pleaser...a real gem! She's honest...she's real and we love her for that. Like all NCL ships we have seen she, too, is incredibly warm with a staff and crew of very gracious hospitable people...no snobby noses here! The NORWEGIAN DREAM may not be a floating palace of corporate egotism....she's an honest ship, with earnest crew, good food, and a spirit of warmth not outlined in some on board training manual. Who would have guessed that a "mass market" cruise line could produce such a feeling of home?