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Raoul Fiebig
Age: 21 to 30
Occupation: Public Relations Work
Number of Cruises: 6 to 10 cruises
Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Line
Ship: Norwegian Dream
Sailing Date: June 6th, 2001
Itinerary: Kiel Canal transit (Brunsbüttel -> Holtenau)
On June 6th, 2001 I was given the opportunity to visit Norwegian Cruise Line’s M/S “Norwegian Dream” during a transit through Germany's Kiel Canal from Brunsbüttel to Holtenau. A big “thank you” to Jutta Holtz at INEX Communications for making this trip possible!
As the ship was almost fully
booked, it was not possible to take the usual number of pictures. In this review (and in contrast to
my lengthier reviews), I fully concentrate on giving my impressions of the trip rather than
describing the ship’s facilities in detail.
The “Norwegian Dream”
entered service in 1992 as NCL’s “Dreamward” and was “stretched” in 1998. At 50,760 gt she
is a medium-sized ship by today’s standards. She accommodates 1,730 passengers, double occupancy.
The largest cruise ship to transit the Kiel Canal on a regular basis, “Norwegian Dream” is
equipped with a collapsible mast and funnel in order to be able to sail underneath the bridges that
span the canal.
I embarked the “Norwegian
Dream” on June 6th at about 1.30 p.m. at the Brunsbüttel locks and disembarked at the
Holtenau locks at about 11 p.m. The ship was on its way from Dover to Warnemünde, the first call on
a 12-night cruise to the Baltic Sea.
The general arrangement of the
vessel is a little unusual for a modern cruise ship, as all public rooms are located well above the
promenade deck. On that deck, only the lobby (complete with the front desk, shore excursion desk,
concierge desk etc.) and a number of cabins can be found – totally outside of the major passenger
flow. I don’t know if this is good or bad, but I personally like to have the front desk located
centrally.
The “Norwegian Dream” is
in a pretty good shape, but some signs of wear and tear are visible, especially in the Sports Bar
where many seats could do with a reupholstering.
The passenger flow generally
is quite good, but there are a few “dead ends”. It is particularly difficult to reach the aft
pool deck without having to walk through the restaurants or down several flights of stairs. The aft
pool deck is excellent with a great teak decking, while the main pool area high up in the ship
features a combination of teak and Astroturf. There’s also a “swim-up” bar.
When the ship was “stretched”,
the passenger capacity was increased by 502 lower berths, while a number of public rooms remained at
its old size. As a result, especially the observation lounge and the Sports Bar are very small for
the number of passengers carries. The Sports Bar also serves as the vessel’s buffet restaurant for
which it is poorly suited – offering seats for less than 10% of the passengers at one time! Parts
of the seating and tables in the Sports Bar are everything but comfortable for having breakfast or
lunch there. While saying that the ship feels crowded would be an exaggeration, there really isn’t
as much space per passenger as onboard NCL’s “Norway” or the “Sky”-class of ships. One
does see and feel “Norwegian Dream’s” rather high passenger density (space ratio 29.3). The number of public rooms is fine despite the fact that some of them are too
small.
The food at the buffet was
okay – typical NCL buffet fare that is. Dinner in the Four Seasons Restaurant (which offers
spectacular views through huge walls of glass) was slightly disappointing, as I thought it was not
quite up to the standards I’ve been used to from NCL. The Four Seasons is a very noisy room and I
am sure the “Freestyle Cruising” concept has not lowered the noise level! The two aft dining
rooms that overlook the stern are very beautiful, which can also be said about the décor of many of
the public spaces.
It was possible to take a look
at one of the cabins (a Cat. GG cabin on Promenade Deck), which was of a good size and very nicely
decorated.
All in all a wonderful “mini cruise” aboard a good ship.
I can honestly recommend taking a trip through the Kiel Canal. I have been to the state of Schleswig-Holstein many takes, but had never transited the canal. There are so many enthusiastic spectators lining the canal, and in the town of Rendsburg inhabitants of an old people’s home have even established a “Norwegian Dream” fan club and welcome the ship each and every time it transits the canal with flags and a banner saying “Thank you, ‘Norwegian Dream’” in Norwegian. As a matter of course the ship’s captain always greets the senior citizens with three typhoon blasts.
If you have questions, suggestions etc., please do not hesitate to get in touch with me!
Raoul Fiebig
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