The Dream is a wonderful boat. We had a great time on it. However, with 20% of or more passengers, it does get a bit crowded. There were always lines for the buffets. The theater and lounge areas were always very crowded. You often couldn't get to a comic show unless you showed up very early for it. There were a few extra hot tubs on board compared to their other ships, but again, with an extra 700 or so people on board, very crowded. The ship also seemed to be more affected by waves/weather/etc then the Conquest class. We had a much more 'bouncy' ride in it then we expected in fairly calm waters.Personally I think I much prefer their Conquest class ships to their new Dream class. That seems to be a great balance between public areas and passengers. I rated embarkation on this cruise low, but not too low as the issue was specific to this boat being in NY and having issues with the pier. I believe the current home port is perfectly fine.