Dream Review 7/17/16 sailing

Post Cruise Stress Disorder. Back to work after the long 9 hour drive home yesterday.

First off, I just don't think there is such a thing as a "bad" cruise. The lowest mark on the scale is "good".

Fulton Garage was great. I gave them low marks a few years ago, but they've made some changes. Plenty of help, easy check in procedure from your car, and plenty of shuttles. Same on the debarkation.

FTTF got us from the shuttle to our stateroom in about 20 minutes. Love walking past everyone.

Buffet lines were long. This is an area where I couldn't find a remarkable difference between a dream class ship and fantasy class. Maybe more tables but the grill / pizza place/ wok all looked about the same. Long lines everywhere. Food was good.

Cove Balcony room was great. Not sure how we'll ever go back on rooms. Since it was my wife and DD with me, it was nice to have that area to step out into when they needed some privacy. Spotted a smoker a few cabins down, but the smell didn't make it to me although I saw the guy throw a butt overboard. I kept quiet. Attendant met DD and DW while I was away. They asked him to clean about 11 everyday and to please do a towel check in the evening which he did without fail. Got a towel animal I hadn't ever seen before on the final day -- a hanging monkey.

Dinners were all good. Aside from the already much discussed absent table cloths, other notables are the bread basket now left on the table, less silverware, water pitchers on the table which they will serve but you can do it yourself too. But I didn't find the service lacking. A little disappointed that the second level of the Scarlet Dining room where there are no ocean views. We were seated in a corner near the galley escalator which made it hard to see everything. Table mates were good -- a set of grandparents traveling with their 8 yo granddaughter. Seems like the dessert menu was a little lacking. But, the first night Tiramisu was some of the best I've had. Wish they would have offered another night. I always found something except 1 night and then I just fell back on the WCMC -- always a hit. Formal nights about normal except no entertainment on the second one. Haha, maybe the worst Maitre D singer I've ever heard. So bad, it was entertaining. DD always ordered milk with here dessert but a few nights the milk seemed to show up about the time she was finishing. Not sure why that was so difficult. Yes, there were some poorly dressed people for both the normal and elegant nights but I didn't let it ruin my dinner. Our tablemates always dressed nicely.

We never made it to the outdoor barbecue or the taste bar, but did eat at the pasta place on deck 11 and it was ok. A little slow too. Pizza was better this cruise as were the burgers and hotdogs and fries. The chicken sandwich not so good and I seem to recall on earlier cruises they offered chicken strips but not now.

I gotta get to work. More to come including comedians, deck chairs, welcome aboard show, internet, and ports.

Looking forward to more.:)

Great start looking forward to more.

I'll throw this in while I'm thinking about it. I can confirm the strange sewage smells on the Dream.

Mostly in the lower decks and near the elevators. Was never an issue in the stateroom.

Not so offensive that I would label it a major issue but I'm glad it didn't seem present in the dining venues.

Nice start to your review.

Keith

I'll throw this in while I'm thinking about it. I can confirm the strange sewage smells on the Dream.

 

Mostly in the lower decks and near the elevators. Was never an issue in the stateroom.

 

Not so offensive that I would label it a major issue but I'm glad it didn't seem present in the dining venues.

We were on the Dream in May and didnt smell the smell.

Which itinerary did you do? We had to get to Coz late and leave Coz early due to propulsion problem.

Shows: Really surprised to see the same welcome aboard show as the one in 2013, the last time we cruised. It's the one with Anchors Away, Uptight Outta Sight, beach balls, etc. It's not an awful show, but after seeing it 2 or 3 times gets old.

I watched a few minutes of the Motown show midweek and it was good.

Caught a Juggling act midweek and the guy was funny and good. Very entertaining.

We didn't intend to watch the farewell show which was "8 Seconds" -- country. I think I've seen this one before anyway. However, it got cancelled due to technical issues.

Kind of disappointed that we didn't get a magician. I understand there might have been one walking around doing close up magic, but there was not big act per se.

The comedians, as usual were outstanding. This is a very good Carnival feature in my opinion. They rotated 4 throughout the week. Mike Speenburg was probably our favorite but they were all good (Carol Pricard, Billy D Washington and Dianne Ford). Jeff the Fun Dude opened for everyone and we had to hear a few repeats some sets, but he runs a good operation. We did mostly adult shows but caught a few family shows too.

Oh, there are bad seats in the Rhapsody lounge (Punchliner) and Encore theatre due to the support poles. What may look like a great seat may have you in line with a pole so beware. Oddly, even though we only went to a few things in the big theatre, I never saw it close to full, especially in the upper level.

Quest, although not really a "show" is always entertaining . It's shocking what some people will do on cruiseship. I came close to seeing full frontal nudity:eek:

We were on the Dream in May and didnt smell the smell.

 

Which itinerary did you do? We had to get to Coz late and leave Coz early due to propulsion problem.

Ours was the Roatan, Belize, Coz itin.

Enjoying the review and glad to hear you liked the cove balcony. We will be on the Dream over Christmas for an 8 day cruise and have a cove balcony booked.

Deck chairs were not a problem. I prefer something in the shade with a water view and they were plentiful. Didn't do a lot up on the serenity deck but it looked very open and uncrowded the few times I did pass through.

We did a few trivia games and such on the promenade deck. Jase kept it fun. Also, DD and I won the digital scavenger hunt. Another Ship on a Stick to add to the collection.:D

We ended buying the social internet package and the value package so I could deal with some things at work. It's slow but functional. I couldn't really tell the difference when using various times of the day. IMessage did work fine although they tell you it doesn't. Snapchat doesn't work but you do get notifications. Any embedded video in a facebook or twitter feed will work but it will be very broken up and slow.

Shows: Really surprised to see the same welcome aboard show as the one in 2013, the last time we cruised. It's the one with Anchors Away, Uptight Outta Sight, beach balls, etc. It's not an awful show, but after seeing it 2 or 3 times gets old.

 

I watched a few minutes of the Motown show midweek and it was good.

 

Caught a Juggling act midweek and the guy was funny and good. Very entertaining.

 

We didn't intend to watch the farewell show which was "8 Seconds" -- country. I think I've seen this one before anyway. However, it got cancelled due to technical issues.

 

Kind of disappointed that we didn't get a magician. I understand there might have been one walking around doing close up magic, but there was not big act per se.

 

The comedians, as usual were outstanding. This is a very good Carnival feature in my opinion. They rotated 4 throughout the week. Mike Speenburg was probably our favorite but they were all good (Carol Pricard, Billy D Washington and Dianne Ford). Jeff the Fun Dude opened for everyone and we had to hear a few repeats some sets, but he runs a good operation. We did mostly adult shows but caught a few family shows too.

 

Oh, there are bad seats in the Rhapsody lounge (Punchliner) and Encore theatre due to the support poles. What may look like a great seat may have you in line with a pole so beware. Oddly, even though we only went to a few things in the big theatre, I never saw it close to full, especially in the upper level.

 

Quest, although not really a "show" is always entertaining . It's shocking what some people will do on cruiseship. I came close to seeing full frontal nudity:eek:

Jeff is one of the only comedy club managers that adds to the show.

Roatan had one other ship in port that day at Coxen Hole but we didn't it didn't feel crowded. We booked the Tabyana Beach day through the ship. Decent people mover bus. The driver did not do any narration along the way. This is a very poor area so you kind of feel bad for them.

The beach was great with shaded chairs and plenty of security and bar service. The onsite lunch was tasty. They had free tea and lemonade available all day.

Best Snorkeling we've ever done. We went out twice. The first time, we were a little lost so we grabbed one of the guys on the kayaks to show us around. He took us to the "wall" and over to the rock. He would point out some things along the way. I gave him a nice tip and we felt good going it alone on the next session.

The vendors are very aggressive. A nice "no thank you" works but sometimes they ask your name and if will suggest "maybe later". One thing we got suckered into was a guy came along with a monkey on a leash. My daughter was all over it but as expected for the low price of $10, you could get your picture taken with the monkey.:D

We left about 2 and got back with some time to explore the shops in Mahogany Bay. It's a beautiful place and I recommend getting away from MB and seeing some more of the island.

Following for more ship info. We hit different ports at end of August. So far, so good.

Hi! Thank you for the awesome review! :)

I noticed that you had FTTF and it seemed to work great for you. I just have one question: what time did you embark?

I was on the same cruise, and my family did the same beach break. The snorkeling was awesome, and my wife and I were glad that our boys could experience it. They rented snorkel gear--$10/set and a guide volunteered to go out with us for a tip. Well worth it.

Yes, there were vendors. And they were highly motivated. Then again, they are trying to make a living. The security people did keep them away from the beach chairs. We did end up buying some shells and some wood. We didn't spend a lot.

In a sense, the excursion is expensive for what you get, but the snorkeling in Tabyana is first rate, so I think its a deal. And besides, the shuttles we took ended up going back in another direction, so we ended up circumnavigating the entire island.

Post Cruise Stress Disorder. Back to work after the long 9 hour drive home yesterday.

 

First off, I just don't think there is such a thing as a "bad" cruise. The lowest mark on the scale is "good".

 

Fulton Garage was great. I gave them low marks a few years ago, but they've made some changes. Plenty of help, easy check in procedure from your car, and plenty of shuttles. Same on the debarkation.

 

FTTF got us from the shuttle to our stateroom in about 20 minutes. Love walking past everyone.

 

Buffet lines were long. This is an area where I couldn't find a remarkable difference between a dream class ship and fantasy class. Maybe more tables but the grill / pizza place/ wok all looked about the same. Long lines everywhere. Food was good.

 

Cove Balcony room was great. Not sure how we'll ever go back on rooms. Since it was my wife and DD with me, it was nice to have that area to step out into when they needed some privacy. Spotted a smoker a few cabins down, but the smell didn't make it to me although I saw the guy throw a butt overboard. I kept quiet. Attendant met DD and DW while I was away. They asked him to clean about 11 everyday and to please do a towel check in the evening which he did without fail. Got a towel animal I hadn't ever seen before on the final day -- a hanging monkey.

 

Dinners were all good. Aside from the already much discussed absent table cloths, other notables are the bread basket now left on the table, less silverware, water pitchers on the table which they will serve but you can do it yourself too. But I didn't find the service lacking. A little disappointed that the second level of the Scarlet Dining room where there are no ocean views. We were seated in a corner near the galley escalator which made it hard to see everything. Table mates were good -- a set of grandparents traveling with their 8 yo granddaughter. Seems like the dessert menu was a little lacking. But, the first night Tiramisu was some of the best I've had. Wish they would have offered another night. I always found something except 1 night and then I just fell back on the WCMC -- always a hit. Formal nights about normal except no entertainment on the second one. Haha, maybe the worst Maitre D singer I've ever heard. So bad, it was entertaining. DD always ordered milk with here dessert but a few nights the milk seemed to show up about the time she was finishing. Not sure why that was so difficult. Yes, there were some poorly dressed people for both the normal and elegant nights but I didn't let it ruin my dinner. Our tablemates always dressed nicely.

 

We never made it to the outdoor barbecue or the taste bar, but did eat at the pasta place on deck 11 and it was ok. A little slow too. Pizza was better this cruise as were the burgers and hotdogs and fries. The chicken sandwich not so good and I seem to recall on earlier cruises they offered chicken strips but not now.

 

I gotta get to work. More to come including comedians, deck chairs, welcome aboard show, internet, and ports.

Great start.

Hi! Thank you for the awesome review! :)

I noticed that you had FTTF and it seemed to work great for you. I just have one question: what time did you embark?

We boarded around 12:30. The lines were outside but we were able to walk up to the special line and get right in. Got a bypass at security and then again at the check in. Room was ready but our 1 checked bag didn't make it until about 5, which wasn't a problem.

Odds and ends.

Avoid the 4th floor starboard corridor. This is the kids / teens area and they really tend to congregate and act rude. If you exit the upper Scarlet dining room like we did every night, consider going up one floor.

Disembark is awful on this ship. They pack everyone onto the upper (3rd floor) near the forward elevators / stairwells. The elevators are functional so you have a constant flow of people cutting in line. Not really their fault because it is almost impossible to find the end of the line (is it up or down the stairs or out into the hallways of the third floor -- all are correct). Patience is really required here. We did not take advantage of our FTTF benefit here because we chose to eat breakfast in the MDR and went past the 7:45 meeting time. Thinking back, I'm not sure that breakfast was worth it.

Photographers are just as bad as ever. Since we've got a few cruises under our belt, we've decided that we only want a formal night picture on one of the atrium staircases. Disappointingly, we were told that they don't do that on this ship because someone fell one time and they stopped doing it.:( Made no sense to me and we did talk a photog into taking our pic at the very top of the spiral staircase but it isn't close to the same as our other pics from the other ships. Note, this was our first cruise on a dream class.

I did hear one interesting story at the guest services desk regarding photogs. A guy complained that his wife attempted to snap pic of her kid with Mr. Potato head on the Lido deck. Apparently, the photog "slapped" at the ladies hand / iPhone as she was attempting to take the photo. I guess that only professional shots were allowed of this character. I'm sure I don't have the whole story, but it did seem a little ridiculous.

The outside panoramic deck is wonderful. You can fully walk around the entire ship. There are some deck chairs and whirlpools to enjoy also.

DW always like a t- shirt from the shop and I noticed this time, the selection was down a little and the quality of the shirts seemed down also. At the end of the week, they ran a "special" at 2 for $20.

DW also found a great deal on some Clinique makeup in the shops. Cheaper than on land and no tax!

Muster drills were a breeze. We only had to sit in a dining room. Apparently, no more walking outside to the lifeboats, which is nice.

Great review! We're cruising on the Dream in 30 days. What part of Oklahoma are you from?

We'll be on the Dream over Christmas. Thank you for the review. Go Pokes. We're from just North of Tulsa.

I just read on another post that Dream has been having chronic propulsion problems causing it to miss ports and arrive late. Did you experience this at all?

Great review! We're cruising on the Dream in 30 days. What part of Oklahoma are you from?

Roland

I just read on another post that Dream has been having chronic propulsion problems causing it to miss ports and arrive late. Did you experience this at all?

I had heard that too but we were on time for everything. The only time we were late was leaving NOLA by about 45 minutes.

We cruise the 28th. But love to know what's going on on the ship.

How many times a day did your room steward service your room? Were you 'given' a choice?