Inaugural Dream cruisers cheated on entertainment

[Nunu]

Cyber stalking is creepy.

 

[chrishansen] "Why don't you have an e-seat over there" --------> [/chrishansen]

[Crusin6]

Dream was a shake down cruise, not an inaugural. The entertainment staff was not ready and we had only two big shows in 12 days. Other entertainment was marginal AND we had no shows the first two days and the last day. Not good. Lots of unhappy people. I think cruisers should have been compensated for the fact that the ship was off schedule but not a thing. The phone system had issues also.

So sorry!!! Was there anything nice about the ship? Cabins? Layout? etc?

 

 

I guess yours is a good example of the reasons to avoid inaugural cruises. However, what you experienced is exactly what I would expect on a ship for the first time out. Can you imagine the chaos? The crew? everything...OMG!!!

 

Ok, so now we will hear from those who will only take inaugural cruises!:D

[MrPete]

Not surprising...

We as CC members have a huge advantage. Most of us have learned that sailing a brand new ship or even one just fresh out of dry dock can be somewhat disappointing.

I remember when I sailed the Miracle the first time, she was about 4 months old, and I was SO happy that by then all the glitches were worked out and had an amazing cruise, because the first couple sailings on her brought back some negative reviews....Glitches up the wazoo.

 

Felt the same.

 

Realizing how awkward we all feel having to get used to each other as passengers, I can't begin to try to realize a crew that may know their job, but also don't know yet who they are WORKING with yet.

 

I will always pass on an inaugural, and those following. I got caught on a ship just coming out of drydock, but didn't realize it when we booked.

 

It was just "different".

[laffnatu]

Did "were" and "we're" get you too? :(

Pare got me... or was it pair or pear? :rolleyes:

[laffnatu]

Yes it was reported Cigar smoke everwhere. Smoking all over the Casino!!

lol - you wish!

[jgeraci7]

:oSome people are habitual critics. Myself, I'm just glad to be on any cruise ship going anywhere. Doing the Dream TA will be an adventure. I don't depend on anyone or anything to make my cruise. I make my own fun. Attitude is everything!

Three weeks til sail-away Joyce:o

[Ajo]

I sailed on the maiden Sept. 21st Carnival Dream European voyage. It was my 1st time on a Carnival cruise. Previously, I had sailed on Royal Carribean, Princess, Norwegian and Celebrity. The ship was beautiful, food good, staff accomadating +++. I have no significant complaints. The production show that I attended was one of the best I ever saw at sea. It had special effects that I haven't even seen in Vegas. The itinerary was port intensive and awesome. My cruise was priced at about 60% of similar European cruises and allowed me to purchase a bargain priced roundtrip Rome airfare. The Carnival shore excursions were reasonably priced and not marked up like on other overseas cruises. I cruised Europe on a beautiful brand new ship with excellent food for the price of budget hotels, dirty train stations and deli meals. My cruise was an excellent value and I'd cruise Carnival overseas again!

[crewsweeper]

Well of the 3 reviews and the OP's comments that I've seen so far...looks like a typical CC review rating spectrum for any Carnival ship. some like some things others hate the same things. Some make lemonade out of lemons others let one tiny incident infect their whole memory of the cruise.

 

I've been to one pre-opening night at what later became an "in-crowd" restaurant in NYC. And had I not known the owners at the time, based ont he service and quality of food that night, I would have never returned. Later visits were absolutely fabulous!!

[Lilmatcat]

I sailed on the maiden Sept. 21st Carnival Dream European voyage. It was my 1st time on a Carnival cruise. Previously, I had sailed on Royal Carribean, Princess, Norwegian and Celebrity. The ship was beautiful, food good, staff accomadating +++. I have no significant complaints. The production show that I attended was one of the best I ever saw at sea. It had special effects that I haven't even seen in Vegas. The itinerary was port intensive and awesome. My cruise was priced at about 60% of similar European cruises and allowed me to purchase a bargain priced roundtrip Rome airfare. The Carnival shore excursions were reasonably priced and not marked up like on other overseas cruises. I cruised Europe on a beautiful brand new ship with excellent food for the price of budget hotels, dirty train stations and deli meals. My cruise was an excellent value and I'd cruise Carnival overseas again!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. I enjoyed what you had to say and look forward to my sail on the Carnival Dream in December.

[nycruise]

I sailed on the maiden Sept. 21st Carnival Dream European voyage. It was my 1st time on a Carnival cruise. Previously, I had sailed on Royal Carribean, Princess, Norwegian and Celebrity. The ship was beautiful, food good, staff accomadating +++. I have no significant complaints. The production show that I attended was one of the best I ever saw at sea. It had special effects that I haven't even seen in Vegas. The itinerary was port intensive and awesome. My cruise was priced at about 60% of similar European cruises and allowed me to purchase a bargain priced roundtrip Rome airfare. The Carnival shore excursions were reasonably priced and not marked up like on other overseas cruises. I cruised Europe on a beautiful brand new ship with excellent food for the price of budget hotels, dirty train stations and deli meals. My cruise was an excellent value and I'd cruise Carnival overseas again!

 

This sounds like a much more reasoned review than the OP.

 

We sailed the same itinerary last year on the Freedom. With ports like Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Dubrovnik, Barcelona and Monte Carlo, and considering the reasonable price on a brand new superliner, the entertainment would be a minor concern for me.

 

"Cheated" is a strong word, my advice for the OP is to stick with tested ships on standard itineraries where everything is predictable and in place.

[bluwes]

Ok folks,back home now with a chance to post other than a snippet on the roll call.

 

It was difficult to decide which thread to post on as the internet charges being expensive and the problems we experienced caused problems. Also my WPM speed aint that fast.

 

Bottom line is we had a fantastic time , this was our 8th cruise all with Carnival. It was also our second Med cruise, and we had friends with us who had never cruised before.

 

There was nothing special to celebrate the fact it was an inaugural, other than a leather bound photo of the ship.

The cabins are pretty much standard,we had an upper deck midships balcony,overlooking the deck 5 walkaround area. Not all the pods overhanging the ships are hot tubs. One is a seating area and one has a giant chess set laid out on portside. The one directly by the lanai, amdiships around cabin #6398/6402 has a hot tub and a smoking area directly beneath them. Starboard also has two hot tubs.

 

I did mention on the roll call thread that we had no problems with noise, but there may be issues if this had been a Spring Break cruise. Carnival will need to put some controls on the times that these areas can be used.

 

The Ocean Plaza area and the Lanai areas were well used with areas for singers and some of the on ship activity games and quizzes. This was also a main meeting area for the Welcome aboard party. The Caliente disco was great, even though I am not as young as I used to be, I was strutting my stuff in there most nights.

 

We were in the Scarlett dining room with a late start time 8.15 and had Ken Byrne as Matre D who gave us a song each night. Made for a great atmosphere. I know its called the Scarlett and the other dining room is the Crimson, but it was just a little tooo red.

 

There were problems with set dining on the first night because the safety briefing overran which put dinner back. We didnt get our starters until after 9.15 and entrees after 10. The staff were struggling. We assured our waiters, Banny and Damir from Croatia that we didnt see it as their fault rather an organisational mix up. They appeared releived, thinking they wouldnt see us again.

 

Things were much better the rest of the cruise. We enjoyed the Supper club so much we booked for a second visit later on in the week.

 

There were some excellent acts, duos and bands, sepecially the Elite band and the duo who I didnt get there names but the guy is Canadian and plays a mean saxaphone and his wife is from New York .I even got to sing with them on the last night !!

 

Karaoke was a problem as there didnt seem to be a full catalogue available so if you chose to sing American Pie , it was Madonnas version and the computer system seemed complicated for some people. The host struggled to keep people entertained to the extent that most nights whiichever area or bar she was moved to it seemed empty

 

What did suprise me was the Piano bar, which seemed almost empty most nights. This always seemed to be the centre of the late night entertainment on previous ships, but not this time.

 

There were a couple of good comedians at the comedy club including Al Ernst and these were well attended and well received.

 

Comments have been made about the Cruise Director Todd Wittmer. I have never been one for really taking much notice of the CD, apart from seeing him on the incabin TV and sometimes if we have taken in some of the entertainment. He seemed quite capable but nothing special. I suppose he was under alot of pressure, it being the first cruise and all.

 

 

The Serenity Deck area is vast over the whole front of the ship on Deck 11, great place to hang out, and was our choice. The bar staff were attentive, and we spent much of our chill out time up there. Just far enough away from the Lido area to have any music as a background noise rather than in your face.

 

Yes there were problems with the speaker system on the giant TV and the Laser show had problems, and we didnt get chance to see it other than on the cabin TV

Nothing much else to say really. Had a great time, our friends said the same.

 

None of the glitches caused anything other than a minor annoyance if that, so I'll be looking online again next week for our next Carnival cruise,, even though we are from the UK, we have become fairly brand loyal to them.

If any one has specific questions I'll try and answer them.

[okgirl]

Anyone expecting inaugural cruises to be perfect is going to be disappointed. They never are.

 

I agree completely. We were on the inaugural voyage of the Carnival Freedom in 2007. I was under the impression that there would be many perks and we would be sailing on a perfectly appointed new ship.

But in fact we were surprised to find stickers still on most of the not cleaned windows. Protective film on most of the brass detailing. Bars not set up, pursers desk not ready to serve passengers, and a crew that had never worked together before and spent more time getting to know each other and establishing a routine than taking care of the passengers.

All of these issues were minor and we had a great time and it was our 1st in the Med, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. I would not sail on an inaugural voyage again unless the price was something I just couldn't pass up.

[FabFourLover]

Anyone expecting inaugural cruises to be perfect is going to be disappointed. They never are.

 

a titanic disappointment? ;)

[bluwes]

 

 

View from our cabin onto the seating area on deck 5

[demos]

Ok folks,back home now with a chance to post other than a snippet on the roll call.

 

It was difficult to decide which thread to post on as the internet charges being expensive and the problems we experienced caused problems. Also my WPM speed aint that fast.

 

Bottom line is we had a fantastic time , this was our 8th cruise all with Carnival. It was also our second Med cruise, and we had friends with us who had never cruised before.

 

There was nothing special to celebrate the fact it was an inaugural, other than a leather bound photo of the ship.

The cabins are pretty much standard,we had an upper deck midships balcony,overlooking the deck 5 walkaround area. Not all the pods overhanging the ships are hot tubs. One is a seating area and one has a giant chess set laid out on portside. The one directly by the lanai, amdiships around cabin #6398/6402 has a hot tub and a smoking area directly beneath them. Starboard also has two hot tubs.

 

I did mention on the roll call thread that we had no problems with noise, but there may be issues if this had been a Spring Break cruise. Carnival will need to put some controls on the times that these areas can be used.

 

The Ocean Plaza area and the Lanai areas were well used with areas for singers and some of the on ship activity games and quizzes. This was also a main meeting area for the Welcome aboard party. The Caliente disco was great, even though I am not as young as I used to be, I was strutting my stuff in there most nights.

 

We were in the Scarlett dining room with a late start time 8.15 and had Ken Byrne as Matre D who gave us a song each night. Made for a great atmosphere. I know its called the Scarlett and the other dining room is the Crimson, but it was just a little tooo red.

 

There were problems with set dining on the first night because the safety briefing overran which put dinner back. We didnt get our starters until after 9.15 and entrees after 10. The staff were struggling. We assured our waiters, Banny and Damir from Croatia that we didnt see it as their fault rather an organisational mix up. They appeared releived, thinking they wouldnt see us again.

 

Things were much better the rest of the cruise. We enjoyed the Supper club so much we booked for a second visit later on in the week.

 

There were some excellent acts, duos and bands, sepecially the Elite band and the duo who I didnt get there names but the guy is Canadian and plays a mean saxaphone and his wife is from New York .I even got to sing with them on the last night !!

 

Karaoke was a problem as there didnt seem to be a full catalogue available so if you chose to sing American Pie , it was Madonnas version and the computer system seemed complicated for some people. The host struggled to keep people entertained to the extent that most nights whiichever area or bar she was moved to it seemed empty

 

What did suprise me was the Piano bar, which seemed almost empty most nights. This always seemed to be the centre of the late night entertainment on previous ships, but not this time.

 

There were a couple of good comedians at the comedy club including Al Ernst and these were well attended and well received.

 

Comments have been made about the Cruise Director Todd Wittmer. I have never been one for really taking much notice of the CD, apart from seeing him on the incabin TV and sometimes if we have taken in some of the entertainment. He seemed quite capable but nothing special. I suppose he was under alot of pressure, it being the first cruise and all.

 

 

The Serenity Deck area is vast over the whole front of the ship on Deck 11, great place to hang out, and was our choice. The bar staff were attentive, and we spent much of our chill out time up there. Just far enough away from the Lido area to have any music as a background noise rather than in your face.

 

Yes there were problems with the speaker system on the giant TV and the Laser show had problems, and we didnt get chance to see it other than on the cabin TV

Nothing much else to say really. Had a great time, our friends said the same.

 

None of the glitches caused anything other than a minor annoyance if that, so I'll be looking online again next week for our next Carnival cruise,, even though we are from the UK, we have become fairly brand loyal to them.

If any one has specific questions I'll try and answer them.

 

 

Thank you bluwes for the info on the areas of our Carnival Dream!!

I do have a question for you about the balcony. I was curious about the Lanai area. Noise is not an issue for me but privacy is. Could people on deck 5 see you on your balcony, or in your windows? We will be on deck 7 aft.

Thanks again for your review I enjoyed reading it very much!!! We are starved for any morsal of info we can get.:)

[babys mom]

My Sister in Law has 6398 . Do you think that smoking area would be a problem? Do you know if cabin was Quiet?

Glad you had a good time........

[G'ma]

Ok folks,back home now with a chance to post other than a snippet on the roll call.

 

It was difficult to decide which thread to post on as the internet charges being expensive and the problems we experienced caused problems. Also my WPM speed aint that fast.

 

Bottom line is we had a fantastic time , this was our 8th cruise all with Carnival. It was also our second Med cruise, and we had friends with us who had never cruised before.

 

There was nothing special to celebrate the fact it was an inaugural, other than a leather bound photo of the ship.

The cabins are pretty much standard,we had an upper deck midships balcony,overlooking the deck 5 walkaround area. Not all the pods overhanging the ships are hot tubs. One is a seating area and one has a giant chess set laid out on portside. The one directly by the lanai, amdiships around cabin #6398/6402 has a hot tub and a smoking area directly beneath them. Starboard also has two hot tubs. Were you bothered by noise or other distractions from below when you were on your balcony? That is a concern of mine and a few other who wonder if the hot tub areas would be too noisy.

 

I did mention on the roll call thread that we had no problems with noise, but there may be issues if this had been a Spring Break cruise. Carnival will need to put some controls on the times that these areas can be used.

 

The Ocean Plaza area and the Lanai areas were well used with areas for singers and some of the on ship activity games and quizzes. This was also a main meeting area for the Welcome aboard party. The Caliente disco was great, even though I am not as young as I used to be, I was strutting my stuff in there most nights.

 

We were in the Scarlett dining room with a late start time 8.15 and had Ken Byrne as Matre D who gave us a song each night. Made for a great atmosphere. I know its called the Scarlett and the other dining room is the Crimson, but it was just a little tooo red.

 

There were problems with set dining on the first night because the safety briefing overran which put dinner back. We didnt get our starters until after 9.15 and entrees after 10. The staff were struggling. We assured our waiters, Banny and Damir from Croatia that we didnt see it as their fault rather an organisational mix up. They appeared releived, thinking they wouldnt see us again.

 

Things were much better the rest of the cruise. We enjoyed the Supper club so much we booked for a second visit later on in the week.

 

There were some excellent acts, duos and bands, sepecially the Elite band and the duo who I didnt get there names but the guy is Canadian and plays a mean saxaphone and his wife is from New York .I even got to sing with them on the last night !!

 

Karaoke was a problem as there didnt seem to be a full catalogue available so if you chose to sing American Pie , it was Madonnas version and the computer system seemed complicated for some people. The host struggled to keep people entertained to the extent that most nights whiichever area or bar she was moved to it seemed empty

 

What did suprise me was the Piano bar, which seemed almost empty most nights. This always seemed to be the centre of the late night entertainment on previous ships, but not this time.

 

From John Healds post re smoking:

 

"Finally, the Piano Bar on your Carnival Dream. Maybe you missed my posting a few days ago where I stated it is not 100% non smoking. The area sitting around the piano is while the seating at the back of the room allows for smoking.""

Wonder if this is why....nobody wants to be sent to the back of the room....... The nonsmokers better step up to the plate if they want nonsmoking venues to remain. That means, show up and spend money.

 

There were a couple of good comedians at the comedy club including Al Ernst and these were well attended and well received.

 

Comments have been made about the Cruise Director Todd Wittmer. I have never been one for really taking much notice of the CD, apart from seeing him on the incabin TV and sometimes if we have taken in some of the entertainment. He seemed quite capable but nothing special. I suppose he was under alot of pressure, it being the first cruise and all.

 

 

The Serenity Deck area is vast over the whole front of the ship on Deck 11, great place to hang out, and was our choice. The bar staff were attentive, and we spent much of our chill out time up there. Just far enough away from the Lido area to have any music as a background noise rather than in your face.

 

Yes there were problems with the speaker system on the giant TV and the Laser show had problems, and we didnt get chance to see it other than on the cabin TV

Nothing much else to say really. Had a great time, our friends said the same.

 

None of the glitches caused anything other than a minor annoyance if that, so I'll be looking online again next week for our next Carnival cruise,, even though we are from the UK, we have become fairly brand loyal to them.

If any one has specific questions I'll try and answer them.

 

Could you comment on the easy of navigating around the ship? Comments on John's blog and others say many areas are accessible from the outside Promenade Deck... What was your experience?

 

There have been other speculations that with this ship being larger and carrying more people that the lines might be unmanageable for the buffets, tendering, etc. Another seems to be that it will feel too crowded with 4000 people on it. What did you think?

 

Thanks for any input.....and please jot us a note when you think of something......

[Nunu]

Just a heads up for the poster saying their slow typing makes it expensive to post online from the ship. Don't the ships computers have Word or even notepad where you can type your thoughts and then paste them into the post when you go online? It'd save you some money.

[CorvetteLady]

Did the bathrooms have shelves around the mirrors, like the Conquest class?

[bluwes]

Just a heads up for the poster saying their slow typing makes it expensive to post online from the ship. Don't the ships computers have Word or even notepad where you can type your thoughts and then paste them into the post when you go online? It'd save you some money.

 

That was me.........I did try cut and paste on my notebook, for some reason after typing a review it wouldnt paste into the thread, still dont know why

[BeeBeeCee]

Is there a makeup mirror in the bathroom?

 

I remember one on the Conquest..... but the Fantasy did not have them....it was a nightmare getting dressed with low bathroom light and no makeup mirror :eek:

 

Thanks for the review!!

[markstudy]

Thanks for the photo. :D

 

This is the reason I canceled my trip on the Dream. :eek:

 

When I get a balcony, I want some privacy, and a nice view of the water at night.

 

I hope they don't build all new ships like the dream. I can see how it would keep drunks from falling off the ship at night.

 

Not a good design for folks who like to spend extra on a balcony room :p

 

 

 

 

 

View from our cabin onto the seating area on deck 5

[jandjfun]

Anyone expecting inaugural cruises to be perfect is going to be disappointed. They never are.

Exactly!! I have never figured out why all the hype about it! And why the prices are always outragous!! All that can happen is that you will have an entire crew who is in training!

You really should not expect anything more than did the ship stay afloat!!

[DEL67]

Anyone expecting inaugural cruises to be perfect is going to be disappointed. They never are.

 

Bad/missing entertainment is nothing! I was on the inaugural sailing of the RCCL Radiance of the Seas. Its been years and I do not remember everything, but among other things:

 

- Our 3 night cruise to nowhere went to the Bahamas to pick up crew

 

- Unbelieveably slow dining room service. The late seating was postponed over an hour the first night because early dining was not done. And it took 45 minutes to get juice at breakfast

 

- Cold food

 

- 15 minute in line wait to get coffee, tea, etc. in the Lido deck restaurant because the beverage stations were not in place yet.

 

- The automatic door in our HC cabin would not work even though they tried to fix it twice. I had to force it open and their way no way my husband in a wheelchair could get in/out himself

 

- They announced changing formal night from the 2nd to the 3rd night at 6 PM the 2nd night

 

- They couldn't find the bathroom glasses until the last morning when they served juice in them

 

My husband and I thought it was funny, but I guess others did not because we received a voucher for the price of our cruise towards another one.

[bluwes]

People keep starting threads asking for reviews of the Dream when there are posts on here which people cant find.

 

Maybe it needs threads merging instead of having to search any thread that has Dream in the title