First timers just booked Dream !!

[yankin]

I have just booked Dreams for the Nov 27 cruise and it really was a tough decision. We have never cruised before but thought we would give it a try. We are spending three weeks (we are a military family and have to fly from Europe) in Orlando first doing the the theme parks and are locked into the weekend of 27 Nov for our cruise. It was either Dream or Oasis of the Seas and we spent two weeks looking at the pro's and con's. Our kids are teens (15 and 17) so onboard activities for there age group played a big factor. Oasis looks very nice but the sheer size of the ship (and it's prices) looked very daunting. In addition there seems to be far to many premium dining facilities on Oasis. I thought cruising was all inclusive (except for alcohol) but Oasis has taken the upsell on it's restaraunts to a whole new level.

 

Dreams has been getting mixed reviews. Long lines for food and spotty service. Everybody has a different opinion so I tried to take the bad reviews with a grain of salt. I am hopefull that theses issues will be worked out by Carnival very soon. For any of you who have already sailed on Dream what was your experience?

 

I think we have made the right decision with Dream. Booked an OS on the Empress deck. I love my kids but the idea of spending a week in an inside cabin with them was giving me nightmares. We all need our space!!

 

A question...on formal nights how out of place would I be if I wore my military dress uniform?

 

Being first timers I am sure I will have a few questions in the next few weeks and appreciate you folks sharing your Carnival experiences.

[PROCRUISE]

I have just booked Dreams for the Nov 27 cruise and it really was a tough decision. We have never cruised before but thought we would give it a try. We are spending three weeks (we are a military family and have to fly from Europe) in Orlando first doing the the theme parks and are locked into the weekend of 27 Nov for our cruise. It was either Dream or Oasis of the Seas and we spent two weeks looking at the pro's and con's. Our kids are teens (15 and 17) so onboard activities for there age group played a big factor. Oasis looks very nice but the sheer size of the ship (and it's prices) looked very daunting. In addition there seems to be far to many premium dining facilities on Oasis. I thought cruising was all inclusive (except for alcohol) but Oasis has taken the upsell on it's restaraunts to a whole new level.

 

Dreams has been getting mixed reviews. Long lines for food and spotty service. Everybody has a different opinion so I tried to take the bad reviews with a grain of salt. I am hopefull that theses issues will be worked out by Carnival very soon. For any of you who have already sailed on Dream what was your experience?

 

I think we have made the right decision with Dream. Booked an OS on the Empress deck. I love my kids but the idea of spending a week in an inside cabin with them was giving me nightmares. We all need our space!!

 

A question...on formal nights how out of place would I be if I wore my military dress uniform?

 

Being first timers I am sure I will have a few questions in the next few weeks and appreciate you folks sharing your Carnival experiences.

 

It is an honor for all of us to have any member of The United States Military Services onboard in dress uniform! Warning however, on elegant night, when you appear in uniform you will be repeatedly stopped and thanked for your service to our country by other passengers.

[Sargent_Schultz]

You chose wisely. Carnival Dream is a great ship. Take any reviews with a grain of salt and board the ship with an open mind. You will have a great time!

[GlendaleCruiser]

I think you will enjoy the Dream. We LOVED her.:D

[yankin]

I am reassured by you fine folks that I have made the right decision with Dream. We have never cruised before but thru reading these post I am confident we have made the right choice.

 

My sister is an RCI veteran (15 cruises) and is a bit disappointed we did not go with Oasis. However, she is looking forward to a full report from me on my return...perhaps I can convert her over to Carnival !!;)

[Casino Player]

I have just booked Dreams for the Nov 27 cruise and it really was a tough decision. We have never cruised before but thought we would give it a try. We are spending three weeks (we are a military family and have to fly from Europe) in Orlando first doing the the theme parks and are locked into the weekend of 27 Nov for our cruise. It was either Dream or Oasis of the Seas and we spent two weeks looking at the pro's and con's. Our kids are teens (15 and 17) so onboard activities for there age group played a big factor. Oasis looks very nice but the sheer size of the ship (and it's prices) looked very daunting. In addition there seems to be far to many premium dining facilities on Oasis. I thought cruising was all inclusive (except for alcohol) but Oasis has taken the upsell on it's restaraunts to a whole new level.

 

Dreams has been getting mixed reviews. Long lines for food and spotty service. Everybody has a different opinion so I tried to take the bad reviews with a grain of salt. I am hopefull that theses issues will be worked out by Carnival very soon. For any of you who have already sailed on Dream what was your experience?

 

I think we have made the right decision with Dream. Booked an OS on the Empress deck. I love my kids but the idea of spending a week in an inside cabin with them was giving me nightmares. We all need our space!!

 

A question...on formal nights how out of place would I be if I wore my military dress uniform?

 

Being first timers I am sure I will have a few questions in the next few weeks and appreciate you folks sharing your Carnival experiences.

 

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO yankin: Congrats on choosing Carnival for your first cruise. I sailed on the Dream on it's first two cruises in the USA going out of NYC. The good: The food was very good although sometimes you may have long lines. Try the pasta resturant. It does not travel well in inclimate weather and you constantly here a banging on the side that will make you feel you are hearing field artillery overhead, at least it did to me. In November we took a cruise on the Triumph, it was a smoother sailing although we had inclimate weather then too. The ship tends to vibrate when you are entering ports. The pizza is never ready when you get there. Always a five to seven minute wait sometimes several times. The beds weren't as comfortable as on other Carnival cruises. If you like to play in the casino the staff isn't very professional and the casino is the worst run casino I've ever been in.

As for wearing your Military Dress Uniform, as a third generation veteran giving you advice, wear it. Show you are proud to be in the military. Show you are proud to defend our way of life.

[loveJake]

We just returned from the 12/12 cruise on the Dream with our 8, 14 and 15 year old grandchildren. I do not write reviews, but I do want to assure you that we had a great time on the Dream. We hardly saw our grandkids, their choice, although we did have them eat dinner with us. I loved our 2 adjoining cove balcony cabins, it was great being close to the water. The food was not the greatest both at the buffet and dinner, but not terrible like some have reported. The lines for the buffet for lunch were really bad, and I tried early and late, people on our cruise really liked to eat. Also there was not much variety both in the buffet and dining rooms. But there were other choices, for lunch and some of those lines were not too bad. We smelled no sewage like some have reported. The Dancing in the Streets was the best show I have ever seen, your kids will like it also. Since the Dream is the largest ship with the most passengers I have been on I now know I will stay away from the large ships, just too many people. Anything else just ask, I do love Carnival but will be honest as to what we experienced, that's why I don't wire reviews, too many nasty comments back if you don't think Carnival is the best.

[*Mach*]

I have just booked Dreams for the Nov 27 cruise and it really was a tough decision. We have never cruised before but thought we would give it a try. We are spending three weeks (we are a military family and have to fly from Europe) in Orlando first doing the the theme parks and are locked into the weekend of 27 Nov for our cruise. It was either Dream or Oasis of the Seas and we spent two weeks looking at the pro's and con's. Our kids are teens (15 and 17) so onboard activities for there age group played a big factor. Oasis looks very nice but the sheer size of the ship (and it's prices) looked very daunting. In addition there seems to be far to many premium dining facilities on Oasis. I thought cruising was all inclusive (except for alcohol) but Oasis has taken the upsell on it's restaraunts to a whole new level.

 

Dreams has been getting mixed reviews. Long lines for food and spotty service. Everybody has a different opinion so I tried to take the bad reviews with a grain of salt. I am hopefull that theses issues will be worked out by Carnival very soon. For any of you who have already sailed on Dream what was your experience?

 

I think we have made the right decision with Dream. Booked an OS on the Empress deck. I love my kids but the idea of spending a week in an inside cabin with them was giving me nightmares. We all need our space!!

 

A question...on formal nights how out of place would I be if I wore my military dress uniform?

 

Being first timers I am sure I will have a few questions in the next few weeks and appreciate you folks sharing your Carnival experiences.

 

 

Hiya, Yank! Welcome aboard!!

You'll love the Dream, she's a gorgeous vessel and your kids will love the activites and the Fun Hubs!

Please do wear your dress uniform for the elegant evenings. Everyone will appreciate your service and likely keep your bar tab for the evening down to zero.

Feel free to ask all the questions you want, that's what this place is all about.

All the best...

Mach

[yankin]

lovejake,

 

Thanks for the honest review. I can appreciate company loyalty especially in my line of work but occasionally that loyalty can blind us to the obvious. The fine folks here love Carnival and with all the competition in the cruise market the company must be doing something right to keep people coming thru the door.

 

Waiting for a bit in a chow line really does not bother me in the slightest.

 

I could be wrong here but after reading thru some of the reviews for Dream perhaps some people had expectations that where not matched. Thats fine, you work hard for your money and to give Carnival a slice of that in return for a vacation and not recieve what you expected can be dissapointing.

 

As this is my first cruise I will have nothing to compare. My Dad always told me that if you go into something with expectations your bound to be disapointed. My Dad could be a bit jaded in that philosophy :rolleyes: but basically I have tried to go into things with that moto in my head-it has served me well.

 

My only expectation is to spend 7 days on the Dream and have a good time. If we cant find a party we will create one-from the sounds of the people on this forum I think the Carnival Dream will be a great place to create such a party!!

[yposd]

I will be on the Dream the first week in Jan. I will let you know. This will be my 8th Carnival Cuise and never had a bad experince.

[shelwoj]

We just returned from the 12/12 cruise on the Dream with our 8, 14 and 15 year old grandchildren. I do not write reviews, but I do want to assure you that we had a great time on the Dream. We hardly saw our grandkids, their choice, although we did have them eat dinner with us. I loved our 2 adjoining cove balcony cabins, it was great being close to the water. The food was not the greatest both at the buffet and dinner, but not terrible like some have reported. The lines for the buffet for lunch were really bad, and I tried early and late, people on our cruise really liked to eat. Also there was not much variety both in the buffet and dining rooms. But there were other choices, for lunch and some of those lines were not too bad. We smelled no sewage like some have reported. The Dancing in the Streets was the best show I have ever seen, your kids will like it also. Since the Dream is the largest ship with the most passengers I have been on I now know I will stay away from the large ships, just too many people. Anything else just ask, I do love Carnival but will be honest as to what we experienced, that's why I don't wire reviews, too many nasty comments back if you don't think Carnival is the best.

 

loveJake, I see you had connecting cove balcony rooms, were you able to open the divider between the balconies? Also, where was the connecting door in the room? Did it make layout of the room awkward? Finally, do you have any pictures? We're cruising on the Dream in 40 days and have a connecting cove balcony room with our friends and haven't seen one comment about the connecting rooms. Thanks!

[cruizer4662]

A question...on formal nights how out of place would I be if I wore my military dress uniform? Absolutely, please wear the uniform and be proud. We were on the 9 day Caribbean cruise, only thing I can suggest is to try to eat in the Main Dining Room as much as possible, get away from "standing in line" that you may be used to. Or at least the Pasta Bar one dieck above the Lido. Enjoy yourselves!!!!

[lousk]

yankin,

you're going to have a good time. any time away from the military grind has to be a good time especially with family along. any cruise line, any ship is a nice vacation. it's only what you make it.

as ex USAF i love what you say about standing in chow lines & if there isn't a party going on, you'll start one. i love it.

you're going on a new adventure so treat as such.

it'll be interesting to read what you have to say about it afterwords.

just remember, the only bad cruise is the one where the ship sinks.

ENJOY