Just off the Dream - Review

[hkbragg]

We are just of the Dream and wanted to share our experience. We (my DH and I and our married couple friends – all in our early to mid thirties) had a wonderful time.

 

We got into Port Canaveral the night before and stayed at the Quality Suites in Cocoa Beach. This is a sister hotel for the Radisson, so in the morning, we took our cars there and caught their shuttle. It was cheaper than the Radisson and you got two rooms (a bedroom and a living room with pullout couch), but it was no where near as nice. The price was only slightly better – maybe $20 difference, so unless you need the extra room, just stick with the Radisson.

 

Embarkation/Debarkation – Simple as can be! We arrived at around 12:45 and were in our room by 1:15. It was fast and efficient.

 

We choose to do self-debarkation and they called our floor around 6:45. We were off the boat and on the hotel shuttle by 7:15. It was the easiest and least crowded self-debark we have ever done.

 

Cabin - We were in cabins 8255 and 8253. These cabins were listed as not having a balcony partition that opened to one another, but alas the partition did open. When open, the partition did block our balcony doors, but our steward showed us how to secure and unsecure the door so that at night it did not swing freely and during the day we could move it out of the way to get in and out. It was a minor inconvenience to have to move the door to get in and out, but so worth the open balcony. The room was nice – pretty much what you would expect. Our only complaint was that the doors are heavy and slam quickly. Not a big deal, but my fingers got caught a time or two and it hurt.

 

Food – Overall I thought the food was on par with the other cruises I have been on. It was good – some was great (like the ribs) and some was not so great. We tried the pasta bar twice and really liked it. We tried the Mongolian Grill as well - it was ok, but not my thing. We could never find the deli or the tandori place ( we looked, but have no idea where those were). The only item I would say was bad, was the sushi. We tried it the first night and it was warm and not very good. Perhaps we just got a bad batch, but it was bad enough that we never went back. The chocolate cake and cheesecake from room service were very good. As was the chicken fajita wrap.

 

Pools/Slides – The waterslides are fantastic. We loved them and I think everyone should try them. The twister was awesome. We never went to the main pool. It was pretty crowded and since we had no kids with us, we opted for the Serenity deck when we wanted to hang out in the sun. We had no problem finding chairs and thought the area was very nice.

 

Spa – We used the spa on the day we were in Roatan, as they had a special that day that was a pretty good price. I thought the spa was on par with anything on land. It is under the Serenity deck, so you do hear a decent bit of noise. It did not bother me, but the girl doing my treatment did apologize several times and I could see how it might make another guest mad. Nothing that would ruin a vacation though.

 

Shows – OK. I know some people love the shows. We are not those people. We usually only go to make fun of them. We tend to think they are a little American idol rejects meet high school glee club performance. That said, we did check out the Dancin in the Street show – and I must say it was good. The tricks and acrobats in the show are really cool. Don’t get me wrong, there were cheesy moments, but the show over all was really good and worth checking out.

 

Cozumel – We have been to Cozumel a couple of times and as always it was beautiful. Our friends did the beach and city tour and loved it. Their guide was Reuben and thought he was wonderful. My DH and I did the scuba dive and we unfortunately ended up not being able to dive. We are both certified and have dived many times. Usually, on any sort of dive, the people connect everything and turn on your equipment. While this was done for me (maybe cause I’m a girl – I dunno) it was not done for my DH. HE should have double checked his stuff but did not. When we started our decent, he could not breath – he panicked, went the surface and proceeded back to the ship. He was really freaked out about it (didn’t realize the tank had never been turned on) and we skipped the dives. While this in his fault for not checking, Carnival refunded 75% of our money – which I thought was extremely fair ( I honestly didn’t expect anything back). Someone on CC had said that they would not dive through a cruise ship excursion as he did not think they were safe and after this experience I probably would not either. When I finally turned my DH’s tank on after the incident, I could hear it leaking. There was no line in the water for a safety stop and I thought that was odd. We are certified but do not dive often, so we feel more comfortable when the dive shop really takes charge more – perhaps if you are really experienced this is not an issue.

 

 

Roatan – We docked in Mahogany Bay, which is very new and nice. We took the flying beach chairs (which are now $8, not $5 as they were a few weeks ago) to the beach. There were two ships there and it was crowded. We walked back and it was way quicker then the chair – so save your $8 and just walk the path. The men did the zip line here (it’s right outside the port) and they liked it. We wanted to catch a taxi to the town, but it was really expensive (BTW – these guys will negotiate, so play hardball). In the end, the best price we got was $60 for the four of us round trip (down from $180 they originally said), but that was still more then we wanted to pay.

 

Belize – The men did the Belize City and Altun Ha tour. They loved it. Us girls decided to explore the city on our own. I had read that many people did not feel safe. And while I understand why they feel that way, I really think there is no need to be scared. There are tons of tourists, so you are rarely alone and all the locals were nice. If you told them no, they left you alone for the most part – there are just so many vendors that want to sell you stuff that you are bombarded most of the time. But the city was interesting to see.

 

Costa Maya – This was by far our favorite port. The port itself is great. There is a pool and the entire port area is large and doesn’t feel too crowded (even with 3 ships in port). We took a cab to the city on Mahahaul – it was quite affordable 3 bucks per person there, 2 bucks back. The town was beautiful and the beaches were great. We picked a restaurant and took their special - $10 for 6 dos equies and we sat in the sun. Our only complaint is that the ship leaves really early from this port. You had to be back on at 2:30 and we just wanted more time to see the area.

 

All in all, we had a wonderful time. Would I do the Dream again – No, but that’s because I would not do any ship twice. I want to see different ships. The ship did not feel any bigger than any other I have been on and it did not feel crowded. Sometimes we waited a few minutes for something, but most of the time there were no issues. We always found a table easily, a lounge chair with no problem and there was plenty of room in the spas. We did have trouble finding a seat at the comedy club, but that was it. There was a shudder occasionally and the boat did rock at night – but we had 70 mph winds and that is to be expected. We did not get sea sick and the movement was no more then I had experienced on other ships. We smelled the sewer smell only once and that was as we were leaving Port Canaveral.

 

We had a great time and I would recommend this ship to anyone. So while yes, there are small things here and there that could be improved upon, there is nothing glaring that would ruin your vacation. If you don’t have a good time on this ship, it most likely b/c you are looking for problems. Sure, the photographers constantly blocking aisles is annoying. Yes, the lunch options are not open long enough. No, they shouldn’t put the hamburgers at the end of the line so that you have to get all the toppings first. But seriously, you find these small issues on any ship, any resort, any vacation. Just shrug it off and move on. There is so much more good to outweigh any of these small issues.

[FlipFlops 57]

Thank you for posting your review.

 

We (about 80 of us from our Roll Call) are really looking forward to our May 1st cruise!

About 70 of us are staying at the Radisson, and we're having a Jimmy Buffet themed party on Friday. (what other kind of party would we have) lol

 

Glad you had a good time and didn't sweat the small stuff!

[DGP1111]

Was on the same sailing with you. Glad to read that you had a wonderful time. I had a great vacation week away from work, got to meet some wonderful fellow passengers, ate some wonderful food, and visited a new port I'd never been to - Isla Roatan.

 

For me, it was a wonderful time despite a ship with multiple problems. Was on the same ship in December and didn't notice them nearly as much, but this time it appears I was consitently in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Agree that embarkation was easy peasy, and the ribs were deeeeelish!:)

My meals in Pasta Station were wonderful, but it was disappointing to routinely see the sign at the bottom of the stairs noting 'currently closed due to maximum capacity' (and not only during the 12:00-1:00 slot). I'm sorry to read you didn't get to experience the Tandori foods by the aft pool. It offered some very tasty, and spicy, options. Yum!

 

Also regarding dining . . . the Chef's Table option is very limited (12 people), but SO worth the bucks. It surpassed any expectation I had, and I had high expectations going into it. :D

 

I encourage any who might be traveling on this ship soon to find time to sit on the sofas on Deck 4 (overlooking the atrium) while Mark & Bernadette are singing. They're wonderful, and it can be very relaxing.

 

I won't be doing my own review because it would not be readily accepted by most on this board. I hope it was OK that I added these few very positive comments here.

[jmcancruise]

DH and I are travelling on the Dream in May. This Mark and Bernadette in the atrium. Did they play music you can slow dance to. We really enjoying the dancing last year on the Glory and are hoping for similar on the Dream.

[GAonmymind]

Thank you both for your review and comments.

 

So for us deep southern folks who dont like cold, how cold was the cruise and its ports? Was the breeze chilly at the pools?

 

I heard that the comedy club and piano bar were extremely smoke filled (which is very bad for us to tolerate very long). How bad are they?

 

We went to Costa Maya years ago prior to the Hurricane and they had numerous trinket vendors with necklaces, etc with great bargains. Are they still there? These made great little gifts for friends. We never been to Roatan.

 

Carnival use to have the most comfortable beds and we hope that they are still that way.

 

For a party of two, can they get large table seating at Anytime Dining?

 

Is Canaveral seizing liquor and inspecting luggage as other posters have reported?

 

If you have any other tips, clues or insights, please list them. All information is useful.

 

The crowds at noon are understandable as well as getting early to the shows.

 

Basically, most reviewers seem to like the shows, comedy club and food. So the cruise seems to be a normal cruise filled with fun and enjoyment.

Any cruise is better than WORK!

[broncdriver]

Hey HKBRAGG, Thanks for the review. Leaving on next weeks cruise on her. Do you remember the name of the resturant where you went in Costa Maya. My wife and I love finding little dives to eat at and since it is near the beach that makes it all that much better.

Thanks, Scott:D

[hkbragg]

Thank you both for your review and comments.

 

So for us deep southern folks who dont like cold, how cold was the cruise and its ports? Was the breeze chilly at the pools?

 

I heard that the comedy club and piano bar were extremely smoke filled (which is very bad for us to tolerate very long). How bad are they?

 

We went to Costa Maya years ago prior to the Hurricane and they had numerous trinket vendors with necklaces, etc with great bargains. Are they still there? These made great little gifts for friends. We never been to Roatan.

 

Carnival use to have the most comfortable beds and we hope that they are still that way.

 

For a party of two, can they get large table seating at Anytime Dining?

 

Is Canaveral seizing liquor and inspecting luggage as other posters have reported?

 

If you have any other tips, clues or insights, please list them. All information is useful.

 

The crowds at noon are understandable as well as getting early to the shows.

 

Basically, most reviewers seem to like the shows, comedy club and food. So the cruise seems to be a normal cruise filled with fun and enjoyment.

Any cruise is better than WORK!

 

 

We are also from GA and were surprised how hot it was in port. We were sweating - I can not imagine going in july to these places. It was a little chilly at night on the balcony. I think they go faster at night and the wind was strong a couple of nights. But overall, the weather was great - it was near or over 80 almost everyday.

 

Costa Maya still has the vendors - I do think it is a bit more built up in the past couple of years, but we loved it. Great prices. One hour massages for 20 bucks right on the ocean.

 

I did not really smuggle anything - though I did bring 3 bottles of wine on board - 2 regular and one really big bottle. No one even said a word.

 

We had late seating and I thought it odd that the dining room was over half empty every night - maybe these places were reserved for anytime dining. there were 4 of us in our party and we had a table for 4.

 

We did not experience the problems Don obviously had. We are pretty laid back folks and we don't really participate in many of the planned activities. We ate breakfast and lunch late, so perhaps that is why we did not experience crowds. We obviously completely missed the aft pool and those resturants. It's a pity too, b/c by day 6 we really wanted something different to eat. Food was fine, but after a while it all starts to taste the same.

 

I don't remember there being any smoke in the comedy club - i thought it was smoke free, but if not it never bothered me. Sam's piano bar is very smokey. I had a hard time being in there, especially on the rocky nights. I am a vacation smoker and I couldn't even stand it, so I don;t reccomend going there if you hate smoke.

 

The port side is smoking on this ship and people seemed really good about staying on their side. I never even noticed it for the most part. The casino smoking area is small and set back so it wont bother you unless you are in that area.

 

You will have a great time - we did and it's not like we were blind to some of the "issues". They just weren't that big of a deal to us. The only day it felt crowded was the first hour or so on the ship when everyone is getting on and trying to get an elevator. Other then that it was great.

 

 

Scott - I don't remember the actual name of our resturant. Its weird there. Basically, every square inch of beach is manned by a waiter - they basically all have the same deal and food, so no matter where you sit you will get the same thing. I had heard that there is a resturant not on the beach called 100% Agave that is supposed to be great. We wanted to try it, but the beach won since we only had a short amount of time there. The beach food was pretty good. Good guacamole and nachos, but that is all we tried. The food prices were ok, but the beer prices were as cheap as you can get.

 

Don - I would love to hear what you didn't like about the ship. I think everyone has different experiences and takes on stuff. I am no Carnival cheerleader and we thought there were some really dumb layouts, but nothing that ruined our trip. But I always like knowing what other people thought,

[mrpayroll]

Piano bar smoke was BAD. The comedy club had no smoke smell at all. I don't remember seeing anyone smoking there...( may have been no smoking allowed )....The deli has great sandwiches....:rolleyes:

[versuco]

I won't be doing my own review because it would not be readily accepted by most on this board. I hope it was OK that I added these few very positive comments here.

 

Hi Don,

 

It's a shame that this board has gotten so bad that you feel you cannot express your honest opinion. I, for one, would love to hear what you have to say. We are sailing on the Dream later this year and I love to read all comments about the ship, good and bad. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and should be able to post them without being verbally assaulted.

[KroozFoolz]

I won't be doing my own review because it would not be readily accepted by most on this board. I hope it was OK that I added these few very positive comments here.

 

Hi Don,

 

I, for one, would love to hear what you have to say.

 

Me too!

[Psych NP at Sea]

I just got off the Dream yesterday too. I was in room 8234. I probably saw you around. I'll do a review when I have more time, had to come right back to work today. I totally agree with you about wanting more time in Costa Maya. I slept in a little that day and by the time I got off the ship at around 11am, I didn't feel like I had enough time to venture out of port. I have been to Majahual before and was sad to have missed going there this time around. I stayed in port and did a little shopping, got some souveniers for family, etc. They do have some shops with great prices on necklaces, shot glasses, and other typical souvenier type stuff.

[tandemcruzr]

We were on the Dream in January. We ate at the el Delphin restaurant in Majahual. Had the whole fried fish for 2. It was excellent. That was our second time there and had the same thing both times. The fish is caught fresh right near the beach. Sat at a table under an umbrella with margaritas and cerveza. Wish were were back there.

[AryMay]

The men did the zip line here (it’s right outside the port) and they liked it.

 

Can you give a little more information on the zip line? Price? How long did it take? Did you have to wait long? Number of stations? Level of excitement? (That's probably subjective...but just trying to compare to the zip line we did in Costa Rica.)

 

Thanks.

[hkbragg]

Can you give a little more information on the zip line? Price? How long did it take? Did you have to wait long? Number of stations? Level of excitement? (That's probably subjective...but just trying to compare to the zip line we did in Costa Rica.)

 

Thanks.

 

 

I didn't do it, so I can only go on what my DH said. In total it took them about 1 to 1.5 hours. There were kids on their tour, so they said it took a little longer. He said there were about 10 or 12 lines, but that they were short. He said the shortest was about 10 seconds, the longest was about 30 seconds. They seemed to enjoy it. It is right outside the pier. They drive you up the hill and then you come down on the lines. He says he would do it again - it was 40 dollars and they did not negotiate. There was no wait - he said it was fun, wished the lines were longer, but there were alot so that made up for it. Hope that helps.

[broncdriver]

We were on the Dream in January. We ate at the el Delphin restaurant in Majahual. Had the whole fried fish for 2. It was excellent. That was our second time there and had the same thing both times. The fish is caught fresh right near the beach. Sat at a table under an umbrella with margaritas and cerveza. Wish were were back there.

 

Hey tandemcruzr, thanks for the restaurant info. We'll try it out.:D

[manmtnmike]

For those who sailed recently,

 

Who were the dance bands and rock bands that performed?

 

What style and quality of music?

Thanks,

 

Mike

[LHP]

For those who sailed recently,

 

Who were the dance bands and rock bands that performed?

 

What style and quality of music?

Thanks,

 

Mike

 

Here is the Caper (now called Fun Times) for February 27th.

 

You have to go almost to the end of the Blog to see it....

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2010/02/26/times-for-fun/

 

This will give you recent band names etc.....

[LHP]

I won't be doing my own review because it would not be readily accepted by most on this board. I hope it was OK that I added these few very positive comments here.

 

Hi Don,

 

It's a shame that this board has gotten so bad that you feel you cannot express your honest opinion. I, for one, would love to hear what you have to say. We are sailing on the Dream later this year and I love to read all comments about the ship, good and bad. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and should be able to post them without being verbally assaulted.

 

 

I agree....something that bothers one person....may not bother someone else.....BUT it is important to have as much info as possible.

 

While I do understand that it can be hard to stomach the blatant childish Carnival "bashing", Carnival in general is not perfect, nor are any of their ships. Constructive critizism can help all of us have a better cruise.

[dabijoel]

I won't be doing my own review because it would not be readily accepted by most on this board. I hope it was OK that I added these few very positive comments here.

 

Hi Don,

 

It's a shame that this board has gotten so bad that you feel you cannot express your honest opinion. I, for one, would love to hear what you have to say. We are sailing on the Dream later this year and I love to read all comments about the ship, good and bad. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and should be able to post them without being verbally assaulted.

 

 

Not Don, but I was on the Dream from the 13th-20th.

 

The service was great, Victor and Chayaya took care of us for dinner.

Room Steward, Santiago & his assistant, were great, no complaints there.

 

The promenade was a dissappointment, at least for us it was. I was on the RC Voyager and I guess I got spoiled. It is a few floors of a half cirlce with some shops. Down below is a piano player and singer above a bar. Sorry, that didn't cut it for us. Honestly, it is very small. Carnival chose to have more rooms, hence make more money, or just cheaped out in many aspects of this ship.

 

This was my 5th cruise and I have never felt rocking like that on any previous ship. It did not bother us in the sense that we got sick or anything, but it moved pretty much all day and night. It moved so much at night that my wife and I literally started laughing at one point because it was more than we ever experienced before and there weren't big waves, so we laughed. The cheaped out on the stabilizers or engineering of certain parts of the ship, seriously.

 

The best part, the food was "great" and the drainpipe was awesome. Our kids were on it constantly, especially our 10 year old daughter. If not for that slide, I don't know what they would have done. The kid's clubs did not appeal to her, or our 14 year old (to each his own).

 

The infamous smell, no problems there. There were a couple areas outside where there was a foul odor, but not many and I've smelled that on other ships as well. It was windy so it all kinda blended:).

 

At the pizza counter on deck 10, get the calzone. An 8-10 minute wait, but well worth it. They also had hot chocolate at the drink stations.

 

For the money, it was a good value, but I would not sail on the Dream again, nor would my spouse.

If you like to drink and lay in the sun, then have at it. They pushed the drinks "constantly". I would say no thank you to the same guy over and over and over and he kept asking as he could see I was sipping my lemonade. I heard from a passenger that it was $25 for for beers (Bud?) in a bucket. Wow! I don't drink but if I did that would stop me.

 

Getting a lounge chair on sea days was tough and that is probably true for most ships. Getting it on port days was simple and we felt like we were the only ones on the ship, seriously.

 

Sorry, flame away, but that's my honest opinion. We are looking at the Norwegian Epic (due out this summer) or another RC, or wait until the new Disney ships come out. Carnival has some positive things and some negative, but personally, I think they could have done a much better job of designing it.

[gtalum]

The diving incident is scary, and an important lesson as to why it's critical to always check your equipment yourself. Personally, I even go as far as to completely disassemble and reassemble the rig if they have already assembled it. Did he use your octopus on the ascent?

 

I'm glad Carnival was so generous in compensating you for it.

[CarnivalCruzer]

Can you give a little more information on the zip line? Price? How long did it take? Did you have to wait long? Number of stations? Level of excitement? (That's probably subjective...but just trying to compare to the zip line we did in Costa Rica.)

 

 

I didn't do it, so I can only go on what my DH said. In total it took them about 1 to 1.5 hours. There were kids on their tour, so they said it took a little longer. He said there were about 10 or 12 lines, but that they were short. He said the shortest was about 10 seconds, the longest was about 30 seconds. They seemed to enjoy it. It is right outside the pier. They drive you up the hill and then you come down on the lines. He says he would do it again - it was 40 dollars and they did not negotiate. There was no wait - he said it was fun, wished the lines were longer, but there were alot so that made up for it. Hope that helps.

 

 

My son (13yrs) & I did this zipline last week. (We were also on the 02-20 sailing) :D I have ziplined before in Antigua, but this was my son's first time. I choose this one for him because I heard it was "easier" than others.

 

We walked over around 11am and had no wait. We suited up & went straight to the course. It was $40pp. Took about an hour to 1 1/2.

They rode you 90% of the way up the mountain in the bed of a pick up, then you hiked the rest. Not too far - that was the only hike or climb the whole time.

There were 12 or 13 zips. None of them seemed very high off the ground - 40 or 50 ft maybe. I dont think it was nearly as high, long or fast as Antigua or probably even Costa Rica (though I've never been).

They felt *extremely* safe. They used 3 safety lines instead of the usual 2. Everything was new & seemed well maintained. I can't say enough good things about the safety here. At no point was it questionable.

At the bottom we bought our pictures on CD for $10 or $15 (can't remember). They were pretty good.

I think we paid $100pp in Antigua - so for $40, it was definately worth the money & I would do it again. As far as excitement, I would give it a 6 out of 10. If you have zipped before & are looking for a huge thrill, maybe find a different line. If you just want something fun & exciting to do, with no cab fares or hassle, this one is perfect. I would say it's a must for first-timers.

 

Any other questions? I'm going to put this info over on the port board too.