Carnival Dream - What's the deal?

[cde48]

Good friends of ours just got back this past weekend from the Dream, and said that it was probably the worst cruise they have been on. This was the first time that we didn't go with them in 5 years, as we are going on the Princess Star in a few days. They have been on over 30 cruises, many with CCL, and said that the Dream was a complete nightmare!

 

He are a few of the things that they said. The food was ok, not great, but that is subjective, the lines for the buffett were horrendous, said that the ship is way overcrowded, not much different than other Carnival ships, other than it's a little bigger, with a lot more people. The Entertainment was not that great, and many of the crew were pretty rude.

 

Just wondering, has anyone else had problems on/with the Dream?

 

Craig

[SCUBA Mark]

Good friends of ours just got back this past weekend from the Dream, and said that it was probably the worst cruise they have been on. This was the first time that we didn't go with them in 5 years, as we are going on the Princess Star in a few days. They have been on over 30 cruises, many with CCL, and said that the Dream was a complete nightmare!

 

He are a few of the things that they said. The food was ok, not great, but that is subjective, the lines for the buffett were horrendous, said that the ship is way overcrowded, not much different than other Carnival ships, other than it's a little bigger, with a lot more people. The Entertainment was not that great, and many of the crew were pretty rude.

 

Just wondering, has anyone else had problems on/with the Dream?

 

Craig

 

We have actually been on the Dream and loved it. The food was great and the entertainment was amazing. Carnival has really stepped it up a notch with the entertainment on this ship. The buffet lines are only long when you show up at noon just like on any other ship.

 

I thought the crew was just as nice as they always are on carnival ships.

[Hogladyrider]

I dont' cruise during sprink break or peak cruise season!

 

Why do people always seem to blame the cruise line!

[cde48]

We have actually been on the Dream and loved it. The food was great and the entertainment was amazing. Carnival has really stepped it up a notch with the entertainment on this ship. The buffet lines are only long when you show up at noon just like on any other ship.

 

I thought the crew was just as nice as they always are on carnival ships.

 

Mark, how did you like the Radiance?

[rjan67]

Nope, thought my cruise was terrific. Yes, there were lines at the buffet at peak times. We had the largest cruising (to that date) so we learned quickly not to eat at peak times. We would cruise on the Dream again!:D

[GeneK]

I guess if your friends have been on over 30 cruises, they have a right to pick a "worst" cruise. Maybe cuz you weren't with them this time to entertain them? :confused:

[SCUBA Mark]

Mark, how did you like the Radiance?

 

The Radiance of the Seas was very nice. It was kind of like a small Voyager of the Seas. Those 10 day cruises make the 7 day cruises seem short.

[balcony bound]

Wow, I am sorry your friends didn't enjoy the Dream - we had a fantastic time. Great service, great food - it was all just wonderful.

 

As another poster mentioned - spring break? Not something I would do.

[crewsweeper]

Good friends of ours just got back this past weekend from the Dream, and said that it was probably the worst cruise they have been on. This was the first time that we didn't go with them in 5 years, as we are going on the Princess Star in a few days. They have been on over 30 cruises, many with CCL, and said that the Dream was a complete nightmare!

 

He are a few of the things that they said. The food was ok, not great, but that is subjective, the lines for the buffett were horrendous, said that the ship is way overcrowded, not much different than other Carnival ships, other than it's a little bigger, with a lot more people. The Entertainment was not that great, and many of the crew were pretty rude.

 

Just wondering, has anyone else had problems on/with the Dream?

 

Craig

 

I'd like to see your friends do a review and get somewhat specific with their complaints. All of these generalities have been mentioned in the past. Your friends were on a cruise during spring break, expect a differnet crowd. They've had over 30 cruises, surely they no about avoiding peak buffet times. Entertainment is subjective like food. There were probably passengers on the cruise who thought the entertainment was excellent and even liked Jeff the Fun Dude. I'd like to hear an example of crew rudeness.

 

Our only complaint on the Dream in January was the treadmill noise in th egym in the morning. But that was DW and SIL/BIL as I was up and about and in the gym at 6:10 (not on the treadmills):D. DW's look at deck plans thought both our cabins were under the spa salon. We changed sides and cabin locations for May. We only did a couple of the main shows because we weren't interested in seeing the others, thus avoiding sitting through shows that bored us. We did the comedy club in the Burgundy Lounge but if the guy wasn't funny the first time, we didin't go to his other shows. We avoided the busiest buffet lines by eating breakfast early and going to the Tandoori and Pasta bar or any line that looked "short". Waited 5 minutes once for a hamburger. Had longer waits in drive thrus. We had poor weather( no tan lines this time) but a great cruise! It's all what you make of it.

[bakechef]

We have actually been on the Dream and loved it. The food was great and the entertainment was amazing. Carnival has really stepped it up a notch with the entertainment on this ship. The buffet lines are only long when you show up at noon just like on any other ship.

 

I thought the crew was just as nice as they always are on carnival ships.

 

I was on this last week's cruise and enjoyed it very much.

 

The Dining room food was excellent, this was my 4th time eating this menu and I think that this was the best of them all. I think that they have stepped up the presentation of the food as well.

 

The shows and entertainment also seemed to be stepped up. The comedy club was awseome, the production show, Dancin' in the streets was excellent, and I see lots of shows on land as well, so I am not easily impressed.

 

The lines at the lido buffet were only long during peak times and not even long enough to cause me to complain. It is kinda like using a highway in a big city during rush hour and complaining that there is too much traffic.

 

Yes there were a lot of people on this cruise, but everything went pretty smooth.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

... and many of the crew were pretty rude.

 

...

 

We did not have any problems during our two sailings on the Dream.

 

... having said that, a fellow CC'er (who will remain anonymous) encountered two rather unfriendly crew on his sailing. One, an officer on Lido who blew off his concerns involving a health issue at the Mongolian Wok (raw chicken crossing paths with bowls used by the cook to place your food in and hand to you)... and another incident where he was in the restroom adjacent to the casino and a dealer was using the facilities. The dealer headed for the door, and was asked by him if he might want to wash his hands. The dealer replied F U and headed back out to deal. I don't care how that came to pass, there is no way a staff person should speak to a guest that way! (* THIS WAS LAST MONTH*)

 

Tom

[*Mach*]

Early on there were similar complaints to those of your friends but for the past four months... since the Dream arrived in her home port... the reviews of the ship have been brilliant.

I don't know what your friends are used to but I found the ship wonderful...

:)

 

[sunlover5]

We just got off the Dream this past weekend also. We were surprised it didn't feel crowded because the Dream didn't feel any bigger to us than the Liberty or Freedom. Our food was excellent, the best out of all our cruises. We didn't encounter the long lines. Maybe the times we chose to eat.

We had an excellent waitress/room steward, but have to agree walking through the halls, on the Lido, etc. the staff didn't seem as friendly on other cruises.

The aft wrap on deck 7 not worth the money.

The sewer smell is really bad. We expect it on cruiseships, but they obviously have a problem on this ship.

Comedy clubs were wonderful, but we felt the other entertainment was par with other cruises. But during our cruises half the dance team left so maybe that was it. We saw their last show performing together and it wasn't spectacular, but not bad either.

Ports were good.

The Dream would not be our first choice for another cruise. We had a wonderful vacation, but it would have to be a great deal.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

The aft wrap on deck 7 not worth the money....

 

Boy, do you have that right ... been there, done that!

 

Regarding the entertainment - they are very weak (were on both sailings) with the lounge band, IMHO. They, plain and simple, need to get one of those cloned Filipino bands on there (Music Boardwalk, Music Asia, Music ...) - either that or Blood Power!

 

Tom

[LHP]

We sailed with TomNCheryl on the their first cruise....it was a 9 day and while there were issues....we had a blast.

 

The only long line we encountered was at the Mongolian Wok and that was because each individual dish is custom made.....kinda the nature of the beast.

 

The other Lido lines were nothing more than we are use to on all our other Carnival cruises.

 

I will say that sometimes I wonder if the people who design these ships really LOOK at what they are designing. If so, they would have noticed the bottleneck at the coffee bar.

 

Even if the ship isn't crowded...it is going to "feel crowded" if you have an area on the Promenade that bottlenecks.....

[CwuzCwazy]

Let me see......build a larger ship (with 1000 more passengers) than the Conquest class and keep most of the service areas (e.g. buffet and other common areas, casino etc.) the same size as the Conquest class and you would expect the overcrowding that you see on her. We sailed on her in Dec and experienced this over crowding, so it is very real. Carnival has recognized this (see John Heald's Blog) and has implemented some workarounds (barbecue on Lanai, improving offering in MDR for lunch etc.), so don't let the cheerleaders on here tell you the long lines and crowding are not a problem, particulalry during NORMAL dining times. It is a problem, but it will not diminish the overall quality of your cruise. I personally am not interested on cruising on the Dream again, even though she is only a two hour drive away. I feel she doesn't live up to the hype. Might do so in a pinch or if a super deal came along, but I wouldn't otherwise. By the way, I also think that the decor is the least like anything Joe Farcus has designed in many a year, and was particularly underwhelmed by the decor.

[firefly333]

I think there are more complaints about Dream, and being overcrowded and other things. Maybe the bar is higher for a new ship, causing some of the complaints, but many seem to be dissapointed.

[sailingawaysoon]

I'm keeping an open mind when I go next month on the Dream. I still say it beats a day at the office, so I will just make the most of annoying situations, should they arise and remind myself that at least I'm fortunate to be out in the ocean on a beautiful ship.

[sfollenius]

Early on there were similar complaints to those of your friends but for the past four months... since the Dream arrived in her home port... the reviews of the ship have been brilliant.

 

I don't know what your friends are used to but I found the ship wonderful...

 

:)

 

 

I am cruising the Dream on April 10, yeah!

 

Here is my observation.

 

When the shipped started, Todd Whitmer was the CD, the reviews weren't too great but it was also "NEW". I have had Todd Whitmer on the Freedom, I though he was pretty good, but I have never had John Heald as CD to compare.

 

When John Heald took over as CD the overall reviews seemed to have been better. Now Todd Whitmer is back on as CD, I am curious to see if it affects the overall reviews.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I think there are more complaints about Dream, and being overcrowded and other things. Maybe the bar is higher for a new ship, causing some of the complaints, but many seem to be dissapointed.

 

I must say - with all the hype that surrounded it, I was expecting a bit more... not sure WHAT that more would be though. It just didn't WOW me!

 

I think the Solstice will ! ;)

 

Tom

[w8ing2cruz]

So half the dancers left? Does that mean that the Dancin in the Streets show is no more?

[Dave85]

I will say that sometimes I wonder if the people who design these ships really LOOK at what they are designing. If so, they would have noticed the bottleneck at the coffee bar.

 

I wonder that too sometimes. I think that in their zeal to maximize revenue (and maximize pax) the concerns about passenger flow fall far down the totem poll. It's a problem on just about every Carnival ship I've been on (significantly less so on the Spirit Class) and when I saw the deck plan and the added number of passengers when the Dream came out I was... surprised/disappointed.

 

This all makes me very reluctant to fly to Florida and sail on the Dream. Hopefully it's not too late to make some adjustments for Magic and the subsequent ship. Cheerleaders will lead cheers but the bottom line is I felt that the crowding was a issue on the Conquest Class ship and I can vividly picture the issue becoming worse on the Dream. These are real concerns that Carnival should address.

[sunlover5]

No it was actually all the male dancers left and they brought in another group. The group had been together 7 months so they were sad!!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

... These are real concerns that Carnival should address.

 

Hard for them to see past the $'s in their eyes.

 

As LHP pointed out, some of those same spots which are bottlenecks in the Lido buffet areas were carried over to the Dream. They knew... They knew...! :rolleyes:

 

Tom

[sunlover5]

Tom, I see you are going on Solstice and the Epic. Be sure to do a review...we are looking at both!! Thanks!!:)