Dream Apr 3rd Review

[mwebb]

Booked my Dream cruisedeals within 30 days of returning from Apr 09 cruise to take advantage of Carnival's Welcome Back credit. Original plan was to include myself, DS (19), DD(18) and DD's BF(20).in 2 inside 4E cabins. Unfortunately DS had to cancel due to college track schedule so we had one cabin as a single supplement fee which was like paying for 2 people. This is our 10th cruise, 7th on Carnival always the first week of April due to Spring break. Although we had what I felt was a decent rate I watched for price drops and saw increases as the final payment date approached. After final payment I noted significant price drops and understand Carnival's policy. I spoke with my regular agent, Sharon to see about an upgrade. and when she got back with me she verified whether we were non smokers, which we are. She then asked if we wanted to be upgraded to a 4S non smoking inside spa cabin on 11 with spa privileges at no additional fee. Would we ever!!!! Spa privileges are normally $249 per couple and we now had free VIP spa access.

Booked a Southwest nonstop Chicago-Orlando when the booking window opened for our travel dates and was extremely pleased with Southwest as I was shopping price and schedule with the intent of flying in 2 days pre-cruise.

Comparison shopped rental car prices and got a discount code by googling Orlando rental car discount codes. Wanted a hotel pickup and Port Canaverral drop off. Called Budget's too free # and was quoted close to $200. Went to the budget website and used the code and got same size and options for less then half.

Utilized Priceline Name Your Own Price option to bid on 3 star in the Universal/Sea World Area. Also obtained Entertainment book Priceline bonus bucks. Our criteria was clean,affordable,convenient and at least 3 star. Apr 1-3rd bid for $26 + $10 bonus buck coupon was accepted and we had the Courtyard Marriot International Drive (convention center area) for 2 rooms for 2 nights for less then what we would have paid for one room one night same hotel on other travel site. Delighted with this deal as it was more then adequate for our needs.

Checked in hotel mid afternoon tired and starving. Didn't feel up to doing the theme park thing for just a few hours. Spotted a Don Pablos only a few blocks from our hotel. Even though this franchise is one of our favorites for a casual meal both the food and service at the Don Pablos on International Drive was absolutey horrible. The meat did not taste fresh or freshly prepared and was consistent with the pre-packaged pre-cookedchicken and steak strips you can get in your grocery meat department. We then proceeded to the Wonderworks attraction for something to do. Although there were a few interesting interactive exhibits, I did not feel it was worth the $20 pp price.

On Friday, pre-cruise we arrived at Universal at about 8:30 and were walking in by 8:45.

Daughter and boyfriend rode all the major rides with no line by 11:00. Purchased the Universal Meal Deal for $20pp which gave us 3 different restaurent options where the food was better then expected and this represented a great value for the money. By 6 we were ready to leave the park, make a beverage stop at the Walgreens near the hotel and anxiously await our Dream.

Dropped DD, BF & all 6 pieces of luggage at pier at 9:45 rather then schlepp all this luggage and went to return rental car at Budget. Rental return was a breeze and many customers there had just got off the Dream and were singing her praises. This only served to fuel my excitement. By the time the shuttle returned me to the pier, the porters had already taken our luggage. We entered the terminal at 10:20 and were checked in almost immediately. Carnival was doing an elevator inspection so we were not allowed on until 12:05. First impressions were that the Dream was elegantly beautiful.

We immediately made our way to the Mongolian Wok-Absolutely Wonderful and went our way separate ways to explore the ship. Met up again at Muster Drill where you listen to information from seats in the Encore theater. GREAT IDEA Carnival.

Our family cruise rule is you do what you want during the day, but we eat dinner in the dining room as a family. We were assigned to a table for the 3 of us at the Early Seating in the Scarlett Dining Room table 401 window view. Zoran and Wajaya provided the best service we have had in all 10 of our cruises. Between the 3 of us we tried the BBQ ribs, pasta, flat iron steak, warm chocolate melting cake and creme brulee. Everything was excellent! Early Welcome Aboard show was similiar to what we have experienced before with Carnival and has gotten a little stale for past passengers but reportedly the 10:30 show was more interactive. For someone who has never cruised Carnival the show is fine.

Having had John Heald on 2 previous cruises the bar is raised on my expectations as his shows really set the stage for the week.

Sunday Apr 4th was a beautiful sea day around the Lido pool, hairy chest contest, and evening was our first elegant night. I had the Lobster which was cooked perfectly but was basically 4 bites and served with a couple of grilled shrimp. DD & BF had the Prime Rib which they reported to be very good. Once again Warm Chocolate Melting Cake and then proceeding to the Comedy Club for the rest of the night where we enjoyed both the PG and R rated shows of Tommy Drake & Mike Macy. We have seen Tommy Drake on other ships and although funny we have seen some of his routine before. Mike Macy was hysterically funny particularly if you like R rated comedy similiar to HBO's late night comedians. This was also the night of the X-Treme Country Show which I did not get to see. I love country music but the comedy club was just too good and feedback afterwards from other cruisers indicated that they did not like it.

Monday, April 5th. Had booked Amazing Cozumel Race through Carnival and all of us concur that this was one of our favorite cruise moments. Total of 5 teams with 23 participants. We were a team of 3 and finished 2nd just one minute behind the first place team who are fellow cruise critic members "Mister Mom" who were on our roll call thread. This excursion was a blast and at the awards ceremony enjoyed beverages and many ordered lunch authentic Mexican lunch, afterwhich returned to pier area for a little shopping and a drink at Fat Tuesdays. Upon returning to the ship enjoyed the Thalostherapy Spa pool & Relaxation Room.

Relaxation room has a phone that rang several times with a wrong number for the Chef in the 45 minutes that I was there. Not sure if these were just wrong numbers or if the extensions are similiar, but the blaring ringing of the phone defeated the intent of this wonderful little getaway area. At dinner we tried Jerk Pork, a chicken dish, and the MahiMahi. Mahi Mahi was the only thing I did not like the entire cruise

Tuesday, Apr 6th Isla Roatan- Arranged for Best of Roatan Tour with "Tex" from Victor Bodden Tours. Saw the whole island, took a suitcase of school supplies to a school, enjoyed beautiful Tabayana beach for $30 pp and had a light lunch at the Infinity resort on Tabayana.(Burger, Chicken sandwich, Appetizer chicken wings, a coke, 2 "Monkey Lalas")

came to $55 incl tip. Looking forward to duplicating the Monkey Lala at home- ice cream, Baileys, Kahlua, and some rum. Shopped a bit in craft village area by Mahogny Bay and bought a beautiful wood inly ice bucket for $30.

Dinner was delicious and we tried a tiny 4 bite filet mignon served with a piece of short rib that was simialir to pot roast and Veal Parmigian. High winds blocked our departure from Roatan as the Crown Princess had us blocked in. We received updates throughout the evening about being unable to leave because of the winds but that they antiicpated leaving Roatan at 2:00 am. Saw the Dancing in The Street Show. ABsolutely positively the very best show I have ever seen on a cruise ship..Proceeded to the lounge immediately after our early seating dinner getting there at 7:40 for the 8:30 show. Nearly the whole middle section of the theater was already filled with people saving rows of seats and being very rude about it. Didn't witness any fistfights as reported on previous sailings but overheard several heated conversations. Policy of no seat saving is announced but not enforced.

Wed. Apr 7th- Still in Roatan in a.m. and would be missing Belize. Another Sea Day. Disappointed we would not get to see Belize and cavetube but do understand the safety issue involved. This just means I have to book another cruise soon.Most passengers were understanding, but a few passengers were quite vocal about the missed port. Received notice of a $7.16 per person on board credit for the missed port charges. I dont know the formula used to calculate this as on other cruises where we missed a port the OBC was around $20. The $7.16 didn't even buy a drink of the day.Entertainment staff did a good job putting together an alternative to Belize Sea day schedule. Belize day deck party began at night seemed crazy fun with music and lasers but Mexican buffet food line didnt open til 11:30 (would have been better to schedule to open at 11)

Thursday, Costa Maya- Cab to Majuahul $3@ Pez Quadro Beach Club. Lounge chairs available with expectation that you spend $15@ on food and beverages. $20 for a pretty decent 35 minute beach massage. Not much time in port. Did a little bit of shopping and found a lovely wood backgammon board but had to be back on ship by 2:30. More spa time- have gottten spoiled with this Don't think I can settle for less on future cruises.

Second Elegant night- Chateau Briand, Baked Alsaka I think

Again great comics in comedy club shows with Will Marfori and Mark Simmons.

Friday, Apr 9th Sea Day- Overcast, cool and breezy in the morning- many blue towels out sunning themselves. Grabbed an open chair, a book and enjoyed the day people watching. The week went way too fast. Hate the packing part but had arranged for Carnival's luggage express to take our bags to the airport and we would not see them til we got back in Chicago. This service is $20 per person and is some of the best money spent the entire cruise- Can you tell I don't like schlepping bags around. Our dinners included Shrimp and an Eggplant parmesan dish. Evening was at the Legends show-Concept is great but Carnival needs to update this as we have seen this the last 5 or 6 cruises.

Sat. Cocoa Beach Shuttle to Orlando AIrport- Piece of Cake without bags, Free Wifi helped us pass the time tile 200 flight.

Summary-I would book this ship again in a heartbeat. It has become my new Carnival favorite- even with all the passengers, none of my negatives would ruin a cruise but if addressed would improve on an already exceptional product

Positives-Ship is stunningly gorgeous. Food, Service, Spa, Comics, Dancing in The Street Show all excellent. Luggage express is a Godsend, muster drill format is much easier, library even has a nice selection of current novels i.e James Patterson, Patricia Cornwall Embarkation and Debarkation easiest ever. New photo identification system makes it much easier to find pictures, photographers really do some quality work. Also liked new Fun Times format

Negatives-Legend show needs to be updated to reflect more current music trends, lunch venues need to stagger their opening and closing times to help with the overcrowding and bottleneck at lunch by not everything open from 12-230, Phone in Spa relaxation room should be removed or a way of silencing the ring tone, Enforce the No Seat Saving rule by either truly enforcing ,or offer an additional show time or go to a ticketed system whereas those that line up get a ticket get a seat on a first come basis-No whole rows saved by a sweater and a copy of the Fun Times

[anjoliza]

Thanks for the great review!!! I sail this coming Saturday :D Can't wait!!!

[kgj1970]

for the informative and fair review. I will be on this ship in July and I can hardly wait!:D

[sydney21701]

Was on same cruise - did not have the same experience. 15th cruise and will be my last with Carnvial (3 previous ones with Carnival).

 

- Not enough deck space and did not enforce the chair hogging rule.

 

- Our cabin was right above Disco and outside smoking area - had the lovely smell of smoke every evening and during the day.

 

- Electricity went out several times on the ship - including embarkation day which prevented us from boarding for almost 3 hours and once while in shower - lovely to be in the shower and then sudden darkness, no water, and shampoo in hair.

 

- Todd, cruise director, is not very good - very cheesy. Unfortunate that John H. just left.

 

- Lines in Lido Buffet and during lunch. I agree - needs to be fixed. Too long of wait to get food and many times - food was empty by time you got up there. Dining room was slightly better - but very slow. Bar staff never could bring right drink and was sometimes very hard to find.

 

- Regarding missing Belize - thought it was handled poorly. We should have been able to stay in Roatan for day. Per cruise staff, the stop in Belize was not due to high winds as communicated to us - but due to Princess Ship in front of us - having technical issues and could not get out. From what I can tell - the other 3 ships that were to be there on the same day, were all there.

 

- The decor is just plain tacky.

 

- Due to number of passengers - it was sometimes hard to participate or get good seats. The public areas - have too many side areas and huge columns that obstruct views.

 

 

The good - well not many - food in dining room was fairly good and I was able to enjoy 7 days with my friends despite not liking Carnival. Of the comedy club I saw - it was 50/50. Barry in Sam's piano bar was a hoot. Wish I found him earlier on the cruise. The luggage express option and leaving was a breeze. Great feature. Take advantage of - for $20 per person, they handle checking your luggage so you don't have to mess with it and it is checked to your final destination.

[rfrey]

Thanks MWebb for your upbeat review. I will be on the Dream this Sat too and with a whole week to spoil myself, room service, spa, sleeping late, gambling hubby's money...what could go wrong. Glad you had a good time. PS The world could use more people like you!!!

[zims]

- Our cabin was right above Disco and outside smoking area - had the lovely smell of smoke every evening and during the day.

 

 

What room were you in?

[buzzcruiser]

Our family of four were on the Dream for the April 3rd sailing. The ship is very impressive. I would say that the decor is very nice. the Atrium is beautiful. I will try not to be very long on this review.

 

The good:

The main dining room meals every night were very good. There were many choices and it was prepared and presented well. The entertainment was great. The evening shows were well choreographed and the singing and dancing was very good. The staterooms were very well thought out. Our cabins were ocean view and had plenty of room for us to relax in. Two showers, two sinks and one head. Two beds and a sleep sofa. There was plenty of storage space for our clothes. If you opt for this type room, you will not be disappointed. The buffet food was just as one would expect, and plenty of it. Unless you are very strict on how much soda your kid needs on vacation, I say spring for the unlimited soda card. Even though, at today's cruise prices, sodas should be complimentary. The staff were very attentive and friendly. They were always cleaning the common surfaces where hands would be in contact. Getting on and off the ship at ports was very smooth. I thought the cruise director and his assistants were very pleasant and made a good showing. I like the live morning call in show on the cabin TV's. There was plenty of space devoted to teens and younger kids. The casino was above average I would say.

The not so good:

There were a couple of brief power outages on the ship that lasted about five minutes. Not really a big deal, just annoying. I had read that the Dream tends to have a good roll while at sea. We did experience a pretty good roll while sailing on a couple of days. There were some pretty strong currents and larger waves on the trip, so I can't say if the ship as any stability issues. We did skip the stop in Belize due to " high winds making exiting from the small port area at Roatan hazardous. I thinks Carnival needs to re-evaluate their docking location at Roatan if this is going to be a problem. We departed Roatan 10 hours late and ended up making S-turns out in the middle of nowhere for 3 hours just to get back on the published schedule. There is way too much ship sponsored photography on board. It seems that around every corner, someone is leaping out to take your picture. The ship had shops that were nice but nowhere could you get any drugstore type items if you forgot something. I am really tired of Bingo.

The great:

We used the self assist to exit the ship on the last day. It started around 6:15am and lasted until 7:30am. We scanned our ship cards at 6:20am and were driving out the causeway by 7:05am. That was awesome! Had we used the normal zone method, we wouldn't have gotten out of the parking lot until 10:am.

 

That's about it for now. Shoot me a question and I will be glad to answer.

 

Buzz:)

[jolyroger]

Thanks MWebb for your upbeat review. I will be on the Dream this Sat too and with a whole week to spoil myself, room service, spa, sleeping late, gambling hubby's money...what could go wrong. Glad you had a good time. PS The world could use more people like you!!!

 

ME TOO!!! I can't wait! I look at it this way it is what you make of it...And I WILL have a great time!!!! (I'm not at home working!)

[jolyroger]

It is amazing how many people can be on the same cruise and have very different outlooks and reviews on it... Love to hear them all though!...Hay buzzcruiser..great review as well!

 

Any pics anyone??? The wait is killing me!

[mwebb]

Anjolisa & RFrey,

Have an awesome Dream cruise. Soon you will be up on the Lido deck feeling the warmth of the sun or relaxing in one of the elegant Spa rooms. Last night was back to reality and crazy day at work, cooking and dishes for us. Sure wish all I had to do was report to the Scarlett dining room and my toughest decision was ordering off the dinner menu.

A few days before we left, I was glued to cruisecritic reviewing as much info on the Dream as I could. I was particularly conscious of the reported smell issue as daughter is very smell sensitive and was pleased that this was for us a non issue. From my perspective our Apr 3rd cruise was near perfect with a few glitches (opportunities for improvement).I understand everyone's perspective is different but every situation is what you make it. I tried to provide detailed info with prices because these reviews were what helped me budget. Since we always cruise Spring Break we have come to expect chair hogs and lines. Not that I like it, but feel it is what it is-not gonna let it spoil my cruise experience and sure beats work and the cold rainy Midwest.Have fun

[crewsweeper]

mwebb, sydney21701 and buzzcruiser...thanks for taking the time to post your reviews and thoughts. sydney and buzzcruiser, sorry things weren't up to your expectations. mwebb, were you in a spa cabin or did you pay the extra charges? The times I was in the "tea"/relaxation lounge, never heard the phone. I'm guessing that being springbreak, one of the breakers picked up on the wrong extension and was having a bit of "fun", much like pushing all the elevator buttons. Not a fan of Todd as CD but then I don't cruise to interact with or becomes pals with CDs. The Burgundy Lounge is a great setting for comedy. syndey21701...you complained abouy smelling the smoke in your cabin, but you loved the piano bar? :confused: That's the smokiest place on the ship for crying out loud!!

 

I agree there needs to be siginifcant improvements to the docking at Mahogany Bay. The seafloor in Dixon's Cove isn't naturally meant for larger vessels. I'm sure the "high winds" story is an easier explanation to make than telling everyone you can't leave because the ship in front of you is stuck.

 

The luggage express option sounds like it works very well. Will tell BIL/SIL about it.

[navybaby1113]

Thanks for the reviews. Anyone have any pictures?

[CharlesKru]

Great review. Can you please go into a bit more detail regarding the new photo system? I have heard that they are piloting it on the Dream, but have not heard exactly what it is?

 

Thanks!

[mwebb]

Hi Crewsweeper-

We originally booked two 4 E inside cabins on 7th deck for what was to be the four of us. I could not book Early saver because I needed the flexibility with my college age son's track schedule. As it turned out he was not able to go. My regular online TA linked my original booking to a group that she had going so I could get an even better rate that was comparable with the older ships. I watched for price drops and saw increases prior to the final payment. When I saw the price drops after the final payment, I asked about OBC or upgrades as some other cruise lines reportedly do. TA spoke with Carnival and we were upgraded at no charge to two inside Spa cabins #11211 & #11219 that included VIP spa access. We did not pay anything for the Spa access and it was wonderful. Normal charge for the week is $249 per couple. Hard to believe that these cabins including the amenities are considered only 4S and would highly recommend these cabins other then some banging noises heard our last two nights that sounded like an anchor hitting the side of the ship. We had to sign an agreement that we were non smokers and that if we smoked in the rooms we would be subjected to a $250 restoration fee I had previously read on CC that SPA access were not given on the free upgrades but this was not the case for us.

The Dream photo system has the majority of the photographer's swiping your Sign & Sail Card prior to taking your picture. They state that it is facial recognition technology that is 65% accurate.The photographer will also give you a card with an alphabetical letter where your picture will be and they are grouped together by letter for you to locate the traditional way or When it is time to look for your pictures you can look for them on what looks like a large mounted flat screen by swiping your card. Not all the photographers had the card swipe device so it is not consistent with all the photographers but did represent an improvement.

Luggage Express-$20 per person, not per bag in addition to the regular airline Luggage Charge was a God send especially if you are traveling with children or are less able bodied or just dont want to be bothered with the hassle.They also print your Boarding passes and thus no standing in line to check in at the airport. When you figure that you are saving time plus the tip for the pier porters, tips for the airline skycap it ends up being well worth it. As we had not used this before I was somewhat leary of our luggage really making it to our final destination, but it did so without problems. Since SOuthwest does not charge a luggage fee the $20 pp was all we paid and it was billed to our on board account

[pjpu]

My regular online TA linked my original booking to a group that she had going so I could get an even better rate that was comparable with the older ships. I watched for price drops and saw increases prior to the final payment. When I saw the price drops after the final payment, I asked about OBC or upgrades as some other cruise lines reportedly do. TA spoke with Carnival and we were upgraded at no charge to two inside Spa cabins #11211 & #11219 that included VIP spa access.

 

:confused: I find this VERY interesting as our TA also put us in a group rate (w/another couple/friends) for a 'better' rate (we paid for an 8B and got bumped up to a 8G originally). And yet when I've called him about all these folks getting OBC or upgrades - he says that Carnival says no because of the group rate! :mad: I copied the above part of your post and emailed it to him! :rolleyes:

Glad you have a great cruise - I'm looking forward to ours on May 1 - w/ or w/out the upgrades, but it sure would be nice to get one! :D

also a quick question - are people allowed to smoke on the balconies on the spa level?

[Chris-n-Nikki's Mom]

Hi. My family of four, including our 15 yo son and 13 yo daughter just got off the Dream and want to give you our thoughts. We had room 7340, a balcony right off the elevator and LOVED that room. It was perfect, as I did not have to worry about our kids going down a long hallway to our room at late hours (the teen club closes at 12:30 p.m.) I would not hesitate to book that room again. Very quiet. Now, we are non-smokers and did not realize that the Port side was the smoking side, but I can honestly tell you that we had no problem with smoke (and I am VERY sensitive to the smell). So on to the ship. She is probably the prettiest Carnival Cruise Ship we have been on so far (we have sailed on Fantasy and Glory). We actually enjoyed her beauty. Moving on, good luck finding a chair anywhere near any pool...we could not believe how crowded it was on this ship! I tried to avoid the area as much as possible. However, I did have good luck on Deck 5 finding a chair anytime I wanted one. The buffet can be very busy, and the food, IMHO was not that good or varied. However, keep in mind that there is still the Pasta Bar, The Grill, The Deli, The Tandoor, The Pizza (lots of other places to get food)...so, you will not starve. Actually, I thought the food was pretty good at the stand-alone stations. We bought the $249 spa package for going to the thalassotherapy pool and hot rooms, but decided it was not worth the money (again, our HMO)...we were spoiled by Disney and NCL Pearl, so it just did not compare and was not worth our money. Spent alot of time in the casino and thoroughly enjoyed it. BTW, the staff on that ship is absolutely amazing. Everyone we ran into was very kind and friendly. Oh, the Dreamin in the Street's Show. WOW!!!!! We had already been warned by others on this board to get there early. We go there at 7:35 for the 8:30 show and got a great seat. People were literally sitting in the aisleway by 8:15 p.m. Trust me, I would have paid extra money to see this show again. Perhaps the best show I have every seen in any of our 12 previous cruises. Now, for disembarkation...what the heck...is that what you call it. I call it the absolute BEST disembarkation I have ever experienced...ever!!!!! We got up around 7 a.m. Opened the door to hear announcements. Hubby went up to get coffee and danish (they do serve a full hot breakfast in the buffet) and we were off the ship at 7:45 am...seriously...we were looking at each other and saying "where is everybody....it was that smooth!!!!) I know you are going to have a great cruise. It is fun to read everyone's reviews, and take from them what is important to you. You will have a nice time on the Dream:)

 

BTW, Serene, if you are looking, can you please add 7340 to the "great" room list, or let me know where to go to post it.

 

Also, if anyone needs any information on traveling with a mobility scooter, we had my 70 year old mother with us in a "Lexus Light" mobility scooter and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about traveling with the scooter.

 

Hope you future cruisers have a great time, I know we did.

[buzzcruiser]

mwebb, sydney21701 and buzzcruiser...thanks for taking the time to post your reviews and thoughts. sydney and buzzcruiser, sorry things weren't up to your expectations. mwebb, were you in a spa cabin or did you pay the extra charges? The times I was in the "tea"/relaxation lounge, never heard the phone. I'm guessing that being springbreak, one of the breakers picked up on the wrong extension and was having a bit of "fun", much like pushing all the elevator buttons. Not a fan of Todd as CD but then I don't cruise to interact with or becomes pals with CDs. The Burgundy Lounge is a great setting for comedy. syndey21701...you complained abouy smelling the smoke in your cabin, but you loved the piano bar? :confused: That's the smokiest place on the ship for crying out loud!!

 

I agree there needs to be siginifcant improvements to the docking at Mahogany Bay. The seafloor in Dixon's Cove isn't naturally meant for larger vessels. I'm sure the "high winds" story is an easier explanation to make than telling everyone you can't leave because the ship in front of you is stuck.

 

The luggage express option sounds like it works very well. Will tell BIL/SIL about it.

 

Please don't get me wrong about the cruise. My whole family and I would leave again tomorrow. I just wanted to present a balanced review. By the way, below is a photo of the Princess blocking us. I myself think it was convenient for our captain to to lay off some of the blame on the Princess ship. I don't really think our captain was ready to try to leave Mohogany Bay in higher winds with a brand new ship. Just my opinion.

 

[cah14522]

Great review. Can you please go into a bit more detail regarding the new photo system? I have heard that they are piloting it on the Dream, but have not heard exactly what it is?

 

Thanks!

 

Just back from the 4/3 cruise also - will try to add some more comments / review as I have the time. Regarding the new photo system - seemed to work pretty well. Uses some sort of facial recognition software to categorize your photos together. Then you can swipe your card on a screen in the photo area and see all those that were arranged for you on one screen. We don't normally buy the photos onboard due to the prices, but found this a nice option which seemed to work pretty well.

[cah14522]

Please don't get me wrong about the cruise. My whole family and I would leave again tomorrow. I just wanted to present a balanced review. By the way, below is a photo of the Princess blocking us. I myself think it was convenient for our captain to to lay off some of the blame on the Princess ship. I don't really think our captain was ready to try to leave Mohogany Bay in higher winds with a brand new ship. Just my opinion.

 

 

ughh! For those of us who were on this cruise, this view became way too familiar to us! Dang Crown Princess blocking us, and then causing us to miss Belize - which was the #1 port that my family was looking forward to...when I woke up the next morning and turned on my cabin's TV to see this view out the front of the ship, I knew we were in for another "fun day at sea" instead of seeing Belize...but at least we got $7 per person back - totally makes up for it - NOT!

[cruzkitty]

Thank you for taking time to post your Reviews on the Dream. None of you seemed to be bothered by the famous "sewage" smell-lol. Can't wait until Sept and it's my turn.:D

[Ricks]

Was on same cruise - did not have the same experience. 15th cruise and will be my last with Carnvial (3 previous ones with Carnival).

 

 

 

- Our cabin was right above Disco and outside smoking area - had the lovely smell of smoke every evening and during the day.

 

 

- The decor is just plain tacky.

 

- Due to number of passengers - it was sometimes hard to participate or get good seats. The public areas - have too many side areas and huge columns that obstruct views.

 

 

.

Where about was your Room, That happened to me on another cruise, people next to us drove me nuts!

[buzzcruiser]

Thank you for taking time to post your Reviews on the Dream. None of you seemed to be bothered by the famous "sewage" smell-lol. Can't wait until Sept and it's my turn.:D

 

 

You know, my son always complained about a smell when we went by the mini-golf area, but I never did smell it. I couldn't tell you if that's the same smell people have complained about.

[SuzieQK]

Just came off the Dream on Sat. and I could smell the stink every morning when I would go up on the Serenity deck 15. Thank goodness I couldnt smell it in our room(cabin 12206) on deck 12.

[sailingawaysoon]

Thanks everyone for the reviews. We are headed on the Dream in two weeks and can't get enough info. Sounds like overall everyone enjoyed the ship and it sounds like she's even more beautiful in person!

[chelle41]

Hi everyone. Bear with me as this is my first post on Cruise Critic, but I joined so I could share some feedback on the Dream. I was also on the April 3rd sailing with my family (husband and 2 "tweens"). We had a great time on this cruise. My daughter loved Circle C and had a blast making new friends.

 

We thought the food was overall very good. The Mahi Mahi in the MDR is very dry, but we liked everything else we ordered. My kids and husband loved the flat iron steak, which is on the dining room menu every night. The Mongolian line is way too crowded. We loved the pasta bar - so delicious - don't miss it! We also liked the Tandoori station, which we didn't discover until nearly the end of the cruise.

 

The shows were hit or miss. Loved Dancing in the Streets and the comedians - especially Michael Macey. The main show one night with a performer named Edge was one of the worst I've ever seen. Someone tried to walk out of it and he actually left the stage and chased them out of the theater to pull them back in. I liked the cruise director (Todd) and thought he and James, the assistant cruise director, were hilarious together. We were disappointed not to see Belize but impressed that the staff quickly threw together a great schedule of entertainment for the extra day at sea. The beds were super comfortable (we had a inside room on 7). I learned the hard way last year never to book a room over the casino or the noise is unbearable all night long.

 

I know there are so many postings about the dreaded odor on the ship. I wasn't sure what to expect before our trip and want to honestly share our experience with it. On the first day we sailed out of the port, we were on floor 10 near the pool. The smell was definitely there, but not overpowering. It was unpleasant, but tolerable. Throughout the cruise, we would smell it here or there -- sometimes walking up the stairs, other times we smelled it in the hallways, and there was another time we smelled it near the pool. There is not a consistent area where it smells bad, and a few days passed that we did not smell it at all. It was annoying, but it absolutely did not ruin our trip. If you have ever had a broken septic tank, you will recognize the smell. It definitely is gross. Just hold your breath if you catch a whiff of the odor and go to another area of the ship.

 

Overall, the Dream is a beautiful ship with a friendly, attentive crew; clean rooms; good food; multiple entertainment options; and more. Even with the odor, I would rate our vacation an "8" on a scale of 1-10. We would definitely choose to sail on it again!