Just Back From the Dream (April 10, 2010)

[jaixrx]

Just walked in the door....have to unpack and the kids want the computer so I will type a longer review later. Here are just some quick tidbits....

 

1. I did not smell the smell at all...we did have a cruise critic cabin crawl and some people mentioned it but I guess I was in the right place at the right time.

 

2. Have no complaints about long lines...again we must have timed it just right. The longes wait was about 10 min. at the Mongolian Grill.

 

3. We were able to find chairs without trouble. We are not ones that like to sit right next to the pool. We preferred the aft of the ship near the pool and got chairs there every day. We were out there by 10:00 so people expecting chairs around lunch time were having trouble.

 

4. Food in the dining room was great. Pasta bar was great. Mongolian great. Lido breakfast so so (my dad thought the food was not hot). I prefer cereal/fruit so I was fine.

 

5. Crowds: I really didn't notice them until the last sea day. It just felt more crowded in general....not in a bothersome way to me but I could see how some people would not like it (again, my dad!)

 

6. Kids: There were 800 and I didn't notice them again until the last day (some running into people, closing the elevator door in my face, screaming) but I blame this on the parents. Saw a lot of lazy parents just letting their kids take over hot tubs (with inner tubes!) and making messes with food, drink, etc. This bothers me because I was constantly on my kids to use their manners, walk, hold elevator doors etc. Again this was really only on the last day...maybe everyone was just taking in that last bit of vacation.

 

Overall: great 3rd cruise for us. We have sailed Inspiration and Legend. The Legend is still my favorite ship. I liked the Dream but prefer the size of the Legend better.

 

OK, have to go but I'll write more later...please let me know if you have specific questions.

 

Jocelyn

[PaulMedik]

Just walked in the door....have to unpack and the kids want the computer so I will type a longer review later. Here are just some quick tidbits....

 

1. I did not smell the smell at all...we did have a cruise critic cabin crawl and some people mentioned it but I guess I was in the right place at the right time.

 

2. Have no complaints about long lines...again we must have timed it just right. The longes wait was about 10 min. at the Mongolian Grill.

 

3. We were able to find chairs without trouble. We are not ones that like to sit right next to the pool. We preferred the aft of the ship near the pool and got chairs there every day. We were out there by 10:00 so people expecting chairs around lunch time were having trouble.

 

4. Food in the dining room was great. Pasta bar was great. Mongolian great. Lido breakfast so so (my dad thought the food was not hot). I prefer cereal/fruit so I was fine.

 

5. Crowds: I really didn't notice them until the last sea day. It just felt more crowded in general....not in a bothersome way to me but I could see how some people would not like it (again, my dad!)

 

6. Kids: There were 800 and I didn't notice them again until the last day (some running into people, closing the elevator door in my face, screaming) but I blame this on the parents. Saw a lot of lazy parents just letting their kids take over hot tubs (with inner tubes!) and making messes with food, drink, etc. This bothers me because I was constantly on my kids to use their manners, walk, hold elevator doors etc. Again this was really only on the last day...maybe everyone was just taking in that last bit of vacation.

 

Overall: great 3rd cruise for us. We have sailed Inspiration and Legend. The Legend is still my favorite ship. I liked the Dream but prefer the size of the Legend better.

 

OK, have to go but I'll write more later...please let me know if you have specific questions.

 

Jocelyn

 

 

Jocelyn,

 

Welcome back! :)

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences and looking forward to your full review.

[shadoo]

We are leaving a week from today, so I am anxious to hear more!

Glad to hear you had a great cruise!

[scchasgal]

Welcome back Jocelyn looking forward to hearing more detail and I sail on the Dream in early September.

[falconfan]

Anything about Circle C would be appreciated.

[bookworm82]

Jocelyn,

 

Thanks so much for the review...I've been reading all I can about the Dream...

 

Were you on the Eastern or Western Itinerary? I'm gonna be on the Eastern in June..Do you happen to have your capers? What did you do in the ports?

 

Thanks,

 

Darla

[cruzkitty]

I am SO glad to read positive comments-thanks for posting! What Cabin were you in? Did the Ship move a lot, as a lot of posters comment?

[PROCRUISE]

Just walked in the door....have to unpack and the kids want the computer so I will type a longer review later. Here are just some quick tidbits....

 

1. I did not smell the smell at all...we did have a cruise critic cabin crawl and some people mentioned it but I guess I was in the right place at the right time.

 

2. Have no complaints about long lines...again we must have timed it just right. The longes wait was about 10 min. at the Mongolian Grill.

 

3. We were able to find chairs without trouble. We are not ones that like to sit right next to the pool. We preferred the aft of the ship near the pool and got chairs there every day. We were out there by 10:00 so people expecting chairs around lunch time were having trouble.

 

4. Food in the dining room was great. Pasta bar was great. Mongolian great. Lido breakfast so so (my dad thought the food was not hot). I prefer cereal/fruit so I was fine.

 

5. Crowds: I really didn't notice them until the last sea day. It just felt more crowded in general....not in a bothersome way to me but I could see how some people would not like it (again, my dad!)

 

6. Kids: There were 800 and I didn't notice them again until the last day (some running into people, closing the elevator door in my face, screaming) but I blame this on the parents. Saw a lot of lazy parents just letting their kids take over hot tubs (with inner tubes!) and making messes with food, drink, etc. This bothers me because I was constantly on my kids to use their manners, walk, hold elevator doors etc. Again this was really only on the last day...maybe everyone was just taking in that last bit of vacation.

 

Overall: great 3rd cruise for us. We have sailed Inspiration and Legend. The Legend is still my favorite ship. I liked the Dream but prefer the size of the Legend better.

 

OK, have to go but I'll write more later...please let me know if you have specific questions.

 

Jocelyn

 

Glad you had a grand time! Interestingly enough, we also still find The Legend to be Carnivals real gem.

[jaixrx]

Anything about Circle C would be appreciated.

 

 

My kids are 8 and 9 so can't tell you anything about Circle C. They did not use camp at all actually. They go to year round school and when they are out they go to camp. They just were not into doing "camp" on vacation as well!

[jaixrx]

I am SO glad to read positive comments-thanks for posting! What Cabin were you in? Did the Ship move a lot, as a lot of posters comment?

 

We had OS 7242 towards the front of the ship. DH and I both agreed that we felt more motion on previous cruises. We did feel the "shudder" however. To me it was like going over a speed bump in your car...can't really explain it any other way. During the cabin crawl we noticed that it got louder as we went to the higher floors. Seems like it did not happen when the ship was going slower and when the seas were calm.

[jaixrx]

Jocelyn,

 

Welcome back! :)

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences and looking forward to your full review.

 

Paul, I was enjoying your reviews on board while preparing for our trip. The last one I read said you were going to be watching the Dream leave from Jetty Park....I was waving to you with my DOD!

[jaixrx]

Jocelyn,

 

Thanks so much for the review...I've been reading all I can about the Dream...

 

Were you on the Eastern or Western Itinerary? I'm gonna be on the Eastern in June..Do you happen to have your capers? What did you do in the ports?

 

Thanks,

 

Darla

 

 

We did the Eastern...I have the capers but am currently at my parent's home in Tampa and won't be back to NC until Monday to scan. In Nassau we went on our own to the Pirate's Museum...the kids enjoyed it. We just wanted to do something quick and get back on the ship to relax.

 

In St. Thomas we did the Ultimate Island Excursion which took you through a tour of the island as well as a 2 hour beach break at Megan's Bay (beautiful!) and then on to shopping. We enjoyed that tour.

 

In St. Martin we did the See and Sea excursion. It included a bus tour of the entire island, a semi submarine ride to see the coral/fish/etc. and shopping if desired. We really enjoyed this excursion.

 

We planned our excursions based on the fact we had my parents with us who are in their 70's as well as my 2 young sons. All three worked well as they were fun, not exhausting and interesting.

[C Cruise Dude]

Just walked in the door....have to unpack and the kids want the computer so I will type a longer review later. Here are just some quick tidbits....

 

1. I did not smell the smell at all...we did have a cruise critic cabin crawl and some people mentioned it but I guess I was in the right place at the right time.

 

2. Have no complaints about long lines...again we must have timed it just right. The longes wait was about 10 min. at the Mongolian Grill.

 

3. We were able to find chairs without trouble. We are not ones that like to sit right next to the pool. We preferred the aft of the ship near the pool and got chairs there every day. We were out there by 10:00 so people expecting chairs around lunch time were having trouble.

 

4. Food in the dining room was great. Pasta bar was great. Mongolian great. Lido breakfast so so (my dad thought the food was not hot). I prefer cereal/fruit so I was fine.

 

5. Crowds: I really didn't notice them until the last sea day. It just felt more crowded in general....not in a bothersome way to me but I could see how some people would not like it (again, my dad!)

 

6. Kids: There were 800 and I didn't notice them again until the last day (some running into people, closing the elevator door in my face, screaming) but I blame this on the parents. Saw a lot of lazy parents just letting their kids take over hot tubs (with inner tubes!) and making messes with food, drink, etc. This bothers me because I was constantly on my kids to use their manners, walk, hold elevator doors etc. Again this was really only on the last day...maybe everyone was just taking in that last bit of vacation.

 

Overall: great 3rd cruise for us. We have sailed Inspiration and Legend. The Legend is still my favorite ship. I liked the Dream but prefer the size of the Legend better.

 

OK, have to go but I'll write more later...please let me know if you have specific questions.

 

Jocelyn

 

Thank Jocelyn! I hope my experience next week go's well, I expect it to. I noticed one experience (for security not me) of misbehaving kids on my first cruise (about the last days). I agree, it's the fault of the parents. Keep cruising. :D

[jaixrx]

DH (45), myself (38), DS (9) and DS (8) arrived in Tampa Friday night and stayed at my parent's house (both 71). We drove to port Saturday and arrived at 10 a.m. We got the call a few days before to arrive between 10 and 10:30. We went through VIP check in and as soon as we sat down to wait to board they announced VIP boarding!

 

Forgot to mention that my sons had no idea that they or my parents were going on the cruise. When we arrived at the port and we got out to unload the bags, we let them know we were all going. As if the excitement in the air couldn't get any better!!!

 

Once on board we headed up to the Lido. DH had Mongolian, both sons had pasta bar and I had the burrito bar. Everyone else had the regular buffet. Service was friendly and efficient not only upon arrival but throughout our stay. Every now and then I'm going to get on my soapbox so ignore those paragraphs if you want too...here comes one...

 

I like to people watch and what I noticed throughout the cruise was that a smile and a "thank you" or just asking the workers about their families, work duties, etc. goes a long way. They are people too and although their job is to serve there is no reason to speak down to them or be rude to them. When I saw this happen I thought to myself..these are the people who will go home and complain about the service on their cruise.

 

Anyway....Day 2 Nassau we did the pirate's museum on our own. It was perfect for the kids...not too long or boring. We headed back to the ship to eat and relax.

 

Day 3 Day at Sea...I'm the early bird and got up at 6 to work out, have my coffee and enjoy a silent stroll around deck 5. Met the family for bfast at the Lido then went out to sit out on the aft Lido deck. Chairs were easy to come by at 9 or 10 but after that we saw a lot of people looking for them. There were plenty of chairs elsewhere but the premiums are long gone by late morning. We took turns heading into the Lido to grab our lunch and brought it out to the deck to eat. Later went back to the cabin for showers and to the DR to eat.

 

We ate all of our dinners in the main dining room. Our servers, Marko and Mauriscio were outstanding...the kids loved them and so did all of the adults. They made dining there the favorite part of our cruise.

 

We also went to every show except the Legends show the last night. We enjoyed all of them but found the lead lady singer to be very loud and shrilly..just our opinion...the shows were still great. We went to the shows right after dinner so were able to get the seats we wanted...just had to sit and people watch while waiting!

 

I listed our excursions in St. Thomas and St. Martin in a post above so won't repeat.

 

The last night we went to the comedy club. Like others have said, Jeff the Fun Dude is just not funny...actually it's quite uncomfortable to sit and listen to him since no one really claps or laughs at his jokes. The other 2 comics were OK. We went to the PG shows...I think the R rated ones were probably funnier from my past experiences.

 

I'm going to start another post to sum everything up.

[jaixrx]

We all had a great time. I went on the cruise with the attitude I'm just going to go and have a good time...and I did. I only was bothered the last day by some poor parenting around me but I also had the "last day of the cruise blues" so maybe I was more sensitive.

 

Would I cruise the Dream again? Yes, but not as a first choice. We are already looking into our next cruise the same time next year and want to stay with the spirit class or try the conquest class. My parents have only cruised the Inspiration and preferred the smaller ship as well.

 

Since my kids did not do CC, we were worried they would be bored. They were not...the basketball, mini golf, slides and pools kept them plenty busy. They were also able to get some air brushed tatoos which they loved!

 

We did have a cruisecritic meet and greet/cabin crawl. It was a nice way to see the different types of cabins and meet some fellow cc'ers!

 

I have capers and pics and will try to upload them next week. I'm not computer savvy and my pics always come up to be thumbnails. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Jocelyn

[Laurab23]

So I guess Jeff the fun dude has not gotten any better.We listened to him on the Dream cruise in November and thought he was the worst I have ever listened to.Why do they keep him,is he related to someone?

 

Laura

[ChaylaT]

This is great! Loved hearing about your excursions as I have three young ones and my in-laws coming with us!! Thank you!!!!:D

[Uncle Deane]

Hi Jocelyn, it was nice to meet you. I'll add my 2 cents...

Overall our experience was very positive. If you timed your trips to the lido buffet, you were fine. We loved the Indian food and there was never a line for that. I also managed 2 trips to the Mongolian, once on day 1 and once on Thursday around 2pm when I noticed a very short line.

We were also on the CC Cabin Crawl and noticed as Jocelyn did that the motions were not bad down low (in our deck 1 cabin) but got more pronounced as you went up and fore or aft. We had a few windy days at sea and were never bothered by the excess motion.

Waiting for our pics to download now, cant wait for our next cruise!

[PunkinsDad]

Jocelyn and Dean,

 

It was really great to meet you both!

 

I agree about the lines on the Lido. No worse than on other ships I've been on, but I also tend to eat at off-peak times (for that very reason).

 

As for the motion of the ship, I was somewhat surprised by it. I didn't expect to feel much motion at all on a vessel that large. What seemed strangest to me was the nature of the motion. It was more of a "shudder and shimmy" than the typical pitch and roll that I'm used to.

 

Overall I was very pleased with the ship. I hope to have a more comprehensive review posted soon.

[Uncle Deane]

What seemed strangest to me was the nature of the motion. It was more of a "shudder and shimmy" than the typical pitch and roll that I'm used to.

 

Yes, I agree! The motion was more of a higher frequency oscillation than the slow pitch and roll that you don't feel as much. If I'm not mistaken, ships (and large, tall buildings) have a certain amount of flex built in to them, maybe that's what we were feeling?

[Ruggled]

Back from the 3-27 Dream so pretty recent and I too was surprised at the difference in the motion...we were in a spa cabin and the ship literally shuddered...the CD, Todd was doing a show during one particular loud "shudder" and he stopped mid sentence and said..."uh oh, I think we hit a deer!". :D

 

And as for Jeff the "fun dude"...........are you kidding? I guess the good thing about him being so bad is that as an opener, any of the comics following him will be far more funny.

 

Happy cruising everyone!

[js]

My family always sails on RCCL's bigger ships.

Due to the price and wanting to try something new, we booked Dream last year for my dd's Sweet 16 and she is taking her friend.

Yes, I know it is a ship and in the ocean and will feel motion but I worry about the girls (and my son) since, especially my dd's friend, has been saying she hopes she doesn't get sick. I use to tell her all the time you won't feel a thing (and we never did on RCCL ships) but now worried.

Our trip is August 7 and will just hope for the best.

[jaixrx]

My family always sails on RCCL's bigger ships.

Due to the price and wanting to try something new, we booked Dream last year for my dd's Sweet 16 and she is taking her friend.

Yes, I know it is a ship and in the ocean and will feel motion but I worry about the girls (and my son) since, especially my dd's friend, has been saying she hopes she doesn't get sick. I use to tell her all the time you won't feel a thing (and we never did on RCCL ships) but now worried.

Our trip is August 7 and will just hope for the best.

 

 

To me, the motion felt wasn't the rolling type that makes me nauseated. It was more of a shudder. I usually love that little rocking sensation when going to sleep at night but did not feel that on this trip at all.

 

DH and I took Bonine every day and the kids took the Kid's Bonine just as a precaution....none of us felt any bit of sickness. Have a great trip!

[Jeafl]

Thanks for the review! :)

[chuckyb]

The shudders kind of felt like a plane landing. Every 10 minutes there would be this massive shudder.