Carnival Dream - Eastern Caribbean - 4/10 to 4/17

[iggy's mom]

DH & I just returned from the Carnival Dream's April 10th sailing to the Eastern Caribbean. Overall, we had a fantastic cruise!

 

Just for a little background, we are both 41 and in the past we have sailed primarily on Princess and Disney, with Disney Cruise Line being our favorite. Last year we sailed on the Carnival Splendor and loved the cruise, the ship, and the Carnival product so much that when we returned home we booked our Carnival Dream cruise as well as a cruise this summer on the Carnival Spirit. Anyway, on with my review.

 

Friday, April 9 (day before the cruise)

We got up before the crack of dawn (4:30am) to be ready to leave the house a little before 5:30am. The drive to LAX is a little over one-hour from Orange County to LAX and it was mostly painless, as was the smooth flight to Orlando. We checked into the hotel (Hyatt at the airport). We then went to the ESPN Club at Walt Disney World for dinner and dessert. This is one of our traditions when we vacation at Walt Disney World, so since we were so close by we decided to keep up the tradition.

[mom2girls]

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your review! Thanks for posting! :)

[iggy's mom]

Saturday, April 10

DH & I purchased the Carnival transfers from the airport to the cruise terminal & the reverse. At around 10 am, we checked in for the shuttle bus and we were on our way to the ship.:)

 

As the Carnival Dream came into sight, the first impression was WOW! This is a huge ship.

 

We arrived just a little after 11:00 am. We went through the security check, and up the escalator to where we were given our zone number, which was 12. When we walked into check-in area, they were calling Zone 2, so I assumed we would be waiting a while. We waited maybe 10 minutes in the check-in line, and then it was our turn. We got our sail and sign cards! :) It was about 20 minutes, maybe a bit longer but not much, and then Zone 12 was called. We were on our way to get a security picture taken, and then we were walking onto the ship. This was the smoothest check-in, I had ever had for any ship in any port.

 

The first stop once on the ship was over to the Shore Excursion Desk as I wanted to book the Behind the Scenes tour. I had the choice between 9 am or 9:30 am, so I choose 9 am. The tour was on Thursday. More details on the tour later. Then we went up to the Lido deck for lunch and purchase the soda card for the week. Then around the ship to take more pictures. At 1:00 pm, we made our way to the dinning room as we wanted to see if we could get a table for 2, which we did.

 

At 1:30, we were able to get into our stateroom (#8340), so we dropped off our carry ons and meet our room steward. At about 3:30, the safety briefing was held. Then sail away around 4 pm, or so. We were on Deck 12 for sail away, and that was the first time I smelled "the smell." It wasn't over powering, but it was there. I would notice "the smell" throughout the week in various parts of the ship.

 

We had early dining in the Scarlet dining room. We were introduced to our wonderful waiter Lin and his assistant Luis.

 

After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard show. Todd, the CD, introduced himself and his assistant James did part of the show with him. I found Todd to be a good CD. While I didn't see him out and about (which was okay with me), I found him personable and entertaining at the shows. He kept his daily annoucments to a minimum, and he had plenty of activities scheduled during the sea days. After the Welcome Aboard show we called it a night as our first port of call was the next morning.

 

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. Also, if someone can give me pointers in how to post pictures here, I'd be more than happy to post some pictures.

[xxjulzxx]

Looking forward to hearing about your "Behind The Scenes" tour.. do you think it was worth the money??

[iggy's mom]

Just a few things I have forgotten:

 

Weather: The weather most of the week was sunny, but it never seemed to get hot. The high was in the low 80's a few days, and the remainder of the days were in the high 70's. In St. Thomas it was on the humid side, as was St. Maarten. Most days and evenings it was windy to very windy. On Thursday, the winds were up to 40 mph.

 

Passenger count: During the Welcome Aboard show, Todd, the CD, stated that there was 4,100 passengers on board. He also said it's was the lowest count in weeks as during Spring Break they had been sailing with up to 4,600 passengers. Later in the week I would hear him say that there was 800 kids on board, and that about 2,000 of the 4,100 were passed guests.

 

Lines: Yes, there was a line for everything. Since we often do Theme Parks for vacations, we know to eat off hours. Since we had early dinner, we would make our lunch early rather than eat at traditional lunch times. This seemed to help a bit. Also, instead of getting to the dining room right when the doors opened for dinner, we would arrived a few minutes after the doors opened. This meant we were able to walk right in, rather than have to wait in the stuffy, over crowded hallway.

 

Spa: We purchased a spa pass for the week. We enjoyed this on the Carnival Splendor last year, and the Carnival Dream Thermal Spa was just as wonderful.

[Akgoalie7]

on the 3/27 sailing we had 4400 guests, 1600 were kids and I think he said like 2800 or 3000 were past guests...

[Calker]

thanks for writing a review - can't wait to read more

 

my two interests are the spa experiences and the new photo program that is being tried out on the Dream - any info would be greatly appreciated as we are doing a b2b in two weeks

 

thanks again

[dprg644]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. Can't wait for more as we sail her in just a few days.

I also would like to know when you signed up for the "behind the fun tour" was it almost filled or were there several slots still open. Also did you think it was worth it? This is one of the things we want to do since we never have done it before.

[iggy's mom]

Looking forward to hearing about your "Behind The Scenes" tour.. do you think it was worth the money??

 

For me, yes it was worth the $95.00. The tour was one of my most favorite things I did this vacation.

[iggy's mom]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. Can't wait for more as we sail her in just a few days.

I also would like to know when you signed up for the "behind the fun tour" was it almost filled or were there several slots still open. Also did you think it was worth it? This is one of the things we want to do since we never have done it before.

 

 

I was given my choice between the 9am tour and the 9:30am tour, so there was still slots in both open. I do think that is because check-in went so smoothly and we were on the ship relatively early. Also, signing up for the tour was the first thing I did we we got on the ship. The person who lead our tour stated that there are 16 people per tour.

[iggy's mom]

thanks for writing a review - can't wait to read more

 

my two interests are the spa experiences and the new photo program that is being tried out on the Dream - any info would be greatly appreciated as we are doing a b2b in two weeks

 

thanks again

 

I can't be any help with the photo program as we did not have our pictures taken.

 

The spa experience for the most part was fantastic! I guess the only thing that was not so perfect is that when you purchase the spa pass, you are allowed access to a different changing room than the regular changing room. Both rooms have lockers, showers, etc. I choose to use the regular locker area for two reasons. First, it was never crowded and second I did not smell "the smell" in it.

 

With the purchase of the spa pass you have access to the Thalassotherapy pool, as well as the different rooms (two different steam rooms and two different rooms with heated chairs). The key for us in enjoying the spa pass was to find the less crowded time to go. On sea days, that usually was in the morning and late afternoon. On port days, it was a few hours before sail away.

[iggy's mom]

Sunday, April 11 (Nassau & first elegant evening)

 

DH and I got up early, got some breakfast from the Lido buffet and then headed back to the cabin to watch our arrival in Nassau. When we arrived Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas was already docked. Just about the time that docked a Carnival ship was leaving. I'm not sure which one it was.

 

We waited for the announcement that we could go ashore, however no announcement ever came, so we just went down to Deck 0 and got off the ship. We had booked the Atlantis Aquaventure shore excursion. We both were looking forward to this excursion, however in hindsight it was not what we had thought it would be. I thought the water park river would be calm, and didn't realize it was actually a thrill ride type of thing. DH was okay with that but he wasn't thrilled with it either. We did enjoy walking around the grounds of the Resort and seeing "The Dig." We were on the first shuttle back to the ship and agreed that the next time we are in Nassau we would probably do a day pass to one of the beach resorts. We watched people running back to the ship to make it just in time.

 

Later in the day around 3:00, we went to the gym. It was practically empty. Then we enjoyed the spa for the first time.

 

Elegant evening was nice with a mix of how people were dressed up. Some were in their finest wears, while others were at the casual end. DH and I are somewhere in the middle.

 

This evening we saw the show 8 More Seconds in the Encore Theater. Lawrence Neals is the lead male singer. We saw him on the Carnival Splendor and we both thinks he does a good job. Heather Wagner is the female lead singer. I think she screams a little too much when she sings, but DH thought she was really good.

 

We then went to the Comedy Club. We saw Happy Cole's uncensored show. We thought he was funny. Jeff "The Fun Dude" is the host of the Comedy Club. The first two times we were at the Comedy Club, I thought he was okay, just a tad corny. When the next two comedians came on later in the cruise, I thought "The Fun Dude" was a dud and not funny at all.

[KLD261]

Was the spa pass worth the $250? We're on Dream 5/8 and were thinking of doing this also.

 

Also, are there 2 or 3 pools?

[iggy's mom]

Was the spa pass worth the $250? We're on Dream 5/8 and were thinking of doing this also.

 

Also, are there 2 or 3 pools?

 

I believe there are 2 pools. The midship pool where the big screen is at, and then the aft pool back by the Delhi. Then there is the pay pool at the spa.

 

Yes, for us the pass is worth the $250. Most days we did visit the spa twice, so we do try to get our money's worth out of the pass. :)

[ChaylaT]

GREAT review! Keep it coming! We are from So Cal in the South Bay and the same ages as you and your DH so I am very interested in what you say, as evert other Dream review! We sail in July with our kids and in-laws.:D

[iggy's mom]

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my review and to ask questions! :)

[iggy's mom]

Monday, April 12 (Sea Day)

 

This morning started out with me being awoken by a Guest Services message in the loud speaker out in the hallway and the message ended with "please call 7777". At first, I thought it was the CD doing his morning messages, and I thought "dang, we sure did sleep in" but then I noticed it was dark outside, and I proceed what I had heard. I checked my watch and it was 5:50am. Guest Services would repeat their page for "Brandy to call 7777" two more times. Around 7:00am, the CD made an came over the loud speakers in all cabins stating that the Guest needed to call Guest Service and if they did not hear from her they would need to do a cabin by cabin search. Eventually she did call.

 

We had breakfast at the Lido buffet, where I introduced DH to the term "bacon police." He was wondering where everyone was getting the bacon from, so I showed him.

 

After breakfast we went to the spa, and then we went to do our own thing. DH went up to the Serenity Deck. He said it was crowded and he saw people moving other people's things off of the chairs. I went out and about and did the morning walk around the Ocean Plaza. Two and half times around equals 1 mile. Then I did some trivia events and other activities. At about 2:30 we hit the gym, which was pretty empty and the spa again which we had all to ourselves.

 

After dinner we saw the Fun Force show in the Atrium. Fun Force is the break dancing team that is on the Carnival Dream. We thought they were really good. Then it was on to the show in the Encore Theater, which was a juggling/comedy act by Edge. We had seen him on the Carnival Splendor last May. Although the show was exactly the same, we still enjoyed it. After that show we went to the Comedy Club and saw the show,which was Marvin Bell. We thought he was funny.

[iggy's mom]

Tuesday, April 13 (St. Thomas)

 

Up early this morning for a quick breakfast and then up on Deck 10 and Deck 11 to watch our arrival into St. Thomas. When we got there I thought I saw the Oasis, which it turns out I did. She docks in a different location than Carnival. The Carnival Dream was docked behind the Royal Princess.

 

We booked the Ultimate Island Experience shore excursion, which we throughly enjoyed. The tour starts off a scenic drive and a few stops for pictures. Then it is on to Magen's Bay for 2 hours of swimming. We didn't swim, rather spent time on the beach and taking pictures. Then after Magen's Bay it was onto Charlotte Amalie. We were dropped off at Blackbeard's Castle. At this point we were on our own. There are some restored manor type house that you can go through. We went through 2 of the 3. Rather than shopping, we decided to go back to the ship, as it was getting on the humid side. We basically ran to catch the boat back to the ship, and the people on the boat were nice enough to hold it for us. If we had not made that boat, it would have been a 1 hour wait for the next one.

 

Once back on the ship we had a snack and then hit the gym. There were a few people on the gym, but I think most of them were crew members. After the gym it was to the spa.

 

After dinner we went to see people running back to the get on the ship. We thought that 3 people did not make it, as after the gangway to the pier was raised 3 people came strolling up and then went walking away, but when I did the Behind the Scenes tour the guide mentioned that no one has been left behind for a few weeks. Next we were off to see Dancin in the Street in the Encore Theater. This is the new production show that the Fun Force group is part of. This was our favorite show of the cruise as it was full of energy and everyone performing in it seemed to be having a really good time. After this show we went Deck 10 to see the Pink Floyd/Rush laser show. The show its self was not all that much as it was very windy that night so the smoke was being blowed around and the lasers didn't have much to be shown off of.

 

St. Thomas was DH's favorite port of this cruise, while St. Maarten would be mine.

[iggy's mom]

Wednesday, April 14 (St. Maarten)

 

Up early again as arrival into port was around 8am. Quick breakfast and then out to the balcony to watch our arrival. DH saw the Oasis pulling into port ahead of us. When we were docked the Silverseas Cloud (I know it was Silverseas, and think that was the name of the ship) was already there. As we were waiting for our shore excursion on the pier, the Celebrity Solistice pulled into dock behind the Silverseas. Later the Emerald Princess would dock behind us.

 

We booked the Best of St. Maarten Island and Beach Combo shore excursion. We had a wonderful time today. The tour starts off like the one in St. Thomas of a mini tour and some stops for pictures. Then the next stop is for one hour in the town of Marigot basically for shopping. We walked around the outdoor flea type market they were having and then over to the mall. The hour passed quickly, and it was off to Oriental Beach for 1 hour. The waves were very high on the day that we were there. It started to rain a bit before it was time to leave. On the way back to the ship, our tour guide made one extra stop to let people off who wanted to shop in the downtown area. About 1/2 of the people on the bus got off.

 

Once back on the ship, we did our usual routine of a quick snack, then the gym and spent an extra long time at the spa. We watched people lining up to get back on the ship, and then we were off to dinner.

 

After dinner we saw the show in the Encore Theater. It was a magic/comedy show. The guy was good and interacted really well with the people he brought up on stage. On this night the show times in the Encore Theater are a little earlier than then other night as tonight is the Deck Party. We stayed for a while, but once again it was really windy so we called it a night after about a 1/2 hour. There also is a Mexican Buffet on this night but we decided to skip it as it started at 11:30pm.

[BEEZALAR]

Just a few things I have forgotten:

 

Weather: The weather most of the week was sunny' date=' but it never seemed to get hot. The high was in the low 80's a few days, and the remainder of the days were in the high 70's. In St. Thomas it was on the humid side, as was St. Maarten. Most days and evenings it was windy to very windy. On Thursday, the winds were up to 40 mph.

 

Passenger count: During the Welcome Aboard show, Todd, the CD, stated that there was 4,100 passengers on board. He also said it's was the lowest count in weeks as during Spring Break they had been sailing with up to 4,600 passengers. Later in the week I would hear him say that there was 800 kids on board, and that about 2,000 of the 4,100 were passed guests.

 

Lines: Yes, there was a line for everything. Since we often do Theme Parks for vacations, we know to eat off hours. Since we had early dinner, we would make our lunch early rather than eat at traditional lunch times. This seemed to help a bit. Also, instead of getting to the dining room right when the doors opened for dinner, we would arrived a few minutes after the doors opened. This meant we were able to walk right in, rather than have to wait in the stuffy, over crowded hallway.

 

Spa: We purchased a spa pass for the week. We enjoyed this on the Carnival Splendor last year, and the Carnival Dream Thermal Spa was just as wonderful.[/quote']

 

We are in a spa room next week, my sister and dh are on the same floor but not in a spa room, they will need to puchase passes. my question is, where do you get the spa passes and can you purchase right after you board? and do you know when the spa tour is for the spa deck rooms? Thanks Trisha

[iggy's mom]

Thursday, April 15 (Sea Day/Behind the Scenes Tour/ 2nd Elegant Night)

 

This was the day I had been looking forward to as it was the day I had the Behind the Scenes Tour. While I was doing that DH found a spot out by the pool before the chair hogs showed up.

 

The meeting place was in the Song Lounge. The tour I was on was at 9am. Although 16 people were booked on the tour, only 13 checked-in. The tours were lead by the Training Manager and his assistant manager. My only complaint about this tour had to do with our tour guide who was the assistant manager. She was two weeks away from ending her contract and she wasn't coming back to the company. Although she was very informative, she was a bit on the snippy side and took the opportunity she could to let us know how happy she was to be leaving. Anyways, enough complaining...on with the tour.

 

Once checked in, a Security crew member comes in and wands everyone similiar to what the TSA uses at airports. Several times before we left we were asked if we did not have cameras, etc. Also we were checked to make sure that we were wearing proper shoes. We were advised that we would not be taking elevators and that there was about 2.5 miles of walking that we would do.

 

Places we went:

 

1. Tour started in the kitchen. The Chef de Cuisine talked to us in there. He was super friendly. He talked about food production and everything that they do there in the kitchen. We learned that 720 lobsters were served on the first formal night.

 

2. Next we started going down into the crew areas. We stopped in the refrigeration areas for the kitchen and saw were the food is stores as well as the soda, beer, etc.

 

3. Next was the environmental area/recycling area. It was hard to hear in this area. Here I learned that in order to ships to "dump" there recycle materials overboard, it has to be processed in a certain manner, plus that ship must be at minimum 12 miles off shore and traveling at minimum 12 knots.

 

4. Next we visited the Chief Engineer. Although I did not understand a lot of the technical stuff he was saying, he was very interesting to listen to and the difference in how ships have changed in the past decades.

 

5. I can't remember where we went right after this, but eventually we wound up in the Encore Theater in the dressing room for the dancers. The dance captain told us about the shows and the costumes.

 

6. After the dance captain spoke to us, the people from the technical department who run the lights, etc. in the theater spoke to us. I was a little surprise, not sure why though, to learn that there a total of 6 people in this department. Five of them are assigned to various tasks in the Encore Theater, while the 6 is responsible for the remainder of the technical stuff in the other areas on the ship.

 

7. After this we hiked to the front of the ship for the first of the 2 group photos.

 

8. Then it was on to the Bridge. One of the senior officers spoke to us. He mentioned that one of the biggest challenges for them is the fact that the draft of the ship (the part from the water line of the Carnival Dream to the bottom of the ship) is 25 feet. Some of the ports that they go to such as St. Thomas as a total depth of 27 feet.

 

9. Then the captain came into to speak with us. He was a very gracious person, and answered everyones questions. As a side note, during the tour one of the people on the tour seemed to be asking just about everyone why wind prevented the Carnival Dream from leaving Roaten the week before. He phrased the question to suggest the the Princess ship that was docked ahead of them was the reason, not the wind. Well, this guy asked the Captain the very same question..a few times. Each time the Captain calmly stated even if they were the only ship there, he would not have been able to leave the island that day.

 

We also had our 2nd group photo, this time with the Captain.

 

10. The tour ended with a tour of the Chef's Art Steakhouse, both front of the house and back of the house.

 

After the tour we were asked to complete a comment card. We also received some goodies which included a cinch backpack, a baseball hat, and a lanyard. Also back in the cabin, we each received a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. All in all, I loved the tour and am very happy I got to do it. :)

 

 

After the tour it was about 1pm. I was hungry to I went up to the Lido for lunch. It was a mad house of lines and people. The Tandoori had the shortest line, so that is what I did that day. It was yummy. After lunch I went to Celebrations shop and made my donation for the St. Jude's charity. As part of the donation I received a t-shirt. The only bad thing about that was that they only had one size to give out. I then went to the Spa, then meet DH at the gym, and then did the Spa again.

 

This evening was the 2nd formal night. It wasn't as dressy as the first one. We skipped the show in the Encore Theater this evening. Instead we did both of the comedy shows in the Comedy Club. To us these two comedians were just okay. Not as funny as the first two.

[iggy's mom]

We are in a spa room next week, my sister and dh are on the same floor but not in a spa room, they will need to puchase passes. my question is, where do you get the spa passes and can you purchase right after you board? and do you know when the spa tour is for the spa deck rooms? Thanks Trisha

 

They will purchase the Spa passes at the spa. Yes, they can purchase when the board. We purchased ours sometime after lunch and before the safety briefing. I'm not sure what time the spa tour is for the spa deck rooms, but according to the Fun Times, the Spa Tours start at 1pm.

[southbayer]

Hi, I'll be doing this cruise back to back in Sept. If I could ask as few questions for ya since you just got back.

Carnival transportation at the airport to the port, is that only avail on the day of the sailing. I fly in the day before. And at what cost ?

When you arrived at the port, did you already notice people getting let on the ship ? If so, i'd want to arrive about an hour earlier. Being a VIP guest, the sooner the better to get let on.

Is it true there is no sports bar on the ship ?

The smell - I have never smelled anything like what you and alot of others on here are talking about, guess something wrong with my nose. But I can smell those great tasting burgers on the grill - Go figure:confused:

Did you buy foo foo drinks ? On Splendor in Nov/09 they did not serve them in the larger tall plastic glass, only the short fatter ones.. They say thats the only size they have now, some say not true, what's it like on Dream with that ?

Do you know if the Cruise Director will be onboard for the rest of the year. Is he Todd Whitmar or something like that ?

thanks!

[crewsweeper]

Hi, I'll be doing this cruise back to back in Sept. If I could ask as few questions for ya since you just got back.

 

Carnival transportation at the airport to the port, is that only avail on the day of the sailing. I fly in the day before. And at what cost ?

 

When you arrived at the port, did you already notice people getting let on the ship ? If so, i'd want to arrive about an hour earlier. Being a VIP guest, the sooner the better to get let on.

 

Is it true there is no sports bar on the ship ?

 

The smell - I have never smelled anything like what you and alot of others on here are talking about, guess something wrong with my nose. But I can smell those great tasting burgers on the grill - Go figure:confused:

 

Did you buy foo foo drinks ? On Splendor in Nov/09 they did not serve them in the larger tall plastic glass, only the short fatter ones.. They say thats the only size they have now, some say not true, what's it like on Dream with that ?

 

Do you know if the Cruise Director will be onboard for the rest of the year. Is he Todd Whitmar or something like that ?

 

thanks!

I've sailed on the Dream and am returning in 4 1/2 weeks so i can answer some of your questions...

 

If you're flying in the day before, you can book a shuttle on your own. go to the Florida Departures board and look up "The New I work in Port Canaveral" thread there and go to post #5. All the hotels and shuttles and restaurant information on Port Canaveral are there.

 

You can prbably board as early as 10AM. Most shuttles from PC hotels atart about that time. You have to let the debarking passengers exit. You'll have no problem with VIP boarding at 10:30 or 10:45 AM.

 

Yes there is a sports bar...it's midships just past the casino and before the fun hubs station. You can't miss it.

 

We never smelled anything in January. Seems like some people smell it others don't. Also depends on wind and time of day and area of ship. I understand it's not as foul or retching as some negative reviews try to make it oput to be. Don't worry about it and you'll probably never notice it.

 

DOD, foo foo drinks can come in the souvenir cups with are the larger frilly cups but they cost extra.

 

Todd is the current CD. Rotations do happen from time to time. 2 CDs recently left so there may be some suffling. Who the CD is <IMO, doesn't affect my cruise...I'm not there to become best buddies with the person.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[xxjulzxx]

Do you have to buy some sort of Spa Package to use the Thalassotherapy pool, or can anyone use it?