Another "Dreamer" from 4-30-2011

[CruisingSoon88]

I know that a couple of other people have written reviews from this cruise, but everyone has a different perspective and different experiences. I know I loved soaking up all information so I will try to pay it forward. I'm not going to write a play by play review, but more just touch on certain subjects as I recall them.

 

Ok background. DH(35) and I (36) and our 2 DS(5&2) booked this cruise kind of at the last minute. This was my 3rd Carnival cruise and DH's 5th. It was our first try at bringing the kiddies along. All things considered, we would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

We left on Thursday to get down a day early to see the shuttle launch that didn't happen. Oh well. I must say that I was kind of disappointed with the variety of restaurants and overall lack of things to do in the Canaveral/ Cocoa Beach area. Maybe we didn't look in the right places, but we drove around alot and didn't see much other than the required visit to Ron Jon's.

 

Our hotel was nice enough and the service was great. We did the park and stay deal at Country Inn & Suites. Their shuttle service both to and from the port was very fast and organized. We will stay there again.

 

Embarkation at the port was so easy compared to Miami. The people were so friendly and helpful with all of the extra difficulties of kids and strollers and such. We got there by 10:15 and was onboard by 11:00.

 

I'll start with general categories of food, camp, rooms, ports, etc. tomorrow. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions.

 

Thanks for reading!:)

[waterlover29]

Looking forward to more.

[FLOTR]

We will be on her 6/18 and can't wait to read more!

[bwg03]

Cant wait. Wont be on her till October but its a nice way to zone out of the countdown. Thanks!

[CruisingSoon88]

I guess I'll start with the all important food category. In general, I thought the food was very good to great on the Dream. I tried to make it around to all of the options. I never had anything from the deli, but DH did and said it was very good.

 

The buffet was good, but I did find its variety in vegetables lacking a little when trying to find healthy options for my kids.

 

I did try the Tandori(sp?) once and it was very tasty considering that I had never tried Indian food.

 

The burgers and fries were a favorite go to meal as was of course the pizza. I thought that the pizza on the Dream was better than the Valor, but they were both good.

 

I had the mongolian wok and it was very good. I was hesitant to wait in line to try it again because on the Valor it was awful. On there it had no flavor, but on the Dream, it was very good and spicy just the way I wanted. The line was not too bad. Maybe 5 people in front of me.

 

The burrito bar was a huge letdown. The line was longer maybe like 20 minutes. As I got my turn, I asked for sour cream. I must confess that sour cream and Mexican food is as much of a must to me as fries and ketchup. The girl just shrugged and said sorry I'm out. I asked if she could get some more and she said that they would not have any more for lunch. Huh? So I was already a little upset that I had waited that long and no sour cream. When I tried the food, it was VERY salty. I threw it away and got something else.

 

My biggest surprise was the pasta bar. I'm not a huge pasta lover, but it was excellent. It was never crowded up there and we never waited even 5 minutes for our food.

 

The dining room food was also great. There were a couple of things that weren't my favorite, but I think that was more just a preference thing than bad food.

 

We never got to try the sushi and I was bummed about it. It was one of our favorite things on the Valor last year, but with early dining, it just never worked out.

 

Room service was good. For some reason on the first day we put our hanger out the night before, but we never got our food. Someone could have moved it or something, but no biggie. The sandwiches were good and the PB&J and grilled cheese were good options for the kids.

 

Overall, we very happy with the choices and quality of the food.

[CruisingSoon88]

Now lets talk about our cabin. After reading so many great things on here, we booked a cove balcony. DH wasn't sold on it due to the higher is better school of thought. We were in room 2262 which was listed online as midship, but our tags said forward. I think it was the 8th cove balcony back from the front of the ship if that makes sense. I thought that it would take forever to get around the ship with it being on such a low deck and that far forward. It was actually very convenient. We got off the elevators and walked around the corner and our room was right there.

 

I'll admit that we did feel a little cramped with 4 of us being in there. Most of that was our fault though for over packing. DS that is 2 is still in his crib at home. This is mostly due to him being such a destructive child. We had brought our own pack n play (yes I know that they have them) but he ended up sleeping on the sofa that was converted. He loved it and DS that is 5 LOVED sleeping in the upper bunk.

 

The view from that balcony is amazing! DH was convinced after going out there one time. I have read that the view is better on these, but I didn't understand it of course until we experienced it. DH had been worried about feeling closed in. This was not the case. The view was better when you sat down becuase on the other balconies you have the plexi glass that you have to look through. You know they are always covered in salt and impossible to see clearly through them. The cove is just open holes in the steel with nothing to obstruct your view. We loved being so close to the water and DH loved seeing the ship cut through the waves and being able to feel the spray when we hit a big one.

 

Unless we win the lottery and can afford a suite, we will be booking cove balconies in the future on Dream class ships.

[melli_fera]

Woo hoo! Thanks for the review. Can't wait for more. We're sailing her at the end of August after 11 years of NO cruising! It's like countdown to Christmas!

[CruisingSoon88]

Thanks everyine for reading! I'll be back later to write some more. You know how it is when you get back home. Laundry calls!:p

[diehl2229]

Now lets talk about our cabin. After reading so many great things on here, we booked a cove balcony. DH wasn't sold on it due to the higher is better school of thought. We were in room 2262 which was listed online as midship, but our tags said forward. I think it was the 8th cove balcony back from the front of the ship if that makes sense. I thought that it would take forever to get around the ship with it being on such a low deck and that far forward. It was actually very convenient. We got off the elevators and walked around the corner and our room was right there.

 

I'll admit that we did feel a little cramped with 4 of us being in there. Most of that was our fault though for over packing. DS that is 2 is still in his crib at home. This is mostly due to him being such a destructive child. We had brought our own pack n play (yes I know that they have them) but he ended up sleeping on the sofa that was converted. He loved it and DS that is 5 LOVED sleeping in the upper bunk.

 

The view from that balcony is amazing! DH was convinced after going out there one time. I have read that the view is better on these, but I didn't understand it of course until we experienced it. DH had been worried about feeling closed in. This was not the case. The view was better when you sat down becuase on the other balconies you have the plexi glass that you have to look through. You know they are always covered in salt and impossible to see clearly through them. The cove is just open holes in the steel with nothing to obstruct your view. We loved being so close to the water and DH loved seeing the ship cut through the waves and being able to feel the spray when we hit a big one.

 

Unless we win the lottery and can afford a suite, we will be booking cove balconies in the future on Dream class ships.

 

 

Hi this is my first on this forum ;) Me and my family are going on the Dream October 22-29th we are also staying in Cove Balcony rm 2262. Do you have any pictures of it? I cant find a picture of the upper bed? Also did you hear any noises or smells? Both my kids are Autistic and my son has some mobility issues so I'm glad were near the elevator. I chose that room because of someone elses exp in that room. Thanks