Carnival Dream 2/18 - Western - Not bad, but certainly not very good...

[DetroitMike1]

Room Service is 24 hours.

Have never seen a lasagna offering nor a burger offering on any Carnival RS menu. They have some "hot" (warm) sandwiches, though not many.

Have never seen any buffet whatsoever after dinner service, just pizza, calzones, and the ice cream machine.

 

That was exactly what I thought I saw when I had looked also. And the only buffet outside of the regular mealtime ones was the chocolate buffet (Strangely held in the afternoon one day). Glad I didn't miss something there!

[DetroitMike1]

We were on this same sailing last week and we thoroughly enjoyed ourself. Yes, not everything was perfect but no other vacation is - land or cruise. We thought the service and food was great. It was crowded due to the President's Day break for schools. I think they said 900 kids onboard. Our family really liked all four ports too. I do understand your feeling on food not being offered late night, but honestly for us we were never hungry at 11 or 12 at night, in fact we were asleep! Although I do remember seing in the Fun Times there were midnight buffets two or three nights.

 

I typically wouldn't be up looking for food that late, but with the evening activities, and the casino, etc... I did end up looking around late. There were no midnight buffets that I saw at all... The only one that they had was the chocolate one during the day. As I said, even a few more options (eg. bar foods or something light) would be nice and very much appreciated.

 

Glad you thought it was great! That's why folks who are doing research should check out a lot of these reviews and look for trends, not individual experiences!

[DetroitMike1]

I got called a racist "cracker" because I didnt have a light for a guys cigarette one time.

 

My buddies wife was called a racist because she wouldn't buy weed from the guy in Ocho Rios.

 

Some folks have a chip on their shoulder and play the race card at every opportunity because they know the stigma attached. Seems its ok for a person to call me a cracker but they themselves are not racist. LMAO Where I live reverse racism is VERY common. They even have cracker day at the local schools and the local media is afraid to label them hate crimes.

 

I'm sure that there is somewhere out there to have a comprehensive discussion of race issues in this country, but I'd like to think a cruise review board probably isn't the best one.... Personally, I'm just here to get and share info on vacations, not societal trends! Good luck to you!

[DetroitMike1]

I totally get what you mean. We had a similar experience with the potato and sour cream issue but our was that I wanted it in a little container on the side and they "couldn't do that.". Seriously? Why on earth not? We also had an inordinate wait for a second appetizer one night. Like not until after the main dishes had been served and eaten. We were told it was because of having moved onto the time past appetizers....but we had Anytime and it was only 7:30. Again, kind of odd.

 

We were not on the Dream, but the Ecstasy.

 

Exactly :D Someone who gets what I was saying. It's certainly not the item or incident itself, but an expression of how their corporate folks seem to have set up the structure of the operation, limiting their efforts to respond. Thank you!

[niagaracris]

Good balanced review. Thanks for taking the time to write. We are on her March 10, can't wait.

 

side note: just looked up "cracker", have never heard it before. (Pejorative for white person)...interesting history of the word.:eek:

[cathyoo]

Don't even know where to start. So confused by your comments. If you didn't say or do anything remotely racist, why would you feel like one? If people stared at you, why didn't you think that they were staring because of what you did say? Guilty conscience? I'll just leave this one alone...

Wow. not sure where that came from. I would be upset if I quietly made a comment about how the length of the line and someone loudly called me a racist .

 

I'm sure the other people in line were thinking "what the Hello did she say to them?" Who knows maybe they will be pointing her out to their friends "there's that lady that said something nasty to those people in the pizza line".

 

It is terrible the way people talk in front of children. There were a few times on my daughter's wedding cruise where we had to move because of offensive partiers. We always used those as teaching moments for our grandchildren. "See how you don't want to behave".

 

I'm sorry you had less than a great cruise. I do like to hear all aspects of someone's cruising experience. thanks for sharing.

[Jumbiecruiser]

I cannot stand cruise line cheerleaders who defend everything a cruise line does. But to gripe about SOUR CREAM for goodness sakes?

How can anyone be on a Carnival Ship..and not drown in food..some of it darn good...24/7 is beyond me. The Buffet...good salad..good sandwiches..good pizza..I found the burgers pretty good..cookies...sliced roast beef......

MDR....We were on the Freedom Two weeks ago..and every night I found something tasty to eat. I like my potatoes....baked in foil..or baked in their jackets after being rubbed with veggie oil..BUT GOOD GRIEF. I AM NOT AT THE OUTBACK..I am on a cruise where hundreds of other people are being fed on a tight time line.

ROOM SERVICE? every ck it out? Everything from PJ sandwiches to a tasty lasagna. Salads to die for. Chocolate cake. Burgers. 24/7 delivered for just a nominal tip.

THEY HAVE LATE NIGHT SNACKS...IN THE BUFFET FROM 11 AT NIGHT UNTIL ONE IN THE MORNING. THEN ROOM SERVICE PICKS UP UNTIL 6 WHEN THE BREAKFAST BUFFET KICKS IN...

I AGREE. BELIEZE. TAKE IT AWAY. DITTO MEXICO. TOO DARN SCARY.

Add some new stops? surely safe places exist somewhere in the Caribbean? Costa Rica? Please?

We have cruised on all of the lines. and for the Money..Carnival serves up a good product. This nit picking irriates me as much as the cheerleaders who blame you for catching novo.

 

Did you actually read the OP's review? Really did you? He gave both the good and bad and there is no reason that one should not be able to get plain sour cream for a baked potato. You don't like cheerleaders? You sound like one to me. :rolleyes:

[Jumbiecruiser]

Please, please please... You REALLY need to take the time to read the WHOLE review before nitpicking one item. If you had, you would see that I CLEARLY stated that "Any variations from the "norm" are typically met with resistance. This seems to work in some areas (embarkation and debarkation, for example), but not too well in dining. In itself not a big deal AT ALL. But simply an example of the entire experience."

 

 

Here is a translation for you, my friend. The large ships get automated. In my opinion of the Dream, it worked well in areas like embarkation and debarkation. However, as AN EXAMPLE, I stated that the lack of plain sour cream showed how any derivation from the norm was met with resistance, and that it was not a big deal AT ALL, just an example. I'm glad you don't like cheerleaders, but from the look of your post here, you won't have to look far to find one...

 

 

Whew. Didn't think that I'd have to defend that, but I guess I was wrong again! Amazing....

 

 

 

 

Don't sweat it. The review was fine. Balanced and fair. Every once in a while you have a poster go off the deep end. You just experienced that!:D

[spleenstomper]

I HATE tendering. I agree with you there. However, we are looking forward to Belize the most on our Western route.

 

On our triumph cruise, I wrote in my review how they played sappy love songs every night in the MDR. I mean it was like you left dinner, went to your cabin and cried yourself to sleep. lol. Think Helen Reddy, etc.

[gelo7]

Thanks for taking the time to review.

[DetroitMike1]

Don't sweat it. The review was fine. Balanced and fair. Every once in a while you have a poster go off the deep end. You just experienced that!:D

 

Thank you. Probably shouldn't have responded as directly as I did to them, but I really tried to be fair on all points!

[Vanessa L]

Food: Quality, as most will tell you, has declined. Not to the point where the food is inedible, but certainly to a level that is mediocre at best. In addition, the timing of dining choices is quite limited. No midnight buffet of any sort on any night, and most of the "interesting" choices are available for only a few hours during the mid-day hours (eg. the pasta bar is open from about 12-3:30 PM ONLY). Lots of choices during the afternoon, but in the evening / late night, you are limited mostly to pizza and the room service menu (sandwiches). The deli closes at 11PM, and the grill is open for an hour or two starting at 11, so some (pretty bad) hamburgers are available. One recent suggestion on John Heald's FB was to add bar food or munchies as a late night option. Even that would be welcome. Hopefully they start doing it!

 

Just my $.02!

 

Not sure how long it's been since you cruised, OP, but they haven't had midnight buffets for years. On all of our recent Carnival cruises they have had a "late night" Mexican buffet on "deck party" night, but nothing else. It's been that way for some time now. I appreciate your review. Personally, I loathe the bigger ships and don't see me repeating them often. We took the Victory in October. Too big for my tastes. We're on the Conquest in April because we wanted a week long cruise out of NOLA. As you noted, I think many of the problems come from the ship just being too big.

 

I cannot stand cruise line cheerleaders who defend everything a cruise line does. But to gripe about SOUR CREAM for goodness sakes?

How can anyone be on a Carnival Ship..and not drown in food..some of it darn good...24/7 is beyond me. The Buffet...good salad..good sandwiches..good pizza..I found the burgers pretty good..cookies...sliced roast beef......

MDR....We were on the Freedom Two weeks ago..and every night I found something tasty to eat. I like my potatoes....baked in foil..or baked in their jackets after being rubbed with veggie oil..BUT GOOD GRIEF. I AM NOT AT THE OUTBACK..I am on a cruise where hundreds of other people are being fed on a tight time line.

ROOM SERVICE? every ck it out? Everything from PJ sandwiches to a tasty lasagna. Salads to die for. Chocolate cake. Burgers. 24/7 delivered for just a nominal tip.

THEY HAVE LATE NIGHT SNACKS...IN THE BUFFET FROM 11 AT NIGHT UNTIL ONE IN THE MORNING. THEN ROOM SERVICE PICKS UP UNTIL 6 WHEN THE BREAKFAST BUFFET KICKS IN...

I AGREE. BELIEZE. TAKE IT AWAY. DITTO MEXICO. TOO DARN SCARY.

Add some new stops? surely safe places exist somewhere in the Caribbean? Costa Rica? Please?

We have cruised on all of the lines. and for the Money..Carnival serves up a good product. This nit picking irriates me as much as the cheerleaders who blame you for catching novo.

 

Amber, I have no idea what ship you were on but Carnival ships most assuredly do NOT have lasagna or burgers on the room service menu. Are you sure you posted to the right thread?

[DetroitMike1]

I HATE tendering. I agree with you there. However, we are looking forward to Belize the most on our Western route.

 

On our triumph cruise, I wrote in my review how they played sappy love songs every night in the MDR. I mean it was like you left dinner, went to your cabin and cried yourself to sleep. lol. Think Helen Reddy, etc.

 

 

Perhaps I should re-think the whole Belize comment. I agree that (for the most part) tendering is the main issue. I suppose if they sunk the funds into the port, and either found another place to dock or cleared a channel large enough for the ships to get through, my opinions would be different. That could lead to other dollars being invested in the areas around the port, creating a less run down and safer appearance in the area.

 

I understand Belize has beaches and snorkeling areas that are absolutely world class. I suppose that, for our purposes, they were easier to access, it would be worth maintaining the stop there. In our particular case, our boys are not all that into snorkeling, and so the prospect of an hour plus on tenders each way to get to a destination didn't make sense. Without them, it may have been different. Hope you enjoy Belize when you get there!!!

 

ROFL at the Helen Reddy... We couldn't hear any music well enough to recognize it in the MDR on the Dream, with the exception of the Waiter's performance songs, and those were the typical cheesy dance numbers (eg. That's Amore and a humerous take-off on Leavin' on a Jet plane the last night). I can see how the sappy stuff could kinda ruin the mood! :D

[4hunters]

Thanks for the honest review, Mike. I appreciate it. Hope your next cruise is much better. :)

[DetroitMike1]

Not sure how long it's been since you cruised, OP, but they haven't had midnight buffets for years. On all of our recent Carnival cruises they have had a "late night" Mexican buffet on "deck party" night, but nothing else. It's been that way for some time now. I appreciate your review. Personally, I loathe the bigger ships and don't see me repeating them often. We took the Victory in October. Too big for my tastes. We're on the Conquest in April because we wanted a week long cruise out of NOLA. As you noted, I think many of the problems come from the ship just being too big.

 

 

Thank you -- Point well taken! I was indeed incorrect, and had forgotten about the Mexican buffet. It was there one evening, and really wasn't too bad at all!

 

Haven't cruised in a few years due to health conditions, and am now much better and ready to go again. I remember them cutting down, but on the last two cruises that we took (Disney and RCCL) they still had buffets on one or two nights, along with a massive chocolate buffet on another night. I could be wrong on that, of course, as it has been a few years, but that's the way that I remember it...

 

Thanks for adding the correction!

[Vanessa L]

Thank you -- Point well taken! I was indeed incorrect, and had forgotten about the Mexican buffet. It was there one evening, and really wasn't too bad at all!

 

Haven't cruised in a few years due to health conditions, and am now much better and ready to go again. I remember them cutting down, but on the last two cruises that we took (Disney and RCCL) they still had buffets on one or two nights, along with a massive chocolate buffet on another night. I could be wrong on that, of course, as it has been a few years, but that's the way that I remember it...

 

Thanks for adding the correction!

 

Carnival does have a chocolate buffet also on their week long cruises. They only have it one day and it's during the lunch buffet. You can find it in the Fun Times but you really have to be looking for it :( We happened up on it by accident while perusing the Fun Times for that day.

[DetroitMike1]

Carnival does have a chocolate buffet also on their week long cruises. They only have it one day and it's during the lunch buffet. You can find it in the Fun Times but you really have to be looking for it :( We happened up on it by accident while perusing the Fun Times for that day.

 

Yep... I did see that, but it was at an odd time (as you say, in the afternoon). I know that we couldn't make it, but can't remember if it was because of an excursion or a scheduled function that we had set up on the ship. I'd have to guess that the main reason to have it during the day and not during the evening would be staffing issues... Not sure I agree with that. I certainly know how hard the staff already works, and they most certainly deserve time to sleep. However, if you hire a few more staff members, you could easily rotate hours around so that these things could be held in the evening. Again, just my opinion!

[crewsweeper]

Thanks for your review. We all have different opinions as to what delineates a good cruise from a bad cruise or a mediocre cruise. If I read the review correctly, you were in ATD. There can be some service issues in ATD during times when they are swamped with guests. I've seen cuts of prime rib that look fantastic and others that look like something even Golden Corral would toss out at the same meal, same dining table. Had you read any Carnival ship reviews in the past 3 years you'd know there is no longer midnight buffets. There is a Mexican buffet on the Dream on the night of the deck party. But they did away with midnight buffets because not many cruisers went to them and all that food was getting wasted. personally, I'm not one for late snacking and certainly not for anothe rheavy meal, but pizza and roomservice should be able to satisfy most folks who are. They close the deli at 11PM because, again, fewer cruisers go there that late. Did you try the Tandoori Grill at noon? Or the Lanai deck BBQ on sea days?

Nice handling of the drunks in the pizza line. Probably best course of action, even though the results weren't what you hoped for. I agree with the lack of island music or even latin music on board. Really sets the cruise mood. But they hire cover bands to play the stuff a lot of passengers want to hear. CW, or it's pop derivative which passes for CW today, is still one of the biggest music varieties in terms of popularity for all ages. Not my fav, but am glad it's not the gansta stuff masquerading as hip hop.

 

I personally wish folks would get beyond the aggressive hawkers outside the Tourist Village in Belize City. Belize is a beautiful country. Unfortunately, the mainland natural beaches are too far south for day visitors to get too and from what I understand, Belizeans in the south don not want cruise ships visiting their area, so we're stuck with Belize City and the gorgeous small cays around it. Just look at Belize as a non-beach day and take a tour or two and learn about the country. Roatan is DW's "Win Powerball" vacay home! It is really a gorgeous island, again once outside the confines of the cruiseport.

 

This got rather long, and not meant a critic of your review. Again thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

[DetroitMike1]

Thanks for your review. We all have different opinions as to what delineates a good cruise from a bad cruise or a mediocre cruise. If I read the review correctly, you were in ATD. There can be some service issues in ATD during times when they are swamped with guests. I've seen cuts of prime rib that look fantastic and others that look like something even Golden Corral would toss out at the same meal, same dining table. Had you read any Carnival ship reviews in the past 3 years you'd know there is no longer midnight buffets. There is a Mexican buffet on the Dream on the night of the deck party. But they did away with midnight buffets because not many cruisers went to them and all that food was getting wasted. personally, I'm not one for late snacking and certainly not for anothe rheavy meal, but pizza and roomservice should be able to satisfy most folks who are. They close the deli at 11PM because, again, fewer cruisers go there that late. Did you try the Tandoori Grill at noon? Or the Lanai deck BBQ on sea days?

Nice handling of the drunks in the pizza line. Probably best course of action, even though the results weren't what you hoped for. I agree with the lack of island music or even latin music on board. Really sets the cruise mood. But they hire cover bands to play the stuff a lot of passengers want to hear. CW, or it's pop derivative which passes for CW today, is still one of the biggest music varieties in terms of popularity for all ages. Not my fav, but am glad it's not the gansta stuff masquerading as hip hop.

 

I personally wish folks would get beyond the aggressive hawkers outside the Tourist Village in Belize City. Belize is a beautiful country. Unfortunately, the mainland natural beaches are too far south for day visitors to get too and from what I understand, Belizeans in the south don not want cruise ships visiting their area, so we're stuck with Belize City and the gorgeous small cays around it. Just look at Belize as a non-beach day and take a tour or two and learn about the country. Roatan is DW's "Win Powerball" vacay home! It is really a gorgeous island, again once outside the confines of the cruiseport.

 

This got rather long, and not meant a critic of your review. Again thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

 

I don't see you as critiquing it at all. I appreciate the suggestions!

 

We didn't go for the ATD -- We had the early seating with the same table and wait staff. And I hope that I didn't characterize them as being unwilling to help -- Far from it. Their attitude was good... It just seemed like when things went beyond the typical, they didn't know how to handle it. Perhaps a training issue? Who knows...

 

I did read a good amount of reviews, but either blew right past the buffet issue or read it and had forgotten. Either way, I would have been happy with even a few more choices (eg bar food or something lighter). Just seemed if you didn't like the burgers (we didn't) and weren't in the mood for pizza, the sandwiches / salads on the RS menu were about the only option. Would have liked to see any other kind of hot food option... Again, my opinion only...

 

Probably should have given Belize more of a chance, but I'm sure that subconsciously I had given up on it a bit before we even got there, based on other's reviews. My loss!

[Rottweiler Puppy]

I'm sure that there is somewhere out there to have a comprehensive discussion of race issues in this country, but I'd like to think a cruise review board probably isn't the best one.... Personally, I'm just here to get and share info on vacations, not societal trends! Good luck to you!

 

 

Hey you are the one who inferred the poster might be a a racist. Mentioning guilty consciences and crap, really?

 

I just posted what I did because you flat out insinuated the person might be racist because she was called one. Thats BS move to do there partner.

 

That said, I hope your next cruise is better. I appreciate your review.

[italianfemmy]

I am just going to say that I had the time of my life on the Dream and if anyone wants to know about it, they can click on the link in my signature. :-) Many awesome memories, photos and experiences to be had from my perspective.

[band it]

Thank you for review. I'm on the Dream Nov 2012.:D

[WES143]

Do the two-piece duo carribbean band still perform on the lido deck on sea days? They were there March, 2011. Or have they scrapped them also?

[DetroitMike1]

Hey you are the one who inferred the poster might be a a racist. Mentioning guilty consciences and crap, really?

 

I just posted what I did because you flat out insinuated the person might be racist because she was called one. Thats BS move to do there partner.

 

That said, I hope your next cruise is better. I appreciate your review.

 

Yeah. OK...

[DetroitMike1]

Do the two-piece duo carribbean band still perform on the lido deck on sea days? They were there March, 2011. Or have they scrapped them also?

 

Did not hear or see them even once. Would have been a pleasure to have heard a bit of that!