Carnival Dream likes and dislikes

[1153rsmith]

We are considering sailing the Carnival Dream in September. We have previously sailed the Carnival Fascination, the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas, the Disney Dream, and the Disney Magic.

 

If any of you have been on the Carnival Dream and any of these other ships, can you tell me how it compares? Please tell me it doesn't have the tacky neon the Fascination had.

 

How is the food and the service (service both in dining and stateroom).

 

Do they have lots of things for tweens to do?

 

Does it have the Guy Fieri burger place?

 

Does anyone like the Cove balcony? How close to the water is it?

 

Thanks for your input.

[MrPete]

I'll start.

 

No Guy's.

[1153rsmith]

I'll start.

 

No Guy's.

 

 

Bummer... one of the things I read somewhere led me to believe they had added it. Oh, well. We really liked the food on the Fascination, so if it is at least that good, we are fine. I would love to have some ribs and warm chocolate melting cake right now.

[tree.critter]

Can't compare to the other ships you have listed as we haven't cruised on any of them yet, but have a little bit of input for you.

 

The cove balconies are 20-25' off the water and after returning from my recent Dream cruise will always select this balcony choice if available. I would suggest a cabin not too far forward if you want to avoid the wet balcony's. We had very rough seas and missed two ports due to wind but never had problems with water on our balcony 2349.

There is no Guy Fieri burgers on board, this 2.0 upgrade did not make it to the Dream.

The decor for the Dream was rather pleasant for us, not neon but modern and attractive. The only thing we laughed about was all the "colored giant glass spitwads" that lined elevator walls, we found those interesting and wonder what the designers were thinking.

Service in the ATD was fabulous with our server Lucio and his team. There was only a couple of nights that we waited more than 5 minutes to be seated, on these wait nights we got other wait teams and were also happy although they did not seem to work as flawlessly as a team as Lucio's team did.

Never had room service, no teens so that's about as much as I can share.

 

Will be trying out the Fascination in December:)

[1153rsmith]

Did you get good service from Cabin Stewards?

 

Thanks for the input on the Cove balconies. I had not thought about being too far foward, but it makes sense.

 

The Fascination is nice. Decor is definitely dated (late 80's disco) but the staff was great. We boarded on Christmas day 2010. That was the first Christmas we were ever away from home. We had terrible weather so many of the things to do topside were not available. Too cold and too windy.

[Cruisegirl6]

History- Cruised many carnival ships throughout my life (been on 48 cruises), we found Carnival cutting back since 2007 and in 08 and 09 took Royal Caribbean LIberty of the Seas perfect cruise line overall! In 2009 we decided to go back Carnival and took the Fascination with total disappointment in that ship overall we said we not going back to Carnival. Food at the lunch buffet didn't have any meat carvings, no soup, salad bar was very small and limited of items. (I have to be gluten free and do not eat seafood) The lunch buffet was all fast food type foods which I do not eat. It consisted of sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers, fries, pizza, calzones, chicken nuggets, one seafood dish usually a fish which I not eat, and had only one rice or potato dish and one vegetable only. Out of 45 cruises at that time it was the first one I actually lost weight. The service in the MDR was so so...the food was just ok nothing to even remember about right after our cruise. The lobster was small and just good nothing more and the steaks were a cheaper cut. Service was always good to very good it was always a hit or miss on Carnival. The entertainment diminished and got real "cheesy" cheaper lets say.

 

So the next two cruises we went on the Freedom of the Seas (RC) and again a perfect overall cruise both times.

 

Then last year in October we wanted to use Pt. Canaveral as it was only two hour drive time and although we loved the Freedom of the Seas we been on that ship and her sister one 4 times in the past 4 years so we wanted a change of pace (would never consider Disney cruises) and we decided lets try the Dream since she was one of their newer and larger ships.

 

We went on the Dream knowing what we chose to give up by not going RC. She blew us away! Food in lunch buffets had carvings, hot meat dishes, vegetables, sides, decent salad bar, desserts were the best (desserts always better than RC), mongolian was excellent and so on. The pizza got bad different now but I can't eat it anyways had my other half try it and I took a bite. They still have your burgers, dogs, fries, sandwiches if you like but they also had the healthier items. I being gluten did not have any single problem finding multiple foods to eat. The pasta bar my other half and father in law raved about, the taste bar was a very nice touch with yummy choices that changed daily, they had indian food that looked very good too.

Service was excellent overall minus the MDR which Carnival has cut back staff they just overworked in the MDR. Punchliners was a nice added touch we didn't have breakfast there as we really not breakfast people much but moreso didn't want to wait in line and chose to wait for lunch.

 

MDR is still just so so, when we booked her up we made 3 nights reservations at the Steakhouse knowing that the MDR is just ok. We went the first evening to the Steakhouse its a must!!!! Lets say after experiencing the first MDR dinner which was first formal night on night 2 where they served lobster which was just ok and service was not good at all, the alligator fritters that night were all filler you did not taste alligator, the fruit was good,the prime rib was good nothing more we said we not going to dine there for dinner and chose to book up the Steakhouse for all other evenings, so we dined in the steakhouse 6 evenings. I think we had tried nearly everything if not everything on that menu and everything was very good to excellent. The lobster you did not even want that butter it was wonderful. All the steaks were very good, the dessert sampler was to die for, the carpachio was excellent everyhting was very good to excellent. There was only one thing I found that I didn't care for but that was our taste...the french onion soup was very very strong and a bit salty for us, but again, that was the only negative thing I could find there.

 

The ice cream machine was always running even in the wee hours in the morning so were the drinks offered in the lido deck such as coffee, lemonade (which was very good), iced tea and such.

 

They did offer nightly snacks grilled cheese, fries, burgers, pizza, calzones and I think a couple other items like mini sandwiches.

 

The cocktails are more costly than RC and they are in the smallest glasses possible. You can add on another 3-4 dollars and ask for a double saves in the long run.

 

Entertainment- Shows were not good in our opinon really didn't leave one show saying we were happy we went, in fact, we walked out of two shows. They not have shows every evening. They had punchliners comedy we went twice, well we didn't think they were funny much at all hardly actually. The Blackjack band which people say is the finest Carnival has was just good nothing more. They sang wrong notes played wrong notes just didn't have a great assortment in types of music, more country/southern rock type. The acustic guitarists I must say shame on Carnival whoever hired those horrible players!!! Nobody wanted to listen to them it was empty where they played they were bad.

 

Casino was decent and fun. The BBQ outdoors looked very interesting and good.

 

The ship is as stable as the Freedom of the Seas. There is plenty of outdoor deck space, we not into pools but they looked good not sure if they are fresh water like RC has. We do miss the viking crown lounge but we found our little private bar which was to the left side of the Blackjack band. The stateroom bedding is just as nice as RC.

 

There is no Guys burgers heck they just bad cholesterol high fat burgers that are bad for you in the first place. They did add in two bars in the outdoor deck space which were nice and one had a guitarist playing there that was just ok.

 

Cove balconies not for me too low in the water if its bad weather Im sure you get sprinkled with water and not sure whether you get noise from other open areas. We not want to be that low anyways. We were high on deck 9 I think it was totally stable.

 

You will get warm melting cake but Im sure if you go to the Steakhouse and ask ahead of time for that they give it to you in fact, their dessert sampler did contain the warm melting cake! If you think the food on the Fascination was good you love the Dream. I went on the Fascination in 09 when did you go after that? If so can you tell me what was offered as far as food items for the lunch buffet, any carvings, hot meat entrees, etc?

 

I would jump back on the Dream in a heartbeat, try her you will love her.

[ILUVCRUIZN]

"I would jump back on the Dream in a heartbeat, try her you will love her."

 

I 2nd this!!! We loved this cruise last year. Would def do again!!! :D

[tocruzagain]

We have been on the Dream twice...once for the eastern route and once for the western route. We have been in a regular balcony up on deck 9 and a cove balcony on deck 2. The view was nice in the cove balcony, but we thought it was just a little noisier down there and with young kids it's just easier being up higher closer to the lido deck etc. According to a letter that we recently received from Carnival the Dream is one of the ships listed that has gotten "some" of the 2.0 upgrades and Guy's burgers are listed in the upgrades.

[tomsuelaw]

I have been on both the Fascination and the Dream. Liked the Fascination, loved the Dream. They are a lot of like but obviously the Dream is way way bigger.

 

The Dream has one more water slide (the drainpipe) which is a lot of fun!

 

The entertainment is better on dream, imo, more stuff to do, better shows.

 

No guys on either. Food and service slightly better on fascination, but more choices on dream. Pizza way way better on the dream...delicious!

 

We had a cove, loved it 1st half of the week when the winds and the seas were calm. But the 2nd half of the week the seas were rough and the winds were strong so our cove turned into a water park from constant sea spray. It was still ok, but you could not sit out there and relax....but, you pay a cheaper price,for a reason. Overall, I loved being close to the water when it was dry.

 

I would do both ships again, for sure the dream. I would also roll the dice with the cove again too to save $.

[Dalton51]

Does the Dream have a live band?? Anyone know??

[1153rsmith]

I went on the Fascination in 09 when did you go after that? If so can you tell me what was offered as far as food items for the lunch buffet, any carvings, hot meat entrees, etc?

 

The Fascination in December 2010 was our first cruise. We did a 5 night leaving Christmas Day. We went to Nassau and were supposed to go to Half Moon but weather was so rough we diverted to Freeport.

 

As I said, we had cold temps, rough seas and strong winds for most of the trip. I police officer in Nassau said it was the coldest he had seen it in years. Our purchase there was a sweatshirt from the straw market.

 

I don't remember the specifics of the lunch buffet, but I remember finding plenty to eat. We waited in line for the Mongolian bar one day and was not impressed. I didn't like the sauces, and couldn't eat it. We loved the reubens and pizza. Our MDR staff was fantastic. I remember loving the ribs, shrimp cocktail, and fish. Lobster was not as good as I can do at home. Desserts were off the hook. Loved the warm chocolate melting cake and cherries jubilee.

 

Since then, we have done Freedom of the Seas August 11, Disney Dream Sept 11, and Disney Magic April 12. I have to say, overall, I think Disney blows everyone away in the service department. Of our 4 cruises though, I think Carnival had a slight edge on the food over disney and then RCL.

 

Based on comments so far, I am thinking about staying away from the cove. If I am going to have a balcony, I want to be able to enjoy it, and you never know what sort of seas you are going to hit.

[tiercel]

I was on the Dream recently and the highlights were the cove balcony (watch what is above you however...avoid the galley) and the punchliner brunch. However, I must admit I prefer the layout of the Fascination over the Dream, although the Dream is much bigger. Food was great on both, but the punchliner was wonderful. Enjoyed all my cruises...:)

[1153rsmith]

Is the Punchliner a quick service buffet restaurant or a club that happens to do a brunch on certain days?

[CruisingSoon88]

We have sailed on the Dream twice as well. Both were before the 2.0 upgrades. I have also sailed on the Fascination, but since that was in 1999, I can't give you a current comparison. We chose cove balconies on both of our Dream cruises. Our location was so good on the first that we got the closest available on the second. We were in 2262 and 2258. The seas were not ever really high, but on the rougher days you could see the spray come up from the front of the ship cutting through, but our balcony never got wet.

 

One of our favorite parts of the Dream is the spa. We bought the weekly couples pass for $250. It was so nice to send the kids to camp for a little bit and just be able to relax. My in-laws went with us on our last Dream cruise and they stayed in spa cabins so they went with us to the spa often. They really enjoyed it and that said alot to me because they have been on 25-30 cruises most on other lines than Carnival.

 

We were lucky in that we had great service in the dining room on both trips. The second one we had anytime dining and I would not cruise without it now. We found a waitress that we liked on the second night and requested her for the rest of the week. Our wait time was never long if any with the exception of one night that was busy and we waited about 20 minutes for a table for 6. I have always loved the food in the MDR and have never been disappointed with a dish other than if it just wasn't a recipe to my liking. I just know not to order it the next time. That's part of the fun of trying new dishes.

 

I can't comment on the shows as we are just not show people. Our nights are spent in the casino and thats all the entertainment that we need. We love the Dream and would not hesitate to book her again.

[DanJ]

The Dream definitely does not have Guy's Burgers. The only 2.0 things added in the drydock last fall were the Blue Iguana and Red Frog up on the Lido, the Cherry on Top store (not sure I get the concept of this on a cruise ship), Punchliners added to the aft lounge and the DJ IRie, whatever that is supposed to be. I asked Jaime, the cruise director about this, and she said that corporate didn't want to spend the money on this newer ship to add all the stuff the Breeze has.

 

Loved the Ocean Plaza and Lanai. The Circle C room for the tweens looked like a fun place to hang out, and there is also a pretty large arcade (The Warehouse) on deck 4 as well. My 11 year olds were still in Camp Carnival and found it a little young for their liking, but they are eager to get into the next age group.

 

We had a Cove, cabin 2353 which is just a few cabins forward of the midship elevators. Pretty much a perfect location. We were under the dining room so we barely heard anything other than the odd chair being moved, and that was before midnight.

 

Like the above poster, we also ate in Lucio's section 4 nights and loved it. Great flow and friendly service. Still don't get why everyone thinks anytime dining is this great thing though. Maybe people don't like being told this is what time dinner is, but given the choice, most still want to eat at whatever times the fixed seatings were, and usually first seating. So if you have anytime dining on this ship, show up at 6 or not until 730 if you want to eat in the dining room. Traffic flow in the atrium sucks at 6.

 

We had around 4200 people on the ship, including 700 kids, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the ship carried it's people. There are places every cruise ship is going to have crowd problems. Buffet breakfast at 830-900am, trying to get a pool lounger on a sea day, trying to get a seat in the main theater closer than 30 minutes to the showtime. This ship certainly had that. The rest for the most part had lots of room, and you weren't always tripping over or bumping into another person, as some prior reviews tried to say about this class of ship.

 

The new terminal in Port Canaveral was awesome. We had FTTF, so we sailed through the boarding process, but I could tell the way things were around us that it would have been a pretty painless process without the FTTF. It is a long walk from checkin to the ship though. Disembarking was easy as well. Literally, we left our cabin at 745 and were outside the terminal getting in our shuttle to the airport at 805. Self assist started at 630am, and if you like to do this, then the cove balconies are another plus, since you are on deck 2 and you disembark on deck 3. Easy walk up one set of stairs (since the elevators will be hell that morning with people coming down from the higher decks).

 

The only drawback to Port Canaveral I could see was the effect on port times on the western route (I haven't really paid attention to the eastern itinerary). You sail at 4pm and arrive in Cozumel at almost 10am. Then the last port day, you sail from Costa Maya at 2pm to arrive back in Port Canaveral on time. I'm also not a fan of 4 ports on a 7 day cruise, which only leaves 2 sea days. I didn't hear hardly any good stuff from people about Belize, and we certainly weren't impressed with the port area. Even the cave tubing, which is supposed to be a highlight there. We talked to the couple at the next table at dinner who did this, and he said it was great for the 40 minutes you were in the tube. Not so great for the hour bus ride each way and the 3 mile hike through the jungle to get to the river. That's his description, I have no idea how far it actually is, but he said the hike was almost as long, time wise, as the bus ride. I'd like to see them drop Belize, and flip the port order around, with 2 sea days at the front end, Roatan, Costa Maya for a full day and finish with Cozumel. Sea day and back into Port Canaveral.

[CruisingSoon88]

Based on comments so far, I am thinking about staying away from the cove. If I am going to have a balcony, I want to be able to enjoy it, and you never know what sort of seas you are going to hit.

 

A cove may not be for you. Just be sure that you realize that many of the balcony cabins overlook the lanai on this ship. When you look down from your balcony you will see that deck instead of the ocean. Many folks have complained about the noise from the people in the hot tubs. Others don't seem to mind it. I loved our coves because they are so close to the water and thats what I want to see, not other people on the deck below me. Everyone has their own preference. I just wanted to make sure that you knew about the lanai on the Dream before you make your choice.:)

[DanJ]

Is the Punchliner a quick service buffet restaurant or a club that happens to do a brunch on certain days?

 

 

The Punchliner brunch is done in a dining room. Not sure how foodservice is done there. The comedy club is the Burgundy Lounge at the aft of deck 5. They do other stuff in this lounge, like the karaoke superstar live as well as the legends auditions.

[DanJ]

To show what was meant above by looking down on the lanai deck, this pic from the portside bridge wing shows this clearly.

 

[inlinesick]

We didnt like the dream, we still love carnival but we will avoid the dream and the same classes ship.

Felt overcrowed all the time, believe me im not that kind of guy who get stressed out on vacation. But jeez it was painful. We had your time dining but we ended up going the same spot so we could have the waiters. They were awesome, for was good even though we could see the cut back. We had a cloud nine spa cabin which was great. Its wasnt a terrible cruise, but we agreed no more big ship!

Conquest class is the best in our opinion.

[Athankfulheart]

[quote name=tree.critter;36902653

 

The decor for the Dream was rather pleasant for us' date=' not neon but modern and attractive. The only thing we laughed about was all the "colored giant glass spitwads" that lined elevator walls, we found those interesting and wonder what the designers were thinking.

Service in the ATD was fabulous with our server Lucio and his team. There

 

 

My husband and I joked that they put those there to prevent " up against the wall smooching sessions". I figure it helps prevent elevator traffic jams :D

[kittycrusin08]

We were on the Dream this past October and loved the ship and all the different programs have to offer. My grandsons, ages 15 & 16 really enjoyed the teen program and made many new friends. The adults in our group enjoyed the comedy club, the shows, hot tubs, the food and generally everything on the Dream. In fact, we liked it so much, we will be going on the Eastern route during Spring Break. Grandsons were given a choice of whatever they wanted to do on Spring Break and they chose to go on the Dream again. We are going to try a cove balcony this cruise and are really looking forward to this. Will try to write a review, when we return. ;)

[Cruisegirl6]

1153 The Punchliner breakfast is a sit down breakfast with wonderful menu.

http://zydecocruiser.net/CarnivalConquest2012/menus/brunch.html

 

It is only available on sea days.

 

I not ever get a cove balcony people have spoken about hearing noises and sounds and I not want to be way down there on the ship and not worry about being sprinkled with water from the waves.

 

We were on Deck 9 Vista deck on the Dream and never saw any deck below us we had complete ocean views, not know what that person was talking about looking right onto a waking deck, if you on a deck and look straight out you see water?

 

We were on that same week on the Monarch of the Seas too, and we also missed RC out island due to the weather. I do believe your correct about Disney and their service but I just not want to go on a ship that has so many kids, and not want to see anything to do with the Disney Theme, now iif my kids were younger maybe...but I just like to stay away from Mickey mouse and all the others just not my thing. It appears the food still remains to be fast food type quality on the Fascination, the Dream it was alot of good healthy and more assortment of meat dishes, they always had a seafood dish, chicken dish, pork or lamb, beef dish so many healthier type foods and much better variety and selection. It appers the shorter and older ships give you less but it is ok as this is my second cruise this year and as long as they have my meat carvings, veggies and salad I be just fine. :) Im sure your right about the MDR service being better on the Fascination, the Dream has so many passengers and they cut back so much on the wait staff it sure showed.

[Athankfulheart]

Like some of the others, I cannot compare to the ships that you mentioned. We sailed March 17,2012 with another couple and had a great time, despite missing CM. They had an aft cabin and we had a wrap 6479. I would definately get this room again if the budget allowed. It was quiet and out of the way from traffic. It allowed us to do lot of people watching and provided some unique views.

 

We enjoyed the food, service and general mood of the crew on this ship. We enjoyed cave tubing in Belize as well as the ride to and from. I think our driver was key because he made it interesting and fun ( VIV ). The walk was not bad at all and was again, interesting because of our guide. We loved Belize and would hate to see the port scrapped by Carnival.

 

When we first arrived, the decor did not impress me ( just not my thing) but it grew on my over the course of the week and now the "bubbles" and "upside down red glasses" are etched in my mind as fond memories. Its alot of yellow and red tho :p

 

The weekly spa pass was probably our favorite "feature" of the ship. We also enjoyed the hammocks at Serenity and the fact that they don't close that deck off overnight. We enjoyed the spa pass so much that we booked a spa room for our next cruise. Wish there could be more than 2 hammocks :rolleyes:

 

We booked the Dream again for Jan 2014 same itinerary when we bring our kids back with us.

 

CD was "eh" but I hear that the new one is really amazing.

We never found the ship to feel anymore "crowded" than any of the others that we had been on.

[arpie05]

I would jump back on the Dream in a heartbeat, try her you will love her.

 

sorry to cut most of your quote off but I really appreciated your honest review. It is one of the best I've read from some one who is not a regular carnival sailer.

 

We didn't love it when we sailed it last time but compared to our trip last year on the Glory (horrid due to Corporate bad choices and weather) - the Dream was fine. We like the Fantasy class - the decor does not bother me. My teenager hates the added waterslide because they took out the basketball so we sailed the Elation. Wish they the 2 ships doing less than 7 days out of PC had bball so we would choose.

 

Back to to Dream. Im looking forward to resailing. I thought it was beautiful. They did not add Guy but they kept the cookout on the Lanai which has sliders and hotdogs. It wasn't my fav. They also added the Taste Bar which replaced their (complimentary) sushi bar.I did notice on the Glory they had added sushi to some of the buffet offerings so maybe they are still. The Pasta upstairs (aft deck 11 off the Lido rear area) is great for lunch. Not sure why not a dinner option.

 

It also appears they just added the Red Frog and Blue Iguana bar but not food part of 2.0. Recent sailors please advise!

 

I have not sailed a Cove but I visited it one, I had a friend in one. She loved it. Its her favorite balcony type. She loved being that close to the water. It was a nice view. But if seas are rough, it would be wet but also a good location for rocking. I found the ship rocked a lot but we will take meclizine again.

 

I like the larger ship because I lose weight walking to the different activities. On the smaller ship I dont get as much walking in.

Also liked seeing families hanging out together in the Blvd area on the Dream. On shorter cruises you dont see that. Also I agree on not liking four ports on 7 days. We were booked on a 3 port but CCL changed the Dream eastern sailings late summer to a diff itinerary and it;s now 4 and our trip got changed. I had already bought airfare or would have looked into changing. The new itinerary seems nice but dont like four.

 

Anyway, we like the Dream.

[misstopgun]

The Dream definitely does not have Guy's Burgers. The only 2.0 things added in the drydock last fall were the Blue Iguana and Red Frog up on the Lido, the Cherry on Top store (not sure I get the concept of this on a cruise ship), Punchliners added to the aft lounge and the DJ IRie, whatever that is supposed to be. I asked Jaime, the cruise director about this, and she said that corporate didn't want to spend the money on this newer ship to add all the stuff the Breeze has.

 

Loved the Ocean Plaza and Lanai. The Circle C room for the tweens looked like a fun place to hang out, and there is also a pretty large arcade (The Warehouse) on deck 4 as well. My 11 year olds were still in Camp Carnival and found it a little young for their liking, but they are eager to get into the next age group.

 

We had a Cove, cabin 2353 which is just a few cabins forward of the midship elevators. Pretty much a perfect location. We were under the dining room so we barely heard anything other than the odd chair being moved, and that was before midnight.

 

Like the above poster, we also ate in Lucio's section 4 nights and loved it. Great flow and friendly service. Still don't get why everyone thinks anytime dining is this great thing though. Maybe people don't like being told this is what time dinner is, but given the choice, most still want to eat at whatever times the fixed seatings were, and usually first seating. So if you have anytime dining on this ship, show up at 6 or not until 730 if you want to eat in the dining room. Traffic flow in the atrium sucks at 6.

 

We had around 4200 people on the ship, including 700 kids, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the ship carried it's people. There are places every cruise ship is going to have crowd problems. Buffet breakfast at 830-900am, trying to get a pool lounger on a sea day, trying to get a seat in the main theater closer than 30 minutes to the showtime. This ship certainly had that. The rest for the most part had lots of room, and you weren't always tripping over or bumping into another person, as some prior reviews tried to say about this class of ship.

 

The new terminal in Port Canaveral was awesome. We had FTTF, so we sailed through the boarding process, but I could tell the way things were around us that it would have been a pretty painless process without the FTTF. It is a long walk from checkin to the ship though. Disembarking was easy as well. Literally, we left our cabin at 745 and were outside the terminal getting in our shuttle to the airport at 805. Self assist started at 630am, and if you like to do this, then the cove balconies are another plus, since you are on deck 2 and you disembark on deck 3. Easy walk up one set of stairs (since the elevators will be hell that morning with people coming down from the higher decks).

 

The only drawback to Port Canaveral I could see was the effect on port times on the western route (I haven't really paid attention to the eastern itinerary). You sail at 4pm and arrive in Cozumel at almost 10am. Then the last port day, you sail from Costa Maya at 2pm to arrive back in Port Canaveral on time. I'm also not a fan of 4 ports on a 7 day cruise, which only leaves 2 sea days. I didn't hear hardly any good stuff from people about Belize, and we certainly weren't impressed with the port area. Even the cave tubing, which is supposed to be a highlight there. We talked to the couple at the next table at dinner who did this, and he said it was great for the 40 minutes you were in the tube. Not so great for the hour bus ride each way and the 3 mile hike through the jungle to get to the river. That's his description, I have no idea how far it actually is, but he said the hike was almost as long, time wise, as the bus ride. I'd like to see them drop Belize, and flip the port order around, with 2 sea days at the front end, Roatan, Costa Maya for a full day and finish with Cozumel. Sea day and back into Port Canaveral.

I am with you on the ports Dan. We sailed the Dream twice just to go to Costa Maya but found the port time there was far to short to get a good day ut of it. Previously the stop was until 4 PM but now they sail at 2, meaning you start back to the ship by 1. As much as we love sitting on the beach drinking buckets of beer, we would have to get our drink on at 8AM in the morning to get a good day out of it. That's a couple of hours early for us.

 

We enjoyed both cruises on the Dream none-the-less. We had a regular balcony and a cove. I enjoyed being closer to the water but found it much windier than a higher balcony.

 

We found the crew to be friendly but it seems to us the larger a ships capacity, the ruder the cruisers are. It is a bit more crowded and has a tendency to have more lines and everyone just seem to be grumpier.

 

We found the casino to be a bit less personable than other cruise ships. We spend our evenings there and usually all the pit bosses and crew and dealers know us by name and greet us everytime we sit down. Not so much on the Dream. It seemed more like a Vegas casino where you are just a face in a ever changing crowd.

 

The food was not as good on the Dream and the waiters seemed stressed. I asked for horseradish and au jus for my prime rib and finally had to ask the hostess to ask the waiter bring me another as it had sat for 30 minuets waiting for the condiments and of course was very cold by that time. I usually don't complain but this night the servers came and served and never returned. Though the menu is te same on all Carnival ships, you will find that some Chef's and Maitre'd's have different standards than others.

 

The Dream is not our favorite ship but we would sail her again if they extended the port time in Costa Maya. Another consideration when choosing the Dream is because of her size, she sometimes can't dock in Roatan if the wind kicks up, even when other ships can, so this port might be missed.