Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Review of Carnival Dream 12/14 with some comparasions to RCI

cljjlc

By cljjlc,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

 Share

Recommended Posts

cljjlc

cljjlc

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone. This is going to be my first attempt at a cruise review for our recent Carnival Dream that left on 12/14/2013. I’m going to make some comparisons to our other cruises in here as well as a comparison to RCI vs. Carnival in a few spots, and try to keep from jumping around or repeating myself to much. This trip included my wife and I, as well as my mother and one of her friends. So here goes.

We spent the night before the cruise after a long drive from east Tennessee at the Radisson at the Port. I recommend this spot to future cruisers. Although the hotel was showing its age at a few spots it had what I hold important on a one night stay over: a good value, clean, and safe. I think the room was around $150 give or take for my DW and I and that included onsite parking during the trip as well as shuttle service to and from the port. The room was clean and comfortable; the pool area was great and helped me to get out of the real world routine and into the vacation theme earlier than normal. Everything went smooth the morning of checkout and we were on the 1030 shuttle headed to the port.

This was by far the best embarkation day we have experienced in out 4 cruises thanks to the FTTF program which I felt was worth every penny. We got out of the shuttle about 10:50 and they immediately grabbed out luggage. We walked to the port, were immediately moved through security and to the desk where our sail and sign card was given, our account set up as we always set up a cash account to keep track of spending and no credit card surprises, and up the steps we went to the holding area bypassing huge lines along the way. In the holding area the diamond and platinum guest were able to board before us lowly FTTF peeps so they can rest easy, and we were on the boat in less than an hour after arriving; it felt like no time at all. Since we had a cove balcony on deck 2 we walked down one flight of stairs and sure enough our room was clean and ready to go. After stowing our drinks and what little luggage we had we went up to eat and it felt nice not to have to worry about our bags for a change and zip through the lines. Our luggage arrived quickly and we were unpacked before the muster drill. We enjoyed a good meal with YTD and went straight in, then enjoyed the welcome aboard show before calling it a night to get caught up on rest from the embarkation and the long drive down.

Now I’m going to start breaking it up into segments instead of a step by step.

Room

This was our first time sailing with a balcony and we loved it. We were in room 2289 on the starboard side and it was a great spot. We were right above the gangways so it was a good place to see the pier runners although there weren’t many this trip. It also had a little better view as this is the section without a bigger lifeboat above us but instead the smaller boat. The room was quiet and rather large especially compared to our last RCI cruise. The balcony was great and felt so much more private. Our companions had a regular balcony on 8 and while it was nice, I enjoyed the cozy feel of the cove better as well as looking down and being so close to the water instead of looking down at the lanai. We spent A LOT of time on the balcony this cruise reading instead of being hustled on the crowded decks which was a plus since I don’t care for crowds that much. Only bummer to the whole trip was for about an hour one day. I was enjoying my book listening to the waves when our neighbors decided to bring out an mp3 player and started blasting George Jones… now don’t get me wrong I love the possum but not loud enough I couldn’t hear myself think. I went in and could still here it inside my cabin. We went out to eat and thankfully I never heard from them again. I never really smelled the odd smell on deck 2 that I have read about prior. The only downside was I don’t think we could ever do without a balcony again.

Food

I think the food was somewhat better this time, but still not my personal highlight although I returned gaining a few pounds. I must be one of the only people who hate the food for the most part on the cruise. I often see people saying they hate the way Carnival is going comparing it to an Outback but I would welcome that change as I think the food is much better. To me the cuts of meat lack flavor and aren’t the best. I compare the food on a cruise to the Golden Coral, mediocre at best but there is so much there you just go quantity over quality. The MDR was ok and we never had to wait on MTD getting there at usually about 6. The warm chocolate melting cake every night was great. The buffet on Lido was like normal. We tried the pasta bar one day and it was ok, but their meat lasagna and my idea of meat lasagna wasn’t the same. The pizza and burgers were good as usual, and my wife liked the wok. My favorite find was the Oceanside BBQ on deck 5 and thought the food was delicious, especially chased by a latte and a piece of carrot cake from the coffee bar on deck 5. As compared to RCI I thought carnival did beat them barley, but for the most part it was the same. I did like the breakfast on RCI better and thought it better quality, could have been I was just paying more attention as that’s my favorite meal of the day.

Entertainment

This is my favorite part as always enjoy the big shows and is among the biggest reasons we cruise. We watched the first big show “8 second ride” and found it to be interesting. I was kind of glad to see a country themed show as I’m a country boy. “Dancing in the Streets” was great and I think is my favorite show to date. It was wonderful and I enjoyed the break dancers added in. I almost stayed for the second showing. The last production whose name I don’t remember was fair and never really captured my attention. We went to the comedy shows a couple times and they were good, although I think I enjoyed the family friendly better. I have nothing against the 18+ shows, but at times I thought they were tiring with one particular comedian being excessively perverted and crude just because he could. I don’t mind adult entertainment but there is a difference in adult and just trying to be foul. The shows in the different bars were good. The quest was the most interesting I had seen yet. They had a Mardi gras party on one night in the lobby I think trying to compete with RCIs parades through the Royal Promenade and that was IMHO a failure and not coming close to capturing it. That and I have never seen a group of people get so taken in trying to grab a 50 cent pair of Mardi gras beads. Although RCI offers more venues such as ice dancing, climbing walls etc. its stuff I rarely use and think Carnival does a much better job with their big ticket production shows for my personal tastes.

Ship

Comparing the Dream to other ships I have been on it is top notch and the only close comparison was RCIs Navigator of the Seas. The Dream never really felt crowded compared to what I had read in other reviews for the most part. There were plenty of hot tubs and the ones on the lanai were generally less crowded. The serenity area was nice to escape screaming kids at times. The décor was less… tacky will say from other carnival ships I had been on. I think overall when comparing it to Navigator of the Seas I have to give it to RCI. I loved the Royal Promenade on the Navigator. I also loved all the specialty bars on Navigator. The cigar bar was nice to have a place to go and smoke a cigar and have a nice glass of scotch. The beer pub was great and had a huge selection of beers from all over the world. Carnival just mainly has the same little spots that are all the same and have no defining characteristic to them, there all just kind of there with no soul. The spa area was nice and I had a great massage, I just wish they would cancel the sales pitch right after the massage as it kind of ruins that relaxation high by telling them no for the umpteenth time.

Ports of Call

Nassau- Nassau was just that nothing had changed from my prior stops. It is probably the port I hate most for several reasons. The timing on this cruise made it even worse with getting there at 9 and having to be back on the boat at 130 it was almost like Carnival had a little time and just threw this in to say they had 3 stops. We slept late this time and went ashore for about an hour to browse the straw mart. Only highlight was a group singing Christmas songs in a plaza down toward Senor Frog’s.

St. Thomas- I loved St. Thomas and this was our first time there. We shopped around the pier for a bit before heading over to Meagan’s Bay. My what a beautiful beach. It was crowded, but I found as we kept walking down from where the taxi’s drop you off at it got less crowded to we eventually found a rather quite spot. After about a ten minute rain shower more people cleared out and the beach was even quieter. After a long swim we caught a taxi back to the pier area and headed to Hooter’s to eat. Neither my wife nor I could stand the thoughts of more ship food, the screaming of Senor Frogs, and didn’t really see any other alternative close. The food was actually good though, the crowd peaceful, and the free wifi was a nice touch before we headed back.

St. Martin- One of my favorite stops on any I have been to and also our first time here. My wife woke up feeling a bit sick, but felt better as the morning went on so we headed by taxi over to Orient Beach. I had read there were some nude beaches on either side, but to a guy raised in the Bible belt I still was surprised when we first pulled up to see a girl standing there topless smoking a cigarette lol. In any event to each their own we found us a nice place, enjoyed the waves and some buckets of Corona. We eventually started strolling up and down the beach to the different little bars to see what they offered. The beach was breathtaking and I would definitely go back to Orient in the future

On a few side notes the service was excellent as expected. Our cabin steward was top notch and everyone was courteous as always. FTTF was worth every penny. My biggest complaint, as always, is some of my fellow passengers. Some need to chill your on vacation after all no need to knock people down getting in and out of the elevators I promise the Lido will still be there. I also detest the way some treats the Carnival employees and how rude they are. These are people who are here to do a job and try to give us a good experience, not to be talked to like they are beneath you or stupid. They are not servants. Like one of the comedians said these have to be the most patient people on earth and many Americans couldn’t do their jobs, myself included. If I worked as many of these did several passengers would be having to dig their melting cakes out of their more private areas as that is where they would end up. Just try to remember these are professionals working hard while being away from their families. But in the words of Mark Twain, “Don’t argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. Rant ended. All in all it was a great cruise and can’t wait for the next one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lilmizz

lilmizz

Posted
Posted

Very good and honest review imo. So all in all you think the dream is a good ship, not overly crowded , food edible, shows good. ports ok on that itinerary and balcony's are the best!

 

Cant wait til i sail her soon!!:o

Link to comment
Share on other sites
golfadj

golfadj

Posted
Posted

We were on the same cruise and generally agree.

 

Disappointed in the direction the entertainment is going.

 

Do think the production shows have gone downhill.

 

Another comment is that they now have the love and marriage show during one evening instead of having professional entertainment.

 

First two comedians were excellent, last two not so good

 

Thought the food was good and service exellent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
estherhead

estherhead

Posted
Posted

We were on this cruise with you. :-) And we were some of the pier runners at the Bahamas!! I've never been one before and won't be again. We booked the Carnival dolphin Atlantis excursion & they didn't take us till 11:45. By the time it was done, we has missed the last bus. Fortunately we are experienced travelers and were able to immediately switch gears & got back in time. But not before we made our two six years run like crazy! Needless to say, we visited the excursion desk & won't be putting our faith in Carnival excursions getting us back in time!

 

I totally agree with you on the Dream. I've been on the Navigator & they were comparable experiences. We never ran into lines more than 5-6 deep & didn't feel crowded at all. And we LOVED our cove balcony. I loved the food options. There were so many choices. But there were hits and misses for us in the deliciousness.

 

Overall we were very happy. And going on Dec 14th made it cheap. Happy sailing with you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chascougs

chascougs

Posted
Posted

On the same cruise and I agree with most everything. Our favorite eatery (outside of Chef's Art) was the tandoori grill. Just wish Carnival would keep it open longer than 3-4hrs. I also enjoyed the Lannai BBQ...our balcony was almost directly above it on deck 9. One thing we both noticed was that there appeared to be a lot more movement on this ship compared to Conquest class ships. Didn't appear to be particularly high seas during the week but boy the side to side motion was definitely noticeable. Agree about Nassau too...would rather have a sea day first and then maybe a stop on San Juan instead of waking up on Day 1 of a cruise looking out over Nassau.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
golfadj

golfadj

Posted
Posted
On the same cruise and I agree with most everything. Our favorite eatery (outside of Chef's Art) was the tandoori grill. Just wish Carnival would keep it open longer than 3-4hrs. I also enjoyed the Lannai BBQ...our balcony was almost directly above it on deck 9. One thing we both noticed was that there appeared to be a lot more movement on this ship compared to Conquest class ships. Didn't appear to be particularly high seas during the week but boy the side to side motion was definitely noticeable. Agree about Nassau too...would rather have a sea day first and then maybe a stop on San Juan instead of waking up on Day 1 of a cruise looking out over Nassau.

 

Strange getting into Nassau so early and leaving so early. Dont understand Carnival's insistence on going there on so many cruises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fishtaco

fishtaco

Posted
Posted
We were on this cruise with you. :-) And we were some of the pier runners at the Bahamas!! I've never been one before and won't be again. We booked the Carnival dolphin Atlantis excursion & they didn't take us till 11:45. By the time it was done, we has missed the last bus. Fortunately we are experienced travelers and were able to immediately switch gears & got back in time. But not before we made our two six years run like crazy! Needless to say, we visited the excursion desk & won't be putting our faith in Carnival excursions getting us back in time!

 

I totally agree with you on the Dream. I've been on the Navigator & they were comparable experiences. We never ran into lines more than 5-6 deep & didn't feel crowded at all. And we LOVED our cove balcony. I loved the food options. There were so many choices. But there were hits and misses for us in the deliciousness.

 

Overall we were very happy. And going on Dec 14th made it cheap. Happy sailing with you.

 

 

I thought that if you were on a Ships organized tour they had to wait for you, so why were you running:confused:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
estherhead

estherhead

Posted
Posted
I thought that if you were on a Ships organized tour they had to wait for you, so why were you running:confused:

 

We thought that too! But no. Evidently not. With Atlantis they just drop you off there and that's it. And Atlantis is HUGE. The Dolphin Cay is forever away from the bus stop. And 11:45 am is WAY too late for a 1:30 leave port time!

 

We finished our dolphins, bought the pics and RAN back to the bus stop. But the last Carnival bus was long gone. We hopped in a taxi so fast & paid double for him to fly and than ran our booties off. Straight to the shore excursion desk to complain. Ridiculous.

 

So I will be booking my own excursions. I'm very good at such things and there isn't much protection in the Carnival ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cljjlc

cljjlc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Forgot I wrote this over Christmas lol. Thank you all for your positive responses glad you enjoyed. To the pier runners I feel bad for clapping your arrival now I would be PO at carnival over that. I agree with the entertainment as well out is going down I especially dislike the DJ fad and miss the steel drums on lido.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cljjlc

cljjlc

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Any chance I could get you to scan & post the activities section of the Fun Times for each day of your cruise? I will be sailing that itinerary in January and am curious to see what activities are planned. Thanks

 

I think my mom may have saved hers I will check and if so try get them to ya this weekend

Link to comment
Share on other sites
estherhead

estherhead

Posted
Posted
Forgot I wrote this over Christmas lol. Thank you all for your positive responses glad you enjoyed. To the pier runners I feel bad for clapping your arrival now I would be PO at carnival over that. I agree with the entertainment as well out is going down I especially dislike the DJ fad and miss the steel drums on lido.

 

Don't feel bad! We like to watch pier runners too.

And I miss steel drums too :-(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...