Carnival Dream September 2016 Review (Cabin 6222)

[Moonstruck705]

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's reviews, and I hope to provide my own insight with this review.

 

We sailed on the Dream in September of '16 for our one year anniversary. :) Overall, we loved the ship. Our first and only other cruise was aboard the Fascination -- which is much smaller. This was also our first cruise with a balcony. I'll review the room and share some pictures as follows.

 

I also have Fun Times & will post those once I get each of them photographed.

 

 

 

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Embarkation day

We embarked on 9/4/16 out of New Orleans. Embarkation went smoothly. NOLA has staggered boarding: our time was 11-11:30. As I recall, everyone began boarding at 11:30, so we were the first to board after the priority folks (FTTF, Platinum & Diamond card holders). I'd say we were one of the first hundred or so folks aboard.

 

The Dream is HUGE. I'll say now that I was on the ship for seven days and did not wander to its every corner. (I'm sailing on her again in a few weeks and hope to make up for this negligence.)

 

We traveled with my MIL, FIL, BIL, & his (now wife) girlfriend. My BIL intended to propose sometime during the cruise, so from the beginning the experience was magical! <3

 

Once aboard the ship, the hubs and I headed up to Lido. We grabbed a rum & coke, toasted our trip, and scoped the remainder of our party so that we could all grab some lunch together. By the time we ate and had a cocktail or two, our rooms were ready.

 

We stayed in Cabin 6222 - a balcony. I really enjoyed the balcony room, at first, but I found that I tended to stay in the room more. On our previous cruise, I had wandered the ship more because I had to if I wanted to enjoy the view. Just my two cents, but if you'd prefer to be out and about, and social, a balcony room is a bit of a waste. I worried that doing a balcony room would ruin me, but our next cruise we are doing an interior on the Dream (but upgraded to a spa room).

 

I will say, though, that the best part about the balcony rooms are you get a bigger room -- including a couch and table. My husband and I LOVED that aspect, because we could munch on room service on the couch and enjoy some tv in the evening. It made it feel more like home. :)

 

We were near the front of the ship and we felt a lot of movement. For several days post-cruise I felt like I was swaying back and forth. I will admit that I had some difficulty sleeping at night because of the movement. My SIL was very seasick and on really rocky nights had to stay in her cabin. Neither the hubs nor I get seasick, so we just went with it. Ha.

 

Here are some pictures of our room. I did not plan to write a review, so the pictures aren't as comprehensive as I would've liked!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up: Muster was really slow, but it was held in the Encore Theater so the wait was comfortable. I heard they changed the policy and require one person in each room to swipe a card :) I hope this speeds things up on our next sailing.

 

I didn't get any pictures of dinner on night one. Honestly, I was so thrilled to be disconnected from my phone (I'm an attorney - ha) I didn't touch it again until the next day. :) What I will say about dinner is this - the Crimson "Any Time" dining room was REALLY REALLY slow every, single, night. We had great waiters -- Slaven & Freddie -- later in the week, and they were great (remembered our pre-dinner drink orders, names, and preferences). The first few times we dined in Crimson, though, we had two set of waiters/waitresses who were hustling but overwhelmed.

 

Day 2 - Sea Day to come!! <3

Edited December 12, 2016 by Moonstruck705

[amydresh]

Great review so far, can't wait to read the rest! There aren't many reviews on The Dream so I love seeing a new one!

[Moonstruck705]

My review continues...

Day 2 - Sea Day!

 

Since it was our first morning at sea, and since we had our first balcony room -- we decided to order some coffee & bagels from room service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should mention that we are early risers, vacation or not, so we often rose with, or before, the sun, had a bite, and then started our day.

 

We always do the Sea day brunch. On the Dream, it was in the Scarlet Dining Room. :)

 

Here is a picture of the hubs brunch plate -- very yummy!

 

 

After brunch, we hit the Serenity Deck. The Dream has two pools (one mid and one aft). Both were CROWDED! Confession: I will gladly wade into a pool holding a rum drink and stake out my tiny little spot just to soak in the water and bask in the sun. I will ignore the screams of children. I will float and finish my drink until a kindly waiter brings me another. I will not notive that I am a mere inch or two away from at least five people.

 

But! My husband and his family will not. They were not amused by the kids, or the crowded pool, and so we went up to Serenity. The Serenity Deck on the Dream is very nice. There is at least one hot tub (maybe more), lots of chairs, hammocks, and a small bar.

 

One complaint -- we did not get good waiter service up there one day one, which seemed like a mistake on the ship staff's part. Day one we were especially eager to imbibe and be merry! We eventually gave up and walked to the bar to get a cocktail.

 

Here are some pictures of us on Serenity:

 

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2016 by Moonstruck705

[Moonstruck705]

Okay, so I do not have the hang of posting pictures yet. (Any advice is welcome). Apologies for the weird format & upside down pics!!

 

Let's continue the first Sea Day! :)

 

After a day at the pool, hubs and I went back to our cabin for a nap. When we arrived, we found that our room had been cleaned and we had a surprise! We had a $25 gift card for wine while on board! Since we were Cheers! members, we got a discount on wine, so with the gift card, we were able to splurge on a nice Caymus Cabernet.

 

 

 

 

 

The first sea day was our anniversary, so we reserved a table at the Dream Steak House. We enjoyed this experience and would highly recommend it. The Steak House is one of the few pay-to-play dining opportunities on the Dream. They charge $35 PP for a full dinner. Wine, beer, & spirits are extra. The meal was exceptional. Here is pictures of our meal:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you get the chance, and have the extra moolah, you should check the steakhouse out. Be wiser than we were, though, because we booked the Steakhouse for the first formal night! The food in the main dining room was special that night, and would've been fun. :)

 

 

After dinner, we sat on the balcony and watched the Gulf go by for a while. Then we went up to the Aft pool and swam. PRO TIP: the pools are often less crowded at night. Also, there was a light sprinkling rain. Who cares? You're in a pool! :) But people always flee the pool when this happens. We had the pool entirely to ourselves, and when we noticed a hot tub was open, we hopped in one of them. We met a nice couple who joined us who was on their honeymoon. It was a fun time.

 

The hubs and I eat pizza most nights when we cruise, or at least we have so far. After the pool, we grabbed a few slices and carried them back to our cabin.

 

The Dream TVs get quite a few channels. Our favorite was the cartoon channel that showed old-fashioned bugs bunny cartoons late night. One drawback to a tv was the news channels -- you're on vacation and should forget those talking heads for a few days. It was hard to just pass over if you regularly watch at home. You can use your TVs to rent movies, and also to check the menu for the next day in the dining room! We always read the menu before bed.

 

More to come! :)

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[Moonstruck705]

Thanks for reading! I'll post more tomorrow after work. :) I'm new to the boards, but I've been lurking for a while and noticed the lack of Dream reviews. It's a shame!

 

 

Great review so far, can't wait to read the rest! There aren't many reviews on The Dream so I love seeing a new one!

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback and nice pictures. Looking forward to more of your review

 

 

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[eemama7]

Great review so far! We're going on the dream for the first time in July, so I'm dying for recent reviews.

 

 

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[jjdshoe]

We will be on her next September

[WomanOnAHill]

I am enjoying your review thus far - thank you for sharing! We're going on the Dream in March 2018 (balcony room smack in the midship of deck 6). It's the first cruise for my husband and me, my SIL has cruised many times before. Thanks for the pool tip- my husband was just wondering about this last night. We enjoy night-swimming.

 

 

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Edited December 12, 2016 by WomanOnAHill

[megb123]

Thank you for your review thus far! I will be on the dream jan 15th! I have cruised on the dream back in 2014 as well and love this ship!

 

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