Dream Review - 12/3/09

[buzzsmom]

Hi,

 

Thought I'd post our review of the Dream. We sailed on December 3rd (my birthday!) for nine nights in the caribbean. This was my fourth cruise, 2nd on Carnival.

 

Embarkation

 

The lines were fairly long when we boarded. It took about an hour, but honestly, we were so excited to be heading out on this long-awaited vacation that we didn't care. The Carnival staff at the Port Canaveral terminal were very nice and welcoming.

 

Cabin

 

Our cabin was on the deck 11, but not one of the "Spa" rooms that they now offer on Dream. We were very happy with the room -a great sweeping view from our balcony and everything very clean and new. I noted the art above the beds and thought that was a nice touch too. The location was perfect for us - just a short walk to Camp Carnival (we had our two boys with us), the gym and just above the Lido so we could run down for snacks. :p Our steward Pedro and his asst. Sancho were both very nice and took great care of us.

 

Ship

 

I thought the Dream was really pretty inside. I loved the use of different granites throughout. The decor was glitzy without being too "Vegas."

 

Lido Buffets/Food

 

The lido buffets often had very long lines, which I guess is inevitable with SOOO many passengers. The food was ok. Nothing earth-shattering. My boys and I loved the chocolate fountain on the last sea day with hand-dipped pineapple slices on sticks. Yum. The muffins and pastries at breakfast were so delicious...easy to eat way too many of them!

 

The Mongolian Wok had really long waits. One day I decided to wait and the food was very good. Plus the smells from the woks were great!

 

The new Tandoor at the back of the ship was EXCELLENT! I love indian food and this was pretty authentic though I like my Ind. food super hot. Still, it was really, really delicious.

 

Someone else from my extended family raved about the sandwiches from the deli.

 

Dining Room

 

We had Crimson dining room early seating and had a big group of family members. (12-14 of us on most nights) Our waiters Lin & Jose were terrific. Jose I am sure will soon be a head waiter - he is a sweetheart. The dining room food was really very, very good. I was very surprised. It completely outshined the Dining Room food on the Princess cruise I took in April. They have added in a lot of ethnic appetizers and entrees and the menu was well thought out and creative. My husband loved the lamb chops, my favorite was a thai/vietnamese beef appetizer that was served one night. Yum!!!

 

Camp Carnival

 

Carnival truely works above and beyond to insure your kids are having a blast. My kids were in the 6-8 year olds group and they absolutely LOVED the activities. They begged to go and were kept busy some nights right up until 1am! The women who work there are so dedicated.

 

Water Park

 

This was a big hit with the nine kids in our party. THey spent quite a few hours sliding and splashing. I enjoyed sitting in a lounge chair watching them ;)

 

Ports

 

The ports were decent. We didn't do any ship excursions. My least favorite was Antigua b/c the "merchants" at the beach were sort of pushy. The "merchants" at Coki Beach on St Thomas were very polite and nice and we saw tons of beautiful fish which made up for the beach being crowded. We LOVED Brewers bay in Tortola - empty beach and nice snorkeling. Grand Turk was beautiful. Carnival has built a gorgeous pier there with a pretty beach, shops, and a huge pool. We couldn't dock at San Juan b/c the ship was too big - not a big deal for me b/c I had been to SJ five times before.

 

Fitness Center

 

Nice new machines, lots of weight machines and surprisingly not terribly crowded. I should have gone more considering all the great food I was scarfing down :D

 

Shows

 

We loved the shows. The singing and dancing was incredible. Especially the break dancing - wow. Those guys are amazing.

 

Disembarkation

 

Amazingly fast. We were off the boat and in our car driving home on I95 by 8am!!! Very orderly and quick.

 

So you can tell, I had a great time. No vacation is ever perfect, but this came close. I didn't have to cook, make beds, clean bathrooms, etc for a blissful 9 days and that equals happiness for me :) We are going to book the Dream again for January 2011.

[mrpayroll]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise...Eagerly waiting for Jan 23 so we can begin our DREAM vacation....:rolleyes:

[DqALEX]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise...Eagerly waiting for Jan 23 so we can begin our DREAM vacation....:rolleyes:

I'm on that one too

[rkeate0804]

Thanx for taking the time to post your great review and glad you had so much fun kathie

[Chuggiebug]

It is so great to hear the Dream. We will be on her for Christmas!!!

[katiel53]

Thanks for the review. We are going on January 2. Did you notice if they had brunch in the dining room? I read on a previous review that they did this, but I don't know if it was a one time thing or ongoing.

 

Was there a farewell cocktail party? Comedy shows?

[LHP]

We were on there with you and had a BLAST!!!

 

600+ Platinum guests which broke a record......and around 3,100 repeat cruisers which also broke a record!!! woo hoo

 

Loved doing two Legends shows instead of just doing it one time (that was a first).....

[happy cruzin]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise...Eagerly waiting for Jan 23 so we can begin our DREAM vacation....:rolleyes:

 

I'm on that one too

 

We are right behind you....on the 30th :D!!

[buzzsmom]

Thanks for the review. We are going on January 2. Did you notice if they had brunch in the dining room? I read on a previous review that they did this, but I don't know if it was a one time thing or ongoing.

 

Was there a farewell cocktail party? Comedy shows?

 

 

Hhhm, not sure about brunch. We had continental breakfast delivered to our room each day, so didn't go to the dining room. There was a farewell party - I know b/c the break dancing guys did a dance show with all the Camp Carnival kids in the Burgandy lounge right before the farewell party. :) There were several comedy shows - one of my relatives said it was pretty funny. The comedy/hypnotist was good too.

 

Enjoy your cruises everyone!

[balcony bound]

Thanks for posting your review:) I'm starting to pack, and getting excited to sail on her myself. I'm really glad you had a good time.

[gaylensgigi]

I was on this cruise as well. The ship is BIG,but beautiful. Serenity Area is wonderful, but so is the aft pool. If you go to see the Laser show,try to get there a little early and get one of the deck chairs towards the back(BTW,plenty of chairs all over the ship,never had a hard time finding one). Ken, in The Scarlett DR is incredible. As for many comments about crew being negative, I never saw that.My friends and I had an amazing sail, and would do it again.

Not saying everything was perfect, but , but it was good.

[smarks]

Hi buzzsmom, I am traveling with a group of 14 on the Dream in May, could you please tell me how you were seated in the dining room with your large group. I know the largest tables hold 10. Did you have round tables or rectangular. Thanks for the review.

[copper6606]

I'm on that one too

 

Me Too!LOL!

Thanks for the review- we are all over them when they come in...:D

[lightning126]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on Jan. 9th and I have a daughter who will be in the 6 - 8 yr old group at Camp Carnival. Can you tell me some of the activities she may participate in? Also, are the kids able to go to dinner one night with the Camp Carnival group? She loved doing this on our last RCI cruise. Any information about the camp will be great!

Thanks,

Debbie

[buzzsmom]

Hi buzzsmom, I am traveling with a group of 14 on the Dream in May, could you please tell me how you were seated in the dining room with your large group. I know the largest tables hold 10. Did you have round tables or rectangular. Thanks for the review.

 

 

Smarks - we had a table set for 12 and then usually squeezed in my five year old niece. So it was one long table, with chairs on one said and a banquet (is that what its called?), a long sofa-like seat on the other. THe Maitre D Klaudio, the hostess and our waiters bent over backwards for us. Have FUN on your trip :)

[buzzsmom]

:D

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on Jan. 9th and I have a daughter who will be in the 6 - 8 yr old group at Camp Carnival. Can you tell me some of the activities she may participate in? Also, are the kids able to go to dinner one night with the Camp Carnival group? She loved doing this on our last RCI cruise. Any information about the camp will be great!

Thanks,

Debbie

 

 

Debbie

 

Camp Carnival (CC) had "Dinner with your Friends" a kids dinner every night except for the first. My boys went every night. They loved it.

 

As for activities, there were too many to list, but here are a few: PlayStation, Air Hockey, board games, Twister. Dance classes with the professional Dream Dancers and break dancers. Edu-cruise classes - dinosaurs, Camoflauge, sea turtles, build a volcano. T Shirt coloring. Dance contests. Movie night. Water Color contour drawing. How to make towel animals class. Bingo. Late night (til ONE AM!) party. Disco party. Name that Tune. Alien Night (they make alien hats and paint their faces) They also made these pixie stick type things with colored sugar candy stuf that looked like sand - my kids LOVED that. THe CC staff also brought them "midnight" snacks of bagels, cookies and milk. It really seemed fun and was a nice, small (compared with summer sailings) group of kids.

 

Have a GREAT time on your vacation - you'll love it!

[DKane]

Thanks for your review of the Dream. I am eagerly awaiting our embarkation day.

 

Can I ask what time of day you found the lines in the Lido to be so long? It seems that whatever cruise I'm on I always hear folks complain about the long lines, at breakfast, but I never experienced them.

[matt690]

Thanks so much for the review. My family and I are really looking forward to our New Year's cruise on the Dream. We were a little concerned after hearing all of the complaints and negative reviews from the lines to the crew to the pools. I have a few questions for you after your sailing aboard the Dream.

 

-How is the Lido deck? It appears smaller than the Lido on the Destiny and Freedom class ships, with not a lot of deck chairs in the sun. Did you have to wake up early in order to get chairs by the pool/band/sun?

-How is the Lido Calypso "band." This is something that my family and friends love... laying out listening to the lido calypso band play all day. I was concerned after hearing that the band on the lido is now a duo. How were they in terms of hours and quality? Did they ever rotate bands on deck?

-Are there any must do's or must eats... from shows, to places to relax and hang out, to places to eat?

 

Thanks so much for the review and information.

[sandyj55]

We are right behind you....on the 30th :D!!

 

We are on the 30th also!! Thanks for taking the time to write a review, for those that are waiting..........these are what we live for!!!! Glad you had a great time.

[smarks]

Smarks - we had a table set for 12 and then usually squeezed in my five year old niece. So it was one long table, with chairs on one said and a banquet (is that what its called?), a long sofa-like seat on the other. THe Maitre D Klaudio, the hostess and our waiters bent over backwards for us. Have FUN on your trip :)

Thanks so much for the response. It is going to be interesting as to how they seat us.

[BIG_Steve]

Sounds like you had a great time. I was curious what the Capt. said about San Juan? On a different thread, everyone was wondering how Carnival could not have checked to see if the ship could dock. I'm wondering if the Capt. said something had changed at the port, or something else?

[buzzsmom]

Thanks for your review of the Dream. I am eagerly awaiting our embarkation day.

 

Can I ask what time of day you found the lines in the Lido to be so long? It seems that whatever cruise I'm on I always hear folks complain about the long lines, at breakfast, but I never experienced them.

 

 

Hi,

 

The Lido lines were long at lunch - about noon until 1330 or so. I always got the Tandoor (yum!) but waited in line for fruit for my kids. Have fun!!!

[buzzsmom]

Sounds like you had a great time. I was curious what the Capt. said about San Juan? On a different thread, everyone was wondering how Carnival could not have checked to see if the ship could dock. I'm wondering if the Capt. said something had changed at the port, or something else?

 

What he said boiled down to - we have made several attempts to dock and there is something on the pier that will damage a lifeboat if we come alongside. We're very sorry, but the safety of everyone on board is our #1 concern.

 

I was not bothered at all as I've been to SJ many times and I love beaches and don't like the water at SJ. The extra sea day gave us a longer day at Grand Turk - yay! :p

[buzzsmom]

Thanks so much for the review. My family and I are really looking forward to our New Year's cruise on the Dream. We were a little concerned after hearing all of the complaints and negative reviews from the lines to the crew to the pools. I have a few questions for you after your sailing aboard the Dream.

 

-How is the Lido deck? It appears smaller than the Lido on the Destiny and Freedom class ships, with not a lot of deck chairs in the sun. Did you have to wake up early in order to get chairs by the pool/band/sun?

-How is the Lido Calypso "band." This is something that my family and friends love... laying out listening to the lido calypso band play all day. I was concerned after hearing that the band on the lido is now a duo. How were they in terms of hours and quality? Did they ever rotate bands on deck?

-Are there any must do's or must eats... from shows, to places to relax and hang out, to places to eat?

 

Thanks so much for the review and information.

 

Hi Matt -

 

I can't answer all of your questions, as I didn't pay attention to the bands on the lido. A few times there was some great music out there. The first sea day the Lido did seem crowded, but we were always able to find lounge chairs, seats up on Deck 11 above the Lido.

 

The singing/dancing shows (we had two on the nine day cruise) were excellent. One night I was pretty tired and was going to go back to bed, but my husband dragged me to the show and I was SOOOO glad I went. Good music, an excellent band and terrific dancing.

 

You will have lots of fun. I have a hard time believing the posts about surly service - everyone we encountered was wonderful .

[jamo951]

Thanks for the positive review, after seeing so many negative reviews. I guess the way to think of it, as long as I'm not home doing work, and I can eat at any time I want without cooking, I'm on vacation! When are you planning your January 2011 cruise? I'm booked with 4 other rooms already for Jan. 29th, 2011!