Negative Dream Review from Carnival Fanboy Just got back, proceed to flame me

[sakapfet]

 

Cons-

the sewage smell

crowded buffet lines

.

 

 

 

I am telling man, someone should keep "Host Mach" away from the burrito station. :D

[ladycaveat]

Does the Dream have the free ice cream sundaes in the afternoon that are found on other ships?

 

Soft ice cream in cones or bowls available (free) 24 hours a day. Opps . . . you asked about Sundaes . . . I'm sorry . . . I don't know.

[ladycaveat]

Very nice review. I just returned from the Dream last Saturday and for the life of me . . . I never smelled anything bad (and believe me I sniffed a lot due to so many posters mentioning it).

[sammiegrl]

Great review . you have the good with the bad and a little bit of ugly on the side ;) Us , Samantha & Hubby are Carnival Cruise addicts !! and my theory is a bad cruise is better than no cruise at all !!..... there are a bunch of MonkeyHeads on the Dream now, can't wait to see how it went

[sheri18]

No flames. Just hope Carnival's reading, listening, and addressing.

 

In the meantime, I'm avoiding this ship.

 

was also thinking of dream....but the majority of the reviews are not great...will now consider another ship for the time being...let them get the kinks out..

[StrangeBrew]

Great review , I agree 110% on the Lanai . I did not intend to say anything myself , but here goes

 

While on the Dream we looked down on the Lanai , low and behold , a couple in the hot tub was , you guessed it , room steward called in about it to no avail , they did not even drain the thing , room steward mentioned that it is a regular occurence .

 

Needless to say we did not get in the thing after that , was on stbd side forward tub if anyone interested .

 

Buffet is like everyone has said , breakfast is always cold , unless you get an omelet and lunch is lukewarm at best .

 

I found the best lunch is in the Scarlett dining room at noon , awesome each day we had it when we were not at the pasta bar .

 

the burritos were ok , I prefered the pasta

 

The main dining room was awesome each night , our Waitress - Alexandra - could not have been any better , loved her sense of humor .

 

The pizza , best if you get a bowl of jalepenos from the burger area and ask them to make you one and add them to it ,mmmm .

 

The shows were all very good . but get there 40 mins early for a good seat .

 

I'll mention more as it comes to mind . while we did not much like the new layout , we intend to try the Magic in 2011 , thinking on the Venice to Barcelona Iten.

[kperkins1982]

for those that asked,

 

I was on 1/9/10 sailing

[kperkins1982]

 

I find these statements hard to believe. I mean come on G'ma guarateed they were fixed if they were ever really there in the first place.:rolleyes:

 

Seriously thanks for the well balanced and honest review.

 

Bill

 

 

I can tell you for sure, that there is a smell. Its weird tho, not really all in one area,

 

my suspicion is that the fumes are supposed to come up to the top of the ship and out the funnel but wind blows it back, or... some of the plumbing isn't done correctly

 

you know how under your sink the pipe goes down in a little curve then back up, well this is to keep a certain amount of water in the system so fumes cant come back up the sink,

 

well the ships got like 3 billion miles of pipe or whatever and some of it can't all be perfect, I guess just with a new ship maybe there are problems, you don't have to believe me, i'm just telling how i felt

[angelkisses]

Did you check out the lasar show at night?

[PROCRUISE]

Over all, I feel like a carnival cruise is a terrific value and a wonderful vacation, something I look forward to every year, and nothing wrong with the dream could ruin it for me.

However, if I had to choose again I wouldn't pick the dream.. I always have a terrific experience on other ships without the need for a gas mask.

 

Maybe everybody else on the whole darn ship didn't have a problem, but I did and I'm being honest. hope this helps.

 

Pros-

Steakhouse

Cove Balcony

Mongolian/Burrito

Serenity

Shows

 

 

Cons-paying extra for a balcony doesn't feel worth it if you have the lanai causing you trouble.

the sewage smell

crowded buffet lines

comedy club mc guy

a ship that feels too full considering the staff

price, higher than average carnival ship, yet not different enough to make me feel like its worth it.

 

 

Lanai-I like the idea of the lanai, extra deck space/chairs, extra hot tubs, and more space to look out at the ocean when leaving port, the sunset, etc. however it is excecuted poorly because the balcony cabins above are recessed 20 feet so when they look down they see this, and hear this, and it is unfortunate. I wish that the lanai was there but didn't project from the ship.

 

Chef's Art Steakhouse -to pay 30 bucks for dinner when you can dine for free in MDR it better be exceptional, and it is. It is well worth the money, and makes for a wonderful evening. It kind of brings elagance back to cruising. You go in there in your formal best, and order the best food, in an exclusive feeling atmosphere (because nobody else is in there) and it just really makes one of the last nights of a cruise that much more special and reflective.

There are anywhere from 5 or 6 people waiting on you at any given time. bar people, managers, waiters, assistant waiters, its crazy, you feel so spoiled and are waited on hand and foot. Just try to run out of soda or wine in here I dare you.

The food is different fare from the main dining room. The bread is freshly baked delicious foccocia rolls that are so soft you don't need butter. The steak is perfectly picked/aged/flavored/cooked it is just perfection.

I ordered the new york strip, which comes sitting under a very large garlic clove and is covered in a sauce of your choosing. I recommend the 3 peppercorn. If you aren't eating something they are asking you what is wrong and what can they do, They really want you to feel as if you got your monies worth. The deserts are different than in the main dining room as well and are terriffic.

I can't say enough good things about the steakhouse. We ended up tipping 50 bucks we were just so delighted with the experience.

And if you feel like you can't afford it, skip that outing to applebees before your cruise, and pay the money on the boat, you'll be glad you did.

 

Main Dining Room-the wait staff is great, funny, and very helpful. However I feel like they are overworked. maybe its too many people ordering multiple entrees or maybe just too many people on the boat. but these guys make you kinda feel bad for them. I made sure to tip extra, they have to be some of the hardest workers on the boat.

 

The food, well its anywhere from so-so to terriffic, just kinda depends on your luck I suppose. I guess when you cook 600 of something at a time you can't pay special attention to each dish being just right, thats what the steakhouse is for. But they do their best and I can't complain too much about steak and lobster without sounding like a jerk to people that never cruise.

 

Room Service -the menu seems to quite limited. I would be happy if you could order pizza but then again, with all the eating you do on the boat, walking wouldn't hurt. All in all, for free food its great.

 

Balcony -

I booked a 8b balcony cabin. Didn't like it at all because the lanai on the dream is a few decks down.

I like to sit out there at night and have a drink, just me and the ocean, or maybe my ipod. I find this very relaxing. I also like to sleep with the balcony door open and listen to the sounds of the waves.

Impossible on the dream however

the lanai sends tons of light into the cabin, also drunks come out of the casino or club hooting and hollering like people do at 3-4am when the club closes and they are drunk. Also, instead of looking down directly on the water you see this deck.

I would book the cove balcony, its cheaper and doesn't have any of these issues. My friends were booked in a 7c and I loved it and was jealous of them. We spent all our time hanging out in there room.

Cove Balcony -so close to the water, its amazing to watch the waves and the views are different while in port and leaving port. Highly highly recommended.

 

Deckchairs/Space something was different on the Dream, something special, there seems to be multitudes of deck chairs free. I have never, ever,ever seen this phenomenon, I think maybe where the lanai and some other areas are lined with extra deck chairs people are more spaced out. chair hogs weren't even a problem even on the good weather days. i was pleasantly suprised.

 

Pools - the pools seemed to be about the same as any other ship I've been on. full of children and what they put in the water.

 

Serenity- this is great, should be on every ship, its the adults only area at the top of the ship. there are alot of couches and chairs with actual cushions that you can sit/lay in. It is very quiet and has a hot tub that isn't very often used.

 

Comedy -I've seen all the comedians that were on my cruise before, and some of them had the same jokes, but thats ok, I love the comedy club and always am the loudest person laughing. however I will say that the mc guy is terrible and should be banned from comedy and held in a turkesh prison for crimes against humanity. yes, he is that bad. he goes on for 30 minutes before introducing the comedians with not funny jokes and repeats them night after night even though the comedians change so you sit through this crapfest to get to the good stuff.

 

Shows -dancing in the street was the hands down best entertainment i've ever had on a cruise ship. the dancers are great, the singers are great and the show is very funny and original. Its kindof a variety act with many different sets and is not to be missed.

 

Dance Club -my group stayed in the club until it closed every night and loved it, course we're all in our 20s.

 

Price -the prices on the dream are a little on the high side as it is brand new and in high demand. i feel ike you would have a better value on the Liberty or Glory or something that isn't that old but doesn't have the "new ship" price attached. Having said that the value of a cruse compared to other vacations is still so great that even paying 40% higher price on the dream is better than a standard vacation. But if you are on cruise critic you already know this.

 

Odor -I've read on the forums about a "whiff" of some kinda sewage smell. My little brother went on this cruise 3 weeks before I did and he said it was a non issue. Like maybe you every once and a while smell something but it go away as quickly as it came.

 

Well.......let me tell you, it must come and go cause it was terrible on my cruise. I had 2 days where I couldn't be on the balcony i paid for without having to leave because it smelled like a porta potty. There were huge swaths of the ship, that just smelled terrible. Like to the point where I picked up my food and went inside a few times to get away from the smell.

 

Pizza -I think they put crack in the pizza. it is terriffic and you always want more. I suspect that it is a lower quality pizza than most but because they only ever have 1 up at any given time you always get it fresh out of the oven. Every time I went it was a 1 minute wait for a new pie to come out of the oven all bubbly and delicious.

 

Mongolian -possibly the best food on the ship except for the chef's art steakhouse, but the lines are horrendous. I recommend stalking out the place 10 minutes before noon to make sure you don't have a 30 minute wait.

 

Burrito-this is fantastic, everyone in my group thought it was terrific.

 

Pasta Bar -this is delicious, and a nicer atmosphere. You write your order down and sit down with a number, a staff member brings your order to you. The food is hot and fresh and the place is not crowded as it is kind of hard to find compared to all the other food choices. It is up a staircase back behind the desert buffet. I never saw more than 3 people in there.

 

Lido Buffet -never tried it, there was always a line so long I said "i'll just go get pizza" seriously, its terrible, I feel like the buffet is the same size but the ship has 500 more passengers than a conquest class ship.

 

Thanks for the great review. We had some of the same complaints, after our 12/3-12/09 cruise on The Dream, but it seemed anyone who initially had complaints about the ship were "barbecued." Seems The Dream still has problems!

[mtchg]

..your's was obviously well thought out; and balanced. Thanks for taking the time. It seems

new ships need some time..

 

...I would pass on the Dream myself for awhile.

 

 

Mitch

[Drew B]

One of the biggest problems the OP had with this cruise is actually a DESIGN complaint (the way the lanai juts out and interfered with his enjoyment of his balcony). This is NOT a result of this being a new ship and is not a "kink" they have to work out - it is a factor that will need to be considered even after the ship has been in service for 10 years. I don't feel that it is something that would necessarily bother me and I might even enjoy the people-watching opportunity, but if it is something that would bother you, please take it to heart regardless of when you may choose to sail this ship.

[mj]

Thank you for your honest review. Some of the reasons that you share is why I haven't booked the Dream. In particularly, the balcony not overlooking the water and the crowding. However; I will want to try Dream out one day and see for myself. Thanks again for the balanced review.

[mtchg]

One of the biggest problems the OP had with this cruise is actually a DESIGN complaint (the way the lanai juts out and interfered with his enjoyment of his balcony). This is NOT a result of this being a new ship and is not a "kink" they have to work out - it is a factor that will need to be considered even after the ship has been in service for 10 years. I don't feel that it is something that would necessarily bother me and I might even enjoy the people-watching opportunity, but if it is something that would bother you, please take it to heart regardless of when you may choose to sail this ship.

 

 

 

Yet, if that had been the ONLY issue; he'd be going back, just not in that particular cabin.

There were quite a few other serious problems, most notably the sewage smell, which has been independently verified by a few other Dream reviews, and other service issues.

 

Mitch

[kperkins1982]

Did you check out the lasar show at night?

 

I did, and liked it quite alot, went to the one at midnight, and it was neat that there were hundreds of people out there having fun listening to the music and getting drinks that late,

 

also, they have lasers involved in the production shows as well which is cool.

[albean99]

Thanks for the review. We originally had planned on taking the Dream this fall but reviews convinced me that we can wait. We're booked on the Liberty instead. If anyone is going to have a problem with smells it's me so not worth the risk.

[canucks4]

I found the review kind by comparison to our experience. But as an RC person and our first (and last) Carnival cruise, my review would largely be ignored, but it is what it is and it is honest.

 

I agree the odor is flagrant. It's not here nor there, it is everywhere and everyday especially in the 5th floor Casino/Lanai area. And if it's not the sewer smell, the smoke smell will get you. I've never seen so many smokers and smoking areas on a ship before!! Inside the bars, in the casino, by restaurants, IN STATEROOMS!!!! I'm told Carnival allows smoking pretty much the same on all vessels - that was the killer right there for me! Never again.

 

The line-ups, oh my goodness, I never ate the first day until 7:30 p.m. when we finally got our any time dining table. It is not any time dining - it is line-up, get your pager and wait until your told to dine dining!! In an extraordinarily cramped dining area that you get to by taking the elevator walking across the ship to the next elevator and then going down....OMG!!!

 

Some good stuff too - the cabin (Empress Suite) was lovely, spacious, well thought-out until you opened the balcony door - long skinny, skinny balcony with the door in the middle, so you couldn't really sit side by side with the table in the middle - it was one on one side, and one on the other - not exactly made for morning coffee!

 

Chef Art's - thank goodness for Chef Art - we ate there three times because quite frankly the lineups in the Lido were not tolerable, and the food in the any time dining was poor as was the service. Yes the service was fast, but considering it's supposed to be "dining" not kitchen table supper, it was super quick, i.e. get in, get out! Opinions on service and food quality will always vary as they are both subjective - but to us, it was not well-received.

 

And my biggest complaint is the gaudiness - it's so red everywhere, you'd think you were in a bordelo and balls and circles are the theme in nearly everyroom - everything is round baubles of some sort, be it lights, decorations, walls, floor - it was hilarious!! And open the drapes/curtains/blinds!! You are on an ocean, I want to see it!!

 

Anyway, we enjoyed the ports - snorkeling, hiking, exploring Atlantis, Magen's Bay was all very nice and the weather was good and we were on a cruise - so life is good. But it will be better on a different ship next time!

 

Sorry, if that sounds harsh.

[ladycaveat]

One of the biggest problems the OP had with this cruise is actually a DESIGN complaint (the way the lanai juts out and interfered with his enjoyment of his balcony). This is NOT a result of this being a new ship and is not a "kink" they have to work out - it is a factor that will need to be considered even after the ship has been in service for 10 years. I don't feel that it is something that would necessarily bother me and I might even enjoy the people-watching opportunity, but if it is something that would bother you, please take it to heart regardless of when you may choose to sail this ship.

 

What sort of "bothered" me was not being able to see the water from any window on most decks (specifically the Promanade Deck). On all my other cruises, I could sit at a a window and look out on the beautiful blue seas. On the dream . . . you looked at a high plastic whatever around the entire deck.

[ladycaveat]

Gotta say . . . I never smelled the sewer or nasty smell anywhere on the ship. Usually I can smell things like that a mile away. :p

[crismess]

We like to sail out of Port Canaveral (since we live right by it) and have to choose between Freedom of the Seas and Dream.

 

Dream is much cheaper (we can get a balcony on Dream for $800, interior on FOS for $800) and I'm nervous.

 

I keep reading these reviews about how The Dream seems crowded and the buffet is a disaster. I have ADD and crowds and lines make me very angry.

 

This sucks.

[lady_cruiser]

KPERKINS..

A great review showing both your personal pros and cons. I don't think any would flame you for this.

[frayedend]

I haven't read all the replies. I agree with you that last week the smell was around a lot but I didn't think it was that bad most of the time.

 

I also thought the deck chairs were abundant. But I expect that was because the majority of people on the ship were about 100 years old and didn't go outside much. My kids used the pool a few times and I never noticed it overwhelmed with kids, even on sea days.

 

And one thing I'm sure some adults will complain about was that they were painting the stairs to the water slide one day and the kids had to run through Serenity to get to the slide. The old folks gave them some nasty looks. :)

[TOgirl47]

 

regarding the outside access,

 

I'm not quite sure what you are getting at, but you can exit onto the lanai which is very quiet, but I would recommend checking out serenity at night, if you meet somebody

 

HILARIOUS! Serenity - check. I'll keep that in mind. MUCH better than an Ice room... ;)

 

The outside access to the Lanai was what I was talking about - on the other ships you have to exit the club and then find an exit to the decks - I'm excited to be able to go right outside from the nightclub :)

 

Thanks again!

[luv2gonow]

Thanks for you honest review.....I would definately pick a cove balcony...looking at a lanai from my balcony would ruin the experience....i would hope they tell u this when u book.

 

Also i really hope the fix the sewer smell problem.....I could never go on the dream with a possiblility of that happening...on a regular basis.

 

Oh.....Is that true....Do they have Smoking rooms?....I thought u can just smoke on your balcony?

Thanks

[dommer573]

Thanks for the review.