Eastern Caribbean on the Dream -- 1/16/10

[jnt2111]

Just returned from a fantastic vacation on the Dream. This was our first time on Carnival, only our 2nd cruise overall. The first was to Alaska, in which I was more interested in the sights around me than the ship. For this cruise, I simply wanted to get away from it all and relax. Was it a success? Most definitely! Some of my best moments on the ship were just reading on deck, in the sun, away from the noise, with something cold to sip on.

 

I read a lot of complaints here (and on the ship) about noise people could hear in their cabins. Here is a very obvious tip that I don’t see discussed very much. Don’t reserve any cabin unless you’ve poured over the deck plan first. Don’t book any cabin under, above or around the lounges and lido deck. Also, since my wife is more sensitive to becoming seasick than I am, I was looking for something close to the center of gravity of the ship. To lowest order, this is roughly the geometric center of the ship (both vertically and horizontally). The large mass of the engines will pull that c.o.g. towards it. I concluded that the best decks were 7 and 8, midship. There were only 2 cabins left in this entire area and I grabbed 8391. It was a great choice.

 

First, there was very little rocking in this area. On the first day we went up to look at the spa and you could really feel the ship sway. My wife started feeling a bit dizzy and we headed back to the cabin. With some ginger gum, she was fine. If you are sensitive to the ship’s motion, I would recommend staying away from the spa cabins. Second, I kept reading on this board what sounded like explosions or vibrations or shudders whenever the ship pulled into a port. I heard and felt absolutely nothing. I never knew were at a port until I looked outside. Third, our cabin steward Ahmed was just great. He called us by name and was extremely accommodating. He did a great job and I left him an extra tip at the end.

 

The ship itself is beautiful. I loved the art deco designs throughout. About the sewage smell so many people wrote about ---- I smelled something unpleasant roughly twice while waiting for the elevators. My total interaction with it was for about 2 minutes tops out of the entire week. I probably wouldn’t even have noticed it except for the fact that I had read so much about it.

 

Dining was great all around. Forget what you’ve read about dishes piling up on tables. There are always guys walking around clearing plates and wiping off counters. The ship is crowded – no doubt about it --- but I never had any trouble finding a clean table. The tandoori bar was fantastic and there’s always no waiting. I highly recommend it. The deli was great, there’s usually a line but it goes fast. I read great things here about the pasta bar. I frankly found it disappointing. The one thing I did find true was about the wait at the Mongolian grill. It was very good, but it took 30 minutes waiting on line. And unlike what I read here, not one person in front of me ordered more than 1 dish. The cook was working very hard, but the line is slow. I only tried it once since it wasn’t worth it to wait so long when there were other great selections. I had read here about brunch being served. I never saw it listed anywhere nor was it offered when I went to the dining room during sea days. Has it been abandoned?

 

We did My Time Dining for dinner. It was great – I highly recommend it. First, I don’t always feel like eating at any set time. Second, it avoids the large crowds at the set time dining. About 3 times we just walked right in and sat down. The other times we were given a pager. The pager idea is great. It works anywhere on the ship except your cabin. We just went to a bar and had a drink before dinner until the pager told us there was a table ready. Then you hand it over and they seat you immediately. The longest we ever waited was 30 minutes. The food itself was wonderful. I never had a cold meal as I had read here many times. I recommend especially the rack of lamb and the chateaubriand. To my surprise, the lobster tail was very tender and delicious --- I thought it would be chewy, but it wasn’t. I don’t recommend the flat iron steak or even the filet mignon. The cold soups were delicious and the desserts were fantastic. I recommend the grand marnier soufflé, the baked alaska and the bitter and blanc.

 

The entertainment was great --- especially enjoyed Dancin’ and Get Ready. Go to the late show for both --- there are more seats available. But get there at least 30 minutes early for Dancin’ even for the late show. We did go to an early show for their country production. Couldn’t get a seat, sat on the steps a bit, didn’t really enjoy the show very much and then walked out after 20 minutes. The singers and dancers are all very talented, but it would be nice if more than just the two main performers sang. The comedy shows are really funny. We saw all 4 comedians over the week and they were all very entertaining. Even the PG shows were very good. The Burgundy lounge is beautiful. The bands and singers on the ship were all enjoyable.

 

If I had a complaint, it was only that I wished they had staggered the itinerary a bit in conjunction with the other cruise lines. I would have preferred either more time in Nassau or another port entirely. We did enjoy the pirate museum. St. Thomas was great, especially Magens Bay. Rent a mat to float on and you can easily spend hours on the beach simply enjoying the view, the sun and the relaxation. St. Maarten especially was very crowded with probably 20,000 cruisers pouring onto the island. We took a taxi to the French side, the town of Marigot. It was a waste of time. Traffic was slow and the town itself was a disappointment --- a bit shabby and not that interesting. We headed back to Philipsburg on the Dutch side and found it more enjoyable walking along the beach and looking into the shops. One side note I found interesting. On the way back I was talking to the cab driver who volunteered his opinion that god had sent the earthquake to Haiti to punish the people because they practiced voodoo. My daughter was shocked to hear this. I simply asked the man if he really believed that innocent children would be murdered by such a vicious god. He replied, “Maybe not”.

 

Finally, embarkation and debarkation were very efficient. If you pay attention to the schedule, you shouldn't feel hurried to get off the ship.

 

To people contemplating a cruise on the Dream --- I say go for it! You won’t be disappointed.

[Stevekiel]

Thanks for the good review. I will be on the Dream in 2 weeks. Can't wait.

[crewsweeper]

JNT, thanks for your review of the Eastern itinerary. You make some good points on cabin selection. Especially for those prone to motion sickness. regarding the shuddering and thumping, were the seas rough for your cruise? did you have sunny weather? If so, then perhaps all of our comments regarding the shuddering and thumping are more likely linked to weather and cabin location (we were forward and up on deck 11, for example). I'm interesed in why you thought Philipsburg was better than Marigot? We've heard just the opposite. And that Marigot is very bustling on Wednesdays when it's market day. Was it the quality of shops? Newness of buildings? Better beaches? curious to know as we're planning for May. Thanks

 

Crew

[sandyj55]

Thank you for the great review of the Dream. I know there have been many different complaints and praises. My biggest concern is to just hurry up and get on and sail away!!!! I'm so glad you had a agreat time and I'm planning to do the same thing.

[jnt2111]

JNT, thanks for your review of the Eastern itinerary. You make some good points on cabin selection. Especially for those prone to motion sickness. regarding the shuddering and thumping, were the seas rough for your cruise? did you have sunny weather? If so, then perhaps all of our comments regarding the shuddering and thumping are more likely linked to weather and cabin location (we were forward and up on deck 11, for example). I'm interesed in why you thought Philipsburg was better than Marigot? We've heard just the opposite. And that Marigot is very bustling on Wednesdays when it's market day. Was it the quality of shops? Newness of buildings? Better beaches? curious to know as we're planning for May. Thanks

 

Crew

 

Your very welcome! We had great luck with the weather. It was warm and sunny every day. It rained for maybe 20 minutes while in St. Martin. The last day was very windy -- they even closed the large waterslides. Still, I felt little in my cabin and even my wife didn't complain (much) .

 

From everything I had read, I expected Marigot to be great and Philipsburg to be disappointing. I had read about the market at Marigot as well --- so we rented a taxi first thing to head over there. I thought the market was very typical -- I was hoping to see some local crafts, but it was all your basic tourist merchandise. There are some expensive stores in Marigot, but you can find the same thing anywhere in the States. If I had to do it again, I would have headed to Orient Beach and then to Philipsburg.

 

One litttle thing I liked about the cruise I forgot to mention. One day the magician Aaron came over to our table during dinner and did some tricks with my daughter. He spent some time with us talking about his life and how he went from working in an ER to being a magician. It was a real pleasure to talk with him and my daughter (and myself) really enjoyed the personal magic experience.

[dainew]

thanks for your review i was on the western i only smell something once and it was that long either but we did have wind and rain but i did have a fanastic time . i will be doing the eastern and wanted to know when are the formal nights thank you. diane

[jspirit]

So glad you had such a wonderful cruise on the new Dream!

You mentioned you saw all the comedy shows... is there still an issue with line-ups and problems just to get a seat? How early did you line up and did the crew control the people who tried to push in, if any did?

[jnt2111]

So glad you had such a wonderful cruise on the new Dream!

You mentioned you saw all the comedy shows... is there still an issue with line-ups and problems just to get a seat? How early did you line up and did the crew control the people who tried to push in, if any did?

 

I never once waited on a line for the comedy shows. Since we mostly went to the later times for the big shows (to miss the crowds), we tended to miss the crowds to the comedy shows by either going early or very late. I did see crowds out there when I went early, but they didn't seem all that long. Also, there are chairs in the very front of the comedy club that are mostly unoccupied. Some people probably try to avoid sitting in the front because they don't want to get picked on, but the comics we saw never did pick on people (well, except one guy). If the club is crowded, look for the chairs at the very front and you'll have a great view!

 

I was very concerned about chair hogs from all that I read here. The Serenity lounge is very crowded, but I didn't see a lot of towels sunning themselves. One time I waited for about 30 minutes for a nice spot (the capers say you have 40 minutes) and asked the attendant if the person was coming back. The attendant removed the belongings for me. I didn't see many chair hogs at the shows either. However, I did witness one incident where someone was saving a seat, a person came in, took the seat and a shouting match erupted. Calm down people, it's just a seat.

 

One last thing --- my daugher and I loved the Pink Floyd laser show. But tell me, how can you do Pink Floyd and not do Another Brick in the Wall?

[jnt2111]

thanks for your review i was on the western i only smell something once and it was that long either but we did have wind and rain but i did have a fanastic time . i will be doing the eastern and wanted to know when are the formal nights thank you. diane

 

Sunday and Thursday. I would have missed dressing up (it's not my thing), but Sunday they had lobster and Thursday was the chateaubriand. Food wins out over dress-up, so we went.