Oh great, another 3-19 to 3-26 Dream review

[mystone99]

Yes, I know, it's another review about spring break aboard the Dream. Hopefully this one is a little different because DW (50) and I (47) didn't cruise with the kids or grandkids, and aren't in college, so we seemed to be in the minority on a ship with 4,500 passengers.

This is our fifth Carnival cruise, and despite pre-cruise worries about the number of people and lack of space, we had a great time.

There were some highlights and lowlights, and I'll try to break up the review into areas on the ships, instead of a day-by-day routine.

 

Cabin: Our cove balcony cabin was a definite highlight. We loved it. We were in room 2393, and it was so great to be that close to the water. I was worried the metal walls would make you feel cutoff, but instead being about 20 feet above the water you could really feel the ocean. DW and I read, drank, watched the sunsets going out and the sun rises coming back. We were also right above where the port pilots get on and off the Dream, so in Cozumel and Belize we got to witness the pilots jump on and off the ship.

The cove balconies are very private, moreso than the balconies we've had on the Glory and Legend. We didn't hear our neighbors on either side, and the only night we heard anything from the dining room (The two take up most of Deck 3) was on the last night.

 

Here's a picture looking out of the balcony, the sunset in Belize and one of the pilot boat in Belize.

[Gari]

Yes, I know, it's another review about spring break aboard the Dream. Hopefully this one is a little different because DW (50) and I (47) didn't cruise with the kids or grandkids, and aren't in college, so we seemed to be in the minority on a ship with 4,500 passengers.

This is our fifth Carnival cruise, and despite pre-cruise worries about the number of people and lack of space, we had a great time.

There were some highlights and lowlights, and I'll try to break up the review into areas on the ships, instead of a day-by-day routine.

 

Cabin: Our cove balcony cabin was a definite highlight. We loved it. We were in room 2393, and it was so great to be that close to the water. I was worried the metal walls would make you feel cutoff, but instead being about 20 feet above the water you could really feel the ocean. DW and I read, drank, watched the sunsets going out and the sun rises coming back. We were also right above where the port pilots get on and off the Dream, so in Cozumel and Belize we got to witness the pilots jump on and off the ship.

The cove balconies are very private, moreso than the balconies we've had on the Glory and Legend. We didn't hear our neighbors on either side, and the only night we heard anything from the dining room (The two take up most of Deck 3) was on the last night.

 

Here's a picture looking out of the balcony, the sunset in Belize and one of the pilot boat in Belize.

 

Enjoyed the first part of your review and hope you will share the rest - sailing on the Dream for the second time 4/16/11 and really excited to hear about your recent experience

[sunkey1]

We leave on the Dream on Saturday - please write more!!

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

My Fun Group will be on the Dream in August, waiting to read more.

[mystone99]

The Dream is the largest Carnival ship and we had more than 4,500 passengers (including nearly 1,000 kids) on our sailing, but it didn't feel too crowded.

One of the highlights for us were the adult serenity area on Deck 14 forward. There are two hot tubs, two 2-person hammocks and plenty of 2-person seats and lounge chairs. On the two sea days on the trip, we spent most of the morning and afternoon there. It was quiet, there was good bar service, very nice for relaxing.

There are two pools on the Lido deck, one mid-ship (where the big screen TV is) and one in the back, but both were overcrowded on sea days and the water was surprisingly cold.

The waterworks area is on Deck 12 between the adult area and the Lido deck, and on the sea days the lines for the two water slides (a long twisting one and another that ends in a large bowl) were exceptionally long. The mini-golf was on Deck 14 between the mid-ship pool and the back, and was pretty good for a cruise ship, but you had to get there early.

Deck 5 was the other area on the ship where we spend a lot of time. The shops were on the front on both sides of the atrium area near the front of the Dream. Walking toward the back, you then had the casino, the Oceans plaza, the coffee bar, the art gallery, the disco, the piano bar, the song bar (karaoke) and at the back punchliners, were the comedians performed at night. Punchliners is call the burgundy lounge during the day.

Oceans plaza is where most the trivia games took place, then had live music after dinner.

Outside on Deck 5 is the lanai, the walking area that circles the Dream and where the hot tubs hang out over the edge. On sea days, the lanai had a grill going for lunch and the ribs were fantastic, although the rest was pretty average.

The spa was on Deck 12 forward, and DW used it twice for messages, which she said were just heavenly.

 

The pictures are of the big screen TV outside the mid-ship Lido pool, the back Lido pool area, and me in the of the chairs built for 2 in the serenity area.

[beachbratt]

Really interested in your report my DH and I are both in our 40's and sailing alone too

[allenee]

Please may we have more. My hubby and I are going in October and need all the info we can get. We are in our early "60's" and are not bringing kids, grands or great grands. We're like Peter Pan, never going to grow up.

[mystone99]

Dining ended up being a mixed bag for us, and the food in the Main Dining Room was a disappointment. DW and I had the early seating (6 p.m.), ate dinner in the MDR every night and got dressed up on the two elegant nights. Of our five cruises on Carnival this was the worst food we've had.

Now, that's not to say that everything was bad. The prime rib and lobster on the first elegant night was wonderful, as was the fillet mignon on the second. And some of the other dishes - the Cornish Game Hen and the jumbo Tiger Shrimp in particular - were very good.

But the rest was a little bit of a letdown. I tried to get my flat-iron steak medium-rare on three nights, and each time it came back medium and once medium well. DW had chicken the first night that was tasteless, a red snapper that was overcooked and dried out another, and the lobster bisque was more like lobster soup.

I don't know if this was because they were cooking for so many people

at one time or we just had bad luck, but the MDR did not meet our expectations.

We had our breakfasts at the buffet. The omelets were very good and bacon a pleasant surprise - crisp and lean instead of greasy and fatty like at most buffets. There were eggs and potatoes every morning, as well as waffles or french toast, danishes, cereals, yogurt and fruit.

The Dream has several different eating stations on the Lido deck for lunch and I think we tried them all at least once. The Tandoori grill, at the back of boat next to the pool, was excellent and my favorite. Watching them cook the fresh chicken, lamb, fish and naan was a treat too.

The Mongolian grill was very good, but there are only three choices on sauces. The burrito bar was was good, and the pasta bar, which is kind of hidden upstairs, was very good but you had to get there early. The first time we ate there we can early and had maybe a 15-minute wait, the second time we waited 40 minutes.

There's also a deli for hot and cold sandwiches, a grill for burgers and hot dogs, and the 24-hour pizza and cesar salad stand. All of these were good, but not great.

[allenee]

Sorry to hear your food in the MDR was not that great. We were just on the Miracle and the food was delish.

[2Zornot2Z]

One can never get enough of reviews,keep up the good work. We will be booking soon for Jan28,2012. How was the Cove balcony?Did you have any rough weather and did you feel it any more than mid or front.

 

Thanks

[mystone99]

One can never get enough of reviews,keep up the good work. We will be booking soon for Jan28,2012. How was the Cove balcony?Did you have any rough weather and did you feel it any more than mid or front.

 

Thanks

 

Loved the cove balcony. It was great being so close to the ocean. We didn't have rough seas and DW and I had no problem with motion or noise in our cabin.

[steelerjen]

Can not get enough REVIEWS!!! Keep it coming!

[jolyroger]

Never, ever get sick of hearing a review about the Dream!!! She was the First Carnival ship we sailed Last April and well, let sjust say were Hooked!!!! I believe we'll be seeing her next April agian!

Keep the review coming !!!!!

[mystone99]

For the most part, the entertainment on ship was good, although both DW and I didn't like the male singer in the stage shows in the Encore Theater.

There are three stage shows. Sunday night was Get Ready, which was basically rock and roll and disco songs from the 1970s and 1980s. It was OK and we stayed for the whole show.

Tuesday night was Dancing in the Streets, which was supposed to be a 1990s and 2000s rock and roll, rap, with the Carnival street dancers Full Force. The highlight of the show were two street dancers who did balancing moves on a pair of 15-foot poles, very Cirque du Soleil. We left before the show was over.

Thursday was country music, 8 more seconds, and we didn't go.

Monday night was the "juggling and physical comedy" of the Edge, who was pretty good. His juggling on stilts was impressive.

Wednesday night was magician Bob Brizendine, who was OK, and Friday night was the Legends show, which seems the same every cruise.

Before each show was bingo, so to get a close seat you had to go early.

For us, the best entertainment was in the comedy club. They had four comedians on the cruise - two performed Sunday and Monday, two different performed Thursday and Friday. We went to the late-night adult shows, which were really funny. But make sure you get there early. Both nights we went there was a line to get in, and it was standing room only when the comics performed.

They did a couple of laser light shows on the Lido deck two nights, but the shows were only three songs each and lasers not very impressive.

There was the usual stuff on the Lido deck - hairy chest contest, drink mixing contest, ice sculpture - on Sunday, and trivia throughout the week in the Ocean Plaza on Deck 5. We did win a ship on a stick for 80s music trivia, which made my wife very happy.

There was more of an effort by the entertainment staff to get people involved in the color wars. Passengers were divided into Red, White and Blue teams by decks, and if you won a contest you won points for your color. Wednesday night was the deck party and you were supposed to come dressed in the colors of your team. That was also when they had the midnight buffet, which is now just a Mexican buffet instead of the fancy buffet they use to have, the one everyone took pictures of.

There were several live music venues, and two groups stood out - the blackjack band, which played nights in the Ocean Plaza, and Kirsty, who did karaoke and sang at the past guest party (Thursday night, 5 p.m.)

[mystone99]

The service on the Dream was a highlight.

Our cabin steward, Putu, from Bali, was the best we've ever had. He called us by name, our room was immaculate, there was always extra ice and extra pillows for DW. He never bother us while we were sleeping and whenever we came back from dinner or from being in port, he had everything cleaned. He did a great job.

Also deserving high praise was Jason in guest relations. We had a little problem the last sea day, and he went out of his way to help out, then checked up on us later in the day to make sure everything was still OK.

DW also loved the people that worked on her in the spa.

In general, all the staff seemed happy and eager to help us - our MDR waiter Daniel was good, if a little formal, while the bar staff and lido dinning staff were always smiling, always cleaning.

Even the photographers, who have been pains on other cruises, were good on the Dream, giving you time to adjust or taking an extra picture if you wanted one.

I can't comment about the casino or camp carnival, because we didn't use either. But the camp carnival people must have been good because when the kids were in groups with the counselors, they were well behaved.

If fact, the only two child problems the whole cruise. The first was in an elevator, when a mother let her 3 or 4 year old son push all the floor buttons to stop him from crying (then looked over at the other passengers and said to her son "They won't mind. They like to ride the elevator."). The second was some running up and down the hallway around midnight on the last night of the cruise.

[Gari]

Sailing on April 16th (was on the Dream last year and LOVED it but excited to hear more)

thanks so much

[Elmo31]

Oh.....I just cant wait for my turn.....keep the review coming;)

[Elmo31]

Oh...oh please let it be my turn......awwwww man guess I have to wait for quite some time.....my countdown clock must be stuck :eek:

[spideyfam]

Glad you had a great time. Thanks for the review.

[mystone99]

This was a Western Caribbean cruise and we have been to all the ports before.

In Cozumel we did the Fury Catamarans on the Dream's Deluxe Sail, Snorkel and Beach party. We had a good time, but snorkeling wasn't great. Because of spring break, most of the passengers had young children and were first-time snorkelers, so they herded us together most of the time. I got a lot of pictures of fins instead of fish. After snorkeling they opened the bar (beer and margaritas) and took us to their private beach, next to Playa Mia.

The beach was nice if a little rocky, with inflatable water toys for the kids. Besides lounge chairs there are hammocks and our favorite, beach beds. We climbed on one when we got there and stayed on it until it was time to sail back to Cozumel, where DW did a little shopping in port.

We did not get off the ship in Belize. We've been to the ruins at Xunantunich, so we decided to take it easy. The ship is really different without all the people. We had a good time laying out by the pool, getting on the water slides when there was no line. DW went to the spa in the afternoon.

Roatan is our favorite port and we always do a private tour through Rony's Tours. We were one of the first people off the ship, hit Half Moon Bay and stayed there most of the day. You can snorkel right off the shore, and DW loves the coconut shrimp the restaurant serves. Our little slice of heaven.

We wanted to go to one of the beach clubs in Costa Maya, but the ship docks so early (7 a.m.) we decided to stay in bed. We finally walked into the port area about 10:30. We did a little shopping - DW got a sun dress, I got a Hawaiian shirt and we picked up some stuff for the kids - had lunch and go back on the Dream. The ships leaves Costa Maya at 3 p.m., so there wasn't time to do much else.