Carnival Dream Oct 29-Nov5 review

[sail-a-bration]

I posted my review on the review page but wanted to share some of the Good and Bads. It was awesome that Carnival changed us to Eastern Carib to avoid TS Rena, we had blue skys the whole trip. We had loyalty points so we stayed at the Comfort Inn. We got a room in the new tower, it was a large room, comfy bed and clean. The free breakfast was Ok. We used Park N Cruise, wish we had known to drop off our luggate at the terminal first, it would have made everything easier. Park N Cruise is set up efficently, you drive into a metal building, a guy helps unload luggage you pay and get inline with your luggage. You must move your luggage along with you as the line moves, that is when I realized we should have dropped it off at the ship before parking the car. The man behind me had dropped his off first. The shuttle came, but I could not get on because everyone had too much luggage. I let the driver know the man behind me had no luggage so he got to go. We got there about 11am, embarkation was a breeze. We had rm 2349 a cove mid-ship it was the best. The bed was the worst I have ever slept on, it was like a cheap day bed and hard as a rock. I asked for a pad, Rhigo our steward said they do not have any so he put a folded comforter under the sheet. It helped some but I did not sleep much because I had to keep turning from side to side because of sholder and hip pain. This is my 4th cruise and all of the other ships had the comfort cloud type mattress, they must have downgraded to these cheaper ones. We ate in the MDR every night and the food was great. We had a wonderful waitress from Thailand, Wanpen she was very gracious and great service. Her assistant Hector was from Peru they make a great team, he did a great job. The ship was sold out but the only time I ever felt overcrowded was on Embarkation day. There are plenty of elevators, but at peak times you may have to wait a little bit. I was surprised by the people squeezing themselves in a full elevator, it is just bizarre. There was plenty to do on the ship. I won a ship on a stick and a medal for trivia. Did a line dance class, enjoyed the comedy club, and loved the dancing in the streets show. We did ship excursions because it was a last minute change of port. Suba in St. Thomas and Kayak in St Martten. Loved St. Martten bluest water and cool port. The Cruise port village was very nice, lots of shops. We took the water taxi to the city port, it is $6.00 for unlimited trips. The city port has a lovely beach with vendors who offer two loungers, an umbrella, and either a bucket of beer of 2 frozen drinks for $10-$20 dollars. We were in Nassau for less than 5 hours so we just walked around the city and went back to the ship. I bought the week Spa Pass, they tell you it is $149.00 but they add 15% so it ends up being $174.00 I enjoyed it, but later found out they had a free steam room and sauna. I tried it and it was nice but no luxury. The disembark took a little longer but that is because we had an emergency evac on the last night so we got into port a little late. We got sucked into the Liquor sale the first night and later found out the prices are the same all week. They say they are the same price as the ports but I bought a bottle of Sherridan's in St. Martten for $6.00 less and my table mates got it for $8.00 less in St. Thomas. It is the same price in the port shops but if you go into the city you will find lower prices. I went to the funshop and said I wanted to return mine, so he gave me a tiny bottle to compensate. We did not do bingo and everyone I talked to seemed to have lost money at the casino. We didn't do the big screen movie because they were mostly kids movies. They had great piano music and a duet that played and sang at the attrim bar, but they set up the bean bag toss on the dance floor. We could hardly hear the music because the people playing bean bag were cheering and yelling back and forth at each other. There seemed to be a problem with the internet service not disconneting quite a few people got hit with a $135.00 fee but if you go to the Tech guy, he has a way of checking your activity and will deduct the charge after investigating. All in all we had a good time, the ship is very clean, we had good service, enjoyed the shows. I do not think I will do the dream again the beds are a deal breaker for me. Clean rooms, good beds, and good food are the most important factors in a great vacations. I check CC every few days so I will answer questions as they arise.

[jenninlaca]

Are the mattresses or beds different on the Dream than on other Carnival ships?

[jenninlaca]

Are the mattresses or beds different on the Dream than on other Carnival ships?

[brilliantseas]

Are the mattresses or beds different on the Dream than on other Carnival ships?

 

I was just on the Dream and the Victory last month (see review links in my signature) and the mattresses are different on the Dream than on SOME of the other Carnival Ships. The mattresses on the Dream are wonderful! I slept so well on that ship, and not just because I was tired from all of our fun ashore. I've also had them on the Imagination back in 2008, shortly after her EoF upgrades. I believe Carnival tried selling these mattresses for a brief period of time after they kicked off Evolutions of Fun and introduced the upgraded mattresses.

 

The Victory, on the other hand, does NOT have the upgraded mattresses yet. It reminded me of the worn down mattress from college that sinks a few inches when you climb onto it and provides no support whatsoever. Hopefully they get upgraded in 2013 when the Victory receives FunShip 2.0.

 

I can't remember if Triumph had the upgraded mattresses or not when I was on her in January, but she has drydocked since then, so hopefully she got the upgrades before moving to Galveston.

[Suntanz]

I was on the Dream last year & I thought the mattresses were as good as any i have ever slept on.

[hfweather]

I think the mattress may be hit or miss. I've been on the Inspiration 3 times, the first 2 times, I thought the mattress was great. This past time I thought it was the worse one I've ever had in my life. Last night I laid on my husbands side of the bed and it was wonderful. Same room, different mattress in every way possible.

[KrystalWaters]

Hey Sail-a-bration, cute name btw:p, I just saw your review! I'm super excited and i have a few questions since I'll be in that exact same room as you were in in my cruise.

#1: Noise? Did you hear anything in your cabin? Foot traffic?

#2: Where you see the ports on your side when you were docked? It's nothing like a port view sitting on your balcony

#3: You stated the beds were hard and then you said something about sofa bed in your cc review. Are you speaking of the couch? or are you speaking of the actual 2 twins pushed to make king bed? My hubby is worried about that.

I think that's about it for now.

Thanks,

Kristy:D

[KrystalWaters]

I think the mattress may be hit or miss. I've been on the Inspiration 3 times, the first 2 times, I thought the mattress was great. This past time I thought it was the worse one I've ever had in my life. Last night I laid on my husbands side of the bed and it was wonderful. Same room, different mattress in every way possible.

 

 

Aaaaah i'm thinking maybe the matteress was new possibly? Perhaps haven't been 'broken in' yet? That may explain why one side was 'ok' and the other wasn't. I'm hoping that explains it. I know when a mattress is new there may be 'issues'.:rolleyes:

[shootr]

Wow, is that cabin popular or what? We got it booked for ours too. I can sleep on anything so hopefully the bed won't be an issue. Let us know on the questions asked by Kristy, I'm curious as to noises too.

 

Great review, finally a concise, informative balanced one. Thanks.

[sail-a-bration]

Hi Krystal Waters, sorry I am so long getting back to you. The beds were the twins pushed togeather. Hubby's was very comfortable, but mine was hard. We could not switch because he has a C-pap machine and there is only one plug on the vanity. We did get a view of some of the ports when the ship backs into the port. It depends on the port. The Cove was so outstanding being close to the water; we could see the flying fish skimming across the water. If there had been dolphins we would have had a great view. No noise at all from ship, but I think all of the rooms have thin walls so we could hear the neighbors sometime. I also got a whiff once in awhile from the smokers on the balcony but rarely. I would give our cruise a solid 9 out of 10. If we book Carnival again I will bring a foam egg crate with a luggage tag and have the steward put it on the bed. You can buy them at Walmart for about $10.00 The room also has a fold down couch but we did not need it. It was a perfect cabin location, there is very little movement because you are in the middle of the ship.

[kiwibor]

sail-a-bration - I will be taking a Carnival cruise next year and have booked a cove balcony which is mid-ship. Did you have any water on your balcony being so close to the water line? Thanks.

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing.

[sail-a-bration]

I just shortened middle of the ship. I could feel much more movement at the back of the ship, which is where the dinning room is located. We did not have any standing water at all on the balcony. It was damp in the morning but no water. There is not much foot traffic on deck two. It is just like a hotel, you can hear people talking in the halls and a few nights I could hear someone who had drank a bit too much saying goodnight to friends before entering their room, but I went right back to sleep. I did not mention the bathroom, the shower is tiny and just has a 1inch lip to keep the water in, dumb design. Make sure you do not leave anything on the floor or it will get wet. That is one thing I loved about Holland America they have bath tubs.