Carnival Dream Review, 2.5 years late....

[libertyschool]

Hi! So I'm a "newish" member of cruise critic. I joined after booking my second cruise ever which will be aboard the Norwegian Gem in May of this year. My first cruise ever was aboard the Carnival Dream in November 2009, during her inaugural season. That was the cruise that hooked me. It was a wonderful experience, and although a lot of time has passed, I would still like to post a review. I would not feel right posting a review of my upcoming cruise without ever having posted my "Dream" review, so here it goes...(warning, this may be long)

 

I am a water lover, be it rivers, lakes or the ocean, if I can be near water, I will be. So needless to say, a cruise vacation was a long time dream. When the day finally came that I booked my first cruise, I was over the moon! The anticipation was sweet, but the experience which followed was far sweeter.

 

My family of 5 (myself, husband and 3 lovely daughters) left for NYC on a Saturday late morning and arrived in the evening. We spent the evening walking around Time Square. It was a fun experience. We stayed at the Best Western Time Square. The hotel was fine but I had difficulty sleeping that night with the city noise and sirens.

 

Embarkation: This was a very long process, there were delays due to the design of The Dream not "fitting" properly with that pier (forgive my non-technical vocabulary! To be honest I don't remember the precise problem, just that there was one), but eventually we made it on board. I'll never forget the excitement of walking onto that beauty of a ship for the first time! We were able to go straight to our room and spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring...so much so that we forgot about lunch! We were half starved by the time dinner rolled around, but this was the only time we would experience hunger for the next 8 days! The muster drill was informative, quick and painless. Then is was sail away! It was dark by the time we finally left, but that skyline and statue of liberty did not disappoint. What a truly incredible experience. That first night I slept better than I ever had in my life. Something about the motion of the ocean just rocked me to sleep like a baby. I woke up the next morning and immediately sat up in bed, pulled open the curtain of our window and "WOW!" Nothing but water and sky... I was in heaven! Thus began the best week ever. Each day was more wonderful than the last, each meal was more delicious and every moment was ecstasy. I only hope I will enjoy my upcoming cruise half as much as I did this one.

 

I can't very well do a "day by day" after all this time, so I'll give you a break down:

 

Meals: We had all of our breakfasts from the buffet and sat outside on the second level of the pool deck overlooking the ocean. There is simply NOTHING like eating breakfast by the open sea. Lunch was usually a burger at the grill or something quick from the buffet. All of our dinners were eaten in the Scarlet Dining Room. We had a table for the 5 of us and we had chosen early dining. Each dinner knocked my socks off. The food was incredible, the service was impeccable and the entertainment was Dreamy. I really enjoyed the Maitre D serenading us each night as well as the break out dances by the waiters. I will miss that the most on my upcoming cruise. The whole family loved it. My youngest daughter who was only 6 at the time could not wait for dinner each night. Truly unforgettable.

 

Shows: We went to each evening show and loved them all.

 

Kid's club: My 2 youngest (6 and 9 at the time) loved the activities. They did not go every day, but when they went, they loved it. My oldest who was 16 at the time didn't go until the second to last day and regretted it later. She met some nice people, some of whom she still communicates with.

 

Stateroom: We had a family oceanview on the Riviera deck. It was larger than I expected and comfortably slept 5. The 2 bathrooms came in handy with all those girls. One could be showering while one could be having a bath in the other bathroom. Really great. I don't remember our room stewards name, but he was fantastic. He would place my girls teddy bears in a different way each night, they looked forward to seeing what he did. He paid special attention to the kids and made sure they had kids bathrobes (which we didn't ask for) ect.

 

Ports: At Port Canaveral we went to Cocoa beach (Carnival shuttle). Price was right and we had a beautiful day. Ron Jon's surf shop was cool too. At Nassau we did the Atlantis Dolphin encounter. It was very pricey, but the kids loved it and will never forget it. At Freeport, we decided to see how we would do on our own. We took at cab to Port Lucaya beach for a fraction of what the excursion would have cost and had a fantastic day! The weather was beautiful for each of our port days, couldn't have asked for better. Perfect. :)

 

Ship: Loved everything. Clean, beautiful, comfortable, well laid out, easy to find your way around. There were people cleaning, painting ect. everywhere you went (not intrusively). I was very impressed because even though this was a fairly new ship, nothing was being overlooked.

 

Crew: Fantastic!! What more can I say???

 

All in all, this trip was simply marvelous. My kids, my husband and myself truly LOVED everything about this trip. The memories we made will last forever. Although I am sailing on the Gem this May, and I expect to have a fantastic time, Carnival Dream will always be my first love and will forever be in my heart. Cheesey I know, but true. I hope to sail Carnival again, sooner than later if possible! For those who endured this review, thanks!

 

P.S. A few things that deserve honorable mentions:

 

1. Chocolate melting cake - YUM

2. Movie's under the stars - WOW

3. Hot tubs over the ocean - COOL

[CruisersNC]

Thanks for posting your review.....we also loved the Dream. Hope your 2nd cruise is as great as your first.....you don't have much longer to wait! :)

[libertyschool]

Thanks! I can't wait. I'm keeping an open mind, so I'm sure I'll enjoy myself. It's hard to beat a perfect experience though!

[CruzinScotty]

Thanks for sharing. It's always nice to hear a "first cruise" report. :)