Help with the Dream so it aint a nightmare

[Mommabear5]

So my sister and brother inlaw really want to try the Dream even though I have read about the "smell", the long lines, and let us not forget the swaying side to side and rockiness that so many have reported.

I am going prepared and with an open mind. Determined to have myself a great time.

My only concern is that I need to be in the middle of the ship and have read that the upper cabins are the worst as far as rocking goes.

I would prefer a ocean view or balcony but I also read about noise from certain cabins being really bad and also the shutter feeling.

I do not want to experience any of that if I can avoid it.

So my question is what deck, cabin would you choose if you were me?

I would like to book by the end of the month so I will be interested to hear all your advise you can throw my way.

Thanks

[sandradoo]

We cruised on the Dream last December we were on the deck with the spa felt slight motion one day but everyone on every deck did that dayor actually toward the end of the day. We did not notice any smell that some mention. It was amazing from day one to the end!! You will love it!:)

[L_K]

Done the Dream in january 2010... perfect cruise, no more lines than usual.

 

Had a cove balcony, midship, no rocking at all. About "the smell", nothing special, same "smell" as other ships, kind of methane... i smelled it on all my cruises.

[Jman1118]

The smell is only on the top deck and to be honest it is really not that bad. Cruised May 2010 and the lines were short considering there were 4,000 people on board.

[stargate fan]

So my sister and brother inlaw really want to try the Dream even though I have read about the "smell", the long lines, and let us not forget the swaying side to side and rockiness that so many have reported.

I am going prepared and with an open mind. Determined to have myself a great time.

My only concern is that I need to be in the middle of the ship and have read that the upper cabins are the worst as far as rocking goes.

I would prefer a ocean view or balcony but I also read about noise from certain cabins being really bad and also the shutter feeling.

I do not want to experience any of that if I can avoid it.

So my question is what deck, cabin would you choose if you were me?

I would like to book by the end of the month so I will be interested to hear all your advise you can throw my way.

Thanks

 

Just off the Dream on May 5. Had a fantastic cruise!

 

We never experience any "smell".

 

We were commenting yesterday that this was the smoothest sailing we have ever had. We did not feel any motion even though our cabins were forward on the Lido Deck. (Up high.) In fact, we never even developed sea legs due to the smoothness of the sea.

 

When you look at cabins, make sure there are cabins above and below yours. That should make for a quieter cruise.

 

We also commented that we never felt crowded on the ship. Perhaps since we ate at the buffet at off times we did not experience crazy lines.

 

Go for it-she's a beautiful ship. And we had the friendliest crew-everyone stopped doing his/her job to say hello and to smile.

[Mommabear5]

Just off the Dream on May 5. Had a fantastic cruise!

 

We never experience any "smell".

 

We were commenting yesterday that this was the smoothest sailing we have ever had. We did not feel any motion even though our cabins were forward on the Lido Deck. (Up high.) In fact, we never even developed sea legs due to the smoothness of the sea.

 

When you look at cabins, make sure there are cabins above and below yours. That should make for a quieter cruise.

 

We also commented that we never felt crowded on the ship. Perhaps since we ate at the buffet at off times we did not experience crazy lines.

 

Go for it-she's a beautiful ship. And we had the friendliest crew-everyone stopped doing his/her job to say hello and to smile.

 

 

Wow thank you. Things like this make me feel better. I am so happy to hear you had such a good time. Hopefully more will reply saying the same and then I am done looking.

[smc0320]

plus you can eat Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner in the MDR so you never have to deal with buffet lines.....

 

We always book top deck aft.....never had a problem with motion of the ocean...

[Ms Belvedere]

Sailed the Dream twice, noticed the smell but it's not lingering, just a brief whiff. My only regret is that we never made it to the Spa or Serenity deck.

 

It's a beautiful ship and we had a great week away from home, work, reality. :)

[MickCruiser]

Smell.....typical smell?? I do not follow. Methane? That is a combustible gas, is it not? How can that be considered typical and safe??

 

As for the motion of the ocean which is.....you know.....not man made, think of the ship as a teeter totter. The further you are from the center, the more can you move up and down.

 

The lateral/side movement is due mostly to the wind. A cross wind can cause the boat to slightly tilt to one side and then it will slowly go back. I have not felt it but when I am talking to someone with the horizon in the background, I did notice a (very slow) side to side roll. I can get sea sick and that did not bother me at all.

 

At the end of the day if you hit bad weather (seas) you can get ticked around. Just like flying a plane....you cannot control the weather, those in control of the ship/plane can only do so much to avoid. The down side to a ship is you are not flying through the slop at 500+ mph to get out quickly.

 

Net...nothing you control so the best you can do is be prepared. If you are concerned, find the appropriate motion sickness med.

 

We are looking into the Dream for Spring Break next year so this thread I will be watching for more feedback on the smell.

[mikedw]

My wife and I were on the Dream last July and had a wonderful time. The ship never felt that crowded and I never noticed any smell.

[surfjock27]

We sailed the Dream two weeks.

Spa Balcony, port side.

 

We did not feel the rocking at all!

The last night the boat starting rocking in the Burgandy Lounge (lower back).

When we made it to our room the rocking wasn't any worse then the lounge.

 

There was also no smell.

We were all over the ship and didn't smell it once.

 

Hope this helps.

[suezyq50]

We never experience any "smell".

 

 

When you look at cabins, make sure there are cabins above and below yours. That should make for a quieter cruise.

 

We also commented that we never felt crowded on the ship.

Go for it-she's a beautiful ship. And we had the friendliest crew-everyone stopped doing his/her job to say hello and to smile.

My thoughts exactly. We did experience noise due to lounge below us.

[pontiac1977]

My advise is if you go on the Dream,try to go when the kids are in school.We have been twice.The first cruise on the Dream we loved.The second was over Presidents week.It was very crowded.This holds true for all ships,but the Dream class ships just don't have enough pools dinning space etc for all these people.I think they added a lot more cabins,but not more space for places like the Lido.If you add 1200 more people(kids) on board a ship like this it gets busy.We love the coves.Some are under the galley,but if you book a cove,you can book midship under the lobby.The Dream is a beautiful ship.I love the way the hot tubes are set up.I don't know if this is your first cruise,but rocking never seemed to be a big problem.This is a very big ship and it seemed very stable to us.My wife is very prone to motion sickness,but she has never had a problem on the Carnival ships.Just a thought.Our last cruise was an eight day on the Valor,out of Miami.This was an Eastern Caribbean cruise(way better then Mexico)We took it on Feb 2nd, and out of all the cruises we have been on,this was the best.Not to big,not to crowded.The alternative dinning was heaven.Excellent crew service.The Valor is less expensive too.Have fun:)

[wonderfullife]

We had an awesome time on the Dream. Don't worry about the negatives others have stated. I did not notice these things when I was there. It must be a hit or miss thing. Certainly nothing to ruin your cruise unless you are looking for trouble. If that is the case, you will find it no matter what ship or vacation you are on.

 

Aleece

[Mommabear5]

Thank you for all your feed back. This is helping to make my choice much easier and making me feel better about it.

I have only cruised once back in 2003 and that was on the Carnival Inspiration, before it was renovated and had the water slide. I felt literally every single movement and the last sea day was so bad even crew were sick. I spent the entire week on meds that the ship crew gave me and I slept more then anything else. When I wasn't seasick or sleeping, I love it. lol I know that sounds crazy but I loved the entertainment, the dinners, the night clubs & dancing. I loved looking out into the sea and seeing nothing but water and the sky especially waking up to it. I also really like being out on deck at night and seeing nothing and then BAM another ship coming by...that was awesome.

I wasn't aware back then but I have since be told I have vertigo and that may have caused a lot of the sickness I experienced. I am planning this time around to make sure I take every precaution that I can to not get motion sickness or sleep my cruise away. So now that you have all this information perhaps its easier to see my concerns when thinking of going on the dream

I so appreciate all your feed back and help. Keep them coming and if anyone has any photos they would like to share I would love to see them especially of the balcony cabins, Empress deck 7 which from what I have read may be my best choice as far as location for no noise and least movement.;)

[Sh1035]

Wow from your outlook what about sinking or a fire?

 

Think positive thoughts and have fun. I just booked it for October with first time cruisers. Sounds like a great cruise and if they have issues cry to someone else it's my vacation.

 

I'm more about planning what do do on shore or not, food porn,etc..

 

Relax or leave them at home!

 

Btw I picked lido deck but you might consider a cove if you are worried about sea sickness. Then again if you don't think about it might not happen. But from your post not sure if u can do that.

[Mommabear5]

Wow from your outlook what about sinking or a fire?

 

Think positive thoughts and have fun. I just booked it for October with first time cruisers. Sounds like a great cruise and if they have issues cry to someone else it's my vacation.

 

I'm more about planning what do do on shore or not, food porn,etc..

 

Relax or leave them at home!

 

Btw I picked lido deck but you might consider a cove if you are worried about sea sickness. Then again if you don't think about it might not happen. But from your post not sure if u can do that.

 

I am a little offended by your remarks:confused:...I happen to be a very positive person.:p

Just because I want to be prepared doesn't mean I am negitive at all. I sailed all the time as a child and young adult so when I became so sick on the cruise in 2003, on ship of that size, I was not only disappointing but it scared me as I couldn't understand why it was happening which caused me to suffer some panic as well as seasickness. As I stated I do not want that to happen again so I am just trying to cover all my bases, not only for myself but for the sake of my husband, as well as our other family members and friends who are joining us. I want to enjoy every single moment thats all but that is very hard to do when you don't feel well.

I am a planner and as a mother of 5 I like to be ready for anything.

My last post was just me explaining my concerns not being negitive at all.

Sorry you took it that way.:)

[Mommabear5]

Wow from your outlook what about sinking or a fire?

 

Think positive thoughts and have fun. I just booked it for October with first time cruisers. Sounds like a great cruise and if they have issues cry to someone else it's my vacation.

 

I'm more about planning what do do on shore or not, food porn,etc..

 

Relax or leave them at home!

 

Btw I picked lido deck but you might consider a cove if you are worried about sea sickness. Then again if you don't think about it might not happen. But from your post not sure if u can do that.

 

I am a little offended by your remarks:confused:...I happen to be a very positive person.:p

Just because I want to be prepared doesn't mean I am negitive at all. I sailed all the time as a child and young adult so when I became so sick on the cruise in 2003, on ship of that size, I was not only disappointing but it scared me as I couldn't understand why it was happening which caused me to suffer some panic as well as seasickness. As I stated I do not want that to happen again so I am just trying to cover all my bases, not only for myself but for the sake of my husband, as well as our other family members and friends who are joining us. I want to enjoy every single moment thats all but that is very hard to do when you don't feel well.

I am a planner and as a mother of 5 I like to be ready for anything.

My last post was just me explaining my concerns not being negitive at all.

Sorry you took it that way.:) and thanks for your suggestion.

[Maryscooking]

Have you ever heard of the motion sickness patch? I love it. I get seasick on ships no matter how big or small, or how low and in the middle of the ship I am. But the patch really prevents it. You only have to change it every three days, and it doesn't make you sleepy. The downside is that it is a prescription med - but my doc is always willing to call it into the pharmacy for me.

[Mommabear5]

I have heard of the patches thank you. I also am now on medication for my veritgo so I have to ask my dr if she thinks I will need addictional meds besides that. Thanks.:p

[Banditswife]

We are sailing the Dream in Nov. One thing I have noticed about the Dream is that there are several repeat cruisers on her. On my roll call there are 3 groups who enjoyed the ship so much they couldn't wait to board her again. There are positives and negatives to every ship/cruise. But with so many repeat cruisers, the Dream must be a great ship. As others posted- mid ship would be best for less movement. I believe the smell you read about is coming from the really lower decks (0 & below) where they get rid of the garbage & sewage. If you are a bit higher, you shouldn't have a problem. I have not sailed her yet, hope it works out well for you.

[maggieworkman]

So my sister and brother inlaw really want to try the Dream even though I have read about the "smell", the long lines, and let us not forget the swaying side to side and rockiness that so many have reported.

I am going prepared and with an open mind. Determined to have myself a great time.

My only concern is that I need to be in the middle of the ship and have read that the upper cabins are the worst as far as rocking goes.

I would prefer a ocean view or balcony but I also read about noise from certain cabins being really bad and also the shutter feeling.

I do not want to experience any of that if I can avoid it.

So my question is what deck, cabin would you choose if you were me?

I would like to book by the end of the month so I will be interested to hear all your advise you can throw my way.

Thanks

 

I was on the Dream last August on the Panorama deck forward in a Spa Cabin. I normally get sea sick (can't even watch video games from getting motion sick!) and did not feel any movement at all on the Dream!!! Granted I think we had calm waters (week between a couple hurricanes!!!).

 

I also didn't smell the smell. I haven't read much about the smell, either, lately. Maybe they fixed it?

 

But, if I were you, I would book a cabin mid ship on a deck that was sandwiched between two cabin decks to minimize noise.

 

Maggie

[crewsweeper]

Just off the Dream on May 5. Had a fantastic cruise!

 

We never experience any "smell".

 

We were commenting yesterday that this was the smoothest sailing we have ever had. We did not feel any motion even though our cabins were forward on the Lido Deck. (Up high.) In fact, we never even developed sea legs due to the smoothness of the sea.

 

When you look at cabins, make sure there are cabins above and below yours. That should make for a quieter cruise.

 

We also commented that we never felt crowded on the ship. Perhaps since we ate at the buffet at off times we did not experience crazy lines.

 

Go for it-she's a beautiful ship. And we had the friendliest crew-everyone stopped doing his/her job to say hello and to smile.

We've been on the Dream 3 times, latest was last June. I'll second these comments. do go, as anothe rposter mentioned, when schools ar ein session to alleviate the "crowd" feel of family vacations.

 

However, through good use of alternative dining facilities, you can avoid the long lines that sometimes plague the lido buffet, especially the Mongolian Grill and Burrito bar at the height of lunch times. In addition to the MDR for lunch and breakfast on sea days, there's the Tandoori Grill in the aft which has great Indian food for lunch and a separate buffet spread at breakfast, the Pasta Bar upstairs from the Lido, open for lunch and a good spot to go on embarcation plus on sea days there's a Promenade BBQ with good quesidillas, soft tacos, sliders and hot dogs and the Sushi bar serves a mix of salads.:cool:

 

Do try the Spa either through booking a spa cabin (upper decks, though) or buying a spa package for the week or day pass (beleive they sell these later in the week). With a Spa pass, use the men's and women's locker rooms for showers versus those in the cabin. Without a spa pass, you still have access tot eh locker rooms across from the gym, not as good as the spa locker room but still more room and better than the cabin. This is great for hubby and BIL giving you and SIL time to prep in the cabin.:D

[princesstiffany]

We were on the upper deck with a balcony room mid ship and didn't have any trouble with noise- even from the hottub on the deck below. We never smelled "the smell" even though we had heard about it on other posts. We avoided any crowds by hitting the serenity deck and water slides early (8-9ish) and then hit the main dining room for lunch around noon. If we wanted a Lido snack we did that later in the afternoon and never had any issues with lines or crowds. We hit the casino during late dining so no problems there. We did not have any problems getting seating for shows or drinks from the bars. The only crowds that were really impossible IMHO were the shops when there was a sale.

 

Have fun!!!

[misstopgun]

We have been on the Dream twice. Once in a Cove balcony and once in a balcony room on deck 7, both mid ship.

 

If concerned about rocking I would also suggest the cove. We prefer a little rocking as this helps us sleep. Much less movement in the cove and the balconys seem more private.

 

The upper balconys overlook the hot tubs so you may not want that view, but generally the tubs on the lanai were seldom used.

 

We enjoyed both of our cruises on the Dream but after the first, probably wouldn't have sailed her a second time except that it was the only ship going to Costa Maya, our favorite stop. Now the port time there is only 6 hours so by the time you allow time for getting off and returning to the ship on time it is more like four hours, so no longer worth planning the trip around.

 

As I said, we enjoyed both of our cruises on the Dream but she was not our favorite. It's just a personal preference, we prefer a bit smaller ship like the Legend.

 

Though the staff was wonderful, we found many of the passengers to be rude and impersonal with so many on the ship many with what seemed to be their own sense of entitlement.

 

We did encounter lots of lines and crowds in the common areas especially at peak times. (probably the cause of rude behavior of impatient passengers) I understand that is to be expected with that amount of passengers, but why put ourselves through a herding experience when we can get on a smaller ship and avoid it.

 

Would I sail the Dream again? Sure, if the stop in Costa Maya was longer. Other than that we will sail on ships that are less crowded and have been around enough to establish their own personalities.