My review of the Dream, 11-24-12 sailing

[hckyfan68]

Hello All,

 

I’m have a detailed review with pictures and food porn, but I wanted to get a quick post right away because of the many negative reviews about the Dream. From my point of view, ignore them.

 

Background

This was Nicole (DW) and mine (Alan) second cruise, our first was on the Liberty in 2010. My DB and SIL joined us and this was the first time we have been away from our kids.

 

FTTF

We booked faster to the fun as soon as we could, and it was a great decision. It was great being able to drop off our carry-ons in our cabin the instant we got onboard. We didn’t need the priority tendering as we had booked a Carnival excursion for Belize. Towards the end of the cruise it was nice not having to stand in the long line to take care of our S&S account.

 

Cabin 9472

All I can say is awesome! It was just the right size for the two of us and we lover the huge balcony. Yes, we did hear some scraping of deck chairs, but it never lasted long nor did it impair our sleep.

 

The “Smell”

I never encountered it.

 

Food/Service

We had YTD and we never any real problems. We had one wait of about 10-15 minutes one the first elegant night. One night our preferred waiter’s section was full, so we went to another section. Service was fantastic except the night we went to a different waiter’s section. It wasn’t bad, just not as good as what we had the night before. The food always tasted good and was served to us at the right temperature.

 

During the cruise, I worked on my review each night; I need to upload my pictures which will take a little time. Stay tuned for the details, but I am happy to answer any questions people have.

[christie629]

Hooray! Couldn't be more pleased to find this review! I just booked the Dream a week ago for March. I also booked Faster 2 Fun - so glad to hear you think it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing more! :D

[wags_in_the_peg]

hckyfan = hockey fan or hickey fan? if hockey, sorry to hear about the nhl cancelling the winter classic in your neck of the woods!

 

we leave in 30 days on Dream so looking forward to hearing / seeing the rest!

[reerun25]

So glad to hear, and looking forward to the rest of the review, we sail on her in a little over 3 months!!

[travlngrl1996]

Looking forward to your review.

[bp traveler]

Can't wait for your review - we are in the SAME cabin in less than 17 days!!!How did you like it? I know it is a bit more narrow than the other wraps, but it is our first cabin like this kind.

 

How was your room steward?

 

Did you sneak on any liquor? ;)

 

How about the piano bar?

[hckyfan68]

hckyfan = hockey fan or hickey fan? if hockey, sorry to hear about the nhl cancelling the winter classic in your neck of the woods!

 

we leave in 30 days on Dream so looking forward to hearing / seeing the rest!

LOL, it's hockey fan. I keep hoping they will come to an agreement, but..

 

Can't wait for your review - we are in the SAME cabin in less than 17 days!!!How did you like it? I know it is a bit more narrow than the other wraps, but it is our first cabin like this kind.

 

How was your room steward?

 

Did you sneak on any liquor? ;)

 

How about the piano bar?

 

We loved the room. The balcony is huge! It gets narrow as you go towards the front of the ship, but there is enough room for a lounger and you can still stand next to the railing. I could be wrong but the wide part of the balcony seemed as wide as DB's extended aft.

 

Our cabin steward was Dennis. He and his crew were fantastic! Always polite and asked us how our day was.

 

We didn't sneak any on, just ordered some from Bon Voyage.

 

We had our M&G in the piano bar and it is a nice place to hang out. I didn't get back there during the cruise, but when I passed by a few times, the people in there looked like they were having fun.

[bp traveler]

Were you on the same route we are Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Costa Maya

[LBumb]

good start

[lakesidelady]

We will be on the Dream a week from Saturday. Glad to see a good review.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[myobus11]

sorry to jump in here hckyfan but answer to bp...dw and i were on dream in october and i had rumrunners in luggage...3 out of 5 made it...2 that were inside watershoes,noting else in luggage bad,got taken for crew party!!!

[dshefter]

Thanks for the review. We leave tomorrow for our cruise on the Dream and are staying right next to your room in 9474.

 

We have also purchased Faster to the Fun as we'll need the priority tendering in Belize since we have a tour booked with Coral Breeze that starts at 9 a.m.

 

When is the first tender? Do you have to go to the Customer Service area to get tender tickets?

[bills blasters]

Impatiently waiting for more. We leave in a little over a month, and want to hear all I can about the Dream.

Thanks so much.

Claudia

[johnstoc13]

Can't wait for the extended review! Sailing in 2 months and need something fresh to help pass the countdown as I can't keep reading the same old photo reviews from 2 years ago or more! Hope you have some pictures of the 2.0 dry dock upgrades too. Thanks in advance and I'm looking forward to it!

[hckyfan68]

I had a few minutes so I thought I would post the start of my review. I will add pictures in the morning..

 

Friday

 

We arrived in Orlando without incident. The flight was uneventful. The only real problem we has was the transport company dropped us off at the wrong LaQuinta hotel. We went out to dinner and just relaxed in the room.

 

Embarkation

 

The shuttle service picked us a few minutes early, and we were on our way to the Dream. The ride was short, about 10 minutes and we caught our first glimpse of the Dream. It was about 10:45 when the shuttle got in line to drop us off. Unfortunately, we ended up waiting about a half hour before our shuttle got us to the area to drop us off.

 

We took the short walk to the terminal, and there she was. The Dream was waiting for us, and we were very excited and couldn't wait to step on board.

 

We had purchased FTTF, and we were directed to a separate area. We walked right up and they checked us in. They gave us our S&S card and showed us where to go to board the ship. We walked right up, and if it wasn't for the group of people in front of us that somehow managed to get all there S&S cards screwed up, we would have been on the Dream about 10 minutes after we dropped off our luggage. Once we got past the S&S card check, we were walking on the Dream.

 

I thought that will all the research I had done on the ship, I wouldn't have that look of awe as I stepped aboard. I was wrong! My eyes got wide, and I had a smile from ear to ear as we walked into the atrium... We wanted to explore the ship and get some lunch, but the first stop was our cabin. I got a little turned around, but DW got us going the right way and we got to our cabin. 9472, aft wrap. The cabin was a bit smaller than the normal balcony. We didn't have a couch, but there were 2 chairs and since there were just 2 of us there was plenty of room. We stepped out onto the balcony, and we loved it. 3 chairs and a table to the left of the door, and a lounger to the right. We had the best of both worlds of an extend aft and normal balcony.

 

We dropped off our carry-ons and met my DB and SIL and headed up to the pasta bar for lunch. I know it has been said before, and I agree with what others have said. The food was excellent, and there were very few people up there.

For those that don't know, when you get there, the hostess gives you a card. You then choose your pasta, sauce, and extras and turn in your selections. They then bring you your custom lunch to your table. The food was warm and tasty. With our hands free of bags, and full tummies, we went to explore the ship.

 

The ship is big and gorgeous. We loved the decor and we enjoyed our time exploring before the muster drill. The muster drill was much nicer than the first one we went through on the Liberty 2 years ago. No being packed like sardines during the instructions. We were in the Burgundy Lounge in comfortable seats while the safety instructions were given. Once that was done, DW went through the tour of the spa while I went to explore and take some pictures.

 

We met up back at the cabin and enjoyed sail away from our balcony. Before we had hit open water, we had to get ready for our 6:30 reservation at Chef Art's Steak House. We arrived a few minutes early, but they seated us right away.

 

There is an up charge if $35/person, but it is worth it. The food was amazing, and the service was perfect. Our waitresses were on point! They answered any questions we had and there were a lot. We had so much fun with them, they made the night so enjoyable that it was a shame to leave. Dinner took about 2 hours and we were so full that we all headed back to our cabins. DW, laid down and she fell asleep right away, but I

I'm a bit of a night owl, so I walked around the ship for a bit.

 

I walked deck 5. The ship was fairly quiet and it felt like I had the deck to myself. When I got to the front of the ship, I was a bit surprise to find it dark. There are no lights on, and I assumed that made it easier so see on the bridge. It was nice to be able to look out and see the ocean at night. I finished my lap, and I was ready to get some sleep.

 

More to come ;)

[keene state mom]

I had this same froom, on a back to back a few years ago, and have it again for another back to back in 70 days, I loved it, your right it is small but the balcony was awesome, a nice wrap without the wrap price tag. thanks for the review, also who is the CD.

[dst]

Loving the review -

 

We sail in just over a month and have late seating, do you know what dining room was used for the late seating?

 

looking forward to seeing the pictures and the rest of your review.......

[hckyfan68]

Were you on the same route we are Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Costa Maya

Yes. While we had a great time, we know we don't need to get off on Belize again.

 

Thanks for the review. We leave tomorrow for our cruise on the Dream and are staying right next to your room in 9474.

 

We have also purchased Faster to the Fun as we'll need the priority tendering in Belize since we have a tour booked with Coral Breeze that starts at 9 a.m.

 

When is the first tender? Do you have to go to the Customer Service area to get tender tickets?

 

We booked our excursion through Carnival so we didn't need to get priority tendering as we had is already. So I can't tell you how you get priority tendering, but everyone who had Carnival excursions met in the Encore lounge at 8:00am.

[hckyfan68]

Here are a few pictures for everyone..

The fantastic balcony

[hckyfan68]

More from the balcony

 

Just to give you an idea of how deep the balcony is..

From left to right: Jenni (SIL), Brian (DB), and Nicole (DW)

 

The view..

[hckyfan68]

Pictures from our exploration of the ship

 

The Burgundy Lounge

 

I know the pictures are a little small for posting. Tonight I'll figure out what I did wrong when I up loaded them..

[hckyfan68]

Everyone loves food porn!!

 

This is from Chef Art's Steak house..

 

Stuffed Mushrooms

 

Baked Onion Soup

 

Tuna Tartar

 

Your basic salad

[hckyfan68]

Filet Mignon

 

12oz NY Strip

 

Finally dessert!!

 

Tiramisu

 

Cheese Cake

It is freaking huge!!

[SMSACE6]

Nice review and photos, looking forward to more, and thanks for posting:)