Dream May 31, 2015-Big Ship/Big Easy!

[flynnsport]

This was our sixth cruise on Carnival and must say we had some of the best service ever. Had my wife, 15 yr old daughter and 2 year old son. The Dream is a beautiful ship, but could really use some of the 2.0 upgrades. Overall a tremendous experience and you will not be disappointed with the big ship. Those of you considering faster to the fun...IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY! One thing we found interesting is Carnival no longer provides envelopes to put gratuity coupons in/extra cash tips. So the staff never knows who has paid their gratuities. Apparently passengers claimed the envelopes made them uncomfortable. We have always paid our gratuities ahead of time or billed them to the room, in the future we are going to take them off our account and pay them directly to the staff.

 

Embarkation: We drove down the morning of the cruise (2.5 hours). Arrived at the terminal at 11 a.m. Parked in the Erato garage (112.00). Porter took the bags. Zipped through security and check in and went straight onboard. Since we had FTTF we were in our balcony room (9434) at 11:45! Muster drill was a breeze as we staged in Teen Club O2.

 

Cabin: Balcony 9434. Awesome location. right around the corner from the stairs/elevator. Up one deck and you are right at the aft pool, deli, tandoor and buffet. Occasional noise from above (we were right below the deli) but not very noticeable. Room steward (Putu) was awesome. Cabin always spotless, fresh towels all the time, and he always asked if there was anything we needed. Best air conditioning on a ship EVER.

 

Dining: Buffet was a bit boring. Not bad, just boring.

Pasta bar upstairs was good. (Don't get the alfredo sauce as it is very soupy)

Deli was very good.

Pizza, the best we've ever had on a ship.

Mongolian Wok, great food LONG WAITS.

Dining Room, (Scarlet early) hit and miss. Elegant night menus and last night were excellent. The other nights less than stellar. Great service (Imade, Putu and Alan)

Room service, great timing and very fast!

 

Activities: Camp Carnival staff were excellent and our 2 yo had great fun. We also did the Seuss at Sea parade, Cat in the Hat reading and breakfast. Breakfast is 5 bucks and worth it as you get pictures with the Cat, Thing 1, Thing 2, and Sam I am. They serve Filet with eggs! as well as green eggs and ham, waffles, french toast...

Minature golf was a blast, casino entertaining but VERY SMOKY.

 

SPA: You must get a day pass. Three story Thalassopy pool, aroma steam room, heated tile loungers.

 

Pools: more than 600 kids under 18 on the ship but the pools were never overly crowded.

 

Ports:

ISLA ROATAN-booked privately with Victor Bodden tours (30 pp). EXCELLENT. Had a driver/car that stayed with us all day. Gave us a tour of the island, then went to Bodden estate where we interacted with Capuchin monkeys, Macaws and Toucans. Great stuff as the monkeys jump on your shoulders looking for sunflower seeds. Great photos. Left there and get 2 hours at a beach (we skipped this part as it was pouring rain).

 

Belize- FTTF got us priority tender, a MUST HAVE. 5 mile/20 minute tender ride. booked privately with BUTTS UP, cave tubing/ATV ride. (70 pp) AWESOME. Did an ATV jungle trak ride. (2 year old rode on my lap and loved it!) Then we did a 30 minute walk through the jungle and got in the river. Crystal clear water. Six tubes tied together with head rests. (2 year old again rode in my lap). Guide pulls/pushes you through caves which were amazing. very leisurely trip and tranquil. They surprised us with Belize tamales for lunch before heading back to port.

 

Cozumel-Reserved Mr. Sanchos privately. EXCELLENT. All inclusive (55 pp) Service was OUTSTANDING. Best beach area. We have previously done Nachi and Play Mia and Sanchos was by far the best. Tremendous food and drinks neverending. Two pools with swim-up bars and beach service. Our server actually brought us drinks in the ocean.

 

Cruise Director Hennie from South Africa was great.

 

Debarkation: FTTF a must. Staged in the Crimson Dining room at 7:30 a.m. with Diamond/Platinum where they served pastries and beverages. We were first off the ship after self-assist people about 8:15. Got our bags with a porter, through customs and in the car at 9. Quick exit onto I-10 heading North to Mississippi.

 

New Orleans is without a doubt the best Embark/Debark port.

 

We would definitely sail the Dream again with this itinerary. The Ship would be great with the 2.0 upgrades. (EA Sports, Guys Burger Bar etc...)

[portocaller]

Glad you had fun.

[crusinpsychRN]

Thanks for your review. I hadn't realized Dream didn't have 2.0.

 

I liked Mr. Sanchos so much more than Nacchi. Much better surroundings, food and service

[BigB0882]

Dream does have 2.0 upgrades, just not all of them. I think the Dream was one of the first ships to ever get any of the 2.0 upgrades if I am remembering correctly.

 

Not all upgrades are the best. Guys Burgers sounds neat but it closes early, I'd rather have the option of getting a burger, hot dog, fries, etc later into the evening than only having pizza as a choice.

 

I also think the Tandoori buffet is the best food on the entire ship and if anything took its place it would be a DOWNGRADE.

 

I would love the Alchemy Bar, though. That seems like it could just go in place of one of the other bars so I don't know why they don't have that.

 

I loved your review, though. It is perfect as I am going on her in 2 weeks on the exact itinerary and we have FTTF for the first time so your cruise was almost written just for me. lol

Edited June 8, 2015 by BigB0882

[winddawn]

Nice review. Thanks for sharing. I love NOLA too.

[sardam]

How much is a day pass for the spa? Thanks

[flynnsport]

How much is a day pass for the spa? Thanks

 

40 bucks, 149 for the week. I didnt get the week pass as we wouldn't have had time to go every day.

[cruisingwithgrace]

I'm not a seasoned cruiser, so I'd like to know why you said in the future you'd have the gratuities taken off your account and you pay them in person. Just curious if we should do this on our upcoming cruise.

[bruadhin]

They are keeping Guy's and BlueIguana open later now, at least on some ships. They were open through dinner on the Breeze. Guy's stayed open, while BlueIguana went to tacos only for the afternoon lull between lunch and dinner.

 

I would assume this was in response to guest feedback. It was a good decision as both were busy in the evening.