My not very extensive Dream Review 6/28/15 sailing

[steveknj]

Finally found a few minutes to write this up. my DW and 16 year old DD were on the 6/28 sailing and stayed in Cabin 11263 (balcony). We had a great time. Our other major cruises were on NCL, so I do this review with some comparisons to what we experienced on NCL. Both lines have their good points and bad points and I will try and do an honest compare.

 

Embarkation in New Orleans:

We had FTTF, but honestly not sure if it made a huge difference in time savings as we got to the port at 10:30 and were on the ship by about 11. Of course our room was ready so that was helpful.

 

Cabin:

This was our first ever balcony and we really enjoyed it, though I'm not sure I'd spend the extra money again if it meant going or not going on a cruise. I thought the cabin was nicer and larger than what we've had on our two NCL cruises (similar size ship), and the three of us were able to navigate the room pretty easily. TV worked well, plenty of closet space, decent size bathroom, plenty of hot water. Not sure why others were complaining the cabin was warm. In fact we had to turn the AC down a bit because it was getting downright cold. Location was good, just above Lido deck, but only our balcony did we ever hear any noise from the pool and even that was not too loud. We lucked out with fairly quiet neighbors. We gave the steward a $20 at the beginning of the cruise to keep things good for us and he was outstanding the rest of the cruise.

 

Food and dining staff:

This is is one area where NCL is MUCH better. Maybe it was that we were on anytime dining or that we just had some fantastic Cajun/Creole meals in NOLA, but we found the food really lacking. It was OK at best. Breakfast food regularly came cold and dinner service was slow. Someone mentioned the lines, which I didn't really mind too much. Most we waited was like 20 minutes and the one time we had a pager, we waited 5 minutes from that point. We enjoyed the little shows which they did which wasn't done on NCL. Service was spotty at best. We had a couple of decent waitstaff, but every night there was always something. Either they mixed up our orders, or we waited for milk for coffee, or for coffee period. My daughter has celiac so she's GF and they did a decent job with her as she ordered her meals the night before. But, they only offered her the special bread (which she said was outstanding) when reminded of it (except for a couple of decent waiters) and sometimes she got less slices than others). There were some standout selections. Obviously the chocolate melting cake is great (my daughter lived for that dessert!). I enjoyed the lamb one night and whatever roasted potatoes they served were very good. We never did the steakhouse. Of the other food venues, we did that pasta bar the first day and it was really good, but generally, we didn't go crazy for lunch, and just hit the buffet. We ate mostly where the lines weren't since there was plenty of selections. The buffet food was average buffet food. Nothing special.

 

Activities - We didn't really use the pool and that was usually very crowded, but we did enjoy Trivia, hit the casino a couple of times and played the poker machines. I thought the stage shows, the comedy shows and karaoke was done well and were better than NCLs. They had PG rated Comedy shows early and adult ones late. My wife and daughter enjoyed the dancing parties, both on the Lido deck and down in the lobby area. But, they need to find more music for dances as they did the same 4 or 5 dances at each party and after awhile it got old. Still, it was fun. Hennie the CD was very personable and most of his staff was as well. They managed to keep us entertained, which says something.

 

Excursions - We did one at each port. Dunns River Falls excursion was fun, although I injured my lower left leg climbing the falls. Had a nice lunch and even though the bus ride was long the guides were good. We did the Turtle farm in Cayman, which was so so. The Turtles part was about 10 minutes, the rest was spent at the "snorkeling" pool. I would do something else if we ever went back. We did the Catamaran/Snorkel/beach in Cozumel which was also fun. Free beer and margaritas :) All of the excursions were with Carnival and very well organized.

 

Debarkation/billing - We had some dependencies with the billing. They charged us for the bottled water in our room when we never even opened it. Also the billing was very confusing, as gratuities showed up on all of our folios and also on my wife's main folio (which had 3 gratuities). So it seemed like we had 5 sets. It would be better to have one bill per cabin. This was another advantage of FTTF. We had a dedicated service line (along with premier cruisers), so the wait times were not that bad. Debarkation was painless. One thing that NCL had that Carnival didn't was a service to bring your luggage directly to the airport. If we had that available to us, we would have spent another great morning/lunch in New Orleans instead of having to spend 5 hours at the airport. There were also people at the port saying they were taxis and leading you to a non-taxi van. We started following one of them until I realized what he was doing and then headed to a real taxi. Otherwise, no real issues.

 

Anyone have specific questions, I'd be happy to answer if I could.

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for your review! I have been wanting to sail on the Dream for a while now, but for some reason, the airfares from my city to there always seem to nip that plan in the bud, not sure why it is so expensive to there compared to Miami or Fort Lauderdale for us up here in the great white north. Some day however I might just have to bite the biscuit and go, and by that time the Dream will be moved to somewhere else:D I have been to New Orleans a few times and love that city, the culture, the history and the cuisine. I always read Dream reviews, good, not so good and bad ones, because I absolutely would love to sail on that ship. Thanks again.:)

 

P.S. As for Grand Cayman; I did not want to do this, but my friends dragged me along to the "swim with the stingrays". I like the water, and like to float and paddle around, but while I really do love nature and sea life, I am scared as %&((, of it all, and tiny crab nibbling at my toe will send me flying out of the water so fast, it is comical to see. I swore I would not get off the tour boat, but when the last person off before me, was an 80 something lady, I said wha the heck, I am going in! Loved it, felt those beautiful creatures glide by my legs, felt like velvet, and not to mention the beautiful sea, and soft sand under my feet. I did not kiss or feed the stingrays, but just enjoyed a few moments in the water, and then got out, climbed back up on the boat to my comfort zone. Still just one of the best experiences of my life. If you go back there, I recommend a visit with the stingrays.

Edited July 8, 2015 by SMSACE6

[steveknj]

Thanks for your review! I have been wanting to sail on the Dream for a while now, but for some reason, the airfares from my city to there always seem to nip that plan in the bud, not sure why it is so expensive to there compared to Miami or Fort Lauderdale for us up here in the great white north. Some day however I might just have to bite the biscuit and go, and by that time the Dream will be moved to somewhere else:D I have been to New Orleans a few times and love that city, the culture, the history and the cuisine. I always read Dream reviews, good, not so good and bad ones, because I absolutely would love to sail on that ship. Thanks again.:)

 

New Orleans and the itinerary of this cruise were the primary reasons we chose the Dream. I'd have no qualms sailing it again. I did feel like the token northerner though :) Most everyone was from down south with a lot of folks from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. I guess proximity to the port is the main reason for that. It was interesting as the south is one area of the US I haven't spent a lot of time in. I'd been to Texas before, but never to New Orleans. I think now I've been to about 44 states with the ones I haven't been to all in the South (and Hawaii).

[hello]

Thank you for taking the time to do your review.

 

I too wish that Carnival had some type of luggage delivery directly to the airport in New Orleans. Last year we were also at the airport 4 hours before our flight.

 

I wonder why they do not have a city tour excursion that ends at the airport on debarkation day ... we have always enjoyed that in their other port cities.

[steveknj]

Thank you for taking the time to do your review.

 

I too wish that Carnival had some type of luggage delivery directly to the airport in New Orleans. Last year we were also at the airport 4 hours before our flight.

 

I wonder why they do not have a city tour excursion that ends at the airport on debarkation day ... we have always enjoyed that in their other port cities.

 

We did one of those tours in Seattle with NCL, while our bags were on the way to the airport. That was great. You'd think in a city like New Orleans where there's so much to see, it would be a natural :) Maybe they just feel that most people are driving to the port and it's not worth it.

[portlandpete]

New Orleans and the itinerary of this cruise were the primary reasons we chose the Dream. I'd have no qualms sailing it again. I did feel like the token northerner though :) Most everyone was from down south with a lot of folks from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. I guess proximity to the port is the main reason for that. It was interesting as the south is one area of the US I haven't spent a lot of time in. I'd been to Texas before, but never to New Orleans. I think now I've been to about 44 states with the ones I haven't been to all in the South (and Hawaii).

 

Thanks for the review! We are from Maine and can't wait to try the Dream which we will next April! We have always wanted to go to New Orleans so we will go 3 days before we cruise and are very excited to tour the city.

 

I would appreciate it if you would please let me know what hotel you stayed in. We are booked in the Drury. Was there alot of music at night?? Also, we have FTTF and get it so I can get the pass to the Spa for the week. Had the pass on the Breeze and loved it. Did you go to the spa?? Thanks for your help!!

[carib1]

NOLA does have luggage express they may call it Advance check-in. We have used it twice and our luggage was delivered to the airport right from the port. If I remember correctly it was located right as you exit the ship to the right,but could be overlooked easily with all the commotion. It was $25 for the first two bags and I think maybe $5.00 ea additional bag. Not too sure on the prices thou.

[carib1]

Just checked my cruise info book from our Dream cruise last October, it is $25.00 for the first 4 bags then $5 each additional bag. It is called Advance Check-In, they will also hold your luggage if you don't want it transferred to the airport, that's what we did last cruise, because we took Amtrak.

Edited July 8, 2015 by carib1

[oncruisecontrol]

Thanks for writing this report.

[mabones]

Just checked my cruise info book from our Dream cruise last October, it is $25.00 for the first 4 bags then $5 each additional bag. It is called Advance Check-In, they will also hold your luggage if you don't want it transferred to the airport, that's what we did last cruise, because we took Amtrak.

 

Thats good to know. I wonder if it is worth it if you have an 11:50am flight?