Just returned from Dream 8/28/16

[chrislo]

We just returned from a great trip on the Dream I will keep this review short as others have done some great pictorial reviews and focus on some of the questions I read before we left. We stayed at the Marriott on Canal our room had a river view and we were able to see the ship in the distance when we woke. We arrived at the port around 11:30 and with FTTF we were on board by 12:15. I found the staggered boarding made things smoother and the waiting area didn’t feel as crowded. Once on board our room was ready and as we made our way back we found our bags in the hallway unattended on a luggage cart so we grabbed them and went back to the room. While I unpacked my husband and son went exploring and to grab lunch. Sail away was delayed due to some maintenance issue so we didn’t leave the port until around 6:00.

 

We stayed in Cabin 9477 which was an aft facing balcony cabin. This balcony (and 9474) was 1/3 larger than the others and there were 2 lounge chairs, 2 regular chairs and a small table. Since we were on deck 9 our cabin was below the aft pool deck. During the afternoon we could hear the occasional chair being moved but for us it was never an inconvenience and we never heard anything at night. The air-conditioning kept the room comfortable (I didn’t need my fan) every day except for a few hours one day when it was turned off to change the filters. There has been some discussion recently regarding propulsion problems causing delays into ports however we didn’t experience any of this and we were on the Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cozumel itinerary. We were on time for every port and never had to leave a port early. The Dream is due for dry dock soon and you could tell it needed it, the curtains in our cabin and a tear, hangers were missing and our toilet seat was broken (one of the hinges was snapped off) however we didn’t experience anything that negatively impacted our trip. Our Cabin Steward was Ivan and he did a great job keeping our room clean. On the first day he stopped by and asked us when we would like the room cleaned. We were offered, Morning, Evening or Both as well as a choice of extra towels, blankets and pillows. We opted to have our room cleaned in the morning with turndown service at night.

 

We had Our Time Dinning since we prefer the flexibility this provides for us. We ate in the Steakhouse on both the 1st and last nights of the trip and both times our food was incredible and well worth the $35pp charge. Our son had the chicken fingers and the fish and chips from the kids menu and they were awful, I tried them thinking he was just being picky and agreed they were pretty bad. The only night we had to wait to get into the main dining room was the first elegant night and the wait was less than 15 minutes. We did not miss the tablecloths and liked having the pitcher of water on the table. The food in the main dining room ranged from ok (lamb) to great (all the pasta dishes) and I felt there was something for everyone. With the exception of 2 days we ate breakfast in the dining room. We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere over the crowds at the buffet.

 

On sea days we had no trouble finding seats in the sun or the shade since we weren’t trying to sit by the pool although we did see two family’s arguing when one family came to “their” chairs at noon to find another family had moved their things over a few seats. As others have said the pool is small for the number of people on board and on sea days you could barely move in the water. We did not take advantage of Cheers and when I looked at my bill it reinforced for me that Cheers doesn’t pay for our family as we only spent $400 in drinks which included $150 for the 5 bottle Cruising the Vineyard package.

 

Our overall impression was the Dream is a great ship and we would sail her again in the future.

[NightOne]

A couple of quick questions if you don't mind:

 

1. Whenever I watch cruise videos of the Dream everything always looks so RED. I mean they even have the Crimson and Scarlet dining rooms. :) Does it really "feel" that RED everywhere or is that maybe just a product of digital video making it feel that way?

 

2. We have FTTF too and we chose the earliest time for check-in but realize that they don't start letting people on until a certain time. We chose 10:30 (I believe) and you mentioned you got there at 11:30. Is it a waste of time to get there an hour earlier? When did they actually start letting any FTTF people on the ship?

 

Finally

 

3. Did they ever fix/replace the toilet seat and give you more hangers? :)

[chrislo]

A couple of quick questions if you don't mind:

 

1. Whenever I watch cruise videos of the Dream everything always looks so RED. I mean they even have the Crimson and Scarlet dining rooms. :) Does it really "feel" that RED everywhere or is that maybe just a product of digital video making it feel that way?

 

The dining rooms are definitely red but I didn’t really notice it everywhere else.

 

2. We have FTTF too and we chose the earliest time for check-in but realize that they don't start letting people on until a certain time. We chose 10:30 (I believe) and you mentioned you got there at 11:30. Is it a waste of time to get there an hour earlier? When did they actually start letting any FTTF people on the ship?

 

 

I wouldn't get there that early. it only took 30 minutes from curbside to cards in hand and then we only waited about 10 minuted before they boarded FTTF.

 

Finally

 

3. Did they ever fix/replace the toilet seat and give you more hangers? :)

 

I didn't ask for more hangers because there was enough for the few things I needed to hang and they did come fix the seat but I needed to call twice before someone came. Then it was a quick 5 min job. :D

[kylesplash]

We did not take advantage of Cheers and when I looked at my bill it reinforced for me that Cheers doesn’t pay for our family as we only spent $400 in drinks which included $150 for the 5 bottle Cruising the Vineyard package.

 

Do you feel you would have drank more with cheers? Did you ever talk yourself out of a drink?

 

What did you get at the steak house to eat?

 

I am cruising on the dream in October, I am hoping I don't notice the ship looking run down.

[chrislo]

We would have drank the same amount even if we had cheers. I never talked myself out of a drink and we actual talked each other into trying some new drinks, my favorite was the Green Iguana.

 

At the steakhouse my husband had the crab cake starter the first night and the lobster bisque the 2nd night with the filet mignon as his entree both nights. I had the lobster bisque surf and turf the first night and the french onion lobster tail the 2nd night. The onion soup was just ok I should have gotten the escargot the looked great.

 

For desset I had the chocolate sampler and my husband had the cheese plate.

[maldenmusic]

What did you do in Jamaica? Did your cabin have an empty or stocked mini bar in the frig?

[NightOne]

I didn't ask for more hangers because there was enough for the few things I needed to hang and they did come fix the seat but I needed to call twice before someone came. Then it was a quick 5 min job. :D

 

What about #1 and #2 ? :)

[chrislo]

Whenever I watch cruise videos of the Dream everything always looks so RED. I mean they even have the Crimson and Scarlet dining rooms. Does it really "feel" that RED everywhere or is that maybe just a product of digital video making it feel that way?

 

The dining rooms are definitely red but I didn’t really notice it everywhere else.

 

2. We have FTTF too and we chose the earliest time for check-in but realize that they don't start letting people on until a certain time. We chose 10:30 (I believe) and you mentioned you got there at 11:30. Is it a waste of time to get there an hour earlier? When did they actually start letting any FTTF people on the ship?

 

 

I wouldn't get there that early. it only took 30 minutes from curbside to cards in hand and then we only waited about 10 minuted before they boarded FTTF.

[NightOne]

Ok, Thanks for the info! :)

[chrislo]

We never opend the fridge so I don't know if it was stocked or not. In Jamaica we did the ship excursion to Dunns River Falls with a stop at a beach where some people (not us) had dolphin activities booked. I rarely book with the ship but because of the distance to the falls and traffic I didn't want to risk missing the ship. THe excursion was great and the we enjoyed climbing the falls. I never once felt rushed or unsafe. We could have skipped the beach stop as it was just ok but they did provide a small, nice buffet lunch. As I feared we were late getting back to the ship because the dolphin experience ran long but the tour guide was communicating with the ship the whole time so they knew when to expect us.

[NightOne]

In Jamaica we did the ship excursion to Dunns River Falls with a stop at a beach where some people (not us) had dolphin activities booked. I rarely book with the ship but because of the distance to the falls and traffic I didn't want to risk missing the ship. THe excursion was great and the we enjoyed climbing the falls. I never once felt rushed or unsafe.

 

 

Did your guide at DRF tell your group that they were the #1 group? LOL

[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[NightOne]

Appreciate the feedback.

 

Bob,

 

Can I ask what is up with this? I notice this is something you have been doing the last several months but never did in the past. Not trying to start anything but am just getting insanely curious as to why. Post count? :confused::confused::confused:

 

:)

[wmn2blm]

Just returned yesterday from our cruise. Let me say 1st that we were rerouted from our original trip to Key West and the Bahamas due to weather conditions and ended up in Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan, Honduras. We enjoyed the cities!!

We are however disappointed in the Carnival Dream, our 3rd Carnival ship. The food on the buffet was tasteless. The Steak House....A MUST TRY....Excellent food, excellent service and well worth the price of $35 per person. The main dining room had okay food but it was so cold in there we could not enjoy our meals so ended only eating there 3 times. "Restaurant Rules" were not enforced so people were eating in there with "pool entire" ie...swimming trunks, tank tops, flip flops. I for one do not want to look at hairy chests and underarms while I eat. Others may not have cared though. And gentlemen....did your Mother not teach you to take your hats off at the dinner table? It clearly stated no baseball caps in the restaurant but they were everywhere.

The ship was clean overall. Our room steward, Novi, and his team were great. The pillows were horrible...knotted up, but our bed was comfortable.

The music on board was a mixed variety which was very nice for everyone.

The main pool was small for the number of passengers however there are other pools and hottubs. The serenity deck was nice. A lot of room both in sun and shade. I do not think we would travel on the Dream again. I much prefer the Sunshine and Triumph.

We booked a catamaran snorkeling excursion in Roatan on the Jolly Roger Roatan. Highly recommend them. Snorkeling, great food (better than the ships) flowing rum drinks, water, soda and photos all included. Great fun!

Enjoy your cruises!!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[sheeniwoo]

We will be on the Dream in March, thanks for your review. I'm looking forward to the steak house!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wmn2blm]

The Steakhouse again was well worth it. You get your choice of appetizers, salad, main meal, and desert. They offered us a complimentary bottle of wine too but we declined as we don't drink wine but they have a full bar you can order from just not free. We had Filet Mignon and Lobster as our main meal. It was cooked to perfection.

[funat55]

Thank you for your review. I try to read them all. My trip on the Dream is still a ways off, not until July next year. I'm am really looking forward to the addition of Guy's Burgers. Did any of the crew mention what other changes to expect after dry dock?

[wmn2blm]

No they did not. We only read about it going in dry dock for engine problem repairs. We did not see or feel any problems though.