Carnival Dream August 2012

[lynnenewman]

This was our third cruise with Carnival. It is also, sadly, our least favorite. If you are someone who likes time in the pool each day, this is not the cruise to take. Carnival's Water Works program has resulted in small pools that pack people in like a sardine can. The best days at the pool were the port days that we didn't have excursions. We were on the Verandah Deck in a balcony room. This was a nice room, however the room doesn't stay as cool as a room with no window/door that opens.
The food was not as good as previous cruises. I teach in an elementary school. School cafeterias serve prepared food that has been frozen and rewarmed to be served, which is what many of Carnival's food items tasted like. My husband has always liked the eggs benedict, which has a suace. This time he got it twice and the sauce was a firm patty like the egg. The chocolate lava cakes were either under or over cooked. Out of 6 nights, my son only got one that was correctly cooked. The shows were awful, but the Punchline Comedy club is not to be missed. That was the best part of evening activities.

One thing that was good was that they were very vigilant about safety. We ended up having an Eastern/Western Carribean cruise due to Hurricane Ernesto. We went to Cozumel (good shopping/Dolphin excursion), Progresso (stayed on board), Freeport (did the jeep tour - it was so Hot!) and Nassau (went shopping - Straw Market is great - and it rained),

Our next cruise will not be on Carnival. We visited with several people that agreed that Carnival is not meeting the needs of passengers that don't have younger children. Also, the size of Dream is overwhelming.

Good luck on your cruise.

[lyndamr]

What cabin were you on were the hallways warm also? We also on verandah deck if its going to be warm this girl not going to be happy.

I know the food is just so so did you try the steakhouse, we have four nights reserved there.

[PA Beachlovers]

We were on the Dream last October and didn't experience any problems, the food as said was ok, nothing great but definately better than school cafeteria food. The pools are small, we didn't even try and get in one, a nice beach is more to our liking. We found plenty to do on board on sea days without getting in the pools. The ship is large but never really found it crowded at any one time except on embarkation day before the rooms were ready, the buffet was really crowded then. We are looking forward to our cruise on her sister ship the Breeze next year!

[vivavegas]

Sorry that your cruise experience did not meet your expectations.

[Sh1035]

Is there any cruise ship out there that has enough space in the pool for all to enjoy? Not a flame just curious. I realize they are all tiny and don't even want to jump in the sauce pool. But since everyone's gripe please tell me which ship and line?

Looking forward to my dream cruise this October. But I'm an easy one to please. I can jump in my own pool everyday. I know the history.

[meatloafsfan]

A tip I found on another cruiseline about keeping a balcony room cool.

1. Make sure the balcony door is firmly shut. Our air conditioner wasn't coming on and it was because the door was closed but hadn't clicked into place - when the balcony door is open, the air conditioner will not come on.

2. If you are out of the cabin during the day, close the balcony curtains. The sunshine will warm up your cabin and then the air conditioner is trying to fight the added heat.

[dololie]

I agree with the op on pools. With a ship that carries over 4,ooo people there are few pools and they are very small.

[k2excursion]

What was it about the shows that were awful? Could you expand on that? I know that shows all over Carnival have been changing, so I am very interested to hear some specifics as to what the Dream is doing now. Thanks ahead of time for whatever you can remember: the names of the shows, what you didn't like, what types of shows, how many nights with no shows, how long were the shows.

[susie8862]

I always have a difficult time swallowing posters that join CC for the first time and post a bad review.

Cruise lines have no control over weather. Safety comes first. Very sorry you had a bad time.

[maggieworkman]

Originally Posted by susie8862

I always have a difficult time swallowing posters that join CC for the first time and post a bad review.

Cruise lines have no control over weather. Safety comes first. Very sorry you had a bad time.

The OP didn't complain about the weather. She said that one of the good things about the cruise was that Carnival was vigilant about safety and altered the itinerary.

Maggie

[susie8862]

Originally Posted by maggieworkman

The OP didn't complain about the weather. She said that one of the good things about the cruise was that Carnival was vigilant about safety and altered the itinerary.

Maggie

Um, where did I state that she complained about it? Please show me.