Carnival Dream March 5th, 2017

This was my 5th sailing with Carnival and frankly if this had been my first experience with a cruise, I may not have fell in love with cruising. This is no real fault of Carnival's, but I hate the design of the Dream. If you cruised the Dream and did not love cruising, please try the Glory or Pride.

Here are my problems with the design of the ship. First the number of people to the available public area, my cruise was full and 4000 people was a mess all week. I waited in line for everything. The elevator, the food, to get off the ship, to get into the MDR, just a whole week of lines. This did force me to use the stairs all week which was nice. Second, the public spaces are all built around walkways. The piano bar is not a room, but an area around a main walkway, same with basically every area on the ship except the dining room and main lounge. So while you listen to the Piano, a solid stream of cruisers is walking through the area. Last, the balconies all are recessed in the ship above deck 5, so you do not look down onto the water, but a public walkway, just a little disappointment on my part. I like to look straight down and see the water. Cove balconies are good for this.

Crew was great on the ship, I did have some room steward issues, but he was just way overworked clearly. I asked for both morning and evening service, but that was not happening and frankly I was just getting towels really, but that is also about all I need.

Dining service in the MDR was the best I have had on any cruise, but the food in the MDR was so bland and frankly just nothing great the whole week. Seasoning was just missing, but maybe that is how many people like it, so I will digress there. I see now why Guy's Burger, the Pig and Anchor and Blue Iguana are so popular, they have become the best included food on the ship. I really loved the Pig and Anchor.

I also must applaud the shows. Seems like for years I would see the same shows on every cruise, but this year I saw three new shows and they were all great. A Magician/Comedy act, new show called 80's Pop to the Max and Flick, I enjoyed them all.

Overall a pretty good week cruising, just not my favorite ship.

Do you have any pic's of the menus? I'm going on a 7 day so is there still 2 fancy dining nites, if so, can you still get lobster and steak?

Do you have any pic's of the menus? I'm going on a 7 day so is there still 2 fancy dining nites, if so, can you still get lobster and steak?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bzj3PA5tg8OxQlJ1aGM4VklhVGs

Thank you very much...looks pretty good to me!!

I am wondering if the same would be true on the other ships during spring break? Do you normally sail during spring break?

I like that walkways go through or near entertainment venues. It lets me enjoy the music while people watching.

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I am wondering if the same would be true on the other ships during spring break? Do you normally sail during spring break?

Yes, every year same week of spring break. As I see it, the Pride has 1500 guests and maybe a little less deck space, but the Dream has 4000 guests and not that much more deck space.

The ship just recently came out of drydock and there have been complaints of hot tubs, slides, etc. not being open. Did you happen to notice and did the ship seem crisp and clean?

the balconies all are recessed in the ship above deck 5, so you do not look down onto the water, but a public walkway, just a little disappointment on my part. I like to look straight down and see the water. Cove balconies are good for this.

 

 

That this boat has a real promenade that you can walk on near the water is one of it's saving features to me.

The ship just recently came out of drydock and there have been complaints of hot tubs, slides, etc. not being open. Did you happen to notice and did the ship seem crisp and clean?

Yes, most of the ship seemed clean to me and not much was broken or in bad repair. The hot tubs were all full and working, but most were cold for some reason.

This was my 5th sailing with Carnival and frankly if this had been my first experience with a cruise, I may not have fell in love with cruising. This is no real fault of Carnival's, but I hate the design of the Dream. If you cruised the Dream and did not love cruising, please try the Glory or Pride.

 

Here are my problems with the design of the ship. First the number of people to the available public area, my cruise was full and 4000 people was a mess all week. I waited in line for everything. The elevator, the food, to get off the ship, to get into the MDR, just a whole week of lines. This did force me to use the stairs all week which was nice. Second, the public spaces are all built around walkways. The piano bar is not a room, but an area around a main walkway, same with basically every area on the ship except the dining room and main lounge. So while you listen to the Piano, a solid stream of cruisers is walking through the area. Last, the balconies all are recessed in the ship above deck 5, so you do not look down onto the water, but a public walkway, just a little disappointment on my part. I like to look straight down and see the water. Cove balconies are good for this.

 

Crew was great on the ship, I did have some room steward issues, but he was just way overworked clearly. I asked for both morning and evening service, but that was not happening and frankly I was just getting towels really, but that is also about all I need.

 

Dining service in the MDR was the best I have had on any cruise, but the food in the MDR was so bland and frankly just nothing great the whole week. Seasoning was just missing, but maybe that is how many people like it, so I will digress there. I see now why Guy's Burger, the Pig and Anchor and Blue Iguana are so popular, they have become the best included food on the ship. I really loved the Pig and Anchor.

 

I also must applaud the shows. Seems like for years I would see the same shows on every cruise, but this year I saw three new shows and they were all great. A Magician/Comedy act, new show called 80's Pop to the Max and Flick, I enjoyed them all.

 

Overall a pretty good week cruising, just not my favorite ship.

Just a heads up then, you will not like the Magic or Breeze as the layout of the ships are the same.

Thanks for your feedback.

Yes, every year same week of spring break. As I see it, the Pride has 1500 guests and maybe a little less deck space, but the Dream has 4000 guests and not that much more deck space.

Yes, the difference in the amount of guests would make the Dream seem more crowded. I love the Serenity area on the Pride.

I was on this cruise also, and LOVED it!! I was amazed at how Uncrowded it felt. Never had a problem finding a chair, and if there was a line to anything, it wasn't long. We even found empty hot tubs on several occasions..lol.. Deck 5 was deserted every time I went out there, except when the BBQ was open, which was awesome btw!!

We did have a nightmare embarkation because of the broken gangway, so we were not happy when we first got on. I am very pleased to say, we forgot all about it soon enough.

Just goes to show, that 2 people on the same cruise, can have completely different experiences..

We were on the same cruise and agree with the last posi.

We had a great cruse from beginning to end once we actually got on.

We don't even miss tablecloths!