Just off Carnival Dream - Comments and Tips

My husband and I were on the 6/21 sailing out of New Orleans and just got off the Dream. We had an aft balcony, which was very nice for viewing the trip down and back up the Mississippi River.

Overall, the ship was great, staff pleasant and hard-working, and the food in the dining room was good to very good. We had early seating. I noticed most people who posted negative reviews of the food and service either never ate in the dining room or had anytime dining. The lido buffet was okay; I ate breakfast there on port days and had a couple of salads at lunch. It wasn't bad, just nothing to write home about.

The ports (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel) and the excursions we booked were phenomenal. We decided to spend our time in ports doing active excursions rather than shopping and it was a good choice - Dolphin swim and snorkel, Xunatunich Ruins, and the Turtle Cove/Cavern snorkel.

TIPS: Definitely pay for faster to the fun. It usually looks like it is sold out, but about a month before your cruise, check the website every day. Spots open up after Carnival accounts for all the platinum guests.

Eat brunch in the main dining room on sea days. Very good and they'll cook your eggs however you want.

If you want peace and quiet, pay for the spa pass. I used it almost every day for some quiet time. I pretty much had the whole spa to myself between 8 and 9 in the morning.

If you eat on the lido deck, try the Tandoor station at the back or the pasta station upstairs. The food is very good.

The gym was very good - lots of equipment. I think the peak hour was 8-9, but at 7 am there are plenty of machines available.

The few things that made portions of our trip less than enjoyable had nothing to do with Carnival or the staff and everything to do with rude, inconsiderate passengers. Parents, if you use the fact that you are on a ship to avoid minding your children, you should be ashamed of yourselves. I hope you read this, although if the behavior of your children is an example of your behavior, I suppose you probably do not care. The same goes for people who use the whole ship as a garbage can because there is always a crewmember that is going to clean up your mess.

On movie nights, some parents chose to dump their kids in the pool and walk off, leaving SMALL children (ages 4-8) to scream and run around for 2 hours while other passengers where trying to watch the movie. The one time I said something to some rambunctious kids, all I got was a "this woman is crazy look". That is unacceptable. My 10 year old niece was on the cruise as well and she was always escorted by an adult and did not run, yell, or disturb other passengers in any way. I did run into a few teenagers who were exceptionally polite and respectful - kudos to those parents. Other kids left half-eaten ice cream cones in the elevators, on the stairs, dumped their drinks on the carpet in the comedy club, etc., ran through the buffet area screaming and running into passengers. Teenage boys were harassing girls in the elevator.

Some of the adults were not much better. If you go on a cruise to party all night, great - go enjoy yourself at the bars, in the club, etc. Do not use that as an excuse to conduct loud conversations in the hall ways, bang doors at 3 am, etc. Everyone keeps different hours, so out of respect, everyone should use keep noise to a minimum in the hallways.

I did have a good time, but the number of stupid people I encountered pretty much made up my mind to pay for an all inclusive resort next time - preferably one without kids!

How much was the spa pass?

Thanks for the information. We also have early seating for dinner for our upcoming cruise, glad to hear the food was good. Is traditional dining located in the Scarlet (aft) dining room? What size table did you eat at? DW and I will be cruising with our niece and her husband, and will try to get one of the 4 seat booths.

The pass was $169 for the entire week or $299 for a couple. That included access to the thalasso-therapy pool, 2 steam rooms, a relaxation room, and 2 dry heat rooms with the heated tile chairs (laconium? I think). The locker room was quite nice with private showers that are MUCH larger than what are in the cabins.

May I ask your room number and if the room was cool enough?

Thanks for the info kc11101!

Answers to questions...

We were in cabin 8477 and I found the A/C worked just fine. The room steward kept the drapes closed during the day and I think that made a huge difference. However, the balcony was HOT during the day. We mainly used it at night.

We had early seating in Scarlett and had a table for 7, which was exactly how many were in our party. The travel agent set it up for us.

Thanks for the feedback! I will be sailing on the Dream for the first time in October.

I couldn't agree more with your comment on kids. This is the reason while I will never cruise while kids are out of school. I honestly do not understand what some parents are thinking these days. Personally, I think there should be a rule that no child 12 or under can be left alone anywhere on the ship; they should have an adult guardian present with them at all times.

TIPS: Definitely pay for faster to the fun. It usually looks like it is sold out, but about a month before your cruise, check the website every day. Spots open up after Carnival accounts for all the platinum guests.

Glad to hear this. I told hubby about the FTTF and he agreed we should get it if only to get access to our room and luggage immediately. Of course, I had no idea that it was not available until AFTER I clicked add to cart. :rolleyes:

I've sailed during times when kids almost over take the ship. I have had to intervene when some older kids took over the chess set while my son and a friend were playing. I don't take that kind of stuff. I will make a scene!

I was pushed by a teenager while I was walking on the Carnival Breeze. Needless to say I and some adult men gave him a piece of our minds!

The worst yet was on NCL Epic during spring break. You had to get up way early to grab a chair, because these invisible people and their towels were everywhere! So, I had to sit on a chair near the hot tubs. Well, some unsupervised kids thought it would be fun to push large amounts of water out of the hot tub down on to me like a waterfall. I had my iPad in my hands. Argh! I stood up and told them to stop and/or get out. Of course they didn't. I didn't hesitate to get security involved. Imagine some middle aged lady walking on the pool deck surrounded by 6 security guards. We meant business! The father that was not supervising his kids showed up and started laying into me. I basically told him to shut up because his kids were unsupervised and being little heathens in the hot tub and he was about to buy me a new iPad if they didn't stop. Security told them to leave the area. For awhile, the security guards were hiding up on the upper deck looking down to make sure they didn't come back to start anything again.

We were on the same cruise. We were in room 6484 which is also aft, it is L shaped with an extra long balcony. Our room stayed a little too warm for us but not intolerable. Our friends had 6477 which was just around the corner and their room stayed very cold. So quite a difference just a few rooms a way.

Staff was great, made friends with some of them, especially Grecia in the casino who was great and remembered us from last cruise.

I was sad to leave because I know we won't be going back for at least another year.

The kids can be a hassle. It didn't bother us since we basically cruise to gamble. Lol

I couldn't agree more with your comment on kids. This is the reason while I will never cruise while kids are out of school. I honestly do not understand what some parents are thinking these days. Personally, I think there should be a rule that no child 12 or under can be left alone anywhere on the ship; they should have an adult guardian present with them at all times.

Agree. Our upcoming January cruise will be our second, neither during a school break. Hopefully the kid presence will be at a minimum :D

We have been on the Dream "more than once" and have enjoyed every cruise. The time of the year will to a point control the number and age of the kids. We have sailed at different time and had aft wrap, spa, and regular balcony. All were great, but the aft wrap sailing down "old muddy" is one of the best cabins. The late night sailing, seeing all the oil rigs and light from an aft wrap with the one you love and a glass of wine is something you must do at least once.

We have been on the Dream "more than once" and have enjoyed every cruise. The time of the year will to a point control the number and age of the kids. We have sailed at different time and had aft wrap, spa, and regular balcony. All were great, but the aft wrap sailing down "old muddy" is one of the best cabins. The late night sailing, seeing all the oil rigs and light from an aft wrap with the one you love and a glass of wine is something you must do at least once.

Agree. We had an aft corner balcony on the Serenade. Very enjoyable....:D

I agree we r doing a b2b2b on the Dream aft wrap balcony

Thanks for your reply. We will be in cabin #9477 on the journey cruise in October. Good info.

Thanks for the review. We are going in Sept and are so excited. I travel with my children and one time we were in the elevator with them and an elderly couple go on at the next stop. When we went to get off the lady stopped us and said that earlier in the day my children had helped her husband on the lido deck clean himself up after another kid had run by and caused him to spill his food. Made me feel very proud. Now in saying that I'm sure at some point my kids have acted a fool when I wasn't looking. lol

Now my question...how long were you actually at the ruins? I know the bus ride is 2 hours each way but I'm curious how long you get to enjoy the ruins once you get there.

So glad you had a good trip....the Dream is a great ship.

Great review! Going on the dream in December and cAnt wait!

Margaritaville...we were at the ruins for two hours. The bus ride was two hours each way, but well worth it. You see almost the entire country because the ruins are on the border of Guatamala. Include a 45 minute stop for lunch and the excursion is 7 hours. On the way there, the guides told you about themselves, their country, etc. They are very nice people and very proud of their natural resources. You get to nap on the way back :).

May I ask your room number and if the room was cool enough?

Oh dear.

Is Dream known for hot rooms?

We had a hot room on Glory and an even hotter one on Conquest.

I did call each time and ask that the cabin be made cooler, but it stayed hot.

After the Conquest hot box I decided that I would be raising some hello if I got stuck in another crock pot of a cabin.

Also, on Dream are the saunas only available to people with spa passes?

We have been on the Dream "more than once" and have enjoyed every cruise. The time of the year will to a point control the number and age of the kids. We have sailed at different time and had aft wrap, spa, and regular balcony. All were great, but the aft wrap sailing down "old muddy" is one of the best cabins. The late night sailing, seeing all the oil rigs and light from an aft wrap with the one you love and a glass of wine is something you must do at least once.

How long does the ship travel down the river????

Thanks Heimey

How long does the ship travel down the river????

 

Thanks Heimey

It takes 6-8 hours. It is amazing!!

My husband and I cruised along with another couple on the 3/29 cruise on the Dream and unfortunately had lots of "unattended" children to deal with! I teach at school and feel I "tolerate" children well - but when you have groups of 9 - 14 year old kids having ice cream fights at the ice cream machine at midnight and kids of this age group having elevator races and sitting on the floors of the elevators late at night so no one else can enter - I have to wonder where are their parents! I agree with the OP that perhaps a lot of these kids have parents with bad behaviors and the parents probably don't see it (although my guess is that the parents were probably in a bar somewhere!) It certainly is no fault of Carnival - I did see staff attempt to stay on top of the messes created after the "ice cream fights" - and it certainly did not hamper our cruise experience - WE LOVE CRUISING AND WE LOVE CARNIVAL!!

I work with kids, love kids but not always their behavior. I'm also teach swimming and anyone who leaves their child unsupervised in a pool should be arrested. There has been unfortunately children that have drowned on cruise ships.

I've have had some thoughts of what to do unruly.... one is to make a badge up to show to kids stating I'm a undercover security and request their name and cabin numbers to report them LOL

But one thing I have done that has been effective..... such as a hot tub that is full of screaming kids that have been in the tub for over an hour..... I get my husband and others who are with us and we flop ourselves right in the hot tub and take it over ourselves! (Generally they don't want to be around)

Unfortunately absolutely NO parents of rude or unruly kids are on cruise critic. All the parents on cruise critic have angels for kids. So your post won't get to the parents of the wild banchees.