WhoDatNation

I just returned 2 weeks ago on the Dream and received a bounce back offer and I only had about 1,000 points. I use it to book a 4 day at the end of this month. I was SHOCKED when I returned to the room and my wife handed it to me

I received a casino bounce back offer on my last cruise 2 weeks ago. Can I combine that offer with an upgrade offer I have?

Sure would just like I done last year

Just got back from the Carnival Dream visiting Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I am not doing an in-depth review as there are plenty on those ports and the ship but wanted to hit on some low and high points from our cruise.

 

 

 

This is our 3rd cruise on the Dream so I feel I have a very good reference point to know when something is being done well or not. So, with that in mind:

 

 

 

Casino - we are big gamblers and our sign and sail balance proved that. :eek: I know people win in the casino but between the 3 of us none of us could hit a darn thing all week. We felt the slots only paid small bonuses so they were not much fun and you couldn't even win enough to play on for a while. Two people won $20,000 on this sailing so it can happen, just not to us. lol However, the casino hostess (I believe her name was Alaina) was very nice and comped our party of 4 a Steakhouse dinner one night and we all got bounce-back offers. The bar staff was MUCH improved compared to our previous sailings when you were lucky to even get offered a drink while playing. They had plenty of people on the floor and they constantly asked if you needed anything and did not take 30 minutes to come back with your drink. I think they upped the amount of people on the floor and it made all the difference.

 

 

 

Steakhouse - This was our very first time in the steakhouse. We went on the first night and again later thanks to the casino. Both meals were great. Steaks were huge and delicious. The sides were really underwhelming though, both in selection and quality. The mashed potatoes were like glue and the first night did not have the wasabi or horseradish it said was on the menu. We thought we just couldn't taste it but on returning we realized it was left off the first time because the 2nd visit it was clearly visible and you could taste it. Why leave it off the first time without telling those ordering it? Service was fine. A magician came to our table the 2nd visit and performed the most amazing up close magic I have ever seen. I don't know how he did it. I saw a coin vanish right before my eyes and it wasn't in his hand. Mind. Blown.

 

 

 

MDR - horrible. I don't blame the American Table change because the menu was just fine but the service was HORRIBLE. We didn't eat in there until night 2 because the first night we had the Steakhouse. Night 2 was formal night and as expected it was busy with a wait but not a very long wait. We had a server who was clearly not interested in being there and every one of us had stuff missing from what we ordered. He never came back so we couldn't even tell him we were missing something. Bar service, as most people know, was absolutely awful. Drinks were ordered mid meal and never received, we finally just left. We complained to Guest Services and this was our first time ever complaining about anything. The lady at GS was awful and kept blaming us but in the end she did pass on our comments and the Maitre'D came to speak to us when we were back in the MDR the next time and we also got a call from the Bar Manager. We didn't ask for or receive anything for free as that was not the point, we were just happy they acknowledged the mistakes and they seemed genuinely happy that we let them know about it. The food itself was just fine, nothing fancy but always something good to choose from. I will never set food in the MDR on formal night again and we actually ate at the buffet a couple of nights, which is something we never do.

 

 

 

Atrium singers - I have to mention these two. There is a duo in who perform mostly in the Atrium at night. The womans name is Richel and I think the man is Rey. They are FANTASTIC. Richel in particular. The woman can sing as well as any current legend and can sing circles around 99% of current pop stars. Her covers of Whitney Houston, Adele and Mariah Carey were just insanely good. We went and watched her almost every night and she came down to talk to us. So friendly.

 

 

 

Cruise Director - Jase was our CD and I loved that he didn't do his tagline of "bye...I said bye" over and over. I think he only said it 2-3 times the entire cruise. I wonder if people complained or he just is over it? Either way I found him to be a great CD and much less annoying without the tag line.

 

 

 

Security - Unfortunately my friend was pushed out of an elevator as he was getting off and fell but was not hurt. The man who did it was drunk coming back from Cozumel is our guess and his wife had been making comments in the elevator but we honestly didn't even pay attention to who she was talking to. Security was great about taking down his statements and going through camera footage to find these people all the while keeping my friend up to date. Last we heard they had not found them but they had been ID'd. Supposedly when they got off the ship and their S&S card is swiped it will alert to have them pulled aside and they will never allowed to sail with Carnival again. My friend opted not to press charges but if this event had happened with another port stop the man would have been put off at that port. :eek:

 

 

 

The piano bar singer was horrible, I couldn't stand to listen to him for more than one song but plenty of people seemed to be in there having a blast so maybe it was just me being spoiled by the vocal talents of Richel. lol BlackJack Band was amazing, as always.

 

 

 

Overall this was our least favorite cruise on Dream. It just felt like a lot of things were off with the staff, mostly in the MDR. Don't get me wrong, we still had a blast and will be sailing with Carnival again but now that we have done all the stops out of New Orleans we may switch to another city to try a different ship. We are looking forward to trying Triumph though, she is new to New Orleans since we began sailing so that is something to look forward to.

 

 

 

Any questions? Please ask! I will probably remember more things and come back to post them. I hope the review didn't focus on the negatives, those just tend to come to mind first.

What games payed out $20k?

Would you recognize there names??

Yes because I'm a person that watch a lot of comedy

One cruise had a last comic standing finalist and this past one had a regular on one of the tonight shows. Those aren't unknown comics, the one from the tonight show was saying he was hoping for a cruise circuit run as he hadn't done it before. I'm not sure how far out they book comedians which could be why there isn't a list.

I leave in a little over 2 weeks so I'm guessing they have the comedians booked for my sailing lol. It would be nice to know them before

First time on Carnival so this will be my first time going to HMC...

 

If you've ever rented the cabanas how did you like them? Are they worth it?

 

Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you.

I had #9 last year and loved the location

If there were, you probably wouldn't recognize their names. They are on the "cruise circuit"...not in big venues by any means. That said...they are pretty good...just go, be surprised and enjoy!

Not true. This will be my 8th cruise coming up and I knew a few of the comedians outside being on the ship circuit as I'm a person that LOVES comedy

Is there a list of comedians for each ship?

What's the best transportation for 5 adults and 1 child? Will be heading there from the Dream next month.

What do they charge for that ride?

$33 if I'm not mistaken

1. We were the only ones on this particular excursion from the Dream. We were put in a little mini bus, even though there were only 5 of us. With a 4 year old who is normally in a backed booster, we decided that we would not take it along on this trip. We felt safe with the seatbelts in the van and an adult sitting next to him.

 

Resortforaday also had a group going to Sunscape Splash. There was a large group from the ship headed there, and I think (although I am not 100% sure bc we left before them) that they were put on a charter type bus (but not as big).

 

If you do take seats, you will have to take them off the van/bus while you are at the resort. During the five hours we were there, the van driver left and did a run back and forth to the airport.

 

2. There were a ton of chairs all over the pool deck between the kids area and the main pool. While there were not many chairs pulled up to the kids area, I do recall some. The kids area is not very deep (maybe between ankle and knee deep on an adult) and is zero immersion. Most parents either seemed to be standing just on the edge of the pool or sitting in the shallow water.

How much was this excursion?

I went to Southwest but not sure where you go to get to Ebay? Would appreciate any help. Do you get Southwest points plus a discount on the gift card?

Found it

PayPal not letting me complete the purchase. All my banking info is setup correct and after calling them twice, forget it

Which seller?

Great review as I will be on the Dream in June

I just tried to buy one but the code has expired.

is this an assumption or do you actually have knowledge of this.

 

 

 

The main thrust of the discussion always centers around the idea of why should the customer subsidize the employers' paying an employee a fair wage. The reality is that is how employees always get paid (by the customer).

 

 

 

In the situation of cruise lines they have asked that we do it by paying tips/service charge, whatever you want to call it. We all know what the money is for before we go on the cruise. The employees actually expect it that way. Would you feel better if they just raised the cruise price across the board and then you could just give extra to the people who you feel deserve more? If your answer to this is yes, why can't people who continually seem to have a problem with this issue just pretend that the tips/service charge is part of the cost and now you can be as generous as you want to anybody you feel deserves it.

 

 

 

I have never responded to one of these threads but the same thread comes up in one form or another every couple of weeks if not more often and always sounds the same.

Assumption based on me working in the hospitality industry. I can not see everyone on the ship working for tips especially the staff you can't even interact with. Ships should run just like a hotel. JMHO

How in the world do you know that the behind the scenes people get paid more???? Have you worked on a ship?

 

The whole hospitality industry works pretty much the same. I work in the industry so I have a good idea. I bet you won't tip every worker next time you stay at a hotel is all I'm saying. You would cry like a baby if you had to do that.

You can pay cash to the waitstaff and room stewards if you wish and remove the automatic grats but how would you tip lido people?

All room stewards and wait staff on the ship that provide you service should get cash tips from you. I shouldn't have to tip behind the scenes staff because just like a hotel, they get paid more since they don't work for tips.

Donkey, my last cruise director, reminded everyone about the whole tips thing is...there are a lot of people behind the scenes that benefit from tips that you don't see....like the cooks, dishwashers, laundry people etc...

This is my problem. Why should guest tip behind the scenes staff on the ships but not at hotels? They are providing the same service at a hotel but those workers never see a tip. I think your tips should go to your housekeepers and waiters. JMHO

I've been on 7 cruises all with Carnival but never knew the answer to this. Is gratuities mandatory or can you put cash in envelopes and give it to who you want? I always add the gratuities when I book a cruise. I heard some people really don't tip the staff. I thought it would be on your sail and sign card regardless and you can't remove them and you must pay grats.

I had the same issue last week. I found it very strange it wouldn't let me add both guest names before deposit. I called carnival and explained to them what happened and they had no problem with correcting the issue

Thought I was the only one. It's horrible

I was on this cruise and my 2 complaints were guest services(HORRIBLE) not having any quarters for people to wash and the wait staff in Atlantic(too slow). Other than that, this was one of the best cruises I have took so far out of 7.