DREAM-just returned a few thoughts

WE just returned July 24 from the Dream Eastern Caribbean cruise and overall had a great family trip once again. The Dream is a big new ship but we felt very over crowded most of the week. We travel in the summer so we are use to the ships being full with alot of families but in this case the extra passengers made a difference on this ship. The gathering was the same size as the Liberty so very crowded many line ups everywhere. The Ocean plaza area is a great plus but that did not solve the problems at the Lido deck with one tiny pool for all those people either. Other then some rocky weather Monday our first sea day and rain in St. Thomas we had a nice vacation as always. Carnival continues to have fabulous dining as always. We were surprised that they moved the Deli outside and the Burrito bar in the middle of the gathering which made things even more chaotic during busy times. The comedy club shows are a big hit with Carnival people were enjoying the shows very much ...we did purchase future cruise certificates but will probably use them on another size ship...

Well thank for the information.

You thoughts are very similar to my own. I don't expect NOT to see crowds during the summer months... I just feel that Dream was poorly designed to accommodate the number of passengers she sails with.

(we were on the sailing right before yours)

Unfortunately, in my case... bad first impression from Carnival.

We did the 9 day sailing in December and hated the bottle neck at the coffee bar.

That is one design flaw I hope they address with the Magic.

Oddly enough, (because we eat at odd times)....never had any bad lines on Lido.

I am interested to know IF they are still doing the BBQ outdoors and opening the Main Dining Room for lunch on Embarkation Day. That was a couple of things that John Heald did when he was CD....

I did like the ability to go from front to back on Lower Dream Street without hardly seeing a soul. Since we had a Spa cabin, I loved Cloud 9.

You thoughts are very similar to my own. I don't expect NOT to see crowds during the summer months... I just feel that Dream was poorly designed to accommodate the number of passengers she sails with.

 

(we were on the sailing right before yours)

 

Unfortunately, in my case... bad first impression from Carnival.

We went on the Dream at the end of April, and it was very crowded, but the one thing we found that was nice was on the sides of deck 5 and 10. If you did not mind, or you wanted to be alone, you could go down the side and have most of the area quiet and peaceful. We would go out from the coffee and cake bar in the middle of the ship, and (except when the BBQ was going on, it was great)

I am interested to know IF they are still doing the BBQ outdoors and opening the Main Dining Room for lunch on Embarkation Day.

Yes, they still do the Lanai BBQ and yes the MDR is open on embarkation day, but only until 1:00pm. The Gathering is open for lunch until 3:30pm on embarkation day.

My opinion...and yes I just returned from the 17 July sailing of the Dream... is that this ship is the revenue generator. It is a larger ship, but Carnival filled the extra space with cabins (more passengers, more revenue). The public areas are small. There are only 2 small pools, but there are 10 hot tubs spread all over the ship. If you want to get away from the crowds use the Lanai. I found that very few people used this area and the hot tubs were empty most of the time.

Plan life on board accordingly. You will wait in lines for food at The Gathering. However, if you like Tandoori there is little or no line at that station. Average wait at the Mongolian Wok was about 40 minutes, as they can only cook 6 orders at a time and only when they have 2 cooks.

Please, don't get me wrong I loved the cruise even with high seas (up to 14 feet on one day), high winds (up to 68 MPH one day), and rain.

I agree. We sailed last year on the Carnival Freedom and this past year on the Dream. We too found that the public spaces on the Dream were no bigger than that on the Freedom, thus resulting in crowded conditions at times. That being said, we had an absolutely wonderful time on the Dream! We enjoyed Ocean Plaza and the lanai (BBQ is delicious!). The hot tubs on deck 5 were never crowded. The service on the ship, the food and the activities were all fabulous. So despite a couple nights and a day of high seas and missing our last port (Costa Maya) due to weather conditions, I am ready to book our next Carnival cruise! We had a blast! I would probably choose a smaller class of ship this time, maybe the Freedom again.

Some people like feeling squooshed on vacation.......we don't !

While our overall vacation experience on our Dream cruise was preferred over WORK.....having taken several Carnival cruises previously, we know you can do better on some of their other ships.

$ for $, Spirit class ships (and Destiny for that matter) are far superior IMHO.

Much more open space, larger pools including one for adults, equal food, less lines, more entertainment theater seats, balcony view of open ocean ONLY (not walking deck and noisy tub), what seemed to us more quiet sound-resistant cabin walls, more spaces for beach chairs, less crowded elevators, lesser degree of chair hogging , and finally waiters and cabin stewards that seem to be under less stress !

Don't give up on Carnival......they are the best deal. But we would agree that in case of Dream, bigger is certainly NOT better.

Are you kidding me? Were we on the same cruise? Apparently, you must be a first time cruiser. The winds for "2+ days" were clocked at 113 miles per hour not 68? I have been on numerous cruises and spoke to others with who have at least been on 9-20+ cruises that have never had a captain not divert the ship from our being in harms way? Have another drink as apparently you were somewhere else than where the rest of us were. The plates/silverware was absolutely disgusting on the lido deck. The ship was absolutely too big for the staff (which through no fault of their own who also were frustrated because passengers could not leave their rooms from being sick?)

Yes, they still do the Lanai BBQ and yes the MDR is open on embarkation day, but only until 1:00pm. The Gathering is open for lunch until 3:30pm on embarkation day.

 

My opinion...and yes I just returned from the 17 July sailing of the Dream... is that this ship is the revenue generator. It is a larger ship, but Carnival filled the extra space with cabins (more passengers, more revenue). The public areas are small. There are only 2 small pools, but there are 10 hot tubs spread all over the ship. If you want to get away from the crowds use the Lanai. I found that very few people used this area and the hot tubs were empty most of the time.

 

Plan life on board accordingly. You will wait in lines for food at The Gathering. However, if you like Tandoori there is little or no line at that station. Average wait at the Mongolian Wok was about 40 minutes, as they can only cook 6 orders at a time and only when they have 2 cooks.

 

Please, don't get me wrong I loved the cruise even with high seas (up to 14 feet on one day), high winds (up to 68 MPH one day), and rain.

Are you kidding me? Were we on the same cruise? Apparently, you must be a first time cruiser. The winds for "2+ days" were clocked at 113 miles per hour not 68? I have been on numerous cruises and spoke to others with who have at least been on 9-20+ cruises that have never had a captain not divert the ship from our being in harms way? Have another drink as apparently you were somewhere else than where the rest of us were. The plates/silverware was absolutely disgusting on the lido deck. The ship was absolutely too big for the staff (which through no fault of their own who also were frustrated because passengers could not leave their rooms from being sick?)

Who clocked the winds at 113MPH? We live in Fl and this storm never got to hurricane status. If the winds were 113MPH, it certainly would have been. I am sorry, but I tend to believe the poster that the winds were 68MPH.

If passengers couldn't leave their cabins, I don't understand why the plates/silverware would be disgusting on the Lido deck. Perhaps you would elaborate.

If you had done research you would know what the passenger to crew ratio is, and with the passengers having to stay in their cabins, it would seem to me there would be a lot of crew available outside of them. Something doesn't seem right to me.

Were the comedy shows every evening? Were they in their own room? Just received an email from Carnival and they said all ships would be equipped with comedy clubs by the new year. Looking forward to them!!!!!!!!

Thanks

Heimey

We did the 9 day sailing in December and hated the bottle neck at the coffee bar.

 

That is one design flaw I hope they address with the Magic.

 

Oddly enough, (because we eat at odd times)....never had any bad lines on Lido.

 

I am interested to know IF they are still doing the BBQ outdoors and opening the Main Dining Room for lunch on Embarkation Day. That was a couple of things that John Heald did when he was CD....

 

I did like the ability to go from front to back on Lower Dream Street without hardly seeing a soul. Since we had a Spa cabin, I loved Cloud 9.

Hi Linda! Remember me? We were on the Dream with you last December. DH is Serge (who Monua (sp??) kept calling Sergie and you had a few laughs with that )

Anyways we are going back to the Dream this November and I remember you had a spa cabin. You had posted that there was an unidentified noise. I didn't pay too much attention at the time but now that we will be in one, I need details LOL. What was your cabin #? Thanks for any info you can provide about cabin and spa perks.

As I was lying in bed for 2 days, I was glued to the television. It went from 9 miles an hour to 113. Never ever have I ever been the least bit seasick. Everyone has an opinion which I understand, however the info that was shown on channel 4 hitting the front of the ship was info that the ship provides. Just dumbfounded regarding the comments and the true facts as Carnival provides and I taped.

Who clocked the winds at 113MPH? We live in Fl and this storm never got to hurricane status. If the winds were 113MPH, it certainly would have been. I am sorry, but I tend to believe the poster that the winds were 68MPH.

 

If passengers couldn't leave their cabins, I don't understand why the plates/silverware would be disgusting on the Lido deck. Perhaps you would elaborate.

 

If you had done research you would know what the passenger to crew ratio is, and with the passengers having to stay in their cabins, it would seem to me there would be a lot of crew available outside of them. Something doesn't seem right to me.

Ok this is making me laugh, I would imagine the winds went from 9 mph to 13 or 11 and the 113 a poster stated was a typo on the TV...LMAO

As I was lying in bed for 2 days, I was glued to the television. It went from 9 miles an hour to 113. Never ever have I ever been the least bit seasick. Everyone has an opinion which I understand, however the info that was shown on channel 4 hitting the front of the ship was info that the ship provides. Just dumbfounded regarding the comments and the true facts as Carnival provides and I taped.

I'd love to see that weather report!! Do you have a link?

BTW, were you on the Dream or Splendor? One of your posts say Splendor.

As I was lying in bed for 2 days, I was glued to the television. It went from 9 miles an hour to 113. Never ever have I ever been the least bit seasick. Everyone has an opinion which I understand, however the info that was shown on channel 4 hitting the front of the ship was info that the ship provides. Just dumbfounded regarding the comments and the true facts as Carnival provides and I taped.

dude 113? that would have be awesome! sorta like Canival meets deadlist catch..

Im sure it was no fun being sick and or concerned due to high seas and wind .. never is...

dude 113? that would have be awesome! sorta like Canival meets deadlist catch..

Im sure it was no fun being sick and or concerned due to high seas and wind .. never is...

The Perfect Storm lol!!

Ok this is making me laugh, I would imagine the winds went from 9 mph to 13 or 11 and the 113 a poster stated was a typo on the TV...LMAO

You know, this makes as much sense as anything: the TV graphic was a typographical error - 113 instead of 13. The poster who said they saw it on channel 4 was in her cabin sick, so probably did not know what it was really like outside. :confused:

As I was lying in bed for 2 days, I was glued to the television. It went from 9 miles an hour to 113. Never ever have I ever been the least bit seasick. Everyone has an opinion which I understand, however the info that was shown on channel 4 hitting the front of the ship was info that the ship provides. Just dumbfounded regarding the comments and the true facts as Carnival provides and I taped.

It is VERY possible that what you saw on the ship TV was a wind speed in KPH not MPH.

As previous posters have stated 113 MPH would be in the middle of a hurricane. Cat 1 hurricane is SUSTAINED winds at 75 MPH.

A wind gust of 60mph would calculate to around 113 kph

I was on the ship and the winds were never 113 mph maybe 113 kph (kilometers). The ship was a bit rocky the one night and it was windy but we were out on the lido deck late that night and on our balcony. No way we could have done this in 113 mph winds. We were heading into the wind so it did feel windy. Did not notice anybody sick but it is a big ship. Overall it was a good cruise from reading this board expected it to be crowded and it was about what I expected. The Mongolian Wok was the longest wait of the cruise about 20 min for me, nothing else seemed to take more than 5-10 min including breakfast at peak times

We did the 9 day sailing in December and hated the bottle neck at the coffee bar.

 

That is one design flaw I hope they address with the Magic.

 

Oddly enough, (because we eat at odd times)....never had any bad lines on Lido.

 

I am interested to know IF they are still doing the BBQ outdoors and opening the Main Dining Room for lunch on Embarkation Day. That was a couple of things that John Heald did when he was CD....

I did like the ability to go from front to back on Lower Dream Street without hardly seeing a soul. Since we had a Spa cabin, I loved Cloud 9.

The other thing that they tried - to relieve Lido congestion - was the "brunch" in the MDR. But I believe it has been discontinued - so I am guessing that it was not popular enough :o.

The other thing that they tried - to relieve Lido congestion - was the "brunch" in the MDR. But I believe it has been discontinued - so I am guessing that it was not popular enough :o.

Or promoted enough, we have been trained to go to the Lido deck as soon as we board, therefore we always go there.:D Why change now!!!!

These are the reviews that make me nervous. I am cruising on the Magic next summer and am a bit nervous with the crowds. We have chosen Carnival because the price difference between CCL and Royal is significant but I want it to be a great experience. We have cruised Carnival before and know the product somewhat, but the range of reviews for the Dream has me a bit worried. It would take a lot for us to have a bad time so I am heading into the cruise with positive thoughts (haven't mentioned a word of negativitiy to DW). We'll find out soon enough!

These are the reviews that make me nervous. I am cruising on the Magic next summer and am a bit nervous with the crowds. We have chosen Carnival because the price difference between CCL and Royal is significant but I want it to be a great experience. We have cruised Carnival before and know the product somewhat, but the range of reviews for the Dream has me a bit worried. It would take a lot for us to have a bad time so I am heading into the cruise with positive thoughts (haven't mentioned a word of negativitiy to DW). We'll find out soon enough!

I am seriously considering booking the Magic as well for the summer 9-day Med cruise. If it were just my wife and I, we would always go Princess for Europe and wouldn't consider RCI. The Magic would be a family cruise and the price is great for this itinerary. That may be due to Carnival getting back in the Med and trying to establish a presence in that part of the world.

I think ships "live" differently for Caribbean and Med cruises and that causes me less concern. Passengers are in ports longer and also rest more while on board and there is less of a demand for pool and chairs around the pool. I am also very relieved that Carnival now has anytime dining which eliminates singing waiters in the anytime dining rooms. There are many of us, who after long days in ports, don't really want their meals stretched out by singing waiters. Ugh!!!!! Even if the Magic is not a great ship, it is a great price for a Med cruise and ports are more important than ships in the Med.

We have an up-coming cruise on the Dream in October and can't wait. Though, it does seem to have a Love/Hate following;)