Dream Review: 6/10-17/18

10 of us on the Dream out of New Orleans on 6/10/18. Six of us had been on the Dream for Thanksgiving; we had four newbies who are Disney World junkies (and I think they still are, despite having had a good time). Seven adults, 3 kids (ages 9, 8, and 7).

We chose an interior spa cabin. It was tight, we knew that going in -- we've had that category before. We spend little time in the room. The beds on Carnival are quite comfortable and they are the same no matter what category you book. Our room was very quiet and very dark, just the way we like it. You do get nicer beach towels in the spa rooms, and a few small bottles of Elemis products (body wash, shampoo, moisturizer). You can also utilize the thelassotherapy pool and heated marble loungers if you like, but that's about the only differences.

Embarkation was easier than in November. We had priority boarding, so we just walked into the terminal, went up the escalator, and through the priority security line. Boarding was just starting, so we walked right up and on to the ship. Gone are the days of actually checking in with an agent. As you board, your boarding pass is scanned by a handheld computer. I have no idea where they get your photo, but it's already in the system as you board. Except for my son's. We had to step aside, they took his photo with the same iPad thingee, and then we got on the ship. We headed up to Lido for lunch and the pool.

We had Guy's for lunch. I really wasn't a fan back in November, but they've made a few changes, and the burgers are pretty good now. We quickly dropped off our carry-on bags in our rooms, and then the kids tried out the pool, but not for very long because there were thunderstorms in the area. Then it was muster drill time. Relatively painless, and back to Lido for sail-away.

We had assigned early seating in the Scarlet (aft) dining room. I really didn't understand that, because we had forward spa cabins. The Crimson would have been a lot closer, but oh well. First night dinner was a little bumpy, but it always is -- the crew is getting used to new people, and new people are getting used to the crew.

The MDR was fine. It seems to always be consistent on Carnival. Dinner takes us 60-90 minutes usually. Occasionally it would last a little longer when there was "ssssssshowtime" and the waiters would have to take a break to dance around the dining room. Notable items: escargots in butter, flat iron steak (not dry at all), Grand Marnier souffle, Baked Alaska, filet mignon, lobster tail.

Carnival doesn't serve a sit-down breakfast and another sit-down lunch on sea days. Instead, there is a Sea Day Brunch. They have breakfast items and lunch items and you can pick and choose. Lido is always available, but when we're on vacation, we'd like to sit and enjoy our meals. The Bloody Marys are, at last, spicy. The steak-and-eggs include a small filet. Bacon is hit or miss, depending on how you like it. The corned beef hash is just ok. On port days, you can get a proper breakfast, if you prefer, before heading out to explore. There is no lunch service (except for Lido) on port days.

Room service is still available, though the selections are minimal. You can still get a few sandwiches at no charge during the day, but everything has a charge after 10pm. Nothing is over $5-$6, but it is a bit annoying.

Service was very good. Our cabin steward never asked if we preferred once- or twice-daily cabin service, but every time we returned to our room it was clean and refreshed. He was very friendly and personable, and he had our names memorized by the end of the first day. MDR service was good -- our waiters remembered our names and our preferred bar drinks after the first day. Food was served promptly and at the right temperature. The first sea day brunch was a little sloppy: forgotten entrees, forgotten iced tea requests. Fortunately, we only had that wait team once.

Bar service was generally very good. In the past, since the advent of Cheers, waiting at the bar could take forever. This time, though, every wait was minimal and more than acceptable. There are now fewer than ever roving bartenders, which is really a shame. Alchemy Bar, hands down, is the best bar on the ship. It is located port side in Ocean Plaza on Deck 5. It seems to be a well-kept secret as it it never crowded, perhaps because the drinks at Alchemy are slightly higher than other bars. The bartenders are top notch and even put some showmanship into mixing their elixirs. Even if you are not dining in the steakhouse, I recommend visiting the bar there, especially if you have Cheers and want some higher-end cocktails. They have Chivas Royal Salute and Hennessy Pure White. Not sure what the hullabaloo is all about with those two because I tried them and did not like them. Blanton's was available as was Woodford. There are a couple of champagnes, but the elusive $50 drink was not to be found.

The kids have usually made extensive use of Camp Ocean. They went this time, though not as much. And they did have fun. We received a couple of handwritten notes in our cabin mailbox about how they were well-behaved and participated in the activities. I don't know if that is something new, but we've never seen it before.

Our first port was Montego Bay, Jamaica. We booked a private excursion through ResortForADay.com, which we have used before. We went to Sunscape Splash resort, and transportion (all 5 minutes of it) was provided. The beach was small, but the resort was nice and not overly crowded. The excursion included a buffet lunch (large selection, very good) and an open bar. Be advised that the bars open on island time, so even though all the signs say 10am, it is more like 10:30. In addition to the beach, there was a large pool and even larger lazy river with water slides. That got a big thumbs up from the kids.

The next day, we were in Grand Cayman. This is our go-to spot for alcohol shopping. The duty-free prices are excellent. Thankfully, because GC is a tender port, the shops will send your purchases back to the ship for you. We also took the kids on a stingray excursion. My wife and I have done this in the past. It is the same now, except our kids didn't really like the stingrays. Oh well: it was an experience.

Our final port was Cozumel. When we docked, it was raining. The cruise director called it "liquid sunshine." We didn't like the looks of it, especially since our Carnival excursion to Isla Pasion was by catamaran. Quickly, we cancelled that, and Carnival was understanding -- they gave us a refund. The CD finally relented and started calling it rain, and rain and thunderstorms were predicted for the entire day. The ship emergently opened bars and held impromptu 80s music in the atrium. The rain dissipated enough that we were happy to leave the ship around 11am and we had a leisurely lunch at Palmeras. They have the best ceviche and some cold beers. We did a little shopping on our way back to the ship and we got on board about 4:30pm -- just before the next wave of rain. During dinner, we could see the downpour since we had a table next to the window and the water got a little rough.

Saturday was a sea day. We like to have a sea day as the final day of the cruise. It just seems to make things less hectic. As is our custom, we had dinner in The Chef's Art steakhouse on Saturday evening. Usually this is a delightful 2 hour dinner. This time, it was 3 hours, literally. I don't know why, but there was an inordinate amount of time between courses. The food was delicious, as expected. One of our servers was a bit rude, which was not expected. Regardless, I do recommend the surf-and-turf consisting of a half tail of Maine lobster and a 4.5oz filet. You can get just surf (the full tail) or just turf (a whopping 9oz filet). There are other options, but, really, why?

Disembarkation was pretty good, but not quite as smooth as embarkation. With FTTF, a suite, or Diamond/Platinum status, you go to the Crimson dining room to wait to disembark. They have pastries and coffee if you like. We arrived there about 7:55am and we were escorted off at 8:20. We got to the luggage area to claim our bags, and we found one wrapped in a garbage bag. It was one with some of our alcohol (we only had 20 bottles!). The inside of the garbage bag smelled really good, so I was worried about which bottle got broken. We proceeded through Customs without a hitch -- they no longer require a customs declaration -- and the officer gave our passports only a cursory glance. At home, we discovered the broken (and I mean smashed to bits, not just cracked) bottle was regular Crown. If you've been to the Caribbean lately, you know that a liter of regular Crown is only $16. Our more expensive bottles were all intact!

Overall, a very good trip, and I would recommend the Dream to anyone considering it.

And they are still using the "old" steakhouse menu on the Dream, complete with the table-side meat presentation.

Thanks for the review, makes me even more excited about our Dream cruise in August!

Notable items: escargots in butter, flat iron steak (not dry at all), Grand Marnier souffle, Baked Alaska, filet mignon, lobster tail.

I absolutely love the escargots in butter (much to the chagrin of my wife) in the MDR, even more so than the ones served in the Steak House! Glad to see I am not the only one :D

As for the photos, I think the cruise line uses your passport photos now instead of taking them while boarding to save time. Not sure what happened with your son's picture.

Glad you had a good time! :)

Thanks for your review. We were on the same cruise- we actually ventured out at Cozumel and did the open air jeep tour in the rain.

I cannot believe the customs did not question your purchases, I was berated about the Carnival hat that I had bought before the cruise.

I cannot believe the customs did not question your purchases, I was berated about the Carnival hat that I had bought before the cruise.

They glanced at our passports, asked if we had brought back any alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, I told him we had bought "about 5 bottles," and he waved us on through.

Thanks for the review. Sounds like everyone had a good time.