Carnival Dream Must Do's??

[dna529]

Me, DH, and our 2 kids are sailing on the dream in April. This is our first "big ship" experience. Are there any must dos or things we should definitely not miss on the Dream? Our 2 teenage nieces will also be with us and it is their first cruise.

[Jgilbert813]

Great question... My DW and I will be sailing on her in July and it will be our first big ship cruise as well. The Steakhouse is one thing our "must do" list so far. I'll be interested to others responses as well.

[frayedend]

How old are the kids? I don't know of any Must Dos. We are booked for Valor this year because our friends are going and there are a lot of great ports. We had fun doing a bunch of things but not anything I think was not to miss. The kids played too many video games so get them to go to the kids club if you can. My kids didn't want to go and that limited their experience.

 

That being said...

 

The piano bar is a lot of fun if you like to have a few cocktails and sing along or just hang out. Be careful, the Long Island Iced Teas hit you quick and hard.

 

The show Dancin on the Streets (I think that was the name) was pretty good. The fun force hip hop show was fun if you haven't seen it. There is a Motown themed show that was good but there was one night it said Motown and it was just a lounge singer guy. Not my cup of rum and we were bummed out we made the mistake.

 

Try the waterslides but wear flip flops or sandals on the way up. The walk up the stairs can literally give you burns on your feet if it's sunny out.

 

Try the pasta bar, especially the first day on embarkation. There is a stairway in the buffet area, I think near the desserts, up to the pasta bar. It is a place that is missed by many so it's not always crowded and virtually empty on embarkation. You can pick your pasta, sauce, and meat.

 

Comedy shows are pretty good but they don't have family shows after 10 PM so it can be hard for the entire family to get to one. Put the kids somewhere and go to the adult show.

 

Mongolian Wok is good but if line is long don't bother, it moves very slowly. Deli is really good and open a lot. Pizza was really good too. Especially after 6 Long Island Iced Teas at the piano bar at 2 AM. :D

 

Don't drink those Iced Teas on the last night or your travel home will be hell.

 

That's all I can think of for now.

[dna529]

The kids going are 7, 10, 14, and 17, so they will all be in different kids club groups. I know that my kids usually love the kids club (ages 7 and 10) even if they aren't together.

[dna529]

Great question... My DW and I will be sailing on her in July and it will be our first big ship cruise as well. The Steakhouse is one thing our "must do" list so far. I'll be interested to others responses as well.

 

We want to do the steakhouse also, if we can get away from the kids to do it. Not paying $30 for them!

[mrsclee]

I would recommend the Lanai barbecue. It is good food. Make sure you get in line early enough so they don't run out. They were having issues with the gas last year so they were having a hard time cooking the food. They have quesadillas, hamburger sliders, etc. Just a different lunch than the "normal" buffets.

[Mysticks1]

I would go to the Spa on Embarkation day and take a spa tour. That might be something that you would be interested in. They sell weekly and daily passes for their Thermal Suites. I am looking forward to doing that on my upcoming cruise on the Dream. The Cloud 9 Spa looks wonderful. If you go to youtube and search for Dream Cloud 9 Spa there is a video tour by a CC member. I think there are 4 different videos.

 

I also want to try the Barbecue down on the Lanai and listen to some of the music they have in the Ocean Plaza area.

[pungo3]

I love the Indian food at the very back of the ship, across from the Deli. I ate lunch there almost every day.:D

 

We love the Dream and have sailed her several times. We are going again 4/5. :D:D I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

[Jgilbert813]

We want to do the steakhouse also, if we can get away from the kids to do it. Not paying $30 for them!

 

Yeah, my kids would totally not appreciate the steakhouse experience, nor would they be interested in staying put for that long. :D

[GatorGirl57]

"Behind the Fun" was amazing on that ship $100 pp, but we got to go on the bridge, to the engineer room, laundry, crew areas, etc.

 

I second the pasta bar, especially on embarkation. No one knows its there.

[Beth]

Black Jack band in Ocean Plaza is real good.

[pambud96]

the "secret" front deck on the Lido, go all the way forward go out the doors on the right or left, Awesome during sailaway, and quiet on sea days. Gorgeous place to take pictures of the sunset also,

[Athankfulheart]

Definitely try the pasta place on the first day. I would also recommend that the pizza is pretty yummy and I am born & raised in NY.

 

I would highly recommend spending some time in a serenity hammock with your hubby while everyone else is at late dinner and the shows.

 

My kids were in the 6-8, 9-11,12-14 and teen groups and the only ones who didn't love the activities were the teens. They went the first night and decided it was too much "hanging out" and not enough " fun activities" for them. They thought that the parties were "annoying" with kids sitting around with blaring music. They really prefer organized activities. They did some activities during the day but did not enjoy the night scene at all. My daughter in Circle C did enjoy the nights because they had more activities. The younger kids loved Miss Jazzy. My 18yo ( high school senior) informed me that the staff person (female) at O2 has a nasty sailor mouth while with the kids. I wish I had known that while we were still aboard. I know that kids have mouths at times, but in my opinion it is not acceptable as a professional staff person who works with kids of any age ( while on duty).

[CruiseGirlKS]

I would go to the Spa on Embarkation day and take a spa tour. That might be something that you would be interested in. They sell weekly and daily passes for their Thermal Suites. I am looking forward to doing that on my upcoming cruise on the Dream. The Cloud 9 Spa looks wonderful. If you go to youtube and search for Dream Cloud 9 Spa there is a video tour by a CC member. I think there are 4 different videos.

 

I also want to try the Barbecue down on the Lanai and listen to some of the music they have in the Ocean Plaza area.

 

x2 for the Spa and Lanai. :)

[Cruise life]

Definitely try the pasta place on the first day. I would also recommend that the pizza is pretty yummy and I am born & raised in NY.

 

 

 

I would highly recommend spending some time in a serenity hammock with your hubby while everyone else is at late dinner and the shows.

 

 

 

My kids were in the 6-8, 9-11,12-14 and teen groups and the only ones who didn't love the activities were the teens. They went the first night and decided it was too much "hanging out" and not enough " fun activities" for them. They thought that the parties were "annoying" with kids sitting around with blaring music. They really prefer organized activities. They did some activities during the day but did not enjoy the night scene at all. My daughter in Circle C did enjoy the nights because they had more activities. The younger kids loved Miss Jazzy. My 18yo ( high school senior) informed me that the staff person (female) at O2 has a nasty sailor mouth while with the kids. I wish I had known that while we were still aboard. I know that kids have mouths at times, but in my opinion it is not acceptable as a professional staff person who works with kids of any age ( while on duty).

 

 

I cannot imagine going on the Dream and NOT doing the spa package. For us (and we only have two at home), the spa was our getaway every evening and we were often two of only a handful of people there. It was a spa cruise for us twice last year; the first time on the Dream we did not book the spa and did the shows which were good, but the spa is a better way for us to relax! Your must dos really should reflect your likes, not ours, LOL. That said, it's always fun to try something new. Hope you have a great time!

 

 

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[tandemcruzr]

I love the Indian food at the very back of the ship, across from the Deli. I ate lunch there almost every day.:D

 

We love the Dream and have sailed her several times. We are going again 4/5. :D:D I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

 

Yes, we too liked the Tandoor for lunch. Also, they set up for a limited breakfast and not too many find it. It has become our go to place for our breakfast.

[Crusin Hogs]

The shows in main lounge has a live 7 piece band , The piano bar is great ,