Just got off Carnival Dream, my experience.

[jacksmycat]

I was on the Dream in early September. I was also in a cove balcony. I smelled the sewage smell in the halls a few times out in the halls but mostly on other decks. A few people on other decks smelled it in their rooms so I was grateful that was not me. I was worried about temperature issues because I had heard so many people complain on CC about it. My room was great. I was even a little cold. I had a great trip. I did not have any kids with me so I can't comment on the camp carnival and didn't do any laundry there. We had late dining, met some very nice people at dinner and had nice conversations at dinner so we loved not being rushed to eat.

[Drazil65]

When DS was young enough for camp carnival we never planned our cruise around it, we planned our cruise for our "whole" family. With kids you just never know how or why they will react, so we would take him (and later would ask him if he wanted to go) and if he wanted to stay great, if not, no biggie cuz we were on a family vacation. I would say at a young age he would go maybe 2 or 3 days and NEVER in there while we were off the ship in another country ;)....I would have stayed behind with them...

 

Again, with the age group of your kids I am just not sure you can blame the cruise ship for not providing enough food for them to choose from, kids are picky and don't see how the cruise industry can appeal to everyone's menu...

 

Laundry??? You paid $2600 for 7 days for your family and expected to do laundry??? Yeah, no!!!! Not on your life, vacation is just that, vacation....maybe a beach house rental is much more suited to you so you can cook what your kids like, do laundry (usually machines in rentals) and watch your own kids (at least until they get older)....just a thought...seriously you may have to rethink things while the kids are young

[E&B]

When DS was young enough for camp carnival we never planned our cruise around it, we planned our cruise for our "whole" family. With kids you just never know how or why they will react, so we would take him (and later would ask him if he wanted to go) and if he wanted to stay great, if not, no biggie cuz we were on a family vacation. I would say at a young age he would go maybe 2 or 3 days and NEVER in there while we were off the ship in another country ;)....I would have stayed behind with them...

 

 

 

Again, with the age group of your kids I am just not sure you can blame the cruise ship for not providing enough food for them to choose from, kids are picky and don't see how the cruise industry can appeal to everyone's menu...

 

 

 

Laundry??? You paid $2600 for 7 days for your family and expected to do laundry??? Yeah, no!!!! Not on your life, vacation is just that, vacation....maybe a beach house rental is much more suited to you so you can cook what your kids like, do laundry (usually machines in rentals) and watch your own kids (at least until they get older)....just a thought...seriously you may have to rethink things while the kids are young

 

 

Could not have said it better. Having small kids is tough. You can't expect every tough part to be magically erased or taken care of when you're on vacation. Kids are picky and unpredictable when they're not in their own environment. It's tough, but until they get to be about 5 or 6, and depending on the kid even older, you just can't count on a relaxing and perfect vacation.

[portlandpete]

Thank you for your honest review! Our kids are grown (twins too but 35 years old!) but I can understand how frustrating the camp would be. No Mom wants their kids unhappy! Also, our dinners we have found have taken almost 2 hours too and I think that is a long time. On the Glory the cabin we had was really hot one night and they gave us an on board credit without us even saying anything! There was a letter in our cabin stating there was a problem. Hopefully your next cruise will be better!!

[INCHARGE]

I'm also sorry for the problems with your babies at the Camp. We took a grandson on a Disney Cruise, and they were excellent with the babies. I know what you mean about the costs now. They have doubled in price since we cruised on it.

 

Btw...I absolutely love your user name!

[gaylebo35]

We were on the Dream the week of Sept. 13th. Loved the staff! We had a cove balcony and loved it. Our dining on lido deck didn't close until 9:30 p.m. We ate there twice during our cruise. We also had early seating in the Scarlet dining room which was fabulous ! Loved the Dream! This was our 23rd cruise on Carnival and one of the best sailings! Sorry you didn't have a great experience.

[Joliving4Jesus]

When DS was young enough for camp carnival we never planned our cruise around it, we planned our cruise for our "whole" family. With kids you just never know how or why they will react, so we would take him (and later would ask him if he wanted to go) and if he wanted to stay great, if not, no biggie cuz we were on a family vacation. I would say at a young age he would go maybe 2 or 3 days and NEVER in there while we were off the ship in another country ;)....I would have stayed behind with them...

 

Again, with the age group of your kids I am just not sure you can blame the cruise ship for not providing enough food for them to choose from, kids are picky and don't see how the cruise industry can appeal to everyone's menu...

 

Laundry??? You paid $2600 for 7 days for your family and expected to do laundry??? Yeah, no!!!! Not on your life, vacation is just that, vacation....maybe a beach house rental is much more suited to you so you can cook what your kids like, do laundry (usually machines in rentals) and watch your own kids (at least until they get older)....just a thought...seriously you may have to rethink things while the kids are young

 

I respectfully disagree with this entire post but that's ok because everyone has a different opinion, it wasn't just my kids that didn't like the dinner buffet, my dad and brother thought it was terrible and limited, my kids are not picky eaters and eat most anything but having one food option besides the 24 hour things was not good at prime dinner time and that didn't have anything to do with my kids being picky eaters.

 

Do you have twins by any chance? Until I hear from a parent of multiples a person cannot really understand the daily pressure of caring for two kids the same age plus an older child with adhd, I need a break, simply put, I'm a stay at home mom and am with my kids 24/7, one of the main reasons I choose cruise vacations is for that extra peace I can get from occasional childcare so I can be adult for a change and relax for once, I need unwind time too and twin toddlers are extremely demanding. Yes, I planned on leaving my twins, not my 7 year old in camp while on excursions, there was no way they could come, they would have melted down and been miserable the entire time, with my parenting style, i don't mind parting with my kids for a couple hours to cater to my 7 year old that rarely gets my attention due to his younger siblings, that time was going to be just mom, dad, and my 7 year olds time, he deserves that once in awhile. I also didn't want to take my twins to dinners because they try to grab everything on the tables and are in a screaming phase in restaurants and I didn't want to ruin everyone around us dinner so I only expected care at dinner and for 2 excursions, never all day or that often, and I think that is quite reasonable.

 

And I do not understand the surprise in doing laundry when away for 7 days, that is a long time!! I do laundry 3 days a week with toddlers and an older child, there was no way I could get away with no laundry on any trip for 7 days, it's not at all uncommon as the laundry facility was always packed with waits.

 

I love cruises, I've never had any problems in the past, my issues came solely from my experience on carnival dream, I am not interested in a beach house, I prefer cruises, I've been on several and knew what to expect, I was let down. We are already looking into a cruise in about a year but on Norwegian as I've heard and read they really cater to their guests and go above and beyond to please their guests. I am not saying I won't cruise carnival again as I greatly preferred them over royal Caribbean but the dream experience has left a sour taste in my mouth. Again, no disrespect, I just disagreed with your points, we seem to have much different parenting styles, doesn't make either of us right or wrong, just different.

[Joliving4Jesus]

We were on the Dream the week of Sept. 13th. Loved the staff! We had a cove balcony and loved it. Our dining on lido deck didn't close until 9:30 p.m. We ate there twice during our cruise. We also had early seating in the Scarlet dining room which was fabulous ! Loved the Dream! This was our 23rd cruise on Carnival and one of the best sailings! Sorry you didn't have a great experience.

 

So glad others had a great experience, I think had we cruised as a couple the experience would have been much different, still wouldn't have changed the room heat but dining times would have been less with less people and no dealings with rude camp staff, the rest of the staff was excellent, especially dinning room waiters. I am also surprised about the lido buffets, at 8pm each night they would put up buffet closed signs and take it down, I don't know what was up with that, it seemed different for others, so confusing but I'm glad you had a good time!

[Joliving4Jesus]

Could not have said it better. Having small kids is tough. You can't expect every tough part to be magically erased or taken care of when you're on vacation. Kids are picky and unpredictable when they're not in their own environment. It's tough, but until they get to be about 5 or 6, and depending on the kid even older, you just can't count on a relaxing and perfect vacation.

 

I really apologize if this sounds sarcastic because it really isn't but I thought I had to ask, did I mention somewhere that my kids were picky eaters? I really don't believe I did and they are not, there was just really limited options, pastas with peppers and onions mixed in, things I don't even like, my brother and father, both grown adults thought the choices were very limited and non appealing as well, there should have been more options at dinner. Why wasn't tandour, the grill, or Mongolian wok open at dinner? I thought they should have been for dinner, but only one section was.

[Joliving4Jesus]

Thank you for your honest review! Our kids are grown (twins too but 35 years old!) but I can understand how frustrating the camp would be. No Mom wants their kids unhappy! Also, our dinners we have found have taken almost 2 hours too and I think that is a long time. On the Glory the cabin we had was really hot one night and they gave us an on board credit without us even saying anything! There was a letter in our cabin stating there was a problem. Hopefully your next cruise will be better!!

 

Well that was very nice of them! You being a mom of twins can probably understsnd the severe need of getting a break every once in awhile and camp carnival was a huge decision maker in booking a cruise to give me and my husband a much needed occasional break, they are rarely ever out of our sight, some don't seem to understsnd the need for some adult peace time and I hated that the staff was so rude and they were so unhappy there :(

[Joliving4Jesus]

I'm also sorry for the problems with your babies at the Camp. We took a grandson on a Disney Cruise, and they were excellent with the babies. I know what you mean about the costs now. They have doubled in price since we cruised on it.

 

Btw...I absolutely love your user name!

 

Thank you for the user name compliment :)... I hear Disney is amazing but I just looked up a 7 day cruise with them to similar places and it was more than double the price, wow, just crazy!

[Joliving4Jesus]

I do. Our last cruise was 13 days and I wasn't about to bring 13 days worth of clothes. I have things that can be washed, but not dried, so the free laundry for being platinum wasn't going to work, either.

 

OP, I'm so sorry about the kids club. The workers there sounded like complete goons! I'd have been furious if I were in your shoes. *insert hug emoticon here*

 

 

Yeah i am not understanding the laundry shocker, how many people go 7 days at home without doing laundry? Not to mention a family with 3 small kids.

 

I was very upset with the camp workers, I even cried back in our room because of the stress it caused on formal night, I did write carnival about my horrible experience with them, they just didn't seem to be wanting to deal with the kids at all, there needs to be workers that adore kids and want to be working there, I used to be a nanny and know how it should be done!

[nhraformula00]

Sorry to hear your cruise was not to your liking. With that said we just got off the Dream on the 20th and were in 2232 near the front of the ship. It was plenty cool all week long and the hallway all the way to the rear was never warm. We walked it every day all the way to the back to go to dinner. Never smelled any sewage either. The lemonade was just the opposite, had to dilute it with water because it was too strong. :confused: Pasta bar on 11 was fantastic.

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

I really apologize if this sounds sarcastic because it really isn't but I thought I had to ask, did I mention somewhere that my kids were picky eaters? I really don't believe I did and they are not, there was just really limited options, pastas with peppers and onions mixed in, things I don't even like, my brother and father, both grown adults thought the choices were very limited and non appealing as well, there should have been more options at dinner. Why wasn't tandour, the grill, or Mongolian wok open at dinner? I thought they should have been for dinner, but only one section was.

 

I would assume that most people eat in the MDR with the buffet being a quick fix if someone doesn't want to be served while dining. The service staff is probably geared to those eating in the dining room...every server that is moved to the buffet may possibly impact the amount of time it takes to serve everyone...you, yourself, said you were concerned about the amount of time it takes to eat in the dining room. Opening all of the venues in the buffet for the handful of people who actually eat there is probably not the best use of limited resources.

 

One option you haven't mentioned is room service for the little ones before dropping them off. Order a roast turkey sandwich, and feed the kids just the turkey. Order the vegie plate to give them some finger food. What kid doesn't like peanut butter and jelly, or shrimp and tuna salad (again take it off the bread). Or how about a kid's classic: grilled cheese. There is also fresh fruit and strawberry yogurt. The sandwiches come with pretzels or chips. And they have cookies for dessert. Carnival isn't going to care how much you order or how much is eaten. And I would think, though my kids have kids who have kids, based on past experience that the kids would like this. Spread a couple of beach towels on the floor and have a picnic with your kids....bet that they would love that.

[Joliving4Jesus]

Sorry to hear your cruise was not to your liking. With that said we just got off the Dream on the 20th and were in 2232 near the front of the ship. It was plenty cool all week long and the hallway all the way to the rear was never warm. We walked it every day all the way to the back to go to dinner. Never smelled any sewage either. The lemonade was just the opposite, had to dilute it with water because it was too strong. :confused: Pasta bar on 11 was fantastic.

 

We boarded on the 20th, you all must have drank all the lemonade lol... Sometimes it was very strong but about 40% of the time, especially at night it was watered down.

 

I never went to the front of level 2 much as we were closer to the back and us amoung others complained of the heat back there so maybe something happened after your cruising? Sewage was the strongest smelling toward aft elevators on level 2 for us.

[tandemcruzr]

You say you had family on board with you. Could they not have looked after the twins for a bit to give you and your husband a well deserved break?

 

Just a thought.

[tandemcruzr]

Double post

Edited September 30, 2015 by tandemcruzr

[My6Dogs]

You say you had family on board with you. Could they not have looked after the twins for a bit to give you and your husband a well deserved break?

 

Just a thought.

 

I was wondering the same thing...

 

OP - when we cruised on the Dream, we had heard the rooms were warmer than other ships.

We brought a DC/Battery powered travel fan to use every night. It was AWESOME! Now we never travel without it...

 

Mike

[Joliving4Jesus]

You say you had family on board with you. Could they not have looked after the twins for a bit to give you and your husband a well deserved break?

 

Just a thought.

 

I understand that may be a logical thought for some but my parents are in their 60's and my mom works 5 days a week at a daycare and she was on vacation, she did not need to be watching more kids on her vacation, I don't even ever ask her to watch my kids when home, I hire a sitter because I know she lives around watching kids and my dad can't handle them or any small kids in general. I just see it as paying a sitter, camp staff, for what I paid to be there and unless my kids continued to carry on and not calm down quickly, there should be no issue keeping them, babies/kids are not perfect, ones completely unruly, hitting, biting, screaming, yes, remove them, mine just got upset at drop off and stopped before I made it down the hall, I'd wait at the end to make sure they stopped. This was our vacation, my parents didn't come to baby sit and I came as a family but wanted some adult peace time as well, occasionally, I believe I deserved that much for the price I paid.

[Joliving4Jesus]

I was wondering the same thing...

 

OP - when we cruised on the Dream, we had heard the rooms were warmer than other ships.

We brought a DC/Battery powered travel fan to use every night. It was AWESOME! Now we never travel without it...

 

Mike

 

See post above about that wonder.

 

The fan is a good idea, I thought of that while no board, I will definitely bring a fan next time!

[Tapi]

I am not saying I won't cruise carnival again as I greatly preferred them over royal Caribbean but the dream experience has left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

 

This statement shows how different experiences can be from one person to another. We bailed to Royal Caribbean in 2010 after several Carnival cruises in part because of our disappointment with the kids program. Our kids have absolutely loved Adventure Ocean and Royal Babies on Royal. In comparison, they leave Camp Carnival in the dust.

[Joliving4Jesus]

This statement shows how different experiences can be from one person to another. We bailed to Royal Caribbean in 2010 after several Carnival cruises in part because of our disappointment with the kids program. Our kids have absolutely loved Adventure Ocean and Royal Babies on Royal. In comparison, they leave Camp Carnival in the dust.

 

Yeah I really think it has to do with the boat, we sailed a very old ship on Royal and didn't care for it, from the food, to the layout, to the lack of 24 hour food. We did not use the childcare for my older son on Royal but did use the royal babies for my twins when they were only a year old, we had to pay for it but they seemed ok going but they were also more tolerant at a year then they are now at 2.5 years so its hard to speak of how the childcare program is there, Royal just cost hundreds more and the boat we were on was just a let down, now I hear the ships like Allure of the seas and Oasis are amazing, but they are super costly too.

[Tapi]

...now I hear the ships like Allure of the seas and Oasis are amazing, but they are super costly too.

 

They aren't amazing. They are BEYOND amazing! We went on the Allure and were completely spoiled by everything available for children. From the Adventure Ocean and Royal Babies HUGE facilities, the dedicated free play area, the water park, the temperature controlled and separately filtered pools for small children still in diapers, the Dreamworks experience with parades, ice and water shows, the Fisher Price and Crayola sponsored activities, the dedicated Adventure Ocean TV channel with programming 24 hours a day, and the Boardwalk carousel, we have never experienced such a comprehensive and well thought out children's program. Was it considerably more expensive than a Carnival cruise? You bet, but it was one of those cases of "you get what you pay for" and we dont regret for a second the extra money that we spent on that cruise.

 

We sailed on the Enchantment of the Seas last summer (much smaller and older than the Allure) so I was concerned that we would be disappointed since we'd been so spoiled before. Although the Adventure Ocean and Royal Babies facilities were much smaller, and outdoor activities consisted of a small spray park and movie screen, our kids still enjoyed it tremendously. I mean, when your kids are begging you to drop them off at Adventure Ocean before even having breakfast, and they refuse to leave afterwards, you know that they are having a blast! If interested,you can click on the photo review for that cruise (link in my signature :))

Edited September 30, 2015 by Tapi

[Joliving4Jesus]

They aren't amazing. They are BEYOND amazing! We went on the Allure and were completely spoiled by everything available for children. From the Adventure Ocean and Royal Babies HUGE facilities, the dedicated free play area, the water park, the temperature controlled and separately filtered pools for small children still in diapers, the Dreamworks experience with parades, ice and water shows, the Fisher Price and Crayola sponsored activities, the dedicated Adventure Ocean TV channel with programming 24 hours a day, and the Boardwalk carousel, we have never experienced such a comprehensive and well thought out children's program. Was it considerably more expensive than a Carnival cruise? You bet, but it was one of those cases of "you get what you pay for" and we dont regret for a second the extra money that we spent on that cruise.

 

We sailed on the Enchantment of the Seas last summer (much smaller and older than the Allure) so I was concerned that we would be disappointed since we'd been so spoiled before. Although the Adventure Ocean and Royal Babies facilities were much smaller, and outdoor activities consisted of a small spray park and movie screen, our kids still enjoyed it tremendously. I mean, when your kids are begging you to drop them off at Adventure Ocean before even having breakfast, and they refuse to leave afterwards, you know that they are having a blast! If interested,you can click on the photo review for that cruise (link in my signature :))

 

Wow, Allure sounds amazing!! My husband might be making management in his company next year and if he does we're totally going to try one of the huge Royal ships, as a family of 5 we just can't afford it right now with one income, I am a stay at home mom.

 

Enchantment is actually the ship I spoke of, my husband didn't like it at all, we had to search and search late at night for food and only found a little deli way in the back open, we didn't care for the dinning room food, and thought the ship was run down and the layout was poor. I enjoyed our balcony room and my son liked the spray area but my husband complained a lot about that ship, more so than me, though the overall experience there was still better than the dream.

[Babycat]

This thread has rekindled my memories of having my 16 month old daughter Liliana in the MDR for the early seating. Every night, it seemed, I'd learn to make adjustments but we could never fully appreciate a peaceful meal.

 

Before we walked in the MDR together, I learned to rush ahead to our assigned table and remove all the little distractions like the butter and water glasses.

 

Our wait staff learned to quickly take our order and have fruit at the ready. As soon as that was done, we'd wait as long as we could before she began to give signs of being restless. Then I'd take the first shift, walking with her around the MDR and even going outside the room to play. One of those trips outside gained me an opportunity to observe a pod of orca!

 

Then I'd return and Babycat would take her. We'd trade shifts until our food arrived and sometimes even during the meal. Our neighbors at dinner were very understanding and their 4ish year old son even entertained her sometimes.

 

Next time (April 8th, 2016) I will choose my time dining and request a booth. She just has more room to play in a booth and it seemed to work for brunch. If that doesn't work, we'll just have dinner on the Lido. No big deal.

 

I'm sorry that you had bad experiences. You sound like a good mom who just needs a small break.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Babycat