Carnival Dream Spring Break Cruise (3/27/2016)

[JaniceB]

Debarkation

We were all sad when our cruise on the Carnival Dream came to a close on Sunday morning. We had planned to sleep until about 7 (since we had to be out of the rooms by 8), but were woken up by announcements in the cabin at 6:45. At that point, we finished our last minute packing, I returned the medical cooler to guest services, and then we headed to Lido deck for breakfast and to wait for our zone to be called (we checked our luggage).

 

Debarkation was a bit slow partly because there had been a medical debark and partly because of the port authority (at least that's what Brandon announced). Since our flights were not until 12:45, we were in no rush to get off the ship and we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and waiting on the ship. Better to wait on the ship than in the airport! We were finally off the ship around 9:30, got our luggage before immigration and customs, and were out looking for a cab by 10ish. After that, it was a quick trip to the airport. While this has nothing to do with Carnival, I will say that the area that American Airlines uses at MSY is pretty bad. There are almost no food options (as compared to the Southwest area). It was a letdown after a week being spoiled on the ship.

 

Final Thoughts on the Carnival Dream

Overall, we really had a great time and would certainly cruise again for a family vacation. My kids were ready to get right back on, so I would be it would be sooner rather than later :). That said, I wanted to make some concluding observations:

 

1. We found our cabin steward to be excellent. When she presented us with the card to choose cleaning times, she didn't balk when we asked for both am and pm service. We also saw here all of the time in the hallway and when we needed something (which wasn't often), she delivered right away.

 

2. Make sure you check your sail and sign account as soon as you get on board (or shortly thereafter). We had a $50 photo credit that we didn't know about until the very end of the cruise, when we discovered it accidentally. Thankfully, we were able to use it, but it would have been nice to know up front.

 

3. Both of our kids, while they enjoyed most of the time in the kids club felt the age ranges were hard. Our 4 year old (who turns 5 in a few days) was at the upper end of the age range for his group (the penguins). That meant he was in with 2 years too. He rolled with it, but felt that some activities (like Legos, which were actually Duplos) were not what he expected.

 

4. We would have liked to have a little more family friendly programming choices in the evening. The dive-in movies were great the first two nights (Minions and Cinderella), but after that were more PG-13 than PG.

 

5. While we ate the MDR each evening and the service was very good, the pace of the meal was way off. There were many evenings that we didn't get done until 7:45 (or even 8 on the last night). Each time, it appeared that our little section was the only area suffering in this way. We said something to management and the situation improved some, but it was still slow. Some of this might have been that are lead server was training two relatively new people. They were all trying, but did not seem to have their system down yet.

 

6. Pay attention to signs with the hours of shops. We tired to go to the gift shop the last night and it had closed at 8:30 because we had entered U.S. waters and Louisiana. My kids were bummed, but ultimately, it was my fault for not reading the signs!

 

I think that is basically it! If I think of something else, I will post more. I am happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

 

Thanks for the tip about the gift shop.

[duncmelsmom]

I love your post and your positive outlook on things! Thanks so much-

[dctravel]

I love your post and your positive outlook on things! Thanks so much-

 

 

Thank you for reading :).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[dctravel]

Thanks for the tip! I think we are all hoping to eat often at the tandoori station anyway. I heard the burrito bar is always packed - that would be a nice option too.

 

This reminds me of another tip. The burrito bar also has chips (they give them with the burritos) that you can get a basket off. I had this as a snack one day with several of the salsa's they offer. It really hit the spot.

[Librarian365]

This reminds me of another tip. The burrito bar also has chips (they give them with the burritos) that you can get a basket off. I had this as a snack one day with several of the salsa's they offer. It really hit the spot.

 

That's a great tip!!! I would love that for a snack. My husband will be very thankful for that!

[JaniceB]

This reminds me of another tip. The burrito bar also has chips (they give them with the burritos) that you can get a basket off. I had this as a snack one day with several of the salsa's they offer. It really hit the spot.

 

Another great tip, may have to take some back to the balcony pre dinner.