I booked this cruise based on what I was personally looking for in a cruise ship. I was most interested in a newer ship with amenities that would appeal to both my 8 year old son as well as myself. After I confirmed the trip, I started reading the reviews on the Carnival Dream. My son and I were so excited about this trip. It was his first time out of the U.S. In reading many of the reviews I started to become apprehensive about the trip due to the many negative remarks. Needless to say, I went into this with my expectations very low. I read many negative remarks about long lines, a foul smell, terrible food, cold food, bad shows in the theater, bad cruise director, etc. I was definitely prepared for the worst. So here goes my take on this boat...........

Embarkation: was absolutely a breeze. We arrived at the port and pulled in for the curbside porters to take our bags. They were extremely helpful and efficient. We parked at the port parking garage and made our way down to the terminal. Once there we quickly made our way upstairs and waited in a short line for check in. This was a very fast process. We received our sign and sail cards and made fast work of walking through to have our photo taken. We were on the boat within 30 minutes of arriving at the port. Once on board, we decided to take advantage of being right there at the shore excursion desk and book our excursions. (of which included the Behind the Fun Tour which I HIGHLY recommend. I will discuss that later in the review) That was the longest line for the cruise due to passengers not knowing what they wanted to book and taking a great deal of the clerks time to book the excursions. Not too bad though, about 30 minutes. Well worth the wait however, because many of the excursions sold out quickly.

After that we went to the Lido deck for lunch. Yes, there were long lines. It was, after all, embarkation day and everyone on board was eating lunch at the same time. The food was hot and prepared correctly. Did I like everything? No. But it was a preference thing not a food preparation thing. Not once during our cruise did I encounter cold food at the buffet. We ate breakfast and lunch there every day. It is my opinion that some people are just looking for something to complain about. I was pleased with the selection. There was always something that both my son and I enjoyed. Read more