Carnival Dream Review
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This was my 10th and platinum cruise on Carnival. I have also cruised on Princess, NCL, Celebrity, and RCI, but have sailed on Carnival the most frequently. My most recent cruise was on the NCL Pearl in Dec 2012-I really like the NCL product but need to stick with Carnival until my son is 3 and can participate in the kids program on other cruise lines (Carnival will take 2 year olds in their free kid's club). I feel like cruising is the best value for my family and easy with a young child-you don't have to think about where to eat, there are different ports each day, etc.
I will admit I was a little nervous as I was sailing a few days after the Triumph debacle, but I know the chances of a fire on a cruise ship are extremely low. I flew in the morning of the cruise into Orlando airport. I decided to go with a Carnival transfer because I didn't want to bring my son's car seat and didn't feel like messing with a private shuttle. I got my transfer ticket by 10:15 and unfortunately had to wait for almost an hour to get on a bus. The bus ride was fine and took about 45 min to get to the port-it was around noon. There was hardly any wait in the platinum area and the employee checking me in said cabins would be ready at 1:30-I asked her if the cabins are ready for platinum and Faster to the Fun and she said no!? It was easy to get on the ship after getting our sail and sign cards with no lines.
I went directly to my cabin on the Main deck, as I wanted to drop off our carry-ons. I usually book a balcony, especially when travelling with my child, but found a great cabin, #2845, a large oceanview cabin with 2 windows and 2 bathrooms. I highly recommend this cabin and would choose it again on a Dream-class ship. The only downsides to this cabin are the vibrations and mechanical noise when docking and leaving port, but overall I liked the extra room. I don't remember my cabin steward's name, but he was from Belarus or Bulgaria and was nice, but he didn't stand out to me (which is fine). His assistant, Al from Indonesia, was always making jokes with my son and asking about him. The cabin was clean and I never had any issues with cabin service. I did not hear any noise from the dining room above.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View
Cabin 2485 is a great oversized oceanview - I would book it again! There are two large windows in the room and 2 bathrooms. There is a standard bathroom and a bathroom with a small tub and sink. 4 closets and plenty of storage. The room is noisy with vibrations and mechanical sounds when docking and leaving a port. There was one day we were docked in Costa Maya and you could the waves crashing against the hull of the ship-it was very windy that day. The was no noise from the dining room above.