We decided to take this trip to see how Carnival Dream compared to the other Carnival cruise ships. We booked the 7 day cruise with the Grand Suite (7317) and and 2 interior rooms to accommodate other family members on our trip with us. One interior room was for my parents where my mom used a small wheelchair type device and she had no issues getting in and out of the interior room or other areas of the ship. We've booked 7 cruises with Carnival and a few with other cruise lines - we always come back to Carnival. The cruises we've been on with Carnival all left out of New Orleans, so this is very convenient for us since we live only 30-45 minutes away.
The port is easy to get to, we park in Erato Street cruise terminal parking. It's always quick service for the attendants to unload our luggage and then we are a quick elevator ride to check in. With the suite, we are lucky to be able to quickly go through the VIP area to check in. Good video my daughter has of this suite and rooms here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01p-MMxw1vY On this trip, we were told that rules have changed with other rooms purchased under the suite (they no longer can check in at the VIP area). We weren't too happy about that since on past trips our others with us could also checkin at VIP. They split from us and checked in normally - they actually didn't take much longer than we did, so all was good. Now, you can also purchase "faster to the fun" for $49 and it is supposed to allow you quick check in as well - we'll try that on our next cruise to see how it goes.
Staff was friendly on Dream - we were able to go to our rooms - luggage didn't take too long to arrive. Dream had several options for food - Tandoori (my fave), burgers, buffets, plus it also had a steakhouse which we did visit and had a wonderful dinner one night (steakhouse is a charge, but worth it). The food in the dining rooms in my opinion is much better on Carnival than others. The atmosphere is fun and there's always plenty of things to do on board to keep you busy. My favorite places on the ships are the Serenity decks to just relax and have drinks. We purchase the drink package plan for each cruise - usually wait until the second day of the cruise to purchase. Our trip went to Jamaica, then on to Grand Cayman and then Cozumel before we made our way back to New Orleans.
Excellent Suite - balcony good size. Being in the middle of the ship, it was stable and not a lot of motion as we have had before in rooms in the aft area or forward area. Good video of this suite 7317 and the interior rooms we stayed in is located here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01p-MMxw1vY
New Orleans port always professional, quick service
When we were there, the port was undergoing maintenance and refurb. We just walked around and shopped at some of the tents outside of the port. Great local band came in and entertained us.
We rented our own vehicle and toured around the island - had a great time stopping at all of the bars on the east side of the island!