Carnival Dream is supposed to be a large, fun-ship, but maybe due to its design doesn’t feel all that large. The water park was great! I had a lot of fun going down those slides, especially the drain pipe, which to me was the fastest. The serenity retreat was nice when you can find a lounger. The serenity area had a lot of wind to keep you cooled off, but not a lot of shade unless you can score a lounger with a canopy. Unfortunately, the ship itself is due for a dry-dock. It’s weathered and worn with cracked windows, broken shower door, non-working balcony light and lots of chipped, nicked and broken stuff. The décor is garish, out dated and should have been updated way before now. The Carnival iconic red Fun-ship funnel wasn’t even red anymore it was faded and weathered like the rest of the ship. I’ve never been a big Carnival fan and I hope to never vacation with them again given my overall experience, which is detailed below.

- Embarkation/Debarkation Process:

The embarkation process was great! We had priority boarding and it only took us about 30 minutes once we entered the pier terminal to board the ship. the rooms weren’t ready until 1:30 p.m., but we just waited in the Dream Atrium lounge. Plenty of waiters and waitresses were there taking drink orders and they had the drink of the day already on their trays. The drink of the day was strong, but a lady stated that they started out strong but by the end of the cruise they barely put any alcohol in them. I thought she was exaggerating, but, no, she was right. My drinks had less and less alcohol in them as the days went by and I only order one drink a day (in case you were thinking this was their way of cutting me off). But, as for embarkation, it was a very smooth process. Read more