Of the seven cruises this was the worst, no recognition for past cruisers in captain party. No update on current carnival status. Just two free bottles of water. Went to dinner in at our time 8:15 was so turned off by staff. Food was terrible, staff was rude. We ate rest of time I On Alito deck same food each day. Yuck. Bartender in lobby bar was rude and down right ugly to me and several other customers. Didn't like working cause Costa Maya port cancellation due to weather. No corvid19 testing or checking just health form. Only good things cabin steward were excellation and very personal. Activities director Juana from buffalo by. Was one of the best we seen. Shows were not of carnival ranking we have been on before. Why were we not inform of covid19 at cozemel prior to the cruise. 1st case was found in Mexico city on 28 Feb our cruise date was 2-7 mar. Several crew demonstrated very rude and disrespectful attitudes to us and other people. Ship needs a complete cleaning. Rust on outside in several emergency boat launchers and noticed on ship in a lot of places. Our first cruise was on the non smoking ship paradise. That was in 2001. Back then carnival gave little pins with the ship name on them. That was a cruise. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it fit into our schedule and we are repeat Carnival cruisers. Check-in and boarding the ship was fast and easy. Carnival must be trying to cut costs. I noticed more rusty paint and dirtier windows. The food on this cruise in the main dining room was not up to what we expected. We had a waiter in the main dining room for breakfast who seemed not to like his job. Prior cruises we would have lobster, escargot, etc. as selections on the regular menu. This time the lobster was only available for an additional charge of $20. A bottle of wine I can normally purchase for $12-$15 cost me over $50. The prepaid shore excursion had to be modified because of the weather. We were given a credit for the portion that had to be eliminated, and we had a great time. We enjoyed the comedy show. There was no Captain's party or recognition as prior cruisers, besides a couple of bottles of water. Read Less

Lets start with this dang coronavirus...You state you are taking extra precautions including medical evaulations before boarding. OH so filling out a sheet of paper is a medical evaultion! What are you people smoking! Here fill this out have you been to Asia? Are you sick? Have you been around someone who is sick? Now sign your name and get on the boat. You have got to be KIDDING ME! Room service....I tried ordering room service twice on the ship. We preordered both mornings for coffee and Danish to be delivered to our room. The 1st day we received the Danish with coffee mugs and creamer but no coffee 15mins late. Take in mind they give you a 30 minute window for delivery. I called down and they brought up our coffee about 10mins later. No harm, I thought at least we got our coffee. They even tried to make up for it by sending us chocolate covered strawberries. Well thank you except for the fact that once I removed the chocolate from one there was MOLD on the strawberry! I decided ok we will try one more time for our coffee in the morning. It arrived late again, but this time no coffee mugs! Please explain to me how in the hell you deliver coffee but no mugs! Thankfully we ordered juice so we drank that first and just used our juice glasses as coffee mugs. ROOM SERIVICE IS A NO GO! Now we have elegant night: NUT JOB SHOW!!! waited 45mins just for our appetizer. no organization for seating. Everyone running around everywhere. And my chocolate molten cake had not "molten" to it and was cold! For a dessert you are know for you would think you would get it right. We even watched several other couples get up and leave because they were tired of waiting on food. We never ate in the main dining area again. HORRIBLE SERVICE! Bar staff: Can you say not enough! We gambled in the casino for a few hours and in the prime time there was 2 bartenders! 2! For a company who wants to make money selling drinks and mandating tips you would think you would have more staff. This is my 2nd cruise and I will never go on Carnival Dream again! Worst possible service ever! Read Less

We love Carnival for the most part. This makes my 9th cruise with them. Almost from the moment we got on we were Like I guess they didn't have enough time to clean. That's ok we aren't here to judge, we are here to enjoy. We really needed this get away. We planned well over a year ago. Getting on was so easy. Love the staggered boarding time. This ship needs some tender loving care starting with new mattresses. We had a balcony but could barley see through the plex glass it is so corroded. It is the same on all windows. The carpeting was filthy in our cabin and the last night of the cruise my husband killed a roach. Our mattress was so sunk in in the middle that it really could swallow a human. Our balcony was so rusted and paint was chipping all overt and the outdoor chairs were covered with it. I pointed out on level 7 the aft elevator where some one had jumped up and left a fingerprint smudge on the level sign. It was there the whole four days and I am sure it is there today. This ship is not that old so we expected more. We were on Imagination last July which given it's age was overall in such better shape and we could see clearly out the windows. I get that Carnival is the affordable cruise and I don't expect 5 star food but Carnival you need to focus on customer satisfaction a little better there is a lot of competition our there. I even told my husband maybe it is time to switch but I have always had so much fun on your ships. This one pretty much let me down. I got very sick on undercooked food at Pig and Anchor The buffet food no longer had that wow factor and the free drinks are very watered down. The entertainment was so so, but I get it they are young kids up and rising and we did enjoy the shows. It was like watching our grandchildren in their school plays. Now if I have to give a great rating to our cabin steward Arda. He was the best and took our complaints to heart. He did his best to fix our bed and was very concerned when my husband showed him the dead roach. Read Less

This was the first cruise all 9 of us and we couldn't be happier. It was my wife and I, our 3 grown children, 2 of their friends, and my wife's parents. After we were home we sat down and tried to find something negative to say about the trip (not including things beyond their control like the rough weather on the last sea day that made a few of our group seasick) and we could find nothing to fault. Our biggest fear regarding cruises was the crowds...but after the first day once everyone was on board, had access to their rooms, and finished just wandering around the ship to check it out it was rarely crowded in any one location. The obvious exception was in the lobbies just before the restaurants would open, and after we had to be out of our rooms but hadn't yet been called to get off. The ship was clean, well kept, and every one of the staff that we had the pleasure to interact with was friendly and did everything in their power to please us. If you're considering this ship you won't regret it. Read Less

We chose this itinerary because we wanted to see the ruins at Uxmal. I was disappointed that Carnival no longer had this as a ship excursion. I was able to find it through Viator. The ship is a typical Carnival ship without the Cucina del Capitano, which was disappointing. The food was typical cruise food. Good but not great. We had an interior walkway cabin which was extremely comfortable. It has easy access to the outside front of the ship. The crew, like all our other Carnival cruise experiences were amazing. Cruise director Janaee is high energy and fun. We had the Cheers package and thoroughly enjoyed it. We embarked in Galveston which has a fog problem. This delayed embarkation. I understand that this is common in winter, but this is the first time this has happened to us. The embarkation was a mess. Once we checked in it was easy going. The ship was delayed departure. We got to Cozumel late, but were able to stay late. This time we left the children home, looking at the ship, I feel that it would not be the best for young kids compared to the Magic and Breeze. This being our second time on the Dream I guess we would be back. Read Less

We usually do two back to back cruises in February to get a break from our long upstate NY winters. We had booked the first one to go out of New Orleans on NCL. We hadn’t been there before so we thought we’d combine some sightseeing with a cruise. Then I needed to find a second cruise on a different ship with a departure date that would work. Carnival had this cruise the day after, going out of Galveston. We hadn’t been on carnival in over 6 years. We primarily do NCL or Celebrity (about 28 previous cruises). The Dream is about 10 years old. And the decor is very dated and like the other 5 carnival ships we’ve been on, it has lots of smoked glass, mirrors, and other decor that frankly makes the ship look like an old nightclub. And there was a noticeable amount of rust on our balcony. We usually eat in the main dining room. But after two dinners there we decided that the food in their buffet was far better. And I don’t know why Carnival doesn’t put tablecloths on the dining room tables. Unlike the other cruise lines that we use, our Carnival room steward asked us if we wanted him to clean the room in the morning or the evening. On the other lines it’s done twice a day...no need to choose. Our steward said he could do it twice daily, but just the fact that he asked made me think that maybe he was overloaded with cabins, and I didn’t want to add to his workload. So we only had him do it once a day. Our balcony cabin was actually a bit larger than we’ve gotten recently on other lines. And it was always very clean and comfortable. The casino allows smoking all over and there were times when we couldn’t avoid having to walk through there. We went to one of the shows...an energetic cast, but they need a larger entertainment budget...playing memorable movie themes and having lots of lights doesn’t make up for a rather dull, lifeless show. Every crew member we came across was always very friendly and helpful...as we’ve always found on any other cruise line....they all deserve our thanks. All in all, it’s still a budget cruise line. Read Less

Carnival Dream is amazing ship, full of friendly staff First I will comment the person, who made my cruise so special, is Deborah from Peru, she is so awesome, friendly and know how to provide excellent customer service. Thank Java Blue..... Coffee shop is wow . Give Deborah 10 out of 10 . Best coffee ever The entertainment team was entertaining and fun The fun shop had a variety of things I could buy. My cabin was always neat and tidy Dinning room was so yummy and professional at all times Love the lido, especially the pizza is to die for. I will definitely come and cruise with Carnival Dream again Ports Cozumel always my favourite place Thank you once again all to the staff for their hard work and making my cruise so memorable It is worth every cent to come on a cruise I feel so happy and appreciated Read Less

Loud music everywhere even during dinner in the buffet. It wasn’t a quiet atmosphere for 2 people on their honeymoon. Food was horrible the only place that had good food was the burger joint. Fruit looked amazing but too hard wasn’t dress, Shows were repetitive and when you arrived at a show more than 40 minutes before it started they kicked you out and you had to stand outside the door for 40 minutes. Won a picture package at their Deal or no Deal was told it included all the pictures your photographer took. When they realized how many people won they said you picture package was an 8x10 pic of the cruise ship and a portfolio to put it in. On the morning we left the boat we were kicked out of our room at 8am and had to sit on the dirty steps for two and a half hours before we were allowed to leave. And that process of getting from the boat through customs and back to our truck was another hour or more. We will never take another cruise and sad we planned our honeymoon that way. Read Less

We just got off the dream yesterday it was the best cruise I’ve have been on. Gary the director was amazing at what he does you could tell there was points where he was just exhausted but kept going but who wouldn’t be! My son was upset we didn’t take him because I showed him a picture of Gary looking like Woody from Toy Story for country trivia. The shows were amazing and I would suggest if u have never sat in the front row try it at least once it makes for a whole different experience. The food was okay it wasent a five star restaurant but a cruise is quantity over quality. There cooking for 4000plus a meal not 400. Our room steward was great! I do miss when they cleaned your room in the morning and turned it down at night but understand why they no longer do it that way. All in all no complaints. Embarking and debarment was so smooth and easy I couldn’t of asked for a more organized cruise. Read Less

My husband and I sailed for the second time on the Carnival Dream, stateroom category 8B, room 6318. The ship had just returned from an altered itinerary due to fog, and so hadn't been in port for several days. As such, she was in need of a thorough cleaning outside: all outside windows and balconies were filmed over with salt and tough to see through. The inside of the ship was pristine; I seldom saw empty glasses or room service items in the common areas. Our sailing must have been quite empty, because even on the one warm sea day we had, the lido deck had chairs to spare and Serenity was quite empty as well. Bars that had been opened on our first sailing were closed on and off, and the buffet seemed less full of options than before. Activities were abundant, especially live music! It seemed that every evening we had two or three venues to choose from to listen to live music. The comedians must have been good, because even arriving early to several shows it was standing room only. Since we sailed in mid-January, there were very few kids on board, and as such the casino was full and smoky. The smoke thankfully didn't waft far, but it was bothersome to walk through. As far as excursions, our submarine trip in Cozumel was canceled due to weather conditions, and there were several Carnival staff members on the pier near the meeting areas ready with alternatives to offer us. The canceled excursion was automatically refunded and we were able to choose a trip to Chankanaab instead, which I highly recommend! Service was very good, especially the dining room staff. Our waiters Luis from Mexico, Felix from Peru, and Shyam from India were very attentive, as well as Camille from the Philippines who we saw at the buffet and Guys Pig and Anchor. Our stateroom host I Gusti from Indonesia was busy but always had a smile on his face and a greeting for us, and he kept our room tidy. Our only complaint was that our room, 6318, was directly above the casino and we could hear the machines' noise as well as gamblers' celebratory cheers at night. Our balcony was right above one of the hot tubs on the promenade deck 5 as well, and while the noise was not too bothersome it was certainly present. I would certainly sail on the Dream again! She is a beautiful ship with a more than competent staff, and I enjoyed my sailing on her immensely! Read Less

Wanted to give it a try have always gone on royal Caribbean. Service terrible food even worse. We had a suite 7245. The toilet would not work tv didn’t work door handle to deck was falling off. They would constantly try and sell u shots and trinkets worse than the streets in Cozumel. None stop nickel and dime u to death. We bailed dinning room food was so bad went to restaurants and paid for dinners our Cruise left a day late not their fault but sucked. If u want to party at the golden coral of the seas they will sell u drinks and a bunch a cheap crap. It’s worth paying more for the amount of work that’s goes into it.. the little show we went to good the cast was great had fun there. If you want a nicer vaca save a little more. I know royal is owner by carnival but two different experiences that’s for sure. Never again warning.... Read Less

We left out of Galveston, which is probably my new favorite port. Galveston itself is quite historic and lovely. The Dream was a great ship, with all the favorite Guy's joints. The staff were friendly and helpful. It had a "roaring 20's" type feel to it, and the decor was really cute. We did a 5 day cruise, and it was very pleasant. They had a lot of trivia for 5 days, and we really enjoy doing those. The stop in Cozumel was perfect weather and then the stop in Yucatan, we did a private beach excursion with very strong drinks. It was well organized and the food was also excellent. The rooms were quiet and we hardly ever heard our neighbors. The balcony overlooked the a jacuzzi, which we thought might have loud people in it, but we only noticed them when we were on the balcony. Overall a nice 5 days, on a lovely ship. Read Less

First of all the ship may be older but it was definitely clean. There were staff everywhere cleaning the windows, bannisters, up on the Lido, etc. Everyone had a smile, Our dinner service was amazing. We were scheduled for anytime dining. We sat at table # 100 in the Crimson Restaurant. We were served by Richard, Alberto and Lorenz. Richard was the lead waiter and managed our table service flawlessly even though he was also managing a table of 17, simultaneously as well as several other tables. He had the biggest load of tables the nights we dined with him (four). Always with pleasure and a smile. His sense of management of food and beverage delivery was uncanny and executed with precision. He motivated his two team members, Alberto and Lorenz which they each demonstrated individually their knowledge of great service delivery, both outstanding and equally would support them in becoming waiters. The team moved about effortlessly as they managed all the different requests, not one table left behind as we watched around us. Richard remained positive, motivating, creative in solving dietary needs (we witnessed this), his team trusted him, evidenced by their respect of him. He has a keen sense of his customers and anticipated our needs. He placed his customers at ease as he engaged both the mature and young alike such that we saw him receive both accolades and hugs from his guests. Lorenz and Alfredo both were attentive, offering suggestions and on top of the table service. Both friendly, fun and engaging. They greeted us by name, as did Richard, asked about our day, shared a bit about themselves which allowed for a meaningful connection which extended the pleasure of dining in the the Crimson Restaurant each night. Each night as we entered the Crimson Restaurant, at the entry there was a female staff by the name of Kamille. She always greeted the guests with a welcoming smile and a "hello" first which made us feel welcomed and excited to dine there. She was conversational, remembered our names, helped us use the app for dining reservations. Over the four nights during our dining, we watched her engage guests with a genuine, not forced friendliness that really made the start of the evening happy for ourselves and the other guests we watched her interact with. She is a gem. The bar service at the Atrium and also at the aft pool needs mentioning. First, in the Atrium bar. Both Nina and Vera were outstanding. They multitasked numerous requests all the while with a smile, a witty comment and outstanding drink service. Each night we were greeted by them they engaged us in conversation with themselves and other guests creating a fun vibe that made you want to partake, try new drinks, meet new friends. We looked forward to going down each night before dinner. We also want to mention Alexandra. She covered down in the Atrium bar as well as the coffee bar. We had the same experience with her as well. Not to forget, Maria in the SPA was the most educated and professional spa treatment provider we have experienced on a Carnival Cruise. Our expectation after several Carnival Cruises is a masseuse with some experience, some interaction, pleasant. Maria exceeded this expectation. She was knowledgeable about our concerns, offered several treatment options based on our concerns and not trying to "upsell" a service or a product. She was kind, friendly and most of all gentle. Her knowledge made us feel confident we were receiving a good product. Our room was immaculate, likely the cleanest in recent memory of any cruise on any cruise line we have taken. No dust as is often found on shelving, no lint on the floor, no weird or odd stains in the bathroom or tub. We were on the 7th floor,. # 7235 and Habibe was our steward. He immediately greeted us when when approached our room, handed us his card and offered to have us call him with any issues or request. Upon entering, we noted the cleanliness, actually spotless environment. There was ice in the bucket which continued daily. Each day he greeted us with a smile, was swift and efficient in providing us with a clean room. He invited interaction with him rather than having to encourage him to speak and engage which made it meaningful for us to get to know him, and vice versa. Sweet and kind. Lastly, at the pool bar, Vijay greeted us each time he saw us, even if we were simply passing by. He remembered our drinks, by the way, were great. He was outwardly friendly, engaging and fun. Super sweet! The cruise director was ok, not passionate, did what he had to do. We had a medical emergency that required us going back to Galveston. He could have turned the guest energy around but he did not appear motivated. We saw most of the guest take this in stride, the Captain explalned everything which chilled the vibe well. Carnival gave all the guests a 20% discount on our next cruise. We didn't get to go to Cozumel, went to Progreso which was just ok. Overall it was still a lot of fun. The guests were friendly, not uptight. We ate at Bonsai Sushi. Service was not so good, maybe we hit them on a bad night. Atrium music groups and also the Ocean Plaza games, trivia and dancing was fun. The fun squad did a good job. It was too cold for the pool or being outside. Embarkation was a fly thru: super easy. Disembarkation improved, had staff at the elevators to monitor. We did take the Carnival bus to the airport. No big issues there except we had to wait for a guest who never showed up which did delay are departure but did not affect our flight. We have another Carnival cruise coming up end of April. Stay tuned. Read Less

We chose this particular cruise because it left out of a port we could all access fairly easily by car AND seemed like a good fit for the children and teenagers in our group. Also, a couple of the adults in our party very much wanted to do some gambling as well. The "Dream" seemed to have it all. We were not disappointed. The ship was lively and full of fun activities and different dining choices. The staff was always ready to help us and were super friendly. Our cabin steward (Marco) was sweet and so hardworking. We felt pampered and were genuinely sad to say goodbye to him when it was time to go. In general the service overall was great. We dined every night in the 'Crimson' restaurant. There were 11 of us so we were not easy to seat but one group of servers did such a good job that we asked for them again and again (THANK YOU Amy, Ervin and Ni Kadek!). After our first night they knew us all by name and what we liked to drink. Amy and her crew were that great combination of friendly and personal without being intrusive. The food was a bit hit and miss (sometimes great but sometimes a bit bland; never awful) but for the price point this cruise hit, I was happy with it and there was plenty to choose from on-board with all the different restaurants and buffets. Our kids and teenagers could all find food they enjoyed and that was what was most important to us. We had a fantastic time and we can't wait to do it again. Read Less

This was a family Christmas cruise. Well where do I start, the food is ok, there are several restaurants but the lines are long (ship Carrie's 6000 people). The food at Golden Corral is more fresh and tastes better. If I had to give the best recommendation for food is Guy's Burger Joint. Luckily you can't not screw up a cheese burger. The ship activities while at sea are not fun and the schedule is horrible. There were movies, shows and activities that we wanted to try, unfortunately (6000 people) the times overlapped each other to separate the majority of people. So when we would want to go the movie it was dinner time or there would be a two activites at the same time. Kids club was not as advantageous as advertised. The hours are horrible and after 10 you have to pay more money. The ports of call were Cozumel and Progreso (Yucatan). Cozumel was the best and Pregreso is an up and coming destination. The biggest problem with Progreso is, it's not a resort or tourist spot yet. So the 3 hours of our excursion was spent driving to the location. The excursion itself was beautiful, highly recommend the Mayapan Ruin, lazy river and cave swim. Almost worth the 3 hour round trip. Now the why they get a 1 star, the Cloud 9 spa, worst experience ever. We booked a time when we first board the ship day one. When we arrived we were told the person who answered the phone and booked was new and messed up and did not book our appointment. The manager was rude and when I said I would be giving a bad review, she began to tell me how she left her family to work on this cruise and that I was I should be more appreciative of her sacrifice of time with her family. That is not the correct answer or great customer service. Needless to say over staff and and cruise is a 1 and I will most likely never sail with Carnival again. My advice save for a little longer and go with Disney if your taking the family. Read Less

The start of the day was great on ship. We loaded and was able to grab lunch and walk around awhile in a calm quiet setting. Until the rest of the quest boarded. It was so crowded and very hard to get a table during meal times due to so many ppl. The lines were long and the service was not that friendly. Most servers served your food without making eye contact and without smiling. Most didn’t even say your welcome when thanked for their service! The ships cabins need updating!! This cruise was not for relaxing and enjoying the cruise ship in peace. It’s very loud and more of a young party boat. Crowded, not enough hot tubs, was never able to get in one.. I took my 2 children and husband, as we walked around the ship to explore the decks, there was about 5-6 people smoking marijuana outside in the seating section.. This completely made me mad as I had my 6 year old with me walking past these people. The smell was strong so it amazes me that not one of the crew people smelled it or even walked around to check on guest! Is bringing drugs and smoking it legal on carnival dream ships? Wished I knew I would never have went. They don’t serve straws with drinks. But will sell you one. Umm I’m paying how much for my cabin plus guest and you want to charge me for a $1 straw. I definitely won’t be sailing carnival again! No thanks. Read Less

We wanted to spend time with our son over his Christmas break from UH. We had been on two previous cruises with Carnival May of 2019 and Dec of 2018. Our first ship was the Valor it was a 4 day cruise to Cozumel. The second was out of Galveston on the Dream. I had won a seat to the poker tournament on the Valor and the May trip was the finals on the Dream. Both of those trips we used a friend who was a travel agent to book the cruise. On this trip we booked directly. Again on this trip I won two seats to the upcoming poker tournament finals on the Magic in May of 2020. I most likely will not be able to go. I am considering selling my two seats to somebody who would like to play in the finals. We are planning another cruise on the Freedom in Mar to celebrate out 30 wedding anniversary. I have enjoyed the cruise more than I expected. I find the service excellent. The food is good both on the Lido deck and the Scarlet/Crimson dinning rooms. I like that the staff learns your name and preferences to anticipate what you may enjoy. The dinning room experiences the waitstaff is very good at make appropriate recommendations. We need to get better at make shore excursion plans, the three previous cruise we kinda may last minute plans aboard the ship. I enjoy the trivia events and the shows while we are at sea days. I also have enjoyed playing poker on board. This last cruise we attended some art auction events and learn a great deal about artist and art. We have been in a suite for the last two cruise and really like the extra space including the upgrade bath. The trip in 2018 we booked two rooms on for us and one for our son. This last time the three of us easily share the suite. Read Less

This was our first cruise. We (my husband, myself, my 17 year old son & his girlfriend (she's cruised lots) decided on a short trip (4 days) to Cozumel from Galveston to see if we would even like to cruise. We were scheduled to begin check-in at 1:30 pm. Even though we were scheduled we ended up being mixed in with every one left to embark (Note: pick an earlier time). Short wait at check-in & then a quick trip through customs. Stopped for a group photo (we were a group of 8) and began the walk to the ship. We were able to go straight to our room (Note: we were told at check-in that our sail & sign cards would be in the pocket next to our room door). Our room was very clean. We had a queen size bed (2 twin beds) and a couch. Plenty of closet space. This room does connect to the adjoining room, which we kept locked and a full glass door to the balcony (2 chairs & small table). I unpacked and waited for muster call. It began to rain. We went to the Muster Station E3, in the Scarlet Restaurant. There were lots of people and no one would be quiet. It was really hard to hear the entire drill. Being that this was my first cruise I really wanted to know what I should do if there was an emergency! Luckily, you can watch a video in your stateroom. Anyway, our dining time was 6 pm so we decided to look around the boat before dinner. (Note: Day 3 - I finally started to figure out the ship - apparently I am slow learner). Night one was pretty confusing for me. At dinner, I wanted a soda so I asked for one. I was informed that my cheers package wasn't yet activated so I would be charged (I knew this already) which was fine.Dinner was good but we were tired and ready to chill somewhere quiet. Day 1& 2 - We decided on room service for breakfast. THE COFFEE IS HORRIBLE (according to my husband). The breakfast was unexpectedly good! We each got a breakfast sandwich & bagels.....way too much food. Lunch was on Lido , we decided on just grabbing tacos at the Blue Iguana Cantina - very good. We also tried the burgers at Guy's - also very good. We did the buffet breakfast on Day 3 & Day 4 - my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Formal dinner was very good. A very special treat was the seafood shack - snow crab was pricey but I love CRAB! It was just as good as any restaurant I've ate crab at! Anyways on to Cozumel - we got off the boat after a 15 minute line wait. The line was very disorganized and people were rude & pushing. Once off the boat you have to walk along the dock and enter a long building (hall) full of vendors and crowds of cruiser that got off before you. Walk through customs and then you are free to roam. Our excursion time wasn't until 11 am so we found a table at Fat Tuesdays. WOW! The bud light is ICE COLD there! The table we sat at was very close to the water so we had awesome views and lots of photo ops. Our entire group decided to do the Land & Sea Excursion, not really pricey. We started off in a semi sub boat - great views of the reef & fish. We then took a bus (very nice - not at all like a school bus) to see the Mayan Cocoa Company to see how chocolate is made and then to discover and sample some really GREAT tequila! The whole excursion was ±4 hours long. We were entertained the entire time with history and fun facts from our tour guide. Because the chocolate portion & tequila portion are on opposite side of the island you get to sight see Cozumel along the ride. After the excursion we stopped to grab a few souvenirs, got a group pic, quick run through customs and back on the ship. One surprise that I wasn't prepared for was that the ship showed the Dallas Cowboys game on the Lido deck! That Sunday I started seeing all these DC team jerseys and I was thinking - what am I missing! So I checked the hub and sure enough the game was on the itinerary line up! We planted ourselves at an awesome table on the deck (rather early) and enjoyed the game with treats and snacks that I retrieved from the buffet. GO COWBOYS!!!! During the this trip we went to a few of the shows, we didn't care to participate in any so we just dropped in and sat in the back or upper levels. WHAT A LAUGH - we went to a newly wed couple type show and laughed way too hard! Gary is the host of entertainment on this ship and he is hilarious! We saw the synchronized swimming on Lido (a must see) and the 80's music party was a BLAST! We disembarked on Monday by 9 am (we were on floor 2 - called first was floor 1, then 2 and then they jumped up to floor 12), the longest part was customs - in Galveston you start off in 2 very LONG lines, closer to the customs gate - I think it was broke down into 4 or 5 short lines. This portion was the longest wait during the whole cruise. The only thing I would have done different was the CHEERS package - on Days 2 & 3, we could get our 'cheers' drink and then purchase another for our son & his girlfriend, but things changed on Day 4 - they only allow you to get the one drink from your cheers programs. No buying extra drinks. I really thought this was odd. So we would go to one of the bars, get our 1 cheers drink and then walk across the deck to another bar and get another 'purchased' drink. I didn't understand why I could not buy a drink separate. (NOTE: find a waiter and tip them really good - they will bring you WHATEVER you want.) Another note about the Cheers program - we never reached our 15 drink minimum and on one of the sea days we gave it hell. Again - I'd do this cruise again! Now off to plan our next cruise, because I am officially addicted! Read Less

First time on Dream, we were surprised to see it was very worn - furnishings were shabby, couldn't find a USB connector anywhere, called Guest Services and was told that none of the cabins on the Dream had USB connectors. Are you kidding? How old is this ship? When was the last time it was in dry dock? Cabin steward Nanang was good, and our waiters each night in the MDR, Richard, Alberto, Roderick, were great. Food was good. Service mornings in MDR was sporadic. Disembarking negated the good. We had priority by carrying our own luggage off, smooth process usually, here we were lead around in circles, seemed no one was in charge. We were let off at Terminal 2 in Galveston, so had to walk back to 1 to get our shuttle back to our parking lot. Not young , all this extra walking was hard. Never again. Read Less

First Cruise, I really didn't know what to expect. What I didn't like was that there wasn't a Seafood night or dinner. In order to get Seafood you had to go to a regular restaurant. I guess I was just thinking on a Cruise they would automatically have a Seafood dinner night if nothing else. The food wasn't all that good either. I also wished they would have had a separate section for children. I made the mistake of going when it was a Fall break. Too many children running around and taking up time in the food lines. I almost got knocked down by kids running all over the place. I will never go on another Cruise during that period. Another thing I didn't like was that meals were on different places. Dinner here, breakfast here, snacks here, it was a lot of running around. But as I said it was my first Cruise and I didn't know what to expect.. Read Less

This 5 night cruise from Galveston exceeded my expectations. A prior Carnival cruise was not great so I was apprehensive about this one. What a waste of worry! Plentiful waiters for fast soda package service. Was concerned about room only being cleaned once a day, but we never ran out of towels (my biggest concern), and on the one day when we had all been in the sand and beach water, I requested towel replacement a bonus time and it was quickly provided. The food was good! Blue Iguana is my new fav. Did not go to the dining room or specialty spots. Very long lines at lunch buffet though. Breakfast room service was free and prompt with lots of food options. Bingo was fun and not rushed. The areas were, in general, always being cleaned. I did not feel like anything was dirty or being ignored. Nor were there out of order bathroom stalls everywhere (I've seen that). On our other cruises on Carnival and Princess we have had mini suites. This cruise was a balcony room. It seemed bigger than a mini suite room though. Maybe the room was just laid out very well. And there was TONS of storage space. Did not attend stage shows but enjoyed both comedians; watched them both two times at their family friendly shows. Arcade was so much bigger than a prior cruise, wow! Spa was used twice - very nice staff, very nice results. My favorite cruise so far has been one to Europe, that's clearly a once in a lifetime vaca with once in a lifetime memories. However I think this cruise is the one I laughed the most on, the one I enjoyed the most; it was laid back, staff were happy, I never felt rushed, there was no pretentious passengers, people were just having fun! There were 2 non-positives: 1. There was a scent of sweat in a few places onboard, it was consistent, not just like a person had walked by. One area was always in front of the Burgundy Room. It made me wonder why cruise ships don't pipe in aromatherapy like resort hotels do? But I have a sensitive nose so maybe no one else noticed. 2. The hairy chest contest was completely out on hand. If Carnival wants to allow the contest to turn into what it did, they need to not have it in the middle of the day around little kids. I found it extremely offensive and uncomfortable, it was allowed to get disgustingly sexual, and mid pool surrounded by swimming kids and water slides of kids is just not the place for such a display. This was a relaxing, fun vacation! Read Less

I have waited to post this because I hate for our family vacation to have been impacted in a negative way BUT, I feel like it may help others in the future. Also, I feel like I owe it to my son who will FOREVER have a scar on his head due to Carnival's negligence. IF you choose to cruise on Carnival (we NEVER will again), please inspect your room. For as much money as you pay for a cruise, this shouldn't be necessary BUT it may prevent incidents like ours. Carnival has been our family's choice for vacations for the past several years and each cruise we have been on has been worse than the one before. On top of nasty food, bad service, and a filthy STINK filled ship, recklessly harming my child is the final straw for us, we will NEVER cruise Carnival again. Carnival seems too much in a hurry to load new guests on the ship than to be following through with proper maintenance and safety inspections. (I can't imagine that it's getting cleaned very well either.) We had already had an issue with one of our doors in our cabin being off the hinge which was immediately reported. But then, the very first morning of our cruise, the air vent in our room fell off and the corner hit my son in the head causing lots of bleeding and a pretty large gash. The medical center was not very helpful and they acted like it was a big deal because I was hesitant to sign the paperwork that said I would be responsible for the $125 medical visit!!! They told me that security would have to come and do an investigation and ONLY IF their findings confirmed their responsibility would they wave the fee. So they did the "investigation" and two days later the charge was removed from my account. Over 48 hours later, they contacted our room on the ship to check on him and let us know that we could take him back to medical if we needed. 2 DAYS LATER!!! Not only were we never apologized to during this incident but we were made to feel as if we did something wrong. We were told by the doctor on board that he would not be able to be exposed to water (aboard a cruise ship traveling to beach destinations) for 2-3 days. Had a more empathetic approach been taken, we would have all been more inclined to forgiving and moving on from this. It would have taken little effort on Carnival's part to making sure our family deserved the vacation we paid for and deserved. Someone could have very well have given my children arcade credits, (non water) excursions, or some other sort of replacement to the amount of fun THE ENTIRE FAMILY missed out on. We went on vacation as a family, not as individuals. MY son was hurt and unable to swim and it affected all four of us and not a SINGLE Carnival staff member cared. We were treated poorly just because I questioned the $125 medical visit I was reluctant to have to pay. My child will have a scar on top of his head for his entire life. He's a boy and I can and will anticipate some cuts and scrapes but how is it okay for Carnival to me so negligent and have very little remorse??? Read Less

Convienence. We could drive to Galveston, Price and we have had good experience with Carnival in the past. Let us start with saying the staff was very good. Everyone was very congenial and helpful. The food was mediocre. In the buffet you had to touch food to make sure it was hot. Much of it was cold.The directions and markings on the ship were somewhat confusing. The cabin was sufficient. The shower was alot to be desired. It left water on the floor no matter how low you set the water pressure. Embarkation was good but disembarkation was an absolute disaster in our opinion. Took over 3 hours to get off the ship and to our car. We will try to avoid Galveston again. Entertainment was ok about a 6 on scale of 1 to 10. We did not do any shore excursions. The price was cheap but the crowd on the ship was somewhat rowdy and loud and coming back late at night loud in the hallway. Would not go on this ship again. Read Less

Though it had been quite a number of years since my wife and I had last cruised, we had so looked forward to this trip. We had driven down the day before, and stayed at the Galvez and caught the shuttle the next morning. We had scheduled an early arrival time. and as such were there right on time. After dropping off our luggage with one of the porters (look for guys in floral print Hawaiian style shirts), we made our way to the concourse to enter the building. The building has different doors, each marked with letters of the alphabet. Go to A. Any group designation marked with any other letter seems to be irrelevant. Don't get confused like we did! They were late in allowing us to begin the boarding process. My wife found out later that the crew had to track down a person that didn't want to get off! Once the process began, it was well organized and speedy. They even had cold fruit water in the embarkation lounge! After that, it was a quick matter to get on board. Our cabin steward Arthur was very helpful at all times, though language was a small barrier. He seemed to be very good at his job, and we felt fortunate to have him there. At first there had been an off smell, but he quickly took care of it. Additionally, the balcony divider between ours and the next cabin had been left unlocked, but he corrected that as well. Considering that the kitchen staff were cooking for 4000 passengers, plus crew, the food was quite good. I was especially surprised at the tenderness and flavor of the flat iron steak. I want to know how they do that! We ate dinner in the main dining room except for one night. The service team there is also excellent. Service was quick and efficient. Thanks to Prince! Additionally, we ate at the Seafood Shack, the Mongolian Wok (the slowest), The Blue Iguana, and Guys Burger bar. All were quite good, and made fresh to order. The buffets are good, and we had breakfast there every day. One more thing ... the barbecue ... so so. Yes, I am biased when it comes to 'cue. The one regret we had is that we only caught three of the shows. They were fun and engaging. The 80's show the last night was spectacular! All in all, I've never seen a ship more appropriately named. I still have pleasant dreams about our time on The Dream. Read Less