We just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Dream. My husband, son (15) and daughter (12) traveled with a bunch of friends. This was the first cruise for most of us. The cruise was so awesome. We had a great time! I was a little skeptical reading some earlier reviews, but I couldn't find one thing that bothered me about this cruise. Everything was perfect.

Embarking and disembarking was easy - very organized. The ship is absolutely beautiful and BIG! I still didn't know my way around by the end of the cruise. The staff is excellent in keeping it clean. I never saw a mess anywhere. As soon as you left your table in the dining rooms, someone was right there to clear your dishes. Housekeeping was also great - kept our room tidy at all times and provided fresh linens twice daily. The staff were all so nice and couldn't do enough for us. We had a balcony room on the 6th floor. Next time, I think I would reserve a room closer to the Lido deck end of the hall though -- but the 6th level was fine. My daughter and I tend to get motion sickness, but neither one of us had any problem. We never had to take the Dramamine or use the bracelets. The room was fine - wasn't that big but actually bigger than I expected. We never heard any outside noise from the hallway, or felt any rocking from the ship. The balcony was great - we really were happy that we got one. There is ample storage space (make sure you look under the twin bed for very large drawers!). There was a hair dryer in the room, but please note that they do not provide irons. I heard that they do have "ironing rooms" for the convenience of passengers, but I had ironed everything myself before we left home and brought my handy wrinkle-free spray which works great. One recommendation - if you like to lay by the pool, make sure you get up by8:00 to save some chairs - they go quickly. If you like privacy, try Deck 5!

All the food that we ate was delicious. We ate in the dining room almost every night and I can't say enough about how good the service and food were. You could have as much as you wanted to eat. The night that lobster tails were offered, our whole table had at least two each! Fantastic food!! My son ate constantly and loved the pizza and burger bars, plus all the ice cream cones you can eat! The breakfast buffet was awesome - I had made-to-order omelets and fresh fruit every morning. Note that if the line is long in the morning, there is a small breakfast station outside by the pool that offers most of the same food! This was a well-kept secret for the first half of the cruise! Read more