Carnival Dream Review

Carnival's new Dream ship has room for improvement

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Dream
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anngab1
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Aug 2010
Cabin: Balcony
Traveled with children

I wanted to post on this site, since it was one of the most comprehensive tools when I was looking to book a cruise this summer. The Carnival Dream was selected by me and my family for several reasons. First, it sailed from Port Canaveral - which is very close to our home city. Second - the sail dates were just what we needed based on family commitments and work schedules. Third - the price was pretty low, compared to RCCC and Disney. Finally, its Carnival's newest ship, so we figured it would be clean and very modern.

Embarkation was easy - the large parking garage was nice (until we got the $106 bill when it was time to leave)! We got on the boat, were able to get into our balcony stateroom right away (minus the luggage that didn't arrive until close to 5pm). The room was nice, with a comfy bed and flat screen tv. The balcony was decent sized -with two little chairs and a table. The bathroom was tiny, as they usually are. Warning to those with long hair - the pathetic excuse for a hairdryer was very aggravating. I would have had better luck standing out on the balcony and letting the wind dry my hair! Bring your own! Also, there is only one plug, so that too is a challenge. The closet space was decent, which was a plus. The walls are paper thin, and we could hear every sneeze and toilet flush in the cabin next to us.

Food: the food was fair, at best. The feeding trough - AKA the Gathering (buffet) was always way too crowded and we avoided it as much as possible. Instead, we liked the pasta bar, and the tandoori buffet at the rear of the ship. The sushi bar was okay - but they only had three selections at any given time, so if you didn't like what they were serving that day you had no other options. For some reason, the design of the main buffet area was all wrong. There was only one juice/tea station in each main room (which looked like it could hold 1000 people) and it was placed right next to the walk way. There was always a line for drinks, and the people basically blocked the entire path. Otherwise, you had to meander through the chairs. We were traveling in a group of 7 people (4 adults, three kids - ages 15, 10 and 7). We chose the flexible dining option, which I would definitely recommend. There were several nights that we had gone out on excursions, and needed some rest before jumping right into a sit-down dinner. The dining room was pretty, and clean. The wait staff was very nice. But, be prepared to spend AT LEAST 90 minutes each night if you eat in the dining rooms. It was painfully slow - which is a challenge for adults, not to mention a 7 year old. There were lots of choices on the menu each night - but the food was average at best. Nothing that would make me want to order more - or usually even finish.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Good closet space. Terribke hair dryer, paper-thin walls (very noisy). Nice balcony.

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