Prices

Item: Carnival Dream
Rating: 4
Author: smoker

Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

smoker

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 29

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 28, 2016

Ship: Carnival Dream

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6409

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The overall cruise was great. The camp Carnival for kids is very good and the kids love it. The prices for drinks were very high as well as the shore excursions. I recommend booking your excursions through independent excursion agencies (as we did) or use local people, the rates are up to half the price but use caution with local people in some ports like Jamaica. If you're a smoker, Carnival has the most deck area for smoking.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

The Mongolian Wok is great

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New Orleans, Louisiana

5 out of 5

Montego Bay, Jamaica

3 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

13 Comments

matty5530 8 years ago

Smoking is allowed on the lido deck portside i believe. In the casino. Also on the same side as lido on the 9th or 10th deck. There's a bar off the same level as the casino with a coffee shop. Go outside just past the bar.

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lorrik 8 years ago

Can you smoke somewhere in the sun or covered area

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bhumphries21 8 years ago

The casino, clubs, and I believe the port side of the lanai in between the two side spas

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jkane89 8 years ago

That's the point I was trying to get across is that yes if you wouldnt have fun because you're so scared ok don't book it but don't ruin others fun with your over cautions.I always have a good time doing excursions not scheduled with carnival and any adult should be able to exercise the common sense to know what to do and what not to! Lol my best experiences have been off the beaten path!

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dkf97 8 years ago

Exactly we had a limo break down in Freeport, it took them maybe 10 minutes before another vehicle came to pick us up. If you aren't comfortable booking outside the cruiseline, then by all means don't, I just get annoyed when people exaggerate the cautions. We would have missed out on some really great experiences of we had listened to all horrible what ifs.

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jkane89 8 years ago

Again, in every port there are endless transportation options and if your bus broke down etc. there is 99% chance of another way back. I wouldn't go off hours from the ship on a non ship or non guaranteed excursion but if you are within an hour of the ship there should be no reason but yourself that u didn't make it back on time

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debbmike 8 years ago

You have to keep in mind, yes it is a business that they rely on but I've heard of vehicles breaking down and not getting back on time. The outside companies we have used have a back to ship guarantee. They will fly you to the next port if missed. You may want to look closely at their guarantees.

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jkane89 8 years ago

I wouldn't book a tour far away that is lengthy at all but you are so right local tours are the best and cheaper like example in the caymans the stingray excursion was 50 through carnival and when we got off locals were charging 35 for the same exact tour and it came with 2 free drinks as well which carnival did not offer. Went to the same exact place on the same exact boats and got more for less

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gellmore 8 years ago

ALL BALCONIES ARE NON SMOKING!!!

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dkf97 8 years ago

I agree with all of the above except drink prices. I can never understand why people complain about drink prices. They are pretty much the same as any nice restaurant or bar at home and I live in the Midwest where prices for everything are lower than most places. Booking excursions on your own is almost always the way to get a great experience. The Ship excursions are just too crowded and you feel like you are in a cattle drive. People who constantly worry about not getting back to the ship on time don't seem to understand that these outside your companies wouldn't be in business if they didn't get people back to the port on time. There are 3 main reasons people miss the ship 1. They don't pay attention to ship time vs. Local time and ask locals what time it is. 2. They are so drunk they don't even know what day it is. And 3. A combination of 1 and 2. The only exceptions for us are the activities where you are venturing far from the port. No matter what we do we plan to be back at the port area at least an hour before we have to be back on board. Tour companies usually leave a 2 to 3 hour cushion.

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Anthony40 8 years ago

And remember when you book excursions outside of the cruise line that you take your passport with you just incase you need alternative travel arrangements when you get back to the port and your ship has sail without you.

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jkane89 8 years ago

Casino bar, the dance club and one whole side of the open air decks. I don't know if u can smoke on your personal balconies anymore or not I know some are non smoking but I think some you can smoke

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rosalinda2 8 years ago

Where are the designated smoking areas on the dream?

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great Time!