Ok Cruise on The Dream

I received this cruise as a casino promo and I was really excited to get to try out the Dream as it's a bigger ship than I'd previously been on. The ship itself is nice. Pretty standard for what I have grown to expect from Carnival. This was my 3rd cruise with them. Embarkation went very smoothly. This was my first time sailing out of New Orleans and aside from the terrifyingly low ceilings in the Fulton parking garage and someone getting shot outside our hotel room everything else was quick and easy. We arrived at our check in time and only waited briefly for our zone to be called to board. My first complaint is that our rooms were not ready until 1:30 and we boarded around 12. Not a problem except we do not check our luggage and carry it on and it was a pain carting it around until we could get into our room. One thing I definitely noticed about leaving from the Mississippi was the obvious transition from it to the ocean sometime in the middle of the night. The seas got much rougher and I was woken up due to the shaking which was making my hangers clang together. We were in an interior cabin on  deck 7. By the next morning everything seemed to have smoothed out it was smooth sailing until the last day of our trip when we encountered some weather and the ship swayed massively from side to side until we re-entered the Mississippi around 9 pm that night. 
Our cabin steward greeted us the first day and asked which service we'd like. We chose turn down so that we could sleep in without missing our room being cleaned. She was very friendly and while I cannot remember her full name I called her Koko. The food was pretty good and we ate in the dining room every night with the exception of the steakhouse the first night. It, however, was not worth the upcharge in my opinion. My husband was irritated that I made him dress nice when a group of people came in in shorts and cut off shirts and baseball caps. Carnival does not seem to adhere to their dress code in any way these days. It's kind of disappointing. As far as the rest of the cruise and the service I had no problems getting service anywhere on the boat and I'm pretty sure we visited most of the establishments with the exception of the main theatre. We always get the drink package but I do tip on top of that to ensure that I get good service. 
My only REAL complaint about this ship was the casino. It was horrible. Nothing paid! I've never in my life been in a casino where the blackjack tables were almost always empty. They did not pay at all. After losing several hundred dollars I decided to throw my money away on the slots which ironically paid much better than the tables. That was a bummer. I tried almost all of the food places with the exception of the deli and the pasta place. I liked the Off the Grill option the most I think. 
The Cabin-this was my first ( and last) time in an interior cabin. I did not like not being able to see the water in any way. Especially when the seas were rough. Also while it being mostly dark, with the exception of a small light on the tv and the light under the door, made it great for sleeping, it  made it impossible to determine what time of day or night it was. And with it being a smaller cabin you can hear EVERYTHING that is going on outside your door. The last night I was awoken THREE different times by what sounded like a group of young teenagers at 1 am, 2 am and 3 am. Keep in mind we had to be out of the rooms by 8 am. Had I not already packed all my clothing except for what I was planning to wear home I would have had some unpleasant things to say to them and their parents. 
Overall this cruise was good and I would probably sail on the dream again although it was not my favorite. I particularly did not care for the way the lido deck was laid out as it made it feel more cramped. But hey, it was "free" right? Until they stuck that exorbitant bill outside my door that is. ;-)