Disappointing

Item: Carnival Dream
Rating: 2
Author: jnrforbes

Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

jnrforbes

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 07, 2016

Ship: Carnival Dream

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 2403

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

We booked and planned this cruise for our children and their spouses ages 20-26, we booked 4 balcony rooms, we have always cruised royal caribe an but chose carnival because we were told it was geared towards the 20 something crowd, boy was that not true. We had our 2 yo grandchild with us as well, and on the first day were told she could not use the small slide even with her parents holding her, so everytime she was outside she wanted to slide and couldnt. The nightclub was closed most nights, the shows were too packed no seats, the smoke filled casino was awful and the food made at least 1 if not 2 of us sick everynight, this was the most disappointing trip I have ever been on and really makes me sad I spent so much time and money trying to plan this for over a year for my family of 9. We will not be cruising with carnival again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food was not very good, only offered water for drinks, and the water in pitchers on table tasted awful and had things floating in it, our wait staff was the only good part, same things everyday on buffets, and lines very long for burrito bar, Mongolian wok, ect waiting in line 1 hour and then they closed buffet.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Did not like how things closed at times when other shows were going on, seemed forced to attend shows then not enough room to sit, had to stand

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The night club was not open every night, seemed to be closed whenever there was a comedy show, seemed to force you to go to things you may not be interested in, the deck party was a bunch of middle school kids, the whole cruise seemed to be geared to the 12-17 age group, their clubs were always open, my 6 twenty somethings kids were bored most nights, the casino was so smoke filled you couldn't breathe in there, dissapointed that we spent so much time trying to find something to do

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Went to camp ocean. With our 2 year old grand child and would not leave her in there, the teens where running wild around the little ones, did not feel safe

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Our dinner staff was awesome, freddie and crew, our room steward Ricard was nice but left dirty glasses and dishes in our room, not enough towels every day, and never seemed to be around.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The smell of sewage was awful on the second floor, dirty pool decks all the time

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Nice size room and balcony

Ship tip

Great if you have kids 12-15, otherwise just enjoy the ports

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New Orleans, Louisiana

3 out of 5

City smells so bad all the time, gross

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Awesome place to visit my 3rd time there

Thumbs Up 2

Belize City, Belize

3 out of 5

Probably should have skipped this port 1 week after a hurricane, but the zoo was okay just alot of damage

Thumbs Up 1

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

Definetly will be back there, the reef was beautiful, beach was beautiful best part of the whole trip!

Thumbs Up 4

16 Comments

stlkat57 8 years ago

My 3rd trip coming on dream. Nightclub not open? It is open at 10pm except for pool deck party nights. If anything it is usually too party hardy for the older crowd, but as a person almost 60 young, love the "fun ship" atmosphere. I've been on ncl and the food was awful every night. My husband looks so forward to carnivals prime rib and lobster night. And is in heaven with nightly shrimp co

Thumbs Up 0

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gellmore 8 years ago

PLEASE STAY WITH RC!!!!!!

Thumbs Up 1

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redmustang 8 years ago

I have been on four cruises, the one that I took on RC was awful, I never and I mean NEVER saw our room Stewart and my daughters room was not cleaned the whole cruise!! Only Carnival for me

Thumbs Up 1

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Sonny72 8 years ago

Planning #3 on the Dream soon . Loved it .

Thumbs Up 1

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cajun204 8 years ago

I've tried Royal and have absolutely nothing bad to say except it felt like a funeral compared to Carnival. You stick with Royal, I'm sticking with Carnival.

Thumbs Up 3

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jnrforbes 8 years ago

She is potty trained, and I did tons of research for this trip, it was planned for over a year, the "kiddie slide" was safe for her with her parents along side her, we had 8 adults with us so plenty of people to share the time with the toddler so everyone had adult time if wanted, bringing a 2 year old didn't make the food suck or the constant smell of sewage any different. Royal Caribbean just does it better, you should try it, and really some of these comments make it sound like your gratuities are on the line based on my opinion of a lower class budget cruise, I guess I should've researched one more time lol

Thumbs Up 0

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gellmore 8 years ago

AMEN. cajun204

Thumbs Up 0

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cajun204 8 years ago

Almost 1000 reviews with an excellent 4.3 rating. That's why I ignore these kind of reviews. Plus I know better after 3 cruises on the Dream.

Thumbs Up 2

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gellmore 8 years ago

Research. Research. Research. You sound like you had one bad experience and let everything else affect you too. Love the Dream. Love Carnival. How can you possibly do all you would like to do when you have a totter with you.. Just saying.

Thumbs Up 2

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sunshine220 8 years ago

You have to get to shows early to get decent seats or a seat at all it's hard to bring kids under 3 or not potty trained they can't use pools or go to camp my family has loved carnival but you have to do s little research and I would never bring a toddler that's my own preference nothing for them to do and more work than relaxing.

Thumbs Up 3

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jnrforbes 8 years ago

This was my 4th cruise and have always enjoyed it tremendously BUT on a different cruise line, the service was better, the food was better and the experiences were incredible, it wasn't all bad this time we enjoyed our time together and the ports, but the time on the ship left alot to be desired, because we have experienced better I just expected more, now we know the difference.

Thumbs Up 0

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allizzo67817862 8 years ago

Almost everyone seems to have a good time. Can't please everyone and I guess your one of them. Cruise are what you make them. Gotta learn how to let loose and have fun. Sorry for your bad experience

Thumbs Up 3

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mandab 8 years ago

That sucks I'm a huge carnival fan and I loved the dream dud it twice sorry you had a bad experience.

Thumbs Up 0

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bubbss818 8 years ago

I have been on the Dream twice and loved every minute! The staff, the food and everything was great! To each his own opinion! I would definitely recommend it to my friends 😀

Thumbs Up 7

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frankskevin20 8 years ago

i just have a difficult time believing this!!

Thumbs Up 9

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Nyszerman 8 years ago

The comedy club is huge - never saw someone not get seats? We were just on the Dream and the food was fantastic- sorry you had such a horrible vacation

Thumbs Up 6

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