Will Never Travel Carnival Again

Item: Carnival Dream
Rating: 2.5
Author: DreamDisappoint

Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

DreamDisappoint

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 39

Overall rating:

2.5 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 06, 2017

Ship: Carnival Dream

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8436

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The cruise was a huge disappointment. Some was related to the weather in New Orleans and Jamaica, but the biggest issue was the amount of money that was spent on the vacation and the boat's engine issue and lack of going to all the ports. We personally will NEVER travel on Carnival again.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Long lines and big crowds - took a long while to board.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Main dining room and specialty restaurants were ok. The buffets were not good at all.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Stuck on the boat 5 out of 7 days, too much emphasis around Bingo, two pools were too crowded to be used.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Took advantage of the shows - many of the comedians were not funny. The performances had great effects, but the singing was worse than American Idol contestants.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Disappointed that the room is only serviced once a day now. Room steward was awesome and a few of the ship personnel went over and above.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Large room, Balcony was definitely a plus being on board for so many days.

Ship tip

Many of the events were located in too small of areas. They have a major problem with allocating

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New Orleans, Louisiana

1 out of 5

Rain and flooding

Thumbs Up 0

Montego Bay, Jamaica

1 out of 5

Rained. Expensive to get to town and back to ship. Nothing to do. Highly recommend an excursion at this location.

Thumbs Up 3

George Town, Grand Cayman

4 out of 5

Love 7 mile beach.

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico Did not visit port

Engine went out. Floated around in the Atlantic without an engine for hours. Last minute decision not to go to Cozumel. Huge disappointment.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

If your flight is later in the day, highly recommend being one of the last ones off the ship. Very smooth disembarkation.

33 Comments

katiej512 7 years ago

you can't please all of the people all of the time.

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dolphin1275 7 years ago

Delays ? The port was missed . If that happened with an airline your money would have been refunded

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cganesh 7 years ago

I guess if you ever have delays on an airplane you never fly on them again??? Many things can happen on any kind of vacation and we have cruised on several cruiselines and just learned to go with the flow and have a good time. It's sad to miss a port and the contract you sign doesn't require the cruiseline to pay you anything for itinerary changes for any reason.

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Castiel 7 years ago

It's Carnivals fault that something happened. It would NEVER have happened on Really Cool cruise line! Completely unacceptable! Sue them! (Sarcasm ends here)

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pacrat 7 years ago

dolphin1275 you don't always get warning signs for malfunction I don't know what you work on but you don't.

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dolphin1275 7 years ago

Mpace 1 I agree with your post. I don't fault the cruise line for weather unless they knowingly go into a hurricane and risk the lives of passengers. However , I think the captain and other officers get warnings signs when engine isn't functioning properly. Either way I respect the reviews of others good or bad .

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Beachum 7 years ago

mpace1...you should be a writer...I couldn't have worded it better....been on 35 cruise Nov 12 my 25 Carnival yes there have been glitches alone the way on all Cruise lines ...very loyal to Carnival they are the fun people some just don't fit the criteria 😃

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pacrat 7 years ago

well put mpace1

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bettyboop22351 7 years ago

ditto

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batch123 7 years ago

^^^^ well said ^^^^

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mpace1 7 years ago

Good and bad reviews are welcome. One thing to mention is that weather shouldn't have an impact on the review. You can rank your vacation, but not the ship based on weather. I understand not making it to a port can be disappointing and that can have an impact on your rating. Also if this was the second or multiple time something like this has happened to someone on a particular cruise line, then I could understand the NEVER again comment. The money you pay for the cruise covers, the cruise including your room, meals, entertainment, and safe transportation. Most people spend extra money at cruise ports. If you leave a bad review or a good review, be constructive and tell us what you did or did not like in terms that people can take into account when planning. This is why they have ship reviews and port reviews. Two different things for a reason. Also, as a cruiser who understands that mechanical issues can happen, that usually isn't the basis for a totally negative review albeit my experience may be disappointing. This is like going on a road trip, getting a nail in your tire, and saying that I am NEVER buying another Chrysler ever again. So leave a negative review or leave a positive review, but make it useful to people that actually like to gather information about upcoming trips and plans.

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dolphin1275 7 years ago

I guess only good reviews are allowed on the site . Sheesh If thats the case there is no need for cruise lines to try and improve service, ship functionality There is always room for improvement

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Malwine 7 years ago

A bad day on a cruise ship at sea is better then a great day at work! I'm not bashing anyone, just relax and enjoy the sea air. Anyone who cruises knows the pools are crowded. I personally don't go on a cruise ship to hang out by the pool. But if I did, I get there early and grab a spot. As for the food, the ship is feeding upwards of 4000 people, give them a break. yes other cruise lines have better this or that, but there prices are much more expensive. My point is, chill, relax drink something fruity and strong and enjoy.

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cajun204 7 years ago

I echo most everyone else here. Happens on ALL cruise lines unfortunately. I'd stick to a vacation in your own yard. Should be safe. And please don't waste your time reviewing this in cruise critic as someone mentioned. Biggest cruise related joke out there.

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mpace1 7 years ago

As long as I am away from the internet for a week, I don't care what happens out there! I work in cyber security and this is my time to relax... even if the propulsion didn't work. I handle worse daily. lol You mean I'm stuck on a floating city where people are cleaning my room, serving me food, and entertaining me? Port what? Can't wait to get on the Dream in a couple of weeks!

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Beachum 7 years ago

I have been on the dream 3 times with flawless service and amazing crew...going again Nov 12...whoo hoo

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Landryi 7 years ago

We have been on the Dream 6 times and never had any issues. Going again in November.

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ladytimah 7 years ago

Omg we are cruising for our anniversary sept 3rd on the Dream all I use to hear is the Dream is a nice ship I hope and pray they get what ever fixed because we going with our group hope we have a awesome time

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yukonner 7 years ago

don't blame Carnival for the weather. And the ship is a machine and is prone to unexpected breakdown

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katiej512 7 years ago

I hope that non of the other cruise lines have problems while you are on board. It would be a real shame to run out of cruises. Live without cruises seems to be unbearable to me. Sorry you had su h a miserable time on a cruise ship out in the ocean. With a drink in your hand at the casino, sitting out by the pool, in the hot tub or just sitting on my balcony. Now that's the life.🛳⚓🌞🍸👙🍻🥂🍍👍

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charlesandpam 7 years ago

It could happen to any cruise line. My husband and I have been on several cruises and this was the first for us to where there was an issue with the ship. I think the captain used wisdom in getting all of us back to the New Orleans port safely. It could have been worse and I thank God we weren't stranded for days on end. Now THAT would have been bad.

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rkj63c3d56 7 years ago

meaning any ship could have a motor problem and the weather well only God has control over that so cruise on. 😊😊

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batch123 7 years ago

Similar happened to us on Royal. It just doesn't matter. Some people just want to bash, bad mouth and be misrible no matter what happens. About the only thing that would ruin my cruise vacation is an ice berg or torpedo. Other than that, I could care less.

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jahicks65 7 years ago

You do know this problem can happen in any ship. Not just carnival.

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GIL155 7 years ago

I am not a Canival fan, but I would NEVER blame the weather on Carnival, nor deny another cruise due to bad weather.

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rkj63c3d56 7 years ago

We have been on the Dream a couple of times and never had any issues the staff doesn't seem to interact as well as some of the other Carnival ship's but that could happen on any ship at anytime.

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BrandyIgo 7 years ago

I was on the same boat and it was very disappointing. What upset me was that they didn't keep the shipped cleaned and mopped up good that my daughter feel and slipped in ice cream in the buffet room and tore her ACL and now has to have surgery. I will be going on another carnival cruise in October on the Freedom and hopefully it will be a better experience then my first one on the dream.

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Summerholiday 7 years ago

This can happen at anytime I guess we have had to skip ports but what can you do as said you are still on vacation it is disappointing to miss ports but totally out of anyone's hands saying you want cruise with carnival again is like saying you will not cruise again as carnival own just about the lot ... but there are other cruise lines but it does not mean to say it can not and does not happen to them .....

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davidjones57857 7 years ago

I learned this lesson a long time ago, if it's built by man it will have problems like men. Hers a straw, Suck it up butter cup!

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michellecurry 7 years ago

from what I understand it's already fixed

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mdpkop 7 years ago

I hope they get the Dream repaired soon...we cruise in 81 days!

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bettyboop22351 7 years ago

what if you were travling by car ir plane. and the engine blew up. whos fault wiuld that be? just curious

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michellecurry 7 years ago

With all due respect, I would be disappointed too, but with that being said, it is clearly stated in the cruise contract that everyone signs that the port stops are not guaranteed. Lots of things can happen that is out of Carnivals control & cruisers know that going in. I definitely wouldn't let it keep me from cruising again. It could happen with any cruise line. An extra day at sea is way better than being at work.

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Other reviews of this sailing

A great time with family

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Good But Disappointing