NEVER AGAIN
Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 24
7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 24, 2018
Ship: Carnival Dream
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 7427
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
This was my 5th cruise. My 3rd with Carnival and it was absolutely horrible. It has been 4 years since my last cruise and this experience has left me with never wanting to take my vacation on a cruise. Embarkation has significantly improved and moved very quick. We boarded the ship about 12:20 and were not able to get to our rooms until 1:30, which meant we had to pack the luggage we did not give the porters. My overall experience would be a 1 or a zero. The food was absolutely horrible. It was like getting days old Golden Coral Food or worse. I had to buy bottled water, as the water on the ship had a nasty after taste. The tea was gross and the lemonade too sweet. The decent restaurants were only opened from 12:00 to 2:30. Guys Burgers was open from 12:00 to 6:00. After eating burgers a few times it does get old. If you like the disgusting pizza it was open 24 hours. If you are hungry after 10:00 p.m. be prepared to pay for food. We did eat at the Chef's table which is extra. If you want burned crab cake that was not only burned but frozen burned this is the place to go. I have eaten at many fine steak houses, and again this was a disappointment to me. On-board activities are expensive and a money pit. My husband and I booked to have a massage which was amazing except the ladies pressure you to buy all these products, and try to tell me it would help my bags under my eyes, nose, etc. when I know I need to have a sinus surgery to alleviate allergy issues. It was like I had to tell them "what do you not understand about the word NO". Entertainment was great the first two nights, but it is basically the same throughout the entire cruise. It gets boring after watching basically the same thing. The comedy entertainment was degrading to women. I can not believe Carnival Dream has a woman comedian that can joke about women in such a degrading, pornographic manner. Half the people left during her skit. The comedy shows are only 30 minutes and you have to get their so early in order to have a seat. Nevertheless, after we attended that comedy show, my husband and I did not go back. Again, it was outright disgusting. The cleanliness of the ship was not there. Room service has been cut to once a day. We had to rip off the sheets from the bed after the 3rd night in order to get clean sheets. I know some of you might not wash your sheets, but I am the kind of person that washes mine frequently. It is especially necessary after you spend all cabin time laying around on bed. Our entire floor smelled like DODO... POO POO no lie, straight up sewer, and then walk into a balcony cabin that is no less than 78 degrees. I don't know about you, but I keep my temperature at 72, needless to say I could not sleep because it was so stinking hot. There were blue soap debris left all over the shower from previous passenger and our bed had a definite swag in the center. Food plates were never removed, if you want them out of your cabin you have to set the dishes outside the door. The ship design is not vacation friendly. The elevators do not take you to necessary areas. You have to walk all over the place to get to the place you want. There were so many people that average wait time for elevator was 7 to 10 min. Who wants to spend all their time waiting for an elevator. Montego Bay was fun. The Dolphin excursion was amazing, but we spent over an hour waiting for the excursion when we got to ship terminal. It was well worth it, but again when on vacation who wants to spend their time in a long hot line. When we got to the beach, we were harassed not less than 10 times if we wanted to buy mojo. In Georgetown we took the submarine excursion. It was over priced for the fact that you basically just go in circles around the same reef. The costs for that should be no more than $50 but of course that is not the case. In Cozumel we took the excursion to the Mayan Ruins. Absolutely loved the ruins but we were only given an hour and a half once the tour was complete. (Tour consisted of waiting for everyone to go to the bathroom, walking one mile to the ruins, and a 15 min. quick breakdown of the ruins) There is a 45 min ferry ride and another 45 min. bus ride one way. The majority of the time is spent traveling so we did not get to enjoy and explore for being rushed. Disembarkation was as quick as embarkation. Funny how getting on and off the ship was quick. Like I stated this was my 5th cruise and likely my last! I definitely will never cruise Carnival and this was my third with them. Pity to have spent my hard earned vacation money on this trip.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Find another comedian.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Disembarkation
35 Comments
Next0time 6 years ago
Why do you have like exact numbers? You make it sound like your the richest person on the boat and deserve to not be with the ‘commoners’ loosen up! The carnival boats are absolutely perfect! The sewage smell is what you get on a cruise in the middle of an ocean(seriously, just don’t sit in your cabin)
The whole it was 6 degrees hotter was the most , dare I say it, petty part of this review, it’s not gonna kill you. The bed sheets, that’s understandable, people have quirks like that, but it’s like you were looking for problems with everything else!
Normally when your at breakfast or dinner(depends on what you choose) they clean your room, so people put the plates outside the room because they want it out at that time, so when workers pass by, they pick it up.
I understand the spa part though, it that’s normal marketing, same with the beach thing.
There was a whole cafe of food instead of a burger(why yes lines are long but there is over 500 people at least) and pizza, I agree the pizza needs a touch up, but it’s reasonable.
Overall, just ignore the bad and I focus on the good.
On one cruise our plumbing flooded many times, so we just ignored it, easy as that!
Feel free to Ignore me, or not, I don’t care, but I’m Showing the True and not-so-needs parts of your review, thanks
-sincerely,
Person who hates to sleep
DFromATX 6 years ago
Lots of complaints and I admit I stopped reading after about a quarter way’s down. #1, everyone knows you’re not supposed to go to your cabin until 1:30 and that you will have to carry your carry-on luggage, and #2 you can bring a 12-pack of drinks onboard if you don’t like what they offer, so you don’t “have to” buy bottled water. You can also order water and have it delivered to your room. I stopped after that part so no further comments. 😊
cajun204 6 years ago
Pilot172 I promise you’ll be just fine. Look at the tons of 4 & 5 Star reviews that surround this review. To start poster acted surprised he couldn’t get in his room until 1:30. If he cruised Carnival before he should’ve known this. This was a red flag for me at the beginning of his post. Then it was just a bunch of whining about EVERYTHING. I know Carnival is not perfect but this review is ridiculous. She’s probably one of those people that look for the bad in everything instead of enjoying themselves. Anyway Pilot, enjoy your cruise.
Emily79 6 years ago
Some people just like to complain. She likely has nothing better to do with her time! I just got off the Dream on Sunday and we had a fabulous time! Didn’t want to get off the boat!! The ship is super clean so I have no idea what she’s talking about here. And of course you need to put your dishes in the hallway!! What’s the big deal with that?! Omg 🙄 We thought the food was amazing, especially Guys burgers and the main dining room. You can always find something to eat without having to pay for it. We loved everything about this cruise! Prior to this we had only sailed with Royal Caribbean so I wasn’t sure what to expect from carnival but we were pleasantly surprised! We’d sail with them again for sure!
SeaOutlook 6 years ago
Do not stress about anything. Carnival cruises are fabulous. I was on the Dream last Christmas, and was on the Breeze a month ago. During both cruises, my family and I had wonderful experiences. Everything described above about the Dream is strange. Read other reviews and you will be amazed about the contrast. Carnival is awesome, and I think your vacay will be a blast.