First time cruiser....

Item: Carnival Dream
Rating: 4.4
Author: jakern

Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

jakern

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 39

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 23, 2018

Ship: Carnival Dream

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 12217

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

The Dream crew is amazing! The ship is beautiful and well kept. This was our first cruise. We will definitely go again!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

A little confusing at first, but this was our first cruise. Lots of unnecessary walking through roped lines. Overall it was fast.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The main dining room was wonderful on the first night. Service was top notch and food was great. Mr G and his wait staff are awesome. Second night main dining room service was slow and the food was cold. We mostly ate at the buffet. The buffet had a lot to chose from. More needs to be done to keep smaller children from serving their self. We watched numerous children during the week touching food with bare hands at the buffet. We actually watched a child drop fruit on the floor and return it to the buffet. I realize this is a risk with all buffet food service, but signage stating that children need an adult may help. We were unable to go to all of the specialty restaurants. The pasta restaurant was a nice change, but the food was cold and there was a long wait.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Lots of variety on the ship. Bingo was expensive but fun and a nice way to get away from the other passengers. The spa was amazing. Very relaxing and not overcrowded. The Serenity deck was a nice place to hide away. It’s a good bit quieter and children aren’t allowed on that deck, so you can actually relax in a more peaceful environment.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We went to almost all of the stage shows. My husband who is not a fan of this type of entertainment even enjoyed the shows. Very entertaining and the performers do a nice job!

Children's Programs

We didn’t take children.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

I can’t say enough about The Dream staff. We had great service overall. Teao (spelling) kept our room nice and we always had fresh towels. He was very friendly. Mr G and the wait staff in the dining room are amazing! Nuchi the bartender at the bar on 10 aft was AMAZING! We didn’t drink alcohol, but she served our Soda to us every evening. She would see us walk up and immediately walk towards the soda and start getting it ready. She was so sweet and friendly. My husband and I loved talking to her. Ryan the cruise director is Amazing! He is so friendly and on a ship with 4000 guests managed to keep things fun and organized.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Overall cleanliness of ship was better than expected. I was so impressed the care was able to keep up with such a full ship.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Comfy for 2 people. Plenty of closet and starage space. Bathroom was better than expected. Only downfall is the balcony wasn’t private. People on the serenity deck could look directly down onto our balcony. The gates between the balcony’s do not offer much privacy.

Ship tip

No need to eat in the main dining room unless you want the sit down experience. If you can tolerate buffet food, the buffet has more to choose from and it is more convenient.

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