Week-Long Family Cruise
Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 136
7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 13, 2018
Ship: Carnival Dream
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
An incredibly fun and relaxing cruise with my family, we made so many memories that I will cherish forever. A wonderful ship that brings the best of the old and the new together to create a unique cruise experience.Embarkation
We had a pretty smooth embarkation, I did find the cruise terminal a bit outdated and small, we waited on small seats in a pretty warm space. Luckily we didn't have to wait very long, we purchased Faster to the Fun, and were on the ship about 15 minutes after going through security.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food on this ship was so good. We ate in the main dining room almost every night, at a group table, which is such a great choice to meet new people. I liked to try something new every night, but I definitely got the Chocolate Melting Cake more than once. We tried out Bonsai Sushi on this ship and it is some of the best sushi I have tried, and the green tea cupcakes are to die for, I like the small menu because I feel like everything on it has been perfected. The buffets were good, nothing extraordinary, but Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana were lovely!
Onboard Activities
I feel like I really utilized the activities on this ship, and a week gave me plenty of time to explore and try everything. Waterworks was a lot of fun, and we were on the racing slides a ton, especially after getting back on on port days when they weren't as busy. I would suggest bringing water shoes or socks though, because in the hot sun, the deck was unbearably hot, so just prepare yourself for the journey from deck chair to slide! We also spent a lot of time in the aft pool, hours and hours of soaking up the sun from the couches on the upper deck and then back down for a dip in the pool to cool off and watch the wake, it was literally the perfect spot. We also participated in some of the games and trivia on the ship, the digital scavenger hunt was particularly fun and made for a lot of laughs and funny photos!
Entertainment
The shows on this ship were stellar! It was the first time I got to see the newer Playlist Production shows, with a full cast of singers and dancers! The shows are so much fun and the production level is so much higher than the older shows, I really enjoy, as a performer, that the shows still rely heavily on a talented cast and not just showy gimmicks for a quick shock factor. If you like live theatre, you will enjoy the selection of shows. We also attended all of the Lip Sync Battle performances on this cruise and they were so much fun! The live performers around the ship were stellar as usual, keeping the ship lively and so inviting to walk through and explore.
Service and Staff
This is some of the best service I have seen anywhere, not just on a cruise ship! The service in all areas was great, the staff were attentive, friendly, and so quick, it blows my mind! We sailed over my sister's birthday, and the main dining room waiters made it so much fun, and were so friendly over the entire cruise, not only learning our names, but chatting with us and despite being so busy, always stopping to see what we got up to during the day, and making sure we got up and danced after dinner! Our room steward was stellar, I made a comment early in the cruise wondering if there were towel animal turtles, and that night, there was a turtle for us in our room, made specifically for us, still one of my favourite moments from a staff member!
Ship Quality
This is one of the newest ships I have been on and the design was great, it had a lot of the open areas of the older ships and managed to incorporate the newer updates in a way that made sense. I liked the atrium design and I'll mention it again, but the aft pool was incredible. The ship was super clean, and staff was there in seconds to clean up any mess without any complaints.
Cabin / Stateroom
This was our first time in a balcony cabin and it was so worth it, the view and ability to step outside right after waking up was amazing. I loved that I could admire the ocean whenever I felt like it, it was so calming. The cabin was always clean and there was so much storage space!
Ship tip
The couches on deck 11 aft are literally in the best place on the ship for everything, close to the bar, the aft pool, and the views are stellar. Plus, they are rarely too busy!
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
We didn't explore the port too much, unfortunately, as we only got in the night before our sailing and we were exhausted from a day of driving and flying. It is an expensive port to fly to, and I think we would opt to sail out of somewhere a little more affordable to get to. It was cool sailing down the Mississippi though!
We didn't do anything beyond some quick shopping in this port, there was a travel advisory in place, but as long as you are being smart, I wouldn't worry too much. This is the only place I have encountered people being a little too pushy about purchases, bordering on rude, and it takes a lot for me to consider it too much, I totally understand the need to sell your product and calling out to people, but it was a lot here.
This was a really cool port, the shopping area was nice, but a lot of the same stuff as all of the other ports. I loved watching the iguanas walking around, and watching others get spooked by them. We didn't spend very long in port, but we did grab a drink at a bar that looked over the water and made great banana daiquiris. It is also nice to stop in any non-US port when you are a 20 year old Canadian that can drink at home, but not on the ship!
My favourite time visiting this port, we spent the day at Playa Mia Beach Resort, which was fun for our entire family! We chose the all inclusive option that included beach, pool, water toys, food and open bar. We certainly got our money's worth here! The service was great, we tried out numerous parts of the resort, the beach was soft and so crystal clear, we used the water bicycles, which were pretty hilarious with my sister and I trying to steer one at the same time. The food was good, we saved our appetite mostly for the ship though, and the drinks were plentiful and strong. I loved that even my grandma, who wasn't going to be playing on the beach, loved her time there and could sip a drink on the beach and feel completely relaxed.
Disembarkation
Embarkation was easy, we got off pretty early with Faster to the Fun, and got a shuttle back to the airport with a great driver who squeezed in even more history about New Orleans on the drive, which I really enjoyed! It was a great way to end our vacation!
Traveler Photos
