what a dream

Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

leonides

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

5 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 27, 2019

Ship: Carnival Dream

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

I purchased a 5 days cruise for my wife and me to celebrate her retirement as a school teacher. We left May 27th for Costa Maya and Cozumel and returned on June 1st. So here is the breakdown of our cruise. 1) Embarkation - we had Fastest To The Fun so it was an absolute snap. We were through the Galveston terminal and on to the ship in 5 minutes. If you can afford this service, I highly recommend you purchase it. Our bags were delivered late, however; With FTTF, they should have been delivered immediately. Carnival realized this and comped me with a free strawberry plate, which I do appreciate. 2) Entertainment - the best show on board was in the comedy club. You should go at least once. There are R rated shows and PG shows, so be sure to choose the version that is to your liking and sensibilities. We went to see one show in the Encore lounge - the Flick show, with singers and musicians. I personally didn't care for it, but other folks found it enjoyable. I also went to see the raffles, bingos, and trivia shows - and generally, they were well run. I even won a free Wifi package, which I used liberally. I thought that cruise director Gary did a fine job in running the cruise and representing Carnival to the passengers. 3) Food - The best meal by far on the cruise was at the steakhouse, which was tremendous. It was one of the best steak meals that I have had in a long time. The service was also exceptional. The only drawback to that meal is that the restaurant itself is on the 14th flood, which does tend to vibrate when at sea - it took some getting used to. The food in the main dining room was also very good - and the service by the crew there was impeccable. Elizabeth was our waiter and you can tell that she really cared a great deal about her guests. We also ate once at the seafood shack - the shrimp there was really good. At the lido buffet, the food there was at least passable; I would instead recommend dining in the MDR when possible. The pizza restaurant was also passable - honestly, I have heard a lot of complaints about it, but it an OK slice of pizza. Carnival could improve the quality of that food, in my opinion. 4) Physical plant - Our cabin was well cared for and comfortable. There was one issue with our stateroom - the safe did not work when we checked in. The stateroom steward did a good job of calling the technician to get it swapped out. Everything else worked properly. Armando was our steward, and he really kept the place clean. The AC kept the room cool, and there was no smell or odors. Some of the elevators were not working - I saw those complaints in other reviews, and yes, Carnival should fix that. It did cause some problems on day embarkation day. 5) Shore excursions - In Costa Maya, we used the Port Pass excursion, which you hae to purchase on the dock itself. Apparently, you cannot get this via Carnival. This allowed us to see the bird exhibit there, which was the highlight of the trip for us. We also toured the chocolate factory, which was also enjoyable. Be forewarned - there are issues with sargasso this year in Costa Maya, so you may want to hold off on booking any beach excursion that could be impacted by these plants. In Cozumel, we went to Chakannab, which was also a great deal of fun - although very crowded. The day were were there, 5 ships had docked in Cozumel, and the place was packed. If crowds are not your thing, then you may want to skip this place. But the staff was friendly and the beach was fine, so I would go back there (on a less crowded day.) 6) Spa - my wife had three spa treatments: the seaweed wrap, the acupuncture, and the teeth whitening. She had positive experiences all three times - the acupuncture was particularly helpful with her arm pain. The spa offers a 10-20-30 plan, with increasing discounts for each service you purchase. So this is a good way to save on multiple spa services. On the first day, there is a spa tour, at which point the staff will demo the various services they offer - you should honestly see those demos before deciding on what you want, or paying for anything. 7) Disembarkation - it was a bit slower than we expected. We chose to self-disembark, and with Fastest to the Fun, it was certainly faster. But it still took 2 hours to get off the ship, clear customs, and get to our car. We used the Galveston Terminal parking in lot A, so leaving from there was a quick. All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves, and I am sure that we will be back with Carnival at some point in the future. I would recommend this cruise, and cruise line, to my friends.