At the end of the day, I was on vacation with my family so we had a good time, we made sure of it. But, if I’m being honest, it was not the best cruise we’ve ever had but hopefully it was just a one-off and The Dream’s future cruises will go off without a hitch! That was not our experience but nonetheless, it was vacation and the rain parted long enough for us to enjoy a great sunny day in Cozumel. We truly appreciated everything the Captain did to ensure we made it to Cozumel, even with the medical emergency, rain, etc. Positive note - I didn’t gain any weight on this cruise! 😂
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was a breeze as usual! We had a boarding time of 11:30-12:00 and we were on board by 11:20.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
I hate leaving low star ratings because, at the end of the day, I didn’t have to cook or do dishes. With that said, the food was awful. Guys Burgers was good as usual and the pizza was good (it’s not great pizza but it does the trick late at night!) but the dining room was absolutely horrible. It breaks my heart to say that but, it really, really was. Different people sitting throughout our section got up and left every night. We love having “formal” dinners together as a family and we gave up after two nights. The service was poor, the food was rubbery and cold, and they forgot half of our items both nights. I know things won’t always be perfect but dang it, we were disappointed. Now, on a positive note, we did the Chef’s steakhouse and that was delicious ($120 for three of us) and the buffet deli and Mongolian Wok were both pretty good too.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Flick was fantastic! Don’t miss that one! America Rocks was just okay... we saw the same show on Valor last year. 80’s Rock is hard to sing well. Janae, the cruise director, spoke in what we called a “phone sex voice” the whole time...every.single.announcement... which was super weird. However, on the last night, she got out and sang and danced in the lobby with all the guests and she seemed to be in her element during that. Really enjoyed her that night - she has a fantastic singing voice. We later learned this was her first cruise as Cruise Director.
Comedy shows - one of my favorite parts - the first one we saw was a former cop from Houston. His show was weird - he had the audience lights on which was different. There was a helicopter on board at the time of his show picking up someone having a medical emergency and he seemed to have a hard time moving past that. Wasn’t super funny but he admitted to being distracted by the helicopter noise. The second comedian was one that worked with singing and his guitar. He was really good. We only saw his PG show but still laughed a lot.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
Son loved Circle C. Begged to go back each night. The staff members working Circle C were great. Our son loved the arcade as well. We even had fun in there!
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
This one breaks my heart to rate a “3” also. Typically, I bring a bunch of extra cash because I feel the need to tip everyone for being so kind and accommodating throughout our cruise. I’ll be honest - The standard cruise tips they charge were sufficient for this cruise. I’m not sure what was going on with this cruise but normally they have this way of making everyone feel so special - not this time? It’s almost as if the staff just wanted to crawl into the shadows and disappear. I would smile at staff in the halls and they’d look down at the floor, not rudely, just very outside the norm from what we usually experience. By no means was there any “bad” service but it was not typical cruise service. Just “Meh” the whole time.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Good layout, nice ship, the staff were always cleaning. Loved all the hot tubs on this ship but unfortunately, none were hot. 😕
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Balcony cabin 8466 was good! Clean, quiet (horrible neighbors, but quiet as far as location on the ship). Had two towel animals, always love coming back to that!
Not sure what Carnival does differently but embarkation is always such a breeze and Debarkation is always such a nightmare. We had fog that morning which delayed everything but no one can help that. In fact, between the medical emergency, the rain, and the fog, the captain did such an amazing job still getting us to Cozumel and extending our time in port as much as he could. We did try self-assist Debarkation this time - I think we will do that again in the future!
We went on the dream last summer and had a very similar experience. I was not impressed with the quality of service or the food. I’ve been on the Dream, Triumph and the Fascination. Although the latter two are smaller ships, I had a way better experience. A lot of people love the dream, but it honestly wasn’t great. I understand what you’re saying.. you still enjoyed your vacation (we did too), but it was a little disappointing.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
