So I say it's the worst cruise I've been on because it was but it was great. The other ones were fantastic. Just know if you are wanting to cruise that you will pay for the fantastic experience but get the great experience until they can get all the staff hired back. The reader should also know that many people on the facebook page or our specific cruises reported having Covid when getting back which prompted us to test and my wife and one daughter tested positive as well. No one reported having major symptoms or needing to go to the hospital at the time of this review.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Verifly made the covid document part of embarkation super fast. The only thing weird was we checked in one area like normal, then you go on to another check in place. Like why not do it all at the first stop? They did only one stop in port canaveral. Either way, we are gold cruisers and were on by 11 am.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The buffets were limited this time, a lot fewer selections from my memory of previous cruises and my last cruise was 8 months prior to this one. The main dining room had the same fare as before and the same portions. Getting bread was hard to come by but I did see where they are trying to prevent food waste and bread was the number one issue with food waste so I was cool with that actually. I didn't do the steak house because I don't believe in paying 82 dollars for one steak. You pay roughly 40 dollars to eat in the MDR each night and then you would be paying the surcharge of 42 dollars to make it 82 dollars. More money and more gratuities needed for the added price which probably makes it more like a 90 dollar steak. Many people love it but not me, I tried it once on a previous cruise and couldn't believe I spent that much when Texas Roadhouse is better for less.
Mongolian Wok
4 out of 5
I had heard about this for several years and finally did it. I would have given it 5 stars but waiting for 30 minutes took out some of the flavor.
Pizzeria del Capitano
3 out of 5
This pizza had no flavor, I ate there once and was not going back and I didn't.
The Crimson Restaurant
3 out of 5
Food great and service was so slow. Awesome people but so understaffed.
Sunset Bar
5 out of 5
Another great bar that had great and friendly staff.
Redfrog Rum Bar
5 out of 5
Delicious a million times over. Great and friendly staff.
The Gathering Lido Restaurant
3 out of 5
It's just that the options were so lacking this time.
Guy's Burger Joint
5 out of 5
Who doesn't love a Guy's burger? They are fantastic.
BlueIguana Tequila Bar
5 out of 5
Oh man I had the drink package and I was here often and they were great guys and super fast.
BlueIguana Cantina
5 out of 5
This is a delicious place to get a taco or a burrito. It is approved by my beautiful Mexican wife.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The activities onboard were about the same with a few cut out so I wrote this 4 stars. The things I did I enjoyed quite a bit. I won nothing but I loved Let's Make a Deal. Super fun.
Jackpot Casino
5 out of 5
They had a non-smoking section and it was so nice to play and breathe.
Sunset Aft Pool
4 out of 5
Same packed pool but love seeing the aft of the ship and the ocean.
Pool
3 out of 5
Packed of course so all you can do is just stand in one spot.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The performers really make a lot happen for what little they have to work with. They really give it their all and do a great job with such limited supplies. Everything I saw was outstanding.
Encore! Main Lounge
5 out of 5
Great lounge and entertainment. A very nice place.
Punchliner Comedy Club
5 out of 5
We got some funny ones this time around. They were spot on.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
My little boy is a special needs little person and they treated him great and for the first time in his 5 cruises he actually wanted to go and be there. They worked well with him and had noise reducing equipment and were trained well. It was a blessing to have this.
Carnival Waterworks
5 out of 5
My 5 year old LOVED this and loved the mini water slides. He was asking to go here all day and night.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Unfortunately this is the part that made the cruise the worst cruise I've been on. However someone reading this should know all of my other cruises have been fantastic and this was a really good cruise. Many people want to point out that the service is lacking because of Carnival's inability to staff the ships completely. I would like to point out to many people that the price of the cruise is the same or higher than before and if the quality is going to go down then the price should. Carnival just bragged about getting all of their ships in operation but then in the next breath cut out some dining options, cut out activities, and acknowledged their service is lacking but the prices remain. Wait times were the worst, I had to often ask for something again. We often waited for 10 minutes just to get water then another 10 minutes to get our order taken. We had to give our dessert order twice one night because apparently they had lost where they had written it down the first time. Granted these our first world problems and not really a big deal. They are just a big deal when the service is usually much better than this and the expectations are higher. The actual people were so wonderful and warm and it's not their fault.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was pretty clean and I love the design of the Carnival Dream. It is a ship that I find easy to navigate.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I really enjoyed the room, I loved having a balcony and they kept it pretty clean. There was plenty of room for us and it was nice to have it on the Lido deck.
Ship tip
If getting off of the ship the fastest possible then you may want a cabin closest to deck 3 and closest to the lobby that you can get. Like if you need to get on the road fast for a long drive or you have an early flight. We loved having the Lido deck cabin until disembarkation when the entire ship of people got on the 4th and 5th deck elevators and rode them all up and went back down preventing everyone of use from being able to go down to leave the ship.
I liked it and the friendly island vibe. I thought there would be people acting hateful but they all seemed nice. The shopping was fun and the key lime pie was great.
It's truly paradise. It's just a super beautiful island and if you get off the ship it will be a total beach day. They have activities and free lunch buffet. There are some excursions that can be done. We paid nothing while we were on the island and had a great day. You can buy stuff in advance to help with the sun as their is zero shade opportunities. But we knew it would be a total island beach day and it was super nice.
We were going to go the free beach we discovered in September but we were all zapped from Half Moon Cay. So my family went off and went shopping and I stayed on board.
Disembarkation could have been a five star event but carnival staff refused to help us that were on the higher decks get off. It was reported to them and they did nothing. People would all get on the elevators from the lower decks and ride them up. Not one time did the elevator doors open that didn't have people jammed in there. Simple fix during self assist, have a staff member on each deck and call by self assisters by deck and the crew only let people on that deck get on. With 6 elevators taking people down from deck 10, could have cleared it in a could of go's and then moved on.
This is a great review and a great attitude to have, glad you still had a good cruise and were able to be realistic and understanding about the negatives.
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