Full ship

Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 6
Helpful Votes: 52

Overall rating:

2.8 out of 5
Carnival Dream

6 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 05, 2023

Ship: Carnival Dream

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 1287

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Overall we enjoyed and made the most out of the cruise. We're not the only people saying that the main reason there is so much food waste is because a lot of the food is too bland, low quality, and nasty to eat.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Embarkation went well.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5
There were lots of complaints about the poor quality of the food and blandness of it. Guys burgers has gotten so bad that we only got them once this time and didn't even eat them. Many burgers were left half eaten all over the ship by people. The deli often ran out of stuff and wouldn't bring out more. The chocolate extravaganza was disgusting with little nasty and dry sheet cakes for us to eat, but the big round pretty cakes we were told were only for display. Mostly all the chocolate extravaganza desserts were dark chocolate and we saw a lot of plate fulls get left on tables. The food in the MDR was hit or miss. When we had brunch, the 12 hr french toast was overcooked and hard. The Jerk pork loin on the last night was tough, fatty, and undercooked. The guy at the table next to us said the same about his. One morning I was told at 10:19am that the omellete station was closed, even though it is supposed to be open daily until 11:30am. I turned gold this cruise and when I got my courtesy drink on the last night, I noticed I was still charged $1.77 tax & gratuities for it.

The Song Jazz Lounge

3 out of 5

It really doesn't get used for anything. I just go in and out the big brown door to get to and from the smoke deck easily. I did see a staff meeting in there around 1am one night though.

The Gathering Lido Restaurant

1 out of 5

The buffet food is never any good and the ice cream and froyo are so fake. During lunch they have better cakes out, but at dinner they are not good.

The Chef's Art Steakhouse

2 out of 5

All the hype wasn't worth it. The lobster tail in the MDR is bigger and better. I didn't appreciate paying for burnt and rubbery lobster tail.

BlueIguana Cantina

3 out of 5

The breakfast there is not good. The eggs are often undercooked, while the so called hashbrowns are always overcooked. The burritos and tacos at lunch are good though. I like to get shrimp & chicken on the same taco.

The Crimson Restaurant

3 out of 5

Some food was good and some wasn't. Never had the same team twice.

Sunset Bar

1 out of 5

This bar can't make a good drink at all.

Plaza Cafe

4 out of 5

The special coffee drinks are expensive, but the desserts are pretty decent.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
The hot tubs were just warm tubs. I was in one of the hot tubs on Deck 5 when not 1, but 2 golf balls were hurled down at the same time and nearly hit me and 2 other people. I went to the service desk about it and they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Whirlpool Spa

1 out of 5

Watch for hurling golf balls!

Guest Services / Excursions Desk

2 out of 5

When golf balls (yes plural) were thrown down at me at 2 others in a deck 5 hot tub, they did absolutely nothing!

Entertainment

3 out of 5
The shows are good if you have never seen them before, but when you have seen them 2 or 3 times already, it gets old. They really need new shows. The comedians were pretty funny.

Children's Programs

We do not travel with kids.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Once again we were rarely asked if we wanted bar service in shows. First a guy told us he was our steward and asked when we wanted our cabin cleaned. A couple of hours later, a woman came and said she was our steward. Usually our steward knows our names the first day. This one never called us by name, just said hello. I know they really don't vacuum the cabins daily and to prove this I did a test. On the first night, I dropped 2 small but noticeable pieces of foil on the floor next to the bed on my side. This foil was there until day 5 when she finally vacuumed because there was a lot of sand on the floor. With having your time dining, we never had the same team of waiters or sat at the same table or in the same section when we dined in the MDR.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
I didn't see staff cleaning as diligently as they were in 2021 and 2022. And why do they keep red tongs in the trash cans of the public bathrooms!?

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
This was our first time in an interior and we did not like it at all. It was small and cramped. There wasn't enough closet space. We hated the shower and how you have to point the sprayer at the wall to soap up, and the curtain just sticks to you. The water drains so slow that you are standing there with your feet covered in an inch of water while you're trying to rinse off.

Ship tip

Bring some seasonings, sauces, and coffee creamer.

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

4 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

3 out of 5
We're melinated and asked to be taken to Krazy lobster because we wanted to get the $20 hour long massages we heard so much about. 3 non melinated young people apparently told the cab driver they wanted to go to some place next to Krazy Lobster. Here's what's funny. My husband and I who have cash are loaded into the very back of the cab/van while the 3 broke people sat comfortably in front of us. How do I know they were broke? P1. "I don't have any cash. How much is this going to cost?" P2. "I don't have any cash either." P3. "I've got a 20" P2. "How will we get back? This is a really bad idea." But they still went and somehow got to dictate where we went. We get to this place and I was like this is not Krazy Lobster. The employee escorting us told us they are owned by the same people and right next to each other. Again I reiterate that we asked to go to Krazy Lobster, not their neighboring business. We asked about massages and they tried to say like $30 for half an hour and $45 for an hour. I told them no, we heard they are $20 per hour and I pulled up a screenshot from the Krazy Lobster page to prove it. When we went to walk away towards KL, They said they'd do it for $20 then. The massages were relaxing and nice. We were led to 2 lounge chairs by the water afterwards and immediately started being bombarded with vendors in our faces literally every 20-30 seconds. We had 1 drink each and drank them fast, just so we could get out of there and away from the vendors as I was already sick of telling them "No thank you" and they'd still keep trying. I wasn't even falling for the kid with the "free" flower he made from a palm leaf.

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5
We had a nice beach day.

Cozumel, Mexico

2 out of 5
This was our 3rd time in Cozumel and our 3rd time going to Mr. Sanchos. Our 1st and 2nd times there were great. Our servers always made sure we had plenty to eat and drink. Nobody seems to like hear anything negative about Mr. Sanchos like they are saints who could never mess up. Brace yourselves for this one. Our 3rd experience there WAS TERRIBLE! Our server first asks us if we want to sit in the buffet, or go on down further where his section is. We went to his section and he seated us at a table where we were on a slant/slope of sand. My husbands plastic chair first sank into the sand a couple of inches, and when he tried to get up and readjust, he fell over in the chair. Our server tells us we can only order 1 drink each at a time and after we eat something, we can get more. This has never happened before. I have always been able to order 2-3 drinks at a time. I ordered a Miami Vice and he brings me back some brown drink with chili on the rim instead and I didn't drink it. I went to one of the bars to get my own drink and a beer for my husband and the bar told me you can only order 2 drinks at a time. While I was gone getting that, my husbands food order was both taken and brought to him. I sat at our table with my husband about 20 minutes and our server never came by. I went to the buffet to get me something to eat and was not impressed by the selection. Of course while I was gone, the server came by and got my husband another drink. He would only show up when I would finally get up and go get my own stuff. I had to take care of myself for the day and that isn't what I paid all that money for. I had to find the smoking area on my own. They seem to think they can raise the price and decrease the quality of service. I will happily go try other places on future cruises. They are not the only all inclusive in Cozumel. I will no longer recommend anyone to go to Mr. Sancho's either. Others can stay hypnotized to thinking they can never do anything wrong and nobody can ever have a bad experience there, but I know the truth!

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
We had early zone tags and still were not off the ship until 10am. Then we had to wait in line for an hour for the shuttle to economy lot B.
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