Great itinerary, tired ship and staff

Item: Carnival Dream
Rating: 3.7
Author: AngloTexan

Carnival Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

AngloTexan

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 17

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

Verified Review

8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 09, 2024

Ship: Carnival Dream

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7456

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 2 months ago

Review summary

Love the Key West / The Bahamas / Half Moon Cay route. Freeport - you have to get an excursion as it docks at a commercial port and nothing is walkable. Beautiful Bahamian beaches and people! Key West is walkable right off the ship. HMC is gorgeous but long wait to reboard ship as it's a tender boat. Nassau port has vastly improved - town is walkable from the ship too.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Galveston have got it organized!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Food has improved in the last year. Pretty much same menu on the evening buffet as in the main dining rooms. Enjoy the Seafood Shack - boiled shrimp is delish. Sushi is okay.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Shows are the same as they have been for a couple of years. Nothing new.

Children's Programs

4 out of 5

My teenagers enjoyed the program offered.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Mixed. Some staff like the cruise director Andy and room stewards were fabulous - just right! Some staff were rude and it felt like the food and bar areas were woefully under staffed.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Clean but looking tired. Decor is dated. Art Gallery and Night Club were empty most of the time, wasted real estate space. Could be used for a Red Frog Pub and/or Sports Bar. Nice to have two casinos - one of which was none smoking.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

This is an extended aft balcony room. We usually stay in midship balcony. The room was small - no sofa no table only 1 hanging wardrobe + 1 shelving unit. However we did enjoy the larger balcony with 2 chairs, table and a full sized sun lounger. It is more bumpy at the aft, due to location of engine, especially if there is some motion in the ocean. Stellar views from the back of ship. Not overlooked at all.