Carnival Dream Cruise Reviews - Reviews

After a few long flights to arrive to the port for a New Orleans pickup, all of my worries and fears had melted away as my expectations were completely blown out of the water. The Carnival Dream was a cruise ship whose first impression melted away all previous thoughts of what a cruise was and made the world around you disappear. Walking through the lobby was like walking into a palace, where you were the utmost welcomed guest on board. Every experience was marvelous and the staff were at your service for every possible want on a whim. Excellence was my bar for what I wanted and what I had received was of heavenly perfection. Never had I before experienced such quality and never did I expect every want and desire to be satisfied before it even came up. It is and will continue to be one of the best times I have in my life. Never before have I ever been as stress-free in my entire life. Thank you, Carnival Dream Staff!!!

I enjoyed the entire cruise. Food, shows were excellent. Would have liked more stores for shopping on ship! Will definitely recommend this cruise. Waitress and team was excellent! Our room was kept clean and neat at all times. This was my 5 th cruise with Carnival and would appreciate some monetary incentives to cruise again.

This is my second trip on the Carnival Dream, the last being six months earlier.  My complaint then and now is that there needs to be better air filtration in the smoking areas to the point that I would walk extra distance to avoid the casino and lanai. Other than that, it was an excellent experience.

I was disappointed that 3 days before leaving my excursion for Cozumel and the Mayan ruins was cancelled with no explanation.  I found out at embarkation that it was due to the ships propulsion system being out of order.  When we get to our cabin we asked for service 2 times per day and told i could only have service 1 time per day.  That isnt good when there a 4 people in a cabin.  Then I didn't get my cabin serviced for the first 24 hours and I had to complain to get any action.  It took over half the cruise to finally get the cabin services correct that I requested.  Very poor service.

Food options were great - loved that Mongolian and Indian food were choices on top of the usual pizza and burgers.  At any time of day you could find variety and unique choices that were good.  Ship is laid out well and clean.  Did not care for so many smoking areas - surprised how smelly casino was and affected the surrounding area.  No issues with tender timing or debarkation.  Felt crew keep the flow moving well.  Room staff was very kind - main table wait staff was worst I ever had.  No attempt to make conversation and main course arrived over an hour past the time we sat down three different meals.  Loved the back pool but wished for better music selection while there.  Drinks were delish and no skimping on alcohol content.

 The restaurant for dinner time had been scheduled by Carnival co. during the trip and we did not be informed before we on board to the cruise. The dinner time was schedule so late at 8:15pm every day and we only can skip in most of days. It really caused us a lot inconvenience.

Overall a very pleasant and enjoyable trip.  Our waitress in the main dining room was FANTASTIC!!!

The spa is a separate company from Carnival and even though I pre paid for spa services I was still charged on my sign and sail card.  They did credit me however it was a major hassle.

Freeport was a waste Key West was nice and Nassau shore excursion dolphin encounter on Balmoral Island was one of the trips highlights

Food in the steak house is incredible unfortunately the waitress had a terrible attitude at best

Cabin steward and his assistant were great folks

Food choices were good and plentiful

I would sail again with Carnival but probably not this same trip however I would recommend it  

Cruise was nice. Just returned two weeks after a 7 day cruise to Mexico on another cruise line. The crew on Carnival was not as concerned about germs as on the other ship. It seemed Norwegian went over board on cleaning your hands and Carnival was under concerned. Food seemed a little better on Norwegian.

Entertainment was similar. Better comedy on Carnival. Carnival had free use of steam rooms while Norwegian's was in a spa package that you had to purchase.

Key West is always nice, Freeport was NOT very attractive, Nassau was expensive and a taxi fee to get to Paradise Island(very expensive). Won't do this cruise again

Debarkation was total screw up. Had to carry luggage up stairs. Nobody was giving directions on where to go. Even though we were off in an hour.

When you leave you have to pick up your alcohol on another deck. They used to put in your stateroom the night before, but not now.. Also no one telling you where to find it. At least Norwegian brings it to you cabin door.

The trip was great from the moment we boarded the ship in New Orleans, till we returned home to New Orleans. The cabin with the balcony view was enjoyable and the steward keep things going smooth during our 7 day trip. The onboard activities and the shows were entertaining. Dining throughout the ship from Breakfast all the way to Dinner was great, and the food was excellent. The head water and his staff saw to our every need. A truly enjoyable cruise from our 3 stops to our fun filled 3 days at sea. I am looking forward to our next cruise.

We have been a long time Carnival customer but last October we took our first cruise on Royal Caribbean and then went back to Carnival this cruise.  The entertainment is much better with more of a variety on Royal.  The food on both is great and my wife loves 24 hour ice cream which only Carnival offers:)  But on Carnival the casino with its smoking policy is right in the middle of the ship where it's hard to avoid.  Royal the casino was on a different deck from the Promenade and that meant you didn't have to deal with the smoke if you didn't want to- which was great.  I don't think there is such a thing as a bad cruise but I'm starting to think you get more bang with your buck with Royal Caribbean.

I gave this 2 stars only because I feel some aspects of the cruise were still above average. I give this 2 stars because the dining room staff and housekeeping staff were superior. I gave this 2 stars because almost everything else fell far below my previous experience a year ago on the same fun ship! There were a lot of changes that negatively affected my cruise. The major issue most noted by my group and others was the lack of clarity for purchases and onboard spending. Everyday there were different charges and credits and erroneous purchases that would pop up when you checked your balance. Several people reported several hundreds of dollars appearing on their statements. It's disheartening to be declined when trying to make a legitimate purchase then having to wait in long lines at guest services to dispute charges. The staff wasn't helpful rather blaming guest for their issues. 

The next thing that changed was the entertainment.  None of the usual fun activities held on the lido deck were done this year. Not even the st. Jude fundraiser which I support yearly. The music from bands and singers changed. The comedy shows changed. One year's time and this ship has declined. 

Next the awful stench on my cabin floor was unbearable.  Like raw sewerage and carnival did nothing about it. There were weak spots on the floor and several times when I walked in those spots I felt like I would fall through the floor! 

Lastly the food was awful! So burgers it was for me most of the time. The pastries have declined from previous so I expected them to be mediocre.  But it exceeded mediocre this time. 

I have traveled with carnival for 8 years and sometimes twice a year. Some of my bad experiences previously , I would now give a 5 star review because it could have just been my preferences and not carnivals part. I've given all of my cruises a 5 star before this. I advised a friend of mine whose family is going on this ship later to cancel and book with royal Caribbean. Anything would be better than this. I haven't given up on cruising but I am giving up on Carnival.  At least until things improve!

We had the best time! Our wait staff in the upper Scarlett was top notch!!! The only issues we had was our AC was terrible at night and the time we actually got on each stop was not what was originally on the itinerary. Would have loved more time in Grand Cayman and Cozumel!

Our room had very nasty frig, rotted food and it did not run.  They replaced it with

Another that that only got to about 60.  The person that installed it said that it was

the last working Spare frig on the boat. 

Only one plug in in the entire room! Including the bath room. The

broughinextenison to run across the room so that I could a cpap machine that I nee at sleep.  They had us down for dinner each night at 8:30 that I did not ask for and

they would not change.  All crew where very nice.

I very seldom complain. Have Ben on 14 cruises but will not go on this ship again.

thanks 

The Carnival Dream is the largest ship we have been on and the walking took a little while to get used to but with 7 hot tubs and a Serenity area for adults only we never felt over run like we have in on other ships.

The people are friendly. The food is great and we always feel pampered.

Thank you Carnival for a great adventure and a really relaxing cruise.

Betty and Brent Scott

FOOD COULD HAVE BEEN  BETTER .DINNER HAVE MORE CHOOSE  EVERTHINGS ELS WAS OK.  THE ROOM WAS GOOD AND CLEAN, THE GUY THAT WAS OVER MY ROOM WAS GREAT. THE EXCURSION WE DID WAS VERY GOOD . THE GUYS WE HAD WAS VERY GOOD. UNLOADING THE BOAT WHEN WE GOT BACK WAS NOT GOOD. NEED TO INFORCE PEOPLE WITH NEEDS TO GET OFF FIRST. EVERY ONES ELS WAIT THERE TURN.

My cabin wasn't ready when I boarded, beds wasn't a king..did not get it fixed until late about 10pm. Steward did not service room until my guest and I reported it several times. I received luggage that evening and the security gave me bull rap about reasoning. They also gave me he'll about my juice I needed to regulate my glucose. I brought 7inch fan with me to have it taken which Carnival misplaced. I was very very very very disappointed for the first 4 days. I'm now somewhat skeptical about cruising with carnival. 

This was an overall nice cruise. We enjoyed the dinners in the dinning room and the stops were nice. We liked Cozumel, and loved Grand Cayman. Both were clean and friendly.

Wonderful 7 day cruise only major disappoint was JetBlue did not honor their 110% guarantee even after I called in and they said it would show as a credit on my sail n sign card- bad form Wilma n JetBlue 

Severice was great. Ship was excellent, and food was awesome. Severice was the best we ever had on a cruise. The ports were a lot of fun, wish we had more time.

I have been on several cruises with carnival, but I found this time there wasn't enough music playing on the Lido deck. There were big spans of nothing happening on deck.  On 5/5/16 when we were on our way back to the ship from the Cayman Island the weather was bad, it was raining on the transport boat and the boat hit the ship which was very frightening. I personally believe we should not have been brought back to the ship until the weather passed over. I was told my room would be upgraded when I booked and the room didn't look like an upgrade to me, in fact the shower seemed smaller and the king bed was weird with one mattress a little higher than the other.