Carnival Dream Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was our first experience with Carnival, but not our first experience cruising. Overall, we were very happy with our experience. The facilities, staff, itinerary, shows, activities, etc., were quite good. We loved our stateroom (which had an over-sized balcony). We were very impressed with how well the staff managed moving large numbers of people on and off the ship, and the only lines we had to wait in for more than a few minutes were during embarkation--but we expected to have to wait in lines during embarkation because of all of the things that had to be covered during this process (baggage handling, documentation, security, etc.), However, the process went very smoothly and there were many Carnival staff members available to answer questions at every stage of the process. The shows were amazing, and we had a wonderful experience from start to finish. The overall quality of the food and service was acceptable, but not memorable--however, it was what we expected (or maybe a little better than we expected), and food and service were not a priority for us in selecting our cruise. Overall, the cruise met (and in some cases exceeded) our expectations.

Booking this trip with Carnival was a little bit of a concern considering our only other cruise was on Princess. Due to the fact that this was a larger ship, the only negatives I would add would be the long line to embark on day 1 and waiting for tenders in Belize, both were taken easily in stride. Everything else about this cruise was absolutely wonderful.  Anyone who complains about the service, accommodations or food is out of their mind.  We met wonderful staff personalities that made our trip all the more memorable.  Our room was always clean and the beds were so comfortable that we slept like rocks all night.  I would highly recommend eating in the dining hall as much as possible, we only ate at the buffet for snacks, which was lacking when compared to Princess, but the food and presentation in the dining halls for dinner and brunch was outstanding, and we had no complaints.  A great addition to spending time on the ship during at sea days was the Punchliner comedy club in which we saw 4 great comedians over the seven days.  The main theater shows in the Encore theater were entertaining and all musically based which made for a fast pace and a lot of dancing.  I would not hesitate to book on Carnival again after this wonderful experience.

Carnival seems to have gone downhill on some of their quality. Food was fair at best. They no longer provide lanyards for your sign and sail cards, no robes etc. Shipboard personnel were very accommodating and friendly as usual. Will probably seek another line going forward even at a higher cost.

It felt like everyone was trying to sell you something the whole time.  Excursions, spa, bingo, casino, another cruise, credit card.... ect .... bingo is $20-40 per game, casino, drinking, spa ect.  Ship prices are very expensive except for bottled liquor to take home.

My daughter and I went on this cruise together needing a break from school and work and we had such a great time!  First time ever getting a Balcony and it was wonderful!  Everyone was wonderful and we so enjoyed the Auctions ran by Chris and Soma!  Looking forward to my Art that I purchased!  Also, our dinner was especially wonderful because of our waiters, Allan and Rahmat. They were so awesome!!!

They had lots of picture taking and the pictures were great!  Lots to choose from but very expensive!  For so many pictures being taken, I think Carnival needs to give people breaks if they buy 3 or 4 pictures at a time because $88 for only four pictures is very expensive!

The whole week of being catered to was what we both needed!  Awesome Cruise!!!

I have no complaints about this cruise. Service was outstanding, food was incredible, and a variety of offered activities kept us busy. My favorite port was Grand Cayman. There were many nice shops, and the beach was the cleanest, prettiest beach I have ever seen, with crystal clear water.

Overall experience of our first cruise was great and relaxing. We enjoyed ourselves, more than my husband thought he would, the food was always very good, and the staff was friendly and helpful at all times. The only complaint was the rough seas on our last day on board.

I was very impressed with this cruise!  The staff was awesome, the ship was very clean,the food was great! I have been on norwegian and royal Caribbean, I had more fun on carnival!

The positive: The food was good in the main dining room, at the buffet (but they didn't have many chocolate desserts) and especially at the Chef's Table dinner. I highly recommend the Chef's Table experience! You get to eat in the galley and see behind the scenes and a volunteer get to help make a chocolate warm melting cake. We loved our wait staff but weren't wild about "Showtime."

We went on three excursions. In Montego Bay, Jamacia we went river rafting on the Martha Brea river on a handmade bamboo raft with a seat for two. Our guide polled the raft and gave us a bit of history of the river. In Grand Caymon we went on the Coral Gardens and Sting Ray City excursion. The coral gardens and tropical fish were a wonderful sight to see while snorkeling. Then at Sting Ray City we were surrounded by gentle Sting Rays. The guide was holding one and we were all able to "pet" her. These were females about 3 feet in diameter. After watching the guide my husband put out his arms and a Ray swam right to him and let him hold her for about 15 minutes. We were so thrilled. The next day we went on the Beginner's Scuba Diving excursion. After a short bus ride to the dive shop we had a 30 minute class on the basics of Scuba diving and then went outside to be fitted for our gear. There are lockers to keep your things in for a small fee. Then we went into water 4 feet deep for practice breathing underwater and clearing our masks. There was one dive master for 4 people so you got plenty of one on one. The dive master held a buoy with a rope attached for us to hold on to if we wished. One lady never felt comfortable diving below the surface so she held on to the rope and the dive master towed her around so she could see the sights. The rest of us dove down to about 26 feet. They have set up artificial reefs that have attracted lots of fish so while there was not much coral here there were plenty of fish. We even saw an eel.

On the negative side our cabin was on deck six directly above on of the lounges and it was noisy with the drummers practicing in the afternoon and playing at night. It was quiet by midnight. To avoid this study the deck plans and choose a cabin with staterooms above and below. Our cabin steward just couldn't seem to keep track of when we were scheduled for dinner and when was the best time to clean in the mornings. We had to ask for robes and ice and the mini bar was never restocked. Other than that he was pleasant enough and he did make us some cute towel animals.

The Carnival Dream is a well kept ship with a very pleasant crew. With the exception of our cabin location this was one of the best cruises we've been on.

I enjoyed this cruise very much.  The services provided to us were great.  We had the best cabin steward, Allan, and were provided with ice as requested.  Also, we received recognition by name in the dining room (your-time-dining) from the staff as well as the assistant maitre'd.  Our waiter, Senad, provided such excellent service we requested to take all our meals in his section.  The most memorable experience on this cruise has to be the special "German" meal prepared for us by Chef Taunus.  The Sauerbraten was excellent, but the best part was his taking time during the busy dining hours to prepare this for my husband and myself. It was a memorable cruise indeed.  Thanks to all the hard working staff, too many, to mention by name.  Extra kudos for the cruise director, Brandon, we really enjoyed his shows, production and his caring personalty. We enjoy Carnival!

Sudi and his crew saved our cruise from being a disaster.  He listened to our concerns and did everything he could to fix the problem.  Thank you Sudi for being an outstanding individual.

The hot tubs were cold tubs and getting off the ship in New Orleans was horrendous.  Last year, the porters took your luggage to your car, you loaded, and you were off.  This year, the Porter took one of your party to an unknown location, while another went to your car, with directions to take 2 rights.  I took 2 rights after a 1 hour wait to move 150 ft. To find a cluster of people waiting for their rides to pick them up.  Seriously, why is it that a place can have a perfectly designed opporation, and in one year, can manage to screw it up sooooooooo royally!!!!!!!!!

It was so nice to get away from the daily stresses of life & work and not have cell service! There is so much to do on the ship, dive in movies, fun competitions for guests by the pool that are fun to watch! Entertaining shows and comedians at night and so much food! I loved dinner time getting waited on with a nice meal every night and the servers would perform too! There is plenty to do at the ports even if you dont book an excursion. Although snorkeling in Belize is a must. My only complaint was the cost of alcoholic beverages. We had about 2-3 drinks each every day of the trip and our bill at the end of the week was about $200 each. Overall great trip but plan for some extra costs if you like to have a beer by the pool or cocktails at dinner.

This was one of the best cruises I have ever been on.  The Dream lives up to its name, it really was a dream.  I went in December and it was decorated beautifully .  This ship was what I would call "classy".  The decor was was done in good taste. The food was good and changed everyday.  Dinner was great and of course the servers add so much to your dining experience.   I do wish Carnival would stick to the rule of no shorts at dinner,  seems to be getting worse but over all everyone looked nice.  Thank you again Carnival for an enjoyable vacation.

The Dream is a fine ship.  However, there are no self serve drink stations anywhere the Serenity Area.  You have to walk down three decks and then  back inside the Lido deck dining area to get a glass of tea.  There is a bar but neither of us drinks much.  The other thing is that Carnival promotes the Hop on, Hop off transportation service from the Montego Bay terminal. We had to stand in line for 20 minutes just to buy the tickets ($19/person). Thenwe had to wait roughly 45 minutes to an hour for the bus to arrive at the terminal.  It does say that the route taken takes about and hour to complete but we were also told that there were 4 buses running.  The wait should have only been 15 -20 minutes.  After being packed into th bus like cattle the driver departed and was passed by every vehicle on the road while he drove very slowly talking on his cell phone.  We had to go all the way to Rose Hall and let people off.  Then more people got on to return than got off.  We had to stay on the bus to go where we wanted to go (Biggs BBQ and Maragritaville). We ended up paying for a cab to get back to the ship instead of waiting for the bus. By the way you can only pay for the bus with your sign and sail card so I think Carnival runs this.  After returning to the terminal we learned of a shuttle bus from the terminal to the area we went for only $7/person each way.  Carnival never mentioned this. So we spent close to two hours dealing with the Hop on Hop off nightmare when we could have been at our destination on about 20 minutes. Shame on Carnival. 

This was our 2nd time on this cruise.  Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  We had an 11th floor balcony room this year.  It was a little less spacious than our previous aft corner room with an extended balcony but was still cimfortable.  The staff was great as expected.  The food was much improved from last year.  Our only criticism was the lack of diversity in entertainment choices during sea days.  We aren't really Bingo, karaoke, pool party kind of people so we were left to entertain ourselves.  This was not really a big issue but it would have been nice to have more options.  Our port days were incredible.  Overall it was a great experience.

all around best experience for the first time cruiser, everyone made you feel 

welcome from the first entry to the boarding process to the departure. you get 

the feeling you are important each moment.  all employees seemed very interested

in our trip quality and enjoyment. the cabin appointment were convenient and 

clean. multiple events were scheduled at times open for all.

The room was amazing. The window was big. The ship was fun and so was the casino, lol. The staff was super friendly. The only thing that could have made it better was if it was free.

Had an awesome time with my family! Great crew and food was incredible! Only cruiseline I go with! The stops were great as well. Really enjoyed the Cozumel excursions. 

Have been on several Carnival cruises, keep thinking I want to try one of the other cruise lines but always come back to Carnival, great value and lots of fun. I have come to the conclusion that I like the smaller ships better than the mega ships like the Dream and Glory.  We like to walk after each meal and both these ships have limited outdoor space for this (the Glory is like walking a mouse trap).  Disappointed that there was not a adult only swimming pool on the serenity deck, only 2 whirlpools (one was under repair most of our cruise).  We are going on another Carnival cruise next year, different ship and locations so we'll see what that ship has to offer.

Although I had done this cruise before, my friend had not so we chose it....we had a great time..beware though, the DREAM is a large ship.   You have lots of walking to cover it..the crew was fantastic..our cabin 2404 was the first Cove Balcony I had been in..it was actually great..would do it again in a heartbeat..Carnival does need to upgrade their mattresses however..mine was a little worn out...but that was a small thing compared to the fun we had...all in all a very fun cruise.