CruiseMates

Carnival Dream

16 Reviews

Ranked #2 Carnival fleet
Ranked #13 among all ships
Regions: Caribbean

Carnival Dream Overview

Tonnage: 130,000

Length: 1,004 ft

Passengers: 4,631

Crew: 1,369

Registry: Panama

First of the largest "Dream-class". Highlights: Ocean Plaza, RedFrog Rum Bar, Waterslides, Serenity retreat, Punchliners Comedy Club

Best For People Who Want

Exciting and ritzy nightlife; numerous singles; alternative dining venues; the largest ship in the Carnival fleet; spacious cabins for three and four passengers; cabins with balconies; excellent fitness and spa facilities; high-energy atmosphere with varied daytime activities, including abundant children's programs.

Should Be Avoided By People Who Prefer

An elegant, quiet and relaxing cruise; private areas away from the public, especially children.

Onboard Experience

The 130,000-ton, 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream is the largest Carnival cruise ship to date, although it is still merely about 60% the size of the newest Royal Caribbean ships. Carnival has chosen not to go as large as some of it competitors. In fact, Dream is not a radically different Carnival ship even if it is the first all new desing carnival has made in a decade. The biggest changes are a slightly subdued decor compared to other recent Carnival ships, and a new entertainment venue called the "Ocean Bar" with outdoor seating on the prmenade deck with cantilevered hot tubs close by.

Another innovation on Carnival Dream is the "Fun Hub." These computer stations around the ship are not only internet connected but are also onboard networks for "social networking" with other cruisers. You can leave messages for people in your group or you can post messages for the whole ship to see. For example, if you brought your digeridoo and you want to have an Aussie jam session, you can suggest that all fellow aboriginals meet you on the pool deck at 2:00.

Not to poke fun, we actually think this is one of the better ideas any cruise ship has had for a long time. We at CruiseMates have always said that what ships need is better ways for like-minded individuals to meet on ships. You could have people from your high school just down the hall and not even realize it. It is a small world, and as far as we are concerned, Carnival is just helping to make it a friendlier place - not to mention the practical aspects of such a system.

Decor

One of the best aspects about Carnival Dream is less focus on the Farcusian decor. Compared to other Carnival ships, Dream is one of the least garish ships in the fleet. There isn't any neon (the days replaced by the more efficient LED) tubing along the railings. The look is glass with chrome railings and wood finishings. There are a lot of pinlights of different colors, but you won't be over-stimulated as you might be on other Carnival ships.

Public Rooms

Carnival Dream has a unique indoor/outdoor café and entertainment venue called Ocean Plaza in the mid-ships Promenade Deck. This is a first at sea, a public room with outdoor seating so close to the water line. Nearby the lanai seating are cantilevered hot tubs. The centerpiece of Ocean Plaza will be Plaza Café, a patisserie serving lattes, cappuccinos, espresso and other specialty coffees, along with sweets such as baked-on-board cakes, pies, cookies - even freshly made milkshakes. Full bar service, specializing in martinis, mojitos and other popular cocktails, will be offered, as well.

Dream's public rooms are breathtaking, with its imposing atrium covering ten decks and glass elevators to the Pool deck. The "Promenade" on Deck 5 includes benches along its boulevard for those wishing to rest between stops at the nearby wine bar, casino and the adult disco "Caliente Dance Club." The ship's nightclubs, primarily at the stern, include The Burgundy Lounge which becomes a comedy club four nights per week. The Song Jazz Lounge features one or two musicians playing classics of the 70's, 80's on the stage near its small dance floor. Sam's Piano Bar, a sing-along piano bar, is close to the Caliente Dance Club.

On the opposite end of Dream is the three-deck high Encore Main Lounge; aim for the lower balcony seats, a little off-center for the best view. Walking aft you next enter the Dream Atrium with the shopping area Fun Ships. The Jackpot Casino is the largest in the Carnival Fleet. Nearby the is the FunHub station just off the aforementioned Ocean Plaza. Hidden on Deck 4 (Atlantic Deck) are the extensive children's facilities including the Warehouse video-arcade and the two teen's discos, Circle C and Club 02. There are extensive conference facilities onboard on deck four.

Other diversions include a small library open for several hours each day and various boutiques selling a wide range of duty-free jewelry, perfume, and alcohol along with the usual cruise items.

Outside on the stern is a two-level Serenity adults-only retreat - the largest in the Carnival Fleet. The extensive water park along with a 23,750-square-foot health spa are both Carnival's largest to date.

Cuisine

Dream offers attractive breakfast and lunch buffets, including an excellent salad bar and made-to-order dishes. For those with a sophisticated palate, the new menus feature chateaubriand, rack of lamb, and lobster, along with chocolate desserts. Delightful specialties can be found on the second tier of the Cezanne Restaurant and include the Sur Mer seafood station and an Asian food station that regularly rotates its dishes. There's a complimentary sushi bar on the Promenade Deck in the evenings, and vegetarian and low-salt items on every menu and at all stations.

Restaurants

The two main dining rooms onboard are The Crimson Restaurant, midships, and the Scarlet Restaurant in the stern. Both are two decks tall with their main entrances somewhat buried on deck three. Guests have their choice of six different appetizers and soups, two salads and six entrees each night. Also, Carnival Classics selections, including char-broiled steak made with the line's signature rub, grilled chicken and pasta dishes, along with a decadent dessert menu offering six different selections, including the cruise industry's most popular dessert - the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake - are offered nightly.

Carnival's Total Choice Dining provides for four seating times for a table in the Crimson Dining rooms at 5:45 or 6:15 p.m. and 8 or 8:30 p.m.. For those who prefer to dine when the mood strikes them can eat in the Scarlet Restaurant or at the poolside Lido restaurant which is offers buffet dinners between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m., no reservations required.

For those seeking more health-conscious cuisine, dining room menus feature Spa Carnival Fare selections, delicious, guilt-free items that are lower in calories, cholesterol, sodium and fat content. Vegetarian choices and children's menus are available, as well.

There is a two-level casual eatery called The Gathering, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. Culinary choices include Italian and Tex-Mex to tandoori and Asian specialties. A pasta bar will offer guests their choice of pasta, sauce and ingredients to create a custom-made dish of traditional Italian favorites such as Portobello ravioli or pasta carbonara. The Gathering will also house Carnival's popular 24-hour pizzeria with seven kinds of pies and calzone, Caesar salad and garlic bread.

Carnival Dream's burrito bar is also sure to be a popular spot where guests can create an overstuffed wrap featuring their choice of chicken, beef, shrimp, salsa and other accompaniments.

Also available within The Gathering will be a Mongolian wok offering custom-made stir-fries with guests' choice of meat and vegetables and finished with one of Carnival's signature sauces; Taste of the Nations, featuring a different international cuisine each day; a New York-style deli; a tandoori oven offering Indian-style chicken, fish and meatballs, along with traditional bread, chutneys and relishes; and a grille serving hot dogs, hamburgers and grilled chicken sandwiches.

The Gathering will also offer an extensive 35-item salad bar, 24-hour frozen yogurt, low-calorie dressings and sugar-free desserts for guests seeking healthier alternatives.

An expanded 24-hour room service menu will include new choices such as Medium Rare Roast Beef and Brie on French Baguette and Grilled Fresh Mozzarella and Portobello Mushroom on Focaccia. Room service orders are delivered to guests' staterooms any time of the day or night at no charge.

Located along Promenade Deck will be Wasabi, a sushi bar serving complimentary sushi, as well as sake.

For those seeking a more intimate dining experience, The Chef's Art, Carnival Dream's steakhouse-style restaurant, will offer delectable cuisine in memorable surroundings. Located on Spa Deck 12, this 139-seat venue offers a sumptuous menu of prime dry-aged U.S.D.A. beef - selections include a nine-ounce filet, 14-ounce strip loin, 18-ounce grilled prime rib chop and 24-ounce porterhouse - along with lobster tail, lamb chops, Chilean sea bass, Maine Lobster ravioli and more. Creamed spinach, Wasabi mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and traditional sauces complete the steakhouse experience.

The delicious choices, combined with attentive service and an extensive wine list, make a meal at The Chef's Art truly unforgettable. Reservations are recommended and there is a charge of $30 per person.

Previously exclusive to Carnival Magic but now added to Dream and also to be included on Carnival Breeze is the new Ocean Plaza, a spectacular indoor/outdoor café and entertainment venue designed for guests to relax and people watch. In addition to a dance floor and a stage featuring live entertainment, Ocean Plaza will offer full Wi-Fi access, along with 12 stand-alone kiosks where guests can access the FunHub, Carnival Dream's comprehensive portal and exclusive on-board social network.

Service

The staff on the Dream is prompt, well-organized, and prone to showing off, as when balancing trays on their heads while serving dessert. The maitre'd makes a point of learning the names of all couples celebrating an anniversary.

Tipping

All Carnival cruises have a $10.00 per person per day (excluding children under two years of age) gratuity comprising $5.50 for the Dining Room service, $3.60 for the stateroom steward, and $.90 for the alternative dining rooms. This charge can be either automatically added to the Sail & Sign card or it can be prepaid (prepayment is mandatory on the Cruises-to-Nowhere). The purser's desk can decrease or increase this amount throughout the cruise. Tip room service, the maitre d', casino, spa, or other staff as you deem fit. The bar and beverage tabs all include a 15 percent gratuity to the bill.

Entertainment

One of the new entertainment attractions on Dream include a new comedy club, to be held in the 425-seat Burgundy Lounge. It offers six shows per night, alternating between two commedians. The last two shows of the evening will be the adults only shows, one offered by each commedian. Making it even better, half-way through the cruise Carnival will bring in two different comedians for two fresh shows. This means that all together there will be eight different comedy shows for each passenger to see, a "family" and an "R-rated" show from each of four different comedians.

Carnival has a laser light show that goes off every night with a different theme. The laser-works are choreographed to songs by different well-known rock bands like Styx and Van Halen, Rush and Pink Floyd. Smoke machines enhance the laser effects.

The ship has three different major production shows in the main theater, "Encore," each week-long cruise. Sam’s is a sing-a-long piano bar. Caliente is the disco dance club with a high-tech sound and lighting system. Ocean Plaza is the new indoor/outdoor cafe/entertainment venue on the Promenade deck that will showcase various styles of music as well as art, photo and spa seminars, scrapbooking classes, magicians, jugglers, trivia contests and more. An acrobatic troupe called Fun Force will entertain guests in Ocean Plaza and at various venues around the ship.

The main theater presents outstanding production shows featuring beautiful costumes and Vegas-quality light shows, but even the smaller venues have great acts and music, particularly the sing-along piano bar. There is a Caribbean band on the pool deck. More interactive activities include numerous bingo games, art auctions, ballroom dancing, karaoke, and "game show mania".

Cabins

Several new accommodation categories, including five-berth, two-bathroom staterooms especially for families, will be offered. There is also a new style of balcony cabin called the Cove Balcony located on surprisingly lower decks, below the promenade decks. These balconies are shadier than the higher ones as they are built into the hull of the ship.

The suites and ocean view staterooms come with complimentary bathrobes and a mini bar. The cabins located on the outside are 220 sq. feet and include a coffee table and plush leather sofa. The inside cabins are 195 sq. feet in area and are great for families or large groups of singles due to their pull-down berths that provide extra sleeping space. Families might prefer the 230 sq. feet cabins located next to the children's center. All the large bathrooms include a shower (the suites are the only cabins with tubs), basket of toiletries, and hair dryer. The cabins come standard with a color TV that includes ESPN, CNN, and movies. There is plentiful storage space, with three closets and a several drawers. for those of special needs are available.

Fitness/Spa

The gym's 15,000 sq.. feet is full of treadmills, stationary bikes, stairmasters, rowing and hydraulic weight machines, and of course free weights. The strategically placed equipment allows you to enjoy the lovely panoramic views offered by the floor-to-ceiling windows. For runners, a lap on the jogging deck, which surrounds the smokestack, is equivalent to 1/11 of a mile.

Attire

The attire on cruises became decidedly less formal at the end of the 2000's, and now even formal nights are merely suggestions. Most men wear dark jackets and ties are optional. While jeans aren't technically allowed in the dining room no one is going to stop you from entering. Daytime wear is strictly casual.

User Reviews

16 User Reviews of Carnival Ships
Western Caribbean
Publication Date: October 13, 2012

Beautiful new ship & ship design:Deck 5 has 4 'bay'whirlpools. Decks 5,11 & casino have designated smoking areas.Passengers allowed to smoke on private balconies; this should be banned. Food mostly very good; but,2 times in dinning room my hot food order was barely warm. Pizza is the best out of 45 ships I've been on (Princess,RC and Carnival). Staff polite and efficient.

I recommend this ship.

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Mexico
Publication Date: July 7, 2012

Upon arrival on 7/7/12, as Ernest and I entered our room i met a gentlemen by the name of Daniel who introduced himself as our section house keeper. Ernest and I introduced ourselves as well. he seemed to be very nice, very enthusiastic, and had a big smile on his face but I felt something mysterious about him and I mentioned it to Ernest immediately. as the day went on I would notice as we both cross paths with Daniel approximately four to five times, he would say "hello brittany" with a creepy smile but would not greet Ernest.

(Day 2) 7/8/12. The same exact incident occurred with daniel every time we passed him, he would only greet Brittany with the same creepy smile but now there is waving involved. Later on that evening at 7pm, we were leaving our room to meet our ten family members for dinner. There was a very nice couple leaving their room directly across the hall in room 8353 at the same exact time. As Ernest and I were leaving the room Daniel appeared out of nowhere, meeting us at the door as if he

was trying to barge into our room. We were a bit startled. Daniel stated he had to clean our room and Ernest and I stated the room was fine the way it was and it was previously cleaned that morning and we did not need room service. Daniel refused to accept our denial of his services and told us it was mandatory that we allow him to clean our room, he would not take no for an answer. Daniel even slammed his hand on the door and would not allow us to close the door. This situation took about three minutes until Daniel got his way. As we left I realized i left my purse in the room on the dresser. At that time we were to dinner because family was waiting and i figured I could leave my purse in the room because I did not feel like I needed it for dinner anyway.

Since Daniel forced himself into our room he did not use his keycard for entry. The couple room 8353 said that they seen him enter our room and closed the door but we noticed other house keepers keep the door open as they clean, even leaving multiple room doors open at a time. After dinner we continued our entertainment until 1 pm. As we entered our room I noticed immediately that something was not right. I looked on the dresser and it appeared that my purse had been tampered with. When I looked into my wallet, I noticed that my one thousand dollars was gone. I was left ten dollars in ones and one five dollar bill, which was not a part of my one thousand dollars missing. Ernest and I immediately went to guest services and filed a report for this incident with the lady at the front desk. It was like no one knew what to say or do. We had to go through multiple supervisors and they still could not help us in any way. Finally the three security guards, Matilda Vikrant, Mewada Petar, and Kresimar Biskup came to escort us from the front desk to our room so they can perform a room search. They made us empty all our belongings and found nothing.

(Day 3) 7/9/12. We spoke with Donato Beece, the hotel director and he stated that this could happen to anyone, he stated we could be lying, as he laughed and chuckled at us the entire time we sat in his office. I did not expect this low level level of professionalism from someone of his caliber. He also defended his staff member Daniel and said he has been working for 25 years and a incident like this never occurred. I did not feel like Denato Beece put the customer first, it made me feel completely defeated. we requested to speak to the captain and Denato Beece said it would be impossible to speak to the captain and he would never speak to us.

(Day 4) 7/10/12. We were escorted from our room to Donato Beece's office by security. As we arrived, Captain Massimo Milano was there to greet us. Even though he was a lot more sympathetic to the situation compared to the rest of crew, he still said there was nothing that could be done and anyone could have stolen the money from our room.

(Day 5) 7/11/12. As Ernest and I walked back from breakfast at 8:30 am, we saw Daniel. We did not get the routine greeting or any eye contact at all, he looked down as we walked passed him. this was very unusual behavior compared to the previous days when he would go out of his way to greet us. As we approached him and asked him "is there something on your mind"? His first response was "I did not take anything from your room"!

Ernest and I never asked him about the incident but his guilt made him respond the suspicious way that he did.

We are not trying to blame any particular person for stealing from us but we want to target Carnival's negligence, their cleaning policy, there should be a more thorough screening of the immigrants they hire from these poor countries. Before our incident the house keepers all around the ship cleaned multiple rooms at one time while leaving the doors open. After our incident we notice the house keepers only cleaned one room at a time. They changed the policy to prevent further occurrences but did not compensate Ernest and I at all in any way. Ernest and I endured much pain and suffering from Carnival and this was our first luxury cruise experience. Ernest is a U.S. NAVY veteran who spent the past four years on a warship complete opposite of a luxury cruise and he still had to experience HELL. Our family planned this cruise based on Ernest's departure from the NAVY and his birthday happened to be on July 11th, so this cruise was supposed an unforgettable experience of paradise, but instead this cruise was the total opposite. Please feel our pain Carnival customer service and Carnival corporate said there is nothing they can do and I should have used a safe. I feel like if I refuse room service that should be it, the house keeper should not be allowed to force their way into anyone's room. I just want the world to be aware of my situation so this does not happen to anyone else. This was not a vacation, we had no money to enjoy our cruise itinerary. From this experience, we will never go on a cruise again.

Please contact Brittany Southall if you can help: bsouthall88@aol.com
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Western Caribbean
Publication Date: January 7, 2012

After cruising on the "Dream" and being very disappointed I took a cruise on the RCL Enchantment of the sea, There is no comparison the dream(nightmare) was so bad I would not recommend this cruise to any body whose expectations of a cruise is to be entertained or served at least in the dining room. I have had better service from the staff at Mcdonalds then I had on the dream(nightmare)

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