Dream to Easter Caribbean

By lashl

• October 5, 2012

This was a fun cruise. We took my sister on her first cruise and were joined by her oldest son, wife and daughter. The Dream was a nice ship but way to crowded for me. Our room steward and dinning team were both excellent. For a ship that is only 3 years old and had just left dry dock after installing to new unimpressive bars on Lido deck there were many things that didn’t work. Two fresh water showers at the pool did not work, the TV in the room were flat screen, wall mounted but some dufus decided the sensor should be mounted on the top of the TV making you stand up to change a channel. To check the dinner menu, your bill, or location was almost a quest.

We sailed from Pier 6 in the new Carnival terminal at Port Canaveral. We drove from Orlando and parked across the street from the terminal making for an easy access to the terminal. Embarkation was quick and smooth both ourselves (Platinum) and my nephews family. We beat them on the ship by about 5 minutes. It seemed like we walked forever to get on the ship as the check-in was at one end of the terminal and entry to the ship at the other end. We were all eating lunch on the Lido deck in well under 30 minutes.

The buffet was good with plenty of choices. You not only had choices of food but which line to get into. Lines, lines, lines. That is what you got if you ate any meal on Lido deck. Way to long for my liking and I heard many complaints from others.

Our room 7340 was just around the corner from the mid-ship elevators. Noise was no problem but since we didn’t get back to the room till after midnight most nights it could have been noisy I wouldn’t have noticed. The room was a balcony room typical for Carnival. Furnishings we nice except for the fore mentioned TV.

We did “Your Time Dinning” for the first time. The service the first night was horrible. It took over 2 hours to eat. The next night we got a different waiter and it was a 180 degree turn around. They were not only timely with the food but very pleasant. One of the best serving teams we have ever had. Of course to ensure we got one of there tables we had to eat at 6 PM every night but their service was worth it. The food was very good, never had anything all week that wasn’t right on and the choices we adequate for everyone.

First stop was Nassau. Took my sister ashore to do a little shopping. Nothing has changed at Nassau. They still can’t drive!

Next was St Thomas. Got off the ship and hired a taxi to take us on a tour so my sister could see everything. 2-½ hour tour cost $20 per person, much cheaper than excursion booked on the ship. We had him drop us downtown after the tour for some shopping which more than wiped out any savings from the tour!

Last stop was St Maarten. We all did the 12 meter Regatta. We were aboard Canada II and had a blast. This is a sailing boat from the 1987 America’s Cup race. Highly recommend this excursion

Debarkation was good. We got off before group 1, got our luggage, cars, and were back in Orlando at my nephews house in a little more than an hour.

All in all it was a fun cruise. Too many people (4200) for my likening and would not sail on the ship again. If you don’t mind the crowds it’s a good ship