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Good, but not Great Cruise by
Andrea S.--my 60th cruise! from Washington, DC Sailing date: Aug 2012Pros: Fantastic staff/waiters/crew, good food, excellent ports Cons: Entertainment (shows), long buffet lines Very good! Ship QualityThe ship was attractive in a Las Vegas style, clean and easy to navigate, although maps were scarce. Stateroom was very comfortable and larger than some other ships. Lots of storage space. Loved the artwork on the stairs and in public areas. Dining/FoodGood variety and preparation. Excellent selections at lunch with pasta bar, tandoori and several other subspecialty stations. Loved the sushi! Excellent waiters. But, we know well enough to plan for a set seating, not "anytime" dining. Our waiters knew us and our service was personalized. Made was our waiter at table 128. Stateroom QualityGreat staff, nice amenities like the mini fridge and the flat screen TV. Lots of room and storage. Ship Staff QualityGReat cruise director staff and wait staff and cabin staff. EVeryone we encountered was helpful and friendly. Entertainment & ActivitiesProduction shows were loud and irritating. All the songs were "overdone" in screechy voices. Worse yet, it was evident that the cast was lip synching. Other entertainers were great in the atrium and casino. Outdoor screen was under used and could have had a better selection of movies. Trivia contests and other games weren't much fun because there was only "team" competition (half the room vs. the other half). The ship on a stick prizes were awful. C'mon, can't they afford a key chain or a pen or something small with a logo instead of those stupid plastic pieces of junk that we all threw away immediately or refused to take. RCCL does it right and I have the key chains, flashlights, hats, wallets, umbrellas, bags and countless other items to prove it. It's good advertising!  6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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  We had a good time by
Larry J from St Augustine FL Sailing date: Jul 2012Pros: evening meal Cons: loudness The evening meal was the most enjoyable thing about the cruise. We had a great waiter, Felipe, who attended our every need as though we were his only diners. The stateroom stewards were great as well, we never came back to our room and it not be straightened up and spotless.
The shows and entertainment was way too loud. I'm very hard of hearing and it all only sounded like noise to me the only songs and music I could understand where the ones I knew.
The loading and unloading went very smoothly, I was surprised at that because of the number of people on board.
All and all I was able to relax as long as I was out on deck on in my stateroom. Dining/Foodreally enjoyed Stateroom Qualityvery nice Entertainment & ActivitiesTerrible 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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A Mixed Bag by
Elizabeth U. from Washington State Sailing date: Apr 2012Pros: Loved the itinerary, the shore excursions Cons: The noisy-loud ship, poor dinner service, disruptive kids We were excited about the itinerary, and our expectations and hopes were fulfilled in this regard. We were disappointed with the ship -- it is VERY noisy -- the only quiet place was our own cabin. We couldn't enjoy a show or the dance music without earplugs.
The ship is very clean, but also very glitzy-shiny, like too much tinsel on a Christmas tree. Dance floors were sticky, decks were slippery if even slightly wet.
Crowd control was very good, lines minimal (considering 4600 passengers), organization good. Ship QualityHUGE ship, easy to get lost, clean. Too shiny and glitzy. Dining/FoodService in Scarlet Dining Room was often very slow. We sat down at 6:00 and received only water and bread for over an hour before our dinners arrived at 7:15 or so. Then, shortly after dessert was served (but before coffee), we were told we needed to be out of the room in 5 minutes because they needed to set up for the late seating.
If this happened to me in a restaurant, I would walk out and never return.
Dining room was very crowded -- almost no room to walk between tables. Stateroom QualityWe were pleasantly surprised to have TWO bathrooms! Room was quiet and comfortable. The only downside was really ugly artwork on the walls. Good storage, comfy beds. Ship Staff QualityStaff is mostly very friendly and willing to help, but heavy foreign accents sometimes made communication a challenge.
They'll listen politely to complaints, but rarely do anything about the problem. Once they have your money, they'll never give it back. Entertainment & ActivitiesEverything was WAY too loud!! We could not enjoy a show without earplugs for protection. Even the dance bands were too loud, and didn't respond to requests to back off on volume. We're older, and our hearing is not what it used to be, but everything was still way too loud!
Events and programs often coincided, and we were forced to make choices rather than to attend everything we might have liked to do.
There were NO seminars, classes or lectures that were not blatant sales pitches. In other words, there were no program offerings for intelligent people who might like to learn something. 5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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a very good cruise by
Benjamin Giaccone from Daytona beach, FL Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: the staff and how clean the ship was Cons: the quality of the food The staff was great as always. They personalize your vacation experience with their wonderful service. The ship could be a little more handicap friendly, as it is difficult to move around in a wheelchair. Surprisingly the food was mediocre at best and this came as a surprise as the food usually is superb. The first port became a debacle to disembark. Ship Qualityextremely clean but not handicap friendly Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Qualitythe waiters in the restuarant knew who we were and what we liked to drink and they had it ready when we arrived. The casino staff went above and beyond to help my senior citizen father 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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an ok cruise by
Renae D. from Palm Bay FL Sailing date: Nov 2011Pros: room service Cons: not very friendly staff I have sailed on carnival before and have had fantastic service but this ship to me has very poor service. Employees act stone faced and not happy with their jobs. The food was mostly undercooked or to the extreme overcooked. Not enough employees to handle the amount of guests. Not as friendly as other carnival cruise we went on. The staff seemed tired for the most part. Not happy with this boat at all. Ship QualityShip overall was very clean. Dining/FoodFood was ok. Vegetables steamed were undercooked almost all the time. Hamburgers were the best. Best service was room service almost always happy. Stateroom QualityStateroom seemed small to me. Decor was ok. Location was fine. Was clean. Ship Staff QualityFor the most part the crew seemed very tired and you had to be willing to wait a long time in most cases over 15 minutes to get items you requested. Not many smiles on this ship. Entertainment & Activities
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Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.Took taxi ride around island had a wonderful guide and was well worth the money. Did not eat here.
Don't Miss: jewelry shops are plentlful Philipsburg, St. MaartenTook taxi ride around island was very entertaining and fun.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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A decent cruise by
Geoffrey L from Allentown. Pa. Sailing date: Sep 2011Pros: Serenity Cons: Food quality and the friendliness of some staffs Elvis is very personable and accommodating, making the guests comfortable at the dining room. Most of the service staffs on the decks need to be trained to be more friendly and at least say hi to the guests when passing one another. The staff in charge of the ping pong tournament is just terrible. Not friendly and unenthusiastic.
Ship QualityIt seems like not having enough staff to clean up the mess left by the guests Dining/FoodQuality and variety of the food are not as good as at Conquest, both at the restaurant and at the Gathering. The food at the restaurant is usually served cold. A three member team like at the Conquest might help to speed up the service and warm food being served. Dining times Are good and convenient for the guests. Have to wait too long for the Mongolian Grill, usually half an hour. Add a little soya sauce to the Szechuan sauce and it will taste better. Ship Staff QualityMany staffs are not as friendly as other ships. Half of them, especially the waiters who clean tables at the Gathering, don't even say hi when passing the guests. Our boardroom staffs are good. Entertainment & ActivitiesToo late to enjoy the Legend show at 10:30pm
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Nassau, BahamasThe two tour guards are useless. The bus drivers are good.
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.Never been on a tour when the driver/tour guard not saying a word on the bus during the tour. He couldn't even tell us the right place to meet him at the Post office. We joined the ultimate island experience tour. No idea what we saw along the way.
Philipsburg, St. MaartenGood tour guide/diver. Good tour. Will enjoy more if we had two hours at the beach instead of one hour. We joined the island/ beach tour.
Don't Miss: Beach 2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Fun! But worst cabin on the ship! by
Jennifer A. from Grand Rapids, MI Sailing date: Aug 2011Pros: The service and the food Cons: Our room...2427...right below the gally! Noise every night! Horrible We enjoyed our travels, but the cabin we had was horrible! At night it sounded like they were dropping bowling balls on the ceiling! It was very loud! We did get a 30% discount which was good. They offered to move us to another cabin, but they only had inside cabins and we really enjoyed having a deck so declined.
Also, the second floor must also be where the septic is because in the hallway it sure smelled like it. Every day! Ship QualityThe second floor must also be where the septic is because in the hallway it sure smelled like it. Every day! Dining/FoodVery good! My favorite was the room service in the morning! :) Stateroom QualityMy rating is because of the noise level... Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
Children's ProgramsDidn't see much of the kids :)! Nice!
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Nassau, BahamasWe liked the Segways otherwise, there didn't seem to be much to do on the island.
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.Pretty island. Nice shopping. We like the gondalas.
Philipsburg, St. MaartenHad a lot of fun with the horseback riding. Well worth the price.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Carnival Dream is a Big Ship But ....... by
Clint S from colorado springs co Sailing date: Jun 2011Pros: The Hard Working Loving Staff keeps the Ship very Clean and Tends to the Guests Well. Cons: Food and Entertainment was very disappointing most of the time. The Boat packs the folks on but has not added additional programing to compensate. I think the food really suffers in freshness and quality as well! We loved the ship and it's staff! My family felt that Carnival didn't live up to the experiences we have had in the past on other cruises with Carnival and Princess. Boat was well stocked and very clean. Cruise Director Gary was the worst we have seen and the programing really is lacking under his direction. Comedy was the best thing on the ship. Ship Qualityupper deck anytime dining area had a dirty mop smell that made it hard to want to go up and eat. Clean but stinky. Dining/FoodFood was not very fresh! Eating experience is better at a place like Golden Corral Buffet. If this was our first cruise I would have wondered why people always talk about how great the food was on the cruise but we have cruised before and the food was much better on other carnival ships or excellent on the princess ships. Stateroom Qualityvery clean and well taken care of but the beds were very crammed in and state room extremly small. Ship Staff QualityStaff was great! We loved the very sweet staff! Entertainment & Activitiesplain and simple it stunk! Comedians were funny and our kids loved the family shows! The rest was pitiful! Children's Programsone of our kids enjoyed the 13 to 14 programming but our other one did not. I found that age group was not very well supervised. When checking on our kids I found kids left unsupervised in an area that parents are asked not come into and found the kids making out. I was not very happy to see that going on.
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Nassau, Bahamasblue lagoon was great!
Don't Miss: blue lagoon if youhave kids! Very fun day. Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.We rented a Jeep from budget for $79 for the day. It was so much fun touring the very cool island! Ship wanted $69 per person so do this on your own and save a bundle!
Don't Miss: go to the mountain top and then find a beach! water was awesome! Philipsburg, St. Maartenwe snorkled off the Honey Bunny! Fun but the gear was lacking and water not very clear. We were a little disappointed.
Don't Miss: its not snorkleing. 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Not bad for the money by
A Traveler from West Palm Beach, FL Sailing date: May 2011Pros: Itinerary was great-especially Roatan Cons: Unruly and noisy passengers The ship was very clean and had many amenities, including mini golf and water slides. There is an adults only deck with 2 hot tubs and they do monitor it for kids under 21. There are nice hot tubs on deck 5 too, which were pretty empty most of the cruise. The pools on the ship are way too small. They need to be at least 10-20 feet longer. We never used them as they were super crowded at any time of the day. The food was average - some good, some bad. The staff was friendly, especially in the dining room. Ship QualityShip can hold 3,600 passengers, but it only felt crowded on the pool deck. Very clean and nice decor. Some floors are hard to navigate because you can't walk from the front to the back without going up or down a floor. Dining/FoodQuality of food was good to above average. The dining room food was the best and had great selection. I really enjoyed the Tandoori food in the back of The Gathering. Never had a chance to eat at the make your own pasta since the line was always too long. We booked 3 cabins, but none of them were cross-referenced in the database, so our dining times and tables were wrong. The maitre' d, Drago, was very accommodating and we did get to eat together at the late seating. Dining entertainment was cute. Stateroom QualityHad an inside cabin, but it was pretty spacious. We had a room on deck 9, which was perfect for running up to the pool or buffet on deck 10. Only issue with the room was the shower drainage. It was slow to drain, so the water would leak all over the floor. Found out later the lower level floors were having a drainage problem, which caused the issues on our floor too. The 2 other cabins we booked also had the problem. Ship Staff QualityMost people were friendly, but we did have a few waiters at breakfast and lunch who were not as personable as our dinner waiters. We hardly saw our stateroom steward, but the other 2 cabins we booked saw theirs all the time. Photo staff was not helpful. When we had an issue, we had to elevate it to the manager and guest services to have it resolved. Entertainment & ActivitiesMuch better entertainment than some other cruise lines, except for country night (too country for me). The comedians were great and so were the hip-hop dancers. Carnival is definitely trying to make the shows more exciting and relevant to popular songs and dancers of today.
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Belize City, BelizeWent cave tubing, which would have been awesome if 1,000 people weren't going at the same time. Also, the water was very low, so it made it difficult to navigate through the cave. Would be a better excursion if only 20 people were in the cave at one time. Guides were OK, but not as talkative as other excursion guides. The ride was about an hour away from the port.
Don't Miss: Do anything but cave tubing - too crowded Costa Maya (Mahahual), MexicoThe port was like spring break for middle age adults. There was a pool with a swim up bar and a lot of drunks. Fun to watch - LOL! We went ATV'ing and it was fun. This was my first time on an ATV and I would do it again. Rough ride for some of it, but the ride along the ocean was awesome. Not much to see in "town" - costs $2/person for a taxi ride from port to town. You can get a 60 min massage on the beach for $20 - good deal! I think this port is going to become the next "Cancun" of Mexico.
Don't Miss: ATVs Cozumel, MexicoWe did the beach buggy and snorkel combo. The beach buggy is a stick shift and you have to share the car with others if you don't have a party of 3 or 4. It's a rough ride, but fun. Snorkeling was good - lots of fish. I would recommend this excursion if you want to see something other than the port.
Don't Miss: Snorkeling Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, HondurasMy favorite port of the trip. Snorkeling here was the BEST I've seen in all of the Caribbean. Beautiful coral and tons of fish. It was AMAZING! Our guide was awesome too - took time to point out all the great things in the water.
Don't Miss: Snorkeling with Subway Divers 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Good Cruise for a family, not a romance by
Rose W from Los Angeles, CA Sailing date: Mar 2011Pros: The servers worked really hard Cons: The food This ship was clean and the servers and cleaners worked really hard. The food was mediocre and I never had an amazing meal. I didn't pay the $30 to eat in the steakhouse, which is supposed to be better but I did go to the sit down meals every night. We did have a few things that were good but I was never blown away by anything I ate. Even though there were over 4,000 passengers we never felt like the ship was overly crowded. There were some lines but nothing too crazy. Ship QualityClean, which I appreciated. Even though this ship was new it was decorated like it was built in the 90's..kind of odd Dining/FoodThe only thing really exceptional about the dininig was the Servers Stateroom QualityRooms were simple and we had a inside cabin on the 2 floor, but it was really comfortable. Ship Staff QualityWould have given them a hirer score but the barteneders had poor attitudes! Entertainment & ActivitiesThere were lots of things to do but the Singers on the ship and the main performers were horrible. We had a great comedian and the Casino was fun and they had a fun nightclub. Children's ProgramsI don't have kids but they ALWAYS had something going on for them. Good thing since there were 1,000 kids on our ship because of spring break
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Nassau, BahamasFun to take a scooter around the Island!
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
Philipsburg, St. MaartenGo Scuba diving here! The waters are gorgeous!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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