Dining Options on Carnival Dream

Pass the Ketchup
Dining options on Carnival Dream, debuting in September, range from a two-level casual eatery featuring a new Italian pasta station and a burrito bar to Ocean Plaza, an indoor/outdoor café and live music venue.

In outlining the ship’s food selection, Carnival Cruise Lines emphasized that most choices are included in the fare. Exceptions are the reservations-recommended steak house and specialty coffees and select patisserie items.

The two-level buffet restaurant’s new pasta bar gives a choice of noodles, sauce and ingredients, and the burrito bar will let diners create an oversized wrap with a choice of chicken, beef, shrimp, salsa and other accompaniments. The venue, The Gathering, also houses a 24-hour pizzeria with seven kinds of pies, a Mongolian wok for custom-made stir-fries, a tandoori oven, a New York-style deli, a different featured international cuisine daily and a 35-item salad bar.

An expanded 24-hour room service menu, free of charge, includes new choices such as medium rare roast beef and brie on French baguette and grilled fresh mozzarella and portobello mushroom on focaccia. A complimentary sushi bar is found on the Promenade Deck.

Ocean Plaza, the new café and entertainment venue, will offer WiFi access and a dozen kiosks to access FunHub, the recently announced intranet portal and on-board social network. The centerpiece is Plaza Café, a patisserie serving specialty coffees, milkshakes and baked-on-board cakes, pies and cookies.

The Chef’s Art Steakhouse is a 139-seat venue with prime dry-aged USDA beef selections ranging from a nine-ounce filet to a 24-ounce porterhouse, along with lobster tail, lamb chops and other choices. The service charge is $30.

Carnival Dream’s two-level Scarlet and Crimson main dining rooms will present six appetizers and soups, two salads and six entrees each night. Always-available ‘Carnival Classics’ include char-broiled steak with a signature rub, grilled chicken and pasta dishes and what Carnival calls the cruise industry’s most popular dessert, warm chocolate melting cake, as part of a six-choice dessert menu.