tiger belle

According to the Captain addressing us the day before our visit to HMC was to take lace, he said "adverse Tendering conditiions." Later on the bridge during the BtF Tour, he said it was swells (waves).

 

I am befuddled I must say...perhaps I am not understanding the posts about HMC...if we are talking about the Conquest cruise that disembarked today in FLL, HMC was never on any itinerary I saw since I booked this cruise many months ago...the 4 ports when I booked the cruise were St. Martin, St Kitts, San Juan and Grand Turk...and those are the 4 we did...what is this about HMC supposedly being one of the ports of call? :confused:

First off I have been on 15 cruises. I work in retail and usually try to find the best in every ship. I know how critical people can be.

I am going to fill out the carnival survey so that they make improvements.

There where a few things that just didn't sit well with me this cruise.

*the ship was very very warm

*it took a very long time to get drinks at the bars. (Over ten minutes) not enough staff

*we where seated in the dining room at a table for ten. Only four of us showed up. The last night it was just myself and my wife. (Why would they not move us?)

*it was by far the loudest room ever 6305

 

The good news was it was a very friendly staff

Getting on and off was a breeze

Entertainment was great

Ship was well maintained

Guys burger joint and the blue iguana was awesome

 

Just a few observations

I was on the cruise as well, and I echo most of your comments...I did find the ship much warmer than usual...definitely noticed a shortage of staff and slower service throughout the ship, although the staff that were there were friendly and polite...I was in cabin 6383 and agree that it was much noisier than I am used to...loved the BlueIguana but personally not thrilled with Guy's...other than the hypnotist show and one of the comedians, I was not thrilled with the entertainment on board...no problems embarking or disembarking...overall relaxing and fun cruise I think

If you cancel her, she will lose her fare AND you will be charged for single occupancy thus getting penalized twice. She should just no show. Hope this makes sense.

I thought I pretty much knew how these fares work but this even confuses me...if a double occupancy fare has already been paid--regardless of who paid it--then why would Carnival charge an additional "fee" over and above that double occupancy fare whether the 2nd person shows up or not or even if they officially "cancel?" I am confused... the only thing I can think of is that Carnival would "lose" the opportunity to make extra profit from that 2nd passenger's potential purchases of photos, booze, gambling and such...but there is no guarantee they would have gotten that extra revenue; for example, I drink one or two alcoholic beverages at most, occasionally purchase a photo or two and gamble minimally :confused:

oh I am not whining about the frenzy--it's just my least favorite experience...I will still be smiling I expect :D

thanks...sounds like Guy's would be a good place to try that first day

glad I'm not the only one who would use "feeding frenzy" to describe lunch on embarkation day...I hate going to the buffet then...how crowded are Guy's and Blue Iguana on embarkation day? is there separate seating or is it all the same for any food on Lido?

Does anyone have PDFs of any Fun Times from recent Dream cruises?

thanks for the suggestions

my mother and I will be cruising on Dream in October out of New Orleans...the itinerary includes Montego Bay, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel...my mother is in her 70s and has some mobility and stamina issues...I am also not exactly the athletic type :)

I am requesting ideas for shore excursions in each of those ports of call...I prefer to stick with the Carnival "official" excursions because I feel safer and don't have to worry about missing the sail-away

the kind of excursions we've enjoyed in the past are island tours--mostly driving to see the sights--and occasionally a boat ride...we like visiting such places as turtle farms, butterfly habitats, historical buildings...we also like to do a little local shopping too...thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have

Hi 1Kaper, post#9 the first picture states "oysters". Those appear to be mussels, not oysters. Were they listed as oysters on the menu? Just curious, what I'll get when I order them. ;)

I am from south Louisiana, and those didn't look like any oysters I've ever seen :)

The shorter driving time would be the main factor for me choosing Dream in your case.

thanks again, Andy, for a great review and some wonderful pics as well...enjoyed cruising with you as a fellow roll call member :)

Time for a formal picture after dinner.

what a beautiful family! :)

thanks, andy...as I had hoped, your review is helping me relive all the fun times from last week...I also had the roast duck, and it was great...I also enjoyed the roasted lamb I had one night...oh and the hot dogs on the Boardwalk, too...I usually do not eat hot dogs, but I tried 3 different kinds during the week and liked them all--my favorite was the Sicilian! what I didn't see (thank goodness) was the donut shop on Boardwalk--did you try that?

your day 1 was similar to ours...we also saw Chicago that first night...loved it...our MDR snafu (has never happened before) was that RCI had the wrong table # printed on my card (so they claimed)...therefore, the first night they found us a table for just the two of us (my mom and me)...the next night we got to sit with our assigned table mates, and we thoroughly enjoyed dining with them the rest of the cruise :)

looking forward to your recap of day 2

Looking forward to re-living the cruise this week through your review and pics :)

I agree this was the smoothest boarding process I ever experienced...and our suitcases were by your door by the time we arrived at our cabin...I also enjoyed the muster (as much as you can LOL)...ours was in the Aqua Theatre, so it was convenient to just stay put for the sail-away party :)

we also had a MDR table assignment snafu, but it was RCI's fault, not a TA...it all worked out in the end for us, as we thoroughly enjoyed dining with our ultimate table mates

thanks for the review...enjoyed it and the pics :)

ha ha, Lloyd :D

very good review so far, Missy...I am enjoying it...will be on the Allure for the first time in October, although I have cruised before...you and Rob are a cute couple...and thanks to him for his service...looking forward to the rest of your review

not sure about all the problems with those gel stickers...maybe it's certain brands...I had those same ones another poster had from the Dollar Tree...there were a few different sets--crabs, palm trees, sand buckets, waves, bathing suits, flip flops...the only ones that came off a couple of times were the really small pieces...and there was no residue whatsoever when I took them down...after hearing of some of the negatives others experienced, I will only use the ones I've gotten from the Dollar Tree

I have done that same idea... I had a sign for Bon voyage, each port and one for sea days...then I did the daily picture : )

some more pics

You can buy a roll of magnet tape at the craft store (like Michaels or AC Moore) for under $5. I cut off a strip and affix it to the back of the decorations. I bought a package of tropical themed cut-out decorations from Party City, and wrote our first names on some of the with a sharpie. I wrote our cabin # on the back. Never had a problem with them being stolen.

the thing I've tried that works best is similar to what DonnaK did...although I have used the putty as well...I have done the tropical themed cut-outs and have also found vinyl clings and the gel clings that work well...the clings can be found at dollar stores, so we are talking very inexpensive...I also (knock on wood) have not had problems with the decorations being stolen...I just think it is fun to decorate your door--especially for a holiday or special occasion

here are some samples of my decorated doors

enjoyed your review, Kimberly...thanks again

I also agree with Arch713 about your comparison of RCI and Carnival...I pretty much agreed with all of your observations...I just returned from my first RCI cruise after sailing 5 times previously on Carnival...I am glad you brought up the towel animal thing, because now I am not too embarrassed to admit that I also missed my nightly towel animal :( I always look forward on Carnival each night to see what animal I am going to get...on RCI, it was the question on returning to my cabin each night *if* I got a towel animal, rather than which one

hope you enjoy your next upcoming cruise :) I don't yet have one scheduled...boo hoo

continuing to enjoy the review...Jackie's costume was great...and yours was quite unusual :)