Jgilbert813

We had an "L" shaped room just in front of the aft wrap on the magic and we had 2 regular balcony chairs and 1 lounge chair. It had plenty of shade and was really awesome to lay out on the lounge chair on our balcony.

I am glad you had a great time and thanks for the food review. I will be sailing in August on same ship and I am so excited!!!

 

Where was your cabin and how did you like it?

 

Wondering also what excursions you did, if any and how would you rate them?

 

Not really a big excursion person, (just love to ships and cruising) but my niece is going with me this time and I want to let her explore a few islands.

 

Thanks again for your review and I look forward to any additional information you may have about the ship and excursions. :):)

This is the first cruise we took with an inside cabin - 7236 - and it was just fine. We have done a balcony on our last 3 cruises and I was worried about moving to the inside but no problems.

As for excursions, we did a mix of excursions through Carnival, or booked with outside vendors, or even right off the boat.

St Thomas - we had tickets for the Paradise Point Sky Ride, but on our way over there we were approached by a taxi driver for a tour. 2 hours and we saw Bluebeard's Castle, Mountain Top, and some others for only $25 a person. Well worth it.

Barbados - Booked the Sea Turtle and Shipwreck Snorkel through Carnival. This was one of my favorite excursion of all time!

St. Lucia - We grabbed a taxi at the port for a 2 hour tour. The weather was a little yucky so we didn't want to be out too long. There ended up being a group of about 12 in this tour and we had a blast! Our tour guide, Moses, was great. He was knowledgeable and personable. We saw some beautiful overviews of the island, with a few stops. One at a local woodcarving gallery/school and another to sample some local liquor and foods. A really good tour just enough to leave us wanting more!

St Kitts - I booked ahead of time through Thenford Grey tours. Well worth it. Bus was comfortable and air conditioned, and Mr Grey is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his island. Stopped at a batik studio with amazing views, traveled to Brimstone Hill Fortress (one of my highlights of the cruise), and even a beach club. It was a little longer, about 5 hours, but you got a nice tour of the island.

St Maarten - Booked with Bernard Tours for Island Tour 1. It was easy to find them in the port area, and seemed very well organized. This 3 hour tour took us on, what seemed like, and entire island tour. We stopped for a couple of overlook photo stops, iguana and sea urchin interactions, a shopping break in the French capital, and then again in Maho Beach to watch the planes. Drinks (soft and hard) were supplied in the van for free, which was a nice touch - beware the rum punch. Its more like RUM punch:D

Didn't have one bad excursion. This was the first time I booked ahead with outside tour vendors and had good experiences. Taxi driver tours were pretty good too.

Hope this helped.

We had a little trouble with our flight from Houston, and actually didn't get to the boat until Sunday at 5:15. The line for embark was quick and everything was really smooth, probably the best yet.

I think we had the safety muster about 9pm.

We just got back from a fantastic week on the Liberty in the beautiful Southern Caribbean, and I just wanted to put out a few thoughts on the cruise.

First I would like to say something about the food - let's be honest, sometimes that's the best part :D This was a cruise that held a lot of firsts for us, first American Table, first Fish and Chips, first Blue Iguana and first Guy's Burgers. Most firsts were a hit with us - except Fish and Chips.

American Table was a welcome change after 5 cruises with identical menus. We really enjoyed the "port of call" section and ordered at least one item every night from it. Service has seemed to be an issue with this change in the dining room, but we found it to be just a good as before so maybe they have worked out the details.

Blue Iguana was ok. Lunch burrito had good flavor, but breakfast wasn't as good. Neither DW and I enjoyed the Chicken Sausage they used. Thought maybe they could have added some chips and salsa to go with the burritos.

Guy's Burgers were awesome! DW and I managed to find our way there every day. Each one was just as good as the last, and there was never more than a 5 minute wait.

Fish and Chips, which came highly recommended, was a let down. We found the fish to be less than flavorful and a little soggy. No need to go there again :(

Second, the entertainment was very good. The band that played in the casino area, Blood Power, was really rocking. Great 70's and 80's rock all night every night. DW and I saw 2 shows in the theater and both were enjoyable. The only let down in this area was a Motown Hour with the Carnival Liberty Band. DW was very excited since she is a huge Motown fan. The band was exceptional, but the girl they had singing wasn't right for Motown. She had a great voice, but sounded more suited to Country music.

Overall, a truly wonderful week full of exotic islands, great food, and a loose casino :D. Another successful outing with Carnival.

If anyone has any specific questions, please ask.

I gotta ask - How is the weather? Wife and I are on the Liberty next week. Looking at the forecast - Mid 80's it look like.

I'm so excited......:D

:DI'm in! Can't wait for the rest of your review - We're leaving in 26 days for the same cruise.....

I'm taking DW on the Liberty out of San Juan in July (yep it's gonna be HOT) and I am looking for ideas on some shore excursions

We are heading to Barbados, St Lucia, St Thomas, St Kitts, St Maarten.

What I'm looking for is what you guys think is "not to be missed" or "once in a lifetime" if guess. This may be the only time we get to visit these islands and I am trying to make it really special for DW. Any help would be appreciated.

BTW, DW isn't really a beach person so snorkel and beach trips aren't really what she likes.

Thanks - I know you guys will have great suggestions

First off - Congratulations :D!!!

Second - I think more a factor than the price is how much are you going to use the extra space. I am assuming since it is your honeymoon you will be spending a little extra time in the cabin ;), but is that enough to justify the extra $ to you.

I have had one of those "L" shaped rooms with the extra long balcony before and absolutely loved it. The extra space on the balcony was fantastic! Our only complaint was that since it was on the very back of the ship, it was a long walk to anything we wanted to do in the front.

I know I couldn't help on if $500 was a good price or not, but I wanted to share my point of view and maybe it will help.

I just got off the Dream last month and had cabin 7455 - should be the same layout. Great balcony! Loved having a lounger on the balcony. Peaceful and wonderfully restfull. The only major drawback were no couch (not a huge deal for us) and just that it was a loooooong walk to the front of the ship. All in all, worth every penny - made for a fantastic week.

DW and I were on the Dream in July, had a balcony on 7th deck and had heat issues as well. Is was actually uncomfortable to sleep because it was so warm. I had also overheard similar complaints from others on board.

Just off the Dream last week, and while I second the Blackjack Band, DW and I though all the live music was really good. I really liked "Me and My Cousin" who played in the casino bar most nights. Also the show Dancing in the Streets was amazing. Enjoy :D

Just got off the Dream yesterday and had a balcony and loved loved loved it. We booked cabin 7455 which is an L shaped in the Aft of the ship. The promanade on deck 5 narrows at the Aft so it isn't really obstructive of the view. I can't speak about the quality of a stay in the cove balconies.

DW and I were on the Dream last week and tried out the steak house. It was very good, but on the whole it didn't seem worth it to us.

I got the 18oz ribeye (very good) and DW got the 9oz Filet Mignon. She felt that the Filet was very bland. It was cooked perfectly, but did seem to lack flavor.

In all, we enjoyed the experience and were glad we went, but don't feel the need to make it a regular occurance. Hope this helps....

@ 75VETTE

No problem, glad I could help.

@ ch27088

I have posted the email address for the Maitre'd alread in this thread. It should be on page 1.

Almost forgot......

I purchased FTTF for this trip, a first time for us, and it actually was a benefit. While we didn't have any tender ports, I did enjoy the cabin being ready when we boarded, and the luggage coming so quickly. Also the priority boarding and debarking was really nice. I also found it useful when ever I had to go down to guest services, which was a couple of time - but more on that later. So all in all, thumbs up to FTTF.

Now on to the one and only real negative for the cruise.......

The temperature of the cabins! We found our cabin to be uncomfortably warm, especially during the night. It got to the point that I went to guest services the second morning and asked if there was ANYTHING that engineering could do to cool it down. They said, very nicely, that they would send someone up to verify that the temperature was within Carnival's acceptable range. Now, I did try to sneak a small fan onboard (it is only about six inches by six inches) but it was confiscated :(. I think that with that fan, the temp would not have been any issue at all. After my visit to GS, I never noticed any real change in the temp, but after overhearing many other guests complaining about the same issue, I just went with it. We used only a sheet at night and ended up OK.

So there you have it....the one thing about my great week on the Dream that I can honestly complain about.

What is the procedure to get from the port parking garage to check-in? (The last time we sailed out of New Orleans you had to go down to main floor and outside and come in another door to check in).

 

Does the Dream have Guy's Burgers?

 

Glad you had such an enjoyable cruise.

First, no Guy's Burgers yet :(, but the Lido deck burgers were serviceable, and the one in the MDR is actually quite good.

When you first pull into the parking garage at the Port, there are a line of porters waiting to take your checked luggage. After that, you find a nice parking spot (remembering where you park is KEY ;)) head to the elevators, drop down to the first floor and you come right out into the lobby of the building. Up a set of escalators, past a security check, and then to off to get your sign and sail card!

We would have been into the garage and on the boat in less than 45 minutes if not for a couple of snafu moments. First, the parking garage pay machines broke and you could only pay cash! There went $120 that I was planning on donating to the blackjack tables :D, and then there was some "testing" going on and embark got pushed back until about 12:45ish. Neither one ruined the cruise for us though.

Did they still have the hypnotist on. We went in May and he was so funny. Going again in Sept. and hope he still on so our kids can see him?

There was a night where they had a hypnotist on board

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Was the brunch available on all the sea days. I love the brunch on carnival.

 

 

 

Thanks and glad you had fun. I'm less than thirty days to sailing. :)

 

 

 

Kathy

I'm pretty sure it was offered on all sea days cuz DW and I ate there 3 times. The Huevos Rancheros were amazing, and the steak and eggs came with a filet mignon! Hope y'all enjoy.

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Thanks for sharing. I always worry because there's inevitably ppl posting reviews about how poor their experience was for any hotel/cruise. My husband I will be on the Dream next week. I can't wait! How can I email the maître d to request a table for two? I'm quite shy and would prefer to be alone with my husband.

Drmaitred@carnival.com is the email address. He didn't reply but when I checked with him right after we embarked he knew my name and situation. He said he just doesn't get much chance to reply, so check once on board. Good luck

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So, in preparation for my cruise, I read...reread...and then read again so many of the fantastic reviews by some of our great members have taken time to put on here. I wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences from this past week in hopes that it will help someone planning their next cruise, I will however not be posting a lengthy pic heavy post just because I could never do it as well as some of the others already posted here.

First off, the Dream is a BIG boat! Kinda obvious, I know. I have been on the Triumph before and didn't think that the Dream was that much bigger...wrong.

Now lets get a little specific:

Stateroom - we were in 7455, an L shaped balcony. I splurged a little and got this cabin specifically for the balcony. My DW and I aren't Lido deck pool type people and prefer to quietly sit on the balcony and read or enjoy the scenery. This cabin provides and extra long balcony that has the usual 2 chair and small table and also a lounge chair. We LOVED this balcony, and can't state that fact enough. It was so nice to just be able to go out in the evening and sit in the lounger and feel the breeze and relax (and maybe catch a few Z's :D). That being said, we did have to give up a couple of things with this cabin, like the couch and the bathroom was a little bit smaller. Neither of these losses spoiled our vacation though.

Food - We ate dinner in the MDR 5 of the 7 nights, and 6 of the 7 days for brunch. The 2 nights we missed were both the formal nights, and I know some of you are screaming right now - "how could you not go to formal night?!?" :confused: During the first formal night we had reservations at the steak house. So we still got dressed and had a fabulous meal and walked the promenade and had our pictures done, and the second night...well lets be honest, we were just tired. However, I digress, the food in the MDR was very good. Our service was spectacular, and table couldn't have been better. I had emailed Shane, the maitre'd, about 2 weeks prior to sail and requested a table for 2 (romantic gesture for the DW ;)) and he came through with the perfect table. All in all, the best MDR experience we have ever had.

The buffet was....a buffet. Some things were really good, like the flat iron steak (more flavor than the one we got in the MDR) and some things were not, scrambled eggs that ran all over the plate. It was as expected. What wasn't as expected was the size of the buffet - so much larger than I expected. It never really felt crowded which was nice.

We did manage to try the Pasta bar on the second deck of the buffet, and it was very good as well. I would recommend it.

Pizza was as advertised here on the boards. So much better than the last time I tried it. And even better, never more than a 4 or 5 minute wait for pizza.

The steak house was very good, but DW and I both feel that the quality of the food we received was on par with that of the dining room for the most part and wouldn't feel a need to do this on a regular basis.

Entertainment - we managed to see 2 of the 3 production shows, Dancing in the Streets and the Motown show (I can't remember the name). Both were good, but Dancing in the Streets was Excellent! and not to be missed. There was live music all around the ship, and with the exception of the duo in the Atrium, they were really good. The Blackjack Band was good, they played a nice mix of styles and music. There was another duo the played in the Casino bar and Ocean Plaza, called Me and my Cousin. They were very good as well, playing a softer set of music which was nice to relax to... Karaoke was, as always, extremely entertaining. We didn't seem to make it to any of the comedy shows this time. :(

We did manage to try our hand at some of the trivia. Well organized and led by a fantastic staff. I won both a medal and a 24 karat gold plastic vessel on a trestle ship on a stick trophy :D which means that I have one from each cruise I've taken.

Overall, the cruise was a roaring success for my DW and I. A week of great relaxation, new experiences and fun. Just what we needed. Anyone that has specific questions, I'll be glad to try to answer, I know that I'm forgetting a lot...

A couple of specific shout-outs to the great crew:

Gentry and Matthew for running great trivia and games

Napa - the best bartender on the ship (she's at Ocean Plaza bar)

Nila and Steve - fantastic dealers in the casino, super friendly and fun

Dani, Wasi, and Rudy who took great care of us in the MDR

Lito who kept DW's ice chest full all week long, and surprised us with new towel animals each day.

Thanks for the quick response. That's what I figured but a second opinion never hurts.

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Quick question regarding the unlimited bubbles card....will they allow us to bring our own travel cups/mugs or will they only fill their cups?

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Seemed like and easy decision for me as well. I took the money that I had been saving up for the cruise and bought the gift card. It was money that was already earmarked for the cruise spending....I just earned a little extra :D

He could sit by the bar and randomly pick up people's bar checks...:rolleyes:

I knew I could count on my fellow CC members :)

Thanks for all the help.