Dream Review Feb 20

[stampinrobin]

Me (48) and DH (51), second cruise (Victory 08), traveling with DF (dear friends), early 40's their first cruise.

 

I brought my laptop with me so I could journal in the morning, my way of relaxing and also enables me to write my thoughts each day, so this will probably be a long review. I feel a bit odd posting it, like who really cares about what we did on our cruise, but I know I love to read other’s reviews and pick up little tidbits of information so that is why I am writing this - to pay it forward.

 

Flew non-stop from Indy to MCO - no problems, picked up Thrifty rental car, bit of a line, took about 20 minutes, walked to pick up area and we

were on our way. Straight and easy drive to Port Canaveral County Inn and Suites, friendly front desk check-in and we were off to Grills for a very tasty dinner.

 

Got to Grills around 5:30 on Friday night and it was a 45 minute wait, we went to the outside bar for a drink, and while it was chilly, we found if we sat at a table by the tall heaters we were fine, so we just ate dinner out there and avoided the wait. Margs were $7 and other foo foo drinks were $6 and they were well worth the money, very good. I had a filet, everyone else has seafood and were happy with selections. Their veggies were delicious, steamed zucchini, corn, onions and tomatoes, cooked to perfection I had the red potatoes in a white sauce, very good. Off to Publix for our carry-on wine, good selection (just 5-10 minutes south on A1A).

 

Back to the hotel for a dip in the hot tub and snuggly in bed by 9:30 p.m. It has been a long day. Hotel is clean and very efficient, hot breakfast

bar included in the price, DH ate there I did not.

 

Saturday a.m. before leaving we had to run to Ron Jon’s as DF forgot her bathing suit. Ron Jon’s is about 10-15 minutes south on A1A, easy to get

to and big selection and a Starbucks right by it.

 

Dropping rental car off at Thrifty, took about 45 minutes from leaving hotel, turning in paperwork, getting on shuttle and getting dropped off at the port. Once at the port - smooth process, driver handed porters our luggage, all we did was tip both and proceed to the terminal. I can’t remember the time, but it was probably around 11:30, terminal was full, but I think that is more because it is a small terminal. Very short line to check in, we were Zone 10 and waited about ten minutes to board the ship I’m pretty sure we were on the ship around noon.

 

Of course the usual embarkation photo, three or four different booths set up so it went fast. Then a neat surprise when we got on the ship they had a little astronaut there that you could have your picture taken with, hopefully it turned out as it would be cute since we were in Port Canaveral (I’m a sucker for pictures-I scrapbook, therefore I am).

 

First stop - Atrium Bar for a round (or two) of Fun Ship Specials. We

just sat there and took in it all in that we were finally on Vacation and how pretty it was. From there proceeded to the Lido Deck (watertight door was still closed to our stateroom hallway so we could not drop off our bags at this point).

 

The Lido Deck was VERY busy, between all the people and luggage it was crowded, but we got our food and table without much problem. Burrito bar was good, red salsa way too hot, green salsa very tasty.

 

From there we were able to drop our bags off at stateroom, if you’ve cruised Carnival before not much to say here, nice spacious stateroom, balcony seemed a smidge smaller than the Victory but seriously, I don’t know this for sure, just a memory, but then again our stateroom seemed a smidge bigger. Plenty of storage space, nice bathroom.

 

So then we proceeded to the 2p.m. raffle (according to the Capers) in the Spa to find out it was at 3 p.m.????..........took the tour, wanted to find out about the “Day Pass” for the Spa. Rebecca told us while yes there is such thing as a day pass, they only sell 40 couple passes for the week and that they would be sold out by 6 p.m. today, hence day passes would probably not be available. Was she telling the truth? We have no idea if it was true or a marketing ploy……

 

Bummer, as neither couple had anticipated spending $250 on a week long Spa pass. But then Rebecca passed out the Kool-Aid and we started sipping it as she showed us all the amenities the Spa has to offer, the mineral water hot tub, the steam rooms, the rain forest shower (used with bathing suit on). I do believe the clincher was the room with tiled lounge chairs that were heated.

 

Me and DF all have neck and back issues so we were thinking Yes, DH was looking at me like “you are kidding you want to spend $250 on this?” He does not have “the vision” and besides Rebecca pointed out it was only $13 a day per person, heck if I go out to lunch at work, I can easily spend $7 or $8 bucks............Thankfully DF were saying yes, sounds good, I was looking at DH with my puppy dog eyes, so what he could he say? Spa passes purchased!

 

Hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. so we figured we would be able to get it in everyday, even if we went in the morning before the Ports, since all except Costa May were listed at 10 a.m.

 

Adding this note later, we never felt uncomfortable walking along the stateroom hallways in our robes (bathing suits underneath) to and from the Spa. Made it easy to get back and forth without lugging clothes with you.

 

We hung out on the Serenity deck until 3 p.m. for the Raffle (not sure why it was listed at 2 p.m. in the Capers), probably about 130 people showed up for this, which isn’t many considering 3000 something on the ship (or was it 4000?). The trainer who did it, put on quite the little show making it entertaining, they probably gave away ten different things, some were free massage others credit towards more expensive service. Needless to say we did not win anything.

 

We had no idea to where to go for muster drill, we had 4E on our SS card but didn’t know where that was. Finally they made announcements telling where each location was, we ended up on second floor in aft dining room.

It took a bit of a while, but all and all painless and great we didn’t have to put on life jackets and stand outside.

 

From there we changed into to bathing suits and went up to higher deck

to watch the sail away. I must say Port Canaveral is not a very scenic sail away compared to Miami Quickly got bored with it and got in the aft hot tub, which was not very hot so we decided to go to the Spa and check it all out. It took about five minutes in the very hot mineral water pool for my husband to look at me and say “this was the best decision HE ever made” HA, ya right, I knew he would love it. After the pool we did the steam room and then the hot lounge chairs, WOW is all I can say. They also have a little room with only about six chairs in it that overlook the ocean and you can get ice cucumber water or tea and just sit in the chair and chill out to very “spa” like music, a great way to bring your temperature back to normal. Locker rooms have the private showers the size of a walk-in closet, my plan is to use those after Spa vs. room shower.

 

If you really like hot tubs and have a lot of muscle aches this package is worth it, we did manage to use it every day but one.

 

From there we each went our own way planning to meet at 9:30 for the

Welcome Aboard show. DH and I unpacked and grabbed a bite to eat on the now empty Lido Deck. Observation of the food so far, much better than last cruise, it is very good. Had Grecian chicken from buffet and while it was not very hot, it was very good.

 

After that we walked around a little then just chilled on our balcony until 9:30. We were on starboard side (7381) so we got to watch the lights on the Florida shore go by us.

 

Room steward Harry was in our room cleaning it again, this is one of my

favorite things about cruising He explained to me since we had Your Time Dining when we left for dinner in the evening we should put our “CRUISIN”

card out on the door that way he would know we were gone and not bother us when we were in our room. I asked him about chilling our wine and he offered to bring me a cooler to ice it down, I said yes, Sunday would be fine, I am interested to see what he brings, that is a nice service Then I can just bring the bottle to the dining room Sunday night.

A glass of Pinot Noir is listed at 9.75 a glass, we bought a ten dollar bottle of wine, so even if we are charged the corkage fee, we are still ahead of the game, plus I have a wine I know I like.

 

Welcome Aboard show - all I can say is I have never laughed so hard and so long. It started out a little slow but then John Heald started in on making fun of himself and the six people he chose from the audience to

come up on the stage. He is a very very funny man That is a great

memory to have..............if you saw the show you know what I mean! I think it takes a special talent to nicely tease a man with the name Dick Little! At first John was actually speechless, which is probably rare for him……he even made Dick show is S&S card to prove that was his name! Dick was a good sport, even joking that his wife’s name was Anita Little, took John about 30 seconds to get that one - the audience was roaring!

 

After the show went the Lido deck had pizza and burgers and hotdogs, we grabbed a snack and brought it back to the room. Checked our location on the TV to see we hadn’t even hit Miami yet and went to sleep. We became addicted to that channel on the TV that showed location, speed, temperature, etc. It was the first thing we looked at upon returning to our stateroom each time.

 

Sunday - Fun Day at Sea

Woke up and DH went to specialty coffee shop for our morning fix, then we decided to go to the Cloud Nine Spa for some R&R. First cruise I wanted to do everything listed in the Capers, this cruise I just want to relax. After using the different rooms in the Spa, I then sat in the quiet room and read for about an hour before coming back to the room to find Harry cleaning it, He was so sweet. Brought me a bucket (like the Bucket of Beers) put my wine in it and filled it with ice, how convenient. He did this each day for us.

 

I went to the Port Debarkation show to learn how to get off the ship and while again John Heald is very funny and it was entertaining, it was an hour of introducing the department heads and all they services and goods they offer for us to purchase, so in one sense it was interesting but on

the other hand, quit trying to sell me stuff! So if you want to know how

to get off the ship for your excursions, just use the Forward elevators and choose floor zero and that is where you get off. Only the forward elevators will take you to the correct location.

 

DH and I went to the Lanai at 11:45 to eat at the outside bbque station, it was tasty and while we were there when it opened and didn’t wait in line, there seemed to be a constant line there, but it moved quickly. It got its fair share of customers.

 

After that us and DF met up for the wine and food pairing. It was well done, but a bit too much lecture for me. We are fortunate to live by the wineries in Michigan and enjoy going to them to taste, so I was really just looking for something quick and fun. If you really want to study five different wines then this would be for you It was held in the steakhouse which was pretty and which also is right under the basketball course which was in full swing while we were there so that was a bit distracting. I asked at the end if the court was closed when the restaurant was opened and he laughed and said yes. Good. We have reservations on Friday night.

 

After that DF went to Spa and we grabbed books and headed to the Lanai. I love this deck five lanai. The rail is about six foot high glass so you can sit in loungers and have full view of the ocean. It’s also much quieter out here than by the pools. We had a DOD and DH got a two hour nap in while I read.

 

Back to the room to dress for elegant night, which we barely did, black slacks and foo foo top for the gals and dockers and button down dress shirts for the guys and we did not feel out of place. Yes there were plenty of people dressed up very nicely and they were fun to watch, but if you want to dress down you will be fine.

 

DH and I ran down and had pictures taken at three different stations.

They have them on the Deck 5 like usual, but then also have a quite a few stations set up in the Atrium area to handle the additional passengers on this ship.

 

Got to Your Time Dining right when they opened and were seated. From what we understood, only the top floor of the Crimson restaurant is Your Time, the bottom level is assigned seating. Dinner was very good, mahi mahi, lobster and prime rib were the choices for our party and enjoyed by all. Server told us it would be $10 to uncork the wine, I’ve read $15 or $14 on the message boards so was pleased to hear $10. I will keep you posted to see if it shows up on my account. Service was very good, no complaints.

 

After that back to the room to change, the dining room was on the warm side and we were hot. Went to the Country Extreme show. While the quality of the dancing and the voices singing were good, it just wasn’t our cup of tea and we were tired anyway.............went back to room after that for an early night, not sure what DF did. As you can probably tell we are not party animals

 

Overall it was a relaxing day and I notice that the staff is extremely

friendly Everyone has a smile for you and is very eager to please. The

wait staff for drinks are very available but I did not feel bombarded by them, if you don’t catch their eye they leave you alone.

 

Monday - Cozumel:

From home we had booked the Cozumel Bar Hop Tour for our excursion this day. Since it was Cozumel we felt fine going off on our own, not using a Carnival excursion. Tom, the owner of the tour, had emailed me very specific instructions on how to find him at the port. We decided to eat breakfast in the dining room this morning since we were going on a “Bar Hop” excursion We got there right when it opened and had a few minute wait while they were seating everyone, we got a great table by the water with others, had a very good breakfast and nice table conversation.

 

Again, the food on the Dream is very good. I’m a bit of a picky eater so I am very pleasantly surprised with the quality of food. Is it piping hot? No, but how can it be while serving 3000+ people, but on the other hand, none of the veggies have been overcooked either which to me is a plus. The little “hash brown” potatoes cakes were very tasty.

 

Departed the ship around 10 a.m. for a long walk down the pier, we were the only ship in port that day. The port area which was built by Carnival is big, I was surprised by the number of shops, so if you like to shop, don’t worry you will have plenty to choose from. I’m told the downtown area is good for shopping and eating also, but we did not have time to do that.

We stopped and the Deli and Drug Store - (???) I was looking for a herbal supplement that I had forgot to bring with me and while they had none, we found it very interesting that you could buy prescription drugs. Everything from pain meds to anti-depressants to anti-antacids. There was a clerk there who spoke English to answer questions (and probably prevent shoplifting ). I noticed the Ultram right away since I suffer from neck pain - it was $150 USD a bottle Phew, that was pricey, I wonder how much they sell of that? I did buy Zantac, which was cheaper than the OTC in the US ($15 USD for 100 tablets). Just mentioning all this because we were rather amazed you could buy this stuff without a prescription.

 

Twenty-six others from the ship were going on this excursion, we met up with them and proceeded to find our bus. Which by the way, you needed a minimum of ten people for this excursion so I had posted it on our the roll call board looking for others to join. A gal from the cruisecritic.com DreamCatchers official cruise saw my post and referred me to Rich who was planning the excursion for their group and they let the four of us go along with them, which also included a discount on the price since they had xx amount of people. That was really nice of them to let them go with us, just goes to show, post on your roll call board, you never know what will come of it.

The excursion was $50pp, I think we paid $44 with the discount, not good at remembering things like that. We also pre-ordered tee-shirts and they had the date of our tour printed on them for ten bucks Great souvenir!

 

Our group cannot say enough good things about this tour. Don’t let the name scare you away if you either don’t drink at all or are not a big drinker...............Since it is a fast moving tour I think you would have to make a concentrated effort to get drunk........it was much easier to get drunk on our catamaran excursion in St. Martin where they offered unlimited rum punch on our first cruise.

 

The guide Greg talked the entire bus ride between stops explaining the island to us, it was so interesting and I feel like I learned quite a bit about Cozumel. Most of the beach bars we went to are on the west side of the island which has no electricity, one road and one hotel with about 20 rooms. The bars are closed at night because the one road does not have street lights and the govt. doesn’t want people driving on it at night.

He also told us there is basically no crime in Cozumel and no guns on the

island, that was nice to know. He said there is no tension between the

locals and the Americans that live there or the tourists that come into visit, the locals like everyone.

 

We were a group of 30 and we by far dominated the beach bars, meaning they were not crowded at all. You could either get a table up on the deck by the bar, or a table on the beach under an umbrella, we chose the later.

Greg and his helper made sure we all got our free shot and were waited on

promptly, they did a great job facilitating each stop. A free shot was

included at each place, I was thinking it would be a shot of straight alcohol which didn’t really interest me, but it wasn’t, it was a shot of the bar’s local drink, so again it was neat to try different drinks.

 

We ordered food at Greg’s recommendation at the third stop, it was very tasty and again Greg was all over everything making sure we were served in a timely manner. He works with the mgmt at each stop to make sure everything goes smoothly and we stay on schedule.

 

So for the most part we just sat on the beach in the shade and watched the beautiful and I mean BEAUTIFUL blue waves roll in. It was gorgeous and we loved seeing this remote side of the island. The last stop was at Paradise Beach which was a “resort” with lots of chairs and a fair amount of people, but we enjoyed that too.

 

They recently changed the tour and it’s different from what the website says, the www says the last stop is downtown at Margaritaville and then you are on your own to get back to the port area. They changed it to Paradise Beach as the last stop and they drop you off at the port area, this is such a better idea. Margaritaville’s are dime a dozen and I really didn’t want to go sit inside in a bar downtown anyway, this new way we were outside enjoying the view of the beautiful Caribbean. Good change. But I will say the beach area here was much different than the primitive west side. Not near as pretty or scenic, so if you get a chance to go to one of these primitive beaches, do it, you will not regret it.

 

Greg did a fantastic job and we were all very very pleased with the excursion, it was a combination of fun and relaxing beaches while also being very informative.

 

Back to the ship - boo hoo. DF and us went separate ways at this point,

we took a dip in the pool to cool off and I think they took naps Will find out tomorrow what they did in the evening. They are perfect cruise partners, we have fun together and enjoy each other’s company, but there is also no problem with each couple having their own time, best of both worlds.

 

We did notice a large yellow boat speeding towards port while we were swimming and waiting for sail away, it was after the 5:30 board time, Sure enough, when they docked the people were headed towards the Dream. My guess it was a Carnival excursion, but I would like to think the ship would have waited a few minutes for that many people anyway, I’m guessing it had at least 50 people on it. We pushed off only about 20-30 minutes behind sked, no big deal, but another plug for taking Carnival excursions.

 

DH and I went and changed clothes and hit the lido deck for dinner, too tired to go to MDR. Lido deck was a little busier tonight, probably others felt the same, but with that said it was not crowded at all. The selection appeared to be the same as what was listed on the menu for the MDR. Our plan was to watch the movie on the big screen (The Proposal) but after sitting there and drooping a bit we decided going to the Spa and soaking in the mineral water hot tub sounded better. After that we just went to our room and sat on our balcony and watched the lightening and listened to the rain.

 

Ship was a rolling a small amount, but it was very noticeable in the Spa hot tub, the water was really rolling in there. I think with this ship being so much bigger than the Victory (our only comparison) we felt like the movement was much less. People commented different times throughout the week about the movement, but we hardly noticed it compared to the Victory.

 

Oh yes, let me mention our thoughts on the balcony situation since it’s been talked about so much on cc.com. We were on Deck 7, towards the back between the last hot tub and then the cantilevered area where a hot tub would be if there was one there. Sitting on the balcony you cannot see the Lanai area unless you lean forward or stand up. On our cruise there was minimum noise in this area of the Lanai, no more than going on in our stateroom hallway. We enjoyed having both the ocean view and also being able to see life below. I do think if your balcony was right over the Ocean Plaza area it would be noisy during the day as we noticed people sitting out there and playing cards,laughing loud etc. But we aren’t really in our stateroom during the day to know that for sure. This Lanai area did not seem to be busy at night as most people are taking part in ship activities and there are no planned activities at night on the Lanai that I knew of.

 

No worries about the balcony unless you are a total recluse. So that

was our day, another A+ on a Carnival cruise.

 

Roatan

Before we left were tossing around between a private excursion and go to Princess Mayan Resort or to book the Carnival excursion and go to Tabayana Beach, due to the unrest in Honduras we ended up choosing the Carnival excursion.

 

We only saw the shopping area of the new Mahagoney port area which was very nice, after you walk through it then you find the Carnival excursions. If you have a private excursion you do have a significant walk up a hill to find it, then a little walk further down the street to pick up their vehicle. If you have any sort of walking issues, you might want to reconsider taking a private excursion, plus if it’s hot out - well you get the picture, it would be a strenuous walk.

 

We were put onto a very small bus, probably about 30 passengers, but just small in stature, the guide told us the were Japanese buses, which made sense, smaller people. So we start the 30 minute drive on a very small windy road. The guide did a great job, but it was a rough drive. We noticed armed police at various places on the roads, the guide said that the Mayor of Roatan is the new President’s brother and had him send the extra police over to straighten a few things up One more reason we were glad to be on a Carnival excursion. The poverty in Roatan is very sad and depressing, we drove home a different route through Coxen Hole (the old port) and the poverty was even worse there.............

 

We get to Tabayana and the girl gets on the bus and in a brusque manner says I’m sorry but the jellyfish are bad today so you won’t be able to get into the water, so if you want to go back to the ship, we will refund all of your money. We did not have big plans to be in the water so us and DF got off the bus, I just couldn’t imagine turning around and taking that arduous ride back with nothing to show for it. There was another Carnival bus and I guess between the two buses only four couples got off- WOW we thought!

 

Tabayana Beach was very pretty, wood structures that reminded me of rustic camp housed their gift shop and restaurant, a lot of palm trees. We found lounge chairs in the shade and proceeded to run a tab with our server and “relax” They had two gals giving massages in the back behind the chairs under palm trees, very discreet, $1 a minute..........they were very good massages. With the sand on me, I felt like I was totally exfoliated!

 

Lunch was not included in our excursion and was $15pp, probably a little

steep, but what the heck, they are just trying to make a living The rice

and beans and coleslaw were very good, I had the hotdog, they were also serving chicken and hamburgers.

 

We had a great time at Tabayana, although our lunch and bar bill turned out to be rather high. You don’t get an itemized receipt like you would in the U.S. so we just basically had to trust “King“ our server that he was honest..............but one trip to Roatan was enough for both DH and I.

 

We did find out later at the evening show that a newlywed couple did not make it back to the ship. They had rented a private jeep and went to a remote beach and when they went to leave they found out that their jeep

had sunk in the sand. They had to walk a couple of miles to get help.

That would have been scary in this country. Sounds like Carnival helped

them get a hotel room and a flight to Belize and were going to meet them at the airport and get them back on the ship. John Heald in his funny way said they were going to decorate their room up a little and put some

snacks in there and then lock them in. He said they got a bucket of sand

and found a toy jeep in the Camp Carnival and were going to sink it down

in the sand for them. Too funny! But I’m glad to hear how helpful

Carnival was to them.

 

Went to Your Time Dining at 7 p.m. and there was no wait to get seated.

 

Belize:

Tender process was smooth, if you have a Carnival excursion you go to the Encore Lounge at the appointed time, if you were just getting off on your own you went to the Scarlet dining room. The process went quickly. It was my first tender experience.

 

We had booked the Babcock Horseback Riding excursion. It was another 30 minute bus ride, on a full size bus this time, out to the place. The guide was very informative the entire ride telling us all about Belize. The excursion was well done for what it was. We did not see any wildlife.

We had lunch included which was about the same as Roatan, but not quite as good. Then we had about 45 minutes after lunch to enjoy their pool, which was large and pretty. I’m not sure why we had to leave at 2 p.m. when the last tender wasn’t until 5:15 and the place wasn’t very crowded. We really didn’t have time to enjoy the pool at all which was sad.

 

I would say this was our least favorite excursion, a good experience on our life list of experiences, but a little on the boring side! The ride to and from the park was better than Roatan, not as much poverty, but we did find it odd that in the port area there was a lot of ocean front property just sitting there with overgrown grass on the lots...............not sure what that was all about..........Again, one trip to Belize is enough for us...........no need to return.

 

We came back and took a nap, still tired from our big party day the day before. Had just a snack on the Lido deck at 6 p.m. so that we would be

hungry for the 11:30 Mexican buffet, which seems very late to me, but after a nap, we were somehow able stay awake to partake and it was very good, well worth the effort to stay up late. I wonder why Carnival does this so late.

 

I am totally amazed we have no desire to take part in the Carnival night life, I think the excursions are wearing us out I feel like a fuddy duddy, but then again it is the nice thing about cruising, you can do as much or as little as you like.

 

Costa Maya:

Woke up to rainy overcast skies, not sure if this happens in all ports, but another lesson learned. We bundled up and I didn’t even put sun screen on, left for port and ended it up being a nice sunny day, so my skin this is now a bit redder than I care for.

 

Left the ship at 8 a.m. and the port facility was deserted. In hindsight I wish I would have gotten my tee-shirts then instead of waiting until we got back because the place was packed at 1 p.m. It’s a nice facility with plenty of shopping and a pool area (with swim up bar), also beach area (no ocean swimming) and it looked like they had a pool on the beach too, we didn’t go look closely at it, but it appeared to be empty.

 

Our plan was to take a taxi to Majahual, when we went to the taxi area a young man served the kool-aid and talked us in the renting a golf cart, wasn’t hard to do since we have a golf cart at our campground and love it. Four of us rented it for $50 for four hours, he gave us such a great deal because he is there for us, not his boss who only pays him $10 for the day, doesn’t care about him,only that we have fun, and a tip would really help him help us Ha ha so of course a tip on top of the rental fee insured us of the best golf cart ever.............ok well maybe one that only had one speed, which was warp and no brakes Ha ha another “memory”

 

Another in hind sight lesson, don’t rent a golf cart - we drove it to the town and then parked it and didn’t get on it again until we left. A taxi ride would have been much cheaper. You can’t really drive it around once you hit town. There were some stops on the road to town so it would have been handy for that if you were really into shopping, but other than that - UGH - was not worth the money - live and learn is my motto. We just chalk it up to experience when things like this happen and say it’s only money! UGH ! This is why I like to read the message boards to get information like this. I knew they offered golf carts, but had never read a post on them. So now you know.

 

Also, unless you exercise every day, don’t walk to town. We saw people walking who really had no clue what they were getting themselves into. I think our golf cart guy told us it was three miles, but again this is three miles in the hot sun, so beware.............

 

Once we got to town we stopped at the very first restaurant on the strip because Diego was so nice to us and offered to let us park our golf cart behind his shop. We did notice the locals were all very friendly here, seemed like kids must be on their way to school and they were all waving, etc.

 

Diego settled us in on the very scenic beach (our cruise ships were in clear sight) and we proceeded to order breakfast which consisted of

quesadillas, salsa/pico, guacamole and nachos! YUM YUM, it was SO good,

the pico was fresh and the tomatoes were so red, I wish I would have been hungry again later before we left to be able to order it again, but it didn’t work out. Most of these dishes seemed to be around the $5 price range. Two had margaritas, Diego assured us it was ok in Costa Maya to drink tequila that early in the a.m. They had a choice between sweet and sour ones, they chose sour and then instead of salt, they got a sweet chili powder to rim the glass, they both said they were really good.

 

After we ate we walked down the malecon (sidewalk), this was quite amazing to us that at every single shop/beach area we were asked to look at their merchandise or sit on their beach and drink or get a massage and since these are all back to back, we would leave one and while they heard us say no thank you the next group would ask us the very same question It got old for sure. They were good natured about our rejections but I would think that would get old and I would not want that job that is for sure. One of the hawkers (in good nature) called our DF Mr. No Thank You. We found that quite funny and it became his name for the rest of the week.

 

I tried to barter for a ceramic outdoor wall hanging and had no luck, vendor told DH not to be stingy! Our DF had much better luck bartering for necklace and bracelet, there must be an art to it.

 

The shopping is jewelry and chachi’s, no commercialized tee-shirts so if you want a tee shirt get it in the Port (early). Your best bet is to just find a beach area and park it and enjoy the views and food and not walk down that boardwalk any more than you have to as the hawking gets very old and there isn’t much to see.

 

We walked back and decided to patronize Diego again since he had been so good to us. I wanted a fruity drink w/no alcohol so after discussing this with him I decided on pineapple/strawberry juice in a coconut. I got a delicious pineapple/strawberry smoothie in the cutest pineapple, which was decorated with a face made out of fruit. It was so cute and made my day, and was probably my first true foo foo/tropical drink.

 

Time to turn in the golf cart, four hours goes fast, back to the port

which by now was packed A taxi ride to Majahual would defiantly be worth

it if you don’t have an excursion and you like the quiet vs. the noisy. There were three ships in and the port facility was packed. I highly recommend going to Majahual.

 

Back on the ship, sat out on the Lanai on the port side and to watch sail away and relax.

 

Attended the PG Tony Esposito comedy show tonight. Jeff the Fun Ship guy or whatever he is (the MC) was horrible, I’m sorry to be so critical, but seriously I can’t believe they allow him to MC. But Tony Esposito was hilarious. Most of his routine was about him being “big” and fat jokes. We all struggle with our weight so we could relate and thought he was hilarious!

 

Random thoughts:

Your Time Dining worked out great for us, never had a wait, usually went between six and seven p.m. Asked one of the servers why more passengers didn’t choose it as we loved the freedom and he said they might have but Carnival only offers 600 seats because a ship that size could not feed everyone on the anytime plan. We had a couple different servers in Anytime and they were all very friendly. Only on embarkation day did it seemed a little disorganized.

 

Lido Deck Buffet. I think is organized fairly well. I think people just cannot understand the concept that it starts at the outside and ends in the middle, they think they need to go all the way to the other side. The desserts in the middle are shared ground for both lines. If it ended on the outside where main fore and aft walkway is it would be a mess with people just standing there with trays in their hands looking around trying to figure out where to sit. This way you end in the middle where there is more room for the people who need to stand a look for a while before making a move.

 

We enjoyed all the food overall, again, not piping hot, but as DH pointed out he is glad they don’t use the warming lights on the buffet because they dry food out. I personally would eat on the Lido deck every night vs. the MDR but we did mixed it up and did about half and half.

 

Staff: I have not run into a worker who did not have a smile for me.

Seriously, this ship has trained her employees well in the art of Customer Service. Amazed with how thin all the workers are, something you don’t see in the U.S. I think it’s because they all work so hard and are on their feet moving all the time.

 

Room Steward: Good thing DH is understanding because I am totally in love with Harry He says to me: have a good breakfast Miss Robin, did you have a good day Miss Robin? Have a good dinner Miss Robin, all this while

leaving my room spotless twice a day and chilling my wine for me.

 

The first time after I drank the pay for water in the room it didn’t get replaced, I came back from port and asked someone in the hall if she had any on her cart and she said no sorry I’d have to call room service or go to a bar. Later in the evening Harry showed up with a bottle of water

Oh I love that man! And every time after that I had a new one in the room. Yes Harry will be getting extra from us, he rocks and a great room steward is one of my favorite things about cruising.

 

Bringing wine to the dining room: First night we were not charged the corkage fee, which she told us would be $10. Second night in MDR has same server and were seated close to the hostess desk, she mentioned she would have to charge us this night since we were close to the manager.........so maybe that is the key as to whether or not you get charged or not, whether or not the manager sees what is going on. Did not drink it all the second night so they kept it for us. They keep track of you in Your Time Dining by your room number in the computer, they logged it that I had stored wine. Still did not drink it all the next night and offered the last of it to our server who seemed overwhelmed that we would offer it to her. I feel like she was sincere and not just putting on an act for us, so that made me even sadder that a glass of wine would make her that happy. So after some arm twisting she agreed to take it!

 

If I had to say what my most favorite thing about the Carnival Dream is, and remember this is very subjective as everyone has different likes and dislikes, mine would be the outside Lanai area (Deck 5). The pool area is very busy and this Lanai area has been fairly deserted most of the time, yes of course there are people out there but they are like us, looking for quiet. It’s great to take your book and park in the lounge chair and look through the six foot high glass railing and stare at the peaceful water.

 

Very few places on the ship seem crowded to me, probably just the pool areas and the Lido deck during prime eating times, but even at that for as many people on this ship it is not bad, heck it takes me ten minutes to get through our local Subway on a work day for lunch, so of course there are going to be some lines, but nothing that is too much to handle.

 

Photos: The area where they post the pictures is very big, which is nice, not as crowded when searching. 5x7 is 11.99. Since I scrapbook, of

course I’m a sucker for all the debarkation photos Plenty of formal

opportunities on the Deck 5 and they are also set up in the Atrium on elegant night to help with the lines.

 

DH and I tried to find things to complain about, as we did hear the occasional passenger complaining, but in all honesty we could not find anything worth mentioning. Keeping in perspective we are on a ship with 3000+ people, if I don’t want to deal with people, I shouldn’t go on a cruise! Also keeping in perspective I could be at work! I don’t really want to criticize people who complain about the little things because that is who they are, but truly I feel sorry for them, life is too short to sweat the small stuff!

 

Based on our experiences in Roatan and Belize we will probably most often use Carnival excursions, we just feel the extra money you pay is like insurance. If we were going to a more “Americanized” port I would feel comfortable going off on my own, but other than that we prefer the comfort level of being with Carnival.

 

Cruise Critic Reviews: Big lesson learned here, do not book on a new ship right away, give them time to work the kinks out. Those first reviews of the Dream were awful and enough to make anyone worry………but worry not if you have a cruise booked on the Dream, you will have a wonderful time!

 

Friday - last sea day:

I had a pedicure scheduled and DH went to the Spa. Peta did a great job on my toes and once she rubbed them with hot stones, I decided DH and I needed a hot stone massage! He has never had a massage before so I thought it would be a nice treat for him, we got an appt for 2 p.m.

 

Peta did tell me what she would “recommend” for me to use, but I did not get the impression she was trying to sell me anything! It probably has a lot to do with each individual employee and how aggressive they are. I had to ask her how much the oil was because I have very dry feet and was impressed with it. I did purchase that. Also, unlike my last cruise you can now leave your gratuity on your S&S card which is really nice, not having to worry about how much cash to bring and make sure you have the right bills etc.

 

Today we ate in the MDR for the Brunch. We were one of the first ones there and this is the only time service seemed slow. I’m guessing it was because we were one of the first ones in, maybe it picked up as they got things going. Plus I was starved at this point, that doesn’t help.

 

We ordered fried chicken and mashed potatoes to share and then I got the steak sandwich with potato wedges and DH got the fish and chips and oh my, some of the best food we ate all week! YUM YUM ! The chicken fell off the bone!

 

Did some photo shopping while waiting for our massage appt. I did not buy any formal photos this time, but bought all but one of the debarkation photos at each port, I just love those because they are dated and have the port name on them.

 

Got to the Spa early, wanted to lay on the heated tiled loungers before massage but none were available, this is the only time the Spa was actually busy, last sea day. So we got situated and had our first couples massage……….these are very pricey and I wouldn’t spend the $$ at home, but it’s VaCay and a great memory. DH really enjoyed it. One of the two gals was more aggressive in pushing her product and of course being the Kool-Aid drinker I am we ended up buying the lavender oil for stress relief and the cooling gel for my aching neck! Oh well !

 

We had reservations for 6 p.m. at the Supper Club (Chef’s Art Steakhouse). I’m so glad we saved this for the last, it helped relieve the sadness of being the last night on ship. Dinner was very nice, quiet atmosphere, a change from the busyness of the week. Service was very good, food was excellent, if you like upscale dining this is the place to go. We did leave an additional 20% gratuity at the end when they presented us our S&S card for signature. We were not charged the corkage fee for the wine we brought with us.

 

Attended the 9:45 R rated comedy show tonight with Tony Esposito. The Comedy Club in the Burgundy Lounge is smoke free which is really nice. This show was funny and I did laugh, but when they say R rated, they mean R rated, not so much for language as for content. I found the PG version more to my liking.

 

Debarkation was a breeze, customs was quick. We did not know what time to order our service shuttle and we were off the ship way earlier than the 9:30 pick up time, we did call and they were able to come around 9 a.m. Not sure how to handle future rides to the airport.

 

Overall the Carnival Dream was wonderful and I would sail her again in a minute on an itinerary that did not go to Roatan or Belize! If the Magic is anything like her, she will probably be on our list!

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

[LHP]

Thanks for a great review.

 

We sailed her in December and had a Spa Balcony. I LOVE the Thalasso Pool and other rooms.

 

Don't feel sorry about being honest about Jeff the comedian. He is a nice guy by way to corny.

[Lizzyloulou]

thanks for a great review. my husband and i will be on the dream in about a month. we decided to book an inside spa room b/c we wanted to try out the services. Your review provided me with a good overview of what we should expect. I don't think we'll be disappointed.

 

Cindy :)

[PetElf]

Thanks for your thorough review! We're sailing the Dream in Nov (Eastern Caribbean though) and I really enjoyed all the details. You've given me lots to think about! (Spa, excursions etc). A great read!

[jmcancruise]

Thanks so much for your wonderful review. Just a quick question. We had a couples massage on the Glory. It was basically just a side by side massage which I believe we paid I think about 250 for. (not sure of the price) Anyway I believe they have a massage on the Dream that you can follow up with a slipper bath.

Was that what you had, or do you know anything about it and how much it costs?

[stampinrobin]

Thanks so much for your wonderful review. Just a quick question. We had a couples massage on the Glory. It was basically just a side by side massage which I believe we paid I think about 250 for. (not sure of the price) Anyway I believe they have a massage on the Dream that you can follow up with a slipper bath.

Was that what you had, or do you know anything about it and how much it costs?

 

 

What exactly is a slipper bath? I don't recall reading anything on their menu of services about that. Nothing like that was pointed out during our tour either, so I don't think so.

 

Our couples massage was basically two massage rooms opened in the middle, we were about 6 feet away from each other. It was a hot stone massage, last day special for $139pp 70 minutes.

 

Hope that helps ????

[sailingawaysoon]

Loved your review! Thanks for sharing all of your experiences with us. We are looking forward to our upcoming trip on the Dream. Happy cruising!

[crewsweeper]

Thanks for the great review. Unfortunately, John won't be the CD much longer as Todd comes back soon. Totally different styles. Sure hope Jeff the Fund dude takes an extension vacay before May. Sorry to hear you did not like Roatan or Belize.

[poptart]

Thanks for the detailed review! Answered lots of questions for me.

 

Glad you enjoyed yourself. Can't wait for October. :D

 

Was there a paticular reason you chose the Tabyana beach excursion over staying at Maghoany Beach by the port?

 

We were in Roatan a couple of years ago and did the Viktor Bodden tour and got the enjoy the whole island...this time we are just headed for the beach.

 

Been to Belize twice...this time we are having an extra "sea" day. Whoo hoo ship to oursleves...well almost. :D

 

Thanks again!

[stampinrobin]

Thanks for the detailed review! Answered lots of questions for me.

 

Glad you enjoyed yourself. Can't wait for October. :D

 

Was there a paticular reason you chose the Tabyana beach excursion over staying at Maghoany Beach by the port?

 

We were in Roatan a couple of years ago and did the Viktor Bodden tour and got the enjoy the whole island...this time we are just headed for the beach.

 

Been to Belize twice...this time we are having an extra "sea" day. Whoo hoo ship to oursleves...well almost. :D

 

 

 

Thanks again!

 

We chose Tabyana because there were three ships in port that day and felt like the "free" beach area would be too busy. Having been to Tabyana, I would take a chance and stay at Maghoany Beach and hope for the best!

 

Sea Day in Belize would be my future choice also! Enjoy!!!

[LSUMED]

I love reading nice positive reviews. I originally wanted a suite, but your post convinced me that I'd like the spa balcony even more. Thanks for saving me about $1200. :D

[Bob and Linda]

Thank you for your very detailed review. We'll be on the Dream for the 01/29/11 sailing. My DW really wants to use the Thalassotheropy pool. You have convinced me to get the couples Spa pass. Thanks again always nice to read positive reviews.