My Obscenely Long Review - Carnival Dream - May 1 - 8, 2010 - Western

[biksgirl]

Great informative review! Thanks so much for taking the time to write it!!

 

~another Toronto gal ;)

[tammi0916]

Thanks for the great review. Sorry to hear about your loss! I left my camera at a bar on the Glory last year and luckily I had read a tip that you should take a picture of your sign and sail card so that if your camera is lost and someone looks thru your pictures they would be able to locate you, I had done this and the person left a note in my "mailbox" outside our room that they found it and turned it into to Guest Services.

 

That was great as it was 3 days into the cruise and about 400 pictures!

 

Thanks!

 

Tam:D

[PirateGal]

Quite a different review from the one D-N-A posted yesterday! It's almost like they were NOT on the same cruise. Hmmm...

 

I skimmed over D-N-A's comments. And I have to say that we experienced the opposite - we were greeted with smiles and hellos from staff all over the ship, especially from all the cabin stewards on our deck who always seemed to be super busy cleaning rooms but always had time for a hello and smile when we walked by. We received courteous service from Guest Services every time we went there to check on my missing camera. Our dining staff at dinner was also great.

 

And as for the food on the Dream, I would say their menus definitely rival RCL's and the quality is just as good. We cruised Princess in Oct. 2009 and surprisingly we were not fans of their food, even after hearing many good reviews. I think the food experience is highly subjective and everyone has an opinion. We've never had terrible food, we just prefer food on certain lines over others.

 

Thanks for the great review. Sorry to hear about your loss! I left my camera at a bar on the Glory last year and luckily I had read a tip that you should take a picture of your sign and sail card so that if your camera is lost and someone looks thru your pictures they would be able to locate you, I had done this and the person left a note in my "mailbox" outside our room that they found it and turned it into to Guest Services.

 

That was great as it was 3 days into the cruise and about 400 pictures!

 

Thanks!

 

Tam:D

 

Great idea! Although if I had found a stray camera, I probably would have just returned it straight to Guest Services. I don't think I would have flipped through people's personal photos...what if there was something on there that wasn't meant for public eyes, or photos that I'd need to have eye bleach for after seeing because they were so hideous! Not to say I had photos of that kind on our camera...heh heh.

[pcrum]

Thanks for the review. So sorry about your flat iron. I'd be lost without mine!!

 

Also sorry about your camera. My son lost an IPOD touch on the Miracle a year ago. He went to a movie in the Mad Hatter Lounge and it apparently fell out of his pocket. We went back pretty quickly once we realized it was gone, but never got it back. Checked with Guest Services repeatedly. It is horrible how some people will take advantage of another's bad luck. Great tip about taking a photo of your room no with the camera. I will do this from now on!!

 

Thanks for the review!

[cv322]

Quite a different review from the one D-N-A posted yesterday! It's almost like they were NOT on the same cruise. Hmmm...

 

I was thinking the same thing. :cool:.

 

To PirateGal...I enjoyed your review, thanks very much. And sorry about your cameras.

[David-n-Rita]

Glad that everyone is enjoying my review! Hope it helps someone because I got a really good tips from CC before we left so I thought I'd share.

 

Yes, the lost and broken cameras means no food porn photos and no photos of me in my illegally revealing formal dress :P

 

 

 

Hiya Cathy! We were thinking of another cruise in Jan. 2011 too, maybe the Oasis but could be the Dream again so we may run into you guys?

 

 

 

Thank you, Susan and Foster. You have an email from me. Your Dream photos are great and thank you so much for offering. I would really appreciate it!

 

 

Barb, we're game!

 

Got the email and your address, I sent a memory stick to you with all our pictures on it (we took over 200) Since we went to some of the same places, you will have plenty. Enjoy and glad we could help

[shipty2]

Pirategal thank you for posting your review. I would also thank you for the format of your review. It is so nice to see a review broken up into paragraphs with spacing.

 

P.S. The same thing happened to my Olympus camera on our last cruise a few months ago. I feel your pain.

[The_Geek]

on our first cruise, my wife broke our camera just before we left our hotel for the ship. had to run to a camera store before we left. We were panicking

[Selah3725]

First of all, I loved there review. You provided some clarity. I sail in August with hubby and my 3 yr. old and I'm trying to find out as much as I can.

 

First, how do I get on the roll call? I would love to meet another family with a young child.

 

Secondly, you said you booked a steak house dinner prior to leaving, how did you find that info? Would yo recommend going with a 3 year old (well behaved)?

 

Thirdly, the excursions that you booked, did you do it all at once when you arrived, or is there a way of getting that information prior to leaving?

 

My family is also from Toronto, and we are thinking of leaving from Buffalo. We booked transportation from the airport through the cruise line, which I thought expensive ($35.00 X 3 x 2). Would you recommend finding other transportation to the port?

 

So, how do you iron your clothing on a cruise ship?

 

Oh, what does the term tender mean when used in the context of cruising?

 

I hope I didn't ask too many questions.

[dommer573]

I thought you said a long review. ha ha.:D Sorry about the cameras. Did you get a refund for the waterproof camera?

[mississauga]

First of all, I loved there review. You provided some clarity. I sail in August with hubby and my 3 yr. old and I'm trying to find out as much as I can.

 

First, how do I get on the roll call? I would love to meet another family with a young child.

 

Go to the Cruise Boards, scroll down to Roll Calls - Members Only, select Carnival Roll Calls, select Carnival Dream and then scroll until you find the roll call for your date.

Secondly, you said you booked a steak house dinner prior to leaving, how did you find that info? Would yo recommend going with a 3 year old (well behaved)?

 

There may be other methods but the one way you can pre-book is to go to this blog www.johnhealdsblog and on the right hand side of the page near the bottom, there is a link for you to go make a reservation.

 

If your 3 year old is willing to go to Camp Carnival, perhaps you and your spouse could enjoy a dinner for 2. I don't think they have a children's menu.

 

Thirdly, the excursions that you booked, did you do it all at once when you arrived, or is there a way of getting that information prior to leaving?

 

I will leave this for the OP to answer for you but usually private excursions are pre-booked. Although there are always tours available at the port when you arrive. Also Carnival has ship-sponsored excursions you can book on board.

 

My family is also from Toronto, and we are thinking of leaving from Buffalo. We booked transportation from the airport through the cruise line, which I thought expensive ($35.00 X 3 x 2). Would you recommend finding other transportation to the port?

 

Go to the North American Homeports, select East Coast Departures, select Port Canaveral and you can find lots of info there or you can start a new thread to ask your questions.

 

We usually rent a car and drive to the car rental in the port city and the car rental will shuttle you to the pier when you return your car. Much cheaper. There may also be other shuttles that are cheaper...the cruiselines' transportation is usually more costly.

 

So, how do you iron your clothing on a cruise ship?

 

There are laundry rooms with irons provided for passenger use.

 

Oh, what does the term tender mean when used in the context of cruising?

The ships usually dock at the piers of each port of call but some ports do not have piers for the ship to dock so the ships will transport the passengers via tender boats to the island.

 

I hope I didn't ask too many questions.

 

Hope this helps and has answered some of your questions:)

[David-n-Rita]

First of all, I loved there review. You provided some clarity. I sail in August with hubby and my 3 yr. old and I'm trying to find out as much as I can.

 

First, how do I get on the roll call? I would love to meet another family with a young child.

Go to the boards area of this website and scroll down to roll calls. Pick your cruise line (I am assuming it is Carnival Dream) Somewhere in the threads you will find your ship with your sailing date. It might be a few pages in depending on how active the roll call is (They go up pretty fast - we are even on a roll call for the Magic transatlantic in 10/11 that can't even be booked yet)

 

Secondly, you said you booked a steak house dinner prior to leaving, how did you find that info? Would yo recommend going with a 3 year old (well behaved)? It would be better for your son probably to go to camp Carnival then you have a dinner for two, the steakhouse would be wasted on a 3 year old in my option but he is allowed to go I believe. It is a much longer dinner (about 2 hours and even the best 3 year old would not sit for that - we had 6 kids, the voice of experience)You can book reservations on the Carnival website with your booking number or wait until you get on the boat. Believe me, they push the Steakhouse so making reservations is no problem. Personally, we think it is a waste and the dining room is just as good - but some people really feel it is much better and worth every penny.

 

Thirdly, the excursions that you booked, did you do it all at once when you arrived, or is there a way of getting that information prior to leaving? Again, go to the Carnival website and if you aren't registered there - do so. You can get your documents and print out luggage tags. Do you fun pass and all the passport info. You register the credit card you want to use for your sign and sail card and your registration goes really fast when you arrive. The fun pass requires about 4 pages of info including your plans after you leave the ship (they need hotel reservations or which airlines/flight etc. so have that handy when you do the funpass) As for excursions there is a section there with the cost and you can book them right there if you wish (some excursions are popular and sell out in pre-sales on the website before you even board the ship so pre-sale is good. There are also a gift sections you can order some neat things and you can have a gift pack for your son with some Carnival toys etc waiting in your cabin when you get on -

 

My family is also from Toronto, and we are thinking of leaving from Buffalo. We booked transportation from the airport through the cruise line, which I thought expensive ($35.00 X 3 x 2). Would you recommend finding other transportation to the port? We flew in a day or two early and rented a car and dropped it off by the port after we used it for two days. There are cheaper reliable transportation in that area and thousands will be getting to the ship so there are alot of options. It is a 35 minute ride to the port from the airport. We used Carnival transportation for the way back (which you can book on the ship when you get there if you want to explore your options and have Carnival as back up)

 

So, how do you iron your clothing on a cruise ship?Every floor has an laundry room with machines and an iron and iron board for guests to use - look to use these very early on as there is quite a line for them on the days they have formal nights. My suggestion would be to unpack the very first day and go use the iron while everyone is exploring the ship. Just hang everything carefully and by the time it starts having a line, your stuff will be done.

 

Oh, what does the term tender mean when used in the context of cruising? Tendering means they can't pull up to a pier and they have to anchor off shore and bring "tender boats" to ferry you to shore. Most Ports have docks - tender ports that come to mind (Half Moon Cay on the Eastern ports and Belize and Cayman Islands on the Western ports)

 

I hope I didn't ask too many questions.

 

That's all the questions and that's all the answers;)

[David-n-Rita]

Double post sorry

[pjpu]

Hi Pirate Gal!

I too was on the same cruise. I really enjoyed your review, I think you pretty much covered it. They also took my curling iron (or curling tongs as they called ), but they didn't call me to the naughty room, just took it and left a note! But I certainly didn't let it ruin the cruise!

So sorry you 'lost' your camera and how sweet of Rita to send you all of her pictures! I have some of Mahahaul beach I could send you if she didn't have any. That beach was our most favorite stop! There were 4 of us and we all agreed that we wished we'd had a full day there instead of a short one. :(

 

[cruiselover 43]

Pirategal,

Great review - I love your sense of humor - esp about the camera -

way to keep a positive attitude!!! Next camera just tether it to your wrist LOL!!:p

[rocking-m-cruiser]

Very good review! I completely agree! We were on the same cruise and had a great time. I did think there could have been a little more entertainment. There were several rooms that sat empty several times a day. Some of the entertainment started so late in the day, but by no means am I complaining. This was a wonderful cruise with some very nice cruisers! I think I'm hooked!:rolleyes:

[PirateGal]

[quote name='David-n-Rita']Got the email and your address, I sent a memory stick to you with all our pictures on it (we took over 200) Since we went to some of the same places, you will have plenty. Enjoy and glad we could help[/QUOTE]

Susan and Foster, the memory stick arrived today! Thank you once again for sending the photos.

We are camera shopping this week...should have a replacement by the weekend.

[The_Geek]

If you guys are from Toronto, the sony stores in the GTA are having a great sale on the new panoramic cameras and the Panoramic Underwater cameras.

[PirateGal]

[quote name='DGB_KTB']If you guys are from Toronto, the sony stores in the GTA are having a great sale on the new panoramic cameras and the Panoramic Underwater cameras.[/quote]

Ooh, good to know...I hadn't thought of that. We were just going to head the camera district to Henry's and Downtown Camera but could make a pitstop into the Sony store in the Eaton Centre.

[The_Geek]

We live right downtown in the Entertainment district, and I work in the Distillery /Corktown. We have been looking all over for a new small format digital, to use as a pocket cam this fall. The sony store prices were better than Henry's , Futureshop and BestBuy.

[PirateGal]

[quote name='DGB_KTB']We live right downtown in the Entertainment district, and I work in the Distillery /Corktown. We have been looking all over for a new small format digital, to use as a pocket cam this fall. The sony store prices were better than Henry's , Futureshop and BestBuy.[/quote]

Which Sony did you buy? The one that I'm considering is the SD1300 or SD1400.

[The_Geek]

We picked up a DSC-TX5. It is only good to 10' underwater, but I will use an aquapak while diving or snorkeling.

If you have any questions about this or anything else, you guys can contact us at

[email]thedgb75@hotmail.com[/email]

[jrmende63]

Pirate gal..thanks for the review...esp the cabin review. I have the cabin next to yours on the Destiny. I usually book AFT cabins and am a little scared about this 4J esp since we have B2B booked. I am also on the Dream to western on 9/18/10. I can't wait to visit these ports. I have an extended AFT booked for the Dream so no problems there!
Julie