Our Dream Cruise 6/19/2010-Eastern

[TakeMeAway1001]

This was my 7th cruise and DH’s 6th, all of our cruises have been on Carnival. We booked this cruise to celebrate DD’s graduation from High School. Joining us on this cruise were DD 17, her friend 18, DS 23 and his girlfriend 20.

 

We booked three cabins through the Early Saver rate, two connecting balconies 8423 & 8427 and one inside cabin 8425. We scored a $150 onboard credit a few days before the cruise on the inside cabin and the process for obtaining the credit was painless.

 

We flew from Providence RI to MCO the day before our cruise and the flight was very uneventful and we arrived at MCO just after 11am.

 

We rented a vehicle from Avis which turned out to be a 2010 Suburban with 4 miles on it, this vehicle was huge and beautiful. We used our wholesale club discount coupon and paid $126 which was much cheaper than getting a shuttle for six of us and gave us the freedom to do some sightseeing before our cruise.

 

Pre cruise~ We stayed at Ron Jon’s Resort, DH and I had stayed here once before and loved it! We had a two room condo that slept 8, had a full kitchen and two bathrooms and a laundry set up. The grounds are really nice, they have a lazy river and a nice pool and a great area for little ones, they also have an outdoor tiki type bar for adults with plenty of outside seating available. We arrived well before the 4pm check in time and our room wasn’t quite ready so they took our bags and we went to have lunch at the resort restaurant, when we were done we walked around to show the kids the grounds and shortly thereafter we received a call saying our room was ready.

 

The day before we left the girls had orientation for college and were required to register for their classes beginning at 7am on 6/18 however Providence Airport didn’t have WiFi so we had to do it as soon as we got to Ron Jon’s since the cut off was at 4pm that day.

Here is a pic of the girls trying to quickly register for classes in the lobby~

 

After settling in we decided to go out and enjoy the pool and spent a few hours soaking up the sun while floating in the lazy river. The sky started turning a nasty shade of gray so we decided to shower and head to the 24 hour Ron Jon Store so the girls could get some things. After our visit we popped on over to CVS to get some soda to go along with our Bon Voyage purchases. We decided to eat out and had dinner at Kelsey’s right next to the Radisson at the Port www.kelseys.com. We had a few appetizers and two really good house salads with a some pizza, the food and the service were great! After dinner we made our way back to Ron Jon’s and spent a few more hours by the pool before retiring for the night.

 

I just received my missing luggage from Southwest, it was delivered to my house while I was napping. I did try to save a lot of info that was left in our cabin so tomorrow I will go through and decide how I am going to post it all. I also have all the Fun Times as well and will post those for anyone interested. More to come :)

[TakeMeAway1001]

Cruise Day~ We were up early and DH dropped us off at the port and he and DS returned to Avis to drop off the car and take the Avis shuttle back to meet us.

Our first view of the Dream~

 

While it was nice to get the luggage to the port it was a PITA waiting for them to return and it seemed to take forever. Once they got back to the port we got in a pretty short line and made an uneventful pass through security and up to the seating area where we were assigned Zone 12, we never had a chance to sit down since they called our zone just as we finished getting our S&S cards. The process for getting your picture taken was a little chaotic, mainly because people weren’t listening to directions and once we got through that mess we were on to get our first of many Carnival photos and then onboard for lunch and a DOD followed by some quick pictures of the surroundings.

The really nice plants that I thought were real in all the pictures I have seen were actually plastic but still pretty

Some visitors flying overhead~

Aft Area Sunset Pool~

 

[TakeMeAway1001]

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We just had salad since we were anxious to look around the ship, I was a little confused at first but by the next day I was doing well and able to find everything. We made a trip to the pursers desk to make some room adjustments and I have to say this was crazy, they acted like it was the first time someone had made such a request. After going over who should be with who several times it finally seemed to work out, a few extra keys were issued and we were off to start our vacation.

 

Cabins~ Our cabins were not ready until 1:30 and when we walked by at 1:25 to see if we could leave our carry on and a room steward in the area said “ok”. Our room steward who shall remain nameless because he never introduced himself nor did he make any attempt to see or speak to us and there was no name label by the door like on our last cruise. I was a little bummed out since DH and I really enjoy meeting our room steward but it didn’t happen on this cruise :(

 

Our cabin 8423~

 

The girls cabin 8425~

 

Bon Voyage~

 

Our Bon Voyage purchases were there and we thought the newer flat screens were a nice addition to the cabin. We made sure our bathrobes were there since on our last cruise the steward said he left them but he didn’t and we didn’t want to be charged. The outlets seem to have changed, I couldn’t get my nightlight in since it had to face down but that was fine. I know many of you leave the bathroom light on but I am constantly walking around shutting lights off at home and couldn’t fathom leaving it on all night. DH & I never really unpack our bags, we just put them on the couch and grab what we need so I can’t comment on space since we rarely utilize the drawers/closets. Everything seemed fine so we headed out to explore.

 

We made our way around, took some pictures and finally sat down in the Aft pool area which was surprisingly not too crowded and ordered our first bucket of beer and spent some time people watching. Our pool waiter was Vuki and he was super nice, very personable and always smiling and he made sure we were always taken care of. The girls spent some time in the pool and around 5pm we decided to head to the cabins to get ready for dinner.

Here are some pictures of our time in that area~

[TakeMeAway1001]

 

 

 

 

 

More to come tomorrow :)

[TakeMeAway1001]

 

 

 

 

 

[TakeMeAway1001]

I am going to write a lot more about the cruise but probably won't be able to post it until tomorrow, I am going to work on writing it up during my lunch break :)

[dreamlooker]

 

 

 

 

 

More to come tomorrow :)

nice pic can't wait for more pics tell us more about your trip thanks for sharing it with us

[Bunkie103]

Loving your review. Can you tell me if CVS is in walking distance to RonJon Resort? Thanks.

[TakeMeAway1001]

Loving your review. Can you tell me if CVS is in walking distance to RonJon Resort? Thanks.

 

It is not :(

[Bunkie103]

Thanks for your quick reply. When I checked their reservations site there was minimal availability anyway.:rolleyes:

[jas1178]

Great Start!

[poptart]

Looking forward to the rest!!! :D

[boaterette]

Nice start to your review. Thank you for posting.

[TakeMeAway1001]

I will be back tonight to continue, thank you for your patience :) Damn job is getting in the way of my progress :D

[TakeMeAway1001]

On this cruise we had originally requested early seating but when I checked our booking a few months ago two cabins had it and one had late seating but by then early seating was waitlisted so we opted for ATD. I was a little leery but we LOVED it! We had the most amazing team and I suggest that those who enjoy laughing request them, it was Gerard/Asta & Deyan and they made us laugh every night.

Gerard~

 

We never had to ask for anything at any of our seatings, they always brought plenty of water, bread and were always making great suggestions for us. When Gerard found out the girls had just graduated he brought them each out a slice of cake with a candle and sang Happy Graduation, it was awesome!

Since the girls loved them we made an effort to get to the dining room at 5:45 pm to ensure we could sit in their section, one night however we were late and sat elsewhere and the service was still very good. Out of seven cruises this was by far the best dining room experience for me. On our last cruise they handed you a piece of bread, on this cruise they left baskets which the girls loved and managed to devour each night.

 

One night the girls weren’t too hungry and only ordered a salad and a baked potato and Gerard said “Bryt you get the shrimp dish and Carlee you get the chicken dish” and they both agreed. When the dishes arrived he handed Bryt hers and then handed Carlee hers and it took a second and then we all bursted out laughing, it was a rubber chicken, there personalities were great! They often brought out extra appetizers for DH that they thought he would enjoy and for my son and his GF they made some great suggestions since they are both vegetarians. Please if you are doing ATD try to go early once and request them, you won't be disappointed.

 

After dinner we changed and went to the Welcome Aboard Show, I thought it was ok but I truly found the entertainment to be lacking on this cruise, that combined with the seat saving made for a very unpleasant show experience most nights. When I say seat saving I am not talking about a seat or two I am talking full rows with pool towels, I just don’t get it. Not once during this entire cruise did we have an opportunity to sit anywhere near the front of the stage regardless of when we arrived. I don’t know what possesses people but I watched some of them and they were like rabid dogs ready to pounce the minute someone walked in to the row :confused: The one part of the show we all really enjoyed was the Carnival Fun Force :) After the show we decided to get some pizza and head to bed since we had an early excursion planned in Nassau.

[TakeMeAway1001]

I was really restless and couldn’t sleep so I got up early to walk around and take pictures, the ship was so peaceful at this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TakeMeAway1001]

Serenity Area~ While we didn’t use it, we passed through one evening and saw a bunch of people sound asleep so it seemed to be a popular place.

 

 

 

 

 

[TakeMeAway1001]

Nassau~

Oasis of the Seas

 

 

 

 

 

We booked a Snorkel/ Stingray Tour through Island Marketing and were due to meet the catamaran as soon as we docked, finding it was a bit of a challenge but once we were on board we were shocked to only see about eight people with us, we sat down and we were off the Blackbeard’s Cay.

 

 

 

 

We were about fifteen minutes into the trip when we stopped and sat for a few minutes, then we started to move again and the operator announced that we need to go back to where we were picked up to get some more people. This was irritating since on the way back there was a huge vessel trying to turn around and we had to wait while it did so, when we finally got back I was shocked so see what I would say was close to 150 people get on board with us, the majority of them said they were from the Oasis of the Sea.

 

While there were only a handful of us doing the Island Marketing tour the rest of them were also coming to the Cay for a tour offered through the ship which was right with ours, so much for a quiet tour.

 

Blackbeards Cay~

 

When we got off the catamaran we were instructed to go to a specific bar to pay the balance of the tour and to get our wrist bands, all seemed well until we realized there was only one person working this bar and many of the cruise ship tours entitled their guests to a free rum drink so there we stood with a bunch of people all vying to get waited on.

 

After about fifteen minutes we were finally paid and I asked what we were supposed to do and the lady said to sit on the beach and they would make an announcement when they were ready for the Stingray tour so here we sat with hundreds of others for over a half hour. I finally decided to go back and ask what was going on and was told we could make our way over to the area where we would swim with the rays. Within fifteen minutes it was standing room only on the small platform, had I known we would be combining our tour with about a hundred other people I would have opted to do something different, it was just very crowded and difficult to participate.

 

DH & have done a stingray tour in Cayman Islands and that was by far the best, this tour had the rays enclosed and they were “humanely debarbed”. As for the snorkeling since we were in a caged in area there really wasn’t much to see. The kids had fun but it wasn’t the best tour and I probably wouldn’t recommend it to others unless you like to sit around waiting, we spent the majority of the tour time waiting which wasn’t fun in the hot sun.

 

We mainly used water cameras on this tour and I haven't had them developed so I don't have any pics of the actual tour to share but DD may have some for me later on.

 

After our tour we had a half hour to spare before we were due back on board and the girls wanted to look in Senor Frogs gift shops so we hustled on over and they both bought t-shirts and DH bought a drink for $16. After making their purchases we went out front to take a picture of the girls.

[TakeMeAway1001]

This was such a short stop and we literally stepped on board right at 1:30pm, the day was a little stressful but we had a good time despite the little bumps during the day.

 

Once back on board we showered and grabbed some lunch at the Pasta Bar which was great! I really enjoyed this area and they seem to have the process down pat, we found a seat and placed our orders and had a yummy lunch! I loved the Farfalle with Alfredo Sauce and Chicken and Broccoli along with a tasty Caesar Salad, service from seating to eating took about twenty minutes. One thing I found to be frustrating both times we ate there were the soaked seats, people would sit down with wet bathing suits and leave the cloth seat wet for the next guest which wasn’t pleasant when you had clean, dry clothes on.

 

I have to end for tonight, I will be back tomorrow :)

[itsmebuggy]

This was such a short stop and we literally stepped on board right at 1:30pm, the day was a little stressful but we had a good time despite the little bumps during the day.

 

Once back on board we showered and grabbed some lunch at the Pasta Bar which was great! I really enjoyed this area and they seem to have the process down pat, we found a seat and placed our orders and had a yummy lunch! I loved the Farfalle with Alfredo Sauce and Chicken and Broccoli along with a tasty Caesar Salad, service from seating to eating took about twenty minutes. One thing I found to be frustrating both times we ate there were the soaked seats, people would sit down with wet bathing suits and leave the cloth seat wet for the next guest which wasn’t pleasant when you had clean, dry clothes on.

 

I have to end for tonight, I will be back tomorrow :)

 

omg look at yall ..... you look wonderful !!!! thanks for sharing the pics we are sailing on the dream Sept 25th Eastern ..... if you have FB add me please or send me an email itsmebuggy@gmail.com

[kiraryker]

Really enjoyed your pictures!!!! Thank you

[crewsweeper]

TakeMeAway...Great start on the review. Love the pictures and comments. It's interesting about your electrical outlet...were all 3 cabins like this? Ours in 11209 in May was also reversed for our Belkin power strip, but SIL's in 11225 was set up okay as were both our cabins in January on the starboard side. Wonder if they're changing them or just some are in one way and some the other?

 

Looks like Ron Jon's was the best option for your group. Waiting for the rest of it, whenever you have the time.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Really enjoying your review. I will be on the Dream next August.