Carnival Dream Review - 1-29-11

[rccruiser06]

Ok, so you guys have been so helpful to me, I figured I would return the favor. So here is my review of the Carnival Dream. Any questions, please feel free to ask. I wanted to take more pictures, but I was having too much fun to break out the camera! :) Enjoy.

 

A little background on us… me (38), my husband (39) our two children (6yo twins – boy and girl), Father and Mother – in-law and aunt and uncle. Family vacation for all of us and we couldn’t wait to get away! Flew Airtran from BWI to Orlando and had the earliest possible flight. I was in a panic over the weather, but it turned out okay. We even left a little early on our 7:00am flight. Arrived around 9:30 and had a driver take us to the port. We used Mike from Executive VIP Limo and he is great! His limo broke down before we got there, but he hooked us up with Orlando Transportation and they took us to the port. No problems.

 

Embarkation: This was by far the easiest embarkation we have ever experienced! This was the first time for us on Carnival and I have to say the zone cards work well. We got to the port at around 11:00 and were on the ship by 11:45 with our first DOD (yummy). We had zone 13.

[rccruiser06]

Saturday: We had early seating for dinner. It took us a while to find the dining room the first night and we were a little late. Our waiter Robert was the best! Very personable and a sweet guy. We had a table for eight. First night was a lot of walking around and getting used to everything. I had pre-registered the kids for Camp Carnival. We went to the orientation, but got a little bored with the presentation. The pre-registration worked great. The kids didn’t go to camp until Tuesday, since we had so much going on.

 

Sunday: Nassau was the first stop and we had the Blue Lagoon excursion booked through Carnival. A bit expensive, but a nice beach day, I wouldn’t do it again. Nassau is not my favorite port. The boat ride to the beach and back was fun. We were only there until 2:00pm, so we got back on the ship and had a little fun on the pool deck until dinner. I don’t remember all the stuff we had for dinner (sorry to the foodies out there) but I will say that the Chocolate Melting cake was ok. I think the Bitter and Blanc was way better. WOW – yummy. We had it the one night and asked Robert for it again on the last night. He had it made for us. I could have had it every night.

 

Monday: Monday was a sea day. I took advantage and had a massage. They had a special on a massage, foot reflexology and mini facial for 135.00. It was nice. I get massages at home for half the price and it was comparable. Hate the heavy selling though. They always try and get you to buy stuff. I usually just politely say no thanks, but the chick I had was a little higher pressure than normal. So… I lied. I told her my husband had only authorized the massage and her tip. I would have to ask him and get back to her. I know… bad girl, but I just didn’t feel like dealing with the sales hype. She bought my lie and I went on my merry way.  Spent the rest of the day drinking, going to the casino, drinking and relaxing. I guess you can catch a common theme there, right? I had read on these boards that you could order liquor from Bon Voyage and they would have it in your room. What a deal! Saved me a ton of money. We ordered 2 liter bottles of absolute and the lasted us the entire week. The in-laws got a bottle of Tequila and Jim Beam and the aunt and uncle got tequila and Kahlua.

[rccruiser06]

Tuesday: St. Thomas – we were here from 10:00am to 8:00pm. We decided to just catch a cab and go to Megan’s Bay. What a mistake. I didn’t like the beach at all. It’s supposed to be one of the top ten beaches in the Caribbean and I just thought it was dirty, crowded and nasty. We stayed about an hour and went back to the ship. Had lunch on the ship and all the guys decided to go up and do the skyride to paradise point. The girls (and kids) did a little shopping at Havensight. All in all it was a good day. Any day on a cruise ship is better than a day at work! 

Wednesday: St. Maarten – we were here from 9:00am to 6:00pm. This was everyone’s favorite port. I love this island. The beaches are beautiful and clean and the people are so nice. We took the water taxi into the middle of town and got some beach chairs. Found a nice guy who sold us 2 beach chairs, an umbrella and a bucket of beer for 25.00. Cheaper than an excursion, so we were sold. Had such a great day on this lovely beach. We even rented a wave runner for ½ an hour (50.00). The guy was really nice and let us switch riders a few times. The kids even got to ride. We didn’t want to leave .

Thursday: Sea Day. Spent lots of time relaxing and drinking. Went to trivia (did not win a darn ship on a stick) and entered the slot tournament (didn’t win that either – shocker). We had reservations at the steak house for dinner. It was excellent. Highly recommend it.

[rccruiser06]

Friday: Last day. Time flies when you’re having fun! The kids spent most of the day and evening in the camp. Mommy spent most of the evening in the casino and struck pay dirt!! I won 635.00 on a quarter slot machine. Woo Hoo! Then of course, I had to go to the final bingo of the cruise. Unbelievably, I won the final bingo. $1000.00. First time I have ever gotten off a cruise ship and they owed ME money. Made for a really stress free trip home. 

 

Debarkation: All I can say is WOW. I’ve never gotten off a ship faster. We got on the elevator on the lido deck and went straight down to the gangway. Fifteen minutes tops.

Overall: This was my first Carnival cruise and I would not hesitate to book them again. Great ship, great food and overall great cruise. I was really impressed with embarkation and debarkation and the food was excellent. Thank you so much for all the information provided on these boards, it has helped me so much.

 

Some observations/comparisons:

Loved the lido buffet with the burrito bar, it was nice. I liked that they had trays to carry your food (RCI doesn’t have that)

The lanai barbecue seemed a little over hyped to me. It was good, but there was a long line.

We had three rooms on the lido deck and had our balcony dividers opened up – this was great. We had one long balcony and could sit out there and chat.

Loved our location, it was right on the pool deck and easy to get to everything.

[tandemcruzr]

Good review. We will be on the Dream in Nov, our second time. Any photos?

[rccruiser06]

I have some but I couldn't get them to post with the review. Nothing spectacular, just some beach shots.

[boaterette]

Nice review. Glad you had a good time on Carnival.

[patchrick]

rccruiser06 -

 

I'm planning on taking the same Blue Lagoon excursion during my voyage on the Dream in May. My question for you is, were you able to access the Dolphin Encounter from the part of the island you were dropped off on? My girlfriend and I are very interested in doing this at Blue Lagoon, but I want to be sure it's accessible from where the boat leaves you.

 

If you could let me know when you get a chance, that'd be great! Thanks!