Carnival Dream, April 2nd, Western Caribbean - A Review with Pics from the UK

[Nolsie]

We headed back from the Island, and had a couple of hours to spare before the ship was due to depart.

 

We were heading back to the genral direction of the ship when we went past Fat Tuesdays. It seemed to be pretty busy, and looked like there was a lot going on, so we decided to stop for a drink. If you have never seen a Fat Tuesday's before, please try and check it out on You Tube to get a feel for the place.

 

It was pretty mad in there. but as time wore on, we noticed that a lot of the people in there were indeed young teenagers. We were sat at the bar, and we did see the bar staff asking to see id for a lot of the young lads. Now I don't know if it was just my eyesight, or whether they had really good fake ID's but they didn't look anywhere near 18, let alone 21. Still, as long as they had the id, they got served.

 

Now here is a question for you. I would just like to know if parents of kids around this age know that this thing goes on at Spring Break, and if you just turn a blind eye to it, and view it as part of the process of maturing. Personally, I don't see too much wrong with it, it is a pretty controlled environment, the parents had to be around somewhere, and I think these things should be experienced on occassion in order for you to gain early experience of something that needs to be done in moderation. I'm sure a lot of the teens sampling Cozumel's wares were regretting it ther next day, which hopefully teaches a pretty good lesson about the downside of alcohol. I just wondered what you as Americans/Canadians thought about it ?

 

Anyway, here is a pic of the fun and games in Fat Tuesdays, just before getting back on the ship

 

 

With that, I am going to call it a night. Been at this for a good few hours today - it takes a little longer than I thought to try and recall the more pertinant moments of our holiday to share.

 

Be back tomorrow !!!

[Jules215]

Enjoying your review very much!!...Thanks for taking the time to post it.:)

[whendoweleave?]

Nice to get a Brit's perspective! Can't wait to see more!

[Texarribean Chick]

Well - after a number of cruises with teenage Spring Breakers - DH and myself have seen more than our fair share. We were on a cruise out of New Orleans where there were 612 graduating Seniors on board. Of course, we were unaware of this when we booked. I must say that we learned a lot - especially since we had a youngster at home (who is now 16).

From complete and total drunkedness, and believe me - we are no prudes and enjoy our fair share of being "overserved" - to yelling "man overboard", to seeing one teenager being punched out on the pier in Coz. by a 40 something year old who had frankly, had enough! - we know that OUR daughter will be allowed to go and do and experience and party and get crazy, if she likes; but only with us along as chaperones! (sp?) - unfortunately, now a days - things are way different than when I went on Spring Break (and I'm only 45, give or take) ;).

[mimxmom]

Enjoying your review! The drinking age in Mexico is 18 years so, yes, spring breakers LOVE Cozumel!

[Nolsie]

Thanks for your comments so far, and interesting to hear your views on the Spring Breakers. I thought that the drinking age in Coz was 18, but on our actual excursion to Isla Pasion, they were trying to enforce the 21 year age limit, Don't think they succeeded too well !!!

 

Right then, where was I ?? OK, so after finally pulling ourselves away from the interesting sights of Fat Tuesdays, we got back onboard. We went for a bite to eat, and headed back to our cabin for a nap.

 

We didn't have plans to eat at the dining room this night either, so we just grabbed a slice of pizza, and headed to watch the 2 R Rated comedy shows in The Burgundy Lounge, or Punchliners as it is known when the comedians are performing.

 

Now I have to say, I didn't really know what to expect from the 2 comedians. A lot of the comedy I enjoy here in the UK is quite specific to politics, TV shows, etc so I wasn't sure if I would get the jokes from the comedians, as they would be dealing with American subjects. Within the first 30 seconds of the first act coming on (I'm sorry - I have forgotten the names of both comics - one may have been called Roman ?), I was in stitches. Both comedians did a great turn, very funny indeed, both Michelle and I enjoyed both acts enormously.

 

And I know that Jeff the Fun Dude gets a bit of a rough ride some times, but I even thought he was pretty good, and actually arranged for us to have a photo with one of the comics afterwards. Good stuff.

 

A couple of pics of Punchliners

 

 

 

 

After the comedy show had finished, we checked out The Caliente nightclub. It was actually a very nice spot, but only a handful of people in there that evening. I guess Cozumel took it's toll on a lot of folks.

 

After we had a drink in the nightclub, we called it a day. Belize was up next, and we still hadn't decided what we wanted to do.

[Nolsie]

We awoke bright and breezy, and over breakfast we still couldn't decide what we wanted to do in Belize. We headed back up to the cabin to prepare to at least go ashore, and whilst on the balcony we saw just what a long tender ride it was to shore.

 

I have actually been to Belize before, and to be honest, I wasn't overly impressed with the place, so I wasn't too fussed, but was happy enough to go with whatever Michelle wanted. I think when she realised that we had to firstly queue for tender tickets, having not booked an excursion, then queue for the tender, then actually make the journey, we decided that we would make the most of having a half empty ship, and stayed onboard. I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with that choice.

 

So we grabbed a couple of loungers by the pool, and watched a James Brown concert, and Michael Jackson's This Is It on the big screen, and it was lunchtime before we knew it.

 

We grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the Deli - one of my favourite food stations - and I went for a bit of a stroll around, as I am not too keen on just lazing around all day, I can manage a couple of hours at a time, max.

 

The afternoon soon passed, and around 8PM we decided to finally go to the dining room for our evening meal.

 

We had chosen the Your Time Dining Option, which was located in The Crimson Dining Room on Deck 4. The entrance was right in the middle of the photography area, just a little confusing and easy to walk past the first time.

 

First impressions of The Crimson were good. We had a teriffic table, offset from the main lounge, in a small seperate area, that contained 3 small tables for 2. The service was prompt and efficient, and we didn't have to wait too long for our food to arrive. The starters were excellent, I had the chicken tenders, as well as a shrimp dish, with a mini filet mignon for the main course. Michelle had a soup for starters, and a chicken dish for main. We both had the fabled warm chocolate melting cake for dessert.

 

Now, I really enjoyed my meal, everything was tasty, cooked well, and hot. Michelle's main course however, was just lukewarm. Just about warm enough to eat, but not to be enjoyed. Still, we enjoyed the experience overall, and we would definitely be back in there again before the cruise was over.

 

View from our table in The Crimson

 

 

After dinner, we decided to check out Sams Bar again, hoping for a bit more life this time around. Sadly, for our taste anyway, it fell a little flat once again. there were definitelly people around the piano enjoying themselves, but for me, Justin tried to change the tempo of some of the more popular songs a little too much, meaning you couldn't really sing along. I also thought he tried to promote his own band a little too much, and went a little over the top on asking for tips.

 

I also noticed that the piano does not rotate like in other bars I have been too. I think this also detracts from the experience a little, as the piano player really only gets to interact with the people directly in his line of vision. Possibly not everyone will think the same, but again, just my own observation. On previous ships, the piano bar has really been a highlight of the cruise, but this was just not doing it for either myself or my wife.

 

Couple of pics from Sams

 

 

 

We stayed around Sam's for a little while, maybe an hour to see if things picked up, but pretty much stayed the same.

 

We went back to the Lanai bar, and watched the band in there again for a while, before again calling it a day, as Roatan was next, or so we thought !!!!

[Nolsie]

Wednesday arrived, and we were due to visit Roatan. We were actually awoken by the announcement in our cabin that we couldn't dock due to the high winds. I was a little disappointed, as this was a place I really wanted to explore a bit more, but when the Captain of the ship comes over the PA system and states that the winds are too high, and that the safety of the ship, passengers and crew is his priority, then you have to understand that.

 

I get that people are disappointed, everybody was, but realistically, would anyone expect the Captain to place the ship in any danger ? I think what did make the situation slightly worse, was that we could see other ships already docked, at other piers. I just don't think some people understood that some of these piers were more accessible, more sheltered, or whatever, the fact was that the Captain had made the decision that we were to head stratight for Costa Maya. Wheteher or not Carnival have made the right choice in arranging for the Dream to dock at that particular pier, well thats for another discussion.

 

The disappointment of not getting off at Roatan certainly didn't spoil my cruise, and as we sailed off back towards Mexico, we had this to look at

 

 

I have definitely had worse days !!!!

 

So, we had another unexpected day at sea, so I took the opportunity to take a few pics of the cabin, as well as around the ship. The next couple of posts will just have these, so if anyone has Stateroom 8472 booked, I hope you enjoy (but excuse the mess !!)

 

 

 

 

 

[Nolsie]

A few more

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nolsie]

A couple more

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

Very nice review so far and love your pics.

[GAcruiser417]

Fantastic review! Can't wait to read the rest!:D

[Nolsie]

And a couple more

 

 

 

 

 

The crew actually did a really good job of putting together an entertainment package for the impromptu sea day, which included one of my favourites - The Love and Marriage Game.

 

You probably know the deal, the CD picks out 3 couples, newlyweds, mid termers, and an older couple who have been married 40/50 years. The questions that were asked hadn't change too much, however, this isn't an issue with this game, as it is always the couples who make it with their answers. And as ever, the older couple won the contest, with just some hilarious answers to questions. I won't post and spoil for anyone what the questions may be if you have never seen this game, but they did put a 13 rating on this show, which gives you an idea that it got a little saucy from time to time.

 

For the rest of the day, we just relaxed, ate and drank. We did try the MDR for our evening meal again, even though there was nothing on the menu I particulalry wanted. I ended up with the shrimp cocktail to start, and ordered a Caesar salad with the southern fried chicken for main, which raised an eyebrow with the waiter. I just wanted to put the chicken on the salad, bur of course, I received both plates at the same time. Michelle ordered lamb, which again was not up to temperature, I would even say it was cold. We skipped dessert as well, as the waiter's showtime had started, and the conga was heading our way. One of the reasons we chose YTD was to try and avoid this of an evening. I like a laugh and joke as much as anyone, but I just want to have an evening meal with my wife, not get co-erced into joining the bloody conga !!

 

Anyway, after we escaped in the nick of time, we decided to go and watch Dancing in the Streets. I had heard so many good things about the show, that we simply had to go and check it out, even though neither of us are into musicals in any way.

 

The Encore theatre was packed to the rafters. We managed to get a seat right at the top of the seatings, on some bar stools, that had a partially obstructed view, but we could see well enough.

 

After about 20 minutes, I was bored. Whether it was the kind of music, the realisation that I really just don't like musicals, or something else, I just don't know. The dancing was amazing though, and the chaps who climbed up the lamp posts horizontally were outstanding, but Michelle agreed that the music wsn't great, so we left, went for a slice of pizza, and called it a night.

[Nolsie]

Thursday was Costa Maya. We had booked another Carnival excursion, An ATV Tour with Beach Break.

 

There were two options to join this tour, one at 7:30 AM, one at 9:30 AM. After the trouble with queues disembarking in Cozumel, we played it safe and went for the 9:30 tour.

 

We got to the end of the pier in Costa Maya, and quickly found our meeting point. It was well signposted, so easy to find. After about 20 minutes, our small group of around 8 people were gathered together, and aftre everyone produced their driving licenses, and signed the waiver forms, we were put on a large open sided bus, and heading off to pick up our ATV's.

 

The journey only took maybe 20/30 minutes, and we were soon there.It was my firts journey outside of the port compound in Costa Maya, so was interested to see what was called the jungle. It was more like scrubland really, very picturesque though, and where we met to pick up the ATV's would be the same place we would enjoy a cool dring later.

 

After a safety briefing, and brief instructions on how to ride the ATV's (they were semi-automatic so had gear changes), we were off.

 

The first section was very bumpy, and very dry and dusty. It took quite a bit of effort to steer those things over the rocks and branches, but everyone on the tour seemed happy enough. Michelle's bike actually cut out at one point. Luckily I was behind her, otherwise she would have been left on her own. Soon enough one of the guides came back, and soon go it going again.

 

After maybe 45 minutes of the rough stuff, we go onto the open road, and was able to build up a bit of speed. Right up until my bike cut out too. Again, one of the guides came back to me, though this time, he gave me his bike to ride on. He eventually showed up won my original machine, but I think it ran out of fuel.

 

After another 45 mins or so, we got back to the beach, and had a couple of drinks.

 

Pics from the ATV ride

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made the return journey to the port area, and went to Senor Frogs which is located just outside the gates, but it was very quiet, so we just had a drink and returned to the ship

 

[PittsburghGirlee]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review. I envy anyone who actually does it. AWESOME.

I am leaving in 29 days for the DREAM and your review has gotten me all that more excited.

I am hoping for a clam shell spot. Is there a bar and or food area close to the clam shell's? May be my "spot" for the early mornings.

[Nolsie]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review. I envy anyone who actually does it. AWESOME.

 

I am leaving in 29 days for the DREAM and your review has gotten me all that more excited.

 

I am hoping for a clam shell spot. Is there a bar and or food area close to the clam shell's? May be my "spot" for the early mornings.

 

Thanks, it is my first proper review with pictures, so I hope I am getting the balance of text and pics about right.

 

She is a great ship with a great crew, I'm sure you will have a great time on her.

 

My advice regarding the clam shells is to certainly get there early. Directly underneath where we got ours on embarkation day, there is a small bar that serves drinks. I also occassionally noticed that they seemed to offer food from the spa there. That would come in handy as it is a bit of a walk to any of the food stations from the Serenity area.

 

Enjoy your trip !!!

[Nolsie]

After returning to the ship, we had another nap ahead of the second elegant night. This was also the day of the Past Guest Party, but we missed it. I still can't believe we missed the free bar. It was only for 45 minutes though, so wasn't too fussed.

 

For the evening, I again put my tux on. The first elegant night, there were quite a few gents dressed in tuxedos, more so than I had seen on any other Carnival cruise. I must admit I thought it was great to see so many people making an effort, as it is such a huge sea going tradition.

 

For the second elegant night however, most people we dressed far more casually. I only noticed a handful of other people in tuxedos, and not too many more is suit and ties. I guess people by this time were now very relaxed, and happy enough in more casual wear. I actually went back to the cabin after a short while to get changed - I felt just a little over dressed.

 

We skipped the MDR this evening, as we had been snacking a little during the day, and for entertainment, we watched the first R rated comedy show. It was again really good, though not quite as good as the previous two comedians. I guess Carnival rotates the acts, as the first 2 disembarked the ship whilst at Belize, and another couple got on. I think this is a great idea, as you get to see different acts fairly regularly.

 

After the comedy show, we went to the Karaoke bar, which is always fun, and after that we went to the Caliente club for the hour long Michael Jackson tribute. It was pretty busy in there for this, and was very definitely the best music they played in there that I heard in the 3/4 times we visited.

 

When we got back to the cabin, we ordered some room service. It maybe took 1/2 an hour to arrive, which I thought was pretty good, but by the time it got there Michelle had fallen asleep. This meant I had 2 Beef and Brie sandwiches to eat, and they were absolutely delicious !! One of the best things I has eaten all week.

 

Almost done now, next up - our last sea day !!!

[Nolsie]

We got up early on Friday morning, determined to make the most of the last sea day. We headed up to Serenity as usual, and the clamshells had already been taken. One bloke I noticed actually had 2, and was led across them. I thought that was a little cheeky, what is the definition of a double chair hog ?

 

Anyway, there were plenty of the padded loungers still available, so we got onto a couple of those. It was a little windy up there that day, but the sun shined for the most part. We did get a small rain shower in the afternoon, but it passed through pretty quickly.

 

We just read books and listened to ipods throughout the day, before finally packing up and heading back to the cabins to pack the cases.

 

However, I did find a little time to enjoy the last few daylight hours on the balcony -

 

 

That evening, we just decided to order in room service for our tea, beef and brie again for myself, Michelle got a grilled cheese and ham, and we shared a mozarella and mushroom number. All really good. We also ordered the film Due Date to watch on the in-room tv. It was hilarious, and a really nice way to spend some time on the last evening.

 

Next - Disembarkation and a night at the Radisson at the Port

[Nolsie]

So, the day we all dread was upon us. We had previously used the self assist debarkation where you keep your suitcases with you, however, this can be a little clumsy, and especially with the crowds, we opted for leaving th cases outside our room the night before.

 

We went for breakfast in The Gathering at around 7:15, and returned to our cabin until around 8:30 which is the time you are meant to vacate.

 

We had been assigned Zone 25, and by the time we left our cabin, they were only calling Zone 12 I think it was. We therefore just strolled around the ship until they called our number. When they eventually did, we got off pretty quickly, picked up our cases, and were outside the terminal in about 15 minutes - the smoothest disembark I had ever experienced. Right up until it came to getting a cab !!

 

There was very little information available outside the terminal for people who didn't have pre-arranged gtransport. We were staying for an extra night at the Radisson in Cocoa Beach, so hoped to jump on that, but we didn't see any of the buses. We therefore tried for a taxi, but similarly didn't see any. What we decided to do in the end was jump back on the Enterprise van, and go and pick up the car we needed to get us back to the airport on the Sunday.

 

That proved to be a good choice, and pretty soon we had picked up our car and arrived at the Radisson.

[Nolsie]

We booked the Radisson, as we didn't just want to get straight off the ship and jump straight on a plane home. We arrived there at around 10:30, and didn't have rooms ready at that time. The kind receptionist said that we should try again at around 1:00 PM, and in the meantime we were able to use the pool and facilities.

 

That suited us just fine, so we changed into our pool wear and managed to find 2 sun loungers by the wonderful pool area.

 

We ordered some food, had a swim, and it was soon time to go and get the keys to our room.

 

We were allocated room 413, in one of the blocks on the outside of the resort. The room was again a little dated, reminded me of something from Miami Vice, but the bed was comfy, the shower hot, and the TV worked, so no complaints. Here are a few pics from the Radisson

 

 

 

 

[Nolsie]

A couple more from the Radisson

 

The Dream from our room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed by the pool until around 5 PM. We went and got showered and changed, and went to a great little Italian Pizza and Pasta place next door for our evening meal - Kelsey's I think it was called.

 

I had a large pizza, and managed just 3 slices, whilst Michelle had a Lasagne, The food was fantastic, so we took the remaining pizza away in a carry out box,

 

We had another drink at the hotel bar, but called it a night fairly early, as we had the drive to the airport the next day.

 

Next up - the last review post and overall summary of the holiday.

[Nolsie]

This is it, time to head back home. We set off for the airport at around 11 AM, and arrived just after midday.

 

We had a bite to eat at the Fox sports bar in the airport, before eventually heading through security and onto the plane. It was perhaps the worst flight I had been on, 8 hours or so of almost constant turbulance with absolutely no sleep.

 

We were home the following day around 11 AM.

 

Summary of the Dream :

 

Overall, we had an absolutely fantastic time. The ship was great, better than either of us expected. The infamous smell was nowhere to be found, the crew as ever were out of this world, and the food and drink were generally really good.

 

The only things that we could only really say were a slight negative were that the entertainment is exactly the same as every other Carnival cruise I had been on, the MDR food at times wasn't great due to the temperature, and the piano bar just didn't quite do it for us.

 

I have read a review on here from someone who was on the same sailing who called the Dream 130,000 tons of disappointment. I would prefer to say 130,000 tons of pure enjoyment.

 

I hope you enjoyed my review.

[Frank12]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on her in 22 days and cannot wait! :)

[alreadypacked]

We headed back from the Island, and had a couple of hours to spare before the ship was due to depart.

 

We were heading back to the genral direction of the ship when we went past Fat Tuesdays. It seemed to be pretty busy, and looked like there was a lot going on, so we decided to stop for a drink. If you have never seen a Fat Tuesday's before, please try and check it out on You Tube to get a feel for the place.

 

It was pretty mad in there. but as time wore on, we noticed that a lot of the people in there were indeed young teenagers. We were sat at the bar, and we did see the bar staff asking to see id for a lot of the young lads. Now I don't know if it was just my eyesight, or whether they had really good fake ID's but they didn't look anywhere near 18, let alone 21. Still, as long as they had the id, they got served.

 

Now here is a question for you. I would just like to know if parents of kids around this age know that this thing goes on at Spring Break, and if you just turn a blind eye to it, and view it as part of the process of maturing. Personally, I don't see too much wrong with it, it is a pretty controlled environment, the parents had to be around somewhere, and I think these things should be experienced on occassion in order for you to gain early experience of something that needs to be done in moderation. I'm sure a lot of the teens sampling Cozumel's wares were regretting it ther next day, which hopefully teaches a pretty good lesson about the downside of alcohol. I just wondered what you as Americans/Canadians thought about it ?

 

Anyway, here is a pic of the fun and games in Fat Tuesdays, just before getting back on the ship

 

 

 

Great review! Really enjoying your perspective. :) Just out of curiosity, is there no equivalent to "Spring Break" in the UK, where college students go on a similar "holiday"? Or is "Spring Break" pretty much just an American phenomenom?

[raylene5]

 

I have read a review on here from someone who was on the same sailing who called the Dream 130,000 tons of disappointment. I would prefer to say 130,000 tons of pure enjoyment.

 

 

Thank you for that! I appreciate a positive assessment :) Great review...thanks for taking the time to write it!