Dream Western Review with Pics - Cove Balcony

[jdcml]

We arrived in Cozumel right on time at 10:00. We had plenty of time to get up to the MDR for breakfast and back down to our balcony to watch us arrive. The weather didn’t look the best as dawn broke and it didn’t get much better as the day went along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had arranged a glass bottom snorkel trip before we left and it was a hit. With our group of 16 we were able to get the boat and guide to ourselves. We were to meet at the pier downtown across from McDonald’s and we got there plenty early hoping to leave early to allow a little more time for exploration on the other end. In the taxi on the way there it started to rain and he said it had been raining for three days on the island. We got to the pier and they weren’t going to cancel the trip since it was just rain and not rough waves. He suggested we wait until our scheduled time to depart to allow the rain to pass. We walked to McDonalds and hung out inside and used the free wi-fi to catch up on some work emails etc. Part of our group bought two sodas for $5. I only wanted one and it was going to be $3. I guess they don’t deal in change, only US bills. The rain didn’t stop but we decided to go ahead with the trip. They had collected 10% in our deposit that we would have lost but it wouldn’t have been that much. We didn’t really have anything else planned so we figured it would add to the adventure.

 

You can see how grey it was all around as we headed out for the trip.

 

 

 

 

We did two dives just on the other side of the ship. One was shallow water and the second was deeper. The rain broke a little once we got to the reef so we are glad we decided to go. I would recommend this trip to anyone, especially large groups. Our guides name was Harvey and he had a flotation ring for the kids to hold onto. He took them a little ahead and showed them a lot of cool things and the adults were able to have fun too. It was nice to know that they were seeing a lot of things and having their own sense of adventure.

 

 

 

Harvey would go down and pick things up for the kids to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jdcml]

The boat was nice and well suited for what we needed.

 

 

Harvey was a great guide and made the trip very memorable and fun for everyone.

 

 

The trip included soda, water, beer, margaritas and even tequila. We stopped at Pancho's Backyard inside the port for some food that I'll work on after we get the back to reality laundry moving :(

[zonabelle]

Day 2 - Sea Day

 

We ate in the MDR for just about ever meal on this trip. We did the Gathering buffet on embarkation and for lunch on the Belize day. We got up about 8ish or so and headed to the MDR for breakfast. It was nice to be able to allow the kids to order what they wanted and have someone bring it to us. We could have possibly done a quicker meal at the buffet, but finding the table and working the line and go back for drinks since they don’t have trays and… well, it is starting to sound like work! The breakfast service this week was always prompt and good so why not stick with a good thing.

 

We didn’t get a chance to hit the slides like we had anticipated on embarkation so we got all lathered up with sunscreen for a day of fun. (As Floridians we don't mess with the sun and try to always wear SPF shirts and plenty of sunscreen. Getting burned this week would have been no fun for the rest of the week!) Some of us hit the slides and I took my son to putt-putt for awhile. We all met back at the main pool which was busy, but still had room for the kids to swim and have fun. All of our group of 16 found a place to relax and enjoy the day at about 11:00 on that sea day. Some of them sat in loungers a few rows back from the pool and watched the big screen, and others sat right up next to the pool on a bench that was in the “splash area” of the pool. Me – I found one of those blue rockers just under the covering and in the shade…perfect for me! Before long it was time to dry off and head to lunch in the MDR!

 

 

Even at 10:30 on the first sea day there was PLENTY of room on the golf course.

 

 

 

 

 

The slide area was a little busy but nothing to cause issues really. One thing I did notice time and again was the extremely slippery conditions. My niece took about two steps and went down hard near the slides. She was near the step up that keeps the slide water contained when she lost her footing and fell into and over that and landed hard on her back since her feet got hung up on that step. Kids are resilient and she was more shocked than hurt. Had it been me I wouldn't have been so lucky no doubt. The tile floors in the Gathering had the same issue all week long. Even with dry shoes walking in directly from the carpeting near the elevators those floors were slick.

 

 

We explored a little more after lunch and then decided to enjoy the cove balcony and let the kids lay low for a little while so we could get ready in plenty of time for formal night. I was somewhat surprised to see the Destiny headed back home this close to us!

If you were a bit closer at the Destiny, you might see me on the balcony of my room on Lido deck. ;)

We had an AWESOME weekend cruise...perfect weather and relaxation. ahhhh ... didn't mean to hijack but I thought it was funny you took a picture of the cruise ship I was on and it was the port side too!

[Nanatochase]

Loving your review. Thank you for taking the time to do it. We'll be on the Dream on the 29th. Your review is really getting me in the cruise mood. Do you remember what movies were playing on the big screen?

[brazilgirl]

jdcml-

 

I know what you mean about photos...I take 1000+ on all of our adventures and then weed them out! Make for wonderful memories and I am never sorry I took so many!

 

I tried to open the .pdf link to no success. I´d love any organizational tips you could give me ! Our group includes a range of ages from 4 to 83 so we are planning to do separate activities in some of the ports according to abilities and interests.

 

Your Cozumel excursion looks fun-looking forward to reading about the other ports.

 

Kim

[Crusing from Colorado]

I'm working on embarkation now and have some of the pictures loaded. We were in 2392 on the port side. For the western route I would highly recommend this side since all the port action is on that side! We stood here for awhile and watch the dogs sniff the supplies being loaded on board.

 

 

Looks Great! We'll be in 2392 also! We have a group of 11, with 3 cove balcony's. My son is next door in 2396 (with two of my grand daughters 12 and 10) and my daughter is on the other side of us in 2388 with our third grand daughter age 10. My two grandsons will be rooming with my wife and I, both will be 8.

 

We have quite a while to wait tho :(

 

Really look forward to the rest of your review!

[jdcml]

My son was looking for a conch shell on this trip as the one thing he had to have. Harvey tried to walk us a block or so to a good store but it was closed because of the weather. We walked down a little plaza type street across from the AquaSafari pier. The shopkeepers there were pretty aggressive and did whatever they could to get us in the shops. We walked all the way to the end because we saw a sign for a restroom. While I was paying the lady so my son could use it my wife looked at a little shop way back in the corner. The older gentleman said hello and asked how she was. He said she was welcome to come look around if she saw anything and he would be happy to help if he could. The approach was so different than the others that were using the “Hey Lady” technique or “Buy something for the lady me amigo.” It was that approach that got her to actually take the time to look around. She ended up buying a few little dolls for her classroom and my son found a wooden top he liked. We like to try and talk to locals whenever we can and this seemed like a good opportunity. He was very appreciative of our purchase and talked about how he wished the younger shopkeepers would stop with those tactics. Having been on the island for over 70 years he wants it to stay vital and not turn in to a place that nobody wants to visit. He wishes that they would just be more welcoming to people and thinks people would spend more. It certainly worked in our case, but I’m not sure people get all the way down to his shop after facing the first half dozen or so people. Long story short. If you happen to be in that part of town near the McDonalds and Aqua Safari pier head down into that little plaza. There is a nice older man with a quaint little shop that would love to show you how hospitable his town can really be!

[jdcml]

We found two large vans in town ready to take us back for $2 each so we headed to the pier. I saw a shop on the way with conch shells so we got that out of the way. We did a few shops around the port and then hit Pancho’s Backyard. This was a neat little place with good drinks and great food! These margaritas were much better than on the snorkel trip!

 

 

This is from the little sandy area at the port. No water access but plenty of shade on drinks were available from a few different places close by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why can't you get chips from room service on the ship!!!!

 

 

COLD sangria

 

and finally dessert!

[jdcml]

Here are a couple of obligatory "gringo" pictures from around the port shops :D

 

 

 

And back the group goes. I haven't edited the photos yet to adjust color or exposure so this one gives you a good idea of the weather we had that day. It was grey and gloomy all day long - but at least it wasn't sizzling hot!

 

 

Tonight was Karen Grainger. I think someone said it was her last performance and in my opinion it was one week too late :D I looked around and the show room may have been about 2/3ish full. There is a lot going on every night and that might have had something to do with it, but we made it through two songs and left at the start of the third. We had watched a few videos of her on YouTube and they were pretty accurate.

 

We picked the kids up from camp and changed into bathing suits. We went to the aft pool and the 5 of them had it all to themselves and we were the only adults sitting anywhere back there. I still can't help but feel that there was plenty of room for all 4250+ of us on this sailing when you can find opportunities like these.

[jdcml]

We hadn’t intended to get off at all in Belize but changed our minds the morning of. The seas were very calm and the tender operations where going smooth. We ate breakfast and headed to meet our group. This was the one day that we had that things went a little awry. We didn’t have firm plans of what we were doing and that was what confused things a little. Once we got most people on the same page we realized that we had to go all the way aft to Burgundy to get a tender sticker – but we didn’t have everyone ready etc etc. We ended up splitting up and eventually we all found each other in port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we end up back in Belize I think we will stick with our original plans of staying on board. Now we can say we did it and have experienced it. The shops were OK, we bought a charm and a few nice wood items. There again we found a store where the shopkeeper was inside, sitting behind a table and never tried to push anything on us. It was a nice wood store where local people made the items and they were very reasonably priced. We don't typically do the t-shirts and normal items and like to find things that better represent the location.

[Nanatochase]

I'm so glad you mentioned the wood items. That is what I want to go to Belize for. Can you remember the name of the store or where I can find it? Again, loving your review.

[jdcml]

This was the night that we did the Chef’s Table. I had to work on DW birthday back in March so we decided that we would splurge for this as a belated birthday dinner. We made the reservations long ago and that whole process went smoothly. Others have talked about getting an invitation/confirmation in their cabin early in the cruise. There have also been a number of threads that mention the chef coming out the night before to discuss the menu and the experience. Neither of those things happened and I got a little concerned as the time got closer. I called the steak house again and she confirmed that we did have reservations. We got an invite under the door about 5:00 so it was a good thing we had already made the contact to know when to be where.

 

We met in one of the rear lounges at 6:30 for a few appetizers and some champagne. The Asst Bar Manager came in first and talked for a few minutes about what we were going to experience and said something along the lines of it was his job to come and make sure we were all here so he didn’t waste the Chef’s valuable time. I talked to him later in the cruise and came to the conclusion he wasn’t really the best communicator.

 

The chef came in and talked about where the Chef’s Table started and it was with him and on the Dream. That was an interesting back story. I asked about the menu changes and what kind of feedback and input they received about the changed. It was a very in-depth and long process with something like 500 time for making each dish and taking photographs and ensuring the recipe was precise so that it was the same across all 23 ships. The reason for my question though was to find out what kind of market research or input there had been and from what I understand it is all done internally with the Food and Beverage department and corporate. I understand the need for standardization and price margins, but I would think they would get some passenger feedback too. Again, we didn’t not like the menu, it just wasn’t anything that would be a reason for coming back.

 

The group then moved into the kitchen and we walked to the center of the galley in between the two dinning rooms. We were really in the “action” which was good because it would have been very noisy and hot no doubt, but we didn’t really see anything but a large walk in freezer on one side of us and where they were prepping our meals behind us. The food was good, but I didn’t think it was great or really even memorable for that matter. I’m glad we did it, but I wouldn’t consider doing it again. It also wouldn’t be something on my list of things to recommend to other people. I like to cook and I regularly work with a personal chef that makes some great meals. Maybe that had something to do with my overall mediocre opinion of the event. I wouldn’t rate the food in that meal as any better than what we had in the dinning room on any other night.

 

I also asked the chef about the upcoming menu change for the Chef’s Table. Specifically I mentioned that a lot of online reviews were questioning the switch from filet mignon to Cornish hen. He couldn’t believe that people wouldn’t be in favor of the switch. He said that over 90% of the people that book the Chef’s Table also book the steak house so they didn’t want to duplicate the same dish. The filet was the one thing that I do remember about how tender it was. We didn’t book the steakhouse so I guess we are part of the minority. I realized afterward that we didn’t get the cookbook. I called the steakhouse the next day and she said that they discontinued that feature and no longer include it. I was a little disappointed but in reality would likely just put it on the shelf. People that hadn’t researched it to know it was something that was part of it wouldn’t have anything to be disappointed about.

 

 

 

Again, it was neat, but nothing remarkable. We didn't do the steakhouse, but I think that would probably be something I would steer people towards rather than the Chef's Table. Service was good, the wine was nice, the food was fine, the location was interesting.

 

 

What was GREAT though was the show that night - Dancing in the Street!

[jdcml]

I'm so glad you mentioned the wood items. That is what I want to go to Belize for. Can you remember the name of the store or where I can find it? Again, loving your review.

 

Hmm, we found it after we walked through Del Sol. (If you talk like a pirate they give you a little free ring which the kids thought was great!) We walked out towards the back of the port and down to the right and the shop was on the left. There aren't a ton of shops there, and it was the only one I saw with wood items. It was on the back row of shops parallel with the water and towards the right as you get off the tenders.

 

I don't remember exactly, but I think the ornaments were like 3 for $10 and bookmarks were like 3 for $5. They had cutting board, nice picture frames, decorative boxes and wall hangings. They used a number of different woods in each item and had some very nice products at very reasonable prices.

[jdcml]

Loving your review. Thank you for taking the time to do it. We'll be on the Dream on the 29th. Your review is really getting me in the cruise mood. Do you remember what movies were playing on the big screen?

 

We never once made it to actually see a movie at the Seaside Theater. The start times always varied but usually seemed to be in the middle of dinner or when we wanted to actually see the main show.

 

I'm looking at the Fun Times and here is a list

Gnomeo and Juliet

Just Go with It

The Green Hornet

Rango

I am Number Four

Scooby Doo

NFL Monday Night Football - which oddly enough you can't get in your room but I didn't know that until I had gotten my pizza already :(

Hop

Mars Needs Moms

 

Concerts Included

Michael Jackson - This is it

Cherly Crowe

Cher

Tina Turner

[brazilgirl]

jdcml-

 

You were being modest in your previous post! Your photos are not a result of "picking the best". You have an excellent eye and great artistry. I have looked at LOTS of photos here on CC and yours are really fantastic. What camera do you use? I have a Canon Rebel and a Canon Powershoot that I´ll be taking for underwater photos.

 

May I ask why you chose not to do an excursion in Belize? We are considering the ziplining/cavetubing for the more active group and a visit to the Cays for the "beach bums".....

 

Looking foward to the rest!!

 

Kim

[EMc&DrS]

Day 2 - Sea Day

 

We explored a little more after lunch and then decided to enjoy the cove balcony and let the kids lay low for a little while so we could get ready in plenty of time for formal night. I was somewhat surprised to see the Destiny headed back home this close to us!

 

We passed that ship during our Dream cruise back in June, but it was too far away for us to read the name. So glad you posted this photo. We had wondered what ship we had seen---now we know.

[jdcml]

jdcml-

 

You were being modest in your previous post! Your photos are not a result of "picking the best". You have an excellent eye and great artistry. I have looked at LOTS of photos here on CC and yours are really fantastic. What camera do you use? I have a Canon Rebel and a Canon Powershoot that I´ll be taking for underwater photos.

 

May I ask why you chose not to do an excursion in Belize? We are considering the ziplining/cavetubing for the more active group and a visit to the Cays for the "beach bums".....

 

Looking foward to the rest!!

 

Kim

 

Thank you so much Kim. I really enjoy photography and it was fun to have so many options available. I use a Nikon d3100 with a couple of different lenses. I picked up a good deal on a photo book on Groupon awhile back and I've been holding on to it until we got back. I'm really looking forward to putting together a bound book with all these pictures and many many others.

 

Belize - I left it at "we decided not too" just because we didn't feel comfortable. Shortly after we first book this cruise they were having the issues with the tenders and the contracts between cruise lines (not just CCL) and the operators. I read a number of articles thanks to the Internet about the challenges and what they had going on it just wasn't some place we thought we wanted to take the kids.

 

As for the cave tubing, I have heard a lot of people that really enjoyed it. My mother-in-law actually lost a good friend and co-worker that had taken that excursion. She got stuck in a current, pulled under the ledge, and the other tubers piled up on top of her. At breakfast this trip a man talked about loosing 6 teeth in nearly the same spot because he was getting pushed against the wall and couldn't get off as others piled up against him. I know stuff can happen anywhere to anyone on any excursion, this was just one we didn't even consider. (We zip-lined in Roatan where apparently an accident happened not very long ago!) Hundreds of thousands of people have done this excursion and had a lot of fun. When something like that hits so close to home it just changes your perspective.

 

We snorkeled in Cozumel and had plans to do it again in Costa Maya and didn't want to pay the high price from CCL for a trip. If you don't do it through the ship though you have to tender in to shore and then back out past the ship for the snorkel and then back into port to get back to the ship! :p

 

The other factor was that this was a four port itinerary which can be hard with kids. Belize was kind of a recharge day which worked well in the scheduling.

[jdcml]

As I started the post for Dancing in the Street I realized that we did actually see the Get Ready show on the first sea day. I was trying to figure out which one was going on far to long and it was that one. I leaned over and asked my son if he had had enough and as luck would have it he was ready to leave J I think it was over an hour at that point and we were ready to move on.

 

Dancing in the Streets was far and away the best entertainment of the week! We met the others in the Encore after the Chef's Table. They did the first show and we got there just as it had ended. There were a number of people that never left the theater and very shortly after the first show left the second started to fill. Be sure to get there early for this one!

 

 

 

The choreography was tight and very crisp which wasn’t the same for the other production shows for the week. It started off great and got better as it went along. As I mentioned about the Chef’s Table, the wine was included, so the evening got off to a great start. We decided to continue with another bottle of the same wine during the show. There is a number towards the end that involves a red “Eat at Joe’s” sign. For those of you that recall that part of the show you may be able to imagine how interesting that was at the end of our second bottle of wine! For those that haven’t seen it yet you have something to look forward too!

 

If all the shows were anything close to this I wouldn’t miss one of them.

[Me76]

Thank you for the review! We are going on the same cruise on the 29th, also have a Cove balcony and kids with us, so this is a very helpful review. Did your kids go to Camp Carnival a lot during non-port times? My kids love going to camp and doing activites. Just wondering what your experience is with this. We've been on other cruise lines, but this will be our first Carnival Cruise. :)

[jdcml]

Thank you for the review! We are going on the same cruise on the 29th, also have a Cove balcony and kids with us, so this is a very helpful review. Did your kids go to Camp Carnival a lot during non-port times? My kids love going to camp and doing activites. Just wondering what your experience is with this. We've been on other cruise lines, but this will be our first Carnival Cruise. :)

 

Camp was kind of hit or miss with the kids. They enjoyed it when they got there, but it seemed like at times it was hard to be on the right schedule. It worked out in the end though.

 

For example, they went to dinner at 6:00 and if you didn't drop them off by about 5:45 then you had to go to the buffet to sign them in which takes longer. I ended up not getting to dinner until about 6:15 on a few nights. Or, they would go swimming starting at 7:00 (close to the end of our dinner) and not be back to camp until 8:00. We normally wanted them at dinner with us and I think they ate with the kids twice.

 

The other tricky thing was that the age groups were doing different things each day. This set up makes sense because of staffing, equipment etc., but it can be a challenge for families in multiple groups.

 

The one thing that I understand but didn't like was the after hours parties that they held. You could always do "Night Owl" for $6.50 per hour per child on 30 minute increments. The "Fun til One" types of parties ranged from I think $20 for three hours or I think $33 until 3:00am. The reason we didn't really like it was that the parties were on different nights for each age group. Again, they only have so much space and party stuff to go around I guess, but it would have cost us a small fortune to do these activities. If we did it for one we would do it for both. But then if you have one in camp for the party you in theory would have the other in at the same time so the adults to go to comedy or just walk the decks alone. Do to that though you pay $6.50 per hour for the non-partyer. In the end we only used the after hours for an hour one night and 30 minutes the other, both times to go to the adult comedy show.

 

They really liked the activities and seeing familiar kids whenever they went back in. The last night Fun Ship Freddy came in for a farewell event and the kids all got some goodies. On the way off the ship my daughter spotted a counselor and gave her a hug goodbye so I'd say she enjoyed it.

[jdcml]

Roatan oh Roatan. This is another stop that I would love to do again. (I’ve actually already looked into another cruise for next year that includes this port!)

 

I read a few reviews here were someone recommended Juan Carlos of Islander Tours. I contacted him long ago to see what he could do for a group our size. He was quick to respond and we had everything arranged. After doing more research I added some other stops and took some away and with each change he was always very cordial. His van seated 15 I think but one of our group was an infant so it worked out just fine. When he dropped us back at the port he pointed to a small bus and told me to bring more people next time and he’d get a bigger bus for us!

 

I asked him about his van and it wasn’t a rental, it was his own personal vehicle. I was curious because it was so clean and well maintained and in great condition. He also works with some of the local resorts and does transportation to and from the airport when there isn’t a ship in port. Who would have guessed that they have an international airport with direct flights to the states? As you come in to port you can see the air traffic control tower up on the side of the mountain rather than right at the airport so it can see both sides of the approach.

 

We snuck into the tight channel that morning and saw the shipwrecks of the two ships that didn’t make it. It is a VERY tight fit and don’t forget that we actually back in if you are wanting to be on the deck for arrival.

 

Since this was an outside tour we had to walk up “the hill” that everyone talks about. You can’t actually see the hill from the ship, and it isn’t the little one that goes into the shops. It wasn’t terrible, but we were hauling a LOT of school supplies with us. I thought we had gone the wrong way because we got to the top and didn’t see anyone. You have to walk back down the other side and then after a slight bend in the road you see all the outside tours lined up. It was a noticeable walk but nothing overly significant. Carlos was waiting for us and had his sign up so we could find him. It was interesting to see how many of the other guides were calling to him as he walked by, almost as if he is a local celebrity :)

 

Our tour consisted of a stop to a local school, a zip-line trip to Mayan Jungle, a few minutes with the monkies and other animals. We went to West End for lunch and could have done some shopping but it was getting pretty hot. On the way back we drove through town again, stopped at the Cameo factory, a scenic overlook, sugar cane on the side of the road, and coffee from a local grocery store! What a busy day, and he was happy to give us information at each and every stop. My pictures are currently loading to Webshots and on the way!

[jdcml]

The sun greeted us this morning and it was one of the few rises or sets that were worth photographing over the entire week. I can't say enough good things about this location. I should probably tell everyone how bad it was so it will be available when we want it again!

 

 

This rainbow was a great indication of things to come today.

 

 

Just as I came out to the balcony I saw the harbor pilot zooming past and he was on the ship in no time.

 

 

You can see how small this channel actually is. It was pretty windy the night before as we headed down and I was afraid we might miss it.

 

 

Carlos drove us past these buildings during our tour. These are condominiums that are currently not selling well so they are priced to sell!

 

And we finally made it!

[jdcml]

We had a very good time at the Mayan Jungle zip. I'm not sure how different it was from any of the others on this island. This one worked well for us because of the monkeys. Since we didn't have our entire group on the zip lines it gave the rest something to do while they waited for us.

 

Towards the last third or so of this adventure the kids got very comfortable and followed the lead of our guide crew.

 

 

 

This is one of the longest lines there. You can see one of our group about half way down.

 

 

I'm not sure how we didn't come home with a monkey!

 

 

[jdcml]

Ugh - I'm running out of steam but I see that there have been about 150 views of this thread in the last 30 minutes. Guess I'll keep trucking...laundry can wait another day! :D

[loves2_shop]

Ugh - I'm running out of steam but I see that there have been about 150 views of this thread in the last 30 minutes. Guess I'll keep trucking...laundry can wait another day! :D

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to review~ loving it and the pics!! Sailing on the Dream in December so reading anything I can about ship. Hope you keep going!!!! :)