Dream Eastern 9/24/11-10/1/11- LONG REPORT w/ PICS and MICKEY'S HALLOWEEN PARTY

[KrystalWaters]

Day 7- Sea Day- Past Guest Party. (light on pics today)

 

 

After a while it was time for lunch. We got burgers- available at mid ship on the Lido deck beside the pool- and they were really good. This was also Italian day on the buffet, and I really wanted to try some stuff, but once again, just too full to really eat much. I always have guilt about wasting food, and I am trying to get over it. Of course, I did not waste any of the cheese I put on my plate!

 

 

 

After a while we decided to go up to the sauna. I thought this might do Bryon’s cold some good. The sauna on the dream is a coed sauna. I really like the feeling of getting so hot in the sauna that you think you might pass out, then walking out and the colder air feels so good! Bryon didn’t think it helped his cold very much. The sauna is nice, but I have to say, it is kind of confusing to find. There is this sort of labyrinth you have to walk through to get to it and I found myself trying to walk into utility closets along the way.

Jay,

I know you said you don't eat mayo BUT that burger is looking kind of dry(well the bread does),hun, what do you put on it to get the juicy gooey taste?:p

[TakeMeAway1001]

What a great review! I just finished one too so I know how much time and effort goes in to it so I just wanted to say thanks :)

[nessz79]

Great review! You have me cracking up! :)

[jetravel]

I awoke with an engorged uvula. Does this happen to anyone else? Like that little hangy down thing in the back of your throat swells up and it feels like you have a hunk of something in your mouth? Anyway, when this happens it usually means I am really dried out, so I attempted to hydrate, but we only had a little time to dress and get going.

 

This happened to my DH on our first cruise. Although his was red and very painful, he unfortuantely could not drink the rum punch.:( The ship dr. gave him antibiotics and he was good as new within 24 hours.

[Halftocruz]

Thanks for the review! You are very funny and I truly enjoyed the review from your perspective. I still can't believe I could have bought the music Sunny Liston played on his tour! That is one of the BEST excursions!!

 

Kellie

[sunshine&shiningstar]

Jaybird77 i'm loving your review i to had left my camcorder at one of the slot machines i was hopping from one to another trying to hit it big "but that never happened" after a few dod's i realized it i then went running back to find that someone had turned it in to guest services wow i thought there are some honest people here. they lady at guest had me do the same thing but i was having a hard time explaining that i was the one who was taking the video, and it was new and i hadnt had time to go over all the functions "i could see she was not really believing me i kept on trying to get to a picture where i was in it" lucky my brother in-:plaw came by then my sister came by who was in the video and they let me have it. after that i needed another dod cause i was now to sober..

[gapearl]

Oh come on, you can skip Halloween and give us more review, can't you? ;)

[williamson_ja]

I'm a little late to the party on this one. I just have to say that it's a great review and I loved the pictures of Mickey's Halloween party. This is the first year I haven't gone in three years and I was feeling a little sad. :( In fact, my daughter started singing the song the other day at dinner, and the whole family finished (Boo to you, and boo to you, boo to you and you and you and you... then everyone came in with "Happy Halloween") It was awesome! This sounds like a "DREAM" vacation to me. Disneyworld and a cruise would be my idea of the best vacation ever. I don't think my dh would go for it. He's not a Disneyworld fan. Last time I went, I just took the kids without him. Cruises on the other hand, are his favorite vacation right now.

[italianfemmy]

Hello, my fellow friend of Dorothy! My girlfriend and I are going to be on the December 10th sailing of the Dream! I am excited to meet Butch... there's a mix bag of reviews about him as a CD but I think I'll adore him. I am super jealous of those chocolate covered strawberries though.. I have a weakness for them!

 

Your review so far has been immensely entertaining! I love that you put your personality into it.

 

My girlfriend and I have been fortunate to meet great people at dinner on most of our cruises as well. We did have an old couple change tables once when they realized we were.. gasp... a couple. lol.

 

Your photos are great! I am a full time, professional photographer and I love your use of composition and most of them have great clarity as well! (Especially the photos at each port of call! ) Just wanted to say thanks for doing such a great job here so far and I am sure the rest will be equally as awesome!

[BenjiRodney]

Thanks for the awesome review, the pictures of the food have my mouth watering. can't wait to hit the lido deck this Sunday on the Victory. Thanks again for sharing with all of us.

[amethyst08]

Jaybird,

I am getting so excited about my Dream cruise. Your review is really getting me in a great mood. :)After the month of drama I have had at my house, your review is exactly what I need to read. The hotwater heater burst at my house leaving us with MAJOR water damage and we had to move during the repairs. Our cruise is fastly approaching and we are pushing the contractor to hurry the eff up so we can move back in and start packing for the cruise.

[NeuroQueen]

You are a funny, funny boy. Loving this review. We set sail on the Dream over Thanksgiving and this just sets the excitement factor even higher. Did the Paradise Point cars look and feel safe? I read where they look rusty and I am a bit nervous. I would sure like to cruise with you two. You look like you are having a blast. Did you bring home the capers or whatever they are called now? Oh, you have to try the Oasis. It is, without a doubt, the most amazing ship I have ever seen. Hope you are cruising again soon as I am going to miss this review. Have a fun Halloween.

[jaybird77]

We always eat at Pecos Bill's....the best value we've found so far at Disney parks for lunch.

 

Yeah- you can make a second meal from that toppings bar- ha!

 

REALLY enjoying this review - thank you! Great humor. We are sailing on the Dream on December 31st. Can't wait. It will be our first cruise so I am trying to do as much research as possible.

 

Oh wow- a New Year's cruise. I bet that will be fun- and for your first cruise! Lucky! I am also a researcher. I think it enhances your experience, so good luck!

 

Jay,

I know you said you don't eat mayo BUT that burger is looking kind of dry(well the bread does),hun, what do you put on it to get the juicy gooey taste?:p

 

Yeah- I am a no condiments kind of guy. I won't argue about a little ketchup or mustard on a burger, but I actually do find that the cheese and pickles, and in this case, the mushrooms end up providing enough moisture for me. I just have a little weird thing about if gloppy sauces 'fall' out of my sandwich... I just dont like my sandwich to 'poop' on my plate. HA!

[jaybird77]

What a great review! I just finished one too so I know how much time and effort goes in to it so I just wanted to say thanks :)

 

Yes it is a lot of work! Thanks for reading!

 

Great review! You have me cracking up! :)

 

Thanks- there is a little more left in me!

 

This happened to my DH on our first cruise. Although his was red and very painful, he unfortuantely could not drink the rum punch.:( The ship dr. gave him antibiotics and he was good as new within 24 hours.

 

Hey- I actually think mine had something to do with drinking a little too much adult beverage and getting dehydrated, but it actually did take most of the day for it to start feeling normal again!

[jaybird77]

Thanks for the review! You are very funny and I truly enjoyed the review from your perspective. I still can't believe I could have bought the music Sunny Liston played on his tour! That is one of the BEST excursions!!

 

Kellie

 

Yes, Sunny was so fun. I can't wait to do it again. Until then, you'll have to search it on youtube!

 

Jaybird77 i'm loving your review i to had left my camcorder at one of the slot machines i was hopping from one to another trying to hit it big "but that never happened" after a few dod's i realized it i then went running back to find that someone had turned it in to guest services wow i thought there are some honest people here. they lady at guest had me do the same thing but i was having a hard time explaining that i was the one who was taking the video, and it was new and i hadnt had time to go over all the functions "i could see she was not really believing me i kept on trying to get to a picture where i was in it" lucky my brother in-:plaw came by then my sister came by who was in the video and they let me have it. after that i needed another dod cause i was now to sober..

 

I know, it really made me feel good that my camera got turned in! Renews my faith in people :)

 

Oh come on, you can skip Halloween and give us more review, can't you? ;)

 

I actually was going to try to fit in a surprise update yesterday in addition to the Halloween stuff, but it was just too late :(

[TriciaEMTB]

Enough chit chatting, get on with the review!!!! :p

 

Jk. :)

[jaybird77]

I'm a little late to the party on this one. I just have to say that it's a great review and I loved the pictures of Mickey's Halloween party. This is the first year I haven't gone in three years and I was feeling a little sad. :( In fact, my daughter started singing the song the other day at dinner, and the whole family finished (Boo to you, and boo to you, boo to you and you and you and you... then everyone came in with "Happy Halloween") It was awesome! This sounds like a "DREAM" vacation to me. Disneyworld and a cruise would be my idea of the best vacation ever. I don't think my dh would go for it. He's not a Disneyworld fan. Last time I went, I just took the kids without him. Cruises on the other hand, are his favorite vacation right now.

 

Ha! Bryon or I always start that Boo to you song and then we both go 'Happy Halloween!' At least your husband is on the cruise train! Maybe you can go on a Disney cruise and then he'll have to like Disney then!

 

Hello, my fellow friend of Dorothy! My girlfriend and I are going to be on the December 10th sailing of the Dream! I am excited to meet Butch... there's a mix bag of reviews about him as a CD but I think I'll adore him. I am super jealous of those chocolate covered strawberries though.. I have a weakness for them!

 

Your review so far has been immensely entertaining! I love that you put your personality into it.

 

My girlfriend and I have been fortunate to meet great people at dinner on most of our cruises as well. We did have an old couple change tables once when they realized we were.. gasp... a couple. lol.

 

Your photos are great! I am a full time, professional photographer and I love your use of composition and most of them have great clarity as well! (Especially the photos at each port of call! ) Just wanted to say thanks for doing such a great job here so far and I am sure the rest will be equally as awesome!

 

Thanks for the compliments! I hope you have a great time on your trip. One thing though, Butch is heading over to Liberty since they did all the upgrades on that ship, so you might not get to meet him. But I would bet that his replacement will probably be great as well!

Hope you and your girlfriend continue to have a great luck with your table mates!

 

Thanks for the awesome review, the pictures of the food have my mouth watering. can't wait to hit the lido deck this Sunday on the Victory. Thanks again for sharing with all of us.

 

Oh lucky you- going on a cruise so soon! I'm jealous. Thanks for reading!

[jaybird77]

Jaybird,

I am getting so excited about my Dream cruise. Your review is really getting me in a great mood. :)After the month of drama I have had at my house, your review is exactly what I need to read. The hotwater heater burst at my house leaving us with MAJOR water damage and we had to move during the repairs. Our cruise is fastly approaching and we are pushing the contractor to hurry the eff up so we can move back in and start packing for the cruise.

 

Oh no :eek: I'm sorry you've been having such bad luck! A cruise is exactly what you need! I hope you have fun.

 

You are a funny, funny boy. Loving this review. We set sail on the Dream over Thanksgiving and this just sets the excitement factor even higher. Did the Paradise Point cars look and feel safe? I read where they look rusty and I am a bit nervous. I would sure like to cruise with you two. You look like you are having a blast. Did you bring home the capers or whatever they are called now? Oh, you have to try the Oasis. It is, without a doubt, the most amazing ship I have ever seen. Hope you are cruising again soon as I am going to miss this review. Have a fun Halloween.

 

I did bring home the capers. Do you have something specific you want to know? The little gondolas seem safe to me, I didn't really notice any rust or anything! But I am super scare of heights, so I'm always a nervous wreck anyway on those things... I am going on a cruise in three weeks with my parents, but not sure if thats going to be review worthy! ha! we'll see..

[jaybird77]

Day 8: Last Sea Day

After waking up this morning, I decided it prudent to make the biggest bacon, egg, and cheese croissan’wich ever for breakfast.

 

 

We headed back up the upper deck to try to get some sun. Bryon still had not tried the water slides, which he really loves, so we headed in that direction. Bryon said that for some reason it was hard to figure out in what line you were. He thought he was going for the big twisty slide, but ended up in the drainpipe. He liked it, but said it did make you a little dizzy. FYI, Bryon didn’t get to try out the other slide, but our tablemate, Darin, did and he said he found that it was pretty rough on your back and shoulder blades. Apparently, the seams of the slide were rough on his backside.

 

 

 

Right about the time Bryon was getting in line for the slide, I noticed that the ship was heading right into what looked like a really bad storm. Then the lightning started. After Bryon came down the slide, the rain started and people scattered like ants.

 

 

We headed inside for some lunch. I wanted to try the pizza because we still had not been over there. It was really good. This was the lunch where they also had the chocolate buffet. I really wanted to try all the desserts, but I was just too full. The white chocolate cake looking thing was great!

 

 

 

[jaybird77]

After lunch we decided to try getting some sun again, but the weather had a different plan.

 

 

 

It was still sprinkling rain. There were some bad looking clouds ahead. Then, the bottom dropped out. The wind was howling and the water started churning.

 

 

 

We headed inside to go back to the sauna for a little. I still thought that might help Bryon’s head cold, and also I thought it would be awesome to watch the storm from those windows. We headed down the stairs, and all of a sudden the ship just bent way over to the starboard side. That night at dinner Darin said he heard some water came in on Oceans Plaza and they had to open the doors to let it drain out. Once we got up to the sauna, the storm had settled some, but it’s still a beautiful view.

 

After the sauna, we showered and changed into some better clothes for the farewell party. The farewell party is on the last day of the cruise. I would not have known about it unless I had read enough reviews on Cruise Critic here, and the game is still the same. There is no build up to this party and no mention of it in your Caper’s highlighted activities for the day. It is only shown on the little break away schedule that is in the Caper. We hooked up with Tiffany, Victoria, Raymond, and Darin for the party. They serve free drinks here, and once again had a live band and singer. There must be a lot of cruise critic readers because in my opinion this particular party was pretty well attended. Maybe not for having 4000 passengers onboard, but still there were a pretty good number of people here. Oh also, there are no apps here, just drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

FYI- beyond Victoria and Tiffany is a girl that Victoria called 'Blast'. Apparently she reminded her of a girl off of Jersey Shore that calls herself 'Blast'. I don't watch Jersey Shore, so I only know Snooki and the Situation. Anyway, the guy next to her was one of those 'Fun Bunch' roll call members and we called him 'Single Dad', self explanatory. And then just beyond them are two Puerto Rican guys that were a couple. They were the kind of gays Bryon and I just can't be- 0% body fat, fabulous clothes and fabulous dancers! I loathed and loved them at the same time- ha! They seemed like really nice guys.

[jaybird77]

We headed down to our room to do the thing we were dreading the most- packing our luggage.

We sadly put our dirty clothes back in our suitcases and tried not to concentrate on the fact that this was our last night on the ship. :(

We stuck the bags outside the room for pick-up, changed into our dinner clothes and headed up to the casino. I had lost a good bit of money in the casino ( for me that meant $100- I am NOT a high roller). I thought to myself, I would put in one more $20 and that was it. Well I played on this Zeus machine and won back about $80! I cashed out!

Bryon, on the other hand, who is a much bigger gambler than me was also winning, but was determined to either hit big or go home. So I started to wonder around. I knew I wanted to get some Crown Royal for my dad. I headed over to the gift shop and purchased the liquor. BTW the Crown Royal was $19.99 for 750 ml, but the salesperson in the gift shop informed me that they had these mix and match deals. Crown Royal was in the category of 2 for $34.99. As Cam from Modern Family would say ‘The more you spend, the more you save!’ so I grabbed myself some tequila from the 2 for $34.99 section. Although it was only 10 minutes until alcohol pick up time, she couldn’t actually let me walk out with it and said I needed to come back in 10 minutes to pick it up. I headed back over to the casino to sit with Bryon and wonder how long his $20 could possibly keep going. 10 minutes later, I headed back over to the gift shop and picked up my purchases. I came back to get Bryon, but he was still playing!

 

Then I noticed…. My camera was gone again! I searched the casino. I was pretty sure I had it last around that Zeus machine, but it was not there. I walked all around the casino but didn’t see it. I just knew I couldn’t get lucky again. I had already used that luck once when I left the camera behind the other day. I told Bryon I was going down to guest services again, but really I was just resigned to the fact that I had really done it this time and all my pictures were just gone. I got to the desk and asked if there was a silver Kodak camera found. She went and checked and…they had it! I had left it in the stupid gift shop getting the alcohol. I was so relieved and happy that there were honest people on this ship!

 

We hurried down to dinner- which we were almost late for due to my camera loss skills. Well guess who walks in with a bottle of champagne? Raymond and Darin! They had won the murder mystery game! Ha! Raymond, nor Darin drink so they were nice enough to bring it to dinner and share with the rest of us. I was so happy for them since they had put so much work into figuring out who did it.

For dinner tonight, both Bryon and I had the chicken fettucine pasta dish as an appetizer. I also had the Fatoush salad. Everything was really good. I like the chicken pasta dish a lot.

 

 

 

For my main course, I had the panko crusted shrimp with curly fries. It was really good, but kind of heavy since everything was fried. Bryon had the Norwegian salmon. He said it was ok, but he hated taking up room with that considering what was to come.

 

 

 

But...the star of the show was not even something I ordered. Bryon ordered the new bacon mac and cheese. This. Was. Excellent! If I had not already stuffed myself, I would had gotten our waiter to bring me out a dish. This really is a good addition to the menu. It was very creamy and you could taste the smoky bacon all through the dish.

 

[jaybird77]

For dessert, I had the Grand Marnier Souffle.

This was excellent, but rich enough that I couldn’t finish it after all I had already had. I also had my last cheese plate. Good bye cheese, I think I'll miss you most of all...

 

 

 

After dinner, the whole table headed down to the Legends show. This is a cute show, but nothing has changed. The talent varied from pretty good, to pretty scary. I thought it was interesting though that the guy who did Ricky Martin for this show was one of the dance crew- part of the Fun Force. Butch mentioned that he had stepped in at the last minute, so not sure if no one wanted to try out for Ricky Martin or if someone got sick, cold feet, or something. Anyway, as bad as some people might be, I am always in awe of people who can get up in front of a crowd and sing and dance!

 

Us- waiting in anticipation for the Legends!

 

 

[jaybird77]

After the show, we headed over to the Piano Bar area and the Latin Club.

 

All I remember was feeling sad that our vacation was ending, Bryon dancing with Tiffany for some reason, and someone shattering a glass on the floor. Well it was getting late, so we said our goodbyes and headed down to bed.

 

 

 

 

[jaybird77]

Day 9- Heading Home :(

We were awoken around 6:30 am with Butch’s voice on the intercom announcing that self assists were ready for debarkation. We got up, dressed, and took our sad picture.

 

 

Since yesterday I made the biggest croissan’wich ever, I decided this morning I would get the fixins to make the saddest croissan’wich ever. FYI- did I mention the muffins? They had these assorted muffins in the morning like this chocolate one here. They are excellent! Moist and tasty!

 

 

We headed out to the Lido deck to watch the big screen and wait on our debarkation number to be called. There was a big difference in the temperature and humidity this morning! I was a little cold with my shorts. We saw our New York friends who we had met on the Sunny Liston tour and exchanged our sadness about the end of vacation.

The numbers were called quickly and we were off the ship around 9:00 or 9:30. I wasn’t looking very closely at the time. Park N Cruise was right there to pick us up and we headed over to their lot to pick up the car.

 

Once we got all loaded back into the car, we headed over to Cocoa Beach. Since we had spent very little time here, having gone to Disney the day before our cruise, we wanted to at least check out the beach and grab a souvenir. We headed down to the big Ron Jon Surf Shop. It is huge. They have a lot of merchandise. We both got a Christmas ornament.

 

 

We then headed over to the beach. We parked at the pier (metered parking). There were a number of surfers here trying to catch waves, but it didn’t look like they were having very much luck. The beach here was very pretty, but the water was a lot cloudier than what we had been experiencing at all the ports! We spent some time on the pier taking pictures and then headed out. Cocoa Beach sort of reminds me of a stereotypical Florida retirement community. Lots of stucco buildings that had their heyday back in the 80s, but look a little worse for the wear these days.

 

 

[jaybird77]

 

 

 

We hit the road around 11:30 or so. I did want to mention one thing- our lunch stop.

We stopped in Valdosta, GA, which is also my hometown. I was born there and lived there until I was 5 years old. Anyway, I still have a lot of family here and once when I was there I went to this place called Slap Daddy’s Burgers. I had a really good burger there, so I was eager to go back and try another one. It did not disappoint. Look at this monstrosity:

 

 

So, if you ever find yourself on I-75 heading through Valdosta, make a stop at Slap Daddy’s and get a burger!

Bryon was feeling really worn out from being sick so he slept a lot on the ride home. We were back in the ATL by 7:00 pm.

 

 

Well that does it for the trip report. I’ll try to write another post tomorrow with my final thoughts about the ship and the cruise overall as well as some packing tips. I may also throw in a few of Bryon's best pics. :)

 

I have really enjoyed writing this report. It really helps the let down that comes when you have to report back to ‘real life’ after having so much fun on the cruise.