Dream review # 2: November 5-12, 2011. 2nd Dream cruise!

[k2excursion]

Hi, Remember me. We sailed with you this year on the Miracle. That was a great time, and a nice roll call. I am really enjoying your review and all the details. We are sailing on the dream in March, with the western itinerary.

My first time daring to try a water slide was on the Miracle. Your pictures look like the slide on the dream is all enclosed. I don't think I'm up for that, to claustrophobic. I couldn't tell what happens after you go into the round circular thing, is there then a pool below that to land in?

I look forward to the rest of your review. Thanks.

 

Yeah, I definitely remember you. :) The Miracle didn't really suit me as a ship, for a few different reasons, but I still was able to enjoy the cruise.

 

The Twister waterslide is all enclosed, but it's not too bad. I get down in about 11-15 seconds. It's not completely dark in there. You can see the colors change back & forth between yellow & blue. It was really cool to ride it after sunset.

 

The Drainpipe only goes for a few seconds in the enclosed part. After that, you are shot out into the bowl, and you keep going around in the circle along the sides as long as you can go. Most people only go around the bowl 1-2 times, but crazy people like me gain up enough speed to go around 3-4+ times. Once you stop, you get up, step over the barrier in the middle, and go down the steps. In my last pic in post #14, you can see the worker standing in the middle, where you step over & climb down. You can also kind of see the opening where you shoot out from the slide into the bowl. I hope you have a great time on the Dream! It's extremely different from the Miracle. It's the same basic platform as Freedom or Valor, but the feel of the ship is very different. I really like it.

[k2excursion]

We took the cab to Magens Bay, which I think was $8pp plus a $4pp entrance fee into Magens Bay. The cab ride was pretty. The beach is beautiful and huge. Since we were there by 9:00am, there weren't too many people there. Oasis of the Seas people hadn't had a chance to get there quite yet. It was a very busy port day, so it was nice to get here early. We really enjoyed it, although the waves were quite rough. There is no snorkeling from this beach anyway. There was a more gentle part of the beach further down, where we could get in the water without being thrown around. You've just got to look for it, if you're there on a rough sea day.

 

We left the beach at about noon, as it was getting extraordinarily crowded. I'm not one to complain about crowding usually, but this was getting ridiculous. This was almost amusement park/water park/Grand Canyon level of crowding. Buses & vans of cruisers just kept pouring in one after another, and many tours don't come here until after noon. People were everywhere along the entire beach. They might have run out of room later. We played this one right, to enjoy it while it wasn't too bad and then head to another beach at noon.

 

Here are my Magens Bay pics:

 

 

 

 

[k2excursion]

After being at Magens Bay from 9:00am-noon, we took a cab over to Sapphire Beach, which was $10pp. It wasn't crowded over there at all. It wasn't empty either. Just the right amount of people. It was a very pretty beach. Magens Bay might be prettier overall, but Sapphire is still pretty, less crowded, has some snorkeling, plus it gives you views of the surrounding Virgin Islands, including St. John. Last time we came to St. Thomas, we went over to St. John & Trunk Bay. From there, we could see it raining over on St. Thomas, while we enjoyed the sun. This time, it was the opposite. We could see rain over on St. John (although I don't think it amounted to much), while we were dry. Before we left, I could see a rainbow out over the ocean, between the islands. That was very pretty. I've got pics of it.

 

I couldn't snorkel today, because the waves were too rough. I did get in the water though. This beach is definitely worth checking out, especially if you've got a ton of ships in port with you and you can't get to Magens Bay early.

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the beach, with St. John (I think) in the distance.

 

Looking beyond the end of the beach:

[k2excursion]

We spent about 3 hours at both beaches, then returned to the port, which was another $10pp. So around $30 each to get to see 2 beautiful beaches. We didn't need to be back on the ship until 8:00pm, but we still got back plenty early enough to be ready for dinner. We don't bother with buying food in port, since it won't kill us to go a few extra hours without eating. There's plenty of food on the ship.

 

 

 

Here's the rainbow between the islands:

 

 

 

Back at the port:

[k2excursion]

This was the night they had the big show "Dancing in the Streets". It's a great show! We were able to get a front row, center section seat, by showing up very early. Some of these shows that they hype so much don't live up to the hype. This one does. (Just like some people hype up the Dream so much in their own mind, maybe just because of the ship's name, that the experience cannot possibly live up to their hype. Then because the trip was only awesome and not pure heaven, they come back on these boards and trash the Dream as if it's the worst thing ever. They truly believe the trip to be terrible, but if they went in without the crazy expectations, they might have absolutely loved it. Don't let my positive review of the Dream cause you to have unrealistic expectations.) The staff will hype up "Dancing in the Streets" from the start of the cruise. It is a great show, well worth going to. It is their best show, and it's only on the Dream. Don't miss it! I wound up going to both shows, because it is that good.

 

I forgot to go up top and look for the Disney Magic and NCL Epic, which we would be passing. They do St. Maarten then St. Thomas. So we & the Oasis pass those 2 ships at some point in the night.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Great Review with great pics!!

[k2excursion]

We had room 2217, a category 1A, with one regular bed and a sofa bed. Plus, we had 2 portholes. This category is the cheapest category on the ship, because of the one regular bed, but not all 1As have portholes. 2 rooms down from us is a 220 sq.ft. room, so I was thinking that this room may be over 200. The bow of the ship starts curving inward, cutting into your floor space. I measured with a tape measurer, and 2217 is actually 185 sq.ft. The reason it's smaller is because there is a deep ledge leading out to our porthole windows. And outside the windows, it's very deep before it clears the hull. I think the room could've been bigger, but it's still plenty of space for 2 people, and regular 1As are closer to 160 sq.ft.

 

On one day, we had some decent waves, and we could definitely hear the crashing into the bow. We could even see some spray outside the portholes. It was never too bad, but in rougher waters, it might be too much for some people. The motion never bothered us. We didn't have to drop anchor, since we docked at our ports. There was some noise that we could hear when leaving or coming into port, but it wasn't bad. Triumph in the aft is far worse. We had great neighbors too. No noisy neighbor problems at all. One recent negative Dream review reported noisy neighbors. Unfortunately, that's just bad luck when that happens, and you never know where they'll be.

 

This room is forward on deck 2, which was so convenient for all the evening shows and activities. It was so quick and easy to run to the room from the theater. We never had to deal with the post-show crowd. That, to me, makes this location far more of a convenience to the convenience of being on the lido deck. I had to take the elevators to the lido deck every time, but that's no big deal, since they were never that crowded like they are after a show. We have the extra glass elevators, which helps. The elevators would go all the way to deck 12, right in front of the waterslide exit. Getting to the other venues on the promenade deck was also easy, since we didn't need to bother with elevators. I definitely highly recommend a deck 2 room, forward or forward-midship, on a Dream/Triumph/Conquest style ship.

 

Here, you can somewhat see the depth of the porthole opening on the outside:

 

And you can see the deep ledge on the inside too, with our growing family sitting on it:

 

 

[morleystanwood]

Thanks for posting such a great review & pics. We will be on the Dream 12/17-24 and cannot wait. This will be the first cruise for my family, my brother's family and my mom.

 

I've learned so much on the CC boards over the last few months since we found out we were going on the cruise. It feels like we'll have a leg up on what to see, what to avoid etc... which is invaluable to first timers like ourselves. We've already decided on the pasta bar for lunch after getting on the ship. I've not read one bad review of the pasta bar, and everyone says there is hardly anyone up there on the first day. Nice.

 

I'll be sure to have a lengthy, detailed and photographed/video'd review of our trip on the CC boards around the first of the year - after I let it all sink in for a week after getting back.

 

Waiting for more of your review....:)

[azpilot]

Really enjoying your cruise review and pictures, we are set to go on her Sept 2012 on the same route. Sounds like you had more than a great time!

[nzdisneymom]

I am really enjoying your trip report and also seeing the pictures on the Dream. We will have our first sailing on her in December and are very excited at the "sneak peeks" you've posted. We're making our list of things to try - like not missing the BBQ on the Lanai and trying out the Pasta Bar and the water slide. Is there a place at the water slide to store your stuff (like your room key, eyeglasses, etc.)?

[k2excursion]

I am really enjoying your trip report and also seeing the pictures on the Dream. We will have our first sailing on her in December and are very excited at the "sneak peeks" you've posted. We're making our list of things to try - like not missing the BBQ on the Lanai and trying out the Pasta Bar and the water slide. Is there a place at the water slide to store your stuff (like your room key, eyeglasses, etc.)?

 

Thank you. There is no place to store room keys or anything else while on the waterslides. I like to get a spot near the bottom of the waterslides, along the sides of the ship. I'll lay in the sun there, and jump on the slides when I feel like it. While in line (if there is a line), I can see my stuff on the chair. I pick a spot where I know I'll be able to see the stuff. If you're not comfortable with that, have someone watch the stuff or leave it in your room and arrange a time to meet one of your party at the room. If you go to the waterslide around 4:00-6:00, it will likely be very empty. You can just throw your stuff anywhere down at the bottom and ride as much as you want. That's another thing I love about these slides, that they stay open until 6:00!!!!! Miracle's closed at 4:00:mad:, while the typical time has been 5:00. Not many people are riding them late, especially after 5:00, usually. It was typically just a few kids and me.:)

[k2excursion]

I was definitely looking forward to this day. We had arranged a tour with Bernards for $40 each. You do have to pay up front, while with tours on other islands, we paid at the end. We had no problem finding them, but we had to wait awhile to get going, as they were waiting on people, hoping to fill the bus. We would've had more beach time otherwise, but that's just how these things usually work.

 

Our first stop was at a place with tons of lizards everywhere, which was cool. At one point, while videotaping, I wound up surrounded by the lizards. Others in the group said they were drawn to my green swim shorts. We also had a stop where a guy was pulling out some shells and even some sea life that we got to hold. In one of the below pics, you can see the creatures with the different sized spikes. When he sets them in your hand, the spikes kind of close in around your skin. He's just kind of feeling you out. It doesn't hurt at all. It's just weird. There was also a nice overlook at this spot. I'll have to put those pics in my next post, since we can only do 6 pics per post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[k2excursion]

This was our 3rd time to St. Maarten. The previous 2 times, we had just taken a cab to Orient Beach and spent the day there. It's such a beautiful beach; you really can't beat it. It's never been very crowded there to us, nothing like Magens Bay was on St. Thomas. This tour we were taking included a stop at Orient Beach, which is over on the French side of the island. But sure enough, once we got there, it started raining. We only had an hour to spend there, and it rained for about half of it. At least we've had those previous trips to truly get to enjoy this spectacular beach. I tried to get in the water at one point, but the waves were so rough. They hadn't been on our previous trips, but they were today. We spent plenty of time under the covers of Pedros. If you're doing a tour that stops at Orient Beach, don't waste your money on a chair rental. We didn't. Just stop in at Pedros and buy a soda for $2. Then you can sit in there if you're wanting some place to sit and relax. If you want sun, it'll be hard to find some empty sand to lay a towel on.

 

For those who don't know, this island is Dutch & French. It's very European on the beaches, meaning clothing optional. It's not everywhere. Most people will be very American in their attire, unless you go over to Club Orient. But there will be some women enjoying the freedom of top optional, and some men & women will be wearing skimpier swimsuits than we're used to. And despite what some say, it is allowed to be nude, even away from Club Orient, but they tend to stay over at the Club. Europeans aren't as hung up on these things as Americans. We had a boy in our group who was around 10. I loved it when he said sarcastically, "I'm scarred for life", in reference to seeing some topless and nudies. So many of us think that these kids can't handle it, and him saying that sarcastically just showed me that not only can they handle it, but they know what we think about them, and that we don't give them enough credit. I know that not all kids can handle it, but not all adults can either. Adults are usually the ones that notice it more and make a big deal of it. Anyway, this is a discussion for another thread. Back to the pics.

 

Here's that overlook I mentioned in the last post:

 

 

 

And here's Orient Beach, after the rain:

 

I had to walk a little ways, to be able to take an appropriate picture facing this direction:

 

 

Next up, Maho Beach!!!!!

[k2excursion]

After Orient Beach, our tour took us into Marigot, where we made a short stop, where some people purchased sweets. Then, we moved onto Maho Beach to see the planes land right overhead. This truly is an amazing sight. We saw a few small planes land, plus 3 huge ones. It's hard to get a good picture of them, because you've got to time it out perfectly. Maho Beach is a nice, small beach. Doesn't compare to Orient, but because of the airplanes, it's good enough. The waves were rough, again. And it rained...again! We had almost an hour and a half at the beach, and it rained moderately for awhile. Fortunately, no planes were landing during that time, while we were all taking shelter.

 

The last stop on the tour is a shopping spot in Phillipsburg. Most of the people stayed on the bus to go straight to the ship. We got off. The driver came back to get us in about 20-25 minutes. So there was no need to grab a taxi and spend extra money for getting off at that stop. There were plenty of drinks for the tour. I'm more of a soda drinker, and the Cokes were in short supply, but there were other things. The driver picked up a few people who were just looking for a taxi back to the ship, which allowed Bernards to make some more money. We had done this in St. Thomas: joined the end of a tour as our taxi back to the ship. But for these people we had picked up, they had a nice surprise: free rum punch, as our driver warned us that there better not be any left by the time we get to the ship. We needed their help to finish it.

 

Even with all of the bad traffic in St. Maarten right now (between Maho Beach and the port), we were still back to the port at 3:15, more than 2 hours before we needed to be on the ship. So there's no need to worry about the construction, as long as you leave the Maho area early enough. We left around 1:00, plus we made that extra stop.

 

The Oasis left at 5:00. I was, of course, going on the waterslides as they were pulling out. It was really pretty seeing it all lit up as they left. The Dream kept blowing their horn at the other ships, but none of them ever blew their horns back. The waterslides were really nice to ride in the dark.

 

One of the small planes:

 

One of the big ones:

 

 

 

Here's Air France on its way in:

 

And our last big one, right before we had to go:

[k2excursion]

Here's the best shot of the Dream that I could get on this trip:

 

We were docked right next to the Oasis (Monstrosity) of the Seas:

 

Oasis leaving:

 

Oasis & one of the other ships:

[k2excursion]

I mentioned this earlier in the review. But this was the night where there was no show in the theater. Also, BlackJack Band had their off night tonight. It was starting to remind me of the dark night on the Miracle, where the entire ship basically shut down after dinner. Dark night was an appropriate term, because the ship totally died. This is a very bad sign as to the direction Carnival is heading in. How long before they start eliminating production shows and other shows? How long before the main theater is only used for Bingo and games? Enjoy what we've got while we got it.

 

Fortunately, on this cruise, we had the Deck Party on the theater dead night. Between dinner and the deck party, there were some activities in the theater, starting with a dance class. It was unannounced that this class was only for kids. I got to the theater and saw only little kids going up there.

 

Kicking off the deck party was the show band playing above the main pool. BlackJack Band has always done this in the past, but not anymore. They told me that it doesn't really bother them. They've enjoyed doing it, but they're okay with not doing it. After the band played, there was another laser show, which was much better than the first one. Then, the main event of the deck party, where they get us all out on the floor dancing. That is always so much fun. We did so many dances, including a few that I didn't know the moves to at all. And I couldn't figure it out, but it's fun to do what you can. I always feel bad for the people who just sit along the sides & watch. I admit that I can't just dance on my own, coming up with my own moves, like what they'll say. But with these dances, the moves are already planned. You've just got to learn them, or at least try. It's so much fun! I always love these deck parties!

 

We also brought back the color wars. I had those on my first 6 cruises, then no color wars at all for 3 straight cruises. I was happy we had them here, even if it was for the deck party only. For all 6 of those cruises, I was blue team every time. This time, I finally got to be the red team! And the red team won!!! There was no real scoring system here. Maybe we had more people; maybe we were louder. But we were chosen the winner. It may be silly and pointless, but it's still fun, and it doesn't take anything away from the people who don't enjoy it. I ate a little bit at the Mexican buffet. All that dancing made me hungry. This is the one late night buffet that they have. For me, it's the only one I would partake of, even if they had them every night.

[k2excursion]

Yeah, I know I should've finished this awhile back. Thanks to all for reading. I know that positive reviews don't get as much traffic or posts as the negative ones, but I still like doing them. Some people like reading positive reviews, and it works as a journal for myself as well. Back to the review, Day 6...at sea.

 

I went to the morning dance class in the oceans plaza. It was the 3rd of these during the week. We danced to Footloose, and as always, it was fun. I rode the waterslides plenty...no surprise.

 

We had the past guest party before dinner. There was more than one past guest party on this cruise, and ours was pretty packed in the main theater. So there were a ton of past guests. We still managed to get plenty to drink. The show band played some good music, and plenty of people danced on stage, including a couple little girls, sisters around 4-5. They were each given a ship on a stick, as they were the stars of our show. That family wound up sitting right next to me at the later main show. They showed a different video than what I've seen before, but we still got to cheer for all our ships. That's always so much fun to do! Dinner was our 2nd elegant evening. The waiters did the dance to "Low", and I joined in with them.

 

The show tonight was their country show called "8 More Seconds". The same show is done on several ships, but each ship has a different title for it. I've seen this on the Celebration, the Holiday, and twice now on the Dream. It's probably my favorite show of all that I've seen on my cruises. I do enjoy country music, although it's not my favorite. I know most of the songs in the show, and it's very high energy. Plus, Jimmy Hodge from BlackJack Band (the band in the Oceans Plaza) plays fiddle in this show. He's not out there the whole time, but he plays on stage with the singers & dancers, and he does do 2 songs where he's the only one on stage. One song, he just goes crazy on the fiddle. Then, he plays and sings "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". He does such an amazing job!!! The singers & dancers are also amazing!!! This show has got to wear them out. Come early for a good seat.

 

I went to the 2nd show as well. I sat with a teenager who I met on the cruise. He's from New Jersey (no surprise there; most of the passengers were). We started hanging out a little bit earlier in the week, because we both were really into all these shows. We thoroughly enjoy them. I work with teens at home, both at my job & at church, so it's no surprise that I connected with one here. I did on my last Dream cruise also.

 

He got word that several of the dancers & singers were going to be hanging out in the piano bar later on. He was going to stay as long as it took. I spent some time waiting, but I was getting very tired. It takes the singers & dancers awhile, as would be expected after doing 2 shows. I went over to the Oceans Plaza. BlackJack Band played without Jimmy for the night, since he was in the show. He did spot me in the crowd at both shows, and he waved at me from the stage. He was hanging out at the Oceans Plaza after the shows. He thanked me for coming to both shows. The later one doesn't get as packed. I talked with him for awhile, as well as with one of the horns players from the show band, who was there. They are so friendly! It wasn't about customer service. It was just about being friendly. That says alot about people!

 

Aft pool pics:

 

 

Forward view, from the serenity area:

 

The Encore lounge, the theater where all the big shows take place:

 

[pe4all]

So glad to see you continuing the review!:)

[NeuroQueen]

Great review!!! We were on the Thanksgiving sailing and had a great time as well. The Blackjack band is so awesome. Thanks for doing such a great review, and I like that it is so positive. I agree with you about the direction CCL is going. We loved the ship and were surprised, as we did the Oasis in May, and thought we would be comparing ships the entire time. The food was better on CCL! Keep up the good work!

[k2excursion]

This week went by way too fast! I had signed up to do the platinum galley tour at 10am. I went to where we were supposed to meet, but I never found any worker. Maybe I was told the wrong spot. Oh well. I headed back upstairs and started going on the waterslides. The day started out cloudy and cool, but the sun finally broke through. Fortunately, I got plenty of sliding in before the rain came. I could see it coming. I ate lunch during the rain, and by the time I was done, the rain had stopped. So I went on the waterlides more.

 

Once again, the lines at the buffet were always short (except for Day 1), no matter when I ate. I usually ate at peak times (12:00-1:00), but today I ate closer to 2:00. The lines were always short, maybe the shortest of all my 10 cruises. Everyone on these boards say that the Dream "must" have crazy long buffet lines. And some people will think that being 6 people back in line is a crazy long line. But the claims on these boards would seem to not be true. From my experience, the Dream has been the best as far as food lines go. The lanai BBQ had the longest line, maybe 10-15 minutes to get through the line. Waterslide lines were almost always short as well. Sometimes, there would be less than 5 of us just going over and over. One guy who worked the slides often was very friendly, and I got to talk plenty with him. He was so grateful to me for simply taking a little time to talk with him and find out a little bit of his story.

 

One thing I noticed on this cruise. There was not nearly as much music being played around the main pool. The calypso band, which were 3 guys, didn't play very often, and usually played very short sets. During their off times, there was very little recorded music being played. I should mention that on other ships, they would go overboard the other way, sometimes blaring 2-hour long rock concert DVDs on the big screen. I prefer a good balance. (And throw those DVDs overboard.) But this cruise, it was too much on the quiet side out there. Plus, on Days 6 & 7, there were no lido deck games at all. There were some scheduled, but none were played. One day, one of the social staff was out there with a microphone in hand for about 20 minutes, just staring, then he turned around and left, never saying anything. The next day, nobody showed up. This is probably due to us having a makeshift social staff/cruise directors for this week. It's not that big of a deal, as long as Carnival is not going the direction of having fewer games, to try to save a buck.

 

We did go to the Farewell Party at 5:00. It was well attended, by comparison to others we've been to. People are starting to figure it out, but we were still able to get as many drinks as we wanted. However, they put little to no alcohol in these. We don't drink much anyway. In fact, other than these parties with the free drinks on cruises or Drury Inns, I really don't drink at all. And I don't miss it when I don't. Even without drinking or gambling, we were still able to have a great cruise. So for those wondering, yes, you can still have a great time even if you're not into booze or gambling.

 

More waterslide pics:

 

 

 

 

[Avril]

This was my 2nd time to cruise the Dream, the first being in April 2010. I loved it so much then, that I booked it again less than 2 months later, 17 months in advance. The first time, we did the Western, this time the Eastern.

 

LOL, I know this wasn't your 1st (or 2nd) cruise but you remind me of my Mom and I when we first started cruising!! :D :D We took our 1st cruise in January 2003 and loved it soooooo much that we booked our 2nd for July of the same year (and we haven't stopped cruising since and I don't think we ever will)!!!!

 

Which itinerary did you like better and what is your favorite part of the Dream? Mom and I are getting ready to embark on our 1st B2B so I'm trying to find out all I can about each itinerary as well as the ship!! :D :D Personally, I've always loved the Eastern Caribbean best!! :D We're doing it in the opposite order than you did, we're going Eastern then Western!! :D

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad

[k2excursion]

LOL, I know this wasn't your 1st (or 2nd) cruise but you remind me of my Mom and I when we first started cruising!! :D :D We took our 1st cruise in January 2003 and loved it soooooo much that we booked our 2nd for July of the same year (and we haven't stopped cruising since and I don't think we ever will)!!!!

 

Which itinerary did you like better and what is your favorite part of the Dream? Mom and I are getting ready to embark on our 1st B2B so I'm trying to find out all I can about each itinerary as well as the ship!! :D :D Personally, I've always loved the Eastern Caribbean best!! :D We're doing it in the opposite order than you did, we're going Eastern then Western!! :D

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad

 

It was my mom that went with me on this one too. This was her 6th with Carnival and 7th overall, and my 10th, all with Carnival. I got her back into cruising in 2007. The first Dream cruise, being my 7th cruise overall, completely blew the other 6 out of the water. It was like being a newbie. That's why I get defensive of my Dream on these boards when people make comments about the "negative reports" of the Dream. I find mostly positive reports. The negative things seem to be assumptions made by people who haven't sailed the Dream that gets spread around until people on here start believing it to be fact. Some may think that I just lucked out on my 2 cruises, which could possibly be true.

 

I think both itineraries are great, but I do prefer the Eastern. St. Thomas & St. Maarten are probably my 2 favorite ports. Those along with Roatan and St. Kitts have been my favorites. Cozumel and Costa Maya are also good ports, but not in the same category as my favorite 4. I love the mountainous islands with beautiful beaches, that also have reputable tours that are reasonably priced. We haven't done a St. Thomas tour, since it's so easy to just cab around that island or take the ferry over to St. John. In Roatan, Victor Bodden tours are awesome!!!!!! You pick what you want to do, and you get your own driver for the day. Don't just stay at the manmade Mahogany Bay. You'll be missing out on one of the best islands in the whole Caribbean. I really hope you'll be able to dock there. The Dream has had problems making it into the Bay, because of her size. Costa Maya: go into the town to the beach. The setup at the port is nice, but don't just stay there. It's worth it to spend a few hours at their beach. It's a nice, relaxing port after so many ports in a row.

 

My favorite part of the Dream? That's hard to say. There's so much. There are things I've liked about all my cruises, but this ship has felt like the perfect fit for me. Returning to her this time, once I got on board, I could feel it right away, especially when I saw the waterslides. This was home! I am a water fanatic, so I love the waterslides. That alone helps set this ship apart from all the others I've been on. Their big shows are incredible! Probably my favorite 3 shows on all my cruises are their 3 big productions. BlackJack Band may not be a youthful style of music, but I still enjoy them, and they can be youthful if the young adults & teens would come and hang out there. That's what they did on my Conquest cruise, responding to the young crowd. They cater to who shows up. A bigger factor than anything else, they are so friendly. We've gotten to know them well, having cruised with them so many times. The ship puts on a great Deck Party. I enjoy walking the lanai late at night, as things start settling down. Enjoy your B2B. That's something that we've never done before.

[k2excursion]

I meant to post the links to these before. I finally opened a youtube channel. These are videos of me going down the 2 waterslides on the Dream, using a waterproof camera.

 

Drainpipe:

Twister:

[k2excursion]

At our final dinner, the waiters did their classic farewell song. I always love how the waiters sing & dance for us and with us. After dinner, we did most of our packing. That's always a sad sad thing to do. We caught the Legends Show, which was pretty good. I know that veteran cruisers have seen this a zillion times, and it was the same acts. But we enjoyed it. Most of the guests did a great job. I loved the parts that Jaime & Gumbi played in the show. Plus, we get to see the singers & dancers one more time.

 

After the show, the guests who were in the show, along with the singers & dancers, were hanging out in the lobby, meeting with people. The guy from New Jersey that I have been hanging out with found me, and he took me over to meet our 2 singers. He was able to hang out with the female singer & a few dancers yesterday, as he had waited for them, until about 2am. The singers were very friendly and even gave us hugs. The guy that I have been hanging out with, I've kept in touch with him since the cruise, through facebook. I've sent him some pictures, and we've been talking. So I've made facebook friends with people from each of my 2 Dream cruises. And I still talk with the people from my first Dream cruise. It's making these kind of connections that really help make a cruise stand out for me.

 

More of these kind of connections would certainly include BlackJack Band. I listened some more to them, then talked with them for awhile after they were done. Then, I had to get some sleep

 

Jaime

 

Gumbi

 

Our 2 singers from the main shows

 

BlackJack Band

 

The atrium

[k2excursion]

Sadly, it was time to get off the ship. It was such a great week, again! I usually prefer going on ships that I haven't been on and going to ports that I haven't been to. But the Dream has just been too good! It's the only ship that can bring me back just because of the ship. I hope that the Magic & Breeze will have that same feel to it. I'll find out when we cruise the Breeze next year.

 

The ship got in plenty early enough. We were doing self-debarkation, and we were not even close to ready when it would've been time for the platinums to go. It sounded a little disorganized with how they were calling it, but I was still eating my breakfast and taking everything in one last time. We had a little bit of a line when we went to debark. Last time, there was no line at all. But it wasn't a big deal. We were off soon enough, and the Radisson shuttle was there, ready to take us back to the hotel. It was all very smooth and easy.

 

We did run into someone in line who was griping about the cruise. All I could say to her was that my 2 times on the Dream have been my best 2 cruises. She didn't know how to respond to that. I know that different personalities will prefer different kinds of ships, but even when I cruised the kind of ship that I prefer the least, I wasn't getting off the ship griping like that. I was trying to think more of the good things. And if I do complain, I try to emphasize that "it's just not my style; not for me" rather than making it sound like the ship is universally terrible. I just don't understand some people. Not that I don't have complaints; I talked about them here in my review, and I believe that they are very valid. Most complaints that I hear, however, have very little substance to them, or they are just simply not true. Many people will say that you've got to take these reports, both negative and positive, with a grain of salt, which is so true. I hope that my review is more of a balanced one. Although I do seem to go on and on about the good, I don't leave out the bad. I do have concerns which I expressed on here. I really hope that the cruiselines stop it with the cutbacks and just raise prices. That's just one man's opinion.

 

A couple final family photos, from our last 2 nights. We enjoyed getting to keep them as the week went on. That ledge came in handy for that.