Documenting the dream western caribbean 01/21-28/2012; the money monkey goes cruising

[radrayjax]

Upper Deck Observation Deck Views:

 

Stairs to Promenade Deck:

 

Downward view of stairs to Promenade Deck:

 

Upward, starboard view of navigation bridge:

 

Starboard navigation bridge pilot’s station:

 

Starboard stairs leading to Empress Deck observation deck:

 

Upward view of stairs to Empress Deck OD:

[radrayjax]

Finishing Upper Deck Observation Deck Views:

 

Upward center view of navigation bridge:

 

Port view of Upper Deck observation deck:

 

Forward view of Atlantic Deck (4) crew-only bow:

 

Upward, port view of Empress Deck OD and portside bridge pilot station:

 

Closer view of portside bridge pilot’s station:

 

WHAT! No interior shots? What gives?

 

I did most my exploring of decks 6-9 shortly after the original sail-away on the 21st. Most of the hall shots I took were actually of deck hall art featured last night, so interior shots of this deck ARE represented. However, if I showed you hall shots of this deck or the deck above or the deck above, without a caption, could you tell the difference (if a room number plate wasn’t in clear view)? Well, neither could I.

 

I DO regret, and do apologize for not getting an elevator deck plan plaque of this deck. THAT is an oversight!

 

A little “house keeping” note:

 

I knew this would be big before starting, but even I didn’t realize how big. With the Cozumel chapter I had to split this work into two documents. The first document was 549 pages and 36,312 words. The second document in progress, including the notes for the Behind the Fun tour, is currently at 255 pages (total 804) and 15,365 words (total 51,656 including this one). It’s a novel!

 

TOMORROW: DOCUMENTING THE TRIP CHAPTER 4: JANUARY 24, 2012: BELIZE CITY

 

But first: An advance look at the Fun Times for January 24, 2012!

[radrayjax]

THE FUN TIMES FOR JANUARY 24, 2012!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sail2sea]

this review is seriously making me consider switching from aft balcony to spa balcony.

[Banditswife]

Thanks! I'm SURE I'll be done by then. Surely I will....

 

I've got TWO (short) chapters tonight!

LOL, woops I know you don't like that LOL stuff, but I had to throw it in.

[luckybecky]

Ray, I'm still enjoying your review and all your excellent photos. Thanks for taking the time to share all of this info!

 

May I ask you to backtrack for one brief moment? I believe at some point along the way you said that the showers in the spa are accessible even to those who do not have spa privileges. Am I correct? For some reason I can't seem to find that post now, but I thought I saw it somewhere.

 

As I recall, these showers are much larger than stateroom showers and I thought I might want to use them on our next cruise. Our only cruise so far was on the Ecstasy, and the shower was tiny. How does one access the larger spa showers on the Dream?

 

Thanks again for your review. I've enjoyed tagging along on your vacation with you and your lovely wife!

 

Becky

[Pennyscandy]

Another great installment. Now wish we had booked a higher deck.

[Steve-N-Steph]

Ray, I'm still loving your review and the pictures are wonderful! Hope you don't mind, but I've been saving some and emailing them to my mom who is coming with us on the cruise. My son was so excited when he saw your pics of the basketball court. Last night he asked me if you had posted any pictures of Club O2, I told him you weren't on the floor yet. Hope you have some pics of that too! Thanks for taking the time to do all this!! 16 more days for us, can't wait!

[radrayjax]

Ray, I'm still enjoying your review and all your excellent photos. Thanks for taking the time to share all of this info!

 

May I ask you to backtrack for one brief moment? I believe at some point along the way you said that the showers in the spa are accessible even to those who do not have spa privileges. Am I correct? For some reason I can't seem to find that post now, but I thought I saw it somewhere.

 

As I recall, these showers are much larger than stateroom showers and I thought I might want to use them on our next cruise. Our only cruise so far was on the Ecstasy, and the shower was tiny. How does one access the larger spa showers on the Dream?

 

Thanks again for your review. I've enjoyed tagging along on your vacation with you and your lovely wife!

 

Becky

 

Becky, Thanks!

 

Go back to posts 334 and 335 and you will see the deck plans and photos of the “outer” locker rooms on the Spa Deck which are more accessible. These are adjacent to but not integral to the spa and do not require VIP access.

[radrayjax]

Ray, I'm still loving your review and the pictures are wonderful! Hope you don't mind, but I've been saving some and emailing them to my mom who is coming with us on the cruise. My son was so excited when he saw your pics of the basketball court. Last night he asked me if you had posted any pictures of Club O2, I told him you weren't on the floor yet. Hope you have some pics of that too! Thanks for taking the time to do all this!! 16 more days for us, can't wait!

 

 

Stephanie, Thanks again!

 

I WILL have plenty of photos on the Atlantic Deck (4) where Circle C and Club O2 are located near each other. I will have photos showing the color changes to the lights. I don’t mind you sharing at all! I will have exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from that deck also.

 

BTW, by the time this is done the combined documents may be large enough to fill up a CD.

[zabnee]

Hey, RadrayJax! We were there with you, and are in a few of the pictures from the M&G... I've got the striped pink/orange shirt on, on the bench at the left side of some photos, with short brown hair (I was sitting facing into the lobby.) My DH was sitting with his back to the lobby, in the black t-shirt! Two of the boys that were at the M&G were ours.

[MadamG2U]

My goodness took some time off to rest and relax. Back to work and it took me 1 1/2 days to catch up. Thank you so much for all the time and effort you have put into this review. I cannot wait until Sept. I may become my groups official tour guide.

 

MadamG2U

[radrayjax]

Hey, RadrayJax! We were there with you, and are in a few of the pictures from the M&G... I've got the striped pink/orange shirt on, on the bench at the left side of some photos, with short brown hair (I was sitting facing into the lobby.) My DH was sitting with his back to the lobby, in the black t-shirt! Two of the boys that were at the M&G were ours.

 

 

Hi, Kim! Thanks for letting me know! I went back to my Word document to see and your husband. I think I have the only photos of the M&G. I don't remember seeing anyone else with a camera.

[radrayjax]

My goodness took some time off to rest and relax. Back to work and it took me 1 1/2 days to catch up. Thank you so much for all the time and effort you have put into this review. I cannot wait until Sept. I may become my groups official tour guide.

 

MadamG2U

 

 

You can see I haven't been post-free since I came back. The average has been 10 a night. TONIGHT, I'm about to go looonnnggg. I think.

You will certainly have the upper hand on the Promenade Deck when I'm done. That is right after Belize City.

[radrayjax]

DOCUMENTING THE TRIP: CHAPTER 4: JANUARY 24, 2012

 

 

IF IT’S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE BELIZE!

 

 

Before I get to the chronicle of this day, I want to discuss some of the research and reasons why I looked at this port very carefully before booking the cruise.

 

From reading many reviews in these pages (CC), one would have thought that Belize City was the most dangerous outpost of “scum and villainy” this side of Alderan! Sure, Carnival was just aching to take you to the next site of a Mau Mau uprising (Yes, I KNOW it’s the wrong continent and wrong century!) where crazed natives were waiting with machetes in hand to separate the “whites” from their heads!

 

Not only did I read between the lines but I looked at a number of videos on You Tube that tourists had taken while going through the down town tours of Belize City. Somehow I didn’t see what all the fuss was about. What I saw were just people, going about their business.

 

Yes, it obviously was not a wealthy city, but it wasn’t a place of death and dismemberment.

 

I had Fran look at some of the videos with her view from having lived in the hinterlands of Puerto Rico for a decade (remember that reference?) and she said it looked just like some of the smaller towns in PR.

 

I asked point blank: “Would you have an issue walking in those areas?” She said no problem.

 

By coincidence, we had one other source of native information: One of her mother’s home health aids was from Belize. Being an expatriate she didn’t have the best things to say but she also hadn’t been there in ten years. Most of her concerns were political.

 

The map below shows a Google Earth detail of Belize City at the 500ft scale; you can make out individual structures. My target was the Central Bank of Belize, which, according to the map, was about a half mile walk from the Tourism Village. There was no way I wasn’t going to make that walk and hire a cab for such a short distance. But, if what you read in Cruise Critic was true, I wouldn’t writing this now.

 

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program…

 

Original Planned walking route from the Tourism Village to the Central Bank of Belize (Google Earth Map):

 

I had a 7:26 sunrise to catch followed closely by an 8:00 “arrival” in the vicinity of Belize City. Since there was no docking, the exact point of “arrival” would be nebulous, but no matter. Whatever it looks like, I’ll try to photograph it.

 

I had a 6:30 wake-up call followed soon by a position fix on channel 3. Speed was just over 13 knots.

 

Ship’s position, closing in on Belize City, about 10 miles out. 6:54AM:

 

We were maneuvering among very low lying islands and coming in from the southeast. I proceeded amidships and starboard to get a better look; the sunrise would be behind us since we were heading northwest at this time.

 

Still some time before the sun shows up. 7:15AM:

 

Low-lying islands to port. 7:16AM:

 

Some structures on the mainland, south of Belize City. 7:17AM:

 

Larger Islands being passed, perhaps part of the Drowned Cays? 7:19AM:

[radrayjax]

Close-up of part of the above islands. 7:23AM:

 

The sky is lightening as we pass yet more islands. 7:24AM:

 

I now head aft to get a more direct view of the sunrise.

 

Early morning joggers on the Spa Deck aft jogging track. 7:25AM:

 

Some clouds taking on beautiful hues. 7:29AM:

 

There are a number of low-lying clouds to the east. Again, I’m not going to be able to capture the instant the sun breaks past the exact horizon line.

 

The sunrise is occurring somewhere here. 7:31AM:

 

Thar she be! 7:32AM:

[radrayjax]

Telephoto shot to the center area above. 7:32AM:

 

I’m not the only one watching, that guy has a pro camera outfit. 7:33AM:

 

Colors are spreading everywhere on the horizon. 7:34AM:

 

Aft view of our wake and the brightening sky. 7:35AM:

 

This is different exposure setting, the sun is now unobscured. 7:39AM:

 

I can feel the ship slowing down as we’re nearing our stopping point just minutes away.

A commercial boat can be seen in the distance to port. 7:41AM:

[radrayjax]

ARRIVAL: 7:48 AM

 

I head forward now to get the views of where we’re going.

 

This little scrub of an island would be our companion for the day. It just shows up on the map below. 7:48AM:

Google Earth Satellite/Map of the Dream’s approximate location from Belize City, about 4 miles out. The little island shows as a wisp of color below the ship:

 

BELIZE CITY IN SIGHT!

 

Port and aft view, Belize City, about 4 miles away. 7:48AM:

 

And the sun is glorious! 7:49AM:

 

I return to the cabin to check the position. The path to this point was anything but straight.

 

Our path and position. 7:59AM:

[radrayjax]

CORRECTION TO THE PREVIOUS POST: WRONG MAP!

 

It's not that late yet but I posted the city map instead of the vicinity satellite photo in the last post!

 

Here is the correct photo/map:

[radrayjax]

Observing the tendering boats:

 

I go back out on deck to watch the first of the tendering boats approach, the wait was not long.

 

The first of many tendering boats is waiting nearby. 8:01AM:

 

We’re churning water in station-keeping mode. 8:03AM:

 

Now a brigade of tendering boats is approaching; the city in the background. 8:05AM:

 

Telephoto shot of Belize City. 8:05AM:

 

Telephoto: Further north shot on the peninsula. 8:06AM:

 

This is a tour/excursion boat, not from the city. 8:06AM:

[radrayjax]

Some of the tenders are on close approach. 8:06AM:

 

We have a docking. This one virtually disappears under the Promenade Deck and lifeboats below. 8:07AM:

 

Forward port view of the bridge portside pilot’s station. Note the window in the floor and the color of the water below. 8:07AM:

 

The pilot boat leaves. 8:08AM:

 

Tendering boat Ashanti. I saw this later docked at the tourism village. 8:13AM:

 

The boats are now coming and going in a fairly steady stream. 8:14AM:

[radrayjax]

One down, another to go. 8:14AM:

 

We’re feeding them tourists fore and aft! 8:17AM:

 

The Ashanti leaves with a full load (of cannon fodder!). 8:31AM:

 

A double-decker fills to the gills. 8:34AM:

 

The double-decker is on its way, out from the shadows of the Dream. 8:43AM:

 

The boats aren't done, but it's time for me to switch gears...

[radrayjax]

Breakfast time in the Scarlet Dining Room:

 

About 8:50 I head in and Fran is ready for breakfast so we take the aft elevators down to the Lobby Deck to the Scarlet Dining Room. Again, not only do we have plenty of time but all the pre-arranged excursions have dibs on the tender boats for at least the first hour and a half.

 

Entrance to the Scarlet Dining room, Lobby Deck (3) aft. 8:43AM:

 

This time we have a starboard table to ourselves. The room is less crowded; service is pretty fast.

 

This is a close-up of my coffee-milk concoction. Same thing I use to fill up my thermos for the expeditions. 9:02AM:

 

The breakfast menu. 9:02AM:

 

I had a double order of French Toast, two egg over very well done, bacon, and SF syrup. 9:16AM:

 

Fran had one order of FT, a Belgian waffle, two eggs scrambled, turkey bacon, and syrup. 9:17AM:

 

As we’re leaving the Scarlet DR at 9:15AM, we seen people heading down the aft stairs to Deck 0 to go to the aft tender.

 

Passengers heading down the aft stairs to the tender. 9:17AM:

[radrayjax]

The parade continues; Now we get ready to Sally Forth...

 

I go back topside to watch some more of the tendering procession. It is still fairly pleasant outside.

 

Another boat being fed hapless tourists. 9:35AM:

 

That looks like Ashanti, back for another feeding. 9:35AM:

Shortly about 9:45 I decide that our turn has come about. I’d like to get out about 10:45-11:00. So I head back to the cabin to “suit up” with my back pack and thermos.

 

I’m fully accoutered for the Belize Money Expedition. 10:03AM:

 

Close-up of my sun hat with the Dream Pin. There are spaces for other pins from this voyage. These are the only photos of me at this stop. None were take on shore. 10:04AM:

 

After filling the thermoses, we take the glass elevator to the Promenade Deck to proceed aft to the Burgundy Lounge.

 

View from the glass elevator of the Atlantic Deck bandstand and atrium lobby. 10:11AM:

 

On the way aft I check the large monitor showing our position. This shows the route from Cozumel to Belize City. 10:23AM:

[radrayjax]

Waiting in the Burgundy Lounge, off to our tender...

 

We arrive at the Burgundy Lounge at about 10:25 AM. While we’re waiting I’m going all over the room snapping photos. You will see plenty when I document the Promenade Deck. This room is the jazz!

 

Some people are getting a kick as I move among them shooting upwards at the large harlequin masks (about 6’ across) on the ceiling. In some cases I have to lay down on the ground and shoot up.

 

People waiting for tenders in the Burgundy Lounge. 10:26AM:

 

View to port outside the Burgundy windows at aft tenders. 10:28AM:

 

After a wait of a little more than 20 minutes, our number is called.

 

OUR turn has come and we’re moving forward to take the aft stairs to Deck 0. 10:48AM:

 

Nearing the bottom of the stairs, that’s Deck 0 below. 10:52AM:

 

On Deck 0, we head forward to the aft tender dock. 10:53AM:

 

Turning a corner to the aft tender dock. 10:54AM: