Carnival Dream (9/14/14)- With Pictures

[familycruzr]

 

I have to say, temperature this time of year wasn't too bad. The humidity on the other hand was out of control!! I have naturally curly hair that I blow dry and curl, but this weather kept making my hair oddly REALLY flat. Because of the humidity, my group wanted to find a good place to eat and quick. We needed AC! My BF's brother wanted to try some good local gumbo, and kept asking everyone where was good. We finally landed on a place called The Grill after he asked a cop and the cop said it was the best gumbo he'd had in a while. So off we went to find this place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I LOVE red beans and rice and this is exactly the kind of place we like to eat when we travel, a good local joint.

[NOLABEAUTY]

Thank you for the compliment! :D MdR for us usually took anywhere from 1hr 15 minutes to 1hr and a half, dining was a little on the slow side though. I'm sure you could get out quicker but my group would keep ordering more food. If you do assigned dining I'd try to get their early since they usually will let you in earlier and then you can get your order in before anyone else.

 

 

You are welcome :)

This will be our first time on the dream, and I've heard from others service in the mdr can be quite slow. That being said, I am not in a rush, just curious on how much time I have for my food to digest before I can start drinking!!! Lol.

 

 

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[malmo288]

Thanks for the recommendation. I LOVE red beans and rice and this is exactly the kind of place we like to eat when we travel, a good local joint.

 

You will love it. Make sure and get that hot sausage patty too!

 

 

 

You are welcome :)

This will be our first time on the dream, and I've heard from others service in the mdr can be quite slow. That being said, I am not in a rush, just curious on how much time I have for my food to digest before I can start drinking!!! Lol.

 

 

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Haha we always had a pre drink and I was the only one who drank after since everyone was over stuffed from their multiple orders. Because mdr is slower your don't feel stuffed in my opinion if you eat like a normal person, not like my family did. I always felt satisfied with my meal and then headed to the bar for a drink. ;)

[andcar]

Thanks for doing such a detailed review! You answered a lot of my questions about the Dream. We will be on the Dream in October and are trying to decide what to do in Roatan. Your review made LFK look great but we are also thinking about Maya Key. Did you see how the snorkeling was at LFK?

[malmo288]

Thanks for doing such a detailed review! You answered a lot of my questions about the Dream. We will be on the Dream in October and are trying to decide what to do in Roatan. Your review made LFK look great but we are also thinking about Maya Key. Did you see how the snorkeling was at LFK?

 

Lfk is like a dream to be at but I didn't do any snorkeling. I decided to go to Lfk mainly because of mitsugirly's review of them. She does thorough picture reviews too(that's also why I was inspired to do one) and I know she has been to both places. Do a search for mitsugirly and in any of her posts you can find links to her reviews in her sig line. She breaks it down by cruise ship and by what she did in Port. She enjoys snorkeling, I've read, so hopefully it helps.

[malmo288]

I just realized when I went to organize my cruise photos that I never posted the last days funtimes! I'm sure they aren't exactly the same for every cruise, but if any of you are like me, you like to know what goes on for the last day just to get an idea. This day was unusual because of our medical emergency but they didn't cancel any of the activities in the funtimes. Only thing that was closed early was the shops.

 

So here they are!

 

 

[njasmine]

I love your review. My family will be on the dream on 11/2/14. Can't wait.

[malmo288]

I love your review. My family will be on the dream on 11/2/14. Can't wait.

 

Thank you! You guys will love her!

[srobins]

I know there's not a sports bar on the Dream. Did you happen to notice if they were showing football or other sports at any of the other lounges? I think a friend told me he thought they just showed sports at the casino bar.

 

We love college football and will be on the Dream during bowl season - hope to be able to see some of the bowl games.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Sherryl

[malmo288]

I know there's not a sports bar on the Dream. Did you happen to notice if they were showing football or other sports at any of the other lounges? I think a friend told me he thought they just showed sports at the casino bar.

 

We love college football and will be on the Dream during bowl season - hope to be able to see some of the bowl games.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Sherryl

 

 

We are huge football fans too(college and nfl) unfortunately there isn't a specific sports bar and the only place we could catch the games was the casino. But they did play a variety so we got to see all the games we wanted to watch, so I'm sure they will play the bowl game! It was a fun energy at the casino bar when games were on. Enjoy!

[conorsmom]

can't wait to read

[malmo288]

can't wait to read

 

I hope you enjoy. Feel free and ask me any questions! :)

[chriscec2012]

 

 

We didn't do too much this night either because the sun has a way of making you tired. They were playing Godzilla tonight on the dive-in movies and we decided to watch that. We didn't really feel like getting ready and going to sit at a real dinner this night, and this movie started at 7 anyway. We'd miss our dinner, but my BF and I had never seen this movie and I can't think of a better place to watch it. We ate a quick snack when we got back on the boat and then went to our rooms to shower and get ready. And then we all met for movie time.

 

 

 

 

The movie was great, but it got really chilly out on the lido deck while we were watching the movie. The sea wind mixed with the sun going down provided the need for a blanket. We didn't leave to get one, but maybe bring one with you if you plan on watching a movie up there at night, especially this time of year. After the movie we went to the buffet to catch a quick dinner. I will say, although the buffet serves a lot of the same foods that you'd get on this nights dinner menu, it was cold by the time we ate it which was close to 9pm. I get that they were going to be closing at 9:30, but if your still going to serve food until 9:30 it would be nice if it stayed hot until 9:30. We were glad we didn't go to the dining room tonight to eat because we didn't care much for the food at the buffet. My bf's brother's wife had left for bed already while the rest of us ate so when we finished eating we all just called it a night. The last three days exhausted us and we knew we'd get 2 more relaxing sea days to enjoy. When we got back to the room, we watched another movie on the laptop that my boyfriend brought, but we didn't even make it halfway because we were so tired.

 

Tonight Camelia left this guy for us.

 

 

And then on a side note about Camelia, I wanted to share how amazing she was. She always had our ice full, she always remembered our names when she saw us walking by, she always had a smile on her face when we saw her, she remembered how I wore my robe(with the sleeves folded up a little bit) and would hang it just where I always did when it wasn't on the floor to be exchanged. But the thing that shocked me the most was we would leave her money on the counter, and every time we did that I would write her a note saying thanks for all that she does and one night I didn't leave a note, but it was the same amount that we had been leaving when we'd leave tips and no other money was out around it so we figured she'd take it, but she didn't touch it. Camelia was so trustworthy she didn't even take a tip that was left on the counter for her because it didn't specifically say so. I loved her so much for everything she did and especially because we could trust her. If you guys get Camelia, she will take good care of you. So I hope you take good care of her too.

I have a question about the Little French Key...you I think mentioned next time you would book it through the cruise line (we are leaving Nov 8 on the Glory out of Miami with all the same stops almost)...anyway it's called French Key on Carnival...I may sounds crazy but do you think that would be the same thing? I definitely am going to the same place you did, I've seen tons of reviews on it!! And btw I love reading about your trip!!

[malmo288]

I have a question about the Little French Key...you I think mentioned next time you would book it through the cruise line (we are leaving Nov 8 on the Glory out of Miami with all the same stops almost)...anyway it's called French Key on Carnival...I may sounds crazy but do you think that would be the same thing? I definitely am going to the same place you did, I've seen tons of reviews on it!! And btw I love reading about your trip!!

 

No, I wouldn't book it through the cruise line. When we were there, we met people who were booked through Carnival and they were bummed because they got there later and were leaving earlier. When I go again, I will book directly with LFK too. The different packages are really good especially since you can add anything too the most basic one which already includes your transportation to and from the pier. I'm sure the cruise line excursion is just as good, I just love the freedom of being able to stay in paradise as along as you want before heading back. The one that you see on Carnival's excursions is exactly the same place. But I would recommend looking into booking direct. You will LOVE this place!!!

 

I'm so glad you enjoyed my review! :D

[azkcruizers]

Great review.....thank you! We are scheduled to go to Little French Key in a few weeks. I'm a little worried after seeing your report of jellyfish :eek: I know of course they can be anywhere, but I hadn't seen any reports before of them there so I was hopeful. My daughter has recently been ill and had surgery and I know this could be a problem and hadn't really thought about it before now. The only other time I've seen jellyfish is in Roatan at Tabyana Beach. The water was loaded with them. Not sure what I will do now...but thank you!

[malmo288]

Great review.....thank you! We are scheduled to go to Little French Key in a few weeks. I'm a little worried after seeing your report of jellyfish :eek: I know of course they can be anywhere, but I hadn't seen any reports before of them there so I was hopeful. My daughter has recently been ill and had surgery and I know this could be a problem and hadn't really thought about it before now. The only other time I've seen jellyfish is in Roatan at Tabyana Beach. The water was loaded with them. Not sure what I will do now...but thank you!

 

I hadn't read anything about jellyfish before going either so I was shocked. That water is so perfect you couldn't imagine anything mean in it!!! Where we were sitting We only saw a few of the really small ones but of the 4 of us that were swimming and snorkeling and just hanging out in the water all day, my bf was the only one that got stung and he said it felt just like a baby sting. The locals say as long as you don't pee in the water they won't come to you and I'm not sure if they were just around more because of the time of year we went. Hopefully, they will be all gone by the time you go! I'm sorry to hear about your daughter being ill and I hope she is feeling better. I hope the slice of paradise will help. I wouldn't let the jellyfish scare you out of going since there weren't that many stings. People saw them but besides that girl screaming and my bf, I didn't hear anyone else that got stung. This place is just too beautiful and perfect to miss, in my opinion. Good luck in your choices! :)

[Gari]

Thanks so much for this great review and the amazing pictures I am sailing on NOvember 9th and this is the best way to prepare for the fun. :D

[malmo288]

Thanks so much for this great review and the amazing pictures I am sailing on NOvember 9th and this is the best way to prepare for the fun. :D

 

Your so welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed! Have a good cruise! :)

[ciship]

 

We didn't have any problems with ac. Sometimes it was even too chilly in the room. We did see a lot of people bringing those small fans because of the reviews of it being hot but in our room and our family's room we had no complaints. I'm someone who normally has to sleep in cold because I get real hot easily when I sleep and I had no issues with being hot in the room even when I was asleep. Throughout the ship temperatures were all perfect. Sometimes too chilly in the dining rooms.

 

Fortunately for you, you had a forward cabin......they say the air conditioning problems are in the cabins more towards aft.

[smeck]

 

Off we were to do a bit more roaming. This city is so fun and full of life. And there was never a boring thing to look at. We didn't venture into any bars because we had plans to wake up early to board the Dream! :D

We roamed a lot, watch some fireworks from a wedding that was going on that night, and eventually found this place everyone had been talking about called Cafe Du Monde. I highly recommend this place as well. It was such a delicious bite of a funnel cake/donut mixture. And the perfect sweet to end a beautiful day. We discovered they were open for 24hrs. So no matter what time it is you can try this place.

 

 

 

After dessert, we made our way back to the hotel. Here is just a couple more shots before bed time and then tomorrow starts the Dream!!

 

 

 

 

Best Gumbo in NOLA is a place called Mothers. Last time there reminded me of a soup kitchen but a NOLA institution.

[malmo288]

 

Fortunately for you, you had a forward cabin......they say the air conditioning problems are in the cabins more towards aft.

 

Thanks for that information! I didn't know which side of the ship had the ac problems so I'm sure people will appreciate this comment! Air was perfect for us in our room.

 

 

Best Gumbo in NOLA is a place called Mothers. Last time there reminded me of a soup kitchen but a NOLA institution.

 

 

I haven't heard about mothers but I will definitely have to look it up next time we leave out of new Orleans! Thanks for sharing!

[gapearl]

First I have to say you're so pretty! I loved your review. I'm planning to book the Dream on this same itinerary next year for my birthday cruise with my family. I loved all your pictures and the review itself was very informative and balanced. Thanks so much for posting! :)

[mdwcruises]

Such a lovely review!

[malmo288]

First I have to say you're so pretty! I loved your review. I'm planning to book the Dream on this same itinerary next year for my birthday cruise with my family. I loved all your pictures and the review itself was very informative and balanced. Thanks so much for posting! :)

 

Thank you! Your sweet. And I'm glad you enjoyed my review! Have fun on the Dream when you go! She definitely won't disappoint. :)

[shawne71]

 

Fortunately for you, you had a forward cabin......they say the air conditioning problems are in the cabins more towards aft.

 

We were on the Dream in September. Our room was very cold, so cold that we dragged the extra comforters out of the closet. We were in 7448 which is almost as far aft as you can get.

Edited October 14, 2014 by shawne71