Wrigley80's Excellent Adventure on the Dream Photo Review - December 4-15, 2014

[wrigley80]

We headed back to the hotel around 9:00 pm. I still had to pack up our suitcases and get some organizing done. We headed to bed around 11:30 pm because we knew that we would have a big day tomorrow....it was time for the cruise but before that happened we had to make a trip to the EMERGENCY ROOM in Kenner, LA. :eek: All day Saturday my dad was itching his arms, legs, chest, back...he was basically itching his whole body. Now my dad has kidney problems and a side effect of kidney disease is severe, persistent itching.

 

He woke me up around 1:30 am and his arms and back were covered in huge welts from the constant itching. I was really scared for him :( but I knew that I had to stay in control of a scary situation. I knew that he wouldn't be able to go on the cruise in the shape he was in so I told him that we were going to the hospital or the airport to go home. He said "I am not going home" so I researched on my phone for the closest hospital...which was about 3 miles from our hotel. We got to the hospital around 2:00 am and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally we saw a doctor and they gave him a shot of steroids and a prescription of prednisone. Within 10 minutes of getting the shot the swelling and welts were going away....it was definitely a miracle.

 

We left the airport around 5:30 am and headed back to the hotel to get about an hour of sleep. I was just so thankful that we were going to be able to go on the cruise and that my dad was feeling better. And I know he was feeling better.

[wrigley80]

Now the start of this cruise was unlike any other that we had been on before because our friends were getting married on embarkation day. And I was in the wedding :) We had to be at the Port of New Orleans by 9:00 am so that the entire wedding group could board together. We were onboard by 10:00 am. We were the first group to board the ship

 

After the morning that I had already had....10:00 am seemed like the perfect time for my first beer :p

 

After a stop at the atrium bar so that my dad could get the bottomless bubbles card we headed to our cabin to drop off our carry-ons and so that I could get ready for the wedding. Even at 10:00 our cabin steward had our cabin ready

[wrigley80]

Our friends got married in Chambers Lounge (it is the conference room on Deck 4 mid-ship).

 

The groom is striking a pose while waiting for his bride

 

 

Yep that's right I was a Flower Girl in the wedding. And as you can tell by our shirts the wedding theme was skulls and roses. :) The bride loves skulls

[wrigley80]

Pam and Danielle. Pam and I are great friends. She is an original Krewe member

 

Our flower girl baskets....aren't they cute

 

Carnival did a beautiful job on the wedding and reception. The reception was a 2-hour open bar in Sam's Piano Bar. Now I am not one for big church weddings. If the time comes for me to get married I will definitely think about doing it on a Carnival ship. Everything was beautiful

[wrigley80]

My fellow flower girl....Dana and I were both flower girls. Dana made the flower girl baskets. Everyone loved them

 

Me and my best buddy at the reception

 

Glo had a beautiful dress and Smokey accented the bridesmaids dresses and our flower girl shirts perfectly

 

Me with Glo....I caught the bouquet so you know what that means :p

 

From Left to Right....Sam (he caught the Garter), Smokey (the groom), Me, Glo (the bride), and Dana (my fellow flower girl).

 

The reception ended about 3:30 so we rushed back to our cabins to drop things off and head to the muster drill. The cruise was about to get started

[wrigley80]

We made Muster Station D. We were in the Encore Lounge (upper level). Having the muster drill inside is so much better than herding everyone outside onto the open decks. The Muster Drill was quick and painless.....let the fun begin

 

After the Muster Drill we headed back to our cabin to watch sail-away from our balcony. The Steamboat Natchez was turning around right in front of the Dream

 

It was a chilly sail-away....brrrrrrr

 

It was pretty cool the Steamboat from this angle since we were onboard yesterday

 

 

Kind of a chilly day for a Canoe Ride. That canoe looked like a speck next to the cruise ship :eek:

[wrigley80]

My dad come in to help me un-pack the suitcases so that we could get everything put away

 

 

 

We were in cabin 10268....a Port Side Balcony cabin (we were right by the Atrium elevators). It was a great location

[wrigley80]

We were starting to pull away from the dock. I had a friend on the Norwegian Dawn this week so I told her to get pics of the Dream as we pull out of New Orleans and I will get pics for you of the Dawn

 

Beautiful sunset over New Orleans

 

I love this picture

 

I love the New Orleans skyline

 

 

[wrigley80]

It was definitely the coldest sail-away that we have ever had on a Caribbean cruise. But hey we didn't care we were leaving the cold behind and headed to a tropical climate

 

BRRRRRRRRRR

 

I love this pic of the Steamboat Natchez

 

River Captain coming to meet up with us

 

 

[wrigley80]

The Riverfront Streetcar line

 

 

The French Market area

 

 

[wrigley80]

Looking Aft....we were a long way up

 

This wouldn't be the deck for you if you were scared of heights

 

 

 

 

After watching us sail-away from New Orleans we decided to get ready for dinner.

[wrigley80]

For the first time in all of our cruises we had early dining because we were eating with some friends from our KREWE. I am not a fan of assigned dining. We have had your time dining for our last 5 cruises and I definitely like that better because I like the flexibility to go when you want to

 

The menu from night one. My dad went into this cruise knowing that they would have the Steakhouse Selections option on the menu so on night one there wasn't really anything that appealed to him so he ordered from the Steakhouse Selection option

 

The Steakhouse Selections options

 

We ate in the Scarlet Dining Room which is on decks 3 and 4 aft. Our table was on the Lower Level. The Scarlet Dining Room is very red

 

[wrigley80]

One of my favorite appetizers....the Chicken Strips. Yeah I know it's not very exciting

 

I ordered the brisket for my entrée but I had a feeling that I would be ordering room service later on :p

 

 

My dad ordered the 14-oz New York Strip Steak. He said it was the most tender steak that he has ever had. This is really saying something because my dad loves steak. I had a feeling that the Steakhouse Selection option was going to be expensive for me in the dining room.....haha

 

I ordered the banana split from the kiddie menu for dessert

 

After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard show and then we headed back to our cabin for the night to watch us cruise down the Mississippi River. We had a very busy day that began with a trip to the ER. I was just very happy to be onboard another cruise with my dad and all of our friends.

 

So that is the end of Day # 1 on the cruise. Please stay tuned for more.....the fun is just beginning. On day # 2 will come the introduction of Bam Bam and Bessie......

[wrigley80]

OK so day # 2 on the cruise was going to be a busy one. We had our meet and greet today and we were having a KREWE KRAWL tonight after the formal dinner.

 

My dad and I slept in a little today. We left the cabin around 9:00 am. We wandered through the Lido Deck on our way to the Scarlet Dining Room for the Sea Day Brunch.

 

I love these chairs on the Dream. I swear I wish I could fit one in my suitcase cause it would have went home with me. They are so comfy

 

 

We made it back to the dining room for breakfast. I started out with the fruit

 

I had the steak and eggs for breakfast. It was pretty good

 

But this is the only reason why I come to the Sea Day Brunch. I love the Caramel Cheesecake

 

My dad ordered the banana cream pie. Bananas are a breakfast food....aren't they??? HEHE

[Liverpoollovely]

I love your reviews Brianna :) I feel nostalgic reading this review as the Dream was my first Carnival Cruise and I loved it :)

[wrigley80]

After breakfast we decided to make our way to the shops to check them out.

 

We stopped off at the candy shop first. I wanted to order an occasion cake for the bride and groom to be delivered to the table during dinner

 

 

As I was waiting to pay for my cake a few other goodies. This crew member, Carmina, says to me "You look familiar. Were you on the Carnival Sunshine last December." I said to her "Yes I was. It was in early December." She remembered my dad and I. I asked her how she remembered me and she said it was from my tattoo on my wrist....WOW. I guess I just have one of those faces that people don't forget.

 

One of my purchases from Cherry on Top. These sour gummy funnels are definitely a guilty pleasure for me onboard

 

I never got a single t-shirt all week on the ship. I guess it's probably cause I have them all from the Dream.....haha.

[cruisinc]

I am going on the Dream in March, 2015 and can't get enough of your review. We are arriving in NO a day early to explore. We are staying in Metarie so I was wondering with all the exploring you did in NO, was parking a problem? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for the great review!

[wrigley80]

I love your reviews Brianna :) I feel nostalgic reading this review as the Dream was my first Carnival Cruise and I loved it :)

 

Thank You so much. Your first ship always holds a special place in your heart. For me that is the Carnival Valor. People always ask me what is your favorite ship....first I say all of them but yeah the Valor would probably be my favorite.

[wrigley80]

I am going on the Dream in March, 2015 and can't get enough of your review. We are arriving in NO a day early to explore. We are staying in Metarie so I was wondering with all the exploring you did in NO, was parking a problem? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for the great review!

 

Metairie is a great place to stay. We usually stay at the Sleep Inn there. We never really had any trouble parking. You better have a driver that is good at parallel parking though. The night we went to Tropical Isle for our pre-cruise meet and greet I told my dad that we should park way up on Canal Street and then take the streetcar down to Bourbon and take a taxi to Tropical Isle.

He said let's drive down there first to see if we see a spot. Well there was a spot on a side street right by Tropical Isle. I was driving a Dodge Avenger.....I never thought I would make it in the spot but my dad guided me in. It was perfect.

 

If you find a good spot....Park and then walk it, or use a streetcar, or use a taxi

[wrigley80]

We always ask our room steward to take the heavy duvet comforter off the beds and just put on a blanket.

 

The water was so smooth

 

Our friend, Tanya, riding up in the elevator

 

I love the atrium on the Dream....it is so pretty

 

[wrigley80]

 

There's our newlyweds. My dad and I gave them those shirts for a wedding gift. I had them made with their proposal photo from BC7. Smokey proposed onstage with John Heald's help during last year's Bloggers cruise

 

Our chocolate delight for being Platinum

 

We were in cabin 10268 which was right by the Atrium elevators so I knew that it was a perfect location for a door decoration. I decided to ask all of our Krewe members what was their favorite football teams and then I made a board asking people walking by to write down where they were from and their favorite teams. It was a great idea. The sign boards were both full by day 4 of the cruise

 

[wrigley80]

We had our meet and greet in the Burgandy Lounge on deck 5 aft. It was a perfect location. I had asked John Heald about a week before the cruise for a location that would hold about 90 people. We wanted to be able to have a cash bar. This worked out perfect. We had a Christmas ornament exchange as well as a 50/50 raffle. Half the money went to the raffle winner and half went to St. Judes Children Hospital. We raised $225.00 to go to St. Judes so I would call that a success

 

My dad and Smokey

 

Just a small portion of our KREWE

 

Steve and Maria.....were Santa's naughty little helpers :p

 

from L to R.....Brad, Debbie, Jerry, and Amanda (all members of the KREWE)

[cruisinc]

Thanks so much! My husband thinks he's an expert at parallel parking, so I'll let him drive!

[wrigley80]

Thanks so much! My husband thinks he's an expert at parallel parking, so I'll let him drive!

 

Yeah good idea. I was driving and my dad was guiding me in. There was a lot of yelling and cursing until I finally got it all straightened out :) ;) :p

[wrigley80]

More members of our KREWE.....there were about 30 of us on this cruise

 

 

Linda must be excited with what she received for an ornament

 

Tanya is doing the KREWE dance for me

 

My beautiful ornament that I received from Jerry and Amanda. It changed into about 5 different colors. It is sooooo pretty