Carnival Dream 10/7-10/14: Rock Me Like A Hurricane

[conjr]

Thanks for posting!  I'm looking forward to your review of the other port days.  We'll be on the Dream for New Year's Eve.

[Tssweety]

How far is Maya Chan from the port?  Sounds like a nice place. 

 

[smitty89]

Loving the review!  We've been on the Dream twice, and really like it.

[Shamrock73]

Really hoping he continues this review

[Silent Penguin]

On 10/16/2018 at 2:21 PM, MisterOJ2 said:

No, it wasn't a fun drive. I drove the whole way while everyone else slept. I had to pull over at a rest area somewhere in Mississippi and catch an hour or so of sleep. And we stopped about an hour from New Orleans for an early, leisurely breakfast. We wound up making it to the Port of New Orleans around 8 am or so.

 

I'm glad you have finally decided to share your cruise experience and pictures. I like trip reports that are factual and have pictures . I'm look forward to reading more.

 

In regards to the drudgery of driving to the port during the night, I understand that you probably didn't have a choice about driving through the night because you were leaving right after your niece's wedding, but if driving through the night is how you usually do it, I wanted to share my unsolicited advice about this.  We've learned -after doing the all-nighter drive many, many times- it's  a lot easier on your body, your brain, and your mood if you leave during the pre-dawn hours of morning and drive during the day.  When you posted about dozing while the girls shopped, I could relate.  Dh and I are about 10 years older than you, and I remember it was in our early forties that overnight drives began to take more of a toll on us than before.  Even with a sleep stop, it took at least a couple days to recover.  

 

We live in Maryland, so the drive to our ports of choice  is 12-14 hour away.  Typically, it was dark by the time we left because  we would leave after dh got home from work, we ate dinner and we packed up the car.  I didn't help much with the driving because I fall asleep at the wheel driving late at night. Dh would drive until he was thoroughly exhausted.  We would sleep in the car for a while or get a cheap motel room if we made it far enough south.  Either way, neither of us got a decent night's sleep, and as I mentioned,  it took a couple days to feel right again. 

 

A couple cruises ago, I started toying with the idea of leaving pre-dawn and driving in the morning.  Once I figured out a route and time schedule that would allow us avoid morning rush hour in DC and further south, I proposed the idea to my husband. At first he wasn't keen on it, but I showed him where my plan included a stop at a place in South Carolina well-liked for their Southern cuisine, something he's missed since his childhood visits to his grandparents' houses.  My hypothesis that we would suffer little or no fatigue because we would driving during daylight (except for the first couple hours) hours turned out to be correct.  Unless we had to leave at night, we will continue to do it this way. 

[Anyislandwilldo]

Thanks for your review.  I'm counting down to our Feb cruise on the Dream so I'm reading as many reviews as I can.