Dream NYE - Great & not so great

[shaneandpamela]

12th cruise.  All Carnival.  Forth or fifth out of NOLA.  Second on the Dream.  Cruising since 2005.

Long post.  Read it if you want.

What a great way to end possibly the hardest year of my life.  Lost dad at the end of 2017, and spend most of 2018 dealing with all that goes with losing your last parent.  Knew early on in 2018 that I would want to get away after Christmas, called my PVP, and she hooked us up. 

Drove to NOLA on Dec 27.  Parked the Jeep at Machu Picchu parking and got a ride to the Marriott on Canal.  Restaurants on our list:

• Cafe Maspero on Decatur in the Quarter - Food is good.  We always grab a large hurricane to go from here.  I think they are the best in the Quarter.
• Toast on Decatur in the Quarter - We tried this because Coop's was still closed for their Christmas break.  A breakfast/brunch/lunch place.  I has some sort of giant French Toast that was amazing, and their bacon was top notch.  Can't tell you about drinks there as I was still working on my Cafe Maspero hurricane.
• Blue Oak BBQ on N Carrollton - We rode the street car directly to Blue Oak with the intention of walking over to City Park to walk through the Christmas lights (closed due to rain even tho it wasn't raining).  The BBQ was top notch.  I still prefer The Joint over in the Marigny, but I'd eat at Blue Oak on a consistant basis if I lived in town.  They have quite a line up of bourbon if you are into that.  I had a shot of the 2018 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon (very hard to find). 
• New Orleans Cake Cafe & Bakery - We ran (yes, ran) from the hotel to the cafe for breakfast.  Food & coffee were great.
• Coops on Decatur in the Quarter - One of my favorites.  The service can seem a bit snarky.  It's what they do.  The food is good enough to get me in the door every trip down.
• The Pelican Club on Exchange Place in the Quarter - Picked this place on a recommendation from a FB group.  Wow.  Double wow.  Chose from their Reveillon holiday menu and won every course.
• Molly's Rise & Shine on Magazine - Again, we ran down Magazine to breakfast.  I thought this was just okay, but my wife loved it.
• Wayfare on Freret just north of the Garden District - Took a streetcar to Cadiz St stop then walked north up to Freret.  Wound up here because we have a niece that works there that we haven't seen in years.  Another wow.  I wish I had this place around the corner.  Food was great.
• GW Fins on Bienville in the Quarter - Another must go every trip.  Food and service were amazing as ever.

 

The Marriott on Canal was really nice.  Very busy but no complaints at all.

Angel at Machu Picchu always takes great care of us and our vehicles.  Our van from the hotel to the cruise terminal was about 10 minutes EARLY.

 

Arrived at the cruise terminal around 10:30am Sunday, Dec 30.  12 cruises gets you Platinum and that little red PRIORITY thing on your boarding pass.  We were up in the priority lounge in about three minutes, and we were on the ship just after 11am.  I wanted a balcony as we haven't had one in several cruises, and Kristen hooked us up with spa balcony on the deck 11.  I was worried that we would be under the gym, but 11240 is far enough back that there was no noise at all from the spa/gym on deck 12.  Room was immaculate.  Edy our room steward was by far and away the best we've ever had.  Dropped off our small bags, grabbed a drink, and walked the ship.  We immediately noticed a difference in the cleanliness of the ship and in the perceived happiness of the crew. 

 

The ship was pretty much spotless and the crew all had smiles on their faces (all seven days).  Watched the turn around and sail away from the front on deck 11.  I always love the ride out and in on the river, and having the balcony this time was a bonus. 

 

We'll do the bad first...

 

Sooner that you think on that first day it's 6pm and time for dinner - always an iffy subject with Carnival.  Wife an I were assigned to table 432 (back of the lower Scarlet dining room) - a table set for 10.  Soon enough three other couples (none traveling together) arrived, the last arriving around 6:15.  I knew right away that we were in trouble.  The staff waited until 6:30 to even bring menus.  Never asked if we wanted tea.  Did not seem to be in any hurry at all.  And did not introduce themselves.  The food was eh.  We finally got out of there near 8pm.  I had all but decided I was done in the MDR.  We went back one more time.  Service was just as bad.  Food was eh again.  We loved the two couples we got to know and we saw them all over the ship daily, including eating up on Lido a couple of times.  They didn't go back either.  Is this a ploy by MDR staff?  To be so bad at their job that their workload disappears?

Steakhouse reservations on New Years Eve.  We love the steakhouse on Carnival ships and eat up there at least a couple of times each cruise.  I must say that I was very disappointed with both of our meals up there on this cruise.  Other than the steakhouse manager who greets you at the door, the staff seemed like they would rather be somewhere else (the only crew we saw that did not seem to be happy to be there).  Very hurried service (compared to other experiences) but the service was somehow still lacking.  Just not what we have come to expect from a Carnival steakhouse.  The food was an even bigger disappointment.  Appetizers were okay.  I tried a couple of new ones so I have nothing to compare to.  Wife loves the lobster bisque and she said that this trip the recipe was different and not nearly as good as previous trips.  As for the steaks themselves... I had the bone in ribeye on NYE.  I know ribeye steaks, and this one was of very poor quality.  Tough.  Tasteless.  It was grilled medium rare as requested.  That is about all I can say about it.  I had the filet mignon on Friday evening.  Filets are not supposed to be tough at all.  Mine was.  Tasted better than the ribeye, but not by a lot.  Both steaks were sub-par compared to at least 20 other Carnival steakhouse experiences.  And then there were the side dishes.  For some reason, they think it is chic or neat or whatever to serve your side dishes in these little cast iron "bowls(?)" or carafes or whatever you want to call them.  I would order two sides with each meal.  Each time one side's taste was tainted by the oil they must use to store/season these little cast iron bowls.  One night it was the mushrooms.  The other night it was the mashed potatoes.  Inedible.  Which takes us back to the service.  We were NEVER asked either evening if the food was okay.  Enough on this.  Desserts were on par.

And then there was Nick.  Nick the dealer at the craps table.  When I gamble on the ship, I only play craps.  I have a fairly good knowledge and understanding of the game - how it is played and how it pays out.  Nick does not have these traits, yet gets paid to run the table.  Nick is nasty to the people at the table.  Nick doesn't watch the dice when rolled and sticks his hands out during a roll.  Nick misses rolls while watching passengers walk by.  Nick yelled at my wife for walking up to the table with a drink.  Nick shorted multiple payouts.  Luckily the players knew the proper payouts and worked with the boxman to correct the issue.  Nick passed the dice to the wrong person as the stickman.  Nick should not be working the craps table.  Yes.  Nick is his real name.  No.  I'm not ashamed or afraid to post it.  Incompetence needs to be rooted out.
 

Now for the good and great...

 

We absolutely love sea days.  We would book a 7 day All Sea Day cruise in a heartbeat.  We pretty much do NOTHING.  We do get up early (5am or so) to run and exercise.  We grab a table out on Lido around 6:30am and eat a small breakfast and read and people watch.  We find our "nest" for the day around 8am - either on the back of the boat or up on Serenity - and we read, drink, nibble, watch the people and the clouds go by, and nap now and then.  Usually get up to walk around and go back to prepare for dinner around 4pm.  That pretty much sums up our three sea days.  Carnival knows how to do breakfast - no complaints.  For the most part, Carnival knows how to do lunch - no complaints.  We only bought our drinks from the Red Frog Rum Hut.  Made friends with Cussy and a couple other bartenders.  Drinks this trip seemed to be better and stronger than past cruises.  Not sure if that is the recipe or the cash tips 🙂

 

Roatan - Do the Jolly Roger snorkel tour.  Just do it.  We had a fairly windy day in port, so rather than snorkel the near side of the island, we bused to the far side and snorkeled the reefs over there - much less wind.  Beautiful.  And we were in the water a LONG time.  Easily and hour and a quarter plus.  Lunch on the boat was better than most anything I had on the Dream.  They poured the drinks like they had to get rid of all of the rum.  Great crew.  Great day.

 

Belize - We did the Rendezvous Caye snorkel.  The ride out to the island was pretty long - 70 minutes or so.  It was against the wind so that didn't help.  I did not enjoy the crew on the island as well as the Jolly Roger crew.  The snorkeling was outstanding.  It would be great if they would turn you loose to snorkel the entire time you are there rather than just do the loop with the group.  There is a ton to see there and with the group, you are limited.  The food was okay.  No free drinks on this one.

 

Cozumel - We love Cozumel.  Have vacationed there.  Have made friends there.  Got off the boat before 7am.  Went straight to town.  Zermat bakery for a couple of pastries then to Coz Coffee Roasters for coffee and a talk with Tom the owner.  Great place.  Great guy.  They can be busy.  It's worth the wait.  Since we had just been in Cozumel in July, we really didn't have a lot of shopping we wanted to do.  We did stop at the Thirsty Cougar on the main drag to grab some hand made glassware that our children had asked for after bringing ours home in July.  The kids at the Cougar are great.  They may not remember our names, but they remember our faces.  We always get a smile and a hug.  Grabbed a cab back to the pier to look for a purse Pamela wanted at the two Rogers Boots locations out there as the location in town didn't have what she wanted.  No dice.  The purse she saw in July is no longer available.  Back to the ship to put up a few things and grab towels and snorkel gear, then a cab out to Money Bar.  Lunch and drinks.  Beware the margaritas.  They may be small, but they are mighty.  Had shrimp ceviche, squid rings, and a plate of guac.  The food was outstanding.  Better than anything on the Dream.  We never got in the water.  Just read and watched the people and the boats go by.  Just a beautiful day, but we weren't done.  Cabbed back to the Cougar for a drink.  I had them make me their version of a mudslide.  It was a giant frozen rum/chocolate/peanut butter concoction.  We sat right out on the street and the people walking by just stared at the size of the thing.  It was good and it was strong.  Sat and people watched for a while, and headed back to the ship around 4pm.  This was a great day in Cozumel.

 

The spa rooms on deck 11 and 12 give you access to a few areas in the spa that we had never used before - the thalassotherapy pool and the thermal suites.  Wife loved them and used them daily.  I liked the pool.  It was nice to go sit after a workout.  Getting old sucks and this helped make these old bones feel better.

 

The New Years Eve festivities were beyond anything we had been told to expect.  It was elegant night, but it is Carnival, so you see everything.  I love that.  We joined at least a thousand people down in and surrounding the Deck 3 Lobby Bar at 10:30pm for the balloon drop.  That was a pretty neat thing.  Then we moved up to the Lido deck.  So did what appeared to be the entire ship.  As the clock closed in on midnight, the deck got more and more crowded with dancers and revelers.  By the time the countdown was on, there was barely room to move except around the edges of the deck.  Carnival did this one right.  It was a great night.

I know it's a perk of being Platinum, but getting on and off the ship were so easy that it's not even funny.  They cleared the ship for us to board right at 11am, and we were on board about 5 minutes later.  Getting off was even better than our other Platinum experience.  Better set up and process so there was not a mad rush for the door. This could all be because of the low number of Diamonds and Platinum cruisers.  We were told there were 25 Diamonds and 241 Platinums on this sailing.

 

And then there was the Captain.  Captain Carlo Queriolo.  Most outgoing personable captain we've had the pleasure to cruise with.  His daily announcements were great.  We had the chance to talk with him at the Diamond/Platinum party.  Unlike some other captains I've watched, he took the time to talk with any that wanted a word.

 

This was an overall great cruise. I can get past the problems with the food and with the casino dealer.  We aren't a couple that cruise for the food.  We cruise for the relaxation and for the chance to just get to spend quality time together.  It was good enough that we are already booked to cruise NYE again in 2019.

[bury me at sea]

My condolences for your loss.

 

I loved your delightful review and couldn't agree with you more about sea days.  That's why I cruise.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts,

[j1d1]

My family and I were on this same cruise.  It was our first Carnival cruise.  We had a very different experience with the MDR staff.  We used YTD and requested the same team every night.  Novi was the Head Waitress for the team and was amazing.  I agree that the meal as a whole does take too long though.  We thought the food was very good.  The steak with the steak and eggs at bruch was surprisingly good.  My daughter really liked the gluten free french toast.  The beef tenderloin at dinner was REALLY good. 

 

As a blue card, getting on the ship wasn't bad at all as we showed up during our arrival time window.  But getting off the ship was miserable.  Maybe we got lucky with our Disney cruise as we were off the ship, through customs, and waiting for the rental car van in 5 minutes at Port Canaveral.  The biggest hiccup there was that I dropped my souvenir beer mug.  This time we had the lowest number available for "early" disembark (zone 6) with checked luggage.  We didn't get out of customs to meet the Machu Picchu guy until after 10.  I can't recommend Machu Picchu enough.  They took good care of us.  Angel even called on the Sunday of embarkation to warn me about potential traffic issues that day due to the Saints game.

 

I'm sorry to hear about the bad craps experience.  I went by the table a few times during the week but never played.  The table never appeared to have much energy, and I would have had a hard time with the smoke any way.

 

Thanks for the review.  Overall it was a really fun week, and we walked away pretty happy with the Carnival experience.

Edited January 11, 2019 by j1d1
change one word

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for doing the review, it was an interesting account.  We agree about NYE, it is spectacular on a Carnival ship.

[Joebucks]

Thanks for the review. I am doing a Dream sailing out of NO very soon. I also want to do a NYE cruise soon too!

[Markmom18]

Thank you Shaneandpamela for a nicely written, fair, cruise review.  I'm not a huge fan of the MDR myself, but we always go there. Staff has usually been terrific, I only remember one recent cruise where we chose another station after the first 2 nights. I'm going on my first ever solo cruise, on the Dream, at the end of March. I keep debating if I want to dine in the MDR, I have anytime dining as always. 🤔😟🤔

 

Our son begins his next cruise contract January 27th on the Dream. Of course, I like to tag along & see him at "work"! 😁  My hubby & Mark's Dad can't get away from his job, so that's why I'm going solo.   Excited & looking forward to whatever adventures await me🤗🤗.

 

I play Roulette, but damn impressed you understand that-really-complicated-gambling-table-game! 

🌸🌸 Bobbi 

Edited January 12, 2019 by Markmom18

[momof3cruisers]

Nice review. Thanks for including your activities in NOLA too. Very pretty pictures. We also love Cozumel but haven't been there as much as you have.

 

Did you consider asking for a different table in the MDR?

[momof3cruisers]

15 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

Thank you Shaneandpamela for a nicely written, fair, cruise review.  I'm not a huge fan of the MDR myself, but we always go there. Staff has usually been terrific, I only remember one recent cruise where we chose another station after the first 2 nights. I'm going on my first ever solo cruise, on the Dream, at the end of March. I keep debating if I want to dine in the MDR, I have anytime dining as always. 🤔😟🤔

 

Our son begins his next cruise contract January 27th on the Dream. Of course, I like to tag along & see him at "work"! 😁  My hubby & Mark's Dad can't get away from his job, so that's why I'm going solo.   Excited & looking forward to whatever adventures await me🤗🤗.

 

I play Roulette, but damn impressed you understand that-really-complicated-gambling-table-game! 

🌸🌸 Bobbi 

What does your son do? I am trying my darnedest to convince my daughter to audition as a singer for Carnival as they are auditioning locally this month, but she won't do it. Darn kid wants to finish college. 

[Markmom18]

6 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

What does your son do? I am trying my darnedest to convince my daughter to audition as a singer for Carnival as they are auditioning locally this month, but she won't do it. Darn kid wants to finish college. 

 

He is a member of the Fun Staff. Your hosts for Trivia, Comedy Club, Karaoke, BINGO, Deck Parties, Games etc etc. 😆😆

[crisp1]

What day/ time was the Diamond/ Platinum party?

[shaneandpamela]

On 1/12/2019 at 2:04 PM, momof3cruisers said:

Nice review. Thanks for including your activities in NOLA too. Very pretty pictures. We also love Cozumel but haven't been there as much as you have.

 

Did you consider asking for a different table in the MDR?

No.  As bad as I make it sound, we really are pretty easy.  We ate at Lido a couple of nights, and just did early Guy burgers and snacks one evening when we wanted to watch the movies on Lido.

[shaneandpamela]

On 1/13/2019 at 8:41 AM, crisp1 said:

What day/ time was the Diamond/ Platinum party?

On our sailing it was on Saturday evening, 5pm to 6pm, back in the comedy club lounge.  Got there late because sunset from the balcony was too good to miss.

[crisp1]

9 minutes ago, shaneandpamela said:

On our sailing it was on Saturday evening, 5pm to 6pm, back in the comedy club lounge.  Got there late because sunset from the balcony was too good to miss.

Thanks😎