Carnival Dream Returns - First Cruise (9/19/21 - 9/25/21)

[lennythenose]

We are having a discussion on my group for the Oct 9 Dream cruise about the Fun Times. I know they are not delivered to the cabin and do not include all the things they did before but did you get a picture of any of the sheets available at Guest Services?  Thanks!

[Shaded Lady]

Thanks @TravelGirlinDallas for the review! We're scheduled for the Dream on Dec 26 and can't wait!

[TravelGirlinDallas]

1 hour ago, lennythenose said:

We are having a discussion on my group for the Oct 9 Dream cruise about the Fun Times. I know they are not delivered to the cabin and do not include all the things they did before but did you get a picture of any of the sheets available at Guest Services?  Thanks!

No, we just used the Hub app and never asked for a paper copy.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Up next: Costa Maya. This was our first time to this port, and we didn't arrive until 1:00 p.m. It was nice to have a leisurely morning and then watch as the ship pulled into port. We didn't do any excursions in this port. We just explored the port area for a while and then returned to the ship.

 

Hello, Mardi Gras!

 

 

 

The pier here is so long.

 

 

They have a tram for those who don't want to walk the whole way, but we didn't use it.

 

Gorgeous water

 

Mardi Gras & Dream

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by TravelGirlinDallas

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Back on board, we hit up Pizzeria del Capitano for an afternoon snack. There was no line, and the pizza was ready in no time.

 

Admiring the aft pool area while we waited:

 

Why is this pizza so good???

 

After our pizza, we explored the outdoor deck areas, which were mostly empty since many people were still in port:

 

 

 

 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

I noticed that there were balcony tables in the hallways by some rooms. I had never seen that before. I asked on our FB group, and it was suggested that these are the quarantine cabins, and the tables are for leaving/retrieving food trays for those in quarantine. Those in quarantine weren't necessarily all sick - new crew members are required to quarantine whenever they join the ship.

 

And speaking of the crew, I found this picture on John Heald's FB page celebrating the Dream's return. I thought it was very cute that they formed a Texas flag on the right side of the photo.

[CoachAname]

17 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

 

Looking down from our cabin to the Lanai on deck 5 (Guy's Pig & Anchor on the right). When we tried to walk all the way around the Lanai on the first day, the forward section was roped off and marked "Crew Only". Not sure why.

 

 

It was the same on the Breeze a few weeks ago. My understanding was the front of the Lanai is being used to give the crew some outdoor space since their ability to get off the ship is restricted/limited and likewise their not allowed to use the guest areas due right now. I saw on another trip report (I think it was the Pride) that Serenity was crew only at night, presumably for the same reason. 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

The next day, we visited Belize, which is a tender port. The weather was cooler and rainy. We had an excursion booked, so we were able to get on one of the earlier water shuttles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water here is a lighter, greenish shade, compared to the turquoise water in the Mexican ports we visited.

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by TravelGirlinDallas

[TravelGirlinDallas]

6 minutes ago, CoachAname said:

It was the same on the Breeze a few weeks ago. My understanding was the front of the Lanai is being used to give the crew some outdoor space since their ability to get off the ship is restricted/limited and likewise their not allowed to use the guest areas due right now. I saw on another trip report (I think it was the Pride) that Serenity was crew only at night, presumably for the same reason. 

Interesting! That makes sense.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Our excursion in Belize was an airboat tour through the mangroves. We didn't see the wildlife that was mentioned in the description, but it was a fun experience. They handed out plastic ponchos due to the rain, which did help a little. This was the only time that wearing masks was really uncomfortable, because they got completely soaked and soggy and that was a pretty gross feeling. Otherwise, it didn't bother me much at all.

 

This bus took us through Belize City and the countryside on our way to the boat tour. The bus ride was about a half hour long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by TravelGirlinDallas

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Returning to the Dream. More shots of the Belize port area:

 

 

The Vista was with us today. I can't get these photos to post correctly. I even tried rotating them upside down on my computer to "fool" them into posting the other way, but that didn't work.

 

Vista

 

Closeup of new Dream paint job:

 

Sunset that evening:

 

The moon later that night:

 

 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Our third and final port was Cozumel. It was also towel animal day on deck!

 

 

The Vista is with us again today

 

 

 

 

 

In Cozumel, we usually take a taxi ($17 each way) to Paradise Beach. Paradise Beach has an all-inclusive option, but we always just do pay-as-you-go. It's $5/person, plus they ask that you spend $10/per person in food. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nachos and tacos:

 

Odyssey of the Seas is also here now

 

 

I love the water here

 

After we were back on board, we had some pizza, then settled in on our balcony to watch for pier runners. There were only a few (not pictured). 

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by TravelGirlinDallas

[LHARTWICK]

How strict were they with wearing masks on board?  Just curious. A friend just returned from the Breeze, and he said masks weren't enforced with the exception of the buffet and MDR.  I find that hard to believe according to some other recent reviews I've read re: various CCL ships.  Thank you to the OP for this thread - Dream is one of our faves!

[TravelGirlinDallas]

6 minutes ago, LHARTWICK said:

How strict were they with wearing masks on board?  Just curious. A friend just returned from the Breeze, and he said masks weren't enforced with the exception of the buffet and MDR.  I find that hard to believe according to some other recent reviews I've read re: various CCL ships.  Thank you to the OP for this thread - Dream is one of our faves!

I thought the mask compliance was pretty good overall. The one place it was most lax was in the main theater. I guess people thought no one would notice if they took off their masks in the dark, but then the spotlight would pan the crowd and you could see everyone. But in the elevators and hallways, etc., most people were wearing them. 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

They now offer some new condiments to go with the bread in the MDR. In addition to the usual whipped butter, there was also an herb/cheese spread that I loved, balsamic + olive oil, and pictured below is the bacon drippings. I really liked all of the new choices. They serve the bread individually now instead of leaving the basket on your table. However, I did hear someone at another table ask them to leave the whole basket, and they did. 

 

Other MDR observations: there seem to be fewer choices on the menu. They didn't have the "inspired by the port of call" selections anymore, at least they weren't listed on the Hub app menu. I meant to check the printed menu posted by the door to see if they were listed there but not online, but I kept forgetting. The flatiron steak is some other kind of steak now, which wasn't an improvement. Also, there seemed to be fewer desserts - just one new choice each night plus the sugar-free option, and they did still offer the chocolate melting cake every night, as well as ice cream and the cheese plate. This is not a complaint, just my observations for anyone who might be interested in knowing what to expect. We still found plenty to eat and it was all good (except maybe the steak).

 

Alligator beignets ordered by my husband. I didn't try them, but he said they were good. 

 

Moon shot:

Edited September 29, 2021 by TravelGirlinDallas

[TravelGirlinDallas]

And now it's already our final sea day! How has the time flown by so fast? 

 

It was rainy that morning and the ship was really rocking. It didn't bother us, but we noticed there were fewer people at breakfast. You could feel the motion more strongly in the aft MDR.

 

 

 

Seaday Brunch in the Scarlet MDR again. I ordered the skillet cake. It's a giant pancake with various sauces. I wish there had been more of each sauce. Also, the little tiny marshmallows were an odd addition. They tasted good, but seemed out of place. 

 

I'm really glad they kept the banana cream pie from the old menu!

 

After brunch, we went to the Encore theater for Q&A with our cruise director, Deon. His signature phrase was "Hi-De-Ho, I've gotta go. See you, thank you, love you, Carnival Dream". Quite a mouthful every time he made an announcement! He seemed to really love his job and brought a lot of positive energy to the role. 

 

 

Later that afternoon, it was time for tea. This one of my favorite things, and I'm so glad Carnival still continues to offer it. The desserts were the best we had on the entire cruise. The violin trio played while we were enjoying our treats, and it was just a nice way to spend part of the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

On our final evening, we had reservations at the steakhouse. There was some confusion in our FB group about whether there was going to be a 2nd elegant night. My PVP had even told me that there would be two. We asked at guest services, though, and they told us that 6-night cruises only have one formal night. So we wore our elegant attire to the steakhouse. 

 

This was our first time eating at the steakhouse. We usually have our 11-year-old son with us, who despite being young and athletic, still eats like a bird. He's not a picky eater, he just somehow basically survives on air. We never wanted to pay the extra fee for him to eat only 5 bites of it, but this time it was was just the adults, and we decided to celebrate our 15th anniversary cruise with a nice dinner on the last night. It did not disappoint!! We thought it was amazing.

 

 

 

Amuse bouche - I couldn't understand what the server called it, but it was something with parmesan and it was good.

 

The stuffed mushrooms were delicious. There's mushroom broth in the bowl with a parmesan pearl.

 

 

Brian ordered the NY strip, and I ordered the spiced ribeye. I chose the mushrooms and mac & cheese as sides. I could only eat about a third of the steak, it was so huge. Brian ate a little of what was left of mine, and then we sadly had to leave the rest behind. 

 

We chose "Art at your table" as our dessert, since it seemed festive to fit the occasion. I loved it!

 

 

 

There is a fudgy type of chocolate cake inside the white chocolate sphere, and then the chef added two different kinds of ice cream on top. 

 

I'm so thankful for this guy. We didn't meet until our 30's and were just so happy to finally find each other. Every anniversary we celebrate is a blessing. ❤️❤️❤️

Edited September 29, 2021 by TravelGirlinDallas

[TravelGirlinDallas]

All of the folks asking about masks might get a laugh out of this pic - this guy found a handy way to keep up with his mask while at the lobby bar.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

On the morning of debarkation, we woke up early while it was still dark outside. I went out on our balcony to watch the ship pull into Galveston. We arrived at Terminal 1.... then kept going! What?? We had parked across the street from Terminal 1 so that we could easily walk over with all of our bags. That worked great on the first day, but Terminal 2 looked a lot farther away, and I wasn't sure how easily we'd be able to walk down the street to get there. I worried about this a little bit, but in the end it turned out just fine. By the time we walked all the way through the huge terminal building, found our bags, went through Customs, we ended up exiting right next to Terminal 1. The walk back to the garage was no big deal at all.

 

One last breakfast on the Lido with my super-cute hubby while we waited for our group to be called to debark.

 

Goodbye for now, Galveston. We'll be back!

 

And just for good measure, here's the other portrait I bought. I told Brian we had to take pics that night because we ended up wearing the same color and we needed to document our cheesy matchiness. 😄

[TravelGirlinDallas]

A few other thoughts:

 

One thing we really enjoyed this time while cruising without our kiddo was listening to music. We sat on the couches on deck 4 in the Lobby and listened to the musicians every night. There was a violin trio, an acoustic duo, a country duo, and a solo guy with a guitar. We liked them all.

 

We also went to the comedy shows a few times. There were four comedians on this cruise. Two at the beginning who performed on two nights, then they were replaced halfway through with two others who performed the next two nights. I was disappointed that each comedian only did one original set. On the second day, they both performed the same shows (both PG and 18+) as the night before. All four comedians did that. I guess that's the way it always is? It just seems like they should each at least have a couple of sets that are different. 

 

It was a great cruise! It's hard to even express how happy I was to finally be back on board after everything that's happened in the last year and a half. I can't wait to plan the next one.

[princess76021]

thank you for taking me along on this awesome cruise!!

Hugs

Nicki

[bkr50]

Thanks for the wonderful review and pictures.  You guys are a cute couple.  

[coldinkansas]

We will be on the Dream in January 2022..  Can't wait to cruise again.

 

[BohJang]

What a lovely review.  Your pictures were great and you are an adorable couple.  After reading this, I think I'm getting closer and closer to just throwing caution to the wind and booking something out of Galveston.  Thanks!

[silvercrikhix]

Thanks again, Travel Girl.
Did you notice in the ‘gorgeous water’ photo you posted in post #29,

that you also captured a pod of dolphins?!