tulman

My friends from MN call this "a beer and a bump". My wife loves that term lol

 

I have found using first's tipping method with a bartender also works for the 5 minute rule. On my last cruise my wife and I wanted to partake in a beer and a bump with some folks we met on the ship. My guy did it for us with a wink and a smile.

Wow that sounds like a plan, thank for the advice!:D

Yes you can buy buckets but would have to pay full price on SS. Kinda defeats the purpose of Cheers though

We DW and I, want to do cheers but have a problem with having to wait 5 minutes between drinks. Now, I know that sounds bad, but we like to have a beer with a shot, or a shot with a beer. One tastes just as good as the other. And we like to have drinks on our balcony, so cheers makes it difficult to do this, as we would both have to go to the bar, get a beer, wait 5, then a shot, back to room. Drink & repeat. So, if we have bucket of beer, at least one of us can go get the shots. I am assuming if one of us have both SS cards, we could get two shots, one for each card. Is that correct?

Also, we are open for other suggestions as to how we can have drinks on our balcony without having to buy from BV, or smuggle (which we would never do :cool:).

I know I have seen this before, but cannot remember the answer as it did not pertain to me at the time. If you have the Cheers package I know that you have to buy single drinks and wait five minutes before the next drink can be bought. However, with cheers, can you buy a bucket of beer and have that charged to your SS?

Thanks in advance.

Hi! I thought I'd share my experience on the Dream. This is my 4th "all girls cruise", and 3rd time on the Dream. I sailed with my mom and my two daughters, age 9 and 11. We drove down from the St. Louis area and stayed the night in Hammond, LA the night before we sailed away.

 

I used my new Nikon Coolpix waterproof camera exclusively for the first 2 days, until I realized I wasn't getting good quality indoor pictures at all. I pulled my iphone out of the safe and unless near the water, I used it the remainder of the cruise. The Nikon worked great for outdoor pics though!

 

We went to Little French Key in Roatan, stayed on the ship in Belize, and visited Nachi Cocom in Cozumel.

 

OK, so here we go.....

First, let me say, enjoying your review and thank you. Now for the business portion.... Were your times in Cozumel 8am to 6pm?

We have heard that CCL Dream has propulsion issues, did this change anything that you were aware?

Think this was your cruise, however, were there issues with smoke from funnel, as in some form of a engine issue? Or an anomaly from the norm?

Thanks for the review!

Any further news on this, or are we being trolled? Just putting it out there, don't flame me. :eek:

Had a fire March 15? Could be this is why they are limited in speed now.

Wasn't that March 15, 2013? I am not seeing anything in the news about a fire.

Champagne was only at Steakhouse ...there is a bar inside to the left where I think you could drink without buying the Steakhouse meal but I'm not sure.

 

To be honest I drank more than I normally would for that many consecutive days and that ran into trouble.

 

Another note: eating far too much at the steakhouse and mixing large glasses of champagne in means for me at least terrible stomach pains and all the money spent went down the toilet ...by way of my face about an hour later.

:eek: What a waste! I do know what you mean about too much food at the SH. Glad you got to enjoy for a little while.

While perusing the cheers program, I did not see the cost of the gratuities, which are extra. Anyone have knowledge of this?

Thanks in advance.

I have seen them at every location I have checked that sells gift cards, honestly they are not that hard to find.................:cool:

Really! We're in Denver, never thought of looking. Need to check this out...thanks for the thread!

We only cruise once a year, and we've only been to the steakhouse twice. We've got reservations for the steakhouse on our upcoming cruise. Bored with the menu? Maybe in another ten years, but not yet.

Where is the "Like" button! Exactly my sentiments, we do not get to cruise more than once/year if that. I do agree with some as the chocolates, et al. have not changed. However, our last cruise was 2013, thus looking forward to the "Steakhouse"! Cheers to those who have the options of cruising often, therefore, I can see the concern. Sure add new options to menu, but as some have said, if it ain't broken. . . . .

(K.I.S.S.) Keep it simple Simon.

Counting the evenings!

Got two! Thanks for the help!

Carnival gift cards have disappeared off the Verizon Rewards site completely for the moment. Will have to keep checking...

I have been checking, but the last couple of days they said sold out. So now they have disappeared completely? Shuckey-Darn!

Don't know if this helps---but here is the form given to passengers, one of the choices is BOTH.

 

I saw this on JH FB, seems legit since it did come from the head CD.

Upon perusing the last posts, questions and concerns are apparent and need addressed.

First and foremost, when leaving room, we always pick up our clothes and put toiletries and electronics in their place.

When on a cruise we like to have towels replaced, ice (am/pm) replenished, bed expertly straightened (which we do as if at home) and any other necessary tidying as in dusting, etc. For example, similar to what a hotel offers daily.

We have had exceptional stewards in the past, and many were visible throughout the day. All went above and beyond and received extra compensation. One time we never met the steward, but room was acceptable, but without ice.

On our cruise on the Dream in July, should we be prepared for an experience less than we received before?:confused::confused:

Looking for the same as Savlamar.

Does Uber exist in NOLA, if so approximate cost from airport to French Quarter hotel or cruise port.

Last time in NOLA we used a private car (a decade ago) which was about $60, did that since it was our first cruise.

Any and all information helpful! Thank you in advance.

Please forgive if this has been discussed before. I am looking for a man's packable hat for sun protection. Currently, I have a canvas hat that works well, but it is hot, since it is canvas. What I would like to find is a light weight, possibly straw (although straw is not totally UV safe), similar to a cowboy style, that I can throw in my luggage. Any and all suggestions are helpful! Thank you in advance.:)

Tim

I am sure glad I came across this thread, had no idea about check in times. Was able to get a 1030 check in at NOLA for July. Thanks CC posters!

What are thoughts on a 10am flight, if we do self debarkation?

Thanks in advance.

Okay wow finally read the whole thread all 43 pages and seen it go from TIPs to complaints to questions to whatever. It has been very interesting but the questions started to repeat themselves about page 34. We have never cruised the DREAM our normal go to cruises (5 times) are on the Fascination. We finally book Dream for October 26th 2013. We have a Balcony in the AFT Portside #8442 that our PVP got for us (any comments about the room would be good). Hopefully this is a good room.

 

We are doing the Western Caribbean route. My thinking at Cozumel it is best to shop some and eat and drink, your thoughts?. In Belize take the ZIPLINE tour over the rain forest for about 3.5 hours. In Roatan...Go to the Little French Key. And in Costa Maya I am thinking at this stop is to take a taxi to Mahahual to shop some and eat and drink and beach time as the last port.

Questions are that have not been answered someplace here..

1-Where is the Burrito Bar

2-Is the ships Captain that was there in 2011 still the Dream’s Captain?

3-I do not want the SPA stuff but do like to work out while on ship, Is it free and how do you get to it?

Thanks for this thread and the info.

Great suggestions! However, I have heard of a beach excursion/resort in Coz, Captain (something) cannot recall the rest. This sounds pretty good. Any thoughts on this place as opposed to shopping?

To add to this, we love upscale tequila, no blends from the U.S. but pure Agave. We know this can be found near Puerto Vallarta which is the prime growing area for the agave plant. Opinions on prices for this in Coz?

Thanks in advance.

I turned a couple onto my PVP, called her and told her their names. She said , "Thanks for the referral."

That was it.:confused:

The ship was indeed at the port when we arrived. In fact, we had breakfast the hotel at 8:00'ish and she was already there.

 

There are no chairs, but there are large cement circular planters/benches for sitting. Not too many, though.

 

We did not get on until 1:00'ish. We were told it was a customs issue. Who really knows?

Stargate..again thanks for your information and also to all the OPs! We're just trying to get some idea as to what to expect as far as EMBK. Did read that Debark was delayed for customs. This can be quite frequent, especially when passengers are not US citizens and have to be cleared by customs or a plethora of other customs issues.

As far as having to wait in line.....No problems Mon! I'm on vacation:D

I've read a lot of negative things about the length of time embarkation is taking these days in Long Beach, particularly with the Splendor. Are things really as bad as I've been reading? ie: not starting the boarding process until 1:00, snaking lines down past the Queen Mary, different lines for boarding the ship, etc....

Hi Alex, do you know where you have read those posts? I would like to have a look. We like to get on board as soon as possible after Platinum. Just prefer to have a look at the ship before the masses arrive. Thanks

Though we did not stay at the QM, we did get an early shuttle from our hotel to the port. We arrived at 9:15. Carnival agents began processing passengers soon after. We were given Zone 1 cards then waited in a short line outside the "dome" for check in. We received our Sail and Sign cards and waited to embark. Other than a very long wait to get on the ship, the check in process was the best we have encountered.

Stargate, thanks for you're information. Was "Splendor" docked when your arrived at the pier? According to CCL's schedule, she's not due in until 9am. Do you have memory of an approximate boarding time. Do know want to wait outside too long. Were there chairs for the wait? Thanks again.

Can anyone give any insight on embarkation? We do not have Platinum status, but still like to get on board asap. We're staying at the Queen Mary Hotel the night before. Suggestions for a time to "walk" over? Thanks in advance.

We sailed on the Splendor on March 6th. We have never sailed before so can't compare to before the fire but there were a ton of activities and parties going on the entire cruise.

 

Tom

Carnival is well known for their activities and parties. Cannot imagine they would be cutting back on much of anything, especially on the ship that had an incident.

Did read on John Heald's blog that while Splendor was in dry dock for her repairs that most everything, as in carpets were replaced. Those things not replaced or repaired were completely cleaned.

My question: how were the beds and does anyone know if they were replaced along with the carpet, etc? Whether they were or were not, those beds are the BEST:D

Thanks in advance.