Just off Dream and a few thoughts..

We arrived back in New Orleans yesterday after seven fun nights on the Dream. I have a few comments/observations to share.

• We parked at the Fulton Parking Garage. We could see the Dream behind the convention center so we had the brilliant (heavy sarcasm) idea to skip the shuttle line and walk to the port terminal. It seemed so easy to cut through the convention center. Well, you cannot go through the convention center - you have to go around it. Ok, we'll walk. Do not do it! Looks are deceiving. One person in our party had 6,000 steps after that fun hike pulling our suitcases behind us.
  
• And while on the subject of the Fulton Parking Garage...if you plan to use it, buy your parking pass on-line in advance and have it printed out. There was a major traffic jam caused by the line of cars trying to get into the garage by the people who had to pay. We just handed them our print-out and up we went.
  
• After several cruises, DH did not know the coffee bar has free daily crossword and soduku puzzles with pencils.
  
• I did not know Carnival has coffee mugs in the gift shop with the ship and associated specs (tonnage, capacity, etc.) detailed. This may be my new souvenir - especially as the cruise ships grow in size.
  
• I agree with others who have noticed the heavier burden the wait staff and room stewards have. I am a Carnival stock owner and like the returns but when you can see the stress in their faces and hurried steps, I truly feel for them. I'll be sure to comment in my survey.
  
• For being on a newer ship, it was very disappointing to experience the sports viewing venue. Saying it's a part of the casino may be incorrect but that's how it felt. All of the smoke was awful and it was small. We loved the sports bar on the Liberty. To watch the NCAA tournament, chairs were stacked in the aisle and I'm sure some fire core was being violated.
  
• And while discussing smoke, my mother had a balcony in the aft, port side. This is not a great place to be if you don't like smelling the smoke. Deck five with the outdoor smoking section was below her.
  
• At the Diamond/Platinum party, I met a Diamond and we discussed all of the different cruise lines he'd been on. He said MSC was the absolute worst. He mentioned the cuisine is more geared towards an international palate and this meant (in his opinion) very little meat. Being from the Midwest, I'd say that might be a big deal. Can anyone else comment on this? Just curious.
  
• I almost missed the Future Cruising meeting. It was called "What's Next". Using the app on the phone, you have to click on the meeting description. I just assumed this was some sort of game. Luckily I was bored enough and actually clicked on the item. The meeting itself was a total bust. I like to learn about the new ships and itineraries. Their projector wasn't working so it turned into an audience-initiated Q&A session.
  
• I was bummed the Deli doesn't actually use a Panini press. I ordered a reuben and it was not warm at all - cold sauerkraut, yuk!
  
• We did Sunscape Splash in Montego Bay through resort for a day. They will tell you to be a the pick-up spot at 9:15 a.m. What they don't tell you is that they have multiple shuttles going and 9:15 a.m. is the last one. We left the ship early but stayed in the nice air-conditioned port terminal. If I had known early shuttles were going, we would have gone to the meeting spot as soon as we debarked. Since we ended up on the last shuttle, all of the shaded spots were gone. Sunscape does not rent umbrellas nor chairs (it's first come; first get) and we had several fair skinned people in our group. We had to have the resort staff hunt down chairs for us and pull them under trees.
  
• On a couple of lighter notes, this was my first cruise with the Flying Scotsman. I could have listed to his brogue all day. And to add his dancing moves and singing chops, he made the voyage very entertaining.
  
• A girl around ten years old also shared something new with me. She said if you hold down the button for the deck you want on the elevator, it will skip all other deck stops. This seemed a little evil so I didn't try it but I guess if you're in a hurry...
  

I think that's it. If I think of more, I may add later. Have fun cruising!

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Dream in October and I must admit I am a bit nervous about it. This will be the biggest ship we have been on.

Did you drive in on the day of or spent the night some where? Also were they going by arrival times at the port or just letting everyone in regardless of their time?

Any pointers or tips you would like to pass along...any do's or don'ts? LOL

Question - any idea why you guys left around 3 hours late from NoLa on your emarkation day?

 

Thanks for the review! Counting down the days til we board her.

Question - any idea why you guys left around 3 hours late from NoLa on your emarkation day? I have no idea. Maybe someone else will know and post.

 

Thanks for the review! Counting down the days til we board her.

Question - any idea why you guys left around 3 hours late from NoLa on your emarkation day?

 

There was traffic on the river, so the fuel barge was late. We left right after refueling was complete.

Thanks for the info, we sail on the Dream next month.

 

 

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Thanks for the review. We will be on the Dream in October and I must admit I am a bit nervous about it. This will be the biggest ship we have been on.

Did you drive in on the day of or spent the night some where? We drove from Kansas and spent the night in Jackson, MO at a nice Drury Inn. Also were they going by arrival times at the port or just letting everyone in regardless of their time? We were excited to get a check-in time of 11:30 a.m. but after our hike, we arrived at 12:30. So I really don't know. We were a big group of 28 and while some took the shuttle from the parking garage, I don't think anyone tried to enter before their check-in times.

Any pointers or tips you would like to pass along...any do's or don'ts? LOL Do's - if you play bingo, splurge and buy the $40 deal (you get additional bingo cards, a free peel-off game and a dauber), do have the mixologists custom create a drink for you at Alchemy, do try to listen to the string trio at least once; Don'ts - don't forget there is a line at the coffee bar (it's starts to the left and I guess people are supposed to shuffle as orders are completed - many cruises in and I didn't know this), don't try Guy's BBQ if you are from the Midwest or other BBQ nation, don't miss the Q&A session with the Flying Scotsman like I did (I only caught the end and was bummed).

Edited March 26, 2018 by Tongiejayhawk

Question - any idea why you guys left around 3 hours late from NoLa on your embarkation day?

 

There was traffic on the river, so the fuel barge was late. We left right after refueling was complete.

 

 

Thank you!! Ive been wondering all week! :)

Can you tell me when lobster night is? We will be on Dream in July....counting down the days!!!

 

 

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enjoyed the review.thanks

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

Thank you for your review! I didn’t even realize there was any kind of “sports bar” on the Dream. Because of the smoke from the casino we stay away from that area. Guess that’s why we didn’t know!:confused:

 

I agree that The Flying Scotsman is wonderful! Did you see his own show (hopefully he’s still doing it)?

Can you tell me when lobster night is? According to my DS, it was on the second sea day - or Day 3. We will be on Dream in July....counting down the days!!!

Thank you for your review! I didn’t even realize there was any kind of “sports bar” on the Dream. Because of the smoke from the casino we stay away from that area. Guess that’s why we didn’t know!:confused:

 

I agree that The Flying Scotsman is wonderful! Did you see his own show (hopefully he’s still doing it)? No, I missed it.

We love MSC! Fabulous pricing, beautiful ships, and the food was wonderful. We were on the Divina last spring break, and looking forward to the Seaside for Thanksgiving, and Preziosa next summer. That said, I booked Panorama for New Year's 2019, yay...no flight to Florida!

Thanks for the review and the tips about the parking and puzzles. Did you happen to save your fun times. Sailing on Dream next monrh.

 

 

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Thanks for taking the time to review your cruise. Even with the bumps here and there it sounds as though you had a good time.

Thanks for the review.

 

Do you remember what time the casino opened on the first day?

We love MSC! Fabulous pricing, beautiful ships, and the food was wonderful. We were on the Divina last spring break, and looking forward to the Seaside for Thanksgiving, and Preziosa next summer. That said, I booked Panorama for New Year's 2019, yay...no flight to Florida! Good to know, thanks. I've seen a lot of discussions on NCL's board about comparisons to its Haven suites and many people say the suites on MSC are a fraction of NCL's cost with little downside.

Thanks for the review and the tips about the parking and puzzles. Did you happen to save your fun times. No, we did not save them. Maybe a kind CC soul traveling soon will and post them.

Thanks for taking the time to review your cruise. Even with the bumps here and there it sounds as though you had a good time. Yes, we had a great time!

Thanks for the review.

 

Do you remember what time the casino opened on the first day? I'm not sure. Anyone else know?

Thanks for the review.

 

Do you remember what time the casino opened on the first day?

Usually within an hour of sailaway. You are in Louisiana waters until reaching the Gulf around midnight, until which time you are still paying sales taxes on drinks (including Cheers). None of the onboard shops are open the first night for that reason--they'd have to charge sales tax.

 

But the casino is definitely open before you reach the Gulf. Carnival must prefer to pay LA riverboat gambling taxes vs. giving up the casino revenue until they reach the Gulf.

 

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Going on Dream end of May and wondering if there were theme nights and if so what were they?

Thanks for your thoughts.