Dream 5/15 review-"If we could somehow make this Dream thing last"

[flalady29]

Tuesday Dinner- The Chef's Table

 

After getting back on board the ship, it was about 2:30 pm, so Jane went to her 3:15 spa appointment. I took the time to visit the spa's steam rooms and thalassotherapy pool. In no time, I was refreshed and ready for the evening!:p

 

I had mentioned early in my review about getting reservations for "The Chef's Table" dinner when we first embarked. So, tonight was the night and we met the other guests with reservations in The Song Room lounge across from the Burgandy Lounge. We were very excited about the dinner, and as we waited for the chef, we enjoyed some wine and horse doovers (I mean hors d'oeuvres).:eek: Being a meat and potato kind of guy, I was unsure how much I would enjoy the "fancy" appetisers that we were presented, but I was pleasantly surprised. They were delicious! Soon Chef Soulee Banjaree arrived, and explained the schedule for the dinner and told us some things about himself including the role of the Chef on a large cruise ship. He then took some of our questions like "What is the budget for food on a 7 day cruise?", "How much beef is consumed by the guests?", and my personal question "How many servings of Warm Chocolate Melting Cake are prepared during the cruise?":D

 

Then Chef Banjaree led us into the galley and showed us the operations of a kitchen that serves over 2,500 people at one time. To say that we were impressed would be an understatement! Obviously, they had this down to a science and used the latest high tech information technologies to assist in the tracking and scheduling of entree's for each dining room guest in both dining rooms. It was efficiency at it's finest!

 

While walking through, I saw our waiter Wayne in the galley and told him that I was there to complain to Chef Banjaree about the poor service we had received from our wait staff. Then I said "gotcha!!!!, just kidding Wayne, you have been great!" We both got a big laugh from that one (although I did see a bead of sweat forming on Wayne's forehead...LOL).

 

Then we were led to our dining table (adorned with fine linens) which was set up right in the middle of this highly organized chaos.:) We each located our name tags, and were seated by the Chef's assistants. At this point, Chef Banjaree asked us to look at our menu's for the evening (which were in scroll form wrapped in ribbon). There were seven courses shown, and the Chef gave us a brief summary of what to expect. Then a group picture was taken of all the guests with Chef Banjaree standing at the end of the table. We were then served bread, water, and wine (if desired). Each course was prepared right before us just before it was served by the chefs assistants. Then Chef Banjaree would describe the entree and accompanying adornments, and then tell us to enjoy.

 

After about the fourth course, the Chef invited us over to another section of the kitchen where an assistant chef demonstrated how a batch of the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake was prepared! I just knew I had died and gone to heaven!!!:p Although the recipe is very basic, Jane commented that she had never been in the presence of so much solid chocolate before! Eggs, sugar, flour, butter, and 3 types of CHOCOLATE!

 

We then went back to our table and finished the rest of the dinner. The 2 main entree's consisted of a baked Sea Bass, and Fillet Mignon. They were fantastic! And finally, there was a trio of delectable deserts served and the chef's assistant served us the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake that he had prepared for us.:D At this point, we were absolutely stuffed after having spent almost 3 hours being served some of the best food we will ever enjoy. The ladies of the group were then presented a copy of the group photo along with a copy of the chef's cookbook "Carnival Creations". We thanked Chef Banjaree for a wonderful evening, and had our picture taken with him as a keepsake.

 

to be continued...

 

OMG that all sounds soooooo good I might just have to do this next year when we sail in March. Is it for adults only or do they allow children too my daughter will be 12. The review is awesome we will be doing the Eastern but I love hearing about your ventures and about the ship. I can't wait to read the rest :-)

[cruiseguys2009]

Yes, I have heard about the Chef's Table, but never so complete in a review such as this. You just sold me on the experience on our upcoming trip in October. My partner Jerome will be celebrating his 50th Birthday, so I hope that one of us get the cookbook too, since we both can be considered "The Ladies" at the table! LOL!

[ckcb4u2]

Yes, I have heard about the Chef's Table, but never so complete in a review such as this. You just sold me on the experience on our upcoming trip in October. My partner Jerome will be celebrating his 50th Birthday, so I hope that one of us get the cookbook too, since we both can be considered "The Ladies" at the table! LOL!

LMAO!!!...I can see why Nicky enjoyed cruising with you guys. I think you will love the experience and yes, they gave a cookbook to the singles who were there as well as the "couples". Thanks again for reading my review. I so wish I was back on the Dream today...and enjoying Cozumel again...<sigh>:)

[ckcb4u2]

Tuesday Evening - "Dancin in the Streets"

 

After our wonderful experience with "The Chef's Table", it was now close to 10:00 pm so we headed to the Encore Theatre to catch the late showing of the much talked about "Dancin in the Streets" by the Carnival Dream show band and Carnival singers and dancers. We walked into the balcony area and had selected seats in the second row when I looked down on the main floor and saw Greg Miller waving at us from the front row. He then came upstairs and invited us to join Marcia and himself for the production. He went on to say that they had seen the 8:30 show and enjoyed it so much, they decided to watch the 2nd show as well. We agreed to move and went down to the lower level and joined them. Marcia told us it was by far the best show she had ever seen on a cruise ship!:D

 

Also on the front row were Cindy and Kavin Cannon, along with their daughter Shieanne. While we were waiting for the show to start, Shie asked us all to watch her and to do what she did. She started making movements with her arms, shoulder, and hands and we were following along wondering what was next. Before you know it, she had us doing the "chicken dance"...LOL. She really got us good!

 

As the show started, you could tell it was going to be great as the music was really upbeat and the staging was realistic. The lighting, sound, and effects were great, but I will stop my description here so that I don't spoil it for you on upcoming Dream cruises. It truly was the best show by far that Jane and I had seen on any of our 5 previous cruises, and we enjoyed it immensely.

 

After the show, we were beat so we headed up to our cabin and ended another day of a memorable cruise.

 

to be continued...

[dogbert's mom]

OK Craig, admit it you must have been taking notes to get everones name right and all the little details or you have the best memory.

 

Reading your review and Cheryl's has brought back memories that had already slipped away from me. Thanks!

 

Don and I have spent the last week trying to pick our next cruise. Should we go on the cruise critic trip on the Miracle to Aruba in January of 2012 or a quick trip to Cabo and then the Breeze in Europe or the cruise to Hawaii sounds so good.

 

Janice

[ckcb4u2]

Do you happen to remember a general price range? I'm really looking forward to touring the factory when DH and I are there in September and am hoping there is something not too pricey.

Thanks for taking to time to do such a detailed review. Can't wait for the rest!

I asked Jane about pricing and she told me it ranged from $25 for smaller pieces upwards to $150 and more. A good average was $50 (not including chains).

 

Glad you are liking my review. I tend to be a little long winded.:rolleyes:

[ckcb4u2]

OK Craig' date=' admit it you must have been taking notes to get everones name right and all the little details or you have the best memory.

 

Reading your review and Cheryl's has brought back memories that had already slipped away from me. Thanks!

 

Don and I have spent the last week trying to pick our next cruise. Should we go on the cruise critic trip on the Miracle to Aruba in January of 2012 or a quick trip to Cabo and then the Breeze in Europe or the cruise to Hawaii sounds so good.

 

Janice[/quote']

Decisions...decisions...what did you say your name was? (Just kidding Janice, and be sure to say hello to Robo for us).:p

[ckcb4u2]

Hi,

 

Could you please do me a big favor??? Please ask someone (if it isn't in the daily "newspaper") which port the O2 club does it's shore excursion - what the excursion is and if it is the same for each cruise on the Dream.

I have desperately been trying to get this information for my 16 year old so that we can make plans for family excursions for our cruise August 21, 2010. I have contacted Carnival directly, they send me general information about the O2 Clubs and itineraries from other ships.

 

When you get home could you please post it on my roll call...Carnival Dream August 21, 2010.

 

I would so appreciate this.:rolleyes:

 

Thanks

Dandy Twister, I looked through all of the Fun Times (Capers) and I didn't see anything mentioned about the O2 Club shore excursion. I even checked with some friends, but no one had an answer. Our children were grown before we started cruising, so we have never used the O2 Club facilities. Sorry.:o

[Sinjan]

I asked Jane about pricing and she told me it ranged from $25 for smaller pieces upwards to $150 and more. A good average was $50 (not including chains).

 

Glad you are liking my review. I tend to be a little long winded.:rolleyes:

 

 

Thanks for the info! And you are not long winded. You are very eloquent. :)

[ckcb4u2]

Wednesday - Belize

 

After an extraordinary Tuesday, we woke up Wednesday morning to some light showers as we were getting anchored off of the Belize coast. We decided to go ahead and get breakfast, and then see what happened with the weather before we got our tender tickets. We had reserved a spot with Yhany at Cave-Tubing.com, which was an independent tour group. While we were in the serving lines at the buffet, it really started to rain hard, and this time with thunder and lightning. I had a very bad experience with lightning while playing golf several years ago, and I am now overly cautious about being outside during storms. We were really looking forward to seeing Jim and Kevin while cave tubing, as we had not had much opportunity to spend time with them. As we enjoyed our breakfast, the rain and storming continued. So, around 9:00 am we decided to cancel our plans to tender to shore as the weather was still looking bleak. Plus, we kept hearing about cancellations of shore excursions, and were not sure if our tour would be taking place. Also, after all the food I had eaten the night before, my abdomen was making noises that I had never heard before!:eek:

 

Of course, soon after we had made our decision, the rain stopped, and the sun attempted to come out a few times. Still, we would have already missed our transter to the cave tubing site, so we decided to have a fun day on the ship! We walked around a little while after breakfast and then decided to make a spa appointment for Jane. As I was not feeling so well, I decided to hang out in the cabin for a bit. The afternoon was somewhat quiet as we both took the opportunity to rest after several busy (but fun!) days.

 

We again had dinner in the Scarlett Dining room, even though I really didn't have much of an appetite. I guess my 52 year old system was still in shock after enjoying the Chef's Table so much the night before! After assuring Wayne and Jaya that my food was fine, and that I just had no appetite, we decided to check out the photo gallery and linger around the atrium listening to some music. I was really starting to feel worse at this point, so we decided to skip the magic show and head back to our cabin. We watched an in-room movie, before calling it an early night. So...Belize was probably our least exciting day of the cruise, but we still enjoyed ourselves. I just wish that I had felt better, but at least it didn't turn out to be Norovirus or anything else.:)

 

to be continued...

[jnky]

Wednesday - Belize

 

We were really looking forward to seeing Jim and Kevin while cave tubing, as we had not had much opportunity to spend time with them.

 

We were so disappointed that you weren't part of our group...although in retrospect the tour was slightly disappointing. We felt like we were herded like cattle quickly thru the jungle towards the river ~ with no time to stop and investigate nature and our surroundings. I guess in my naivety, I didnt realize there would be so MANY people tubing at the same time. For some reason, I mistakenly thought this was going to be a more intimate tour, not hundreds of people busloads at a time. Once we were in the river, we were linked with Ron/Jeff and away we went, but again, no time to self-explore. Another irritating/minor thing. Lunch was provided as part of the tour. What they conveniently didnt mention, however, was that beverages were not :confused: So....you had to stand in long lines of people vying for attention and service, while trying to find a stump to sit on and quickly eat so you could be rushed back on the bus.

Once we were on board, they explained their "Procedure" for taking payment....which involved 2 people going person to person on the bus, paying one person, and then the other person standing there until he received an adequate tip. I always tip for good service, and dont have a problem with it, but to be strongarmed into it....that's a little different...and I saw several people embarassed into giving more than they intended.

Gosh, I just re-read this and I sound like a whiny-butt... :( We DID have a good time and it was a great day....but not the 'perfect' day we had hoped. Maybe if Seabiscuit would have been along ... <sigh>

J&K

[Time2CruiseAgain]

We were so disappointed that you weren't part of our group...although in retrospect the tour was slightly disappointing. We felt like we were herded like cattle quickly thru the jungle towards the river ~ with no time to stop and investigate nature and our surroundings. I guess in my naivety, I didnt realize there would be so MANY people tubing at the same time. For some reason, I mistakenly thought this was going to be a more intimate tour, not hundreds of people busloads at a time. Once we were in the river, we were linked with Ron/Jeff and away we went, but again, no time to self-explore. Another irritating/minor thing. Lunch was provided as part of the tour. What they conveniently didnt mention, however, was that beverages were not :confused: So....you had to stand in long lines of people vying for attention and service, while trying to find a stump to sit on and quickly eat so you could be rushed back on the bus.

Once we were on board, they explained their "Procedure" for taking payment....which involved 2 people going person to person on the bus, paying one person, and then the other person standing there until he received an adequate tip. I always tip for good service, and dont have a problem with it, but to be strongarmed into it....that's a little different...and I saw several people embarassed into giving more than they intended.

 

Gosh, I just re-read this and I sound like a whiny-butt... :( We DID have a good time and it was a great day....but not the 'perfect' day we had hoped. Maybe if Seabiscuit would have been along ... <sigh>

 

J&K

 

 

Wow - no kidding, Jim. Do you remember the name of the tour company? Was it booked through Carnival or private? After what you just said, it confirms that should we sail into Belize again, we will stay on the ship.

 

We are booking in May for the Dream Eastern Carib - both our kids and spouses and our GrandAngels!! I'm sooooo excited!

[ckcb4u2]

Thursday - Costa Maya - Maya Chan Beach Club

 

I woke up very early (3:00 am) Thursday morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so I stepped out onto the balcony with my laptop to check some emails. I noticed that the ship was moving very slowly, and I remembered that Costa Maya is somewhat close to Belize so the ship did not have to rush to get there by 7:00 am. I laid back down at 4:30 and dozed until 6:00. Since we had a short day at Costa Maya, we wanted to get off the ship early, so we had ordered breakfast through room service, and they were there promptly at 6:00 am as instructed. After a light breakfast, we got ready to head down to the gangway and start our last tour of the cruise. We had booked a reservation with Mark at Maya Chan Beach club, and were really looking forward to a relaxing day. On our last western caribbean cruise in 2007, we had to stay on-board when we were in Costa Maya due to Jane's Norovirus infection and my injured back. So as you can imagine, we were quite excited to go ashore this time. One thing we noticed when we exited the ship on the gangway was how far away we were from the port shopping area at the end of the pier. It had to be close to a mile's walk along the dock!:eek: And naturally, as we were going towards the port area, the trolley was coming from the port area, so we did not catch a lift...yuk.yuk.yuk.

 

As we walked through the shopping area to the taxi stand, we noticed Lisa and Bobby from the roll call were waiting for the van, knew they were going to Maya Chan, so we gave our name to the taxi attendant and waited along with everyone else. After a few minutes, we were told which van to climb into, and we were off to have some fun! As we exited the dock area, we saw the true effects of category 5 Hurricane Dean which basically destroyed the area back in July of 2007. All of the trees and foliage away from the beach were destroyed and the area looked like a dead zone. Twisted trees, poles, and metal still littered the landscape and we could only imagine the devastation that these people endured just a few years ago. Our van driver told us that Mahahual used to be a fishing village, but now depended primarily on the tourism industry for their livelihood. He told us they were pretty much out of business for over 2 years while rebuilding was going on. The area was ground zero when the eyewall of the hurricane came through, and even the cruise ship pier was mostly destroyed.:(

 

It took about 15 minutes to get to Maya Chan and we drove through the village of Mahahual on the way. Even with all of the damage, I still thought it was a beautiful area. The road was quite bumpy for us sitting in the back of the van, and the residents used large sections of rope as speed bumps in areas where there were houses. As we arrived at Maya Chan, we tipped the driver and headed through the gate to the reception area. There we were greeted by David and Zack. David is the son of Mark the owner, and Zack was a friend of his from Cancun and was quite a cut up. They told us where all of the facilities were and then escorted us to our beach loungers and umbrellas. They then had their waitstaff come around with rum punch and other drinks as requested. We noticed that Rob Barrington from the roll call had already arrived, and he came over and joined us. Lisa and Bobby also joined us and had an umbrella set up across from us. There were others from the roll call group as well, such as Nick & Claire, and the club had limited the number of guests to around 45 people.

 

The sun was out, and it looked like this would definitely be our best day weather wise. Although there was a lot of sea grass in the surf, the water was pretty clear and warm. Jane and Lisa got a couple of inflatable water chairs and floated around in the surf. Rob had decided to try out one of the $20 half hour massages, Bobby took a walk around the club to check it out, and I started my assault on the rum punch (it was soooo good!!!). They had kayaks available, snorkling, bike riding, and some other activities but I just wanted to lie back, be lazy, and play with the crabs.:D The area was very picturesque and the sand was white and soft...a true paradise! I looked over at Rob on the massage table, and noticed that he was melting into total relaxation while receiving his massage. And after he finished, and we were sitting around talking, Jane was still berating him for not participating in the hairy chest contest...LOL.:p Before lunch they brought out some nachos, guacamole, and salsa to enjoy...along with more rum punch for me.......well, and for others too.

 

We noticed Lisa drawing in the sand, and then waving at something so we asked her what was going on. She said that there was a web cam located on top of the bar area, and that it refreshed every 30 seconds. She had carved out the name of the company where she worked, and had emailed them the link to the webcam so that they could see her "on vacation". She said that there was a netbook at the bar area where she could log onto her email account. She then got the webcam URL from David and sent it to her friends back in SC. Well, Jane liked this deal, so she had me carve out the name of her company while she got onto the netbook and emailed her coworkers back in Virginia telling them that she had found a "cabana boy" that she was bringing back for her boss. She sent the link to the webcam, and then had David come stand beside her and wave at the cam! A little while later, she checked her email and they had replied..."We saw you, and thank you for remembering my cabana boy. Of course, seeing you have fun while we are working reminds us of how much we dislike you at this moment...LOL"

 

A buffet lunch was served around 12:00 pm, and it was delicious There was beef, chicken, and pork with tortillas. There were also fresh vegetables, and some seasoned beans that tickled my taste buds! This had all been grilled fresh for us and was delicious! After lunch, we played with the crabs some more (quick little boogers) before we had to leave. We had them call in a van to pick us up around 1:00 pm, as we had to be back to the ship by 2:30 pm. We also wanted to shop for some souvenirs back at the port, so we needed to head back. We thanked our hosts for a wonderful time (and left a nice tip) and were taken back through Mahahual to the port area. When we exited the taxi, we saw Tammie and Larry and Nicky and Doug in the shopping area, and we picked up some gifts to take back home. We even bought a t-shirt from the Hard Rock Cafe to take to my son-in-law who collects them. At 2:00 pm. we made the long walk along the pier back to the ship. It had been an absolutely wonderful experience at Maya Chan, and we highly recommend it to anyone going to Costa Maya!

 

to be continued...

[Nickymjw1]

Wow - no kidding, Jim. Do you remember the name of the tour company? Was it booked through Carnival or private? After what you just said, it confirms that should we sail into Belize again, we will stay on the ship.

 

We are booking in May for the Dream Eastern Carib - both our kids and spouses and our GrandAngels!! I'm sooooo excited!

 

There must be some private guides that can take you in a smaller party. I heard Jaguar paw's was like that but the are now called something else.

 

Next time we are just going to have to do some more research...

[bdtmoult]

Hi great rview so far keep it comeing. Do you still have the carnival funtimes and club o2 activites. We were going to hilight to see what we are going to do. Thanks:D

[ckcb4u2]

Hi great rview so far keep it comeing. Do you still have the carnival funtimes and club o2 activites. We were going to hilight to see what we are going to do. Thanks:D

Hi and and I'm glad you are enjoying my review. Yes, I still have my Fun Times for each day and have been meaning to scan them and post them on webshots. I will try to do that this evening.

[ckcb4u2]

Thursday - back on the Dream

 

We got back to the gangway around 2:20 pm and got back on board for the last time this cruise. We had a very enjoyable day at Maya Chan, and were ready to chill for a little while. We headed back to our cabin with me humming "gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight, gonna grab some afternoon....:D Uhhhh....excuse me for a couple of hours. :rolleyes:

 

It was Elegant Night again so I donned my penguin suit, Jane looked beautiful in an elegant new outfit, and we headed down to the Scarlett Dining room for dinner. As usual, the food was excellent and desert and coffee really hit the spot. We then had another portrait or two taken on our way back to the cabin. After we changed into more "casual" clothes, we headed back towards the atrium and the Fun Shops. While I relaxed to some live music in the atrium, Jane went up and shopped for some gold chain that they were selling at a small amount per inch. I then buzzed down to the Loyalty and Cruise Vacations desk, and bought a Future Cruise certificate for a $100 deposit, and earned a $100 on-board credit for our next cruise. Plus, the $100 I paid would go towards the deposit when we booked. We always do this while on-board to make sure that we don't come up with an excuse NOT to cruise the following year.:)

 

We decided not to go to the evening show, and just walked around some enjoying the ship and each other. Our lives at home are so hectic, and it is nice to slow down and just be ourselves for a bit. At 9:30, we decided to go up to the Lido deck and catch the showing of "Avatar" on the big screen at the seaside theater. When we got there, the movie was just starting, and I decided that a few slices of Rustica (pepperoni) pizza would taste good during the movie. I purchased a bourbon and Sprite to go with it and I was set. Jane got a box of popcorn and ginger ale for herself. We saw Teresa, Chantel, and Brandon from our roll call, and decided to watch the movie with them. Chantel and Brandon were in deck chairs, and we "adults" were at a table under a roof cover munching away. About half way through the movie, it started to rain, so Chantel grabbed Brandon and they came over where we were to stay dry. Jane and I both had observed what great kids Chantel and Brandon were, and what a great job of parenting that Teresa had done with them. We were so happy to get to know this family better, and begin new friendships. It was around midnight when the movie concluded, so we all said our goodnights and went back to our cabins. There would only be one full day left to enjoy the cruise, and it would be a "Fun Day at Sea"...

[kipper630]

Great review!! I was very surprised to see you from Roanoke! I work in Roanoke and live in Salem!

[ckcb4u2]

Great review!! I was very surprised to see you from Roanoke! I work in Roanoke and live in Salem!

Wow...neighbor! Are you going to be cruising on the Dream soon? It is a great ship. We are cruise addicts now, and have to go at least once a year.:D

[ckcb4u2]

I have uploaded all 7 days of the Carnival Dream Western Caribbean 5/15/10 Fun Times (Capers) to a webshot album. The link is:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/577855723KQCCQX

 

Hope it is helpful to future Dream cruisers for planning.:)

[kmilanes]

Great Review! Cant wait to go on the Dream!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Best way to make it last is to book it again"""""""""

[crewsweeper]

Great review Craig (and Jim)! Loved all the details! I took a picture of your balcony last week as it was just sitting there empty at the time, and we had the cabn next door. And I even had 11205 booked for next June for all of 15 minutes until DW saw the $$$.:D

[ckcb4u2]

Great review Craig (and Jim)! Loved all the details! I took a picture of your balcony last week as it was just sitting there empty at the time, and we had the cabn next door. And I even had 11205 booked for next June for all of 15 minutes until DW saw the $$$.:D

 

Yes crewsweeper, it was definitely a nice suite, and normally would be too expensive for us. However, Last May our Mexican Riviera cruise on the Splendor got rerouted to Canada because of the H1N1 flue outbreak in Mexico. So, Carnival gave us a discount on that cruise, plus gave us 50% off of any cabin on our next cruise, so naturally we chose a suite at half price!:D It was a very comfortable suite, and as you saw, it had a huge balcony! However, since we had so many port days (4), we did not get to take full advantage of the Thermal Spa and Thallasotherapy pool, so if I had it to do over again, I would probably just get a regular suite instead of a spa suite.

 

Thanks for reading the review and I'm glad you are enjoying it.:)

[ckcb4u2]

Friday - Final Sea Day

 

We slept a little later this morning, as we didn't have to rush to catch an excursion. We got up around 7:15, got ready and dressed, and went to the Lido buffet to eat breakfast. It was a nice morning, so we decided to eat outside under the pool tier in the shade. We had no firm plans for the day, and were just going to try to soak up as much fun and relaxation as we could on our final day of the cruise. We took some pictures of the ship to place in our "Cruise Album" and checked out some areas of the ship that we had not seen. While going through the Atrium, we saw Teresa, Chantel, and Brandon getting some instruction in folding towel animals. Our favorite one for the week was a turtle that our cabin steward told us he had designed himself!

 

At lunch time, we went back to the Lido area, and I dug into my last cheesburger, hot dog, and fries for the week. Soooo good........:D We then walked down to the Lanai Ocean Plaza area and listened in on some Super Trivia that was going on. After this, we went back to the cabin to change for a visit to the Thermal Suite in the Cloud 9 Spa area. We wanted to get as much use out of those wristbands as possible...LOL:rolleyes: Jane laid down on a tiled lounger in the Tepedarium while I went back into the aromatherapy steam room to sweat out some toxins (of what type, I'm not sure but it sure was relaxing). Then, after rinsing off, we both went over to the Thallassotherapy pool for a final dip in the vitamins. I was gonna miss the spa when the cruise was over.:(

 

Since we wanted to have the evening free, we went back to the cabin at mid-afternoon so that we could pack up the luggage to leave outside of the cabin that evening. I always hate to get those debarkation tags. It's just a reminder that this is the last day before going back to the "real world". After getting everything packed up except for our debarkation outfits, we got ready for dinner a little early so that we could swing by the Fun Shops. Since our 29th wedding anniversary was coming up on Sunday, Jane had been laying some subtle hints about the "blue diamond" rings that she had been looking at. I had gotten "the look" when I told her that the cruise was our anniversary gift to each other...wrong answer!!!:p As she tried on some rings, she had several that appealed to her and one was VERY expensive. I tried to talk down the sales person on the price, but she just couldn't get to the amount that I could spend, even with the 40% off and an additional 15%. She then showed Jane one last ring, and it looked stunning on Jane's finger! (It was also within my budget). After telling the sales person we would think about it, we headed on to dinner but I knew I was going to get her that ring!

 

Our final meal in the Scarlett dining room was delicious as always, and after one last serving of warm chocolate melting cake and coffee, we said goodbye to the young couple we had a table next to. We also said farewell to our waiters Wayne and Jaya. We took their picture, left them a nice deserved tip, and left the dining room to enjoy the rest of the evening. We stopped back by the Fun Shops and purchased the blue diamond ring for Jane. A Happy Anniversary gift for my soulmate and best friend!:) For my part of the celebration, we walked down to the coffee bar at Ocean Plaza and got a chocolate milkshake and two big cookies. As our new friend Marcia says..."NUMMY!!!:eek:

 

At 9:30 pm, we headed to the Encore Theatre and caught the last bit of the Liars Club. We saw Scott and Michelle from the roll call group come in for Powerball Bingo, so we went over and sat with them. We all were starting to feel the "dread" that comes over you when you realize that the cruise is almost over. But, we still had a few hours to play, and one more nights sleep on our Carnival Comfort Bed!...LOL. After bingo, Scott and Michelle headed over to the Comedy Club to get a seat for the 11:00 pm show, and Jane and I had decided to stay in the theatre to watch the Carnival Legends show at 10:30. The show was fun and entertaining, and afterwards we saw Marcia and Greg, Larry and Tammie, and Rob towards the back of the theatre. We stopped and talked to them all for a few minutes and agreed that it had been an awesome week, and we all vowed to keep in touch when we got home. We then headed back to our cabin, put our room service card (for breakfast) on the outside of the door handle, and brought a truly enjoyable day to a close.

 

to be continued...