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Carnival Dream, Halloween Cruise

@joetolley

By @joetolley,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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@joetolley

@joetolley

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Carnival Dream (day 6) – "Just for the hell of it"

 

Well so far we are one for two when it comes to excursions and we didn't have much expectations for the third, Costa Maya, Mexico.

 

After doing a little research, I came to the conclusion that Costa Maya was a cruise-only place and everything was built up for the benefit of the industry. Sort of the the Castaway Cay (Disney) for the other cruise lines. I just wasn't excited about any of the excursions offered (remembering that I already snorkeled in Cozumel and didn't really want to see any ruins.) So, because Belize was a success and we had a great day yesterday in Roatan we decided to take it easy and just head to the beach.

 

We could've done a $45 each beach excursion, but were looking for something cheap (free) Learning from the previous day, we fled the port area. Inside the port, $90 to rent a golf cart for the day to drive 3 miles to the beach. Outside the port, $2 taxi. Once again, get away from the terminal.

 

Mahahual Beach is where we ended up. Warning: the people of Costa Maya make a living by selling you, whatever. Very overwhelming at first, but you get used to it. "Lady ready for her massage?", "Come look at my beach, I have a nice spot for you", "look at my jewelry, just for the hell of it" (this seemed to be a popular phrase for us gringos, and it made me laugh), and my personal favorite, you guessed it, "you want some marijuana?"

 

So we decided on a spot out in front of Tapas Bar, thanks to the encouragement of Nicolas. $5 for a beach bed and we're golden. A few hours in the sun, the occasional panhandler, authentic chips, salsa and guacamole, a couple of cold cervezas and this stop well exceeded our low expectations. And most importantly, I was wrong about Costa Maya. Once we left the port area, we did feel like we were in Mexico. And a little tip: they were doing snorkeling trips to a reef by boat from the beach for $15 a person. Doh!

 

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Back to the boat. Early 3:00 departure today. Then off to the "Previous Carnival Cruiser" reception. This was a nice little "thank you" (and soft sell for more cruises) to guests who have been on Carnival before. The "thank you" included a sampling of appetizers and some free drinks. Which is a wagon you should jump on.

 

This was also the 2nd elegant evening of the cruise, so a quick change into the monkey suit and off to the Scarlet restaurant. There we were treated to more excellent food, I had the steak and shrimp cocktail of course, and to some excellent entertainment by our wait staff.

 

Click

for some video.

 

After dinner we did some more strolling around the ship and stumbled into the theatre for the last of the three shows. This one was a dedication to the "working man(person)", and once again, a very good performance. Show's over, back to the promenade, specifically the Ocean Plaza and, wait,... its the line-dancers, and they were stumped. On the dance floor, they stood, seemingly befuddled. They were desperately trying to dance to Lionel Ritchie's "Hello", but couldn't. They looked so lost. Could this be the one song you can't line-dance to?

 

Off to bed. Tomorrow is the last full day on board the Dream....

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@joetolley

@joetolley

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Day 7 – John Denver in the house?

 

Alas, our last full day on the seas. Tomorrow we will wake up in Port Canaveral and begin the cattle call debarkation. But, for now there's still a full day ahead. But, one hindered by rain. Welcome back to the Florida Straits.

 

A good tropical storm (not literally) put a damper on the morning with 70 km/hour winds on the top deck and into the afternoon. So much for a lazy day by the pool,... for most. Yes, there were a few brave souls that were going to make the most of that last day, darn it, and enjoy the poolside (all curled up in beach towels from head to toe.)

 

This was basically a food and drink day. It started off with Belgian waffles in the Scarlett Dining Room, then for lunch, Indian food at Tandoor. Since outdoor activities were out of the question (for the sane) we took full advantage of what was going on inside.

 

Gender Wars: a trivia game between the sexes where the women were nailing sports questions and men were disclosing their knowledge of drinks like the Cosmopolitan. Hmmmm....

 

The Marriage Game: Essentially the Newlywed game but with three different aged couples. Newbies, twenty-somethings and a couple that had been married for almost 50 years. Let the hilarity ensue. I actually can't repeat a lot of what was said. Let's just say that the "old" couple still has some spunk. And we did learn from a preacher that if stranded on a desert island he would rather be with hooker than with a missionary (That was one of the tame questions.)

 

The "Good-bye" party: More free drinks and dancing in the Burgundy Lounge. But beware, when free drinks are flying you may just get flashed by someone that,... let's just say wouldn't be your first choice.

 

And a big day for line-dancing. I think there were seminars going on in multiple rooms throughout the day. Probably trying to nail that elusive Lionel Ritchie song.

 

The last dinner with Ronaldo and Jose was highlighted with some prime-rib. Not the best I've had, but is there such thing as prime-rib? At the end of dinner the waitstaff sang a little good-bye song. A slight twist on a John Denver favorite.

 

The night ended with a talent show (think the best of karaoke) in the main theater, with the regular singers/dancers as back-up. Kristy, at this point. was kicking herself for not trying out for the Madonna role. And she would've nailed. In hindsight, its probably best that there isn't a video on YouTube today of her, mother of 2 young, impressionable girls, singing "Like a Virgin."

 

For now I will leave you with the singing of the waitstaff. Thanks Carnival and the team of the Dream for a great week. Hope to see you again.

 

Click

for video.
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@joetolley

@joetolley

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Day 8 – Home Crap Home and some Western Caribbean TIps

 

After spending a week on the Carnival Dream in Cozumel, Belize, Roatan and Costa Maya its back to Cape Canaveral and then back to Charlotte. Breakfast a two-hour debarkation process. I'm not even going to spend time on it. It's single worst part of the cruise. Of any Cruise. Instead, I thought I'd share some tips I gathered while at sea on the Dream (some just for overall cruising):

 

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1. Lighten up Francis

 

First off, when you board this ship you need to keep one thing in mind. There are close to 4,000 fellow cruisers and when you first board they are wanting to do the exact thing you are. The buffets are packed. The pools are packed. And the elevators are being used by the crew for luggage so only the atrium elevators are available to cruisers. Basically, its a madhouse. Don't lose it, This is the only time during the cruise its this bad. Just chill out, have a drink and don't expect to catch the elevator anytime soon.

 

2. Get to know the crew,... immediately

 

The waitstaff is awesome, the stewards will do anything for you (even help you with your Halloween costume), the bartenders will let you "sample" things and the "entertainment" team will tend to include you in activities if they know you by name. So, why not make them your best friends on day 1. That's their job, remember, and they looking for the interaction.

 

3. Take advantage of the Dream

 

Half of the things to do on this ship seem generic, boring and so beneath you. And you should keep that attitude if you want the week to suck. It's only as fun as you make it. DO EVERTHING. What else are you going to do out in the middle of the ocean? You never know where laughter may live. Besides, some of these things involve free drinks. Just sayin'.

 

4. Don't settle for the buffet

 

Get away from the herd and you will find great alternatives to the gastro-fest that is the the main buffet. The second floor of the Gatherings (where the buffet is) is the pasta bar, made fresh to your order. Outside in the very back of the ship is Tandoor, and Indian buffet (excellent) and the deli. And on deck 5, the sushi bar (form 5pm - 8pm) is a full-on salad bar during lunch. One tip if you have to buffet on day 1, though: there are actually 2 buffets in the Gatherings. Go to the one in the back. No one's discovered it yet.

 

5. No excursions through the ship

 

You can find cheaper, less crowded and less "Americanized" excursions if you do your homework. **************** in Belize is one of these gems. Four in our group, zip-ling through the rainforest, and cave-tubing through sacred caves. $90 each. It was the same price just for one or the other through the ship. And in much larger groups. Of course, there is one caution. If you're late getting back to the ship, you're pretty much screwed.

 

6. Get away from the port

 

You're never where you think you are until you leave the port area. You're still in the grasp of the cruise line. Heck, in Roatan, Carnival built Mahogany Bay and the beach right next to it. You have to get outside for the good deals, for the cheap taxis and for authentic merchandise and cuisine. Plus, wouldn't you rather give to the community you're visiting rather than even more to Carnival or whatever cruise line you're on?

 

7. Reef snorkeling on the cheap

 

If you just want a quick, fun, do-it-yourself snorkel adventure, $2 will get you a taxi to Mahahual Beach in Costa Maya. There you can find 1-hour snorkel excursions from the beach, by boat, to the reefs for $15/person. And no groups, just you and whoever's with you.

 

8. Make use of the locker-room showers

 

The Dream has two showers in the men's locker room (interestingly, the Elation – much smaller ship – has 6) and they are bigger than the entire bathroom in the cabins. All the towels, soap and shampoo you need, as well as hair coloring? Not sure what that was about. That's where I showered every day and never even had to wait.

 

9. Pack a couple rolls of quarters and some laundry detergent

 

Not much to this one. There are laundry facilities onboard that come in handy, but they take a boat-load of quarters (no pun intended.)

 

10. TURN OFF CELL PHONE DATA

 

I've heard nightmare stories of iPhone users racking up $1,000s on their next bill. It's the data "push" that'll kill you. Turn off data and by some wifi. Much cheaper in the long run. We were even able to Skype from the middle of the Caribbean. The onboard broadband WAS fast enough.

 

Well that, along with the last 7 posts, is our cruise in a nutshell. Back to reality.....

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TaraLynne

TaraLynne

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Day 7 – John Denver in the house?

 

 

A good tropical storm (not literally) put a damper on the morning with 70 km/hour winds on the top deck and into the afternoon. So much for a lazy day by the pool,... for most. Yes, there were a few brave souls that were going to make the most of that last day, darn it, and enjoy the poolside (all curled up in beach towels from head to toe.)

 

 

I'll be writing about this in my review, but we actually found a comfortable, WARM, sheltered-from-the-wind spot and laid in the sun for a good hour on Friday afternoon! They had roped back all the comfy chairs on the Serenity Deck and we found one on the edge that was blocked from the wind by the wall of the deck (this was I think deck 13, on the side of the Serenity where the bar was?) and perfectly positioned to be in the sun. Considering you couldn't get your butt in one of those chairs unless you got up at the crack of dawn any other day, we took advantage of this :)

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GRANT2702

GRANT2702

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Could'nt agree with you more about the Fury Catamaran excursion........just bogus and fubar

 

 

Beware of the "party boat" excursion to Paradise Beach, it's the same bogus bit. Take a taxi to your favorite beach or pay for an AI (Nachi/Ocean Resort), for less money and meets ALL your EXPECTATIONS ! The Palancar Reef Catamaran Snorkel is worth it though !

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