Spring Break on the Dream...my review, Part 1

[3Statesmom]

The following is my (very long) review of our 7-day Eastern cruise on the Dream, March 12-19. I took my 18-year old daughter Dakota, to celebrate her high school graduation. We have both sailed with Carnival before (Inspiration)…

Embarkation Day (Sat):

Let’s get one thing straight right away…Port Canaveral knows what they’re doing! I thought Tampa was easy (and I do like their valet service), but Port Canaveral was amazing. We drove from our home about 2 hours away, arriving at the Port at 10:30 am. We pulled up and dropped off the luggage with the porters, then immediately found a parking space at the garage entrance. We were inside the terminal, checked in, and had our S&S cards in our hand by 10:50am. After a 20 minute wait, they started boarding. By 11:20, I had my DOD in my hand! After a quick bite to eat, we headed up to the Serenity deck to check out the clamshells. They are awesome…but in such high demand we were never able to get another one the entire cruise.

We gained access to our cabins at 1:30pm. We were in cabin 11274, Panorama deck, an interior room with upper & lower bunks. It also happened to be a handicapped-accessible room (!), meaning the doors were wider and the bathroom was huge! This room is located 1 deck up from the Lido pool, just above the towel/golf club desk…and just BELOW Waterworks. If you’re a light sleeper (which I’m not, just FYI), late at night, you do hear lots of noise from the crew cleaning the decks, moving chairs etc. Nothing overwhelming, but it’s there. The room was immaculate, and stayed that way…our room steward (I never actually got her full name, but I called her Maggie) was awesome all week.

The safety drill was held at 3:30pm; we met in the Encore lounge, and the whole drill took less than 15 minutes. We spent the afternoon exploring the HUGE Dream, then met the other folks from Cruise Critic (Hello IslandDuo, Tabby, etc!) at the Sunset Bar at sail-away for our meet-n-greet.

Let me take a moment to make this important observation: THIS SHIP MOVES. A LOT. As in rocking back and forth. On my previous cruises, I’ve felt momentary movement, and been mildly sick. While reading up on the Dream prior to the cruise, lots of people mentioned the movement, so I purchased the Transderm scop patches for my daughter & I. I’m very, very, VERY glad I did. Without them, I’m sure I would have been ill. As it was, we felt the movement almost all the time, especially the first 3 days, but never once felt ill.

We ate in the MDR for dinner each evening; this is a rule I have with my daughter: do what you want during the day, make friend, hang out with them at night…but we dress up and eat dinner together in the MDR every night. We did YTD, and sat in the Crimson, upper floor. Our head waiter, Alekzander, and his staff, were amazing the entire week. We requested him every night. Igor, the assistant Maitre’d, was always smiling, always stopping at the table to speak to us, and remembered us each night.

Day 2, Nassau (Sunday):

This is our 1st port day, a short one, in Nassau. We grabbed a quick breakfast on the Lido deck (which is where we had breakfast every day…not into going to the MDR), and we were off the boat by 8:30am. Having never been to the Bahamas, and since the ship was leaving at 2:00pm, we didn’t schedule any excursions for today. We walked around, went through the Straw Market (basically a big, hot, smelly flea market) to buy some souvenirs (I have a 14 yo daughter & an 11 yo son at home). At 11:00, I took Dakota to Senor Frogs…the legal drinking age in the Bahamas is 18, and Dakota was excited to buy her 1st legal drink for herself. Imagine her disappointment when they didn’t even ask for her ID. She got a ‘yard’ of something red & awful looking…and proceeded to join the 100’s of other high-school & college-aged kids drinking, dancing, and grinding on the floor & stage. I had a mudslide, and settled back to watch the show, lol. By the time Dakota was wearing the blow-up balloon crown and drinking her 3rd ‘yard’…I knew it was time to head back to the ship. ;) Back on board around 1:00, we ate on Lido (the jerk chicken & the variety of pasta salads was really good), then we headed up to the serenity deck to lay out & catch some sun.

This was our first “Cruise Elegant” night, and we love to dress up. I wore a black floor-length formal, and Dakota wore a prom dress…had some great pictures taken. Ate in the MDR, of course, lobster & shrimp, yummy. After dinner, we changed clothes, and headed our separate ways. Dakota went off with new-found friends, on board for a wedding and who happened to have a balcony room right across the hall from us…and I went to catch the Blackjack Band in the Ocean Plaza bar. Let me say this: this band is really really good. This became “My Spot” for the rest of the cruise. Prava, the bartender, was awesome, friendly, and by the next day…had my drink waiting for me!

Tonight, the boat was REALLY rocking. I decided to catch the midnight adult comedy show (Darren DS Sanders is freaking hilarious, do not miss him if you ever get the chance!). I got back to the room around 2am, no Dakota. I fell asleep, to be woken by Dakota & our hall-mates at 5am…laughing hysterically in the hallway. Rules were implemented, curfews attached. Mom spoke. :mad:

 

 

Day 3, Day at Sea (Monday)

This is where it gets interesting. I need to mention that we sailed the Dream on Spring Break. She sailed FULL, 4500+ passengers, including 1000+ kids under the age of 18, and another 500-600 aged 18-21. WOW. The college-aged kids included what appeared to be the entire University of Tennessee football team (Go Vols), the Univ. of Kentucky cheerleaders, and huge groups from Iowa State, Auburn, and Univ. of Alabama. WOW. Again. :D Throw in the largest group of Canadians I’ve ever encountered outside of Canada…and it was such a fun group.

Kudos to Carnival …I’ve never used their children’s programs, but whatever they do, works. Even with that many children on board, you never really saw many kids around. And I guess the ones I saw, were just really well-behaved. And I’m not particularly kid-friendly…but I’m not overly hard to please. I just wanted to make the point that Carnival must REALLY have an awesome kids program, cause you just don’t see them around (with the exception of the hot tubs…good grief…always full of little ones).

Chair Hogs: Okay, YES, they are out in full force, but this is the 1st time I’ve ever seen Carnival crew members actively timing empty chairs and REMOVING articles left to “save” the chairs. WOO-HOO!!! Thank you, Carnival. I got up early and had my own chair right by the pool by 7am, but as the week went on, you had to get up earlier & earlier. (Serenity Deck: I think if you wanted a clamshell, you’d better just plan on sleeping there overnight!). It was a very cool & breezy day, and in the afternoon, I tried out the Spa, then took a quick nap. Dakota felt like s*** pretty much all day, which serves her right. The Dream was riding into head winds of 62/km/hr and 8-10 foot seas…can you say ROCKING? Can you say “Wave Pool”? Again, you felt lots of movement and instability, and the crew & Butch (the CD) made lots of announcements about using the handrails, but never got seasick.

Ate in the MDR, at least Dakota felt hungry again. Alek charmed Dakota, I danced with Igor (Asst. Maitre d)…cause I’m one of those Carnival faithful that loves the singing & dancing in the MDR. I wish they did it everynight. Which leads me to this opinion: Your Time Dining is not for me. This was my first try at it…and most definitely my last. I like to be seated with other couples or other groups, and each night Dakota & I were seated at two-tops. Yes, they were very close to other tables, and we always talked to our neighbors, but being upstairs from “The Show” wasn’t for me. From now on, I will choose late-dining, have a pre-ordained table, tablemates, and wait-staff.

After changing, went to Ocean Plaza again for more Blackjack Band, then took Dakota to see the adult comedy shows. Still hilarious…To bed early (2am), because tomorrow is St. Thomas, and an early excursion.

[mom2lillirissa]

looking forward to more!!

[LBumb]

great start. senor frogs in nassau can be a hoot.

[JaniceB]

"Let’s get one thing straight right away…Port Canaveral knows what they’re doing! I thought Tampa was easy (and I do like their valet service), but Port Canaveral was amazing."

Glad to hear that Port Canaveral was great. I asked the question which FL port to cruise from and it seem that most people agree with you.

I was also thinking of my time dining and glad to hear some else like the late dining and the dining room entertainment. I will have first timers with me on our next cruise and wanted them to experience the entertainment. I know it is late to eat, but we don't go to bed early on a cruise anyway.

I am enjoying your review. What a great present for your daughter.

[3Statesmom]

Tuesday…St. Thomas

 

We will be in St. Thomas today from 10:00 am-8:00 pm. I have pre-paid for a (Carnival) excursion, the Ultimate Island Experience, which includes Magen’s Bay, Blackbeard’s Castle/99 Steps, Rum factory, and shopping. It’s an early excursion (10:30 am start time), because tonight I will be eating at the Chef’s Table. I decided about 10 days pre-cruise that I wanted to do Chef’s Table, so I emailed the Dreams’ Steakhouse for a reservation, and received an email confirmation within 24 hours. On Monday morning, I received a letter in my cabin, letting me know the details of the Table (more on this later!)

Dakota & I were up at 8:00 am, had a quick breakfast on Lido, and we were off the boat promptly at 10:00 am; we were met right on the pier by the excursion crew, and loaded taxis (actually, taxis in St. Thomas are large pickup trucks with their beds cut off, and bench seats and a roof has been added). We headed up to a lookout/picture-taking scenic point…beautiful pictures!...and here is a piece of advice. At this lookout, there are people selling souvenirs, etc. I had decided before leaving the ship that, since I need to purchase souvenirs for my other 2 kids back home, that instead of lugging the 2 Carnival pool towels along with us today, I would purchase 2 souvenir “St. Thomas” towels, use them at the beach, then give them to the kids back home. Now, at this look-out, the towels were $10-12; but the taxi driver/guide told us to wait, “that there were better deals” at Magen’s Bay. So I waited. MmmmHmmm…the exact same towels at the gift shop at Magen’s Bay were $18. Just FYI…

Magen’s Bay is amazingly beautiful…and with 5 cruise ships in port…PACKED! But the wait for cold drinks isn’t more than 10 minutes, and there’s plenty of sand and water to go around. Dakota again was able to purchase alcoholic beverages without having to show her ID (darn it)…she tried the Bushwacker, and I drank beer. We were at the beach for about 2 hours, then our guide was back to drop us off at our next stop. The rest of the tour is basically a “do-it-yourself” tour. You start at Blackbeard’s Castle, then walk through a Rum factory, an amber cave/gift shop, walk down the 99 steps, then out onto the Main Street area for shopping at your own pace. You can choose what to look at, and what to avoid. Once on Main St., I bought a small necklace for my 14 yo, some Pirate goodies for my son, and a bunch of tourist t-shirts. Instead of taking the optional “harbor cruise” back to the cruise dock (it reminded me of the S.S. Minnow, if you know what I mean), Dakota & I decided to walk, since it was only about 15 minutes. I would have loved to spend more time in St. Thomas, but I had to be at Chef’s Table at 6:30pm, so we returned to the ship at 4:45pm.

The confirmation letter for CT instructed us that it was Cruise Elegant attire, and they recommended wearing closed toed shoes & no high heels since the floor in the galley might be slippery. We were to meet the Chef at the Song Bar on deck 5 aft…Let me say that this was the BEST thing I’ve ever done on a cruise, and I will most definitely be signing up for CT on every cruise I go on. For $75.00…you get an amazing, 1 of a kind experience. At the Song Bar, we are greeted with unlimited champagne, and 5 or 6 individual appetizers, that are described to you in detail by the chef. We moved from there to a long table in the galley (there are 11 of us), where we are served appetizers, salads, and multiple entrees, including sea bass and filet mignon. Let me say this: I am not a steak eater, and haven’t ordered one in a restaurant in a decade…but I could have eaten 3 of those filets. Easily the most exquisite piece of meat I’ve ever eaten…ever. Dinner is served with un-ending white and then red wine. And when I say un-ending…oyyyy. What a headache the next morning . The pastry chef explains how he makes the ever-famous Chocolate Melting Cake…and the dessert plate is MAGNIFICENT! Sorbet, tiramisu, fruits, this crumb-cake confection that MELTED in your mouth, ond of course the CMCake. Of course, all of this is being served to us by an amazing team of waitstaff, all in the middle of a working kitchen that is busy serving the Early Dining seating. During this fabulous meal, my favorite waiter Alek stops by to say hello, as does Igor, the assistant Maitre d. Wow…what amazing staff and crew Carnival employs! At the end of this meal…a picture is taken of us at the table with the Chef (and an 8x10 is delivered to our room the following day), and we are presented with a signed cookbook, titled Carnival Creations.

Though stuffed, I manage to make it to the Ocean Plaza (again…hello Prava) to watch some Blackjack Band (can you tell I really enjoy their music)…and Dakota finds me to tell me how her evening alone with friends went. To bed early again (2:00am), because tomorrow is our early excursion in St. Maarten. Little do I know what adventure is ACTUALLY in store for us.

[3Statesmom]

 

 

 

 

 

TRYING to figure out how to add photos... any help??

[2Zornot2Z]

Loving your review,keep it hoping.

[nikita]

Love your review - thanks for taking the time to write one! Is there only one Chefs table on a weeks long cruise? Or do you have the option to do this every night? I am very interested in signing up for our May cruise (on Legend). So you just made reservations through the Steakhouse then? Thanks for any info on this you can give me.

[JaniceB]

Sounds like the Chef's Table was amazing.

 

I can't wait to hear about your adventure in St. Maarten, one of my favorite islands.