B2B Carnival Dream March 12-26 Review

[meatloafsfan]

Roatan or Life is NOT a highway, it's a Cabana in Paradise.

 

So this morning rose bright and early; Jenna and I did not.

 

I had written up the door hanger for room service breakfast but forgot to hang it on the door. Fortunately, the Dream made a lot of noise trying to dock in Roatan.

 

Now I'll admit, I was lying in bed all cosy warm when I heard the docking start and it seemed to me that it was going on forever. Knowing that the Dream doesn't always manage to dock here, I starting thinking what would happen if we didn't dock - would I really be disappointed? My answer was "No." I was feeling so comfy and relaxed, I didn't really want to get out of bed. The idea of trudging through the port area, over to the ski lift, riding what was in my mind a questionable piece of equipment nicknamed "chairs of falling death", slogging through the sand (which in my mind was of course was like the Cozumel sand where I would sink a little with each step and it would take a lot of effort to go even a few feet) to a Cabana which would probably disappoint.

 

I could not have been more wrong. This was the best day of my two cruises.

 

Jenna and I had each had a piece of fruit for breakfast from the fruit basket. I was feeling a little nauseous and should have gone up to the buffet for something more substantial but since we were already late (the ship docked at 10am and the original plan had been off right away).

 

We got off the ship around 10:40 am. The walk through the port area wasn't bad and the chair lift was very easy to find. I have to admit though that my attitude wasn't great at this point. I snapped at Jenna when she made some smartass comment (which I regretted later) so she walked a couple of steps ahead of me until we got to the chairlift.

 

I eyed the chairlift with a great deal of mistrust. I thought no way is that thing stable. But the alternative was a healthy walk over to the beach and the chairlift was included in our cabana rental so.......

 

It was safe. Let me just say that. At no time were we in ACTUAL danger of falling into the waiting ocean or being splattered onto the hard ground below. But it sure felt like it to me. I am a big chicken and everytime the chair would sway or bounce even a little I would grip the bar in front of me. Jenna even offered to hold my hand if I was too scared.

 

I can be a little dramatic at times. The ride was long enough but not too long and you can get some great pictures. I was too frightened on the way over to get pics but I got several on my way back. Here is one of them loading a chair:

 

 

and a picture of the Valor in port:

 

 

The chairs were actually pretty comfortable. The seats are padded and they flip them up when not in use. This is especially nice on the way back to the ship. If they didn't flip them up, the seats would be super hot from the sun and would burn your butt. The bar that comes down to keep you in was quite generous and I can't imagine anyone not being able to ride the chairs. They can (and will) stop the chairs as you get off and on for ease.

 

On the way over they just slowed them down both when we got on and got off. At the end of the day I guess they figure people just don't move as quickly because they stopped for every chair to get on and off (not just us). There wasn't a line up either way when we rode them. If I had a large family and had to pay for each use, I might not try them but if they are included in a package (such as covered chairs or cabana), or you're not a fast walker, they are very convenient.

 

About the Cabana.

 

I know there is lots of talk about whether or not these Cabanas are worth the $200 price tag.

 

My answer is YES - for me. Maybe for you. Depends on who you are, what you like, if privacy is important to you, if you want floats, shade, comfortable seating, air conditioning, or a waiter on call.

 

I'm going to give you just a little teaser. Here is the view from the front porch of my cabana:

 

[mrlddst]

Hate to thread snatch but I loved the Sookie Stackhouse books...can't wait until May 3rd (new book release). If you like Sookie you might like the Anita Blake series (although its gets a bit raunchy after book 7), if you haven't already read them.

[meatloafsfan]

So you check in at a small shack (the same place you rent floats, or water bikes or whatever). They give you a key to your Cabana and take your Sign and Sail card in exchange (I guess to ensure that you give them back the key at the end of the day).

 

You are then led to your cabana by one of the workers. He (or I guess she but I didn't see any she's) will lead you down the beach to the Cabana. I think we had Cabana #5 which was right next to the walkway to the washrooms and where the waiter kind of hung out if no one wanted anything. When you get there he will open the cabana, turn on the air conditioner, hang up your hammock, place the cushions on your chairs (all 4 of them) and get you your floats.

 

All I can say is Wow! The cabana is an actual little cabin with a door, lights, air conditioner, ceiling fan, electrical outlets, a sectional couch, a comfy chair and a coffee table. There is also a small garbage can over to the side.

 

On the deck of the cabana are two padded loungers. Over to the left of our deck was the outdoor shower. Out front were they big round "chairs" that are shared by the group of cabanas (though I only saw people sitting in them to take pictures so I can't vouch for their comfort). Each cabana has their own large hammock and then in front of those are two more padded loungers (which I think are connected in the centre by a small table).

 

There was security and most of the time they caught people before they got too comfortable in the private cabana area. It was actually pretty surprising how many people came through the path to the cabana area, looked around, realized it was private and turned back without being told anything (I was very pleasantly surprised). There were a few people who didn't get the idea though.

 

After we settled into the cabana, Jenna went back to the chairlifts and went to the Clip'n'Zip to go ziplining. She did 18 lines and says she screamed her head off the whole time on the first 5, screamed some on the next 12 and it was only the last one that she wasn't scared on. She loved it though! I had contacted clipnzip before we left to find out if she could zipline without me or if I needed to sign any kind of consent form. They had no issue with her zipling without me and I didn't need to sign a consent form. She said her group was an extended family with 15 members, 1 couple and then her. She says the guides were always checking on her and telling her how to do things to have the best zip because the family of 15 were always talking and ignoring the guides so Jenna said it was like her and the couple were their own group and got lots of individual attention.

 

While she was gone I ordered a Banana Berry Colada in a sports bottle. It says there was alcohol in it but I certainly didn't taste any. The sports bottle was a cute souvenier but if I did it again, I'd just order the regular cups (and try more variety of stuff).

 

The couple from Maine that Jenna and I had met at Nachi Cocum wandered into the area and I invited them to use my beach chairs. With my burn I was waiting until at least 2pm before going into the water or the direct sun. Our floats were also just sitting there dry so I offered they could use them as well (at least until Jenna came back cause I knew she'd want to go into the water). They were so thankful. It actually helped me out a bit because it meant that I didn't need to confront the two people who had sat down into my beach chairs about 10 mins prior. The couple from Maine just went and moved those peoples things to the empty chairs beside (with no cushions on them because one of the cabanas had not checked in yet so they hadn't put them down yet). When the other couple came out of the water they started to make a fuss about "their chairs" so security came over. The couple from Maine said they were with me and I confirmed it so security let them stay in my chairs (even though they didn't have the cabana wrist band) and security asked the other couple to leave explaining this was a private area. This was the only issue I had with other people trying to encroach on my area.

 

I just laid back with my drink and listened to music. After a while I figured Jenna would be almost done ziplining so I went into the cabana and changed into my swim suit.

 

I also visited the restrooms. They were clean and well maintained.

 

Here are some pictures to go along with what I've described:

 

View to the left of our deck:

 

View to the right of our deck:

 

You can see from those pictures how empty the general area was - even though the cabanas were all occupied. To my right was a family of 5 (mom, dad & 3 grown kids) and to my left were 3 adult women with 2 little girls.

 

inside the cabana (sectional couch)

 

Other part of the sectional couch (and the little garbage can):

 

side window:

[meatloafsfan]

Cabana continued......

 

The fan / lights in the cabana. I turned on the fan and closed the door after the air conditioner was on and the cabana cooled off really quickly.

 

 

Here's also a picture of the air conditioner. I know there was some debate about whether or not there was an actual air conditioner in the cabana so let me assure there is:

 

 

Electrical outlets in the side of the cabana. I wish I'd know this ahead of time because I would have brought my chargers so my ereader and mp3 player.

 

 

Picture of 1 of the 4 cushioned lounge chairs:

 

Picture of our hanging hammock / beach chairs and you can see one of the floats (the turquoise thing):

[meatloafsfan]

Menus

 

The bar at Mahagany Beach is Fat Tuesdays.

 

I took photos of the menus to post here since this was information I found difficult to find before I left:

 

 

 

 

 

[sandradoo]

This was by far our favorite, beach was beautiful. Shopping was great, the people were so nice.

[meatloafsfan]

Jenna and I shared the Chicken Nachos for lunch. They were okay but way too much liquid cheese for my taste. Jenna was trying to pick around it but just gave up and took a lactaid. It was enough to hold us over but that's about it. I think it was more the drinks - thick and icy - that were filling us up. I got a refill of my banana berry and Jenna got a strawberry daquiri.

 

Around 2pm, Jenna and I both went into the water for a swim and used the floats. The water was warm and the sand was firm. The only issues was that once you got out to a certain point there was sea grass (didn't both me but jenna got up on her float and had me pull her around the water) and the current was a little stronger than I was used to and it would easily push you out further than you expected. Several times I had to consciously make an effort to bring jenna and I back closer to the shore. The sun was still feeling pretty strong so I wore my shirt into the water over my bathing suit. I wish I had thought of that last week! :p

 

Around 3:30pm we went back to the cabana to shower and dry off and then lay around for a bit. I hung my shirt in the sun to dry and by the time we left it was.

 

Close to 5pm we packed up and headed back to the shack to turn in our key and get back my sign and sail card.

 

So long Cabana. I will miss you.

 

If you had your own washroom, I'd live in you forever.

 

 

 

Anyways, back on the flying beach chairs (which were less scary this time but if I had to ride them to get back and forth to work everyday, let's just say I'd be unemployed ;)).

 

Jenna wanted to shop at the duty free store you pass through leaving the ship into the port area so I told her to go ahead and start looking at whatever it was she wanted and I'd meet her there.

 

I looked around the store and saw lots of nice things but nothing I'd pay that much for. I love, LOVE purses and bags and there were some gorgeous Guess purses but even duty free, I won't pay those prices - even for an ice blue leather bag with a sparkly "G" on the front...sigh.

 

Jenna was looking at the watches because she still wanted to get one for her boyfriend. She was stuck between 2 different ones but didn't know which one he'd prefer or which one looked more manly. So I did what I do best - talked to a stranger. There was a guy at the counter who was looking at watches as well and I explained that she was buying a watch for her 19 year old boyfriend and if he were getting one of those two watches as a gift which would he prefer? He was very nice and picked one and explained why he thought that one would be better. Jenna went with his selection, the lady behind the counter rang it up, took about 100 pieces of information from me, put it into a box, put the box into a bag and finally we were on our way.

 

There was a pretty long line to get back on the ship. Actually there were two long lines - one to the close gangway and one to the far one. The problem is that at some point the two lines passed each other and people would enter the shorter line (for the far gangway) but then when they got to the close gangway would cut into that line. It was only a few people who did that it caused the line for the close gangway to stall.

 

Eventually we got on the ship and ordered room service.

[raylene5]

OOHHH...I LOVE the idea of my own private cabana. We are going in Feb. 2013 (I know, long way off) and I will have to remember to rent one for my mom and my sisters and I. Looks totally worth it to me! :)

[Winterstale]

Thanks for your great review -- I've had a lot of fun reading it! Lots of insight and humor to boot! You've got me thinking the Dream might be in our future! Especially Roatan!! :D

[tinkerbell_82]

I can't believe how much Roatan has changed since we were there in 2008! It still looks incredible but almost unrecognizable! Last time I was there there wasn't even a port- just a tent!:eek:

[Winterstale]

OMG ROFLMAO!!!

 

Well - I'm a sucker for man who has an apartment - with a bed - AND a kitchen ;).

 

When I find a man with a nice enough apartment, and a comfortable enough bed and a state of the art kitchen, maybe then I'll consider settling down. :p

 

Unless I manage to buy all of those things myself first and then I'm single for life :D.

 

Sister - I want to PAR-TAY with you! You rock!

[chechas]

Thanks for the great review! I have been playing back and forth with going on the Dream, just me and my 16 yr old daughter. I was worried that either she would be bored or that I would be if she was off at the teen club. You have given me hope that we both can have a great trip! We do have a very close relationship unlike most of her friends and their parents so would spend plenty of time together but sounds like there would be plenty for us to do apart also!

 

So thanks again!

[pcrum]

Oh, I can totally relate to your fear over using the flying chairs. We were on a similar thing in Ochos Rios at the Mystic Mountain bobsled attraction, which was also built by Carnival. You took the chair lift up the mountain to get to the bobsleds and I was terrified. At the time I didn't know that Carnival had built the chair lift and I was sure we were going to fall to our death in a 3rd world country on shoddy equipment. Now that I've taken the chair lift and survived, I'd do the ones in Roatan.

 

I love your cabana photos. That certainly seems the way to go!! So much better than a chaise on the beach!!

[alreadypacked]

Sitting there with my ereader I had so many questions from Carnival workers about what it was and what it did. The one guy decided that he would buy one for his daughter who would be starting college in the fall as an English Major. He must have come back 6 or 7 times to ask me different questions. This was actually pretty common every time I pulled the thing out. In my office, they are pretty common - I personally know at least 10 people who own one but I didn't see another person on our cruise with one (doesn't mean no one else had one I just didn't see it). I did see a lot of paperbacks and hardcover books though.

 

I have a Kobo ereader and I highly recommend them to anyone who likes to read. I said I wouldn't get one because I'd miss the paper, turning the pages, the weight of the book in my hands - I've had mine since January and I've done more reading in the past three months than I did in the past year. It's so much easier to pick up and put down than a physical book. I can also keep it in my purse (it's so light and small) to read a few pages whenever I'm just waiting around. I also have (currently) 156 books at my disposal (100 classics that came preloaded and 56 books I've downloaded - most of them free or costing $1 - $3).

 

They do a pretty thorough clean of the buffet seating area - I can attest to that. I stayed where I was until they started setting up for dinner.

 

I headed back to the cabin to see if Jenna was up yet. When I got there, she was gone.

 

Having been denied a sweet treat earlier, I ordered chocolate cake from room service. Mmmm, mmmm, good. Most of the time it would come with a little dollop of chocolate mousse on the side but I guess whoever was doing the slicing and serving in the kitchen was feeling particularly generous because this was one honkingly large piece of cake with a huge scoop of chocolate mousse on the side and 5 chocolate pieces stuck in it. This was the perfect afternoon treat.

 

This was the second of our elegant nights. My back and arms were still very sore and I was having difficultly raising my arms high enough to touch my hair so I just washed it (ow, ow, ow!) and left it loose.

 

My hair is generally wavy but but this point - with the sea air and the humidity, it was Fuzzy (with a capital F). I think it looked like it shrunk 4 inches shorter than when I brush it out or straighten it.

 

I had brought my new travel curlers, straighter and hair dryer and used them a total of once (first elegant night). My skin was just too tight to raise my arms up long enough or often enough to do anything fancy to my hair. I'm just glad that I had gotten a good hair cut immediately before the trip so at least it had a nice shape - otherwise I expect people would have kept asking to rub my tummy for good luck considering my Troll Doll like appearance.

 

Jenna came back to the cabin at 8 and was ready in 15 mins.

 

 

Loving the review!!:) Forgive me, but is an ereader the same concept as the "Nook" sold by Barnes and Noble or is it something better?

[MissKIA]

Loving the review!!:) Forgive me, but is an ereader the same concept as the "Nook" sold by Barnes and Noble or is it something better?

 

 

E Reader is just the generic term for it. For example, Nook is the brand name of your E Reader.

[alreadypacked]

E Reader is just the generic term for it. For example, Nook is the brand name of your E Reader.

 

Thanks!:)

[yj2cute]

Where is this lovely beach in Roatan? How do you rent the cabanas? Is it only through Carnival or do other cruise lines have access to it?

[CruiseLiz]

Where is this lovely beach in Roatan? How do you rent the cabanas? Is it only through Carnival or do other cruise lines have access to it?

 

I'd like to know this also! It looks just heavenly.

 

How was the beach there? Was there a big drop off, was the sand soft, etc?

[meatloafsfan]

Where is this lovely beach in Roatan? How do you rent the cabanas? Is it only through Carnival or do other cruise lines have access to it?

 

It's Carnival's Beach - Mahogany Bay (or Beach? I can never remember).

 

I don't know if other lines dock there since it was built by Carnival Corp.

 

You can rent the cabanas online (only 1 person in your party rents it) or you can get them through the excursion desk on the ship.

[meatloafsfan]

I'd like to know this also! It looks just heavenly.

 

How was the beach there? Was there a big drop off, was the sand soft, etc?

 

The sand itself was soft but hard packed. it was not rocky but very smooth sand; I did not see any shells. Did not notice a big drop off in the water, more of a gentle slope.

 

The only issue is the water was cloudy by the end of the day with people in the water kicking up sand and the sea grass when you got out to a certain point. It didn't bother me but I know it does bother some people.

 

I also didn't notice any "creatures" in the water (like the jumping fish we had in St. Thomas). Early morning there might be but we weren't in the water until around 2pm.

 

I wish I could have taken a picture from in the water down the beach outside of the cabana area (but my camera is not waterproof). The cabana area was empty as was the water in front of it (only a few people - mostly cabana renters) but to the sides of the cabana area it was packed - tons of full loungers and people everywhere in the water.

 

It was like our own little serenity area on the beach. :D

[yj2cute]

The sand itself was soft but hard packed. it was not rocky but very smooth sand; I did not see any shells. Did not notice a big drop off in the water, more of a gentle slope.

 

The only issue is the water was cloudy by the end of the day with people in the water kicking up sand and the sea grass when you got out to a certain point. It didn't bother me but I know it does bother some people.

I also didn't notice any "creatures" in the water (like the jumping fish we had in St. Thomas). Early morning there might be but we weren't in the water until around 2pm.

 

I wish I could have taken a picture from in the water down the beach outside of the cabana area (but my camera is not waterproof). The cabana area was empty as was the water in front of it (only a few people - mostly cabana renters) but to the sides of the cabana area it was packed - tons of full loungers and people everywhere in the water.

 

It was like our own little serenity area on the beach. :D

 

This statement is PRICELESS to me. I hate, hate, HATE, "creatures" in the water with me. I know, I know, it's their area, but I am so afraid of fish in the water with me. I would book this cruise just for that fact alone.

[elcuchio24]

Great review! Love the pics and writing style, will stay tuned...

[Joaljoe]

Hello neighbour! :)

 

AWESOME Review!!!! I just spent over 2 hours reading it but it was sooo worth it!! We just came off the Dream in Feb and want to be back so badly!

 

We went down to Orlando a couple of days early to do 1 day at the park but it didn't turn out due to sickness. The kids really enjoyed Pop Century and we felt so bad for them that they were so close to Magic Kingdom but couldn't enjoy it. Anyway, they don't know this yet but we're taking them back to FL in 6 weeks!!! Yahooo!!! We got an email from them offering us "free dinning" so how can we not take advantage.

 

We will fly out of Buffalo again! Can't wait to wake them up in the morning and tell them we're on our way to Disney!! :)

 

Can't wait to read the rest.....

[CruiseLiz]

The sand itself was soft but hard packed. it was not rocky but very smooth sand; I did not see any shells. Did not notice a big drop off in the water, more of a gentle slope.

 

The only issue is the water was cloudy by the end of the day with people in the water kicking up sand and the sea grass when you got out to a certain point. It didn't bother me but I know it does bother some people.

 

I also didn't notice any "creatures" in the water (like the jumping fish we had in St. Thomas). Early morning there might be but we weren't in the water until around 2pm.

 

I wish I could have taken a picture from in the water down the beach outside of the cabana area (but my camera is not waterproof). The cabana area was empty as was the water in front of it (only a few people - mostly cabana renters) but to the sides of the cabana area it was packed - tons of full loungers and people everywhere in the water.

 

It was like our own little serenity area on the beach. :D

 

Sounds perfect! Thanks - this is def going on my list for the day we visit that port.

[jtmurph7]

This is by far the best review that I have read...I just hope that I can do half this good when it comes my time.:D..I still have a while to go before my cruise...I can't wait to read more!!!

 

PS.. My stepmother is from Canada and she has a great since of humor like you...:)

 

Thanks,

Tammy