A Vacation–No! A DREAM VACATION – Review with pictures April 2, 2011

[pcrum]

Love the review and the photos. You little Collin is adorable...he will be a heartbreaker when he grows up!!

 

Just a question...you said the room steward brought beer buckets and kept your sodas on ice. Did you not have a fridge in your cabin? We usually take out the mini bar contents and put our sodas in the fridge, so I was wondering if maybe the Dream didn't have fridges?

 

Thanks for the great review!

[mrlddst]

I loved every bit of your review! Thanks for posting! I think I'm going to try the place you mentioned in Costa Maya Tropi****e. Where do I find the contact info?

[GeorgiaMomof4]

looking at Dream cruise--we ahve sailed 9 carnival cruises and my son wants to see a ship that he doesn't know like the back of his hand. Would you say the Dream is different in feel?

ANy help in a balcony cabin selection & location suggestions area a help.

Usually we choose mid ship for my seas sickness, and twice a lido deck for convenience to be near the buffet and pizza. But welcome to anyone's suggstions--including where NOT to book.

 

 

BUFFETTFAN 225 -

 

 

Sounds like you have way more experience with Carnival than I do - we've only sailed on the Glory and Dream. Since I only have the Glory to compare it to, I'm not sure I'm the best person to help. I did find the Dream to be easier to manuever I think. Deck 5 goes all the way around. It's also where the casino, some of the clubs, etc. are. Our cabins were portside on Deck 8 - Verandah toward the back of the ship 8396, 8402 and 8384. I didn't feel much movement at all there - maybe just one day. I'm not prone to seasickness though! Our cabins did seem convenient - we usually walked toward the very aft and took the stairs up 2 decks to the lido buffet and our dining room was aft on deck 4 I believe so that was convenient also. The slides and all are toward the forward part of the ship - so it's really just a toss up I guess.

 

Hope that helps some!

 

Thanks for reading my review!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I loved every bit of your review! Thanks for posting! I think I'm going to try the place you mentioned in Costa Maya Tropi****e. Where do I find the contact info?

 

 

 

MRIDDST -

 

 

Thanks for reading! You can google Tropicante and follow the link or I think it's www.sandalsandskis.com. There is an email address on there for Steve. He's great about replying so just shoot him an email with the date you'll be there and what you need! Have a great time! Whitney wants to know if she can stow away with you!!!

 

Be sure and tell him Angela from Georgia sent you and we all said "hello"!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

looking at Dream cruise--we ahve sailed 9 carnival cruises and my son wants to see a ship that he doesn't know like the back of his hand. Would you say the Dream is different in feel?

ANy help in a balcony cabin selection & location suggestions area a help.

Usually we choose mid ship for my seas sickness, and twice a lido deck for convenience to be near the buffet and pizza. But welcome to anyone's suggstions--including where NOT to book.

 

 

 

BUFFETTFAN 225 -

 

Just noticed you had been on the Legend - what can you tell us about it? Do you like it better than the larger ships? We're looking at booking Deck 7 toward the aft - is that a good location?

 

Any info will be appreciated!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Love the review and the photos. You little Collin is adorable...he will be a heartbreaker when he grows up!!

 

Just a question...you said the room steward brought beer buckets and kept your sodas on ice. Did you not have a fridge in your cabin? We usually take out the mini bar contents and put our sodas in the fridge, so I was wondering if maybe the Dream didn't have fridges?

 

Thanks for the great review!

 

 

Hey! Thanks for reading! He is a cutie isn't he? We're so lucky to have him - you just don't know how hard we fought to keep him!

 

About your question - yes, we did have a fridge, but it wasn't really a fridge temp wise - more of a cooler - sorta! Didn't keep things really cold, but the buckets did work pretty well! We could have used the fridge and did for a few things, but I like my drinks ice cold when I'm coming in from the sun and heat!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Hi GeorgiaMom - thank you so much for your review! I really enjoyed reading it (and it was far from boring!!). If you have time to answer a couple of questions I would appreciate it! My friend (she commented earlier - Melli Fera) and I are going on the Dream on Aug 27th--it's our first time on the boat.

 

Do you have any recommendations about the boat - for example, recommendations about what deck(s) you liked to relax on (or were off the beaten path), tips on what times to go for food, tips on when to do things on the ship--like the waterslide or golf course (peak vs non peak hrs), things like that. Also, I would love to hear more on packing recommendations - what you couldn't live without, what you could have left home, etc. Thank you so much!!! :D

 

 

 

I'm going to answer a few of your questions now and then I'll do the rest later (I'll have to check my packing list for your last question and I don't have time tonight).

 

I may be wrong, but I'm thinking your sailing in August might not be quite as crowded as ours was during Spring Break. If that is the case, you might be able to get chairs on the lido deck and around in that area. If not, deck 5 is a great place to hang out Not as many kids, nice and quiet. You can go into the casino and right out one of the side doors and there are tons of chairs and some hot tubs too! Good COOOOOLD showers too, if it gets hot. It's really nice out there.

 

As far as when to go to the buffet, etc. I can't really say. We just went when we got hungry - didn't really check the time and never had any problems with lines. I did have to wait about 15 minutes on Friday - the last sea day - for the Mongolian wok. But, they do cook it to order and it does take a while. If I remember correctly I was probably there right about 12:00 or 12:30 too - so that probably wasn't smart on my part. Like I said in my review, I only went to the pasta bar one time and that was embarkation day about 11:15 right when we got on the ship so I can't help you as far as what the lines were on the other days. We were the first ones there that day so we didn't have any lines! Glen might be able to help me more with this question - I'll try and ask him too!

 

 

Naturally on sea days the waterslides and golf were more crowded, but even with all the kids I didn't think it was too bad. I enjoyed just going down the racing slides (the smaller ones which are side by side) just as much as the twister one and the toilet bowl one and there were hardly ever any lines for those. I like going down those just to get wet and cool off. I didn't actually take the kids to golf - Glen did and they went on the last sea day. He said it wasn't that crowded even then.

 

I promise I'll look at my packing list and get back to you. Tomorrow isn't going to be too good though - school council meeting at 7:00 a.m., Lindsey is in a county wide speech contest at 8:30 - I have to work sometime tomorrow, then at 4:00 we pack 200 food sacks for the low-income kids at the elementary school where Hope and Collin go and at 6:00 Collin has a t-ball game. Maybe I'll just stay in bed with the covers over my head tomorrow...... Just bear with me though and I'll get to it!

[captainmayi]

Loved your review. I am not going on the dream until January 2013 :( I was wondering what your shirts said? We are doing a large family cruise and want matching shirts for when we embark. Did you order the shirts or make them yourself? Thanks :)

[k2excursion]

looking at Dream cruise--we ahve sailed 9 carnival cruises and my son wants to see a ship that he doesn't know like the back of his hand. Would you say the Dream is different in feel?

ANy help in a balcony cabin selection & location suggestions area a help.

Usually we choose mid ship for my seas sickness, and twice a lido deck for convenience to be near the buffet and pizza. But welcome to anyone's suggstions--including where NOT to book.

 

Dream is similar to Liberty, in that the same things (dance club, piano bar, casino, atrium) will be in the same spots that you're used to. But the design is so different, it definitely has a different feel to it. The lido main pool area is different too: no stadium style seating, different waterslides. You will know where everything is already, comparing it to Liberty & Destiny, but it will feel very different.

 

For cabin selection, if you are definitely wanting a balcony, avoid Deck 6 and probably also Deck 7. The lanai on Deck 5 goes all the way around the ship, somewhat blocking the view of the ocean, and people on the lanai are right below the Deck 6 balconies (no privacy). Deck 8 and above, it's not as big of an issue, unless you're leaning out over the railing. Deck 6 is right above the promenade, which can be noisy, depending on what's right below you. Deck 8, midship, is a good central location. Kind of halfway between lido deck/waterslides & the promenade/restaraunts. We had deck 8 and loved the central location. You may also like the cove balconies on Deck 2, which are very popular. Those have the privacy, and are close to the waterline. We booked one for Dream's sister ship, the Breeze. In theory, a lower deck is better for someone with motion sickness struggles. Of all my cruises, none have been as smooth as the Dream. It all depends on the seas, of course, but it just seemed so stable by comparison to others I've been on. I hope this helps.:)

[crusinpsychRN]

Love your ring!

 

Thanks for all the work you put into this review.

[MuseumGirl74]

I promise I'll look at my packing list and get back to you. Tomorrow isn't going to be too good though - school council meeting at 7:00 a.m., Lindsey is in a county wide speech contest at 8:30 - I have to work sometime tomorrow, then at 4:00 we pack 200 food sacks for the low-income kids at the elementary school where Hope and Collin go and at 6:00 Collin has a t-ball game. Maybe I'll just stay in bed with the covers over my head tomorrow...... Just bear with me though and I'll get to it!

 

Woo, I only read this and am tired! Hope you're a coffee drinker! LOL

 

And thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, I appreciate it! :D

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Love your ring!

 

Thanks for all the work you put into this review.

 

 

 

CRUISINPSYCHRN

 

 

Thanks - it is beautiful isn't it?

 

Thanks for reading!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Loved your review. I am not going on the dream until January 2013 :( I was wondering what your shirts said? We are doing a large family cruise and want matching shirts for when we embark. Did you order the shirts or make them yourself? Thanks :)

 

 

 

Hi! Thanks for reading! Now for your question...They say

 

 

The ______ and _______ Cruise (at the top)

 

then the picture of the Dream

 

and..

 

 

Let the Dream Begin! (below the picture)

April 2, 2011 (when we sailed)

 

 

Whitney and I designed it and then I took it to a local place that does t-shirts. It's not a screen print because we only needed 9 and it would have been very expensive for the screen setup and all. I think ours are heat set or something like that and they are fine. I guess if it was something you were going to wear on a weekly basis and wash and rewash time and time again you might want the screenprint version. I think ours were between $6 and $8 dollars each depending on size.

 

You can't beat the price and it's a great souvenir too! We got tons of comments on them. They did look really cool with all 9 of us wearing them. Of course Lindsey, my 14 year old fashionista wasn't excited at all about having to wear hers. She took hers off at the first opportunity!

 

We were lucky with the picture of the ship. Some friends of ours from church went on the Dream in early March so I had them pick me up a post card of the ship and I used it for our picture!

 

Hope this helps! They do have some you can pick from on the Carnival website - especially if it's a family cruise. Ours was friends and family and we just wanted something a little different!

[KrusII]

Hey! That's an idea! We could meet once a month - without the guys and talk cruise! LOL!

Count me in, from the Golden Isles of Georgia....Shellman Bluff.....between Savannah and Darien.

[captainmayi]

Hi! Thanks for reading! Now for your question...They say

 

 

The ______ and _______ Cruise (at the top)

 

then the picture of the Dream

 

and..

 

 

Let the Dream Begin! (below the picture)

April 2, 2011 (when we sailed)

 

 

Whitney and I designed it and then I took it to a local place that does t-shirts. It's not a screen print because we only needed 9 and it would have been very expensive for the screen setup and all. I think ours are heat set or something like that and they are fine. I guess if it was something you were going to wear on a weekly basis and wash and rewash time and time again you might want the screenprint version. I think ours were between $6 and $8 dollars each depending on size.

 

You can't beat the price and it's a great souvenir too! We got tons of comments on them. They did look really cool with all 9 of us wearing them. Of course Lindsey, my 14 year old fashionista wasn't excited at all about having to wear hers. She took hers off at the first opportunity!

 

We were lucky with the picture of the ship. Some friends of ours from church went on the Dream in early March so I had them pick me up a post card of the ship and I used it for our picture!

 

Hope this helps! They do have some you can pick from on the Carnival website - especially if it's a family cruise. Ours was friends and family and we just wanted something a little different!

 

Thank you, yes that helps :)

We have done several family vacations to Florida and have made our matching shirts.

May have to check into having it done at our local shop downtown...

I have had shirts made through carnival and was not happy with the quality of the shirts for the price we paid.

Love the idea of using the cruise ship!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Count me in, from the Golden Isles of Georgia....Shellman Bluff.....between Savannah and Darien.

 

 

 

Oooh - I think you might be too far away - we're all from north Georgia about 60-80 miles or so north of Atlanta! But you'd be welcome if you wanted to make the drive!!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Hi GeorgiaMom - thank you so much for your review! I really enjoyed reading it (and it was far from boring!!). If you have time to answer a couple of questions I would appreciate it! My friend (she commented earlier - Melli Fera) and I are going on the Dream on Aug 27th--it's our first time on the boat.

 

Do you have any recommendations about the boat - for example, recommendations about what deck(s) you liked to relax on (or were off the beaten path), tips on what times to go for food, tips on when to do things on the ship--like the waterslide or golf course (peak vs non peak hrs), things like that. Also, I would love to hear more on packing recommendations - what you couldn't live without, what you could have left home, etc. Thank you so much!!! :D

 

 

MUSEUMGIRL74 - I hope you're still checking to see if I've answered your question about packing - here goes --

 

 

OK - It has taken me a couple of days, but I think I can tell you a little about the packing stuff. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion, but I'll share with you what I think. I still don't have my actual packing list with me, looked for it and forgot it was on my computer at work. Anyway, I'll start with a few of these.

 

COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT - swimsuit coverup (great for throwing on to go to buffet, etc., sunglasses, visor/hat, pony tail holders or clips to keep your hair up if it's longer, backpack (or something for port days and excursions), sunscreen, blistex or chapstick, at least 2 swimsuits, comfortable shoes, cash, cash and oh, more cash!

 

DID LIVE WITHOUT - downy wrinkle release (never used-ironed my clothes before I went, got them out as soon as my luggage got to the room) (put our elegant night clothing in dry cleaning bags and didn't fold any more than I had to), post-its, ziplock bags, flashlight (maybe if you're in an interior room) - you can always leave the bathroom light on and almost close the door though, decoration for balcony, alarm clock (call and have a wake up call), tide pen (couldn't believe I didn't need it), tape, so many clothes.

 

I wish you had asked me this right after we got home - I'm sure there are tons more stuff I could tell you, but my memory is escaping me right now!

 

I took way too many clothes, but we stay in our swimsuits a lot. If you're the type that doesn't, you might need more clothes. I found that I could wear the same pair of shorts and t-shirt more than one time because I usually only wore it a few hours at a time and it wasn't dirty. Now if you're going into port and it's hot - those clothes will be dirty and smelly so you'll need clothes for those days for sure! Mix and match for dinner - I took capris for nights that weren't elegant and could have worn the same capris with different tops, but didn't - stupid on my part!

 

Don't take too many shoes - flip flops, tennis shoes, and some for evening (try to take one pair that will work for every night). I know this is hard for us girls, but it is doable.

 

I'll think about it more and post if I think of anything else!

[MuseumGirl74]

MUSEUMGIRL74 - I hope you're still checking to see if I've answered your question about packing - here goes --

 

I'll think about it more and post if I think of anything else!

 

Thanks GeorgiaMom! I lost the thread for a bit but found it again thank goodness! Thanks for the info, it was really helpful! I was thinking about bringing the Ziploc Bags, the Tide Pen, an alarm clock, etc - but now that I've read your post and some others, I think I can live without it. I'm really trying to be good with my packing - I want to save room for souvenirs and I refuse to lug two suitcases with me! :eek::cool:

 

Thanks again! :)

[beachbratt]

Hello first off really enjoyed your review we will be sailing for the frist time with Carnival on the Dream in December and second your have a beautiful family. We have cruised 6 times all ready but all with Disney. These ports will all be new to us except Cozumel so we are really looking forward to it. Costa Maya ...so we get there real early can you go right to that place you went that early? Also I see you said you emailed him ahead of time did you need to pay anything in advance? Were the massages through them too? for that price I so am thinking of doing it have never had one before :) any and all help is much appreciated

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Hello first off really enjoyed your review we will be sailing for the frist time with Carnival on the Dream in December and second your have a beautiful family. We have cruised 6 times all ready but all with Disney. These ports will all be new to us except Cozumel so we are really looking forward to it. Costa Maya ...so we get there real early can you go right to that place you went that early? Also I see you said you emailed him ahead of time did you need to pay anything in advance? Were the massages through them too? for that price I so am thinking of doing it have never had one before :) any and all help is much appreciated

 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the review! I envy you, I so wish we could do a Disney cruise, but with 4 children we just can't justify the extra expense over a Carnival cruise. Maybe one day.....

 

Definitely get off that ship as soon as you can in Costa Maya. We waited an hour or so and thought that would be enough time, but the time flew by. That place is gorgeous and you will want to spend as much time there as possible (or we did). Definitely get in touch with Steve. Just put Tropicante in your search engine and you will find the site and there is an email address for Steve there I believe. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll get it for you. You do not have to put any kind of a deposit down, just let him know how many loungers and chairs/umbrellas you'll want and he will fix you right up! He or one of his waiters can arrange almost anything you want to do on the beach. We did the snorkeling and the massages and it was all just right there. We paid $20.00 each for the snorkeling and it was great! An hour long massage was $25.00 which my husband got (his first one) and I only did a 30 minute one because I didn't want to use too much of my time (it was $15). Glen got his massage right on the beach but I went up above one of the restaurants right there next to the Tropicante and got mine up there. It was an open air area and it was great! We paid for our massages separate, but we did pay for our snorkeling, our food and drinks all together there at Tropicante and they disbursed the snorkeling money to the person we did that with. It is a great day and I'm so wishing we were going back soon!

 

Enjoy and have fun! If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask and thanks for reading my review!

[jdoc2010]

Add us too!!! We live in Adairsville, Georgia....I work in Cartersville and DH works in Rome.

I just got back yesterday from a 4 day cruise on the Sensation, and DH and I are booked on the Dream for November 2011!!! Go DAWGS>>>>>>>>

 

Us too. Acworth GA. Upcoming cruise Carnival Inspiration 9/19/2011.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Us too. Acworth GA. Upcoming cruise Carnival Inspiration 9/19/2011.

 

 

Wow - we are going to be in Acworth tomorrow picking up a boat we've been having repaired and then back down Thursday to camp on Lake Allatoona. Do you live near there?

 

We need to get together and talk cruise!!!!

[beachbratt]

I'm glad you enjoyed the review! I envy you, I so wish we could do a Disney cruise, but with 4 children we just can't justify the extra expense over a Carnival cruise. Maybe one day.....

 

Definitely get off that ship as soon as you can in Costa Maya. We waited an hour or so and thought that would be enough time, but the time flew by. That place is gorgeous and you will want to spend as much time there as possible (or we did). Definitely get in touch with Steve. Just put Tropicante in your search engine and you will find the site and there is an email address for Steve there I believe. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll get it for you. You do not have to put any kind of a deposit down, just let him know how many loungers and chairs/umbrellas you'll want and he will fix you right up! He or one of his waiters can arrange almost anything you want to do on the beach. We did the snorkeling and the massages and it was all just right there. We paid $20.00 each for the snorkeling and it was great! An hour long massage was $25.00 which my husband got (his first one) and I only did a 30 minute one because I didn't want to use too much of my time (it was $15). Glen got his massage right on the beach but I went up above one of the restaurants right there next to the Tropicante and got mine up there. It was an open air area and it was great! We paid for our massages separate, but we did pay for our snorkeling, our food and drinks all together there at Tropicante and they disbursed the snorkeling money to the person we did that with. It is a great day and I'm so wishing we were going back soon!

 

Enjoy and have fun! If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask and thanks for reading my review!

TY...this info will help :)

[tiger belle]

nice review, GeorgiaMom...thanks :)

 

I noticed at the beginning of your review, you mentioned your entire group of 9 being seated in the MDR at a round top table..do you (or anyone else reading this) know on the Dream the maximum number that can be seated at a round top? We have a total of 13 in our group...on previous ships, like Triumph, I think at most only 8 would fit at the largest round top

[mageemae]

Your whole Family is beautiful♥ Look like you had a great time!