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Our amazing Dream cruise--photo and trivia review!

EMc&DrS

By EMc&DrS,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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tropicaledrink

tropicaledrink

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Thanks for all the supportive comments! Before I go on with my review, I have to hit you with a harder "trivia" photo to test your knowledge of cabins. One of the main reasons we booked this particular cruise on the particular ship was because of the cabin we selected.

 

Below are two photos of our amazing cabin. (The second photo is the view looking up). Can you identify the cabin?

 

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7459? 0r 6479? I can't tell if there are 2 or 3 decks about you. lol

 

We did the Jacksonville route just to avoid the tolls! I highly recommend it!

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EMc&DrS

EMc&DrS

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6492...... wild guess....

 

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CORRECT!

Hard to tell from this photo, but 6492 and one other cabin were set back off of the main hallway. We had to pass through another doorway to get to our two doors. I'm guessing it was this way for all corner cabins. Because the room is set back and so far away from the general flow of traffic, we hardly ever heard sound from outside in the hall.

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EMc&DrS

EMc&DrS

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AFT WRAP CABIN: One of the things that sold us on the Dream back in December was the chance to book an amazing aft wrap cabin. I did a lot of reading about the different cabins, and after talking to several people on CC who had stayed in the exact cabin we were considering, we made our early saver reservation for cabin 6492. I was concerned that the noise from the Burgundy Lounge below would be annoying, but it really wasn’t a problem. The B. Lounge hosts the comedy clubs most nights of the week, so we never heard a sound when the comedians were performing. There was live music in the lounge on the first night and one night mid-week. Those nights we could hear bass and a little percussion, but only if the TV was off. Both nights the music ended between 12:30 and 1 AM.

 

I thought we’d hurry to our cabin at 1:30 as soon as they made the announcement that cabins were open, but we were having such a relaxing time on Serenity deck that we waited almost a full hour before making the walk to the opposite end of the boat. Once we opened the door, however, we knew it was worth the walk. What a large room—

 

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It had a king size bed, 3 large closets with doors (just out of the picture on the left), a safe and mini-fridge, a couch with a small table (where I was sitting when I took the photo), and a decent sized bathroom. There was also an area just out of sight in this photo to the right that led to the bathroom. This space was large enough for a narrow/tall chest of drawers, so we took advantage of the space and used it to stand up our biggest suitcase against the wall. We unzipped just the very top of it and used it as our hamper all week. Also out of sight to the right was the door to the deck and another window similar to the one in this photo. The biggest difference with this room compared to past cabins was that when you open the door, you are in the room. There is no little hallway like in most cabins.

 

 

And what an amazing balcony! We estimated that it was about 35’ across. It had two lounge chairs, a reclining chair, and a standard chair and small table.

 

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One of the concerns I had read about the aft cabins on this particular ship was that you didn’t have enough privacy on your deck because of the promenade deck below. Not really true. When we were seated in any of the chairs on our deck, we couldn’t see the people below on promenade deck nor could we even see that deck. The view was completely ocean. (As you can tell from the photo above). Likewise, people above couldn’t see us because of the small roofline that hangs above the cabin. (Also visible in the photo above).

 

 

 

When we would get up and stand at the railing,

 

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(Here's that view)

 

we could watch any people down below, or turn around and look up to see who was standing at the railings at decks above. Occasionally, you could even see people looking over the railing up at Lido deck. Instead of this being a problem, we found it to be quite entertaining with great people watching. Most people who passed by on the promenade deck were either doing their daily exercise, or stopped briefly to look over the back railing of the ship. They rarely ever turned around and looked up to see us standing there. We watched a wedding party have their family pictures made on the promenade deck, lots of family sunset photo ops, and a few other humorous things from time to time:

 

 

 

 

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Another concern that I kept reading about was soot on the deck. This too was not an issue. I pictured there being a thin layer of soot on everything, but it was more like flakes of ash that would appear from time to time. The first piece didn’t even appear until the 4th day of the trip:

 

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We did notice that we started to see more ash on the floor once the ship had turned north from Roatan and started the long journey back to PC, but again it was nothing.

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pafam4

pafam4

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I am loving this review. We were on the Dream this time last year and LOVED it! Though not in our plans this summer :(, next summer we will definitely be cruising!! In the meantime, I read CruiseCritic and wonderful reviews like this one to feed my addiction. Thanks!

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pafam4

pafam4

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THANK YOU!!! For posting the information on Park 'N Cruise. I printed your entire paragraph about it...for my husband. We were on The Star Princess in March, and it cost us $150 + to park for ten days. That is a lot. We heard about Park 'n Cruise in Fort Lauderdale from someone on this board, and I vowed to use it next time. So.are you familiar with that francise there?

 

I am hoping you attended some real Trivia Games. The last time we were on the Dream...the Cruise Staff did something called Super Trivia..which meant that even if you answered all of the questions correctly..anyone who rolled a bigger number on a set of dice.......won. It is a game....and fun for many I am sure. It is not Trivia.

We have booked three curises with Princes since then...And cruised two of them..and have one booked for New years. We were pretty happy on Carnival until then.......We had 8 cruises under our belt..with Carnival.

 

Now....your review.........if Trivia is Trivia again.( my DH loves Trivia..and on Princess.....he is in hog Trivia Heaven) I wonder, sometimes.. why when Trivia is so cheap to put on for the passengers....and it attracts so many folks who cruise a lot...I wonder..why do some cruise lines not do at least two or three different types a day? Thinking NCL..which needs something...I mean. Like Princess does....with Jeopardized Trivia...the Movie and Beatles such Trivia..the ordinary ones..twice a day........and I think their repeat passenger rate is way way high.

 

we may give The DReam another try...thanks to your great review.

I so agree with you about Super Trivia. On our cruise last year, we played Super Trivia and found it to be very disorganized and because so many participated, very hard to follow. And each session took forever! We didn't go back to the last session, we found it took tooo much time. We are trivia junkies, like your husband, and enjoy all types of topics. Luckily on the Dream last year, in addition to Super Trivia, there were multiple games of regular trivia offered every day. Lots of fun (and lots of medals)!!

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EMc&DrS

EMc&DrS

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After watching the last minute guests arrive at the port, it was finally time to prepare for departure.

 

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As others have mentioned, the muster drill is simple on the Dream. No life jackets required. We were able to use the crew stairs just outside our cabin. We walked down the three flights of stairs to the Scarlet DR and entered the room through an emergency door. We were seated in the back corner of the DR and never saw any of the safety demonstrations--could only hear them.

 

Sailaway was right on time, and no matter how many cruises you take, that first sailaway is always exciting. HINT: If you are going to watch sailaway from the back of the ship, you might want to tuck:

 

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We loved watching PC…and all our stresses and worries…drift away behind us from the view on our deck. We never got tired of being out there!

 

 

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sunnidayz

sunnidayz

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Loving your review!!! I woke up this morning hoping you'd posted more. We are cruising on the Dream again in January and it's reviews like yours that will get me through these LONG:( 197 days...

 

Keep it coming:)!!!

A-

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EMc&DrS

EMc&DrS

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The cabin looks to be an aft wrap? We were in 9472, another aft wrap, same cruise, can't tell you how much we loved it. HUGE balcony :) You were a few decks below us, hi neighbor? Love the trivia, very fun review!

 

Ha--that's funny. Did you hang out on your deck as much as we did? The big "worry" I read about concerning aft wrap cabins on deck 9 was that you would hear the noise from Lido deck above. I kept reading, "You can hear the deck chairs being moved up above."

 

I'm guessing by your comments that it wasn't a problem?

 

Isn't it about time for us to be back onboard???

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EMc&DrS

EMc&DrS

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SUNDAY, DAY AT SEA: Since this vacation was about relaxation, we didn’t even refer to our Fun Times flyer to see what was going on today. We used the TV to order room service for breakfast, but found the pastries and bagels to be dried out. The coffee and tea tasted like the ship water, so that was our last attempt at morning room service. We did, however, enjoy having the breakfast on our deck. My wife decided to use her new Kindle out on the deck after breakfast while I attended our CC Meet & Greet arranged by Stephen. About 11:30, my wife decided to check out the gym while I wandered around the ship. About 11:55 I came upon the Lanai deck BBQ which is held on the two Sea Days. They were just opening the line, so I grabbed a plate. The soft tacos were really good; the beef slider was okay. As I recall, everything was on the hot and salty side---and of course they only had bar drinks and sodas at the BBQ for purchase. At the same time they have the BBQ outside, they set up a nice salad bar which also features turkey roll-up sandwiches at Wasabi which is just on the other side of the window from the BBQ. There was no line at the salad bar. My wife met me and grabbed a plate, and we sat inside across from Wasabi. When one of the staff saw that we didn’t have any beverages, he went to the nearest bar and retrieved two ice waters for us—a typical gesture from the friendly staff.

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the Serenity deck, people watching, and spying on Cuba as we drifted past the island.

 

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(Kind of hard to see...but that's Cuba in the distance--not clouds).

 

Our new friend, Alena, pointed out which areas of the Serenity deck get the most shade and breeze. Although the clamshell seats are nice, the L-shaped couches in the back corners offer the most relaxing place to read or rest. The breeze was amazing!

 

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We retreated to our own deck around 6 PM. The sky was getting dark, and we watched an approaching thunderstorm. The storm looked bad in the distance, but it was mostly a gentle rain that lasted on and off throughout the night. As it turned out, it was the only rain we’d see the entire trip.

 

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After enjoying some cheese, crackers, and wine on our deck, it was time to get ready for the first elegant night.

 

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We had received a card during the afternoon informing us that we had not only been moved to a table for 2, but that we would be moving from the Scarlett DR to the Crimson. (Our original table for 10 was in the center of the Scarlett DR, but the table was so large and in the middle of that big room that it was hard to hear conversations across the table). Our new table was for 2, but it was squeezed in between a table for 4 (that only had 1 couple) and another table of 2: both couples being of retirement age. One of the couples was very talkative and the other was silent, but we didn’t mind. We could at least hear the conversation, and we also had a view out the window. The lobster and prime rib dinner that evening was by far the best MDR dinner of the trip. The waiter even brought extra lobster tails to the table without anyone having to request them.

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AmberTeka

AmberTeka

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COFFEE! A Big subject in the morning. When we sail on Carnival, I always order coffee for two as soon as I wake up. It comes in about 10 or fifteen minutes. It is free..or part of the paid for price but I alwas tip $3 dollars. I take a wad of ones just for this wonderful luxury.

 

The coffee comes strong and hot.It is much better than the MDC. Or the Buffet Coffee. It is as good as Creams. And they bring a lot of it..... It is a large pot of coffee...set on a white napkin with cream, sugar, artifical sugar, napkings, two white cups and saucers and spoons.

 

My DH..is a convert. We seldom order room service...other than this each morning. And on Shore Mornings..I usually order toast with it...

 

Having that cup or two or three of coffee while dressing and such.....wonderful. I love it.

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