**Carnival Dream Review - Western Carribean** 6/25/11-7/2/11; Good times; rocky boat!

[colemkr]

A little about us:

Room 2349 – Cove Balcony

Western Itinerary – Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya (missed)

Who we are – DH and I are 36 and took a week’s vacation away from our two little kids (5&3). Thought it wouldn’t be too bad, but a tad too long to be away from them J

Embark/Day 1:

We flew into Orlando on a direct flight from Columbus on Southwest. I don’t like coming in the day of the ship, but since we were leaving little ones at home it wasn’t easy to spend an extra day away. Our flight got into Orlando around 10 am. We had rented a car with Avis. Very easy to pick up the car and off we were. We stopped at a Publix that was right off the highway on the way to pick up some water, Gatorade and our two bottles of wine (don’t forget to pack a wine opener). We made it to the Avis Cape Canaveral location and it was packed with people waiting to get to the ship. We got kind of lucky that when we got there two shuttles came to take people to the port. I think some people were waiting there for quite a while. The shuttles took us to the port and dropped us right by the porters taking your luggage. That was quite easy. We got into the check-in line around noon. It seemed like it was going to take a while as we were waiting outside, but we were through check-in and on the ship by 12:30. Our water, gatorate and wine got quite heavy though. Having to carry it wasn’t much fun, but it was nice to have in our room.

Once on the ship we went right to the dining room for lunch. The Crimson Dining room was open for lunch. As a note, my husband has to eat gluten free. You will hear more about that later in the review. Lunch was very good and it was kind of nice not to have to fight any crowds that were up on the Lido deck.

After lunch we just sat in the Encore theater waiting for the rooms to be ready. We didn’t want to carry all our drinks around with us. The rooms opened promptly at 1:30 and we headed down to our Cove balcony! What a room! We loved it and sat out there much more than I thought I would.

Once we dropped all our stuff off we walked around to get to know the ship. Boy is it big. This was our 5th cruise, but by far the biggest ship. By the time we had walked around our bags were by our room. We unpacked and got ready for dinner.

Cove Balcony room -

View from balcony:

Hanging out on the deck:

We had made a reservation at the Chef’s art steakhouse for the first night since I read that you got a free bottle of wine the first night. Boy was that a treat! Dinner was delicious. And we did get a free bottle of wine. They offered you a choice between red and white. We were so full after dinner that we didn’t do much. Relaxed on the balcony and read a while.

Chef's Art:

We ended up sleeping each night with our balcony door cracked (yeah yeah, messes with air conditioning, but boy it is nice!). The sound of the waves lulled us to sleep every night!

[colemkr]

Day 2 – Sea

We got up in the morning and headed to breakfast on the lido deck. It is pretty much the same as the other cruises. There are two main breakfast areas so if one is busy go to the other one. I did notice they were also doing Omlettes outside where the Grill is and it was never very crowded.

After breakfast we headed up to the Serenity Adults area (around 10 am) and got lucky with one of the spa loungers. We spent a few hours hanging out there and it was nice. Read a little and relaxed. The lines for the water slides were crazy this day since it was the first day.

We headed back to the lido for lunch and waited in line for the stir fry. It was quite a long line and neither my husband or I loved it. They didn’t have rice.

We ate a little of it and decided to try something else. We headed to the burrito bar and this was great! We ate this quite a bit during the week.

We went back to the room for our afternoon nap and got ready for dinner.

We had anytime dining and headed up there around 6:45-7:00 each night. We never had a wait and always requested the same waiter (Corina, Floriza, Manik were great!!). Since we weren’t at dinner the first night my DH wasn’t able to preorder his dinner (if we would have known that we would have stopped in the first night). They were able to get him gluten free bread though and he chose something off of the menu that was gluten free. I had the pasta carbonara and he had the grilled chicken. The chicken was pretty dry, but the rest of it was delicious.

After dinner we headed to the early show (Get Ready) for a bit. We had our cruise critic pub crawl at 9:30 so we didn’t last the whole time. We headed out to the sunset bar at the back of the ship to meet some fellow cruisers from Cruise Critic. Thanks Jonathon for setting it up!!!

We headed to the Punchliner Comedy Club for the 11 pm show. Make sure you get to the comedy clubs early, they fill up very fast. We saw Roman and he was pretty good. We caught all of the comedians and they were all pretty funny.

[colemkr]

Day 3 – Cozumel

My husband pre-ordered breakfast for the dining room at dinner the night before (Gluten Free pancakes), so we were up and at breakfast this morning. He said the pancakes were good. I had scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. The bacon was waaaaaay too greasy for me. It was dripping off of the bacon. Couldn’t eat it.

We had been to Cozumel a few times before so we didn’t have anything planned for this day. We changed and headed up to the waterslides. There was no line and did those. We then sat again in the Serenity area for a bit. The ship was empty which was nice. We then headed down to deck 5 to one of the whirlpools to watch people getting off the ship. They were really more of a whirlpool than a hot tub. Warm, but not hot which was nice since the weather was pretty warm. Just as it started to rain we had gone back to our room to change to get off the ship. So glad we didn’t have an excursion since it really rained. We walked around the port shops for a bit and then just went to Fat Tuesdays for a drink. It was pretty cool that they had these swings you could sit on and just watch the ship. It was a pretty good view.

Whirlpool off the side of the ship:

View from Fat Tuesdays:

Swings at Fat Tuesday's:

We got back on the ship and it was nap time J Dinner tonight was the porkloin and it was delicious. This was the first time I had the warm chocolate melting cake. My husband had the gluten free version as well. Delicious!!!

After dinner we went and got a few pictures taken. Boy they had us in some crazy poses. We went to the early show of Karen Grainger (singing impressionist). She was amazing!

After the show we headed to the comedy club again to see Tony Esposito. There were a few more open seats this night, but we were there a few minutes earlier.

Overnight this night we headed straight through a tropical depression! Boy was the ship rocky. They even had puke bags by the elevators. Surprisingly I didn’t get sick and didn’t envy people who had rooms on the higher decks.

[colemkr]

Day 4 – Roatan

Because of the weather we weren’t able to dock at Mahogany Bay. I was worried when the captain came on that we were going to miss this port, but since we were the only ship there we were able to go to the older port of Coaxan Hole (something like that). There wasn’t much shopping here. A lot of the excursions with Carnival were cancelled.

We had previously booked our excursion with Pirates Canopy for the zipline tour. I had all these directions printed on how to find them at the Mahogany Bay port. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to find them, but they were right outside the port area. We checked in and then waited around for 30 minutes or so for some of the other cruisers. Noone ended up showing up so we went into the van on our way to the zipline. Another couple purchased an island tour with them so they were with us. It was kind of nice for us since we got to see a bit more of the island than I think we would have otherwise. Our driver told us lots of history of the island as we drove to the ziplines. It took a little time to get there, but once we got there they put our gear on right away and we were off again in another van. It was just my DH and I which was nice. It was a crazy drive to the top of the mountain/hill, but once we got to the top it was a beautiful view! We had two guides (Derrik and I forget the other guy) and they were great. One would go head of us and one after us. We did the extreme zip and I think there were around 7 zip lines. The first one was the tallest and longest. I was a little nervous, but once I stepped off the first one it was awesome! It was really windy this day due to the storm, but it didn’t seem to bother us at all on the zip. There was only zip where my DH and I didn’t make it to the end and they had to pull us in. There were two lines that we were one and felt very safe. There was a kid taking pictures during the zip and we ended up buying the CD for $15 at the end of the tour. They also had a monkey there that you could pet and hold.

Our driver came back and picked us up and we were on our way back to the ship. She took us to the top of this hill/mountain for a great view of the ship and the island. I am sure she also brought us there because her “friends” were selling all kinds of things. We just said no and we were on our way.

The other couple was still on the tour and we could have gone with them to see more of the island, but we were pretty tired and just headed back to the ship.

By the time we got back the pool deck was pretty crowded. We stopped and had hamburgers from the grill for a late lunch. They were really yummy! We headed back up toe Deck 5 for a little whirlpool time and then it was back for nap time.

View from our balcony:

Dinner tonight I had Tom’s Turkey (one of my favorite!) They made my husband gluten free pasta with marinara and he said it was great. We were in the same section again this night, but dinner seemed to take quite a bit longer than the other nights which made us late for the early show. If you want to see an early show, make sure you are at dinner no later than 6:45.

We tried to go to the 8:30 show tonight (Dancing in the Streets), but it was packed and a lot of seat saving. We ended up just walking around and doing a few more pictures before the 10:15 show. We got there about 25 minutes prior to showtime so we had good seats. Loved loved the show!! It was really good and there is a lot of amazing talent on board the ship!

We went to bed after the show since we had an early morning in Belize the next day.

[colemkr]

Day 5 – Belize

We decided to order room service for breakfast this morning since we wanted to be up and ready for the tender. We put the order on our door before we left for dinner. We asked that it arrive around 6:45 and it got there a little before then. We were still asleep. It was good and was nice that we didn’t have to head up to the lido deck to fight the crowds.

I was worried we wouldn’t be able to tender to Belize as the seas were still pretty rough from the storm, but it was much calmer in the morning. We were not on a Carnival excursion, so we had to go down to the Burgundy lounge at 7:30 to get our tender tickets. We got there around 7:20 and they were already passing them out. We got #2 and they told us to be back around 8:00. We walked around a bit and then came back to get a seat. They provided you with free Carnival playing cards while you waited which was nice. We played a little old fashioned war while we waited. The process seemed to be a bit delayed, but they ended up calling the first 7 numbers (something like that) for the first tender. We got up and headed down there. It was a little after 9am. We were on the tender and ready for our approx. 25 min. trip to the mainland. It wasn’t too choppy which was good.

Tender Boats:

We got off the tender and followed the directions we received from cavetubing.bz for our excursion. They were so easy to follow and led us right to where we needed to be. Someone met us and we checked in. He led us to an awaiting van. They drove us just outside the port area to wait for other groups. They gave us a cold bottle of water and we were then in a van with 13 people on our way to the caves. It was about a 45-50 minute ride, but our guide narrated the whole time with information about the island.

When we arrived in the park (which is controlled by the government) we were able to use the restrooms and change. The facilities here were very nice! We were one of the first groups there so it wasn’t too crowded yet, but it was getting there.

We got our gear and headed on the trail to the caves. As I read in the reviews it was about a 45 minute walk. It was pretty flat though it wasn’t a bad walk, just not great in water shoes. They didn’t have great soles so you could feel the rocks! Our guide once again showed us a lot about the vegetation on our walk. He even gave us the opportunity to eat some termites! No thanks! One guy on our tour did try them, but no thanks for me! It would have been nice to have the water at the end of the hike, but we had to leave everything in the van as they didn’t want any trash in the park (understandable).

They help you into the water which was what they called “refreshing”. This meant chilly, but boy did it feel good after the hike. We all hooked together. We went through two big caves. The first cave wasn’t too crowded, but by the time we went to the second one a lot of the other tours were coming in and it got a bit crowded. It was never more than 20ft deep and most of the time the guides could touch. We did have to do “butts up” a few times, but never had to get out of our tubes.

We got to swim a bit at the end. Once we turned all our stuff in we were able to change back into our clothes if we wanted. They took us back to their lunch place. This was a house with a little eating area. You could have one soda. DH and I both chose to have a Coke since they were made with real sugar cane from the island vs. sweetener here in the States. Tasted pretty good. We then had chicken, rice and beans and cole slaw. All was delicious. We ate as a group and then it was back in the van for the ride back. Everyone was pretty tired so it was a quiet ride back.

Belize was by far my most favorite port! I would come back in a heartbeat!

Once back at the port we shopped for a bit right outside the port where our guide told us was safe. We bought some fried plantains from a kid who was selling them for $1. They tasted like potato chips and were pretty good. We bought a few souviners and were back for the tender. I didn’t want to wait too long to get a tender so we made sure to get there early. The Carnival Legend was also in town so you just had to make sure you were getting on the right one!

Once we were back onboard the lines for food were pretty long. We found an empty whirlpool on the Serenity deck and relaxed for a bit before naptime J

Dinner was pretty good. Our normal waitress was off this night so the service wasn’t as great. I think I forgot to mention this before, but because of my husband’s gluten allergy he got to preorder his meal every night. They showed him the menu and he chose what he wanted off of it. If the chef couldn’t make it gluten free then he substituted as necessary. This is also where he could have ordered breakfast or lunch if he wanted. The hostesses were very helpful!

We turned in early this night as it was supposed to be another early morning for Costa Maya

[colemkr]

Day 6 – Costa Maya (missed)

Our alarm was set for7:30 this morning. We were up and dressed ready to head to Breakfast on the Lido deck when the Captain came over the speaker to say that even though we had docked it just wasn’t safe for us to stay as the water was coming over the gangway. We went up to Deck 10 to watch what was going on. The sea was pretty rough. As much as we were sad to be leaving, I think the Mexican’s were even sadder to see 4,200 people leaving!!

What we saw of Costa Maya

This was our beach day. We had reserved two loungers at the Tropicante. They had free internet and phone calls to the US. I was really excited to talk to the kids, so I was kind of depressed after I heard we weren’t going to make it since I really missed them!

The pool decks were once again packed, so we headed down to Deck 5 where there were plenty of chairs and it was nice and quiet. Read a book and relaxed.

Since we were planning on spending money in Costa Maya we decided to go back to the steakhouse for dinner. We weren’t too excited about the menu in the dining room anyway. We went and made a reservation for 7 pm that night.

Tonight was the past cruisers happy hour. We got there right when it started and sat in the seats right behind the walkway. We had waiters all around us. We were offered drinks quite often. I ended up having 4 drinks in the hour (watered down). I had heard that you could order drinks and I did ask one of the waiters for a strawberry daiquiri. He said it would be a few minutes, but I never got it. I did see others getting some drinks. I didn’t really say anything as I was ok with the other drinks.

Dinner didn’t disappoint again this night. The steakhouse is soooo good. We didn’t have any drinks this night since it wasn’t free J

Seriously who can eat a piece of cheesecake this big!!!!

After dinner we headed to the 9:45 show in the comedy club. This night was Will Marfori and he was pretty funny. It was busy again and needed to get there early.

[colemkr]

Day 7 – Sea Day

Since we had no plans this day we ended up sleeping in. We headed up to the Lido deck for breakfast around 10 and it wasn’t too crowded. After breakfast we went down to Deck 5 which goes all the way around the ship and walked 5 laps which is a little over 3 miles! We went and changed into our swim suits and headed back to Deck 5 to read and relax.

We had lunch again on the Lido deck. Today was their Chocolate Bar so one of the buffets wasn’t open. They had the chocolate instead. It was pretty good. We had the burgers again for lunch and those were yummy again.

Dinner tonight was good. After dinner we went and packed and then headed to the 9:45 show again in the comedy club. Tonight was Mike Lukas. He was funny as well. This show wasn’t nearly as packed as I think people were busy doing other things.

We were in bed early as we had an early start the next day

Debark

We decided to do the self debark this time since we had an early flight out of Orlando (11:40 am). I don’t know why we have never done this before!!! It was great. They called Deck 1 to self debark at 6:30. We decided to just go then. There were no lines and we got an elevator no problem. We were out on the street waiting for the shuttle by 6:40! That was fast. Probably too fast since we rented a car with Enterprise and they didn’t even open until 7:00. They came around 7:20 and we were headed to their offices. We rented the car one way back to the airport. Once again this was easy other than there was no gas right at the airport. We were a little early so we turned around to find somewhere to put a few gallons in. We pulled into this gas station right outside the airport. It didn’t have any signs and turns out it was over $5.50/gallon!!! That is highway robbery. Alas we had to pay it. Glad we were only putting in a gallon or so and not filling up.

Turned the car in and were at the terminal. We flew Southwest. The lines to check bags were crazy! And that is an understatement. The lines inside were over 2 hours and the lines with the porters were over an hour. Not sure how we got lucky, but one porter came up to us and said I can check you in right here. We gave him $5 and were on our way! Kind of felt bad with all of the families with young children, but I wasn’t going to say no. I was just hoping our bags made it to Columbus (which they did!)

Overall Impressions

Overall this was a great cruise. A few impressions:

· Loved the newer ship, but may have been a bit too big for me. They really did need a 3rd pool and preferably an adults pool. We spent a lot of time in the whirlpools because of this. People were packed like sardines in those pools.

· Cove balcony – loved this! Would get one of these again in a heartbeat. We never got direct sun which was actually kind of nice. This was our retreat after being in the sun all day to read/relax. We were on the starboard side of the ship (right). For this itinerary, I wished we were on the port (left) side of the ship as they had all of the views of the ports.

· Food – They were great with my husbands allergy. The food was ok. It is what you would expect from anyone trying to feed over 4,000 people in a small amount of time. The steakhouse on the other hand was awesome! I would have eaten there every night if it weren’t for the cost (and I guess my waist). I also did have my one ice cream cone a day! My husband also enjoyed the Icee Machine. I think they were $2.50 for a small and like $4.00 for a large. They were very refreshing

· Comedy Club – really enjoyed this every night. They do a great job of bringing in different types of comedians during the cruise.

Hope you enjoyed this review!!! Let me know if you have any questions.

And my favorite photo of the trip. A lightening storm at night on our way back to Florida:

[Volsfan86]

Great review --- I'm the guy who tried the termites on the hike out to the river! They weren't that bad, really! We absolutely enjoyed the cave tubing, and overall had a great time (despite the fire ants). Sorry to hear you guys missed your last port (we were on the Legend headed for Grand Cayman the next day). We felt fortunate to make all of our stops despite the weather along the way.

[smc0320]

What a GREAT review! We are also from Columbus and we're on the the Dream in December....wish it was sooner!

 

I was worried about the pools being too crowded....how were the whirlpools as far as that goes?

 

Belize is my favorite place too which is why we booked this itinerary again!

[colemkr]

Great review --- I'm the guy who tried the termites on the hike out to the river! They weren't that bad, really! We absolutely enjoyed the cave tubing, and overall had a great time (despite the fire ants). Sorry to hear you guys missed your last port (we were on the Legend headed for Grand Cayman the next day). We felt fortunate to make all of our stops despite the weather along the way.

 

Ha ha ha ha! Glad to hear you didn't come home with some Belize termite disease :) Glad you had a great time on the rest of your cruise! We were pretty bummed to miss our last port. I was looking forward to a beach day!

[colemkr]

I was worried about the pools being too crowded....how were the whirlpools as far as that goes?

 

quote]

 

Depending on which whirlpool you were using some were packed and some were not. The ones right by the pools were always crowded. We found the ones on Deck 5 to be the least crowded. There were two on each side. The only thing I didn't like was usually at least one on each side was closed for cleaning at any one time.

 

We never were in a whirlpool with more than a couple of people.

[Volsfan86]

Ha ha ha ha! Glad to hear you didn't come home with some Belize termite disease :) Glad you had a great time on the rest of your cruise! We were pretty bummed to miss our last port. I was looking forward to a beach day!

 

Nah, only problem I have is cruise withdrawal, having to deal with the real world this week :) Enjoyed meeting you guys!

[maryanne356]

Great review! I'm glad you like the ship and your Cove Balcony. My husband and I are in the exact same cabin on Aug. 13. Our 3 children have the Cove Balcony next to it. Our first time in a Cove, can't wait everyone seems to love them!

[maddea20]

And my favorite photo of the trip. A lightening storm at night on our way back to Florida:

 

Wow this picture is hottt. Great review. Short and sweet.

[sail-a-bration]

Wonderful review. Loved the pictures of the cabin and views. We are going to have that cabin in October, very excited. The Steakhouse pictures were enticing. I do not think I will be able to pass up that cheese cake.

[Fun2snorkel]

Great Review!:)

 

I have a couple of questions about cave tubing - When you say you linked together, what does this mean? Also do you have to "paddle" your arms a lot to move along? Thanks for you help and the review. I will be on the Dream next March.

[australian_girl]

I enjoyed your review. Thanks for sharing!

[canadiancruiser13]

Day 7 – Sea Day

Since we had no plans this day we ended up sleeping in. We headed up to the Lido deck for breakfast around 10 and it wasn’t too crowded. After breakfast we went down to Deck 5 which goes all the way around the ship and walked 5 laps which is a little over 3 miles! We went and changed into our swim suits and headed back to Deck 5 to read and relax.

We had lunch again on the Lido deck. Today was their Chocolate Bar so one of the buffets wasn’t open. They had the chocolate instead. It was pretty good. We had the burgers again for lunch and those were yummy again.

Dinner tonight was good. After dinner we went and packed and then headed to the 9:45 show again in the comedy club. Tonight was Mike Lukas. He was funny as well. This show wasn’t nearly as packed as I think people were busy doing other things.

We were in bed early as we had an early start the next day

Debark

We decided to do the self debark this time since we had an early flight out of Orlando (11:40 am). I don’t know why we have never done this before!!! It was great. They called Deck 1 to self debark at 6:30. We decided to just go then. There were no lines and we got an elevator no problem. We were out on the street waiting for the shuttle by 6:40! That was fast. Probably too fast since we rented a car with Enterprise and they didn’t even open until 7:00. They came around 7:20 and we were headed to their offices. We rented the car one way back to the airport. Once again this was easy other than there was no gas right at the airport. We were a little early so we turned around to find somewhere to put a few gallons in. We pulled into this gas station right outside the airport. It didn’t have any signs and turns out it was over $5.50/gallon!!! That is highway robbery. Alas we had to pay it. Glad we were only putting in a gallon or so and not filling up.

Turned the car in and were at the terminal. We flew Southwest. The lines to check bags were crazy! And that is an understatement. The lines inside were over 2 hours and the lines with the porters were over an hour. Not sure how we got lucky, but one porter came up to us and said I can check you in right here. We gave him $5 and were on our way! Kind of felt bad with all of the families with young children, but I wasn’t going to say no. I was just hoping our bags made it to Columbus (which they did!)

Overall Impressions

Overall this was a great cruise. A few impressions:

· Loved the newer ship, but may have been a bit too big for me. They really did need a 3rd pool and preferably an adults pool. We spent a lot of time in the whirlpools because of this. People were packed like sardines in those pools.

· Cove balcony – loved this! Would get one of these again in a heartbeat. We never got direct sun which was actually kind of nice. This was our retreat after being in the sun all day to read/relax. We were on the starboard side of the ship (right). For this itinerary, I wished we were on the port (left) side of the ship as they had all of the views of the ports.

· Food – They were great with my husbands allergy. The food was ok. It is what you would expect from anyone trying to feed over 4,000 people in a small amount of time. The steakhouse on the other hand was awesome! I would have eaten there every night if it weren’t for the cost (and I guess my waist). I also did have my one ice cream cone a day! My husband also enjoyed the Icee Machine. I think they were $2.50 for a small and like $4.00 for a large. They were very refreshing

· Comedy Club – really enjoyed this every night. They do a great job of bringing in different types of comedians during the cruise.

Hope you enjoyed this review!!! Let me know if you have any questions.

And my favorite photo of the trip. A lightening storm at night on our way back to Florida:

Cool photo of the lightening at night.

[TakeMeAway1001]

Great review! We cruised on the Dream last June and while we liked her we found she was too big for our liking. We also really enjoyed Karen Grainger and on our flight home we sat next to Will Mafori, he was really nice to talk to.

 

Thanks again for sharing :)

[Chase's Dad]

Terrific storm photo! Could you tell us what settings you used?

[MichaelZ]

Hey Fun2Snorkel,

 

Linking together for cave tubing generally means connecting to another persons tube, to form a sort of chain. You do this by hooking on to another tube, usually using your foot. This ensures everyone stays together with the least amount of effort. The river system has a natural current that will do most of the work for you and being linked together makes it super easy. There are times you might need to paddle a bit with your hands, but for the most part, you will float through the caves with little effort.

Cave tubing is very unique to Belize and if it sounds appealing to you, you should give it a shot. This is a tour that suits all levels of fitness and only requires a bit of physical effort on your part. Remember to bring a water resistant camera with a flash, and attach it to your wrist. I suggest a disposible one, they are cheap and work great.

[colemkr]

Great Review!:)

 

I have a couple of questions about cave tubing - When you say you linked together, what does this mean? Also do you have to "paddle" your arms a lot to move along? Thanks for you help and the review. I will be on the Dream next March.

 

The way we did it was you linked to the tube in front of you. You had your legs on their tube and they put their arms around you. The guide did all of the paddling. We didn't have to do a thing other than lay back and relax.

[colemkr]

Terrific storm photo! Could you tell us what settings you used?

 

My friend asked me the same thing and I have no idea! I know I know not the right answer. I just kept switching the settings and snapping away. Sorry!

[Roscoe13]

Great review!!

 

My wife has celiac disease and MUST eat a gluten-free diet, 100%!! Without trying to be nosy, is your husband's intolerance to gluten less than 100%?

 

The reason I ask is we have cruised with Carnival since my wifes diagnosis and she knows the drill about ordering the evening before for dinner the next night. But, looking at your review pics she would not eat the chicken that you ate in Belize, the cheesecake, or the steak that you had in the steakhouse without knowing if it was prepared gluten-free. She has to know all the ingredients in a sauce or marinade.

 

On a happier note, she is excited that they are now offering GF pancakes in the MDR for breakfast.

[colemkr]

Great review!!

 

My wife has celiac disease and MUST eat a gluten-free diet, 100%!! Without trying to be nosy, is your husband's intolerance to gluten less than 100%?

 

The reason I ask is we have cruised with Carnival since my wifes diagnosis and she knows the drill about ordering the evening before for dinner the next night. But, looking at your review pics she would not eat the chicken that you ate in Belize, the cheesecake, or the steak that you had in the steakhouse without knowing if it was prepared gluten-free. She has to know all the ingredients in a sauce or marinade.

 

On a happier note, she is excited that they are now offering GF pancakes in the MDR for breakfast.

 

To answer your question, no my husband does not have to eat 100% gluten free and he "cheated" on the trip a little (example the cheesecake!)

 

I will say though that they were very accomodating. We didn't make a huge deal of it, but if you needed to be very strict I think they would make sure you were taken care of. They did have gluten free bread every night at dinner. They also offered gluten free pasta and french toast (my guess made with the bread; my husband didn't try that).