Dream Anniversary Cruise, Eastern Caribbean, July 2, 2011

[mikedw]

My wife and I just returned from the July 2nd Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Carnival Dream. We did this trip to celebrate our upcoming 10th anniversary. The Dream was selected because of the itinerary which was Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maartens. We drove down from Western Maryland leaving that Thursday, made it to Jacksonville, and then drove down to Orlando and visited Sea World before driving to Port Canaveral that night. I prepaid for a room at the Radisson at the port and even though it's an older style hotel, it appears to be recently remodeled and our room was very nice. Front Desk staff were friendly that Friday night when we checked in and a fellow guest recommended the Tiki Bar restaurant which is located at the port for dinner. We liked the atmosphere better then the food. Being from Maryland, I'm particular about seafood and it just wasn't what I'm use to.

 

My wife is disabled and we had a handicapped Ocean Suite, Room 7270 which was huge, it had to be the size of about 5 regular cabins, more storage space then we have at home. We had VIP Check In and we were on the ship in less then 30 minutes from when I parked and the luggage was delivered about a hour later. We always use Your Time Dining and we had wonderful waitstaff every night. The Maitre D Ruwan was the same who we had on the Pride last year and it was good to see him again. We ate in the Steak House one night and that was wonderful and we did the Chef's Table again this year and that was wonderful. The Gathering which is the buffet on board the Dream was about the same as every other cruise ship buffet I've eaten at. We only use it for Breakfast on Port Days and a quick lunch when needed.

 

I did the slides which were a lot of fun and I got into the pool once, other then that we went to the Serenity Area a few times and we hung out on our balcony. Neither of us are sun worshipers so the thought of hanging out by the pool just doesn't appeal to us. We went to a few shows, which were good, but other then that, this was just a relaxing week.

We did excursions booked through Carnival at all three ports. St. Thomas was our favorite, followed by St. Maartens. They were the best accessible for someone with limited mobility using a wheelchair. We didn't care for Nassau, in fact, if I'm ever on a cruise that goes there again, I'm staying on the ship.

 

Embarkation was fast, from the time we left our cabin until we got to our car it was under 30 minutes. Our only issue was the drain was clogged one day and they had to come in and dry the carpet, other then that it was a great cruise. I don't think my wife and I will ever sail on a ship that big again though. We prefer the smaller ships.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[Pennyscandy]

Thanks for the review. We are on the Dream April 21, 2012 and will be driving down from Richmond VA. How long did it take you to get to Jacksonville? Ten of us are riding down in an RV and plan to leave Richmond around 8 a.m. taking I-95. We have a friend in a wheelchair scooter and he is thinking about coming with us. Can you get a scooter off the ship for excursions without too much trouble? Do you think there would be any problems on the Dream with a scooter? We have seen them on past cruises.

Thanks Linda

[mikedw]

Laurie took both her scooter and wheelchair. Onboard the ship, the scooter is no problem. In St. Thomas and St. Maartens if you wanted to just go to the shops by the dock, the scooter would be no problem, but taking a regular Carnival excursion, I really don't think you can take the scooter. If possible bring a travel wheelchair.

 

We left Hagerstown, which is 70 miles west of Baltimore at 9:30 am to avoid the rush hour traffic around DC. Except for gas and stopping to eat, we made it to Jacksonville at 11:30 pm that night. I really pushed it, I was excited and wanted to get to Florida. Hope this helps.

[Pennyscandy]

Thanks Michael, that helps a lot. I looked on Mapquest and you are about 3 hours away from Richmond. We are actually leaving from Mechanicsville. So we could figure 10 hours since we are in an RV. Did you reserve a room in Jacksonville or wing it? We all could not sleep in the RV so we will need rooms since there will be 5 couples. As for the slide, I might try it. DH has had a broken neck and back and doesn't want to push his luck. Do you recommend wearing a t-shirt over swimsuit. Some have said it was scratchy. Is there a "beginner" slide? Was the Serenity area crowded?

Linda

[mikedw]

Going down I didn't make any reservations for the road, wasn't sure how far we were going to get. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Jacksonville that ran about $110.00 for the night. There were about four or five hotels on that street and the HI was the first one we came to. Very nice place and they had nice accessible rooms.

[Pennyscandy]

How was the water? Is the coffee bad as they are saying?