My Dream Cruise - Aug. 27 to Sept. 3

[excitedcruiser]

This is my review of my recent cruise on the Carnival Dream out of Port Canaveral. Our ports were Nassua, St. Thomas and St. Maartin. The cruise consisted of myself (47) and my husband (47). This was our 7th cruise and they all have been with Carnival. We booked this cruise back in January of 2011 to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. We were pretty excited about it as we booked a Cove Balcony and it will be our 1st balcony ever. Our room was 2277. We flew into Orlando the day before via Southwest and rented a car for 24 hours from Budget. We first stopped off at Downtown Disney to eat at the Rainforest Cafe. Loved it. We booked a room at the Radisson at the Port in Port Canaveral. The hotel is huge and very nice. We had a small kitchenette. They offer free shuttle service and Budget it 4 blocks away. We spent the day enjoying the sights and picking up last minute items at Walmart. The morning of the cruise we were up early. Hubby returned the car as I prepped for the big day. We had booked our shuttle time at checkin the day before and were on the 10:00 am shuttle. We actually left the hotel about 9:45 as they were running ahead of schedule. One thing that did surprise me that was when I looked out my hotel window, I could see the Carnival Dream in port. The hotel is very close to the port. We arrived quickly to the Terminal and was in line by 10:15 am. The terminal is nice and they do a good job. We have gone out of Galveston and the Bayport in Houston and all do about the same job. We were given a Zone 4 card but do to needing assistance with hubby and his knee issues, we were put in special assistance waiting. We quickly moved to boarding and was surprised that the embarkation photo is not taken in the terminal. We were probably one of the first 10 on board and wow the atrium was beautiful. The embarkation photo is taken as soon as you board the ship. We took that and heading to the Lido Deck to grab some lunch. We decided to eat at the ever popular Pasta Station about the Gathering area. It was pretty good. After roaming the areas and waiting for our room to open, we "snuck" in around 1:15 pm and lounged around on our balcony until 1:30 pm. The Cove Balconys are great and very close to the water. We found that the lifeboats above them doesnt hinder the view and actually is a great sun blocker if your looking for one. Very quiet and private. We hung around the room waiting for our luggage when a stewart brought us a letter stating that they had x-rayed our luggage and needed us to come unlocked it for them. We actually did not have a lock on it but a cable tie. They apparently saw our surge protector in our luggage from the x-ray and said they have to hold it until we return from the cruise. We explained that the surge protector was for my hubby's cpap machine. They took it anyways and said to ask our room stewart for an extension cord. When we opened the luggage for them to retreave the surge protector they spotted our beer we had packed. A hole 8 cans of beer. That was taken as well as a pair of scissors. Somehow they did not see the large pair of scissors in the outer pocket of the luggage used to cut the cable ties off the luggage. So no beer for the fridge.

This was our second trip to Nassua but our first to St. Thomas and St. Maartin. We did not plan much in Nassua since it was a short time frame in port. There was some damaged noticable from Hurricane Irene. The straw market is pretty much destroyed and Senior Frogs was damaged as well. In St. Thomas we had purchased tickets via Carnival Excursions for the Skyride. It saves a $1 a ticket purchasing from Carnival believe it or not. It's worth the ride up to the top of the mountain. Absolutely stunning. After coming back down we got a taxi to town and did some shopping. Our shopping guru, Dominica & her sidekick (& fiance) Elgin gave us some great tips for shopping and we stopped in at the ever popular Diamonds International. After looking around, we did purchase a beautiful diamond wedding ring for me. LOVE IT. Grabbed a taxi back to the dock and ate at Hooters. It was close to the dock and the only other option was Wendys. I just have to say the the Hooters women there are different than the ones in the states. Good food though. Off to the ship and on to St. Maartin. Here we booked the St. Maartin Island Tour and Beach Combo from Carnival. I have to say that, THIS IS NOT WORTH IT. Do not take this excursion. Our driver was rude and would get upset if anyone spoke on the bus while he was talking. The island tour itself is interesting and you do see alot of the island. The beach is just off Orient Beach and the seaweed was everywhere. All along the beach and in the water. If you made it to the water after walking through mounds of seaweed, it would attack you in the water. I don't think most of us on the bus actually got in the water. It was mentioned to the driver and he said that particular side of the island has alot of seaweed. I don't know why Carnival would chose this beach. Back to the ship and ready to sail on. I will mention that the Oasis of the Seas was pretty much staying on the same route as us as we saw them in every port with us and sometimes out in the distance at night. Having a cove balcony near the bow of the ship, our balcony was right between the gangways on 2 of the ports and it was great to watch everything going on. Oasis was leaving one hour before us and saw her leave St. Maartin as 4 people were running to the ship. A grandmother, mother and 2 girls around 8 and 11 were left behind. As hour ship did not leave for another hour, we saw all the drama unfold right in front of us. It was really sad to see the 2 girls crying. They ended up leaving in a vehicle heading back to town. Our 6:00 pm leave time was actually delayed about 30 minutes as we had 2 guests that arrived late. I was surprised that we waited and to see the Oasis leave 4 behind. So 2 sea days ahead of us and back to port Canaveral. We had booked a car again with Budget and picked it up after getting back to the Radisson at the Port via the free shuttle. We planned on staying the night again to relax before our flight back home the next day.

Regarding things on the ship, I will list my personal thoughts.

 

* Butch, the Cruise Director, is ok. Nothing bad or great about him.

* The caption of the ship is the same one we had on all 4 cruises on the Conquest.

* The casino does not pay well.

* The steakhouse has wonderful food, but the service was poor compared to the other steakhouses we ate at.

*The ship is really too large for us. The lines were a little long at the Gathering buffets and the pools were crowded at times.

*Take the Behind the Fun excursion on the boat. We got to see the crew areas and tour the bridge and have pictures taken in the captians seat on the bridge. It costs $95 a person and was the highlight of our cruise. It sold out quick as only 32 people on the whole boat can do this tour. Highly recommended. 3.5 hour tour.

* We did smell the "Smell" in the aft on the Main deck.

* Book the Cove Balcony if you can. So close to the water and very private.

* The Adult Serenty area is nice as there are not kids in the area but the cushions on the chairs could use a cleaning as the material had stains on it.

 

This is all I can think of at the moment. If you have any questions, let me know and I will answer them if I can.

[2mygirl2]

I did not realize that you were not allowed to have one. We always take one with us. I guess we have been lucky so far. There are just too many things to charge and not enough outlets in the room! Maybe we will put ours in our carry on???

[excitedcruiser]

We were told that the cord of the surge protector was what they saw on the x-rays. I would suggest that you just bring a multi-use outlet that you can plug in without a cord. They watch for the cords they say. I also wanted to add a couple other things I remembered.

 

* You no longer get the Carnival Cruise pin of the ship you are on at the past quest party. You have to be platinum to get them.

* Laundry costs $3.00 a load to wash and $3.00 to dry. We always pack 1/2 the clothes we need and wash them in the middle of the cruise. Less luggage on the plane. We also pack our own laudgry detergent. Purez all in one sheets are great. No problems getting machines.

* Food and menu items are fine in the dinning rooms. Did not do the formal nights. We did anytime dining and love it.

*I miss the trays in the Lido buffet areas. Plates are large instead and hard to carry everything. Bacon was rationed on the last 3 days.

*Ask for the "Gateway" book in your room. We had no problem getting one from our stewart for free.

*Get those little cheap $1 electric portable fans from Walmart. Helped a whole lot with the heat/humidity on the island. Especially it the air goes out on your tour bus.

[2Zornot2Z]

nice review.Just a few comments... wouldn't a hurricane or storm bring in seaweed and any other debris from the ocean.Orient beach is usually a nice beach from what other cruise members say. I wonder if the 2 passengers on the Dream had a Carnival sponsered excursion,if it is the ship will wait.You were on the starboard side, did it dock this way at most ports. Thanks. PS. sorry about your beer.You almost had it.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

This is my review of my recent cruise on the Carnival Dream out of Port Canaveral. Our ports were Nassua, St. Thomas and St. Maartin. The cruise consisted of myself (47) and my husband (47). This was our 7th cruise and they all have been with Carnival. We booked this cruise back in January of 2011 to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. We were pretty excited about it as we booked a Cove Balcony and it will be our 1st balcony ever. Our room was 2277. We flew into Orlando the day before via Southwest and rented a car for 24 hours from Budget. We first stopped off at Downtown Disney to eat at the Rainforest Cafe. Loved it. We booked a room at the Radisson at the Port in Port Canaveral. The hotel is huge and very nice. We had a small kitchenette. They offer free shuttle service and Budget it 4 blocks away. We spent the day enjoying the sights and picking up last minute items at Walmart. The morning of the cruise we were up early. Hubby returned the car as I prepped for the big day. We had booked our shuttle time at checkin the day before and were on the 10:00 am shuttle. We actually left the hotel about 9:45 as they were running ahead of schedule. One thing that did surprise me that was when I looked out my hotel window, I could see the Carnival Dream in port. The hotel is very close to the port. We arrived quickly to the Terminal and was in line by 10:15 am. The terminal is nice and they do a good job. We have gone out of Galveston and the Bayport in Houston and all do about the same job. We were given a Zone 4 card but do to needing assistance with hubby and his knee issues, we were put in special assistance waiting. We quickly moved to boarding and was surprised that the embarkation photo is not taken in the terminal. We were probably one of the first 10 on board and wow the atrium was beautiful. The embarkation photo is taken as soon as you board the ship. We took that and heading to the Lido Deck to grab some lunch. We decided to eat at the ever popular Pasta Station about the Gathering area. It was pretty good. After roaming the areas and waiting for our room to open, we "snuck" in around 1:15 pm and lounged around on our balcony until 1:30 pm. The Cove Balconys are great and very close to the water. We found that the lifeboats above them doesnt hinder the view and actually is a great sun blocker if your looking for one. Very quiet and private. We hung around the room waiting for our luggage when a stewart brought us a letter stating that they had x-rayed our luggage and needed us to come unlocked it for them. We actually did not have a lock on it but a cable tie. They apparently saw our surge protector in our luggage from the x-ray and said they have to hold it until we return from the cruise. We explained that the surge protector was for my hubby's cpap machine. They took it anyways and said to ask our room stewart for an extension cord. When we opened the luggage for them to retreave the surge protector they spotted our beer we had packed. A hole 8 cans of beer. That was taken as well as a pair of scissors. Somehow they did not see the large pair of scissors in the outer pocket of the luggage used to cut the cable ties off the luggage. So no beer for the fridge.

This was our second trip to Nassua but our first to St. Thomas and St. Maartin. We did not plan much in Nassua since it was a short time frame in port. There was some damaged noticable from Hurricane Irene. The straw market is pretty much destroyed and Senior Frogs was damaged as well. In St. Thomas we had purchased tickets via Carnival Excursions for the Skyride. It saves a $1 a ticket purchasing from Carnival believe it or not. It's worth the ride up to the top of the mountain. Absolutely stunning. After coming back down we got a taxi to town and did some shopping. Our shopping guru, Dominica & her sidekick (& fiance) Elgin gave us some great tips for shopping and we stopped in at the ever popular Diamonds International. After looking around, we did purchase a beautiful diamond wedding ring for me. LOVE IT. Grabbed a taxi back to the dock and ate at Hooters. It was close to the dock and the only other option was Wendys. I just have to say the the Hooters women there are different than the ones in the states. Good food though. Off to the ship and on to St. Maartin. Here we booked the St. Maartin Island Tour and Beach Combo from Carnival. I have to say that, THIS IS NOT WORTH IT. Do not take this excursion. Our driver was rude and would get upset if anyone spoke on the bus while he was talking. The island tour itself is interesting and you do see alot of the island. The beach is just off Orient Beach and the seaweed was everywhere. All along the beach and in the water. If you made it to the water after walking through mounds of seaweed, it would attack you in the water. I don't think most of us on the bus actually got in the water. It was mentioned to the driver and he said that particular side of the island has alot of seaweed. I don't know why Carnival would chose this beach. Back to the ship and ready to sail on. I will mention that the Oasis of the Seas was pretty much staying on the same route as us as we saw them in every port with us and sometimes out in the distance at night. Having a cove balcony near the bow of the ship, our balcony was right between the gangways on 2 of the ports and it was great to watch everything going on. Oasis was leaving one hour before us and saw her leave St. Maartin as 4 people were running to the ship. A grandmother, mother and 2 girls around 8 and 11 were left behind. As hour ship did not leave for another hour, we saw all the drama unfold right in front of us. It was really sad to see the 2 girls crying. They ended up leaving in a vehicle heading back to town. Our 6:00 pm leave time was actually delayed about 30 minutes as we had 2 guests that arrived late. I was surprised that we waited and to see the Oasis leave 4 behind. So 2 sea days ahead of us and back to port Canaveral. We had booked a car again with Budget and picked it up after getting back to the Radisson at the Port via the free shuttle. We planned on staying the night again to relax before our flight back home the next day.

Regarding things on the ship, I will list my personal thoughts.

 

* Butch, the Cruise Director, is ok. Nothing bad or great about him.

* The caption of the ship is the same one we had on all 4 cruises on the Conquest.

* The casino does not pay well.

* The steakhouse has wonderful food, but the service was poor compared to the other steakhouses we ate at.

*The ship is really too large for us. The lines were a little long at the Gathering buffets and the pools were crowded at times.

*Take the Behind the Fun excursion on the boat. We got to see the crew areas and tour the bridge and have pictures taken in the captians seat on the bridge. It costs $95 a person and was the highlight of our cruise. It sold out quick as only 32 people on the whole boat can do this tour. Highly recommended. 3.5 hour tour.

* We did smell the "Smell" in the aft on the Main deck.

* Book the Cove Balcony if you can. So close to the water and very private.

* The Adult Serenty area is nice as there are not kids in the area but the cushions on the chairs could use a cleaning as the material had stains on it.

 

This is all I can think of at the moment. If you have any questions, let me know and I will answer them if I can.

 

 

Hey, there.......Just maybe for a future reference. I bought a backpack that I pack my CPAP, mask, extension cord and surge protector in. I carried the backpack on and everything made it thru. They didn't question anything.

[barbemm]

Can you tell me what nights the elegant nights were?

 

I have always brought a surge protector and never been questioned? Is this something new? They usually only have one outlet and it's impossible to charge your camera, especially when you have more than one, lol. I also have a mini fridge needed for my insulin that runs off the surge protector as it must be on all the time? Any suggestions?

Barb

[Bikkek]

...................................................I also have a mini fridge needed for my insulin that runs off the surge protector as it must be on all the time? Any suggestions?

Barb

 

 

Don't pack your surge protector in the same suitcase as your beer;)

[theneals4]

Can you tell me what nights the elegant nights were?

 

I have always brought a surge protector and never been questioned? Is this something new? They usually only have one outlet and it's impossible to charge your camera, especially when you have more than one, lol. I also have a mini fridge needed for my insulin that runs off the surge protector as it must be on all the time? Any suggestions?

Barb

 

 

We just got of the Dream Sat. And our Elegant nights were the first day out to sea and the fith night. We went to the first but not the second and A LOT of people dressed up. i was really surprised, after a lot of people said nobody really dresses up anymore. Very fun time.

 

Also there are fridges in your room. I didnt know this and when i opened one of the cabinets and it was there. I was stoked! this way i could cool my wine and sodas. And its not ice cold but it kept my drinks cold enough. So that might help so you dont have to take one with you.

[barbemm]

We just got of the Dream Sat. And our Elegant nights were the first day out to sea and the fith night. We went to the first but not the second and A LOT of people dressed up. i was really surprised, after a lot of people said nobody really dresses up anymore. Very fun time.

 

Also there are fridges in your room. I didnt know this and when i opened one of the cabinets and it was there. I was stoked! this way i could cool my wine and sodas. And its not ice cold but it kept my drinks cold enough. So that might help so you dont have to take one with you.

 

so you are saying Monday and Wednesday? were the formal or whatever we call them now, nights, lol?

 

As for the fridge in the room, most of the larger ships have those, however the temperture is not cold enough for insulin and I have to bring my mini fridge..it's only a small thing designed for the travel, it's about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide...not a problem, but I will need to bring a surge protector. I have been on 16 carnival cruises and never have they taken the surge protector....we dont drink, so there is NO BEER OR ANY OTHER DRINKS, lol, in my suitcases.

 

Please do let me know if I read your answer correctly and if the formal nights are monday and wednesday, I was thinking more like they would have been sea days, as so many go to the salon and can't if its a port day...I was guessing they were Monday and Thursday which is a sea day? Please let me know if you can, thanks so much

Barb

[Bikkek]

....we dont drink, so there is NO BEER OR ANY OTHER DRINKS, lol, in my suitcases.................Barb

 

 

Sorry Barb, didn't mean to imply that you were smuggling booze too. That was intended more as a poke at the OP (who DID try to smuggle beer in the same suitcase that other items were confiscated from).

[sunsailsand]

so you are saying Monday and Wednesday? were the formal or whatever we call them now, nights, lol?

 

As for the fridge in the room, most of the larger ships have those, however the temperture is not cold enough for insulin and I have to bring my mini fridge..it's only a small thing designed for the travel, it's about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide...not a problem, but I will need to bring a surge protector. I have been on 16 carnival cruises and never have they taken the surge protector....we dont drink, so there is NO BEER OR ANY OTHER DRINKS, lol, in my suitcases.

 

Please do let me know if I read your answer correctly and if the formal nights are monday and wednesday, I was thinking more like they would have been sea days, as so many go to the salon and can't if its a port day...I was guessing they were Monday and Thursday which is a sea day? Please let me know if you can, thanks so much

Barb

I got SUNDAY AND THURSDAY from another review

[melli_fera]

Can you tell me what nights the elegant nights were?

 

I have always brought a surge protector and never been questioned? Is this something new? They usually only have one outlet and it's impossible to charge your camera, especially when you have more than one, lol. I also have a mini fridge needed for my insulin that runs off the surge protector as it must be on all the time? Any suggestions?

Barb

 

we were on the same sailing and we brought aboard a brand new-in package power strip with no problem. We also brought 12 waters, 6 juices and 6 sodas in one carry on with no questions asked (we're 2 "single" cruisers).

[melli_fera]

I got SUNDAY AND THURSDAY from another review

 

Depends on which itinerary you're on. Eastern itinerary had elegant night on Sunday (Nassau, back on ship by 1:30) and Thursday (sea day).