Carnival Dream Picture Review, December 10th-17th, 2011

[MrsZee]

I'm still on page 7, but had to cooment that you are using the camera of my DREAMS and the fact you have even better at home leaves me drooling. I'd kill to cruise with you and pick your ear!

[graderman373]

had to bump this back onto the first page.

great pics and great review!!!

waiting for the next installment soon i hope.

ralph

[sachmo9085]

Thank you for taking the time to post this review! I love that you are level headed in your comments; you consider things that I would consider to be obvious, like the fact that perhaps your food isn't piping hot because there are hundreds of other people there eating at the same time. So a huge thank you for level headed comments!! Your photos are also amazing to say the least. You are blessed with a phenomenal talent for taking pictures that speak to people and it seems blessed with a talent for words (thinking about how you worded your post about your mother - it was lovely). I look forward to the rest of your review and thank you again for taking the time to do this!

[italianfemmy]

Okay, so we left off at Gilly the Snakeman's shack in Belize. Then we headed back towards the very small downtown area of Belize which they called the "city" part of the tour. Honestly, there wasn't very much to it but like always, I snapped photos out of the window of the car as we rode along! When I am not neccessarily having a lot of fun, I tend to take photos of things because that is fun for me at least!

 

St. John's Anglican Cathedral....

 

 

 

A clock tower....

 

 

Ooooooo!! People!! I can shoot people through the windshield again! Actually, kinda like these photos...

 

 

Not sure if I like this one better in color or B&W.

 

 

 

So that was it.... for our city and country tour. We spent almost the entire day out and it was time to head back to the ship. Overall, I was glad that we decided not to go back to the ship when our excursion was canceled. Being able to photograph Gilly's shack was a highlight because of the history behind it. And the fact that I climbed to the top of the ruins despite thinking I couldn't make it was a rewarding feeling. On the plus side, Belize isn't going anywhere and should another cruise itinerary take me back, I can always book the excursion I'd originally booked to captain my own boat on the Belize river.

[italianfemmy]

Holy cow.. the line to get back on the tender boat was terrifying to me. We were really pushing it for time as it was and I was worried that this was the last tender boat. (It wasn't.) But, we were the last 2 people they let on. Luckily some people scooted over so we could fit. This tender boat was not fully enclosed like the one we rode over on earlier in the morning and our seats were close to the back opening. So, I got up and took a few photos.

 

A super tiny lighthouse but with a little bit of character :-)

 

 

 

Leaving Belize behind in our wake....

 

 

Okay, the cruise ships were all in front of us and the front of our tender boat was closed off. So.... one of the guys working the boat swore up and down he has a DSLR camera and asked if I'd like him to take it up to the employee only area to get a photo of the Dream for me. So, I said "sure".

Poor guy didn't know how to zoom (Again, this is a problem... I need to make sure I teach people but I didn't want to offend him since he claimed he knew what he was doing...)

 

This is the shot he took... :-)... with some of my editing love..

 

 

(At least he got 2 of the ships fully in the shot) although one is cut off and the Dream looks super tiny! :-)

 

So, I asked politely... if I could walk up there and take a photo. He shook his head no that I wasn't allowed on the upper deck but that there was a little flap at the front on our deck that I could hold back and shoot through. So, off I went to get at least 1 photo of the Dream.

 

 

 

Be right back!

[italianfemmy]

I walked back to my seat at the back of the tender boat. And saw we were getting close to some of the other ships in port. There were 5 ships in port in Belize this day, over 27,000 passengers and we were told this was the busiest day for them in over 18 months!

 

The Norwegian Star:

 

 

I used a little bit of the wake from our tender boat to frame this next shot of the NCL Sun.

 

 

Carnival Glory and Norwegian Spirit

 

 

Then we got back on the ship and took the elevator up to our Deck and went straight out to our little secret door.

 

Another shot of the Spirit

 

 

And a photo of Holland America's Ryndham:

 

 

Tiny little boat going by and I noticed the pattern it was making in the water... I love leading lines into dynamic compositions and cropped this photo:

 

 

Then we started to sail away from Belize....

 

Latanya and I... were starving! There was supposed to be a stop for lunch in our original tour but there wasn't one in our new plans so we hadn't eaten anything all day because we pretty much had skipped breakfast that morning as well.

 

We decided to go get something small from the Lido deck to hold us over until dinner. However, our eyes were as big as our stomachs and we ate more than something light and were both pretty stuffed.

 

Right after eating a late lunch, and per usual, Latanya and I couldn't get into our swimwear fast enough to make a trip to the spa! Today, our visit was limited to just 45 minutes because we had other stuff to do.

 

I should note that the spa never was overly crowded. We were always able to get seats in the Thalassotherapy pool or the hot stone room or the sauna whenever we wanted to go in them. This really enhanced the relaxation factor for me.

 

After the spa, Latanya and I rushed across the ship to get to the Burgundy Lounge for "Superstar Live." For SL, they have the band come and set up and you get to sing with them so it's kind of like Karaoke but better to a degree.

 

Latanya sang a song (she's a pretty good singer) and she won some award thing for being good. A few other people sang as well and most of them were very good singers. I was pleasantly surprised!

 

Then, we went to dinner, just the two of us. I don't remember what the dishes were on this evening but I remember we loved the food and that there were several things we wanted to try this night which was horrible since we were both still quite full. (We went to dinner LATE this night though and still were not hungry.)

 

More to come!

[italianfemmy]

After dinner, Latanya and I just walked around for a little bit and eventually wandered outside where we saw Kim and Steven sitting at a nearby table outside waiting for the Deck Party.

 

Tonight, there was a Rock N Roll Laser Spectacular show planned. Really hoping they'd redeem themselves with this very much hyped 2 million dollar laser light show, we came out again hoping to be blown away.

 

We weren't blown away by the laser show. It was underwhelming again.

 

But then!!!!......

 

Some really awesome and dramatic music started and amidst the rising fog, the Dream dancers emerged wearing some really awesome leather costumes and they did this really awesome number that had everyone riled up. I've never in all of my cruises seen the performers hit the deck at night for something so cool. The lights really added to the performance factor.

 

They did several numbers and the main male and female singers came out and stood up on Deck 11 right above the pool and sung. What was really awesome was that it was crazy windy so their hair was flying and their costumes were flying... again in this really awesome fog. It kind of felt like we were on the set of a movie... pretty dramatic. Maybe it wouldn't have been as cool if it wasn't windy. I don't know!

 

Latanya and I stayed out for a little while with Steven and Kim and chit chatted and then decided to call it a night and get some sleep since the next day would be our last port of call day in Costa Maya.

 

I don't really have any photos from my DSLR in Costa Maya. I have a couple on my waterproof craptastic camera that I'll post and maybe a couple on the DSLR.

 

Goodnight CC!

[italianfemmy]

I agree with you...I'm not sure who's more dirty, the windshield or the guy on the right. The windshield kind of adds the the grittyness while allowing the guys personality to cut right through it.

 

I can see where you guys are coming from. It's just the technical side of me knows this photo would be disqualified from any competitions or would receive poor marks for the windshield factor. I love the photo too.

[italianfemmy]

I'm still on page 7, but had to cooment that you are using the camera of my DREAMS and the fact you have even better at home leaves me drooling. I'd kill to cruise with you and pick your ear!

 

You're at least the 5th person that has said you'd love to cruise with me on this thread alone.

 

Makes me really stop to consider the idea of putting together a group cruise and doing a couple of free photography workshops as a perk for being part of the group. Curious to see if other people think this would be a good idea. :-)

[MrsZee]

You're at least the 5th person that has said you'd love to cruise with me on this thread alone.

 

Makes me really stop to consider the idea of putting together a group cruise and doing a couple of free photography workshops as a perk for being part of the group. Curious to see if other people think this would be a good idea. :-)

 

lol, YES! Wanna cruise the Magic this October? :-p

[italianfemmy]

lol, YES! Wanna cruise the Magic this October? :-p

 

I prefer to cruise when there is less risk of bad storms. So we normally don't go until November or December and I already have the Breeze booked for November.

 

In truth, I want my next cruise (before or after) the Breeze to most likely be on RCCL's Oasis of the Seas. (In fact, I'd still like to go on the Freedom of the Seas too).

 

I would go on the Dream again for her other itinerary though and have been reading reviews on the Magic (don't know enough about her yet to decide if I'd want to sail on her.) :-)

[SoundDawg]

You're at least the 5th person that has said you'd love to cruise with me on this thread alone.

 

Makes me really stop to consider the idea of putting together a group cruise and doing a couple of free photography workshops as a perk for being part of the group. Curious to see if other people think this would be a good idea. :-)

 

I think you would find a huge interest in that! On my last cruise there were several amateur photographers that spend hours together talking tech stuff and shooting around the ship and in Bermuda. I think they would have loved to have a professional there to get some great information and helpful advice!

 

Enjoying your review!!

[TheSailinSOB]

Awesome!!! The pics are amazing! I love the photos of the locals. That shows the realness of a place :)

[italianfemmy]

Awesome!!! The pics are amazing! I love the photos of the locals. That shows the realness of a place :)

 

Thank you very much!

[Joaljoe]

Phew! Finally done reading...that only took a few hours!! LOL But once I started, I couldn't stop. Today was my kids first day back at school and I've done nothing but read reviews. haha

 

Not sure if you remember me but we spoke a little on my thread (Dream Review) a few months back. I have to tell you, even though mostly everyone else has already said it, that you take the most BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, GORGEOUS photos!!!! WOW!

 

I can't wait for my kids to come home from school to show them the Dolphin and Monkey pics. My daughter absolutely LOVES monkeys. She would be in heaven if she could ever hold one. I especially love the pic where the monkey sticks his tongue out. How cute!! When you have a moment, please let me know how you liked the Monkey Jungle in Miami? We're hoping to do one week in Disney and one week cruise next year leaving from Miami. I was thinking the Monkey Jungle would be fun for the kids. :)

 

I've really enjoyed your whole review... for your first time, you're doing really great IMO. I hope that I'm the one who you speak of that inspired you to do a review. hahaha ;)

 

I will definitely be getting the book you recommended. I have this great camera and have no idea how to use most of the features. Really wish I took photography back in school. The black border tip is great too... never thought of that but you are so right! I see the photos in a whole different way.

 

I am looking forward to seeing the rest.

 

Happy New Year to you and Latanya! :)

[italianfemmy]

Phew! Finally done reading...that only took a few hours!! LOL But once I started, I couldn't stop. Today was my kids first day back at school and I've done nothing but read reviews. haha

 

Not sure if you remember me but we spoke a little on my thread (Dream Review) a few months back. I have to tell you, even though mostly everyone else has already said it, that you take the most BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, GORGEOUS photos!!!! WOW!

 

I can't wait for my kids to come home from school to show them the Dolphin and Monkey pics. My daughter absolutely LOVES monkeys. She would be in heaven if she could ever hold one. I especially love the pic where the monkey sticks his tongue out. How cute!! When you have a moment, please let me know how you liked the Monkey Jungle in Miami? We're hoping to do one week in Disney and one week cruise next year leaving from Miami. I was thinking the Monkey Jungle would be fun for the kids. :)

 

I've really enjoyed your whole review... for your first time, you're doing really great IMO. I hope that I'm the one who you speak of that inspired you to do a review. hahaha ;)

 

I will definitely be getting the book you recommended. I have this great camera and have no idea how to use most of the features. Really wish I took photography back in school. The black border tip is great too... never thought of that but you are so right! I see the photos in a whole different way.

 

I am looking forward to seeing the rest.

 

Happy New Year to you and Latanya! :)

 

 

I do remember reading your review and think I made a comment that I didn't have to do a review since you had done one! lol.

 

What inspired me to do this review was actually the amount of horrible reviews about the Dream and I felt they were just so plain inaccurate.

 

Monkey Jungle in Miami was awesome (but different) than our time with the Monkeys in Roatan. We lucked out and nobody else was signed up for our spot at Monkey Jungle so we got to do it alone which gave us more food to give them. The Miami Jungle monkeys wouldn't climb on you or come to you without food. If 10 people were in our time slot, the same amount of food and time would have been split between everyone and I wouldn't have had as much fun. The monkeys in Miami would crawl over you but would leave you immediately after they got their food. (I still thought it was the most awesome thing on the planet when we went.)

 

The one in Roatan.. we didn't have to give the monkeys anything.. they just played with us, hopped on us, let us hold them like babies and were happy to be around us.

 

What I liked more about the Miami one is that although it's an enclosure, you can't tell that it is because it spans like an acre or something of open "rainforest" space and they have tons of room to wander around. Because of this, it's harder to get them to come to you but I would expect the Monkeys are happy with more romping room. In Roatan, the monkeys were in cages as you can see in the photos. They were very large cages though with play room. But I did feel a little sorry for them and think this may be part of why they were more playful since only 2 of them were in a cage vs. like a hundred free roaming monkeys at the Miami one.

 

Hope this helps!

[sonicbuffalo]

I'm still on page 7, but had to cooment that you are using the camera of my DREAMS and the fact you have even better at home leaves me drooling. I'd kill to cruise with you and pick your ear!

 

pick her ear? you mean pick her brain? I don't think she'd want anyone picking her ear! :D

[Joaljoe]

LOL.... I was kidding about the inspiring part. But you're right, there is a lot of negativity around the Dream. We loved her!

 

Thanks for the comparisons, it's good to know. We'll have to do our research before our next cruise as I think my DD would absolutely love an experience like this. :)

 

Thanks so much for all you time that you are devoting to this review. :D

[italianfemmy]

pick her ear? you mean pick her brain? I don't think she'd want anyone picking her ear! :D

 

Lol... I knew what she meant.

[sonicbuffalo]

I figured you'd know...gotta cut her some slack...she means well....but I couldn't resist. It was too funny. :D

[steven93921]

I can see where you guys are coming from. It's just the technical side of me knows this photo would be disqualified from any competitions or would receive poor marks for the windshield factor. I love the photo too.

 

Technical, Schmechnical! :p

 

You're at least the 5th person that has said you'd love to cruise with me on this thread alone.

 

Makes me really stop to consider the idea of putting together a group cruise and doing a couple of free photography workshops as a perk for being part of the group. Curious to see if other people think this would be a good idea. :-)

 

I'd do it... but I'm a terrible student to be sure :cool:

 

I prefer to cruise when there is less risk of bad storms. So we normally don't go until November or December and I already have the Breeze booked for November.

 

In truth, I want my next cruise (before or after) the Breeze to most likely be on RCCL's Oasis of the Seas. (In fact, I'd still like to go on the Freedom of the Seas too).

 

I would go on the Dream again for her other itinerary though and have been reading reviews on the Magic (don't know enough about her yet to decide if I'd want to sail on her.) :-)

 

The Magic has been delayed getting into Galveston the last two sailings now. I considered the Magic instead of the Dream but felt that the transfer to the port would not be as smooth as Orlando to Canaveral. The Breeze will have everything the Magic does and then some so I'm not sure I see much benefit to sailing the Magic unless you can drive to the port.

[steven93921]

I figured you'd know...gotta cut her some slack...she means well....but I couldn't resist. It was too funny. :D

 

Looks like we're both on The Breeze on 12/8

[maplo]

I have truly loved this review and just like everyone is saying, your pics are amazing. You are so talented!

I am booking the Dream for my hubby and I for Sept. to celebrate our 35th anniversay. I am booking later this week.

I hope you will do a review with each cruise. Yours is one of the best I have read and looked at.

Thanks again for sharing!!

Pam

[lrn2cruise]

I have to say that you pics are AMAZING!!!! I think you should be hired. You could sell a cruise with those pics!!!!

[italianfemmy]

I have to say that you pics are AMAZING!!!! I think you should be hired. You could sell a cruise with those pics!!!!

 

Apparently my photos have already sold SPA passes, cruises on the Dream, many Chef's table reservations and some swimming with the dolphins bookings. I've been overwhelmed with how much everyone has loved everything and touched not only by the comments on here but at the numerous (more than 30) emails I've received personally from people too. Makes me really glad I started this review!