Just off Dream, Nov-3-10 Eastern Itinerary review

[bobsfamily]

I was on last weeks Dream cruise too. I was waitlisted for early seating and got late seating. I went to the Maitre d when he got to the dining room at 1PM and asked about getting changed. He said there was 4200 people on board and 2800 of them wanted early seating. 700 of them have been waitlisted for early seating. He said he could get me any size table for late seating as nobody really wanted it...so I got a table for two.

 

It is such a shame that they would waitlist 700 people, just tell the passengers there is no way you are getting early dining. I actually prefer it on a cruise, rarely eat that late at home but am always getting up at 6am... but not on vacation!

[Georgiagolfer]

The cocktail party was nice and yes it includes your "companion". There were several giveaways that you had to reach a certain level of "points" either from slot play or table play and those did not include the companion unless that companion had enogh points themselves.

 

The "premier Casino cruise" is different from a gift basket that you might receive. This is a group cruise in which the casino gives you a card for free drinks right away, a welcome aboard party, several tournaments, gifts in room including some wonderful towels, champagne, strawberries, etc. Obviously they want you to play and they also offer cash... but as several have stated the slots were mostly cold and tables were lukewarm. Others may have had better luck but that's why they call it gambling!

 

On another note about the ATD... I've seen/done this on other cruises, never had a problem. With the amount of passengers they either need to open the Crimson up to ATD only or limit the amount that can do it to a reasonable number. Other ships have one MDR for regular and one for ATD. I would never do ATD on a Dream class ship again.... on the other hand our late seating was one of the best we have ever had and the food was so good I canceled our 2nd steakhouse ressies. The steakhouse was awesome but between the team we had (again kodos to Carlos, upper level Crimson) and food being hot, on time, and great tasting we had the best of both worlds.

 

A couple of other notes:

Embarkation was a breeze - we dropped off luggage at 10:20, parked at 10:25, got cards at 10:35, never sat down and was on back deck of Lido eating a sandwich before 11am.

Disembarkation - did VIP (Platinum) with luggage outside room. We met at 7:15 and were off by 7:25, with porter had luggage and driving out of parking garage at 7:40. Was on 95 before 8am. GREAT!

 

Never really saw more than a 2-3 minute wait on Lido except at Pasta bar upstairs. Someone must have tipped off the passengers as everyone knew where it was. At least the wait was seated at a table.

 

Thanks again islandgirl for starting the thread... and I never made it to the M&G either, we went to the welcome onboard party that the casino had.

One more comment, the past guest party was a major bust.... they had almost a 1000 people (which they knew) and not near enough servers... We got there early, got a drink (big drinks) and a snack... never got another one as lots of passengers were basically screaming for their first drink. After about 20 minutes we just left. A real shame but a very small part of the trip.

 

Thanks.

[kshees]

I have a question for you. Is the Premier Casino package a special cruise deal for you? We got told that we qualify for the Premium package but I thought it was just a gift basket? I didn't know if it was a special deal for a specific cruise. Can't wait for the rest of the review.

Karen[/QUO

 

Premier Casino cruise offers start appearing in the mail a couple times a year. I've never been able to go because I have my vacations set at work and the times don't usually match up, but this time, I had already booked my vacation at that time for my birthday, and they offered me a good amount of $$$ to play with, so I couldn't turn it down. Its was well worth it. When you belong to the ocean players club on board, you will get offers in the mail. They ususally deliver choc strawberries and fruit, sometimes wine to your cabin on regular cruises. This one was so much more.

 

Thanks for the information. We get the casino rates and the casino cash offers in the mail but we haven't gotten the cruise yet. Maybe next time, sounds like fun!!!

Thanks.

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review.

[erewhon]

Thanks for these reports of your cruise.

[cbtengwife]

The carriage ride was just more to support the local business, but it didnt go anywhere much, just pointed out the local government buildings, etc. not even near the Queens staircase or anything. Not really worth the $$ (30 per couple), but it was better than walking though :)

You will absolutely love the mini boat adventure. FYI: the first leg of the trip going out to Christmas Cove, I sat in the back behind my hubby on the seat in the very back (underneath there is a storage cooler for your bags/equipment), it was very bumpy and my lower back got slammed when we hit the waves and wakes from other boats. Coming back I sat right behind him in the drivers seat which is long like a Harley and held onto him, had good back support from a back rest with cushion and that was much better.

 

Thanks for the information. Think we will just stick to walking in Nassau. Tip on the mini boat is great. We have a motorcycle (not a Harley). So very used to a motorcycle seat. :)

[emelvee]

Thanks for all this information...this is our itinerary next July. Looking forward to our cove balcony.

[fla2nc]

What movies were playing on the Dream? Do they have popcorn nearby? TIA :D

[bobsfamily]

What movies were playing on the Dream? Do they have popcorn nearby? TIA :D

I really don't remember... wait my wife was watching some movie, dang can't remember. The last night they were showing a couple of bond movies on the big screen but did not see popcorn, then again I was up one deck.

 

Something else that was great on the Dream... on/off! What a Dream!

[geovet]

Can you post the warm melting cake recipe?

 

Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cruise4me2]

I also was on last weeks cruise, I was a spouse of the premier casino package & did get my free drink card without having to earn it. I have never seen a casino so crowded and I think because it was so crowded you would just take whatever machine you could get and end up just playing there even if you were losing.:eek: I think DH lost more because of it being so crowded, you don't want to give up your seat!

 

We had early seating and were int eh Crimson dining room 2nd floor and had a nice long table. our waitress was so nice and sweet but the service was the worst I have ever experienced on Carnival and I have been on the Dream before and loved it! One night we waited 40 minutes for our bowls of onion soup. We did go to the buffet one night just because we didn't want to wait so long for our food and then it wasn't hot.

We are on the Ectasy in Jan and hope that we have a better experience on the smaller ship.

 

BTW the next to the last night the casino bar ran out of Captain Morgan and were trying to substitute some nasty rum! Couldn't fool me:D, switched to vodka!

 

Hope you don't mind I hijacked your review also!

Sharon

[bobsfamily]

 

BTW the next to the last night the casino bar ran out of Captain Morgan and were trying to substitute some nasty rum! Couldn't fool me:D, switched to vodka!

 

Is that what happened? We drank them out of RUM???? To Funny:eek:

[cbtengwife]

Nassau: Had been here many times before so just went to the Pharmacy and a few other stores and then took horse and carriage ride, just to support local economy more than anything else.

St. Thomas: Did an awesome and fun excursion called Mini Boat Adventure, highly recommend this one. Megan and Josh our tour guides were fun. We each had our own boat (a zodiac type dinghy with two seats and went very fast. Hopping over the waves and jumping out of the water, my hubby had a blast driving this and was like a teenager......

St. Maarten: Just shopped around the front street and then had a nice waterside lunch at a cafe called Chez Delphine and listened to a street musician. Very nice day. We had also been here several times before. Way too hot that day too, had to keep stopping for rest and water breaks.

 

 

Have couple more questions about St. Thomas. What were your port times? How much time did you have after the mini boat excursion did you have before you had to be back on the ship? We are trying to decide if we are going to have enough time to go to Paradise Point.

Thanks

[emelvee]

Have couple more questions about St. Thomas. What were your port times? How much time did you have after the mini boat excursion did you have before you had to be back on the ship? We are trying to decide if we are going to have enough time to go to Paradise Point.

Thanks

We're doing this itinerary in July 2013. St. Thomas is scheduled for 11:00 am - 7:00 pm.

 

I'm not familiar with that excursion.

[Georgiagolfer]

We normally book ES rates. On the Premier Casino Cruises, I notice that CCL offers discount on the fun saver rates, which is the rate you have to book for these. did either of you notice if the rate is significantly higher than ES, even with the discount, or is it close?

[gaylebo35]

Can you tell me which night was the first cruise elegant night, Nassau or the first sea day? We are going in March and trying to decide which night to make steakhouse reservations. Thanks for helping!

[bobsfamily]

Can you tell me which night was the first cruise elegant night, Nassau or the first sea day? We are going in March and trying to decide which night to make steakhouse reservations. Thanks for helping!

Nassau is the first "elegant night"... and if you have ATD either go very early (as soon as they open) or late (after 8) as it's BUSY! We actually did the steakhouse the first night (free wine) and had a wonderful time. Go, enjoy!

[fkfad]

Is there only one "elegant" night on the 7-night cruise? We are sailing on February 9 on the same itinerary and I am trying to prepare my packing list...

[bobsfamily]

Is there only one "elegant" night on the 7-night cruise? We are sailing on February 9 on the same itinerary and I am trying to prepare my packing list...

There are 2 nights on a 7 night cruise and with the Eastern cruise the first is the 2nd night (Nassau) and the second is 6th night, which is a cruising day...

We had the best late seating group of waiters/helpers on this cruise and except for the first night (did steakhouse) went every night. I have read some horror stories about food/service on the Dream but did not experience it except for the "brunch"... not sure if the changeover with the comedian (never saw/heard him/her) cause the delays. Dinner was wonderful, after one trip to the brunch it was enough.