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Photo Review - Carnival Dream Exotic Western Caribbean with FTTF - 12/8/12

brilliantseas

By brilliantseas,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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brilliantseas

brilliantseas

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They put the new beach chairs up in the front row. There were several available all day, but we preferred to sit at a table under a palapa and chat with our new friends. The table by the banner is where you can check out the free ocean kayaks (you must wear a life vest) or rent jet skis.

 

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The jet skis aren't the newest, but they were fine for us.

 

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Waiting for our guide to get on his jet ski and lead the way out to the safe area out beyond the reef.

 

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brilliantseas

brilliantseas

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View of the cruise ships docked at Puerto Costa Maya from Krazy Lobster Beach in downtown Mahahual.

 

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NCL Dawn tied up next to us at Costa Maya.

 

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Carnival Dream docked at Costa Maya. Note that the pier is at least 1,500-2,000 feet long before you reach the "L" where the ships tie up. In addition to the two births where the Dream and Dawn were tied up, there is a third birth along the section of pier that runs out from the shore that is long enough to accommodate Oasis (RCCL) or Epic (NCL) class ships. It is a LONG walk, but they will run the tram down the center of the pier so long as there isn't a third ship docked along the long section of pier running out from the port. The tram is unique in that it doesn't have to turn around on the pier (not enough width to turn). Instead, the tractor disconnects from one end and does a 180, drives past the passenger cars, and reconnects at the other end.

 

Just before leaving, we had a rare sight of a motor coach driving down the pier all the way to where the ships were docked to drop off passengers from a late returning excursion. It got back just as they were preparing to pull the gangways, so I guess the excursion operator told them to bypass the parking lot and drive right down the pier. Talk about ship-side drop off! As soon as those passengers were onboard, we pulled away. I would not have wanted to be that bus driver that had to back the bus all the way back down the pier in reverse, but the pier isn't wide enough to turn around!

 

Carnival Dream docked at Costa Maya

 

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NCL Dawn and Carnival Dream at Costa Maya

 

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Those letters must be 30 feet high!

 

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brilliantseas

brilliantseas

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NCL Dawn from our balcony at Costa Maya. The Lanai on deck 5 blocks the view of the pier below, and with the Dawn docked at the berth next to us, we didn't get to watch for pier runners this time. Seeing the motor coach drive down to the end of the pier to drop off passengers was quite a sight though!

 

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Bye NCL!!! Have fun in Cozumel. Too bad we drank it dry on Monday!

 

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View of the shore line as we pull away from Costa Maya. Miles of undisturbed coastline and mangrove forests.

 

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brilliantseas

brilliantseas

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Your pictures are great! I am in the process of creating my review and I am having trouble with inserting my pictures. What site did you use? Thanks in advance!

 

I actually just copied them from my Facebook albums. It is easy, and free, but unfortunately I found out a few days ago that they do change the file URLs from time to time, which will cause your photos to eventually disappear, as they did in my previous reviews. I may try to upload my old photos to photobucket or some other host, but for now, Facebook it is.

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brilliantseas

brilliantseas

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After our visit to Costa Maya, we had a great evening onboard.

 

Our first stop was the Taste Bar, where we tried the fried malanga sweet potato and pepper pot, inspired by the RedFrog Pub. This was probably my least favorite of the four nights that we tried the Taste Bar, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.

 

After a stop at the Taste Bar, we had dinner with our neighbors for the second evening in a row. This was our second elegant night of the cruise, and like every other sailing that I have been on, it is much less formal than the first elegant night. In fact, the dining room felt far less busy, perhaps because so many people were exhausted from four days of port visits that they did not feel like dressing up for dinner. It could also be because the menu is not nearly as exciting as the first elegant night.

 

I had the bing cherry soup (one of my favorites), jumbo tiger shrimp with mustard potatoes (another favorite), and the warm chocolate melting cake. My tablemates all had either the martini braised basa filet or the chateaubriand. Everyone enjoyed their meals, and no one had any complaints about their entrees. It was also time for Penny to get revenge on Rich, and for the second night in a row, our waiters brought out an extra dessert with a candle and sang happy birthday, even though it was clearly not anyone's birthday. I think they got as much of a kick out of it as we did, as they made some special napkin ears for Rich to wear while they sang to him.

 

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After dinner, we headed up to the Burgundy Lounge for the 9:45 adults only show at the Punchliner Comedy Club. The comedian (can't remember his name) specialized in funny voices, and put on a great show. It was also during this show that we learned that the second comedian missed his connecting flight and did not make it to Costa Maya in time to meet the ship. Yes, even comedians get left behind if they aren't onboard by sail away. Rather than canceling the show, Jeff The Fun Dude got to fill in as the headlining act. Jeff is the comedy club manager and does a good 5 minutes of comedy before every show to warm up the crowd, but from what I gathered, this was his first time doing a full headlining show on the ship. I was actually excited for this, as I have seen Jeff on two cruises onboard the Dream, and he is funnier than some of the headlining comedians that they bring onboard.

 

We hung around for the 11:00PM adults only show, headlined by Jeff The Fun Dude, and although the crowd was a bit smaller than normal, Jeff put on a great show, and given that he didn't really have much time to prepare, he put together a very funny half hour set centered mainly around life aboard cruise ships. He recycled some material that he would normally use to warm up the crowd, but given the circumstances, he did a great job.

 

Up next: Last Fun Day at Sea and Debarkation

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christie629

christie629

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What a great review!! Thanks so much for taking the time to do it.

 

I am taking my family on the Dream in March and got alot of great tips from your review. In Roatan you don't have to book excursion to use the beach, right? I read other reviews talking about how crowded it was. Do you think a cabana would be the way to go? I checked the port calender and it said there would 4 ships in Roatan!! Wow! (Dream, Magic, Celebrity Constellation & Ryndham).

 

Thanks again!

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dst

dst

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Looking forward to the rest of your review, we sail on the 19th.:)

 

 

 

YES we are :D

 

brilliantseas - Please come back and finish, I'm like a kid in a candy store.......wanting more ;)

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tandemcruzr

tandemcruzr

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What a great review!! Thanks so much for taking the time to do it.

 

I am taking my family on the Dream in March and got alot of great tips from your review. In Roatan you don't have to book excursion to use the beach, right? I read other reviews talking about how crowded it was. Do you think a cabana would be the way to go? I checked the port calender and it said there would 4 ships in Roatan!! Wow! (Dream, Magic, Celebrity Constellation & Ryndham).

 

Thanks again!

 

Not OP, but only Dream and Magic will dock at Mahogany Bay. Of course, they are two LARGE ships. The other two will be at Coxen Hole.

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