1st time Carnival cruiser (DREAM) complete review & pictorial (from a NCL cruiser)

[mitsugirly]

Ok, I only have about a half hour before I have to leave for work. So, I'm going to try to get in the snorkeling from this area on this review.

 

Here is the view from the beach

 

 

To the right there are mangroves. Now I have never snorkeled among mangroves, so this was going to be a different experience for me. The far upper right of the picture is looking over toward the other beach...you know, the one that is paradise?

 

Out in the distance you could see these black things in the water. They are actually chairs that you could go out and sit in. Pretty neat.

 

 

To the left there was a palapa sitting in the water.

 

 

Yes, people were using them. This area was not too deep and the area where the chairs were out there wasn't very deep at all. It's like most of this little island area. Shallow-ish around the edges of everything and deeper toward the middle.

 

 

So off to exploring I go.

 

 

[mitsugirly]

These little guys where EVERYWHERE. I don't know if it's the "season" for them but actually every port I snorkeled at they had them. But this place was just full of them. The name escapes me at the moment since I'm in a hurry. I listed them by name in an earlier part of my review.

 

 

 

Now I have to say when I seen this, I wasn't quite sure what it was. It was kinda weird looking and I snapped the picture and hurried off. (More on this later...because I find a lot more and they were out in the open and I knew what it was-sea cucumber) but being in the area I was in was just kinda creepy and weird I guess.

 

 

A shot of looking in to the mangroves. It was eery and neat at the same time. I'm now picturing a horror movie where jaws comes out at your or some half octopus man eating barracuda snake devours you. There were tons of neon fish everywhere in this area.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

I remember seeing these pictures that were just amazing where people have half the lens above water and half below water. I thought I would try it out. I have to admit, it's not as easy as it looks!!! Plus, I'm shooting with a small point and shoot that doesn't have a wide lens to begin with, so the odds are against me for sure. I took A LOT of pictures, just to try to get 1 decent one. It's not easy when the water is moving either (from me floating around)

 

 

 

 

 

Sakari found a shell with a crab in it. It would remain her friend for the rest of the day (the poor thing).

 

 

He had a faulty shell, but it was the place he called home.

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

There was fish everywhere and even some coral.

 

 

It started getting a little dark...oh no!!! Was it about to rain and spoil our day? (Pssshhh, nothing could spoil my day at this point, I'm already wet and I'm in the water so who cares?)

 

I seen this windmill type of thing. I wonder if they use it for their electricity out there? I mean how does an island obtain electric? I have always wondered that.

 

 

 

Along side of the water. See there are normal chairs for those of you that are not wanting to be adventurous and go for the wired man made chairs.

 

 

 

We decided it was about time to head over to the other beach (the one I knew I was going to love with the aqua blue water). So we started walking back, but not the same way we had come...we were still going full circle.

 

 

This is the owners house.

 

 

[mitsugirly]

If there are animals to be found, my husband and daughter will be the ones to find them. They took off running toward something and I hear this "awwwwww" and when I catch up, this is what I find.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More sculptures

 

 

 

 

 

 

This would be the bathrooms

 

[mitsugirly]

Looking in toward the bathroom area and the sinks to wash your hands are outside of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are almost back to the paradise beach area....we have come full circle around the island.

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

More neat things for landscaping around the place.

 

 

 

 

 

We walked over to the itty bitty small island part and they had a deck that runs along the water facing toward the area/beach I had just came from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The clouds were rolling in and we started to feel a little drop here and there. The hubby ran to the cabana type structure that had plenty of seating in couch like chairs or up at tables. We weren't going to actually sit there, there was too much to do and see. We just wanted to find a place to put our things so it wouldn't get wet.

 

 

I looked at him and said "There's no time like the present to get in the water and snorkel. I mean after all, we were already wet, it was starting to rain, and there's the water....off I went.

[mitsugirly]

Ok, time to head to work, I'm running a little late, but I always leave early for those "just in case" moments that could occur along the way. I'm always punctual (if you haven't noticed yet) and I have never been late to work, nor have I ever called off. So, I must run. I shall return after midnight. :p

[Name Of The Game]

Your photos and attention to detail are fabulous!

[ch27088]

Wait a minute...I don't have any more to read. What do you mean you are stopping to go to work! Okay fine, but please hurry back and finish, I want to see and read more...thank you very much. :)

[nodogkisses]

You are writing one of the most interesting reviews I've ever read on CC. Thanks for putting the time in to do it with your crazy busy life. By the way, what brand/color nail polish do you have on? Love it!

[Youngen2505]

So glad to read a review with young kids. We will be doing the same cruise at the end of September

[dale1088]

Will you share what price you paid for this excursion? I can't recall if you mentioned it...I assume it was privately booked? If so, through Frenchy's?

 

If you didn't snorkel, would this be worth a visit?

 

I KNOW you said what camera you have, and I know one of them is a Canon D10, but what was the other one? I looked for the post but can't find it. I am on a search for a good camera and your pics are just lovely!

[soaringfalcon]

Loving this review and the comparison between our beloved NCL and Carnival. We're currently deciding on the next cruise and I might have to "jump ship" too.

 

LFK looks absolutely amazing. The joke about the macaw taking off Sakari's finger is a very real possibility. Not to freak you out but they have enough jaw strength to do it. I'm sure one of these days you'll have a parrot wound come into the ER. Or you can google for pics. I volunteer at a parrot rescue and I've gotten my fair share of those wounds. No stitches yet though...

[kerrytens]

Kim, as always, great review! Keep up the great work:D

[jjdmom8]

Ok, time to head to work, I'm running a little late, but I always leave early for those "just in case" moments that could occur along the way. I'm always punctual (if you haven't noticed yet) and I have never been late to work, nor have I ever called off. So, I must run. I shall return after midnight. :p[/quote

 

NO!!! Call off work!! I want to read more now!!! LOL.. Best review I have read yet.. Can't wait for more!!

[gapearl]

Note to self- don't ever go on vacation with Brayden. LOL That look on Sakari's face when you told her she wouldn't see the tarantula was priceless! :D Your review is hilarious! Hurry back with more tonight.

[david_sobe]

WOW

What a wonderful review

So glad I came to the Carnival board to see it :)

[mitsugirly]

By the way, what brand/color nail polish do you have on? Love it!

 

Well that's a first... it's called N.Y.C (New York Color) and it's called "Times Square Tangerine Creme" #112A. I have a very bright wild looking orange color too. They almost look neon in the bottle (and no, I'm not from New York nor did I buy it in New York). :D

 

Will you share what price you paid for this excursion? I can't recall if you mentioned it...I assume it was privately booked? If so, through Frenchy's?

 

If you didn't snorkel, would this be worth a visit?

 

I KNOW you said what camera you have, and I know one of them is a Canon D10, but what was the other one? I looked for the post but can't find it. I am on a search for a good camera and your pics are just lovely!

 

The other camera, which I love very much is an Olympus Tough. I am actually starting to like it a little better than the Canon. I'm not sure if the Canon is just getting older and not as vivid as it use to be or if the Olympus is really just a better camera. I love all of the settings the Olympus has on it too...especially the Tilt Shift (which I really wish I would have taken more using that setting but always forget it's there). :cool:

 

As for going to LFK if I didn't snorkel...YOU BET!!!

[mitsugirly]

 

NO!!! Call off work!! I want to read more now!!! LOL.. Best review I have read yet.. Can't wait for more!!

 

I actually thought about this (and I think about it all the time but never have called off before), but not because I needed to finish the review, but because I have so much to do. I have 8 more chapters I need to read and 18 reviews for next weeks test PLUS MY BABY BOY GRADUATES HIGH SCHOOL TOMORROW. :eek: Time sure does fly. It seems like he was just a toddler a few years ago. Man I'm getting old. :(

[mitsugirly]

Hmmm, where did I leave off? Oh right, it was starting to rain a little and I was headed out to do some snorkeling.

 

So, here I go.

 

 

 

I have never taken a photo of it raining before while in the water...so I thought this is neat...it'll be my first. I like first. First are good. There were several first at this place and that always make a place worthwhile. I have done "drops" in the water before, but not rain.

 

 

Yep, still raining

 

 

Others had the same idea I did. Copy catters!!!

 

 

 

Awesome self portrait while snorkeling. No those are not my lips at all. Who is this imposter? Remember the unflattering butt plop in to the tube while cave tubing? Well this is another one of those unflattering pictures. It's late, I just got off work and I'm a little delirious. So why not.

 

 

 

The idea behind the self portrait was to have me snorkeling with the rain drops above my head. I don't think it turned out the way I had wanted or expected.

 

Well, it had been about 15 minutes since the rain started and just like that, it stopped and the sun started to come out again. The sun would remain out after that and it would be nothing but perfect weather from here on out.

 

[mitsugirly]

Now I have to say, I did NOT take the "snorkeling tour" with LFK. I did NOT go out to the snorkeling site. But it would be REAL easy to get there on your own by canoe (which you are allowed to do). There were several people out there in the canoes beside the boat that took people out. We just chose not to. I'm not sure why. I do a lot of snorkeling, but I was perfectly content with what all I had seen today (some first) and just being in the beautiful water where I was at. Maybe someone that has actually went out to the snorkel site can comment on here about it. But I did go here with the intentions of just going here for a fun, relaxing, beautiful island day. Not so much as a snorkeling adventure.

 

So with that in mind. I was sitting on the deck and here's where the snorkeling site is. As you can tell, it's not far.

 

 

So, this area that you see toward the bottom of the picture, it's VERY shallow. Like you could walk in it. It's full of sea grass and sand. There were a lot of conch's in there. The area you see above it sticking up out of the water is just some rocks...once again, very shallow. Right beyond that was the boat. When we were in the canoe, I knew that the water there was shallow and couldn't for the life of me figure out how you would get a canoe through it. But, there is a way and people were doing it. I believe there's a "path". There were tons of canoes out there.

 

This is a picture in the same direction, but there's another island directly in front of LFK. I'm not sure if it's owned by them as well. It did have a small dock area to it and it's back upped to this "lagoon" area that we all swam in. You know, the beautiful paradise aqua blue water?

 

 

This is from sitting on the same deck and looking toward the first beach area that we were at. Now it's NOT the beach you see in the pictures. That's another area that was around the corner from the beach area we went to. The area we were in during the beginning of swimming was to the left around the corner. You see the black wire chairs sticking up out of the water? Those were the chairs that were directly in front of the beach when we were standing on it.

 

 

The area of the mangroves I was snorkeling at from the first beach.

 

 

See the canoe out there? Maybe it's headed toward the snorkeling site.

 

 

A palapa in the main area and the two story deck to the right.

 

[medicalma'am]

We were told not to try to swim directly out there because of the small coral reef. The snorkelers were taken around the other island, around to the right, and out there. There may be a way for the canoes to get out there without damaging the coral.

 

It appears they are doing quite a bit of construction since we were there in January.

[mitsugirly]

There were some wired chairs in the water in this area too. Remember the crab from the other side that Sakari picked up as a friend? Well she would soon discover that they were attached to these chairs everywhere. She had several "new" friends and was collecting them all.

 

 

As she collected these crabs (and snails), she started putting them on the table on the palapa out in the water. Daddy was sitting out here on it. She would line them all up and go to get more. What she didn't realize is that they were racing the minute she walked away to get off the table and back in to the water. It was like watching a frog race. Daddy was laughing and then would get the "straight serious" face when she would come back with more and have this puzzled look on her face as to where they were all going. You know he was accused of letting them all go. "Be free my little friends, run while you can, run as fast as you can."

 

Daddy completely not paying attention to his crab watching duties.

 

 

I got the pleasure of letting her put a crab and a snail on my leg and crawl around as she screamed with excitement. I don't know how I was elected for this experiment.

 

 

 

 

 

Sakari decided that daddy was no longer a very good babysitter of the crabs and stopped giving them to him at the palapa table. So, he decided to come down the the chairs with her.

 

 

 

At this point, I decided that all of this crab crawling on my legs required another drink. The hubby went and got me a "Monkey LaLa". Now everyone on these boards talk about this LaLa drink like it is heaven and you can't get enough. So, I was going to try it.

 

 

Hmm, ok. It was good, but not as good as a Dirty Monkey. Sorry guys. When the hubby brought it back to me, he informed me that the people at the bar told him "You're lucky because this is the last one of the day." Um ok, I'm not sure if that meant that whatever is in this, they were all out or what. Either way, I was ok with it. I tried it and then decided to go back to the Miami Vice I had become addicted to during this cruise. Yea, it was much better to me.

 

Now about the drinks. Your admission comes with 2 "tickets" and you are allowed 2 drinks with those tickets. It's 2 tickets per person. So, we had 3 people=6 tickets. Which means we ended up with 6 drinks and just bought the daughter a drink instead. hehe

[mitsugirly]

We were told not to try to swim directly out there because of the small coral reef. The snorkelers were taken around the other island' date=' around to the right, and out there. There may be a way for the canoes to get out there without damaging the coral.

 

It appears they are doing quite a bit of construction since we were there in January. [/size']

 

Maybe that's why there are canoes in that above picture over by the first beach we were at. They probably went around the island. We did see some canoes head out of the "lagoon" type area and to the right when we were canoeing. That makes sense now.