Cruising with a Toddler. Our Photo Intense Trip Recap of the 9-7-13 Carnival Dream

[TeknikDC2]

 

We made our way thru the park back to the Wizarding World. The park was noticibly busier then it was the last couple of days. I'm guessing that in addition to the Rock the Universe crowds that were here for the weekend, it being a Saturday also brought many people to the parks.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

After our brisk walk the Suess Landing and the Lost Continant we arrived back in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We went strait to the Hogs Head to get our Butterbeer and we were sad to have to ask for a normal cup of it instead of refilling our mugs. It was weird drinking it from the normal cups as without the handles of the mugs our hands got cold holding the delicious drink. We sat right outside the Hogs Head as we enjoyed the drink and people watched.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

With time still to spare we figured we could probably squeeze in one ride. I orignally thought about heading to Spiderman and riding that but to save the time walking we decided to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey instead. The wait for the Forbidden Journey was posted at 45 minutes but we would once again use Single Rider with Child Swap. Although Single Rider was much quicker this would still be the longest wait we had for the ride this whole trip. The line for the lockers extended out of Hogwarts but we knew of the secret doors to single rider line. When you see a walkway into the cliffs turn down that walkway and at the end you will find some doors that will put you in the single rider line.

 

 

We waited the longest we had in the Griffendor Common Room before finally being sent over to the Child swap line. Kiera got sent ahead to the Child Swap Room and while I was waiting to board I noticed they stopped the line and many ride vehicles were being sent thru empty. I really thought this was strange as I didn't know why they would be cycling the ride empty. After a few minutes of this though a ride vehicle came forward with a man sitting on the bench with his head between his legs looking very sick. They stopped the ride completly almost right in front of us as about 8 employees ran over to the man. It was obvious that he got very sick on the ride and likely lost his lunch. The Team Members helped get him off of the bench as his family falled him and other employees into a room just off the load area. The bench he was on was then given a red light which I believe pulls it off the ride circuit for cleaning and then they finally started loading the empty benches again.

 

Once I was on the ride I have to admit that this was probably one of the best rides I had on it this trip. The projetors were smooth and bright again, the new movements of the bench felt great, and best of all the Scene lighting seemed to be perfect as it wasn't too dark or bright. The ride was great although with the temporary halt the ride had I was worried if we would still be on our tight time schedule. I got off and then Kiera took her spin on the ride which went flawlessly for her too.

 

While Kiera was in the Child Swap room with Daniel a Team Member came by and gave him a certificate. This certficate is pretty cool and well done and basically its a pass for Daniel that when he is finally tall enough to ride the Forbidden Journey it can be used for Priority access for himself and 5 others to go to the front of the line. This was the first we had seen something like this and we thought it was really cool. He also got one for E.T. yesterday but that one isn't as detailed as the Harry Potter one is. I doubt we will ever use the certifcate but it makes for a cool souviner.

 

[TeknikDC2]

The ride did end up taking longer then we planned so after grabbing another Butterbeer to share we made a quick walk thru Islands of Adventure back towards the parking garage. We were quickly nearing our time limit we gave ourselves and in Citywalk we were fighting thru the crowds that were coming to the parks for the day. We soon made it to the garage and got to the car right at 12:30. We were still on schedule.

 

 

The drive from Universal to Cape Canaveral is about 45 minutes. Which was good as I remembered it being an hour. When driving on the Beachway out to Cape Canaveral don't forget your quarters. There are 4 tolls that you will pass thru to get to the port. We spent I believe $4.25 in tolls to get out there so its not a bad idea to just get a roll of quarters. The drive itself was pretty uneventful. Daniel fell asleep for most of the drive. For the first time ever though we hit rain while driving out to the port. We hoped that this rain would let up by the time we sailed away as the rain is never fun on a cruise ship.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We soon came up over a bridge and there was the port in the distance. We could see the Disney Fantasy and our ship the Carnival Dream. This would be our 3rd time sailing out of Port Canaveral so we were suprised to see the Dream docked at one of the West docks instead of the East Dock like it had been on our past 2 visits. I don't know why this is for sure but I imagine it has to do with the Disney Fantasy being larger then the other Disney ships that theres not enough room for it and the Dream to be so close on the east side.

 

We made a quick stop to top off the fuel in the rental car and then we made our way to the return location. Cape Canaveral just recently started serving Alamo Rental car so the drop off location is at there parent location of Enterprise. When we pulled in they were already loading up a bus to head to the Cruise Terminals. Some employees were kind enough to haul all of our stuff over to the bus while I finished checking the car back in. We continue to become great fans of Alamo and it still got better as since we had a rental booked with them for after our cruise we were able to leave the Car Seat at there location in storage until we returned from our cruise. Something that was awesome as that was one less thing we would have to haul onto the ship. They held the bus for us and as soon as we got on we were on our way to the port. We were the only ones on the bus heading to the Dream though. Everyone else was going to Disney.

 

 

It was so odd getting dropped off at the West Dock instead of the East. It was like cruising out of a new location. We were dropped off in basically a large parking lot where the porters were standing around waiting for passingers. We left a tip for our driver and then a tip for the porter who helped us with our bags and then we started our walk to the terminal. We were finally back. There above us was our home for the next week. We had returned to the Carnival Dream.

 

 

It was just after 2pm when we arrived at the Cruise terminal making this the latest that we had ever arrived to one of cruises. But it really worked to our advantage. We got to have some additional fun in the park but best of all we missed the majority of the crowds. Check in was extremely easy as there was no wait what so ever. We walked strait thru security and there was no wait ether to check in and get our sail and sign cards. Once again for all of the photos there was no wait ether. We loved how quick it was as we probably spent more time walking to the gangway after the photos then it took us to check in. I know alot of people like being at the ship as early as possible but we really liked getting there later and not having any lines.

 

We walked off that Gangway and entered the Dream Atrium. Its official we had returned. And since this was a ship that we had sailed on before (the most recent infact) then it felt like we had never left. We were getting hungry but one of the other advantages to arriving later was that we were able to go strait to our room as it was already ready for us. When I originally booked this cruise I booked us an Inside Cabin on Mid Ship on Deck 7. But when Carnival ran there More=Marrier rate I was able to upgrade us to a Deluxe Oceanview Cabin on Deck 1 for no additional cost. We have never had an Oceanview Cabin before so I was really excited for it. I also didn't tell Kiera about the change. I hoped to surprise her with it once we were on the ship. Unfortunatly 2 days before we left she found out though as she found the boarding pass and noticed our room was on deck 1 and not 7 like she thought. Although my surprise was spoiled she was pretty excited about the change I made too.

 

So after boarding the ship we went strait to our room so that we could drop off our Carry on Items and the Stroller before going up to Lido to eat. I mentioned the cabin was on Deck 1. It was room 1360 and was on the Port Side. It was considered a Mid Ship Cabin but it was still further to the back. Upon opening the door we instantly noticed how much larger this Deluxe Oceanview Room was then the Interior rooms we've had in the past. It even felt larger then the Balcony room we had on the Pride. Perhaps thats where the Deluxe part comes in as in additional to the extra closet and storage space it had it also has and extra wash room with a sink and bathtub which would work our great with having a Toddler.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Daniel absolutly loved the Window in our Cabin and we loved the natural light. The area around the window was large enough to sit in and Daniel really loved looking out and seeing what was going on. Especially since they were loading up the ship right now with supplies and baggage and Daniel loves Tractors and Trucks. He was in heaven watching them go back and forth. Our Cabin Steward even had an extra surprise for us as on the wall was a "Happy Birthday" banner. I didn't request this or anything. I'm guessing that upon seeing that Daniel and Kieras birthdays were 10 days after the cruise that this vacation was in part for them. It was such a great touch that wasn't asked for.

 

 

All of our Embarkation paper stuff was on the counter. With Carnivals newer VFIP club we recieved our Gold Level pins as well as 2 free Drink Coupons to be used in the Main Dinning Room for Breakfast, Brunch, or Lunch. We weren't in the room long but our Room Steward was very quick to come and introduce himself to us and ask any special requests we had. We didn't have anything special we needed but the Steward was great and was always ahead of us. I heard that you have to request to have your ice filled now. But he always had it stocked full for us to keep Daniels Milk chilled. Again something we didn't ask that he just did. All he asked of us was to let him know when we would be leaving the cabin later in the evening so that he could convert the Sofa into a bed for Daniel.

 

We were still hungry but upon looking over the Fun Times we noticed that they were doing Tours of the Spa and that they are only done before we set Sail. Kiera is a Master Estaticion by profession and actually teaches how to do Spa type stuff. So she was really interested in seeing the ships spa facilities and what they offer. Since we were running out of time we decided to go do the Spa tour first. The spa was pretty packed at the time with many people taking tours. We thought that maybe everything would be open and it would be a self tour type thing. But be warned. Its a guided tour and it took us over 40 minutes to complete it. It was neat seeing some of the different rooms though and whats offered and Kiera liked learning more about what they do at sea to teach her students.

 

 

After the tour we walked around the upper decks of the ship and took Daniel over to see the Disney Fantasy. He knew right away seeing the Mickey face that it was a Disney ship and was really excited to see it. Someday we will take him on a Disney cruise but the price is really gonna need to drop a bunch before we do that lol. We walked around the aft of the ship and in the distance you could see the Nasa Facilities.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Finally we decided to head back down to Lido and grab some lunch. But we were barely too late. The call was made to start getting ready for the Muster drill and so all the Buffet areas were closed down. We literally missed it by about 60 seconds. So since we couldn't get any food at this time we headed strait down to our Muster station for the Muster Drill. We would have to wait and eat after Muster was over.

 

Our Muster station was E3 and was located in the Scarlett Dinning Room on Deck 3. As we walked into the dinning room there was a crew member there from Camp Carnival putting the Muster Bracelets on Children under 12. This was something Daniel did not like at all. He fought her the whole time she tried putting it on but she finally got it. As we went and sat down he was trying to pull the braclet off him. Not long after the drill had started he was successful and managed to get the braclet off. The Camp Carnival Lady came by again though and waved her down for another bracelet. We asked if she could put it on his ankle instead as he would do better with it there but she said it has to go on there wrist and nowhere else. We held Daniel down again as he once again fought her but this time she was able to get it on tighter and it wouldn't be able to come off. He was not happy about the braclet and for the rest of the night and speradicly thruout the cruise he would try to pull it off.

 

 

Once Muster was done we were starving. The buffets would reopen so back up to Deck 10 we went. For those that have read our past reviews may remember that we avoid the Elevators as much as possible and try to only use the stairs. This did not change with a Toddler in tow. It was a lot of work. Especially with our room on Deck 1 and having to carry a toddler up the stairs with us. But we did it. We used the stairs this whole trip.

 

 

 

 

Alright thats it for today. Yay we are finally on the ship and in my next update we set sail. I should have it posted soon so stay tuned. Thanks again for all the support. Please feel free to comment or ask any questions as i'd be happy to answer them. Thanks again everyone. Until Next time.

 

 

 

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[poptart]

still here and enjoying your vacation and cruise. Daniel is adorable!

[wrigley80]

I'm still loving your review. I can't believe you waited that long to get on the ship....we're always at the port by 10:00 am at the latest. I would have been freaking out that we were gonna miss it

[Mrs.C05]

What is with toddlers not wanting the muster station bracelet on?? The moment the lady started putting Ethan's on, he started to cry. She asked how old he was, and then put it on his ankle, due to him being 18months. Weird how she told you the ankles weren't allowed. I would think it is fleet wide, but guess not. Enjoying you review!!

 

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[josefina022]

Loving your review! We cruised with our oldest when she was 17 months & then this year when she was almost 3.5 & our baby was almost 1. We stayed in an interior & now I'm thinking aout maybe upgrading on our next one because it was so crammed. Can't wait to read the rest, thanks for taking the time to write it!

[Mrs.C05]

I see the photo of the bathroom tub, but then there is a picture a of a stand up shower....I'm confused....

 

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[TeknikDC2]

I'm still loving your review. I can't believe you waited that long to get on the ship....we're always at the port by 10:00 am at the latest. I would have been freaking out that we were gonna miss it

 

haha yeah this was the latest we've ever arrived but I was never worried. I believe our boarding pass said check-in was between 12:30 and 3 so as long as we were there by then I wasn't concerned. Like I mentioned it was actually kinda nice to miss all of the crowds and basically walk on.

 

What is with toddlers not wanting the muster station bracelet on?? The moment the lady started putting Ethan's on, he started to cry. She asked how old he was, and then put it on his ankle, due to him being 18months. Weird how she told you the ankles weren't allowed. I would think it is fleet wide, but guess not. Enjoying you review!!

 

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Forums mobile app

 

Thats interesting. Yeah she said they had to have it on the wrist as if there was an emergincy they would look at the wrist for there muster zone. He would have done better with it on his ankle. Luckly he got use to it by the end of the night.

 

Loving your review! We cruised with our oldest when she was 17 months & then this year when she was almost 3.5 & our baby was almost 1. We stayed in an interior & now I'm thinking aout maybe upgrading on our next one because it was so crammed. Can't wait to read the rest, thanks for taking the time to write it!

 

I have to admit it will be pretty difficult for us to go back to an inside cabin after having the Oceanview. Not just for the larger cabin but Natural lighting made such a difference. Plus we loved to look out and watch the waves crash below us.

 

I see the photo of the bathroom tub, but then there is a picture a of a stand up shower....I'm confused....

 

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Forums mobile app

 

Our cabin was a Deluxe Ocean View so it had 2 Bathroom type areas. It had your normal Stand up Shower with the Toilet and Sink in one restroom. Then in the 2nd wash room there was just a tub (that could be used as a shower too) and a sink. No Toilet in that one. This second washroom worked great for Daniel as he hate showers but loves tubs. It was much easier cleaning him in a tub after a day on a sandy beach too then it would have been in a shower.

[Mrs.C05]

Our cabin was a Deluxe Ocean View so it had 2 Bathroom type areas. It had your normal Stand up Shower with the Toilet and Sink in one restroom. Then in the 2nd wash room there was just a tub (that could be used as a shower too) and a sink. No Toilet in that one. This second washroom worked great for Daniel as he hate showers but loves tubs. It was much easier cleaning him in a tub after a day on a sandy beach too then it would have been in a shower.

 

Oh wow, that's awesome!!! I'll have to go on Carnival's website to see the layout of that type of room. I'm curious to try one now, lol!

I started bathing Ethan in the shower a week or so before our cruise, since I knew that it was the only option for our cruise in September so he would get used to it. He's still getting used to it but he likes to help wash himself and making the water splash on his hand, so we are getting closer.

[MnMomW3Boys]

Loving your review we are leaving in a week and also have a Deluxe Oceanview Room! I am anxious to hear if you liked the location of your room and how the noise etc was. We are a family of 5 so the extra space and washroom was an extra incentive to sail on Carnival, more room without having to get two cabins!

[micbooth]

Love your review! My kids and grandkids were on the same cruise and were in 1354 and 1356, almost your neighbors. They had a great cruise. I am leaving in two weeks on the same itinerary.

Thanks for your review!

Mick

[jenseib]

I am loving your review. You write them how I like them, lots of details and pictures!!!

I have only sailed NCL many years ago and now 3 times on Disney, but looking at possibly trying out Carnival in the next year.

What is the muster bracelet for? I have never heard of that and it's not something that Disney does.

They do have the split bathrooms though and I love that. But they don't have the 2nd shower, thats kind of neat.

 

We went to Universal in March of 2012 and it's interesting to hear all the new things and changes since we have been there.

 

My favorite all time ride EVER is the back to the future ride too. That was one great ride. But we were happy with the Simpsons and rode it once a day while we were there. It was a lot of fun.

I was really impressed with Spiderman too. We aren't big coaster fans though, so we didn't do any of the wild things.

 

I will be following along all your fun.

[TeknikDC2]

Oh wow, that's awesome!!! I'll have to go on Carnival's website to see the layout of that type of room. I'm curious to try one now, lol!

I started bathing Ethan in the shower a week or so before our cruise, since I knew that it was the only option for our cruise in September so he would get used to it. He's still getting used to it but he likes to help wash himself and making the water splash on his hand, so we are getting closer.

 

Yeah we really liked the room. It really is perfect for those traveling with young children. I don't know if each ship has rooms like this or if its only a Dream Class thing though.

 

Loving your review we are leaving in a week and also have a Deluxe Oceanview Room! I am anxious to hear if you liked the location of your room and how the noise etc was. We are a family of 5 so the extra space and washroom was an extra incentive to sail on Carnival, more room without having to get two cabins!

 

Overall we were very satisfied with our room. The location was fine as we didn't feel any sort of rocking. It was also quite and we never heard any noise below us. Really the only drawback to the room was it being on Deck 1. And like I mentioned we only use stairs on the ship so going from Deck 1 to Deck 10 many times a day got really tiring. We would do it again in a heartbeat though.

 

Love your review! My kids and grandkids were on the same cruise and were in 1354 and 1356, almost your neighbors. They had a great cruise. I am leaving in two weeks on the same itinerary.

Thanks for your review!

Mick

 

Wow what a small world. Yeah they practically were our neighbors. Only like 1 cabin between us.

 

I am loving your review. You write them how I like them, lots of details and pictures!!!

I have only sailed NCL many years ago and now 3 times on Disney, but looking at possibly trying out Carnival in the next year.

What is the muster bracelet for? I have never heard of that and it's not something that Disney does.

They do have the split bathrooms though and I love that. But they don't have the 2nd shower, thats kind of neat.

 

We went to Universal in March of 2012 and it's interesting to hear all the new things and changes since we have been there.

 

My favorite all time ride EVER is the back to the future ride too. That was one great ride. But we were happy with the Simpsons and rode it once a day while we were there. It was a lot of fun.

I was really impressed with Spiderman too. We aren't big coaster fans though, so we didn't do any of the wild things.

 

I will be following along all your fun.

 

Thank you. Carnival requires any children under 12 to wear the Muster Bracelets. Its mainly for if you child is in Camp Carnival in the event of an emergency. They would know which muster station the child should be at and can meet back up with there parents there. Although only children over 2 can go to Camp Carnival there were still times in the morning where parents could drop children under 2 off for a fee. I believe children under 2 can be watched at night for a fee too. So its just to cover all bases in the event of an emergency. We were in St. Thomas with the Disney Fantasy and noticed most the kids at the beach didn't have a bracelet so I thought that was strange too lol.

 

And yes the Universal expansions are crazy. Each year thru pretty much the end of the decade there is a major attraction planned. I think they are investing something like 1.5 billion into the parks over the next 5 years. Its an exciting time to be a Theme Park fan. Especially for those of us who liked Universal even before the Boy Wizard came to town. Investing Billions into actual attractions and guest experiences sure beats out Disney's idea of investing Billion's into a Guest Tracking program and resting on nestolga in my opinion.

 

 

 

Thanks again everyone. I hope to have the next update done some time today. Stay tuned.

[rokinrobin105]

Love the review I am doing the same itinerary in 2 weeks.

[yoursurfer]

I have been reading your review and love it!!!! I just want to take a minute and applaud you and your wife for exposing your son to many different things, including things he may be afraid of. I have 3 children 23,19,and13. We had our kids when we were very young and like you drug them with us everywhere. I can't tell you how many friends NEVER leave their home with their children for fear they may miss a nap, or be uncomfortable, or off their schedule , blah, blah, blah!!!! They are raisin kids that are terrified of the world around them and absolutely CANNOT adapt to any change. My husband is retired from the Army and we moved 13 times in around 20 years. We took our kids to over 20 countries!!! My kids are well adjusted and adventurous!!! I think your son will be the same! Kudos

[Kel040]

Really enjoying your review !! it is quite a commitment once you start one of the these, thats for sure !!

 

Thanks for taking the time to put this together and sharing your vacation with everyone ...

 

Looking forward to the rest... :D

[TeknikDC2]

I have been reading your review and love it!!!! I just want to take a minute and applaud you and your wife for exposing your son to many different things, including things he may be afraid of. I have 3 children 23,19,and13. We had our kids when we were very young and like you drug them with us everywhere. I can't tell you how many friends NEVER leave their home with their children for fear they may miss a nap, or be uncomfortable, or off their schedule , blah, blah, blah!!!! They are raisin kids that are terrified of the world around them and absolutely CANNOT adapt to any change. My husband is retired from the Army and we moved 13 times in around 20 years. We took our kids to over 20 countries!!! My kids are well adjusted and adventurous!!! I think your son will be the same! Kudos

 

Thank you. Yes we enjoy taking him out and letting him experiance the world. So many people told us that we were crazy for taking him on a cruise and couldn't believe we would do such a thing with a young child. The truth of it is though that he had a great time. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed the cruise more then Universal. We take family vacations. And it wouldn't be a family vacation if we left a member of our family home. He did so great on the cruise that i'm sure he will be joining us again for the next one.

 

Really enjoying your review !! it is quite a commitment once you start one of the these, thats for sure !!

 

Thanks for taking the time to put this together and sharing your vacation with everyone ...

 

Looking forward to the rest... :D

 

Thank you. Yes it is a big commitment to finish these reviews once they've been started. It always saddens me when I find a good review and then they stop in the middle and it never gets finished. I always make sure mine get done. No matter how long that might take lol. My Disneyland one from Last year took nearly 7 months to complete infact. However having such a great audiance here on Cruisecritic it does give me the desire to kick out these recaps much quicker then I did with that one.

[TeknikDC2]

Day 4, Part 2: Setting Sail

 

By the time we got up to the Lido deck we were starving and ready to eat. Unfortunatly the regular buffet options did not reopen as we had hoped they would. So we would have to resort to the food options that are open pretty much all afternoon. Kiera decided to get Daniel a Sandwich and Wrap for her while I went to the Grill to get a Hamburger and also some Pizza. I had heard they changed the Pizza to a thin crust style and one of my co-workers just raved about how good the new pizza was. Honestly I wasn't a big fan though. I missed the old pizza as I liked it much more. The Cheeseburger was good though as were the sandwich items that Kiera got.

 

Since we had started to eat so much later in the day then we had on previous cruises we missed part of the sail away. I've always been one who enjoys to watch the ship pull away from the dock and set sail from any location. And even though i'd seen the sail away out of Cape Canaveral Twice already I was still kinda sad that we missed the bulk of it today. Once we finished with our lunch we hurried outside though and up to Deck 12 to watch what was left. We pretty much missed the whole sailing out of the Channel and were already past Coco beach and into the open ocean by the time we got out there.

 

 

Still we enjoyed seeing all the small boats still passing us by and just people watching in General. Daniel climbed up into one of the lounge chairs and already seemed to know what cruising was all about as he sat and just relaxed. As the ship got further and further from shore we walked around the deck a bit more. One of the things we really worried about with bringing a Toddler on a cruise was how he would do on the outside deck. This was the only thing we were afraid of as we didn't want him falling overboard or trying to climb railing or anything. Thankfully Daniels common sense kicked in and he was perfectly fine. He stayed a few feet back from all railing and never got close to the edge. We worried for nothing and he did fine the entire cruise.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

After grabbing some Ice cream we made our way back down to our Cabin so that we could unpack. When on a week long cruise we are not ones who will live out of our Suitcases like so many are. We will completly unpack and utilize pretty much all of the Closet and Drawer space for all of our clothes and other things. We would settle in for the week and make it our home. There really wasn't any kids shows on the TV so to keep Daniel occupied while we unpacked I put a movie on for him on the Laptop and got out all his toys to play with. He also loved sitting up in the window area to play and watch the ocean go by.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We spent much of the afternoon getting unpacked but eventually we finished and decided to leave the cabin for the evening. We made a call to our room steward to let him know that we would be gone so that he could come make the couch into a bed for Daniel and then we walked up to Deck 5. I was saddened to hear that there is no longer a Sushi Bar on the Dream and I think all the other Carnival Ships. I enjoyed being able to grab a small treat before Dinner and I never did see Sushi anywhere else on the ship. The Sushi Bar has instead been replaced by the Taist Bar. The Taist Bar on the Dream is located in the Oceans Plaza on Deck 5. The Taist Bar samples food featured in some of the Restaurants onboard as well as others across the Carnival Fleet. Tonight I believe it featured food from the Blue Iguana. I don't recall exactly what it was but it was but I remember it being pretty good.

 

 

We had alot of time to kill before dinner so we went out and got reaquanted with the layout of the ship. Also on Deck 5 is the Casino and since it is a smoking area of the ship it was an area we tried to avoid at all costs as we didn't want to expose Daniel to the smoke and smell. Its good that the Dream Class ships have the Lanai as we were able to avoid the Casino by walking out to the Lanai to pass it by. The Lanai in general is a feature we enjoy of the ship and love how it goes around the entire ship. We also love the Hot Tub features on the deck and its usually much more quite then the Lido Deck. We reentered the ship at the Atrium and took a look at the photo stuff.