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

[TeknikDC2]

 

While we were walking along the docks the rain once again picked up and became a downpoar again. Theres some covering back to the ships but not much so we were almost running between each covered area. Still we waited in the rain and got us a photo with the Bahamas sign before heading back to the ship. They had two sets of ramps open to get back on the ship so there was basically no wait to get back on. There was however a wait to use the elevators. One of the advantages to having our cabin on deck 1 was a short walk back to the room. With the long wait for the elevators we decided to just carry Daniels Stroller up the stairs since we were only going up 1 deck. I'm sure this ended up being quicker anyways.

 

 

We would now be back on the ship for the rest of the day. We were hungry but we decided while in the Cabin to get Daniel bathed and cleaned up now instead of later. Even though he was washed off at the beach he still had sand all over him. This was when we really loved having the tub as it was easy to get him cleaned up.

 

 

 

 

 

Alright thats all for today. Thanks again for taking the time to read my review. I do appreciate it so much. Please ask any questions you might have or leave any comments. You guys rock. Thanks so much.

 

 

 

 

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[oncruisecontrol]

Thanks for all of the great photos of Nassau. I have been there many times, and while it does not stand out for anything spectacular (such as rain forest or spectacular beaches), it is one of my favorite ports with regard to the ease with which I can get off of the ship and navigate the streets on foot; peruse the shops, restaurants, and bars; and have a "do-it-yourself" day. Nassau is often the last port on some of the routes we've cruised, and it is nice to have a familiar port as our last stop after having "blown it out" on the other islands. Thanks for posting. Really enjoying your review.

[rubygigi]

Thanks for the great review! I have 2 boys (2 and 8 months) and we'll be on the Liberty in January at the same ports. That stateroom looks great for a family! We were just on the Glory last week and they put the muster bracelets on the boys' ankles. On our cruise before that my son flipped out about it being on his wrist too. We ended up taking it off anyway since he was too young for CC so he'd always be with us. This time he was fine with it on his ankle and called it his "sticker." Also, you might like the anytime dining option for the future. That's what we do and it works out great for the kids. Can't wait to read the rest! :)

 

Side note for those who mentioned their little ones not liking the showers: we have an inflatable duck tub that we bring along on all of our vacations and it works out great for bath time!

[jenseib]

Another great update. I have been to Nassau 3 times and we try different things each time, but it is not that great of a port at all.

 

I do have another question. Did you Daniel a passport or did he sail on his birth certificate? I ask because my daughter still sails on her BC and so far we have had everything go smoothly and I just wanted to see how smoothly it goes with Carnival.

[Mrs.C05]

I loved your review of your time in Nassau. Not many like Nassau, but like Oncruisecontrol, it is one of my favorites because of the ease of it. I know my way around pretty good and feel somewhat safe there (as long as it is daylight). Looking forward to more!

 

Daniel is so cute! Reminds me of our son Ethan!

[boaterette]

I think those are the best pictures I have seen of the area around Nassua. Thank you. I am enjoying your review. I am looking forward to trying the taste bar on the ship.

[AnAngelsMom]

Thank you for the review, it is very easy to follow and I love all of the pictures. You have a beautiful family. We have one grown son in college and a teenage son and have always taken them with us on vacation. I could never leave them while we enjoy ourselves. They will be on the Dream with us next year too.

 

Thank you again for your review! Reading the reviews always help in planning our next adventure.

[wrigley80]

 

I love these pictures....he was having fun and those are memories you will always remember

[wrigley80]

That must be a Nassau thing.....the heavy downpours of rain. When we were in Nassau last year in December it rained...and rained...and rained. They received 3 inches of rain in 6 hours...needless to say we didn't get off the ship that day :p

[JaniceB]

Love the pictures of your son on the beach, priceless!

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Hi OP, I think my question may have gotten missed. Is T-3D still at US? Or did Transformers get stuck there instead?

[TrqoisWtrs]

That pic is awesome. His face says it all. :)

 

[jenseib]

Hi OP, I think my question may have gotten missed. Is T-3D still at US? Or did Transformers get stuck there instead?

 

I am pretty sure Transformers is in a different spot from what I remember of the layout of the park. I am pretty sure T-3D is still there.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I am pretty sure Transformers is in a different spot from what I remember of the layout of the park. I am pretty sure T-3D is still there.

 

Sounds good. Now if only I could get one base US day (NO IOA! No Harry Potter for us) for less than $90 a day... at this point, adding a 2nd day at Sea World for $10 is a much better deal...

[TeknikDC2]

Thank you for all the great replies everyone. I really appreciate your support.

 

Thanks for all of the great photos of Nassau. I have been there many times, and while it does not stand out for anything spectacular (such as rain forest or spectacular beaches), it is one of my favorite ports with regard to the ease with which I can get off of the ship and navigate the streets on foot; peruse the shops, restaurants, and bars; and have a "do-it-yourself" day. Nassau is often the last port on some of the routes we've cruised, and it is nice to have a familiar port as our last stop after having "blown it out" on the other islands. Thanks for posting. Really enjoying your review.

 

I guess that makes sense. Now that I think about it compared to other ports everything is right there in Nassau and its pretty easy to get around.

 

Thanks for the great review! I have 2 boys (2 and 8 months) and we'll be on the Liberty in January at the same ports. That stateroom looks great for a family! We were just on the Glory last week and they put the muster bracelets on the boys' ankles. On our cruise before that my son flipped out about it being on his wrist too. We ended up taking it off anyway since he was too young for CC so he'd always be with us. This time he was fine with it on his ankle and called it his "sticker." Also, you might like the anytime dining option for the future. That's what we do and it works out great for the kids. Can't wait to read the rest! :)

 

Side note for those who mentioned their little ones not liking the showers: we have an inflatable duck tub that we bring along on all of our vacations and it works out great for bath time!

 

Yeah thats way strange then why we were told it was required to be on his wrist. He would have been much happier with it on his ankle but oh well. At least he eventually got use to it.

 

Another great update. I have been to Nassau 3 times and we try different things each time, but it is not that great of a port at all.

 

I do have another question. Did you Daniel a passport or did he sail on his birth certificate? I ask because my daughter still sails on her BC and so far we have had everything go smoothly and I just wanted to see how smoothly it goes with Carnival.

 

We got him a Passport Card. Check in was perfectly smooth and we had no issues at all. We've been sailing with our Passport Cards since our 2nd cruise and have never had any problems with them.

 

Love the pictures of your son on the beach, priceless!

 

Thanks. Yeah the pictures turned out to be some of our favorites of the trip.

 

Hi OP, I think my question may have gotten missed. Is T-3D still at US? Or did Transformers get stuck there instead?

 

Sorry I missed it. Yes Terminator 2: 3D is still in the park. It was however removed from the Hollywood park last Winter as its being turned into the Despicable Me ride over there. I've never actually never done the Orlando version (only Hollywood) but insiders say that the Orlando version is going to recieve some upgrades and updates soon. They don't expect it to be going anywhere.

 

Transformers is built in the former location of Soundstage 44 which use to house the Murder She Wrote and Hercules/Xena attractions but has been closed for many years. Its like right across from the Mels Dinner and just down the road from Shrek 4d.

 

Sounds good. Now if only I could get one base US day (NO IOA! No Harry Potter for us) for less than $90 a day... at this point, adding a 2nd day at Sea World for $10 is a much better deal...

 

Yeah 1 day tickets are very expensive and nowhere seems to discount them. Maybe if you go to a time share presentation they would lol.

[kjlermer]

Not sure if you have seen this but was on pinterest tonight and when I saw this I thought of your review.

 

http://www.designdazzle.com/2011/07/summer-camp-harry-potter-activities-wizard-for-a-day/

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[toddsmom]

Here you guys go...:)

 

Butterbeer

2 liter cream soda

2 tablespoons Butter extract

2 teaspoons rum extract

*drop the extracts into the 2 liter bottle, put on cap and slowly rotate until combined.

Cream topping

1 7oz container of marshmallow creme

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon rum extract

*add all items together in an electric mixer and combine until smooth.

Pour the butterbeer into a glass, drizzle with the cream topping, and enjoy!

[JaniceB]

I saw something on the news last night about a ride stuck at Universal, thought of you when I saw it.

[cantwait2cruise]

Subscribing, we are going on the Dream in November!

[hamgela]

I'm enjoying your review. DH & I took the kids on the dream last fall and we had a great time. I love that ship!

[hamgela]

I saw something on the news last night about a ride stuck at Universal, thought of you when I saw it.

 

Yup. It was the Rocket. That ride has been down almost every time we've gone to universal (we live nearby and used to have annual passes).

[TeknikDC2]

Thanks for the continued comments everyone. I do appreciate them. I also appologize for not getting another update sooner. We are having Daniels Birthday party tomorrow so all free time has been devoted to getting ready for that. I hope to have another one done Saturday evening so I guess we will see. Thanks for being patient until then.

 

Not sure if you have seen this but was on pinterest tonight and when I saw this I thought of your review.

 

http://www.designdazzle.com/2011/07/summer-camp-harry-potter-activities-wizard-for-a-day/

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

Thank you. I have tried some of the online butterbeer recipes but still haven't found one that taists exactly like the real thing. Although I have found using a more premium brand of cream soda like IBC gets closer then the cheaper ones like A&W.

 

We also prefer the Frozen more then the Regular butterbeer and in all my searches online I still haven't found a recipe to try making the frozen version. Especially one that isn't carbonated like the actual drink.

 

I saw something on the news last night about a ride stuck at Universal, thought of you when I saw it.

 

Yes that seemed to pick up national attention quickly. The Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit coaster got stuck at the top of the lift hill last night leaving those in the train stuck for almost an hour. Whatever the issue was its already been fixed and the ride opened up today shortly after park opening.

 

Still it continues to show how plagued with problems this ride is. Its original opening was delayed 4 months do to issues, it had stress fractures on its supports less then a year after opening, the trains are in very rough shape and can make for a bad and rough ride. To solve the rough train issues the trains are completely being rebuilt. But that lead to new problems. The new trains are heavier then the old ones so I believe twice in the last 3 months now a newer heavier train has played bumper cars with an older one during e-stops in the break runs (just lite taps nothing hard). And now this.

 

Although its a good coaster with unique features and something I do consider a do not miss in the park, sometimes I think it might be best for Comcast to just cut there losses and close the ride down and disassemble it for good. How much bad plublicity for one ride can one ride make for your parks.

[TeknikDC2]

Day 5, Part 2: Sail Away from Nassau & Elegant Night

 

Once Daniel was all cleaned up we were about 30 minutes away from the sail away. But just like when we left Port Canaveral we were starving so food took priority. Today we decided to eat at the Pasta Bar located on Deck 11 above the Lido buffet area. We found last time we sailed on the Dream that the Pasta bar stays fairly empty on days the that the ship is in Port so we figured today would be a great day for a pasta lunch. And we were right the place was empty. We had no wait. After placing our order and fearing i'd miss the sail away I ran outside quickly to snap some photos of Nassau from the ship before leaving.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

The Pasta Bar works kinda like a Restaurant. You go in and a Hostess will take you to a table and give you a order sheet to fill out. On this sheet you choose what type of Pasta you want as well as your sauce, toppings, and sides. After you finish filling out the paper you then take it over to the cooks and they will bring it out to your table once its done. Its one of those dinning aspects that I love about the Dream and would miss when sailing any other ships. I got a fettichini Alfrado with Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp as well as a side Ceasar Salad, and Garlic Bread. I can't seem to recall what Kiera got though. The food was delicious and all of us enjoyed it. Be prepared though as you do get alot of food.

 

 

Although we finished lunch after our scheduled departure time the ship was still in dock. So I was happy that we would catch the sail away afterall. I'm not positive of the reasons why we didn't leave right at 2. I could only guess that it likely had something to do with the Oasis of the Seas also leaving at 2 and perhaps with how large that mammoth ship is it has to leave the channel first. I know that Oasis seems to get alot of crap for how large it is. And yes the thing is massive. But it intrigues me so much. That is one ship that I really do want to sail on some day. I mean the experiance is the ship pretty much with that thing. I was in awe the whole time it sailed away.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Once the Oasis cleared the Channel then the Dream started moving and we were on our way as well. This was Daniels first official Sail Away since we missed the one in Port Canaveral. And he loved it. The whole time we were pulling away from the Norwigian Sky he was waving good by to everyone on that ship and laughing. He was having such a great time. We passed the Junkanoo beach where we spent some time earlier and then passing the Lighthouse we were in the open sea. Off in the distance we could make out another resort that looks to be under construction and rivaling the size of Atlantis. I don't know what it is though and I could be completely wrong.