Sept 14th Dream Cruise Photo Review!

[MrShake]

 

FOOTBALL!!!! Honestly, I didn't watch much of it, as we went to the show in the theatre and did some more shopping, but it was pretty neat. You'll notice the big black 1 in the screen, that was a dead section of the screen, though they did eventually fix it.

 

After a great evening, and a fun show, we headed to bed to rest before our big day in Cozumel!

[WishIWasCruisn724]

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this review. My husband and I will be on the Dream in January with our 2 1/2 year old son. It is so helpful to see how your son did. Did your son sleep well in the crib that you had in your room? We have been worrying about having our son sleep on the couch that makes into a bed in the room we will be in. He's still in his crib at home, so maybe we should request one as well. Again, thanks so much for taking the time to write this!

[MrShake]

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this review. My husband and I will be on the Dream in January with our 2 1/2 year old son. It is so helpful to see how your son did. Did your son sleep well in the crib that you had in your room? We have been worrying about having our son sleep on the couch that makes into a bed in the room we will be in. He's still in his crib at home, so maybe we should request one as well. Again, thanks so much for taking the time to write this!

 

He did GREAT in the crib.. slept like a baby... pun intended! Definitely request one, its no extra cost!

[JaniceB]

What great family pictures, your son is a cutie!

[wannago35]

Your son is adorable! I wanted to ask how you got connected with the murder mystery thing, yours is only the second time I've read about it on these boards, but I'm intrigued! Thanks again so much for sharing, I'm really enjoying your review!

[MrShake]

Your son is adorable! I wanted to ask how you got connected with the murder mystery thing, yours is only the second time I've read about it on these boards, but I'm intrigued! Thanks again so much for sharing, I'm really enjoying your review!

 

It was in the fun times, and they Cruise Director mentioned it in the announcements

[MrShake]

And now we hit Monday! Not your regular Monday, this was a GOOD Monday, we are in Cozumel!!

 

We visited Cozumel 10 years ago on our honeymoon, and my Wife always regretted not swimming with the dolphins, so we decided to make that happen this time! We booked through Carnival (the only excursion we did book through them) to visit Dolphinarius and swim with the dolphins. We were quite excited.

 

We started with a room-service breakfast of pastries, coffee, yougurt, and milk for the little one. As soon as we could, we left the ship and headed to the "Happy Mexican" (as he called himself) holding the proper sign right there in the cruise port. After getting checked in with him, we took a moment to take a silly picture!

 

Once everyone was there and checked in, we were taken, as a group, to the taxi area and placed in individual taxies for the 10ish minute ride to the facility. We ended up in a cab with a family from Israel and an older lady cruising by herself. They were fun to talk to and the older lady was smitten with Bryan... this was pretty common on the entire cruise.. haha

 

We shortly arrived at Dolphinaris:

 

Its a very nice place, right on the ocean with a number of pools for your time with the dolphins. We were given basic instructions about what we could and could not do. For example, rinse off sunscreen because its not good for the dolphins, no water socks, etc. We got all changed and rented a locker for our stuff and headed down for our life vests and orientation.

The one bad thing about this was that they would NOT let us use our own life jacket for Bryan, and he wasn't as comfortable in the one they had (it was too big). But once we got in the water, we didn't care any more.

We had about 40 minutes in the water with about 8 of us in the group. We got to pet the dolphin, rub its belly and back, get a kiss, give a kiss, and take a ride, as well as getting a close look at teeth, blow holes, fins, and everything else, it was GREAT!!!

The thing I was the MOST surprised with was that Bryan was allowed to fully participate. He was free of charge being under 3, but he was allowed to do everything with my help. We chose to not do the swim part with him, I just dont' think he would have enjoyed it, I think it would have been scary... but a 3 year old boy did it, and they just had him hold his mom's vest on her back and they did the swim. BUT, Bryan got to do everything else!!! I'll let the pics tell how much fun this was!

[dane225]

Great review so far!! Thank you for posting!!

[MrShake]

More from the Dolphin Swim:

 

The swim was AMAZING!!

 

Now, as soon as your done, you get changed and head to their photo area. You CAN NOT take photos yourself of your swim. Cameras are just not allowed. And be prepared, photos are NOT cheap... but you CAN bargain!! You get to look through everything they took right away, and they have packages already setup for X number of photos. Nicole hemmed and hawed and haggled and managed to get 76!!!!! pictures plus the dvd video of our swim, PLUS 2 of the pictures printed for us for under $200 bucks. In reality, thats NOT a bad price. Just be prepared! And, as you can see, the pictures were amazing!

 

After choosing photos and changing we settled down for lunch. The food was fantastic, I had mixed fajitas, Bryan and Quesedillas, and the Wife had Chicken Fajitas... yummy. We did snap a photo or two while eating of the great facility. here is one:

 

Then, our time was over at Dolphinaris. They called a cab for us and back we went!!

 

More later!

[The Anchor Banker]

I'm enjoying your positive review. We are debating between the Dream, Freedom of the Seas, Allure and some others but those are the 3 favorites right now. We have done many cruises (13?) on just about every line. We like Celebrity best for just the 2 of us but are taking our 8 year old son this time and don't really think they are geared towards kids. We took him on Miracle last year (that was our third Carnival cruise) and had a great time but of course there has been a lot of negative Carnival press since then (and more cutbacks?) and we are also concerned with the time of year (early December) and very low prices attracting the type of clientele that sometimes earns Carnival their negative reputation.

 

For the OP and all others reading this, I'd like your feedback about the alleged long lines and overly busy public spaces which seem to plague this ship and your personal opinion on whether this ship is a good fit for an active, athletic 8 year old and his 40's parents who are professionals, like to have a good time but are by no means late night partiers. Everything I've read on these boards says to take Freedom or Allure over Dream every time so we are struggling with the decision. While the RCI options seem to have activities he will LOVE in a few years, at 8 the waterslides are a pretty big draw.....if the lines to go on them aren't ridiculous! We are also already booked with a group on Adventure of the Seas for March (childless on that one) so we are concerned that going on the bigger, nicer Allure or Freedom first might make Adventure seem like a poor older cousin and take something away from that vacation. While money isn't everything, we can also get a nice balcony on Dream for less $ than a basic inside on Allure or Freedom of the Seas.

[HO HO]

Great review!!! The DREAM is being re-positioned to New Orleans in the Spring, and we'll be looking to cruise on her next year - your review very positive for anyone considering DREAM!!

[rooster1961]

Loving the post so far, we are going next week!

[L&J]

Actually scored the deal on facebook. If you follow them, they seem to post occasional specials... I think it was $160 bucks for 4 adults (our son was free).

 

I'll review KSC on my blog, if you want a link, let me know and I'll pm it to you.

 

That is a good deal on tickets prices! I'll PM you for details, thank you so much!

[JaniceB]

The swim with dolphins looks amazing!

[MrShake]

So, I think do I this backwards... I take a break from forums on the weekend.... haha.. anywho, back to the review!

 

 

After we left Dolphinaris, we didn't have anything else planned, so we decided to do some shopping at the cruise port and make our way leisurely back to the ship. All the stores in the cruise port are what you'd expect. Local "crafts", t-shirts, dresses, hats, etc with the normal Del Sol, Pirannah Joe's and all the such. There is a little beach space with a great view of the ship, so I had to stop and take a picture:

 

 

We wandered around a bit longer and ended up buying a couple of shirts, and a couple of towel sets from Cariloha. We WOULD have gotten sheets, but we are planning on replacing our bed and moving to a king soon, so that would have been wasted money.

 

If you haven't been introduced to Cariloha, I'd recommend checking it out. Their products are made from Bamboo fabric and INCREDIBLY soft! We LOVE the towels! Its a little pricey, but we love it!

 

During all this walking, the little one CRASHED OUT!! He was a tired little boy:

 

We finally headed back to the ship, and stopped for more pictures:

 

This one isn't perfect, but its a good view of the port:

Edited October 8, 2013 by MrShake

[MrShake]

After getting back on the ship, changing clothes and showering, we began our evening. It was the usual shopping and dinner.

 

After dinner, was the "Red Frog Rum Bar" party. We were debating what to do and how to meet up with our friends, and ran across the activities staff headed out to start the party, they had ALL KINDS of stuff with them. Beads, sun glasses, blow-up flamingos, and more. One of the staff started playing with Bryan in the hallway, and gave Bryan the flamingo! Well, this meant he HAD to go dance with them, so out to the deck we went!

 

A significant rain store moved the party to the dance club, so we abandoned it and decided to call it a night. I think I did slip down later for some Casino time, but it was a pretty layed back evening.

Back in our Stateroom, we found this evenings towel animal, and Bryan had to pose with him:

 

Up Next? ROATAN!!

[ch27088]

Thank you for your review and pictures of the Carnival Dream. DH and I are actually going on the Dream in October (same itinerary) next year out of New Orleans and I am booking our hotel reservations right now. Great start to your review and can't wait to read it all and see the photos. Hoping that you have some great pictures of the ports since we are doing the same. Thanks again for your sharing your vacation with us (your son is so cute).

[partyonaharleyx2]

Good review!!! :) We will be on the Dream next December.

[wannago35]

Dolphinarius looked great, thanks for sharing the pics looking forward to Roatan!

[ch27088]

I'm enjoying your positive review. We are debating between the Dream, Freedom of the Seas, Allure and some others but those are the 3 favorites right now. We have done many cruises (13?) on just about every line. We like Celebrity best for just the 2 of us but are taking our 8 year old son this time and don't really think they are geared towards kids. We took him on Miracle last year (that was our third Carnival cruise) and had a great time but of course there has been a lot of negative Carnival press since then (and more cutbacks?) and we are also concerned with the time of year (early December) and very low prices attracting the type of clientele that sometimes earns Carnival their negative reputation.

 

For the OP and all others reading this, I'd like your feedback about the alleged long lines and overly busy public spaces which seem to plague this ship and your personal opinion on whether this ship is a good fit for an active, athletic 8 year old and his 40's parents who are professionals, like to have a good time but are by no means late night partiers. Everything I've read on these boards says to take Freedom or Allure over Dream every time so we are struggling with the decision. While the RCI options seem to have activities he will LOVE in a few years, at 8 the waterslides are a pretty big draw.....if the lines to go on them aren't ridiculous! We are also already booked with a group on Adventure of the Seas for March (childless on that one) so we are concerned that going on the bigger, nicer Allure or Freedom first might make Adventure seem like a poor older cousin and take something away from that vacation. While money isn't everything, we can also get a nice balcony on Dream for less $ than a basic inside on Allure or Freedom of the Seas.

 

I am in my mid-50's and DH is in his early 80's, and we love Carnival. Now don't get me wrong, we enjoy dancing at the clubs on board, plus a few shows. I like Carnival because of the different shows, programs, and other things going on while we are cruising. We tried RCC once and I was not too happy with their shows. I think you would enjoy yourselves, on Carnival as well as your son.

[MrShake]

Its Roatan Time!

 

Roatan was the first of the 2 ports on this cruise that we had not been to before, and I was very much looking forward to it. We booked a private tour through Victor Bodden. We basically had our own driver for the day to take us where we wanted to go.

 

I wish looking back that I had taken more pictures of the port itself and the walk down to Victor's Guides, but I will not that this is more of a haul than I realized. Before getting to more detail, I will note that if your a passport stamp person, the local Rotary Club mans a booth in the cruise terminal that will stamp your passport and all they do is ASK for a donation.

 

Now, for detail on getting to Victor's Guides. Due to the contract with the port, non-carnival tours are not allowed to drive through the port gate to pick up passengers, only to drop them off. So, if you schedule a tour through Victor Bodden, you will have to do some walking. Basically, you make your way to the taxi pick up/drop off, and head up the hill to the left, you will go over the top of the hill, and down, past the security gate, and at the bottom of the hill you will see the guides holding a Victor Bodden Tours sign.

There was a little harassment from other vendors trying to sell you a tour, but a quick no got them to leave us alone.

Note, while this is not a LONG walk, it is a very steep hill. We had Bryan in his car seat on its cart, so he rode and I pushed him. There was some construction, and part of the sidewalk was stairs and part was a little washed out, so the security guards directed me to walk on the side of the road with the stroller setup. While this was nice, I was a bit concerned about safety of being ON the road. Hopefully this will get fixed over time.

 

Once we got down to the guides, we were assigned to Kenny as our guide for the day. He took us to a very nice large van with GREAT air conditioning and helped us get all of our stuff settled, the car seat installed, and everyone in and comfortable. He confirmed that we would stop by Victor Bodden's place to pay for our tours later, and as he started driving said he would start with a tour of the area and give us some history of Roatan. This is EXACTLY what we wanted to do. He did mention that if we wanted to stop, change what we were doing, go somewhere special, or ANYTHING, to just ask and he would accommodate.

Kenny took us on about a 45 minute driving tour of the area, pointing out many things, such as the Island's "Mayor"'s house: (may have just been the city)

 

We had an interesting discussion on how corruption doesn't only exist in Honduras, but filters back to Illinois.. haha!

We got to see the gritty back streets of Roatan, and shockingly poor in some areas. Amidst the poor conditions though, there was simple beauty in places like this church:

 

I was also struck by the paitence of the people. Driving rules were quite different, streets were VERY narrow, but there was little to no anger, horn honking, or hurried looks.

While Bryan might not have prefered to be in his car seat, the familiarity, and safety of it as we traveled in comfortable A/C was a nice break from the humidity outside:

 

Bryan even got in on the picture taking:

 

Not bad for a 2.5 year old I say!

Again, simple beauty appeared constantly, and it made the entire island very endearing. And a place I'd like to spend more time in:

[MrShake]

Our Guide, Kenny, informed us that we were getting close to Victor Bodden's place, and the next part of our Roatan Adventure, but he did take us by a few more amazing scenes.

Even at one point driving on the beach, just inches from the ocean!

 

 

And shortly after, we arrived at Victor's Place. Hopping out into the humidity did not play well with the camera, but we made do. Victors's place is VERY lush, and a beautiful older house greets you as you pull up. Bryan wanted to get moving, so we didn't get much in terms of pictures, this was the best we got:

 

We went into the little gift shop and payed for our tour, and the "Monkey Business" we had chosen as well. A good thing to note, Victor CAN accept credit cards. He notes cash on his emails, but we were pleased to not have to use our cash! We even got to meet Victor himself! Not what I pictured in my head, but a very nice man!!

[MrShake]

Now that we were all settled up, it was time for "Monkey Business". Victor has a small... zoo of sorts, on his property and we took a tour, getting to interact with many of the animals. Bryan LOVED this:

 

Bryan's Favorite? The VERY friendly Monkeys!

 

It was still pretty overcast, so a little dark... so some of the pictures were not as crisp as they would normally be, but we got some good ones I think!

 

We saw Tucans, Mackaws, Monkeys, and much much more. Including naitve deer, which prompted an interesting conversation with our guide. I mentioned that back in Illinois I hunt deer, and the little buck we were looking at was TINY in comparison. They are protected on Roatan, and he was a little appaled that I would hunt them, asking "Do you at least eat them".. and I told him yes, I wasn't just a sport hunter. He thought that was just fine then!

 

We then headed back to the van and off to lunch. I SWEAR I have a picture of the place we ate, but I can't find it! We also had a bunch of other pictures from the rest of our tour, including pics of the boat and such, but I can't find them either!! I'll look on the iPad tonight and see if I have them!

 

Anywho, we had a GREAT lunch at a little local place. Amazing Burritos and fried plantains! Kenny took a siesta in the van while we ate, and the cook made him a little something for us to take to him.

 

After that, we wanted to see some good photo taking spots, so Kenny kept driving and telling us all about what we were seeing. We headed up to a higher spot and got amazing photographs, down to West End beach (a place I want to go hang out) and then started to head back tword the cruise port.

 

Kenny noted at one point that all the garbage we saw on the shoreline comes across the channel from the mainland of honduras. it was a LOT of garbage... its amazing to think how the actions of people 35 miles across the water affect where you are!

 

Kenny took us back to the ship via a route that gave us a couple of great shots of the Dream in harbour, as well as shots of the 2 sunken ships that are in the port. He told us the story of both, it was a neat experience!

[MrShake]

Since our time was up, and our tour was over (well, we wanted to get some shopping in), we had Kenny take us back. Unlike pick-up, he was allowed to drop us off at the taxi stand, which did save us the walk a 2nd time.

 

We tipped Kenny generously and stopped for a photo with him, and we thanked him for his time!

<Saving this spot for a photo when I finally find it>

 

Then into the cruise port for a little shopping. Bryan was WIPED OUT again at this point, so into the carrier he went and QUICKLY asleep!

 

We eventually ended up at the Tanzanite International Store, and my wife's inner need for jewlery became too much... it is pretty though!

 

Then it was time to head back to the ship, stopping to take a picture infront of the Roatan sign

<insert picture when I find it!>

 

And one more posing with the boat:

 

Roatan ranks up there in the top places we've been, and is on the top of the list of places to return to!!!

[wannago35]

Thanks for the info on Victor Bodden tours, we're also booked with him. If you don't mind me asking, about how long was your tour? We're trying to decide on what to see based on the website. Also, did you tip him in cash or will they take the tip off the credit card? (thanks for the credit card info too!)