~*On a Carnival Dream (Review) -- 8/31/14 - 9/7/14 -- Isla Roatan, Belize, Cozumel*~

[heath_delphin]

We'll be sailing on the Dream out of NO in late February...my first cruise! We're doing the same itinerary so your review is giving us a great "preview" of what to expect. Thanks for taking the time to post all the great pics! Can't wait to see more...:D

[Babycat]

Regarding that restaurant on the beach. Did you go inside the very last building? I went to that one a couple of years ago and the food was awesome! It was set up so that you could serve yourself, buffet style. I didn't try the other little serving areas as they were outdoors and it was raining.

[ryansmith18]

Thanks for the heads up about the food and service at Mahogany beach. I wasn't sure what we were going to do for our upcoming trip, but we'll definitely be getting back on the ship for lunch now.

 

Also - holy crap Anthony's Key looks incredible!

[Tinkerkelle]

Tinkerkelle -- I love this itinerary. Hopefully this will get you pumped up for your cruise! What excursions do y'all have planned?

 

We are doing the ruins in Costa Maya, zip lining & cave tubing in Belize, snorkeling & sting ray city in Grand Cayman and we have a driver scheduled for a Roatan to show us the island (and monkeys) and then do snorkeling!

 

It looks like our itinerary is a little different but enjoying all your pics & review!

[Tinkerkelle]

After reading your review, I think I'll just have to do the magical flying chairs--the views look amazing. Do they take you to the port or beach? We are meeting our driver at the port.

[sassykitten74]

So the 1st elegant night is Monday, and the 2nd is??

[Crusin Karen]

Fun! Enjoying the reviews of places we have never been to! Thanks for sharing.:)

[wrigley80]

Did you try the Seuss at Sea brunch?? We're on the Dream in December and I want to try it out

[Msbabynurse]

Following! We cruise on her in 6 weeks!

 

 

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[wbc12345]

heath_delphin -- I bet you're going to have a WONDERFUL time. I so wish I could have that first cruise experience again. I was amazed at every turn and it was on an older ship. So, you'll be doubly awed by all the amenities on the Dream! I hope you love cruising as much as I do! :o

 

Babycat -- No, we didn't try the buffet. To be honest, I hadn't read many reviews on the food offered at Mahogany Bay. I just assumed it was one big restaurant from our experience there last year. Good to know there might be a better option, especially if you were planning to spend the day there. I was just disappointed that we walked right by the ship to eat there and it was such a disappointment. Eating on the ship would have been just as convenient and free. I'll have to look into the buffet when we make it back there!

 

ryansmith18-- Yeah, I would totally recommend just going back. But, you may check out the buffet option like Babycat recommended. It may be a better option and would certainly cut down on the wait time! We didn't walk far enough down during lunch hours to find that option. :(

 

Tinkerkelle -- That is my DREAM itinerary... do you see what I did there? lol But really, I would love to do Grand Cayman and Roatan in one cruise. Those are my favorites. Stingray City was my absolutely favorite experience of any we've had cruising! We also enjoyed the ziplining and cave tubing last year... although I was a little scared during parts of our excursion! You should totally think about the magical flying chairs. We had so much fun!! They take you from the boat to the beach. It's actually a much shorter walk, but the views can't be beat! And they aren't super busy, so you can get your money's worth by taking a few rides. :D

 

sassykitten74 -- Yes, the first elegant night is Monday night and the second elegant night is Friday night. For the second elegant night, you have the day in Cozumel. I found that people get much less dressed up for the second elegant night, because they're all tired from three port days in a row.

 

Crusin Karen -- I love reading other people's reviews and reminiscing about our experience or planning for our "one day" cruises to new places. It's my favorite part of Cruise Critic. Plus, I feel like I always learn something from the reviews I've read. They've all been so helpful!

 

wrigley80 -- First, I'd like to say that I absolutely ADORED your Dream review (and all your many other reviews). I love your relationship with your Dad! That review was one that really helped get me excited about our cruise! To answer your question, we decided to pass on the Seuss at Sea Brunch. I really wanted to try it out, but it was only offered on the last Sea Day at 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. I wanted to sleep in and hit the deck for my last day of sun and fun.

 

Msbabynurse -- I hope you enjoy every second of it! It feels like when I get that close to the cruise time slows down. I hope time passes by fast, so you get to enjoy your vacation that much sooner!

[wbc12345]

On Thursday, we woke up in Belize! Belize was our least favorite stop both times we tried this itinerary. It is a tender port, which means that the ship doesn’t dock at a pier. The ship literally stops and anchors in the middle of the water! You then take smaller, tender ships directly from the boat to the shore. This can cause a lot of long lines. Belize anchors several miles off shore and this results in a significantly long tender ride to the shore.

 

Last year, we booked the Zipline, Repelling, and Cave Tubing excursion offered by Carnival. This year, we thought we would try the snorkeling in Belize. After much research, we took the Sergeant’s Cay Snorkel Adventure. If I could describe this experience in one word, adventure would certainly be one of them. Of course, I don’t know if it was a happy adventure!

 

The excursion begins from the ship, where you are picked up directly by the excursion. I thought this was nice, because we cut out the time it would have required for us to tender to the mainland and they leave again. I believe we were one of the first groups off the ship, because we saw all the tender boats lined up waiting for their turn to make it to the ship. The boat was fine… I wouldn’t call it a “modern state of the art” snorkeling boat as advertised, but it was fine for our purposes.

 

 

 

 

 

The first stop is at Spanish Look-Out Caye, where Hugh Parkey’s Belize Adventure Lodge is located. The stop is brief and intended to simply have an easy place for guests to fill out waivers and pick up their gear. It also has a nice restroom for guest use. I was very impressed with the resort and the amenities here. The resort actually has really nice rooms that extend over the water that you could stay in for extended periods. I saw many guests get information about returning for a future stay.

 

 

 

[wbc12345]

From there, you bring your gear onto the boat and take a boat ride for about fifteen minutes to Sergeant’s Caye for the snorkeling portion of the excursion. This Caye used to be a large island with three homes that was devastated in a hurricane. Now, it looks like a very small sandbar! The guides mentioned that there were still structures under the water from the homes, but we steered clear of that while snorkeling.

 

 

Before you exit the boat, they assign you into small groups and a guide. I was not aware that this was how this excursion operated. I much prefer to be let loose to snorkel in a certain area as I please. We were put into a group with other experienced snorkelers, so I felt like we went further and got to see more of the reef. Our guide was great and I really wish I would have thought to write down his name. He was very personable, which was important for our experience.

 

As soon as we left the resort, it was apparent that the weather was starting to get worse. There were dark clouds gathering above. We proceeded into the water anyway and attempted to start snorkeling. Within ten minutes of getting in the water, a huge storm materialized! I’m not talking about a little rain shower. I’m talking hard rain and serious waves. It made it hard to even hear our guide, much less understand where he wanted us to go. The current was terrible and it became increasingly difficult to manage. Prior to our trip, we purchased a dry snorkel and I have never been more thankful to be overly prepared. I felt terrible for everyone with normal snorkels, as they continued to take on water from the waves crashing down on us. At least we could breathe through our snorkels at all times! The storm continued for about 20-25 minutes, after which it cleared up.

 

 

 

 

Aside from the danger we felt, it also decreased the visibility of the water. I was disappointed that there was never any discussion of stopping the snorkeling for a bit and returning after the storm. In fact, our group was never even offered the option of returning to the boat to avoid the storm. After snorkeling for what felt like a really long time, we returned to the boat. I have only experience sea sickness on two occasions and this was one of the times. I don’t know if it was the fact that I was bobbing in the ocean or what, but I was seriously nauseous when we returned to the boat.

Edited October 6, 2014 by wbc12345

[ryansmith18]

Hahaha, oh man that looks like fun. I mean it must've been horrible for snorkeling, but I'd have so much fun in that storm. Good pics!

[wbc12345]

One of the reasons we chose this excursion, is that it included a small beach break after the snorkeling portion for about an hour to an hour and half. For some reason, this isn’t advertised in the description of the excursion. We only learned of the beach break from other reviews. Well, let me tell you, I had something else in mind. This was not so much a “beach” as a murky inlet where the resort housed manatees. It was not scenic and it didn’t smell very nice. There also wasn’t enough beach chairs for all the guests. I was excited to find that they had kayaks and canoes free for our use. Looking back, I probably would not have based my snorkeling excursion on this beach break. It didn’t add anything to our experience.

 

This is where we docked:

 

 

 

 

They did offer free kayaks for use:

 

 

After leaving the beach break, we were returned to the ship. This allowed us to grab lunch on the ship before tendering to shore to look around and shop. I was excited, because the lines were very short for the Mongolian Wok. For the entire cruise, the lines were soooo long for this lunch option. It still took us 20 minutes at least to get our food. I took the advice of another poster on this site and thought I would pass on that you can get them to make your dish was sugar and soy sauce instead of one of the sauces Carnival offers. I never loved any of the other sauces and couldn’t figure out what to do. This totally changed my opinion and I’m so glad they mentioned it was an option!

 

Overall, I feel like our experience on this excursion was a bit skewed due to the weather. Obviously, this is not the tour operators fault and we would never hold it against them. We made great memories and our family has not stopped making inside jokes about our experience over and over again. You’ll frequently hear us say, “Just keep swimming!!” as this was repeated over and over again by our guide. It was also very affordable considering the length of the excursion.

[Babycat]

This has been such a great review! I'm am afraid to open this thread and see a pic of the dreaded luggage mat draped across the bed though. I have to wince and squint my eyes when I scroll down the page :(.

 

I wish you could write a perpetual review :D:D:D

Edited October 7, 2014 by Babycat

[WLHyatt]

We were on the same Conquest cruise in May 2013 as you and Babycat. I agree, that sailing was one for the record books, we had so many people turn out and I still talk to quite a few of those folks today. We booked the same week on the Dream this year and also had a great time, but the turnout for the "cruise critic" events was not quite as good. We still met some great folks!

We are doing Alaska in 2015 with some local friends and a couple we met on the Dream this year, but we'll probably be back in NOLA for the Dream in 2016.

 

Now that I saw this review I want to check out Anthony's, it seems like a BEAUTIFUL place!

[AZmike480]

Thanks for the review, I've been interested in this itinerary for some time but keep hestiating to book it. One of these days i'll commit to these stops!

 

Azmike480

[NOSaints1]

With the Cheers, does it include pop and non alcoholic drinks?

[singbluesilver1]

How much was cheers per day?? You mentioned it was cheaper this time

[singbluesilver1]

Yes cheers includes soda

[NOSaints1]

But non alcoholic drinks?