New Orleans and Dream 8/16/15 Review

[txponycruiser]

Almost on board! Don't do what I did and be so organized that you put away your boarding pass when you get your sign and sail card.

 

First DOD!

 

The ship turns around at port to head down the Mississippi. It does not go under the bridge. We had a 2 day conversation about this.....

 

Mandatory Tail shot with home port in the back ground.

 

Headed out! See you in a week NOLA!

[txponycruiser]

We booked room 11278 after having the opportunity to upgrade from a Cove. 11278 is the first room against the open deck around the Lido on 11 and I was a little concerned about the balcony. On the deck plans, it appears that there might not be a ceiling to the balcony and people could possibly look down into our balcony. Fortunately, this was not the case. You could look through the angled glass on deck 11 into our balcony but that did not bother us. I just did not want anyone looking down or dropping things into our area.

 

 

 

 

 

This location was actually perfect because we could walk straight out our door to an exit door which opens right at the door to deck 11. It was really convenient to the Lido for breakfast and lunch. We would just grab something to eat and then come back to our balcony a few steps away. It was also nice because we could hear what was happening on deck but the music wasn't too loud at all. We didn't have any issues with noise when we went to bed even if there was a movie playing or a deck party.

 

Waterworks was above our room so the only noise we heard was during the day when the kids were running on deck to go on the slides. Totally not an issue for us.

[txponycruiser]

It was neat traveling down the Mississippi and seeing all of the oil refineraries and tankers waiting to go into port. I did miss the blue water we get after about 30 minutes of leaving Galveston though. Every time I looked down it was muddy Mississippi!

 

 

After dinner, we came back to a seal and our son went off to his meet and greet with Circle C. DH and I decided to go find a hot tub and stayed until we ran out of our drinks (PS - ordered liquor was in our room when we arrived. A plus compared to Tx).

 

 

Sea Day 1 later!

[angiem0217]

We are going on the dream in March. Looking forward to your review. My son loves waterworks, did is stay crowded the whole trip?

[txponycruiser]

We are going on the dream in March. Looking forward to your review. My son loves waterworks, did is stay crowded the whole trip?

 

No, it didn't seem crowded most days. There was usually a line but it moved pretty fast.

[Raxter54]

Just curious- how does embarkation at NOLA compare to Galveston? Possibly looking at a future cruise out of Galveston...

[txponycruiser]

Just curious- how does embarkation at NOLA compare to Galveston? Possibly looking at a future cruise out of Galveston...

 

Embarkation was about the same. We just found finding the proper place to be easier in Galveston. But we're familiar with Galveston and this was our first trip to NOLA.

[txponycruiser]

Sea Day 1

There's just nothing that beats waking up on a cruise ship with a balcony on a sea day. I don't even mind waking up at 630 on these days so we can watch the sunrise.

 

As typical for us on a sea day, DH and I went down to the Lido and grabbed some breakfast. I will say that the eggs on the Dream were not edible for me this week. Way to moist for me. I generally had a chocolate muffin and strawberry yogurt each morning.

 

Checked in on DS who was still passed out so we took a stroll around the Lani.

 

 

 

 

[txponycruiser]

I don't know why, but windshield wipers on a cruise ship make me giggle.

 

I only took a few pictures of the inside of the ship. This is our third cruise and third ship. To be honest, they are all pretty much the same on the inside. Some have the 2.0 upgrades (which are awesome) but other than that, everything is pretty much the same or at least similar.

 

What is different ship to ship is their outside amenities. I prefer the Lido layout of the Dream vs the Lido layout of the Triumph. I really don't care for the "stadium" layout.

 

One thing that does set ships apart is their Waterworks. The Dream has two sets of kiddie slides, a tube slide, and a bowl slide. I normally like the water slides but the seams were the tubes married were rough. Probably not a big deal with an 8 year old but for me, I didn't care for it and only slid once per slide.

[cruiseclues]

Thank You for your Great Review with Photos. :):):):)

[txponycruiser]

Thank You for your Great Review with Photos. :):):):)

 

Thank you for reading! Its taking me forever because the monday after we returned it was right back to school for DS and right back to teaching labs for me. I don't have enough hours in a day.

 

We checked out the liquour prices on board (6 bottles of Crown - various flavors/$100) but didn't buy because we didn't want to wait in a line on disembark day. It turns out we could have purchased and had plenty of time to get our bottles that morning so maybe next time.

 

I do love Elegant Night and the pictures. Its about the only time I can get the 3 of us looking decent enough for pictures.

[txponycruiser]

Sea Day 2

 

Sea Day 2 was spent lounging around, taking some pics, doing a meet and greet plus cabin crawl, and the steakhouse (do it.).

 

No pics of the cabin crawl to protect those who may or may not have had security called on them for jumping in the pool fully clothed (it wasn't me). :D During the crawl, we did visit a cove balcony. I can see the attraction to them but I'm glad we upgraded closer to the action. It was so convenient.

 

Steakhouse: Seriously, if the ship has it, book a night! The food was so good we were honest to goodness "Thanksgiving Dinner Stuffed". After dinner, we didn't even want to drink!!

 

The sea on this day was as smooth as glass! We've never seen it that smooth. It was beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2015 by txponycruiser

[txponycruiser]

Jamaica

 

Jamaica was hyped up so much before we got on the ship and even from the staff. We docked in Montego Bay and to be honest, the island was a complete non-issue for us. We booked Sunset Beach privately and walked right off the ship, through the port, and straight into a taxi. No issue. Now, maybe we didn't have any issues because we didn't hang around and we went to an all inclusive resort. I don't know. But it was an enjoyable day.

 

Sunset Beach is all inclusive (but no waiters). A couple pools, lazy river, water slides, and beach front.

 

 

 

 

 

[txponycruiser]

More Sunset Beach/Jamaica

 

 

 

 

[TZ twiga]

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[Taylors]

Jamaica

 

Jamaica was hyped up so much before we got on the ship and even from the staff. We docked in Montego Bay and to be honest, the island was a complete non-issue for us. We booked Sunset Beach privately and walked right off the ship, through the port, and straight into a taxi. No issue. Now, maybe we didn't have any issues because we didn't hang around and we went to an all inclusive resort. I don't know. But it was an enjoyable day.

 

Sunset Beach is all inclusive (but no waiters). A couple pools, lazy river, water slides, and beach front.

 

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How much and how far was sunset beach? Who did you book through? We'll be hitting Montego Bay on our next cruise. We've been before and didn't love it. This looks like a nice peaceful excursion!

 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[Stallion]

5 minute taxi ride-you could even walk if necessary

forget exact link-but if you search for Montego Bay Resort Day Pass several private websites have it available generally for around $60-75 depending on whether you request transportation to the resort

[Taylors]

5 minute taxi ride-you could even walk if necessary

forget exact link-but if you search for Montego Bay Resort Day Pass several private websites have it available generally for around $60-75 depending on whether you request transportation to the resort

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[Shanny94]

I was on this cruise as well! It was our first! I love seeing it from another's point of view. I think we did he same stingray excursion in cayman? You look familiar:) I can't wait to go on another cruise! We are hooked for sure. I do agree that the eggs were not good. We weren't all that impressed with the the food on the ship at all. We did the steakhouse and glad we did!

[pink roses]

There is breakfast in the MDR on port days, it is just a smaller menu and less hours.

 

The pasta place is fantastic. We also hit it up on embarkation day and enjoyed a very quick meal, no one knew it was there. It is quite hidden.

This is good to know, I did not know they had the dining room open on port days and just sailed but can enjoy it on my upcoming cruise. Thanks! Loved the ship but it was big and felt I did not get to know things like I have on the smaller ships.

[lovermonkey]

Can you tell me a bit more about New Orleans? Where did you eat, places to go, etc?

 

:)