Review of the Dream Second Leg Journeys Cruise

[Sherman793]

Well I know inquiring minds want to know about the new Journey cruises, so I will share some highlights. This is our first Carnival cruise in 6 years and just my husband and I, ( 56 and 46 yrs old ) cruised. We have been cruising Royal for the last six years and had cruise Carnival 6 times prior.

 

Carnival has a decent product, our expectations were not wildly high and I would say they hit the middle of the road in the actual experience. It was never awful but there are not a lot of things that will stand out in our memory either. I am not saying that to disparage anyone from going at all...it was a fine experience overall.

 

The ship is certainly showing some age and no doubt will be better after dry dock. Carpets are stained and some tiles missing at the pools and hot tubs, but considering she has been sailing every week for years now I think it looks really good. The crew is excellent! Cleaning everything, everywhere all the time. No dishes left anywhere, mopping the pool deck constantly and very nice and engaging.

 

We were blessed with the presence of John Heald on our second leg of the journey and he was as funny as ever.

 

We had a few highs and a few lows.

 

 

The highs first:

 

The ports were fun. We did ziplining through the ship in St Kitts and I was a novice. I would do it again and again...we loved it and although I am afraid of heights the excellent company we used made me feel very safe and comfortable.

 

St Thomas we took a cab to Megan's Bay and spent about 4 hours there. It was beautiful. Total cost for the day was about $50.00.

 

St Marteen we just strolled around and did some shopping. Love bartering with the jewelers there and we brought home a few nice things at a very good price.

 

 

Grand Turk....well there is just not much there but the beach, period.

 

 

Jamaica we went to Bamboo Beach, another Carnival all inclusive excursion. I think we paid $50 or so apiece and it was all you can eat and alcohol. Very tasty food and the beach was lovely. Nice shade and they just waited on everyone hand and foot. Highly recommend this!

 

New movies on the pool deck were so much fun to watch! It was a little hard to find seating you pretty much had to get up there about 20 minutes early.

 

Lido deck barbeque was wonderful! Side areas to eat like the deli and the salad bar were great.

 

Steakhouse was a winner, we went twice and really enjoyed it! Well worth the money.

 

The few special events like the Captains Party were very nicely done and everyone loved them. The dress up for the 80's night and the Gala Midnight Buffet was stunning to say the least. They had special dancing classes and educational classes that everyone really enjoyed.

 

 

Disembarkation in New Orleans was a breeze. We self disembarked at 7:15AM and were straight off to the airport by 8:00AM.

 

 

The not so good...

 

 

Embarkation was just a melt down mess. It took 2 hours, with no place to sit, no guidance at all from Carnival. Pity to the folks that were Platinum or paid for FTTF because they were certainly not given any priority at all. It was a mass heard of humanity walking around trying to find a place to sit. The man in front of us in his early 50's and healthy fainted dead away from the heat.

 

All of the port days front loaded on the second leg left you pretty exhausted. Would be nice if they could break it up a little better. The ones who did all 21 days were really worn out. They had over 5 ports in a row.

 

 

Sorry but the food has really declined in selection and quality, just our opinion but it is what it is. There were nights we just really struggled to pick something good to eat. The lunch buffet was just not great either. We did not starve but I did not look forward to meal time nearly as much as in the past.

 

 

Our room was 6326 and right above the craps table in the casino midship. It got very loud at night which can be expected but you almost needed ear plugs. About night 6 a horrible burning odor started filling the cabin and although they searched they could not seem to find anything? After the second night of choking on the smell all of a sudden the room smelled overpoweringly of room air freshener. It was just bizarre and made it very hard to breath either way. I was wondering if it could have been the air sanitizing system for the casino but we could not get an answer and our room steward said absolutely the cabin was not normally like that.

 

 

The sea days had almost nothing to do. Very few deck activities. If you like cards and trivia games indoors you will love this cruise. The evenings were fine but nothing to get excited about. If you had small kids you were certainly on the wrong cruise.

 

 

A couple brought their "service dog" with them that was a miniature poodle being pushed around in a baby carriage complete with outfits. The dog supposedly alerted if the husband was going in to diabetic shock. Well half the time the wife was pushing it around while it yapped and enjoyed the sights and the husband was up on the pool deck having a cocktail (several times he was parked in his scooter chair right next to me for hours. It is really sad to see people take advantage of a very necessary ADA service for so many. Really not Carnival's fault but I could have done without the towel wringing by John Heald over what a hero the poodle was and how he had saved the man's life multiple times, (as he sipped his white Russian in the seat next to me with the dog in the baby carriage again).

 

I think they did an overall very nice job on this concept. They tried hard to make sure everyone had a great time and I think it was just an excellent value for the number of sea days. I think my husband and I just have determined that 10 days is probably too long for us.

 

If you have one of these trips coming up I am sure you will enjoy it very much. Nothing that happened spoiled our fun, but I think we need a line that has more to do. We might go again to try one of the newest ships.

 

Happy Sailing!

[Vsquared]

Thank you for candid review. I like how you enjoyed the overall experience but broke out the defining highs and lows.

 

My DH and I are on the second leg of the Dream Journeys cruise on January 14th, departing from San Juan. The 14th is also the start of the San Sebastian Festival in San Juan and (from what I've read) some streets will be closed to traffic, so am trying to figure out when we should get to the port. What time did you get there?

 

We love sea days, just sitting and reading and watching the water go by. As this is my DH's first Carnival trip, I want him to try the water slides (we used to live close to Schiltterbahn in New Braunfels, TX and went every summer to spend the day in water slides). I used them quite a bit on my trips on the Magic. I just hope his bad knee doesn't prevent him from climbing the stairs to the slides.

 

Later...

Vicki

[Sherman793]

Thank you for candid review. I like how you enjoyed the overall experience but broke out the defining highs and lows.

 

My DH and I are on the second leg of the Dream Journeys cruise on January 14th, departing from San Juan. The 14th is also the start of the San Sebastian Festival in San Juan and (from what I've read) some streets will be closed to traffic, so am trying to figure out when we should get to the port. What time did you get there?

 

We love sea days, just sitting and reading and watching the water go by. As this is my DH's first Carnival trip, I want him to try the water slides (we used to live close to Schiltterbahn in New Braunfels, TX and went every summer to spend the day in water slides). I used them quite a bit on my trips on the Magic. I just hope his bad knee doesn't prevent him from climbing the stairs to the slides.

 

Later...

Vicki

 

We got to the pier about 11:30 because the hotel kicked us out. We expected a bit of a wait but it was worse by far. Someone recommended giving the porter your bag, which you can do then, and going nearby to a restaurant or do a little sightseeing to let the port calm down. Unfortunately the day we were there the pandemonium kept up until about 3PM or later.

 

The sea days were peaceful and nice. The water was smooth as glass I honestly have never had a smoother trip. There are three flights of stairs up to the slides but if you go out on deck 11 and walk up there are two shorter flights. Not too bad. Hope you enjoy your trip!:)

[Raxter54]

A couple brought their "service dog" with them that was a miniature poodle being pushed around in a baby carriage complete with outfits. The dog supposedly alerted if the husband was going in to diabetic shock. Well half the time the wife was pushing it around while it yapped and enjoyed the sights and the husband was up on the pool deck having a cocktail (several times he was parked in his scooter chair right next to me for hours. It is really sad to see people take advantage of a very necessary ADA service for so many. Really not Carnival's fault but I could have done without the towel wringing by John Heald over what a hero the poodle was and how he had saved the man's life multiple times, (as he sipped his white Russian in the seat next to me with the dog in the baby carriage again).

 

I could tell from the description of the dog and the pictures posted that this was just a couple that purchased "service dog" credential on a website just so they could bring their precious little Fifi with them. Why would the dog have to be with them at dinner? Couldn't the wife tell if her husband was having an attack? Or the other people at the table? It's people like this that make it hard for people that really require properly trained service dogs.

[buddysmomndad]

You should not judge without knowing the truth. First of all the dog was not a poodle. Second, a dog does not have to be a large dog to be a service dog. We saw the couple with the dog several times and never heard the dog yap. The dog was very well behaved and trained.

[blarko]

I could tell from the description of the dog and the pictures posted that this was just a couple that purchased "service dog" credential on a website just so they could bring their precious little Fifi with them. Why would the dog have to be with them at dinner? Couldn't the wife tell if her husband was having an attack? Or the other people at the table? It's people like this that make it hard for people that really require properly trained service dogs.

 

Where are the pictures of the dog posted?

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

[Raxter54]

Where are the pictures of the dog posted?

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

 

John Heald posted a picture of the couple and the dog on his webpage, in conjunction with his demonizing the man that didn't think the dog should be in the dining room. And if the dog was there to "detect" the man having a seizure, why was the wife parading the dog around in a baby carriage instead of letting it "protect" the poor husband? Sorry, just my opinion, but these people were pulling the wool over Carnival's eyes.

[Patbeth]

My sister has a REAL service dog, that helps her daughter with many issues including anxiety and being safe. You would never know by looking at my niece that she is differently abled.Even if you had a conversation with her, you may not know. Please realise without judging, sometimes you cant see the Disability, but it IS there.

Her dog is VERY highly trained. ( my sis and her entire family had to go to training in another state for 3 weeks to be trained themselves) He is NEVER off duty. He wears a REAL service vest to alert people he is a working dog. He is allowed in restaurants etc. anywhere my niece can go, he can and does go, even to school. He is so well behaved most people wouldnt even know he was there, except he is very large.

Generally speaking service dogs can be tiny Papillons- right up to huge Goldendoodles like my niece's dog. You will not however generally see them in costumes( except halloween, he is dressing up as a FROG. too Fun!) and being rolled around in strollers. By ADA codes Carnival has to let service dogs accompany differently abled passengers. They would be considered like essential medical equipment. A real service dog will have a vest, and isnt an "emotional support animal". They are the vests anyone can just buy off the internet.

Maybe Carnival needs to require more stringent oversight to assure a dog is truly a highly trained well behaved in EVERY circumstance SERVICE dog. Because people who abuse the system with their fake vests and horribly behaved "pets" are making it hard for people who truly do need that dog. But having just said that, please dont judge someone to be faking their need for a dog because YOU cant SEE their disability.

[RaiderFaninNM]

A few tiles missing and stained carpets and the ship is old?? Considering that 3K+ tromp through the old ship in a week, I think that is pretty good! When we sailed the Allure, 2 months after she was in FLA, we also saw stained carpets but did not really think about that until now........

 

Good to see the older items have made a come back, Gala/midnight buffet, enjoyed that years ago. So Puerto Rico was a mess wow, a bit disappointing to hear that. Also nice to hear the steakhouse was a hit, 21 days is along time to be on a ship, 10 days seems to just right but we will find out in Jan. So how was the weather, and was the dining room food better the the buffet?

 

Thanks for the review!!

[Hooked On Cruising 4ever]

Well I know inquiring minds want to know about the new Journey cruises, so I will share some highlights. This is our first Carnival cruise in 6 years and just my husband and I, ( 56 and 46 yrs old ) cruised. We have been cruising Royal for the last six years and had cruise Carnival 6 times prior.

 

Carnival has a decent product, our expectations were not wildly high and I would say they hit the middle of the road in the actual experience. It was never awful but there are not a lot of things that will stand out in our memory either. I am not saying that to disparage anyone from going at all...it was a fine experience overall.

 

The ship is certainly showing some age and no doubt will be better after dry dock. Carpets are stained and some tiles missing at the pools and hot tubs, but considering she has been sailing every week for years now I think it looks really good. The crew is excellent! Cleaning everything, everywhere all the time. No dishes left anywhere, mopping the pool deck constantly and very nice and engaging.

 

We were blessed with the presence of John Heald on our second leg of the journey and he was as funny as ever.

 

We had a few highs and a few lows.

 

 

The highs first:

 

The ports were fun. We did ziplining through the ship in St Kitts and I was a novice. I would do it again and again...we loved it and although I am afraid of heights the excellent company we used made me feel very safe and comfortable.

 

St Thomas we took a cab to Megan's Bay and spent about 4 hours there. It was beautiful. Total cost for the day was about $50.00.

 

St Marteen we just strolled around and did some shopping. Love bartering with the jewelers there and we brought home a few nice things at a very good price.

 

 

Grand Turk....well there is just not much there but the beach, period.

 

 

Jamaica we went to Bamboo Beach, another Carnival all inclusive excursion. I think we paid $50 or so apiece and it was all you can eat and alcohol. Very tasty food and the beach was lovely. Nice shade and they just waited on everyone hand and foot. Highly recommend this!

 

New movies on the pool deck were so much fun to watch! It was a little hard to find seating you pretty much had to get up there about 20 minutes early.

 

Lido deck barbeque was wonderful! Side areas to eat like the deli and the salad bar were great.

 

Steakhouse was a winner, we went twice and really enjoyed it! Well worth the money.

 

The few special events like the Captains Party were very nicely done and everyone loved them. The dress up for the 80's night and the Gala Midnight Buffet was stunning to say the least. They had special dancing classes and educational classes that everyone really enjoyed.

 

 

Disembarkation in New Orleans was a breeze. We self disembarked at 7:15AM and were straight off to the airport by 8:00AM.

 

 

The not so good...

 

 

Embarkation was just a melt down mess. It took 2 hours, with no place to sit, no guidance at all from Carnival. Pity to the folks that were Platinum or paid for FTTF because they were certainly not given any priority at all. It was a mass heard of humanity walking around trying to find a place to sit. The man in front of us in his early 50's and healthy fainted dead away from the heat.

 

All of the port days front loaded on the second leg left you pretty exhausted. Would be nice if they could break it up a little better. The ones who did all 21 days were really worn out. They had over 5 ports in a row.

 

 

Sorry but the food has really declined in selection and quality, just our opinion but it is what it is. There were nights we just really struggled to pick something good to eat. The lunch buffet was just not great either. We did not starve but I did not look forward to meal time nearly as much as in the past.

 

 

Our room was 6326 and right above the craps table in the casino midship. It got very loud at night which can be expected but you almost needed ear plugs. About night 6 a horrible burning odor started filling the cabin and although they searched they could not seem to find anything? After the second night of choking on the smell all of a sudden the room smelled overpoweringly of room air freshener. It was just bizarre and made it very hard to breath either way. I was wondering if it could have been the air sanitizing system for the casino but we could not get an answer and our room steward said absolutely the cabin was not normally like that.

 

 

The sea days had almost nothing to do. Very few deck activities. If you like cards and trivia games indoors you will love this cruise. The evenings were fine but nothing to get excited about. If you had small kids you were certainly on the wrong cruise.

 

 

A couple brought their "service dog" with them that was a miniature poodle being pushed around in a baby carriage complete with outfits. The dog supposedly alerted if the husband was going in to diabetic shock. Well half the time the wife was pushing it around while it yapped and enjoyed the sights and the husband was up on the pool deck having a cocktail (several times he was parked in his scooter chair right next to me for hours. It is really sad to see people take advantage of a very necessary ADA service for so many. Really not Carnival's fault but I could have done without the towel wringing by John Heald over what a hero the poodle was and how he had saved the man's life multiple times, (as he sipped his white Russian in the seat next to me with the dog in the baby carriage again).

 

I think they did an overall very nice job on this concept. They tried hard to make sure everyone had a great time and I think it was just an excellent value for the number of sea days. I think my husband and I just have determined that 10 days is probably too long for us.

 

If you have one of these trips coming up I am sure you will enjoy it very much. Nothing that happened spoiled our fun, but I think we need a line that has more to do. We might go again to try one of the newest ships.

 

Happy Sailing!

 

 

Is the new internet plan available on the Dream....like the plan on the Sunshine & Breeze?

[Sherman793]

Is the new internet plan available on the Dream....like the plan on the Sunshine & Breeze?

 

Yes it is and it worked really well. We paid $90.00 for the full 10 days and that gave us the mid-level plan. Internet and social media and I was able to keep up with the news and home and work just fine. It was a little slow uploading occasionally but not bad at all.

[Sherman793]

A few tiles missing and stained carpets and the ship is old?? Considering that 3K+ tromp through the old ship in a week, I think that is pretty good! When we sailed the Allure, 2 months after she was in FLA, we also saw stained carpets but did not really think about that until now........

 

Good to see the older items have made a come back, Gala/midnight buffet, enjoyed that years ago. So Puerto Rico was a mess wow, a bit disappointing to hear that. Also nice to hear the steakhouse was a hit, 21 days is along time to be on a ship, 10 days seems to just right but we will find out in Jan. So how was the weather, and was the dining room food better the the buffet?

 

Thanks for the review!!

 

The weather was beautiful, the sea was like glass. The dining room food was better than the buffet to me but there are soooo many specialty options that it more than makes up for what the buffet lacks.

[honestguy]

You should not judge without knowing the truth. First of all the dog was not a poodle. Second, a dog does not have to be a large dog to be a service dog. We saw the couple with the dog several times and never heard the dog yap. The dog was very well behaved and trained.

 

Bs on the dog being well behaved. These morons were on the first leg as well. The dog was almost never with the man, and I sat next to the dog for at least 15 minutes and it whined the entire time

[little buddy71]

The Journey cruise was great. DH and I really enjoyed it. San Juan was a nightmare! We did the B2B. Guest Services advised us to go through Customs and go into San Juan instead of sitting around the terminal and waiting for the ship to clear. We did that and it was a mistake. When we went to get back on we said we had the In Transit Guest cards. We were sent into a line and the wait began! Someone from Carnival finally came and added four people to move it faster (only two to start). When he told two to put the paddles down and take from the VIFP line, one said no and walked away with the other one. The Carnival guy brought us to a young man who couldn't get into the computer and requested help. He wanted the health form and credit card form which we had filled out onboard. The guy from Carnival finally told him just to go get our Sign & Sail cards and take the photo. He had a hard time finding the cards. He took the photo and we went find some space to stand and wait to get thought security. That was a mess in itself. When we got downstairs, we found out the photo needed to be taken again because it didn't appear. Over two hours to get back on board! What a way to start the second cruise! They were a lot of frustrated people trying to get on board. John said they don't usually have that many Platinum and Diamond member getting on. Carnival doesn't keep track and make adjustments?

[karinad]

My dh and I along with my sister and her dh were on the 2nd leg, too. Check-in was smooth and quick, but getting to the ship was a nightmare! They handed a letter to us (which we didn't read right away) that said that the escalators were broke. My sister's dh has a problem walking due to a foot problem and there was no one around to get a wheelchair when we realized how far we had to walk. We were all exhausted and sweating when we finally got to our cabins.

 

Sailing was very smooth even when it was supposed to be choppy. The weather was good. This was our 3rd Carnival Cruise and my least favorite. I, also found that the food wasn't as good as the other 2 cruises, but it was still good. The crew was great and the ship clean. The entertainment was disappointing. There were more then a few nights that were very slow. On the other 2 we were on there was always a comedy show at Punchliners and a show going on in the theater. Not this cruise!

 

We did have a nice time, but it was the first cruise that just seemed to drag! We always do cruises of 8 to 12 days, so we're used to more then a week. I have no real complaints and would book Carnival again if I seen a good deal.

[Tobypace]

I was also on the (b2b) Dream Journeys cruise. That little dog, despite the cute outfits, is a "real" service dog. It had to go through a 3 year training and certification process, and does alert to hypoglycaemic episodes for its owner.

 

Sometimes those little fellas are useful for (dangerous) nocturnal hypoglycaemic episodes. During the day, it's easier to test and be safe. When you are sleeping, not so much. As a type 1 diabetic, if you ever have been woken in the midst of a violent seizure from hypoglycaemia, you would REALLY appreciate a trained service dog sleeping with you to wake you before that happens.

 

Hate to see the judgemental remarks here for that couple. You DO NOT KNOW the medical needs that man has, nor the work that cute little dog does.

 

rant over.

[Sherman793]

I was also on the (b2b) Dream Journeys cruise. That little dog, despite the cute outfits, is a "real" service dog. It had to go through a 3 year training and certification process, and does alert to hypoglycaemic episodes for its owner.

 

Sometimes those little fellas are useful for (dangerous) nocturnal hypoglycaemic episodes. During the day, it's easier to test and be safe. When you are sleeping, not so much. As a type 1 diabetic, if you ever have been woken in the midst of a violent seizure from hypoglycaemia, you would REALLY appreciate a trained service dog sleeping with you to wake you before that happens.

 

Hate to see the judgemental remarks here for that couple. You DO NOT KNOW the medical needs that man has, nor the work that cute little dog does.

 

rant over.

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I was only commenting on what I personally saw. I was not aware that you could drink alcohol with a medical condition like that. I certainly have sympathy for anyone with the need to take their service dog. If you need it and you have one then you are a very fortunate person indeed.

[kteachcruiser52]

Well I know inquiring minds want to know about the new Journey cruises, so I will share some highlights. This is our first Carnival cruise in 6 years and just my husband and I, ( 56 and 46 yrs old ) cruised. We have been cruising Royal for the last six years and had cruise Carnival 6 times prior.

 

Carnival has a decent product, our expectations were not wildly high and I would say they hit the middle of the road in the actual experience. It was never awful but there are not a lot of things that will stand out in our memory either. I am not saying that to disparage anyone from going at all...it was a fine experience overall.

 

The ship is certainly showing some age and no doubt will be better after dry dock. Carpets are stained and some tiles missing at the pools and hot tubs, but considering she has been sailing every week for years now I think it looks really good. The crew is excellent! Cleaning everything, everywhere all the time. No dishes left anywhere, mopping the pool deck constantly and very nice and engaging.

 

We were blessed with the presence of John Heald on our second leg of the journey and he was as funny as ever.

 

We had a few highs and a few lows.

 

 

The highs first:

 

The ports were fun. We did ziplining through the ship in St Kitts and I was a novice. I would do it again and again...we loved it and although I am afraid of heights the excellent company we used made me feel very safe and comfortable.

 

St Thomas we took a cab to Megan's Bay and spent about 4 hours there. It was beautiful. Total cost for the day was about $50.00.

 

St Marteen we just strolled around and did some shopping. Love bartering with the jewelers there and we brought home a few nice things at a very good price.

 

 

Grand Turk....well there is just not much there but the beach, period.

 

 

Jamaica we went to Bamboo Beach, another Carnival all inclusive excursion. I think we paid $50 or so apiece and it was all you can eat and alcohol. Very tasty food and the beach was lovely. Nice shade and they just waited on everyone hand and foot. Highly recommend this!

 

New movies on the pool deck were so much fun to watch! It was a little hard to find seating you pretty much had to get up there about 20 minutes early.

 

Lido deck barbeque was wonderful! Side areas to eat like the deli and the salad bar were great.

 

Steakhouse was a winner, we went twice and really enjoyed it! Well worth the money.

 

The few special events like the Captains Party were very nicely done and everyone loved them. The dress up for the 80's night and the Gala Midnight Buffet was stunning to say the least. They had special dancing classes and educational classes that everyone really enjoyed.

 

 

Disembarkation in New Orleans was a breeze. We self disembarked at 7:15AM and were straight off to the airport by 8:00AM.

 

 

The not so good...

 

 

Embarkation was just a melt down mess. It took 2 hours, with no place to sit, no guidance at all from Carnival. Pity to the folks that were Platinum or paid for FTTF because they were certainly not given any priority at all. It was a mass heard of humanity walking around trying to find a place to sit. The man in front of us in his early 50's and healthy fainted dead away from the heat.

 

All of the port days front loaded on the second leg left you pretty exhausted. Would be nice if they could break it up a little better. The ones who did all 21 days were really worn out. They had over 5 ports in a row.

 

 

Sorry but the food has really declined in selection and quality, just our opinion but it is what it is. There were nights we just really struggled to pick something good to eat. The lunch buffet was just not great either. We did not starve but I did not look forward to meal time nearly as much as in the past.

 

 

Our room was 6326 and right above the craps table in the casino midship. It got very loud at night which can be expected but you almost needed ear plugs. About night 6 a horrible burning odor started filling the cabin and although they searched they could not seem to find anything? After the second night of choking on the smell all of a sudden the room smelled overpoweringly of room air freshener. It was just bizarre and made it very hard to breath either way. I was wondering if it could have been the air sanitizing system for the casino but we could not get an answer and our room steward said absolutely the cabin was not normally like that.

 

 

The sea days had almost nothing to do. Very few deck activities. If you like cards and trivia games indoors you will love this cruise. The evenings were fine but nothing to get excited about. If you had small kids you were certainly on the wrong cruise.

 

 

A couple brought their "service dog" with them that was a miniature poodle being pushed around in a baby carriage complete with outfits. The dog supposedly alerted if the husband was going in to diabetic shock. Well half the time the wife was pushing it around while it yapped and enjoyed the sights and the husband was up on the pool deck having a cocktail (several times he was parked in his scooter chair right next to me for hours. It is really sad to see people take advantage of a very necessary ADA service for so many. Really not Carnival's fault but I could have done without the towel wringing by John Heald over what a hero the poodle was and how he had saved the man's life multiple times, (as he sipped his white Russian in the seat next to me with the dog in the baby carriage again).

 

I think they did an overall very nice job on this concept. They tried hard to make sure everyone had a great time and I think it was just an excellent value for the number of sea days. I think my husband and I just have determined that 10 days is probably too long for us.

 

If you have one of these trips coming up I am sure you will enjoy it very much. Nothing that happened spoiled our fun, but I think we need a line that has more to do. We might go again to try one of the newest ships.

 

Happy Sailing!

 

it is very possible that it was indeed a service dog. For a type 1 diabetic, the time that is most critical is during the night when the diabetic is asleep. For many, the longer you are a type one diabetic the less likely you will wake up during the night when your blood sugar goes dangerously low. Some people have troubles with this from the beginning. One mom said that until they got a diabetic service dog, she never slept longer than 3 hours at night because she had to set her alarm to go in and do a blood test on her child. My family has both type 1 and type 2 diabetics. This dog probably did most of its "work" at night. I would never judge whether a dog was a legit service because you have no way of knowing by looking at the dog.

[kteachcruiser52]

U

John Heald posted a picture of the couple and the dog on his webpage, in conjunction with his demonizing the man that didn't think the dog should be in the dining room. And if the dog was there to "detect" the man having a seizure, why was the wife parading the dog around in a baby carriage instead of letting it "protect" the poor husband? Sorry, just my opinion, but these people were pulling the wool over Carnival's eyes.

 

Read my other post concerning diabetic service dogs. The dog probably did most of its "work" at night while the man was sleeping. During the day, the man probably monitored by using finger pricks and strips to detect lows. The dog was not there to detect what most people would think of as a seizure. She was there to detect low blood sugar. I have a son with type 1 diabetes and a husband with type 2 and the doctor has never called them a seizure but a hypoglycemic episode. They are very real and very scary. Luckily at this point my son usually wakes up when his goes very low, but that may not always be the case. I am glad a service dog is an option if nighttime lows became a serious problem. As far as alcohol, diabetics are cautioned to eat while they are drinking and to test more frequently. Alcohol is not strictly prohibited according to our doctor.

Edited November 5, 2015 by kteachcruiser52

[Tobypace]

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I was only commenting on what I personally saw. I was not aware that you could drink alcohol with a medical condition like that. I certainly have sympathy for anyone with the need to take their service dog. If you need it and you have one then you are a very fortunate person indeed.

 

Diabetics can drink alcohol. I enjoyed wine with every dinner, and a couple of cocktails during the day.

 

Yes, we are all entitled to opinions. What I stated, however, was not an opinion, but fact.

 

I also have a Lhasa Apso, cute as a bug's ear, that wakes me at night if I'm going into hypoglycemia. I'm sure many would think he was a 'fake'.

Edited November 5, 2015 by Tobypace

[panamatiger]

The Journey cruise was great. DH and I really enjoyed it. San Juan was a nightmare! We did the B2B. Guest Services advised us to go through Customs and go into San Juan instead of sitting around the terminal and waiting for the ship to clear. We did that and it was a mistake. When we went to get back on we said we had the In Transit Guest cards. We were sent into a line and the wait began! Someone from Carnival finally came and added four people to move it faster (only two to start). When he told two to put the paddles down and take from the VIFP line, one said no and walked away with the other one. The Carnival guy brought us to a young man who couldn't get into the computer and requested help. He wanted the health form and credit card form which we had filled out onboard. The guy from Carnival finally told him just to go get our Sign & Sail cards and take the photo. He had a hard time finding the cards. He took the photo and we went find some space to stand and wait to get thought security. That was a mess in itself. When we got downstairs, we found out the photo needed to be taken again because it didn't appear. Over two hours to get back on board! What a way to start the second cruise! They were a lot of frustrated people trying to get on board. John said they don't usually have that many Platinum and Diamond member getting on. Carnival doesn't keep track and make adjustments?

 

Did the B2B also. Must have had the travel Gods with us. We got off the ship about 9am and came back at 4:30 pm. We had heard from other sail-ers that it got crazy; especially those coming on board. Yeah,,,it was Hot that Sunday in San Juan. There were 4 ships in San Juan that Sunday also. The trolley system was overwhelmed. One van taxi pulled up to a trolley stop we were at...said $3 apiece and Ill drive you all to the Forts. No Problem !!!.. Still a great port city

 

Edited November 29, 2015 by panamatiger

[katiel53]

A few months ago I was on a flight and next to me was a woman taking a service dog to Chicago to assist a young boy with diabetes. He was trained to alert when sugars were high or low. The dog sat on the floor of the bulkhead and stayed there the entire flight.

 

This dog on the Journey cruise may have been a service dog, but the way the woman dressed the dog up in outfits including sun glasses, drove it around in a baby stroller and fed it from her plate and fork made me really wonder. I never saw the dog with the husband.

 

The wife paraded the dog around the ship and allowed people to pet the dog etc. As posted the dog yipped often. I have never seen a service dog, a true service dog, be treated the way this woman did this one.

 

I know there were many people who didn't believe this dog is a service dog solely based on how she was dressed etc. I'm not saying that the dog didn't save the husband's life, but, I do believe the wife needs to get a grip and if the dog is a service dog, let it be one and not just be her personal attention getter.