Kidless dream cruise vacation 2015

[jennifer1t]

Will try to be to the point as possible,

About us- I'm 34 husband is 33. We have 2 small kids 2 and 4 who we left with my MIL. We're from Slidell, Louisiana. NOT party animals at all, needed some alone time before the kiddos start going to "real" school and make it harder to travel.

 

Embarking NOLA

Showed up about 1:15 and the line moved consistently the entire way in. Took us about an hour until we were on the boat. Room was ready, no luggage yet.

 

 

Room 2262 cove balcony

Port side forward. Easy access to encore room, serenity deck, gym. Little to no noise except for last day when people were in halls a lot. Noise from water was like a sound machine, very relaxing. First and last night had choppy waters, very noisy when the boat went through waves. It didn't bother me. Tipped Jimmy our room guy $20 on the first day, saw him and interacted with him every day since. Very helpful and friendly.

 

 

 

Food

Pasta place- went as soon as we got situated. Very good and empty. Fast, Fresh and flavorful!

Mongolian wok- super yummy- long line even on port day. Hot food, fresh, and fast service.

BBQ- hot, good- potato salad was groooooss but rest of food was good. Pretty cool watching them cook right in front of you. Very windy (lol)

Burrito bar- flavorful, fast, yummy

Pizza pirate- OK pizza, if you're drunk. Lol

Grill- hot dog was good, potato salad was groooooossss

Chocolate extravaganza- get there early. Only because everything is still cool and fresh. We showed up about an hour and a half in and everything was lukewarm. Yuck (out fault)

Tea time- again get there early, lukewarm cucumber sandwiches and desserts aren't good- tea was Delish

 

We had breakfast in the dining room every day- loved it. Good service and great food

Brunch on sea days- super yummy, fast service.

Dinner in dining room was hit or miss. We got a two seater and I sometimes felt like we were forgotten. Food took forever to get some days. It's whatever, I didn't mind.

Steakhouse was ahhhhhmazing. Do it. Eat there, the first night on the boat you get a free bottle of wine of you make a reservation. Everything was amazing!

We went to the steakhouse cooking demo and got to taste some more of their food- it was Delish!

Windy BBQ

 

 

 

 

(We ate a lot- just saying)

 

Jamaica

4x4 jeep safari and hidden waterfall-

So fun! We really enjoyed getting to see and hear about Jamaica. I felt totally safe and am glad I got into this shore excursion. I procrastinated in booking it and it sold out. As soon as we got on the ship I went to shore excursions and got on the waiting list. Perfect beautiful day!

 

Grand Cayman

Kayaking in he mangroves and stingray city

Kayaked for 45 minutes around a peninsula. The tour guide only talked to the two boats in he front- could barely hear what he said. They were real nice though. Stingray City was fun tons of people but also lots of stingrays to go around! Ate at breezes by the bay and spend $40 on a burger and 6 shrimp. Save your money and eat at the ship- this island is for rich people! Lol

 

 

Cozumel

Nachi cocom- only allows 100 reservations per day $55 per person. This was my favorite day. All inclusive resort with beautiful waters and good food. Drinks were plenty as well. Very relaxing day- I didn't want to leave! We also bought all of our gifts here as they were cheap and plenty.

 

Entertainment.

The first and second sea days were fun as we were exploring the ship mostly. Lots of things to do and see. Watched the sun set on the secret deck (floor 9 there is a door in the front left of the ship, no one knows about this deck)

The encore shows were fantastic, don't miss the legends show. Very entertaining, sang karaoke, played the corn hole game, watched dive in movies, played bingo, all were fun, no complaints.

 

 

The hot tubs were cold- freeeeeZing the last night. I was able to utilize the spa amenities one day and am glad I didn't pay for it (I met someone who invited me to join her one night) the thalassotherapy pool was nice but at the time crowded, it was very warm. The individual rooms were cool, I didn't get what the big hype was about heated tiled seats and scented rooms. I would've rathered take a nap in my room [emoji6]

Not a lot to do the last sea day. I suppose they expect you to want to pack all day. So we slept a lot.

 

My "free" drink for being a gold VIP member ended up not being free. I got a chocolate martini from the piano bar and the bartender was upset about another gold VIP member taking off with the receipt and drink coupon so she had to pay for it out of pocket, she really shouldn't have dumped all that on us, she was visibly upset and made us feel like we were bothering her.

 

Long lines to get into the comedy club allll the time. Had to get there very early if you want a good spot. Ain't nobody got time fa dat!

 

Anyway- if you have any questions or want to see more photos I'll upload more. We had a great time!

 

Also- I do recall mentioning "man it smells like **** in here" while walking down our hallway, but we have kids and it wasn't THAT significant to where we let it mess up our vacation.

[Raxter54]

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing on the Dream at the end of January. Agree with you about Nachi Cocom - very relaxing day.

 

How bad was the smell? Did you just notice it on your deck, or was it noticeable throughout the ship?

 

Glad to hear Pasta Bella was not crowded on embarkation - we plan on hitting it when we get on board.

 

Did you use the port parking garage, or park somewhere else?

 

Thanks again for the review...

[jennifer1t]

The smell was just on our floor- deck 2. Randomly.

My MIL actually dropped us off.

[ddloml]

OP wrote:

"Room 2262 cove balcony

Port side forward. Easy access to encore room, serenity deck, gym. Little to no noise except for last day when people were in halls a lot. Noise from water was like a sound machine, very relaxing. First and last night had choppy waters, very noisy when the boat went through waves. It didn't bother me. Tipped Jimmy our room guy $20 on the first day, saw him and interacted with him every day since. Very helpful and friendly."

 

I think we were on the Dream the week before you, because our ports were Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. I have to agree with you about Jimmy, your room steward. We were in Room 2252 (port side cove balcony) and had him. DW was always asking him for favors (extra ice, could you empty the fridge so that we can put our cans in it, could I have an extra blanket, could you replace the towel animal my husband destroyed:o) and he always responded promptly and with a smile. I made sure to give him an extra $20 on the last night.

 

It was a nice cruise, but the Dream is too big of a ship for me. It seemed to have the same amenities as the Glory or Liberty, but it held 600+ more passengers. There were lines for everything; I never did eat from the Mongolian Wok. MDR was efficient though. We had the fixed 8:15 seating and were out by 9:30 or sooner every night. Embarkation in NOLA was an ordeal as well. We arrived at about 1:45 after sightseeing in the city for the morning and early afternoon. The line always moved, but we had to stop at about a half dozen stations to complete the process, and it took about an hour to get through it all.

[Kittybork]

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing on the Dream at the end of January. Agree with you about Nachi Cocom - very relaxing day.

 

How bad was the smell? Did you just notice it on your deck, or was it noticeable throughout the ship?

 

Glad to hear Pasta Bella was not crowded on embarkation - we plan on hitting it when we get on board.

 

Did you use the port parking garage, or park somewhere else?

 

Thanks again for the review...

 

I know you didn't ask me, but parking in the NOLA parking garage is super easy.

[BettyPC]

All info is welcome!!

[Raxter54]

I know you didn't ask me, but parking in the NOLA parking garage is super easy.

 

We will be using the Fulton Street garage. It's cheaper, and I will gladly ride the shuttle bus and let the driver contend with the traffic :)

[coevan]

oh crap, from the heading I thought CCL was going to offer a adults only cruise. If so, sign me up.

[jennifer1t]

OMG that would be amazing- although there were VERY little kids on this cruise. Li barely saw any the entire week!

[sunbird21]

That would be bc they were ALL on my cruise. All 1400 of them.

 

 

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