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Dream x3: A Semi-LIVE report from the Carnival Dream

adam3313

By adam3313,
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adam3313

adam3313

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Greetings from Montego Bay!

 

Sorry for the lack of an update last night, the internet access was not cooperating.

 

We made a stop in Grand Cayman early for an emergency medical situation. It did not seem to affect our arrival time in Jamaica.

 

Last night was basically a repeat of Monday night. So I won't go into any details on that haha. Tonight should be different as the piano bar is off tonight, so I will likely spend some time at Karaoke, or attending the carnival quest. If you've never seen the quest, I highly recommend it. It is one of the funniest shows you will see onboard, courtesy of your fellow passengers.

 

Today I spent the day at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort. I was off the ship super early to meet my excursion with Resort for a day. After a ~30 minute drive, we arrived at the resort and were quickly checked in and able to use all the facilities.

 

I spent the day between sitting at the pool bar and floating on the lazy river. I would've liked to float more, but my shoulders and arms and chest got burnt up yesterday, and there was not a ton of shade around the lazy river, haha. I also went down the water slides, which were fun! They have some small body slides, and a big tube slide that shoots you right into the main part of the water park pool.

 

I enjoyed a Jamaican beef patty and a quesadilla for lunch.

 

My drinks of the day went between Miami Vices and Red Stripes. I also tried a Bam Bam, which is the drink of the day.

 

I was a little concerned with our tour operator having us get back only an hour before onboard time. I pushed for at least an extra half hour of cushion time, but the rest of the tour voted for more time at the resort. SHOCKINGLY, we hit traffic, as the driver expected, and i dinged back on to the boat at 4:28, just two minutes to spare. Luckily I had no reason to stop in the shops.

 

Time for Sailaway!

 

 

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adam3313

adam3313

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Greetings from Montego Bay!

 

Sorry for the lack of an update last night, the internet access was not cooperating.

 

We made a stop in Grand Cayman early for an emergency medical situation. It did not seem to affect our arrival time in Jamaica.

 

Last night was basically a repeat of Monday night. So I won't go into any details on that haha. Tonight should be different as the piano bar is off tonight, so I will likely spend some time at Karaoke, or attending the carnival quest. If you've never seen the quest, I highly recommend it. It is one of the funniest shows you will see onboard, courtesy of your fellow passengers.

 

Today I spent the day at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort. I was off the ship super early to meet my excursion with Resort for a day. After a ~30 minute drive, we arrived at the resort and were quickly checked in and able to use all the facilities.

 

I spent the day between sitting at the pool bar and floating on the lazy river. I would've liked to float more, but my shoulders and arms and chest got burnt up yesterday, and there was not a ton of shade around the lazy river, haha. I also went down the water slides, which were fun! They have some small body slides, and a big tube slide that shoots you right into the main part of the water park pool.

 

I enjoyed a Jamaican beef patty and a quesadilla for lunch.

 

My drinks of the day went between Miami Vices and Red Stripes. I also tried a Bam Bam, which is the drink of the day.

 

I was a little concerned with our tour operator having us get back only an hour before onboard time. I pushed for at least an extra half hour of cushion time, but the rest of the tour voted for more time at the resort. SHOCKINGLY, we hit traffic, as the driver expected, and i dinged back on to the boat at 4:28, just two minutes to spare. Luckily I had no reason to stop in the shops.

 

Time for Sailaway!

 

 

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adam3313

adam3313

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Greetings from Grand Cayman day!

 

Today I was a little too sunburnt to enjoy the beach, but got off the ship and just explored port a little bit. I got back on board and tried my hand at a few trivias. I finished in 2nd place twice, and finally won game of thrones trivia to get my ship on a stick!

 

Dinner tonight included some mushroom cream fusilli and steak!

 

I caught the early showing of Flick, which is an awesome main stage show featuring music from movies!

 

I took a bit of a beating at the casino, and now am drowning my sorrows at the piano bar. We'll try to get back at the casino later.

 

At least my efforts at the casino earned me a hot stone massage this Saturday, on their dime. Looking forward to that!

 

Talk later!

 

 

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bobbyg11

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They....they have the ships on a stick? 1st week of May I was in Dream and won 3 trivias. We got Olympic style medals...Boat on a Rope lol lol. I wanted a Ship on a Stick..... *man I'm pathetic* haha

 

 

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adam3313

adam3313

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Greetings from Cozumel, our final port of call.

 

My luck never got better in the casino last night. Today, after getting off the boat I wasn't feeling great. I'm not sure if it was something I ate or what but I spent the next few hours resting.

 

I made it up for sailaway, feeling a lot better. I'm currently waiting for America Rocks to start.

 

It seems sailing away from Cozumel we are hitting the roughest seas I've felt this week. It has been very calm all week, so hopefully it's just a few errant waves!

 

We've got two more nights aboard the Carnival Dream, and one more sea day to enjoy. I may even be able to lay in the sun a bit, as my burn has calmed down finally. I have a 4:30 appointment for a hot stone massage tomorrow. Looking forward to that for sure.

 

Will check back in later, the show is starting.

 

Also, don't worry, I've been grabbing pictures all week and will be posting when I get home. It's been too frustrating to get them to post.

 

 

 

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winddawn

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Greetings from Cozumel, our final port of call.

 

My luck never got better in the casino last night. Today, after getting off the boat I wasn't feeling great. I'm not sure if it was something I ate or what but I spent the next few hours resting.

 

I made it up for sailaway, feeling a lot better. I'm currently waiting for America Rocks to start.

 

It seems sailing away from Cozumel we are hitting the roughest seas I've felt this week. It has been very calm all week, so hopefully it's just a few errant waves!

 

We've got two more nights aboard the Carnival Dream, and one more sea day to enjoy. I may even be able to lay in the sun a bit, as my burn has calmed down finally. I have a 4:30 appointment for a hot stone massage tomorrow. Looking forward to that for sure.

 

Will check back in later, the show is starting.

 

Also, don't worry, I've been grabbing pictures all week and will be posting when I get home. It's been too frustrating to get them to post.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm looking forward to seeing your photos once you get home. Enjoy the show tonight, and your sea day tomorrow.

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adam3313

adam3313

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Hey all,

 

I didn't forget about you. It's been a wild day. My flight back to dc has been delayed 5 hours and I am working on 2 hours of sleep, so I can't even think straight right now. I promise I will get more updates when I finally make it home.

 

 

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adam3313

adam3313

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Hey all!

 

I promise I didn't forget about you!

 

It has been a mixture of catching up on sleep when I can, and a very busy week at work, so I haven't gotten to this as quick as I would've liked, but I have not forgot about you guys! I definitely want to finish out the "live" portion, as well as give my overall thoughts on the trip.

 

I'll be back later tonight to finish up. All of my pictures are back at home, and I'm writing this on lunch break. Just didn't want you guys to think I forgot.

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HLNFan

HLNFan

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Hey all!

 

I promise I didn't forget about you!

 

It has been a mixture of catching up on sleep when I can, and a very busy week at work, so I haven't gotten to this as quick as I would've liked, but I have not forgot about you guys! I definitely want to finish out the "live" portion, as well as give my overall thoughts on the trip.

 

I'll be back later tonight to finish up. All of my pictures are back at home, and I'm writing this on lunch break. Just didn't want you guys to think I forgot.

 

Yay! We leave in 16 days so I am loving the info!

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adam3313

adam3313

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Greetings from back in Northern VA!

 

Time to complete this review.

 

I believe when I left you off on the ship, I was waiting for the beginning of the America Rocks show. So let's pick up there.

 

I was impressed with this show. Admittedly, I have only gone to a few shows that are in the main theater. I'm not sure if this one replaced Epic Rock or if its just an additional show, but it was very much in the same vein of that show. Pre-show, they handed out bandannas, and allowed people to come on stage to get fake tattoos, and get pictures with some of the playlist productions staff dressed as rock stars.

 

The show itself included many great classic rock artists. My two favorite bands are Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Bon Jovi, and both are included in this show. If you're a fan of classic rock, you will enjoy this show for sure.

 

I headed over to the casino right after the show ended to be present for the 8pm Big Loot Draw. It's a good thing I got there, because I was selected as the winner! Since no one had been present when called the past few days, the jackpot was up to $650. I was pretty excited, especially after getting beat up in the casino the night before.

 

The big loot draw is not for Cash though: you get your choice of slot play, or table fun chips. You have to play through the amount to get to any cash winnings. I took funplay chips, which in retrospect I probably should've done slot play, and just played it through a $1 slot machine. I was given a rack of $5 funplay chips, and made my way to the blackjack table. I did ok playing with the funchips, but my luck from the previous night continued right as I started playing with actual chips. Oh well, at least it gave me a little bit of their money to play with.

 

I made my way over to the piano bar shortly after 9, and stayed there until closing time. After we closed the piano bar, we headed over to the Caliente Nightclub, and closed that down as well. We had a decent sized group coming from the piano bar, and had a ton of fun closing down the club.

 

After closing the club, I proceeded to have a short hot streak at the casino before they closed. After a few slices of late night pizza, I headed back to the stateroom to rest for the final day of the cruise :(

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adam3313

adam3313

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And now, the last day at sea of the trip.

 

After the late night, I set no alarm and slept in on my last opportunity to do so on the trip. I believe I was up around 11, and went and grabbed something to eat around noon.

 

As is what is somewhat of a tradition on the final sea day of my cruises, it poured rain this afternoon. I would've been OK with getting some sun today, as my sunburn was finally feeling better today, but the weather had other ideas.

 

In the afternoon, I watched the UEFA Champions League Final, in which my team, Real Madrid, got a big win 4-1. I wandered around the ship until 4:30, which is when I had my comped hot stone massage.

 

I made my way to the spa, and had my 50 minute hot stone massage. The massage was amazing, the sales pitch afterwards I could have done without. I usually only get a massage for special occasions, or when someone else is covering the bill. She tried to convince me that I had an issue in my lower back that a special body wash and soak would help with. I politely told her I would talk to a chiropractor back on land about it. I was a little annoyed, as I was rushing to make it to get my last Guy's burger of the trip. I made it in time, and it was delicious, as each of them are.

 

After getting my guy's burger, I showered up after the massage, and got dressed for the final night aboard the Dream. I made my way to the casino, played for about an hour, and came out even on the blackjack table. I was doing well until a group came over that decided to play against basic strategy, and cost me a few times. Made for getting to the show early, haha.

 

The final show onboard was the Finals of the Carnival Lip Sync Battle. If you weren't aware, Carnival has a partnership with the Spike TV show of the same name. It debuted on the Vista earlier this year, and this was actually only the 2nd cruise that it was offered on the Dream. The event began on the first sea day, with auditions on Lido Deck. One guy and one girl were selected that day, and midway through the cruise they had the first "battle round" out in the Atrium one night, and also had a photo shoot afterwards. In the theater for the finals, each contestant was introduced, and lip synced a song, before going backstage to get ready for the final battle. For the final battle, each was costumed, and did a song with the playlist productions cast as their backup dancers. Before each contestant went on, they showed a short slideshow of the events earlier in the week. The girl's final song was "It's Raining Men", while the guy performed the Usher song "Yeah!". He won the contest, and the belt. Before the show was over, Mat joined in to his own lip sync. I won't spoil his song/outfit, as I know a lot of you are going on the ship soon, but needless to say, it was hilarious!

 

After the lip sync battle was over, I stopped in the casino for a bit to get a few drinks, and then headed to the piano bar around 9. Closed out the piano bar, and the nightclub again. Afterwards, headed up for pizza with the piano bar crowd, and we ended up hanging out chatting as we rode up the river. I think we were out til around 4:45 am. Not ideal with the early wake up call the next day...

 

Next post will have the details of debarkation day...

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adam3313

adam3313

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My alarm to wake up on the final day of the ship came far to quick. I'm pretty sure I was able to see the New Orleans skyline before I went inside to sleep. I had my alarm set a bit earlier, as I decided to hold off on packing until the morning.

 

I completed packing, showered, and vacated the stateroom right at 8am. I trudged down the steps from deck 9 to deck 3, and made it there right in time for my deck to be called. I breezed right off the ship, and was out of the terminal at around 8:20 I believe.

 

My flight wasn't until 6:30 pm, so I had a lot of time to burn. I walked through the Riverwalk shops, and made my way to Harrah's to see if I could pass the time. Luckily for me, my luck from the ship didn't follow me, and I was able to play until 3pm, and made a nice dent towards what I gave to the casino onboard! Also, I ran into some of the casino dealers from the Dream, and got to hang out with them, which was an added bonus.

 

I got an Uber from Harrah's to the airport, for around $33. A few bucks cheaper than a cab, and rode in a nice Lexus SUV. Checked my luggage, and made my way past TSA. Love that Precheck!

 

I grabbed a jambalaya wrap at the Zatarain's Kitchen, and then found a nice area on the ground to lay down for about an hour before my flight. I was pretty tired at this point, with my lack of sleep the night before, and a steady stream of diet cokes at Harrah's. When I got up and went to my gate, I saw we had an hour delay. I went back and laid down again, and when I woke up again, sure enough we had another delay. I relocated to my gate to be closer to hear what was going on.

 

Shortly after I got there, they told us that our flight would be at 11:30pm, and because of the big delay, we would all receive a $200 voucher for the inconvenience. Not too long after that, everyone started getting Text Alerts that our flight was cancelled....I ran to get a spot in line, but when I got there, the gate agent told us that it was a false alarm, they had found a crew for our flight, and we would be departing at 11pm...

 

At this point, I was hungry again, and of course, every restaurant in the terminal was closed already. I settled for chips, M&Ms, and a soda from the Hudson News store. Right when I got back to the gate, Southwest brought out snacks and sodas for us...So much for my $13 meal, haha.

 

Our flight finally showed up, and we left around 11pm, and we landed at DCA around 2:30am, 4 and a half hours after the original scheduled time. Luckily everything else was closed at the airport, and I got an Uber really fast. I made it to my house before 3am. I was exhausted to say the least.

 

That ends the travel adventure, and my week on the Dream. I'll be back a bit later with a recap, and my thoughts, as well as posting some more pictures that I took through the week!

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E@syPe@zy

E@syPe@zy

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I'm exhausted from your debarkation day...and night! What an ordeal! Did you find out what the reason for you delay was for your flight??

Thank goodness you're young and can sleep on the floor...bless your heart! As I was reading this I was making a mental note to myself to make sure I get a hotel the day I get off of the ship and fly home the following day. It just seems that flights on debarkation day are filled with interesting turns and changes.

Love the Harrah's in New Orleans...so much fun. Actually I just love New Orleans.

Thanks so much for the review!

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