Living the DREAM! A 1st time cruiser's review 2/24/19 to 3/3/19

[football43]

On 2/25/2019 at 7:29 AM, bbtbear said:

Good morning! I woke up on a cruise ship! Hooray! As I am waiting for my sister to sleep off the bottle of wine she drank in the steak house last night (no, really! Haha!), I thought I would start a thread here to share with you all how it is going since I have loved reading about others' adventures. So... here we go...

 

Boarding:

We stayed at the Loews New Orleans, very close to the port, but even so... if you are sailing out of NOLA any time during Carnival/Mardi Gras, I can't stress enough that you should check parade schedules and routes and make plans around that chaos. For example, my sister flew in late Saturday afternoon and her cab from the airport could get her no closer than about 10 blocks from the hotel, which she had to walk in the rain, dragging her suitcase through crowds of people. I came in the morning before the crowds and parades started and had no problems.

When we got a cab to take us to the port yesterday morning, another parade was getting ready to roll. We left the hotel a little after 10 and could already see chaos building. Traffic was heavy, and we could see the krewe's floats parked all over the place and kids from marching bands everywhere. 

We had faster to the fun, so the boarding process when we got to the port was a breeze. It was great to skip all the lines and get on board among the first people. Our room was ready as soon as we got on board at about 11:05.

Everything about the boarding process seemed smooth and easy, and every carnival employee we came into contact with was kind and smiling and helpful.

 

Cove Balcony Room:

We are in a cove balcony room that we have loved so far. There is plenty of storage space. I can confirm that there is exactly one outlet to plug things into, and one euro outlet that you can use a converter on.

We LOVE sitting out on our very private balcony, and spent a couple hours out there after sail away marveling at all the traffic and commerece on the Mississippi before dinner. I have been peeking out there all morning, too, as my sister snores away, but haven't gone out because I don't want to wake her. But some time in the night the muddy Mississippi gave way to big, beautiful waves and I can hear their soothing song, even with the door shut. I love it! So glad we picked this type of cabin!

We had pre-ordered a bunch of stuff for our room: water, liquor, mixers, snacks, fruit basket. Not everything was there when we arrived, but it was all delivered by about 6pm. Our luggage was delivered by about 3pm.

JayJay, our cabin steward, is just a doll. So sweet and fun and always smiling. Love him.

Can feel the movement of the ship some now that we are on big water, but it is not constant and feels like a gentle rocking when it is noticeable. The cabin was very quiet all night long. I will post the cabin number after we get off the ship.

Only complaint so far is the pillows aren't very comfortable. If you can bring your own, i would recommend that.

 

The Ship:

Good lord, this ship is huge!!! We have done some exploring, but there is still much we haven't seen, and we have gotten mixed up and turned around a comical number of times. It is big and beautiful and overwhelming.

We loved the Serenity deck, and spent some really enjoyable time just lounging together there and people watching. We had a blast playing ping pong very badly together on deck 11 above the Lido and laughing our butts off. We didn't take a single elevator yesterday, just the stairs all over the ship, so hopefully that will help stay in front of all the yummy foid and alcohol! Otherwise, they will need to roll us out of here like the girl who turns into a blueberry in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Ha!

 

WIFI:

I got the premium package. So far so good!

 

Food and Drink:

We got some burritos for lunch from the Blue Iguana yesterday for lunch. They were delicious! We also got some yummy margaritas from the Cantina. Fir dinner we went to the Steakhouse. Do NOT miss this! Holey cow! So delicious! We had little slider appetizers, compliments of the chef that were just packed with flavor! I had French Onion Soup that was just delicious, a spinach salad, lobster tails, a baked potato, and we had Art at Your Table for dessert. Every bite was scrumptious! My sister had ribeye and loved her dinner, too. We want to go back again before the week is out! I did the wine pairing with my dinner and got a half glass each of Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Port. All very good with their respective course of the meal except for the Chardonnay, but I am not a huge fan of Chardonnay, so.... Because it was the first night of the cruise, we got a free bottle of Merlot, which my sister pbviously enjoyed, and also got 50%off any bottle of wine on their winelist. I enjoyed the Riesling so much that I bought a bottle, and we also picked out a bottle of pinot noir. We were surprised they let us get the bottle of house wine, plus buy 2 more bottles, but they did. Andi, our server, was a delight. We just loved him. A magician also came to our table and did 4 or 5 card tricks, which was fun, although his personality was a bit wooden.

That is it for now! Will post again soon!

Enjoying your happy and enthusiastic review!  In the steakhouse on the first night, were you able to order those extra bottles of wine at 50% off?  I wasn't sure if you could order more than one and take it to your room.  Since you purchased them on board, are you able to take it to the MDR without paying a corkage fee?

[bbtbear]

Mani/ Pedis:

After my massage, I got a mani/pedis with my sister because tgat is how awesome my life is today! 😄 Wasn't as amazing as tge massage, but she still did a great job and now I am all decorated for Mardi Gras! 

 

Fun Times and today's towel animal below. 🙂

[bbtbear]

1 hour ago, football43 said:

Enjoying your happy and enthusiastic review!  In the steakhouse on the first night, were you able to order those extra bottles of wine at 50% off?  I wasn't sure if you could order more than one and take it to your room.  Since you purchased them on board, are you able to take it to the MDR without paying a corkage fee?

Yes! We received one free bottle of wine, plus were able to buy 2 bottles at 50% off because it was the first night. I don't think we would have been able to buy more than 2 because he said he would need to charge one to each of our folios. There is a corkage fee to bring the bottle to the dining room, but you can ppur a glass and bring it to dinner yourself and wont be charged. 🙂

[UnorigionalName]

On 2/25/2019 at 6:02 AM, bbtbear said:

 

don't know how I feel about them blatantly ripping off alinea/Achatz.

 

[bbtbear]

Sea Day Brunch part 2:

We hit the sea day brunch again today after seeing the line for Guy's bbq was about 20 deep 20 minutes before it even opened. My ham and cheddar omelette was hot off the griddle and very good. The mimosa I ordered, however, was hobbit sized, so that was disappointing.

 

Lanai Deck:

We found a really nice place on the Lanai Deck to enjoy the beautiful weather, which has become decidedly tropical since we left NOLA. it was nearly deserted and very quiet. We enjoyed soaking up some rays in peaceful tranquillity.

 

More later. Falling asleep... 

[Markmom18]

On 2/25/2019 at 9:18 PM, bbtbear said:

Bobbi, where on the ship might I spot your son? If you tell me where to look, I will keep my eye out!

 

   He'll be on the Sail Away Party on Deck. I just saw him in photos from a member here who just did a BTB on the Dream.  I know he's been doing Trivia, selling BINGO cards, hard to say exactly because there is not set assignments. But, he'll be doing the Fun things onboard with the guests. I think there are only around 8 people on the Fun Squad/Team lol I'm not sure the "official name".  I'll post a photo of him ...

Thank You so much!

🌸🌸. Bobbi

[bbtbear]

Dinner in the Main Dining Room:

No great shakes this time around. My sister and I had some kind of Caribbean chicken that was on special, but it wasn't that special, after all! But we had a great time with our table mates again and partied the rest of the night with some of them! Table 439 represent!!!!

 

PG Comedy show with Jon Stringer:

Omg, what a fun time this was! We laughed so hard that these ladies in front of us started throwing us shade and one stuffed napkins in her ears. At a comedy show. I know, I was confused, too. They are probably the life of the party at funerals! 

I digress, though. Jon Stringer was really very funny. Either be prepared to laugh your belly sore, or be prepared with napkins for your ears!

 

Totally 80s:

This floor show was GREAT for Gen Xers like us, especially since we had had a few drinks before going! 😛We sang along with one song after the next in this "totally awesome" trip down memory lane! Singing performances were much more solid than in the other production we saw. Tons of fun.

 

Rock & Glow 80s party:

Another very fun opportunity to wallow around in nostalgia. We loved dancing to all the old 80s tunes. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun!

 

 

[football43]

20 hours ago, bbtbear said:

Yes! We received one free bottle of wine, plus were able to buy 2 bottles at 50% off because it was the first night. I don't think we would have been able to buy more than 2 because he said he would need to charge one to each of our folios. There is a corkage fee to bring the bottle to the dining room, but you can ppur a glass and bring it to dinner yourself and wont be charged. 🙂

Thank you!

[bbtbear]

Isla Roatan:

We took the Jolly Roger catamaran snorkeling excursion through Carnival and are SO glad we did! It was amazing! They drove us about 20 minutes from the pier to where the catamaran was docked and took us out along the coast to our snorkeling location. They had all equipment available, although I brought my own. 

I can't even describe how wonderful the experience was. I literally saw hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of fish today that were every color of the rainbow. The Reef was absolutely gorgeous. The crew did a great job keeping everyone safe and together and so down to point out things like lobster and Starfish for us. OurTime snorkeling flew by. 

Afterwards they brought us all back on the boat and got the party started! They served us as many rum drinks as we could hold and the most delicious food that I've had since our vacation started. Really tasty Caribbean lunch that we enjoyed so much. They also gave each of us a piece of Honduran currency as a souvenir and took tons and tons of photos that they will post and give us a link to so that we can download them all for free. Overall, this was just a magnificent day. I can't recommend excursion enough.

Afterward, we went to the carnival owned Beach at Mahogany Bay and found some covered loungers just waiting for us. Enjoyed a quick dip in the ocean and headed back to the port for a little bit of shopping before getting back on the ship

Such a wonderful day. This vacation makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

[Jerseygirl1416]

Great report! I’m glad you’re enjoying your cruise. I lol’ed at your comments about the women in the comedy show.

[beccawes7471]

Loving your review, thanks for sharing! 

[Markmom18]

I really enjoy Trip reports with lots of photos, thank you so much!  Just gorgeous pix'sof the floral 'n fauna, view from the boat, etc. 😍

[Mommawo]

Thanks for the review!!! We board the Dream in like 9 days maybe heck idk but is soon.  Really enjoying reading everything you have to say!!!!!!

[mkcurran]

I'm really enjoying the enthusiasm of this review!

[bbtbear]

Ok, I have fallen a bit behind here! Sorry about that! Let me try to catch up...

 

Dive In Movies:

This was really fun, but those deck lounger chairs just aren't comfortable for 2 hours straight. Man, our butts fell asleep about 45 minutes in! Next time, I would sit at one of the tables ringing the Lido deck on deck 11 or 12. Other than that, really fun! Loved that there was free popcorn and everything!

 

Piano Bar:

This is definitely a fun way to spend some time. The piano man is fun and silly and talented, and the whole place has a great time belting out songs everybody knows. They could use more wait staff, though. Last night we literally sat there for 45 minutes without getting served before we left. We got to see a couple get engaged there, though! So sweet! I cried and they were total strangers, but I am goofy like that. I will post a photo below!

 

Karaoke:

We tried to make this happen, but when we walked in there was only one seat left and the poor guy singing should have stuck to his shower instead of bringing his act out on the road. Bless his heart. Lol! Not worth standing up for, though, so we didn't stay.

 

Alchemy Bar:

This was GREAT!  My sister ordered a cucumber sunrise off the menu, which was very tasty and refreshing. I had a drink created for me that the bartender created and named the Deep Purple. I know it had blackberries and rum and lemon zest. It was amazing. I had 2 in a row and wanted another but had to go.

 

Motown Show:

Lots of fun singing along with all these hits! Our cruise actually has 2 playlists casts on board, as they are switching out on this cruise. We saw the opening performance for the new cast. Tons of talent. Lots of fun!

 

Guys Burgers:

Ok so now we get why there is always a line here! Omg, yum!!! I would eat here constantly if I didn't gain 5 pounds just smelling food like that! Highly recommend!

 

Pizzaria del Capitano:

Wow! So tasty! I know not everyone likes a really thin pizza crust like these are, but my sister had the funghi and I had the quattro frommagi and we both loved them. Mine was just packed with flavor. Totally recommend.

 

Red Frog rum bar:

Neither of us were very impressed by the drinks we got here, but the bartender was a ton of fun, which made it a good experience overall.

 

Fun Times

I know I am behind posting these, but my sister is sleeping, so I don't want to make noise getting photos. Will post them soon, promise!

[bbtbear]

[mvaughn11]

Love the review! Thanks!

[bbtbear]

Belize Lamanai Ruins:

This was a great tour! It took a tender ride, bus ride, and boat ride to get there, but really so incredibly worth it! Waithin for an hour to get on the tender was pretty rough with my sister, who is a mess before noon and several cups of coffee, but once we got rolling, it was very cool!

We booked through Carnival. Our tour guides were very knowledgeable and taught us about their country all tge way on the bus ride.

The boat ride was really fast and windy, but pretty short.

The ruins themselves were jaw dropping. I kept having to pinch myself to make sure this was really my life. We got to climb to the top of tge highest one, which you apparently cannot do in Mexico. A few people had some problems with this. One lady got vertigo and was shaking so bad, I worried about her climbing down. And there were a lot of steps so tgere was a good deal of huffing and puffing. But if you are in good shape, I couldn't recommend it more. The 3 dimensional view from the top was something I will never forget!

We also saw howler monkeys, iguanas, lizards, egrets, butterflies. Just a great day! 

The only downside was tgat the lunch was cold and not great. But such a little thing compared to tge overall experience!!!

[bbtbear]

On 2/27/2019 at 12:19 AM, Markmom18 said:

 

   He'll be on the Sail Away Party on Deck. I just saw him in photos from a member here who just did a BTB on the Dream.  I know he's been doing Trivia, selling BINGO cards, hard to say exactly because there is not set assignments. But, he'll be doing the Fun things onboard with the guests. I think there are only around 8 people on the Fun Squad/Team lol I'm not sure the "official name".  I'll post a photo of him ...

Thank You so much!

🌸🌸. Bobbi

Bobbi, look who I found thos morning! Had a great chat with him about you waiting to get off the ship in Cozumel! 

[JAXCRUISER]

Great review!  Thanks.

[wytygr8]

The bbq line moves quick!

[duncmelsmom]

Great review!  I'm so excited because we board Sunday!!  Keep the info coming and thanks again!

 

[bbtbear]

Cozumel by Land and Sea tour:

This actually was not our first choice of excursions, but our excursion was canceled, so we chose this. I am SO glad we did! This tour was a blast! We got to go to a chocolate factory and learn about the Mayan culture and the process for making chocolate. We also got yummy samples! Mmmmm! I ended up buying a chocolare pina colada at the bar there, plus several chocolate bars and some Mexican vanilla.

Then we went to a tequila factory and learned about how tequila is made (from blue agaves, which are in the pineapple family!). Our tour guide here was awesome. So fun and knowledgeable. We got to sample about 6 different tequilas that were surprisingly tasty. Tasted nothing like Jose Cuervo or other tequilas we get in the US. If I weren't worried about airline weight allowances, I would have bought a bottle.

Last, we went out on a glass bottomed boat that took us out to the reef. This was great because my sister was too nervous to snorkel in Roatan, so she still got to see marine life up close. We saw tons of fish and coral. Great activitiy for kids, too.

Overall, we had a really great time. If you take this tour, I would recommend bringing a lot of small bills because there were a lot of different people to tip if you wanted to and I ran out of small bills.

The tour was about 4 hours, which gave us enough time to also enjoy ourselves in the port area. We did some shopping, had a delicious Mexican lunch, and drank some enormous margaritas before getting back on the ship with about 45 minutes to spare.

 

America Rocks show:

Ok, I know I have been really enthusiastic and positive all the way through this review, but I have also been genuine. So I am not gonna lie here... this show was just goofy. We laughed a lot, and were definitely entertained, but whooo boy! Getting a bunch of show tune singers/dancers to cover Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Kiss, etc. turns out to be not such a great plan. Lol! My sister had the best comment of the night when she said it was like watching karaoke with costumes. We had a great time laughing, but I really don't think that is the reaction they were going for...

 

Seafood Shack

We had this for dinner since we weren't hungry at dinner time.I had the snow crab with garlic and my sister had the combo platter. Messy, but just delicious! Worth the extra charge, for sure! 

 

[Mommawo]

Then we went to a tequila factory and learned about how tequila is made (from blue agaves, which are in the pineapple family!). Our tour guide here was awesome. So fun and knowledgeable. We got to sample about 6 different tequilas that were surprisingly tasty. Tasted nothing like Jose Cuervo or other tequilas we get in the US. If I weren't worried about airline weight allowances, I would have bought a bottle.

 

 

 

this bit bit of information probably saved my daughters life.   She has a severe pineapple allergy.  She can’t wven be around it.  if someone eats it and touches her she even has a bad reaction.  We had no idea agave was in that family.  She is an adult now not much of a drinker but the tequila info could also be life saving.   Love the reviews and particularly this one ! 

[bbtbear]