italianfemmy

Your photography is absolutely phenomenal. You are a beautiful couple :)

Glad you love the photos and that is such a sweet thing for you to say about Latanya and I! Thanks so much for your kind words!

I have really enjoyed reading your review & looking at your pictures! I'm only part of the way through, but wanted to tell you how much I'm enjoying this! Thanks for all your hard work! We sail on the Dream on October 13, 2012!

You're most welcome! You'll have to let me know when you make it to the end of it! You're going to have a great time!!

Thank you so much for this review. We just booked The Dream for May 11, 2013 for the whole family.

We just got off the Legend beginning of May this year, just me and the hubby for our anniversary.

We can't wait for our boys to experience this.

So excited for you that you're going on the Dream! How old are your boys?

I totally agree! I stopped on this pic for a full minute and showed it to my boyfriend and everything!

 

I am not even cruising on the Dream - found this post looking for info on swimming with dolphins in Cozumel in December (Is it too cold??) and got sucked in by the amazing review! Hope to meet you on a cruise one day! Fantastic pictures!!!

I've been on many November/December cruises... in fact, this review was for a December cruise and the water was cold for the first 30 seconds.. I won't lie. But then it adjusted quickly and once the dolphins were around us, I didn't even know what cold was!

Thanks for reading my review!!

Alicia,

I've just spent about 4 hours reading the whole thread. I don't want to overwhelm you because I know you're busy but I have a few points and comments that I MUST make:

 

Best pictures ever (I am in the 'I-like-the-windshield-as-part-of-the-shot' camp).

 

As a 'correct spelling' fanatic, I totally appreciate the fact that you know the difference between "your" and "you're"...and you use correct capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, and grammar (as you see from THIS sentence, I don't).

 

As a 'late commer' (is that a word? It is now) to the party, I missed all the drama/other thread about you "trying to advertise" your business. #1. I NEVER got that impression. And, #2. It sounds like you're plenty busy enough without trying to advertise.

 

I have NEVER seen a review get exactly ZERO snarky comments. I may have missed them if they were there but usually there are a bazillion know-it-alls who will have a 'bad' story to off-set every one of your good. This observation was refreshing.

 

Please, for the love of all that's good in heaven, do an Alaskan cruise so we can see your pictures.

 

Finally, as someone who...eh hem...goes to your church, so to speak, I am in love with Steve. There, I said it. Sorry to my gf of 6 yrs. I SERIOUSLY want to hang with him. His comments and yours back to him added one more 'layer' (yeah..I know.."how many times can this girl use ' ' in a post?) to an already enjoyable review.

If ya'll are ever in Houston.....;)

Okay, firstly you must email me so we can become friends on FB and keep in touch! I loved your response to my review! Steve is awesome... I've become a slacker and don't keep in touch with him as much as I'd like to because I am so overwhelmed with work. But, he still holds a lil place in this gals heart. :-)

I noticed too that this review doesn't have any nasty, snarky comments in it. Nothing has ever had to be moderated or deleted out of it which is impressive considering it has 107,000 views and is the most viewed review thread. (Speaking of which, wow... that's so awesome!!! ... and totally motivates me to do another one when I sail the Breeze in November. :-)

I would LOVE to do an Alaskan cruise. And of course, take some killer photos. If I go on an Alaskan cruise though, I am going to have to convince a passenger in the roll call to bring their wedding dress so I can do some bridal photos there because I'd be so bummed the whole time if I didn't get to do that! lol.

Thanks for all of your kind and awesome words and air quotes! My email is (no spaces) Pure Emotions Photography at gmail

Outstanding pictorial review! You are an impressive photographer!

Thank you very much. Next time, if still permitted to take photos, I will take a couple different lenses with me so I can get some different perspectives on the food. I didn't think I'd be allowed to take most of the shots I took and would have opted to bring different lenses with me had I known I could. :-) Glad you enjoyed the review and photos!!

That is so funny! I encountered the gold pirate at the Marina in Cabo San Lucas and he promptly requested a tip. I would have tipped him, but was shocked to be asked for one.

 

Great review Alicia!

Oh my gosh - he was so grumpy and greedy! I always tip the people that let us take photos with them but never have had someone put their hand out and expect to get one before even letting you step into the frame with them. lol

DW and I did the Victory Chef's table in March and loved it. Your're review nailed it as best as I could have ever described it.

 

One thing about it is I am not a seafood eater, and as there were several seafood dishes, I thought it would be a waste for me.

 

But the Matre'D came to us the night before at dinner and asked if we had any allergies. I mentioned that I do not eat seafood.

 

So for the seafood dishes offered at Chefs table, they prepared a similar dish but with chicken instead. They were wonderful.

They are very accomodating for allergies or even picky taste in food. :-) They truly provide an exceptional experience. It's awesome to hear that you were treated as well as we were. :-)

Thank you Alicia so much for your beautiful pics and awsome review! I am sort of a reluctant eater but just coming across this tread has made me want to explore. My partner and I will be cruizing this July and I know she would LOVE to experience this. Congrats on your 6 year anniversary. :) We will be celebrating our 7 year anniversary on this cruise. Whoo hoo :D lol. I just sent a reservation request for the Chef's Table due to your wonderful synopsis. Thanks again!!!

Awesome! I am glad you're going to try it out! And congrats on your 7 year itch... errr.. anniversary :-) I hope you have a blast on your cruise and that your meal exceeds your expectations!

We will be on the Dream shortly after you...April 6, 2013, and we are also from the same city..:) I am trying to find pictures that show what the "open area" on the deck plans actually is on deck 7 aft...if anyone knows, I would really appreciate it. Our friends are in a balcony cabin - 7376 I think, and we are up the deck a bit in an interior cabin.

have a wonderful cruise, and I look forward to your review as well.

 

thanks so much to italianfemmy for such amazing photos...I am going to forward this thread to our friends to look at.

Glad you loved the photos! I cannot believe this thread has now become the most viewed review thread on the carnival boards! :-)

Hey everyone! I am sorry, I have been M.I.A. lately from the internet. I've been so busy with clients and weddings and traveling for shoots that I just haven't had time to invest into being a CC member lately! Thank you all so much for continuing to read this thread and I am so happy that you're all enjoying it still. It truly makes all the time that I put into creating it worth the work!!

For those of you with upcoming cruises on the Dream: Have a blast!!! Take loads of photos and relax and enjoy yourselves!

Thanks for sharing your trip and pictures. My husband and I are booked for the Dream 02/02/13. After reading your post I wish it was sooner.

Trust me, I know how far away that seems but it's so amazing to have something to look forward to.. it's like something bright on the horizon. But with that said, I'd give anything to be back out there right now. :-)

it's only now just growing on you? after everyone has been saying that it is... if not the "best" picture, the one that absolutely grabs your attention and the one everyone remembers and everyone's favorite ;-)

Haha.. haven't seen you in forever... of course you'd be silently stalking the thread waiting for something to bust my chops on. :-)

Loved your review. Started reading the roll calls for the Breeze since we are sailing her in Feb. 2013; got caught up in the Nov. roll call and discovered your Dream review. Thank you for sharing all the photos! My favorite was the two boys on the back of the truck. I think it's funny that the photo is one you were upset about because of the windshield. I think that just lends to the feeling of the shot; it almost reminds me of a Norman Rockwell painting. Anyway, great job. Hope to meet you and Latanya on a ship someday!

Latanya and I are always up for meeting new people when we sail! :-) Thanks for your kind words. The photo of the boys on the back of the truck is growing on me. :-)

Without question....this is best review I have read.... Thanks!!!

Awesome! Glad you loved it! :-)

I'm glad you "bumped up" this thread as I probably would have missed it otherwise. I don't have any immediate plans to sail on the Dream (going on Pride for 5th time in Sept.) but I loved every entry and every picture of this report. Your photos are amazing ! Illness limits my activites on my cruises so your very detailed report allowed me to kind of hold a baby tiger, swim with dolphins, climb ancient ruins and see out of the way areas not often seen by tourists. Thank you for the wonderful narrative and pictures that allowed me to almost feel like I was right there with you! I don't think the spa on the Pride has the same features as the one on the Dream, but I will still check it out thanks to you. I think I hated to see your cruise end almost as much as you did !!

I don't think I've ever been on one ship twice much less 5 times! I have separate goals... one of which is to spend 500 days at sea and the other was to sail on every ship. But, I've realized I don't want to sail on every ship. Soooo.. I have to come up with a new goal. :-)

I am glad you found and loved my review. It touches me that you were able to live vicariously through it. What a wonderful thing to say!

Just bringing this thread back to the surface for people

who are new to CC. :-). Hope Everyone that's gone on this cruise since posting here had an awesome time!!!

LOL...I felt the exact same way when we did it on the Miracle. I went because we were going with friends - I did not expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did.

 

Everything was great - but my favorites were the Poblano Soup and the Chilean Sea Bass - NEITHER of which I expected to even tolerate....much less LIKE! :eek: ;) :D

:-) That was one of my favorite parts of Chef's Table was being pleasantly surprised with actually loving things I typically don't even like. It just goes to show what experience and knowledge of flavors and textures from an amazing Chef can do to the way we experience food!

Well, it's finally our turn this weekend. This review, your talent - it's been a lot of fun following this "story" and learning more about what is a hobby for me, from a professional such as yourself.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share and inspire.

Make sure to come back and share your own experiences. I look forward to seeing your photos!!

Yeah, it's super cheap during the month of November, and it shouldn't be THAT cold down there. Well, hopefully not...

 

I read the whole review over the past two days and it was amazing! I love all the pictures and you've definitely sold me on going back to Carnival. My last cruise was Royal Caribbean and after that I really didn't think I could go back to Carnival, but I'd give the Dream a shot now that I've read this.

There was one cruise many years ago that made me think I'd never go back to Carnival but then I realized that I was judging everything based on one experience and decided to give it another go. I went into the next cruise with a more open mind and decided not to sweat the small stuff. Part of enjoying cruising is understanding the world doesn't revolve around "me" or "you" but revolves around all 2,000-5,000 paying passengers onboard. And therefore, some concessions must be made. :-)

I hope you enjoy your next Carnival cruise should you choose to come back to the dark.... err... bright... err.... whatever... side. :-D

Just started reading and I love all your pictures so far! Hubby and I are considering this cruise for November :).

Thanks! I hope you love the rest of the review! Prices seem to be going up on everything recently so you might want to start looking into prices! November is a great month for cruising!

Thanks for answering my questions Alicia! :)

 

I found it ironic that you had the excursion "rug" pulled from under you as it happened to me as well in St. Thomas on my 1st cruise. You can read about it in my review in my signature at bottom. I, like you, refused to let it ruin even that one day of my cruise!

 

Happy cruising!

You're welcome! Glad I could be of help. :-)

Alicia,

 

I started reading your review today and I've only made it through page 19, and loved every minute. All of your pictures are beautiful.

 

I'm sailing with you and Latanya on the Breeze and sent you and e-mail and look forward to meeting you two onboard.

 

Portia

I got your email. :-) I'll try to write you back soon. I have been extremely busy this weekend and it's not going to slow down anytime soon.

Oh, also, on your first day they didn't have room for you in Anytime Dining. Was that because you didn't have Anytime Dining that you were turned away?

 

I am signed up for Anytime Dining and I would hate to come to dinner and find that they are "full".

No, it was because we were signed up for late dining. When we booked, only late dining was available and we were wait listed for anytime dining. You're booked for anytime so you'll be fine.

Hey Alicia!

 

Loved the review! Spent most of yesterday and today reading and looking at the great pics! I am booked on the Dream for next January. I know, a long wait but the anticipation is half the fun! :D

 

This is only my second cruise, my first being on RCL's Freedom that got me hooked on cruising and when I found this cruise on the Dream for LESS THAN HALF of what the Freedom cruise was, I just had to book!

 

I have a ton of questions but I will keep my questions to you related to your experiences on the Dream.

 

1) Is there a link to the monkey "zoo" you 2 found or do I just ask the tour guy you suggested?

 

We booked this through Victor Bodden. Just google Victor Bodden Roatan. The monkey area we went to is on his property and you can book it through their website.

2) Loved the spa recommendations. How much time on average did you spend there daily?

 

Approx. 1-4 hours a day depending on the day and activities we wanted to do.

3) What would you say the average temp was outside either on the ship or off at night that you would say?

 

It varied. It was warm enough for me overall in the day time. At night, it did get cold a couple of times but we also had some rainy weather a couple days which made it colder.

 

4) At any time at any island did you feel unsafe going off the beaten trail?

 

No, we never felt unsafe. There are always too many people around going to the same places you're going to .. for me to ever really feel unsafe. We had a blast with everything that we did. It was great... it always is.

 

Thanks! And keep up the great reviews! :)

Answers are mixed in to the quote above. :-)