cjsegninir

Evening of day 2 was a bit eventful. Kids were tired so they didn't want pictures and slept during dinner at the restaurant. Meaning lots of crying, stress and night ending early.

There were about 6 photo stations, plus two "special" stations for the "special" photos. Another down... I mean, we used to take portraits before with the black and white background. Now they don't allow it with the "normal" photo packages, just the special ones. Anyway, we just moved to the normal backgrounds. 

Dinner was nice, I had two lobster tails, kids and DW repeated from day 1. Service was slower from day before, but understandable as it was more crowded. They had showtime, with waiters dancing. Kudos to reserving the table from the app, a couple clicks and table was ready when we arrived at the door.

Kids fell asleep so we had to come back to the room. DW stayed with them while I went to the 9pm show. It was the 80s pop one, lots of color and back screen interaction. One of the female singers is great, second female singer is ok, the two males are hit and miss, some songs are good other are terrible. The other 4 on stage have a line here and there, but more backup than anything, so I can't say if they are good or bad. They had a couple MIchael Jackson songs that were nice. Overall show is good and kid friendly (some outfits and dances a bit borderline, but generally ok for the kids)

After show, back to cabin and sleep.

Day 2: Sea day (elegant night)

Hello folks, time for an update.

This morning we were lazy and tired, so didn't do much. I went to lido around 9, ate some breakfast with the little one and brought some to the room for DW and the eldest one. Breakfast was normal fare, although I didn't see bacon or smoked salmon! I didn't ask or walk around, but I remember hearing this before. 

I went with the two kids to the CD Deon show, the one where they tell you everything that's around the ship and give a ton of prizes. When it was time for the Cherry on top raffle, my daughter stood on the chair and Deon called her onstage. She had been wanting to win something since she saw a kid win the night before. She was so happy with her box of candies and everyone knows her around the boat

I had a chance to ask in the kids club and there will be nothing for under-12 (as they are not vaccinated). Only kids activities will be the build a bear party ($$) and a Halloween trick and treat (we don't celebrate Halloween, so our kids will skip it). I specifically asked about the Seuss breakfast and they have not done it since they restarted. The arcade is open, so at least we will have some fun there.

I left the kids with mom and went to the gym for an hour. I found it a little bit smaller than I remembered, but there are tons of cardio machines. They removed the center area where they had the classes, though they may have just moved it somewhere else because I saw the classes advertised.

Afterwards went all together for lunch at the BBQ place. Kids had chicken and mac&cheese, we had a bit of everything haha. I might be spoiled by Texan BBQ, but I didn't like. Chicken was good and sides ok, but beef and pulled pork were below average for my liking. Then we moved to lido for desert, there were 4 large cakes being cut by servers and give you pieces on a plate. No smaller desert portions, which my wife was complaining about, she loves to get a small of each to try. Cakes were good in my opinion, especially the chocolate one. After that, we roamed around a bit, nothing interesting for us, so came back to the room to get ready for pictures.

Last update for the day.

Spent much of the afternoon resting inside the stateroom. I always book outside guaranteed, the window is a good compromise with the kids. We can see outside and have some natural light, but we feel a bit cautious of balcony with them. So outside is the best. And we are never picky with location, so guaranteed is usually the best price. This time we got a bit of an upgrade, as they gave us a cabin with a mini tub, which is great for the kids. It is basically a second "bathroom" space, which also adds a bit more closet storage. We are on stateroom 1400. For some reason I cannot upload pictures, I'll try again tomorrow. If not I'll add them when we get home.

Went to the main dining room for dinner, we have "your time dining" which now requires to book the table using the app. It is very helpful as you don't need to stand in line outside waiting. We asked for the table around 7:30 and immediately we got a message saying it was ready. They hold the table for 1ins, so we moved there and went straight inside with no wait. Some folks were outside with their phones I'm hand, I'm guessing "booking" the table and waiting.

Also the menus are on the app, which I didn't quite like, as in my opinion, it reduces the fine dining experience. Also the lack of table cloth looks a bit "cheaper" than before. Service was fast, although portions were on the small side. I had the cured salmon (two bite-sized pieces, the fried calamari (maybe about 6-7 pieces), the grilled mahi (a small filet with a few veggies) and the tiramisu (it was great!). My wife had the Caesar salad and the grilled salmon (also smallish), with a chocolate melting cake. The kids had nuggets (5pieces) and fries, with ice cream for desert.

From dinner we went straight to the welcome onboard show, arrived maybe 8:45 and there were a lot of seats. Cruise director is Deon, fun guy, good control of stage and gave out a lot of prizes. Then came the singers and dancers, I think 8 on stage at the same time, all singing, but looked like 4 were the main singers and the others more like backup vocals/dancers. No live music (has been so for quite some time) but lots of lights and screens and other moving parts on stage. Average show, but also it is just the welcome show. Let's hope for more later in the week.

Walked around the ship a bit to collect the water bottle and the pin. We also purchased the 15 photo package online which includes a few free perks. I'll talk about it later in the week.

Now it's 11 and kids are still jumping from all the ice cream haha. 

More tomorrow. Cheers

We're on board!

The actual check in process does take quite some time, so be prepared to be very patient, especially with kids and unvaccinated.

As I said above, every one goes through the same line until the first table. Here is where they check your vaccine status and test. If you are vaccinated, you go through the x-ray scanners and then to the check in as usual.

For those traveling in a party with unvaccinated ones, then they take to the secondary screening area where they take the test. Mind that they may separate you for a while, they sent my wife ahead with the kids while I dealt with the x-ray stuff. It saves some time, but it may be uncomfortable for some 

For the secondary screening you fill a couple papers then they take the swab and wait some 30mins for results. You should have received a link to create an identogo account where you get the results on your phone. They send an SMS with a link and you show it to the guest services person who send you to the actual check in process as the rest of the people. I took advantage of asking bout kids and found that there are 55 under-12 sailing with us. Hopefully this means that the kids clubs will be working!

They were not providing the room key outside, which is new to me. The key was in the room's "mailbox". This means that your "boarding" is with the face ID that you should have opted to online. I imagine that if you opt out, then they probably give you the key outside.

Once we were inside they asked us to go straight to our muster station. Instead of the full drill they are doing it in small groups at your actual muster station. After all the check-in process this is a little bit too much and you and the kids may be tired. You can always go to your room first and then go to your muster station. However this depends on the time, if it is too late, they will start calling staterooms on PA because everyone must complete this process before sailing.

We arrived at the port 1pm, we're on board about 2:30pm and by our stateroom at 3pm, right when the PA announcement with the alarm sounds started. The announcement was about 10mins and all guest services are closed during it (no food!).

By 3:30 we were at lido hunting for food. Guy's was full, so we moved to the deli. Kids had a hotdog, I had the Cubano and DW had pizza plus leftover hotdogs haha. Also soft serve and yummy dark chocolate cookies from the deli

A few other changes I've noticed are that most of the things are on the app. No menus, no capers, no ship plans. Also the vifp perks are not in the room, you have to ask for them at guest services

Hello everyone.

Morning of embarkation update. 

We left Austin 8am and took us exactly 4 hours to get to the parking lot, including 2 short stops. Traffic wasn't that bad, but there are construction sites in I10 between Austin and Houston and then i45 between Houston and Galveston.

The parking lot is basically the parking behind a gas station with some cover structures added. It has a gate and a few chairs to wait for the shuttle. There was a person there attending, but I believe he would not stay there 24/7, he's just helping load and unload cars. I asked about car safety and he mentioned cameras all around and also people would come and go. 

We waited some 15mins for the shuttle to arrive, we loaded and sat, then we went to the other side of the street to pick up more passengers in the uncovered lot. Then it is maybe 5-10mins drive to the port, but with traffic lights and stuff, it was about 1hr from the moment we arrived at the lot and when we entered the port for check-in.

Considering all the above, the 20$ saving is probably not worthy. Next time we'll try to park in the port's parking just across the street from the shop.

Two ships are on port, each one in a different terminal. We arrived at the exact time we had an appointment (1pm) and it's absolutely crowded! We still haven't gone through the control points, but I estimate at least 45mins line. I will update later.

There are a few other kids in line, I've counted 7 small ones including my own just around me. Everyone I see are wearing masks, although some are not wearing it properly. There were supposed to be two separate lines for vaccinated and exemption ones, but I doubt so many are unvaccinated because our line is quite long. 

I've read somewhere that you should not leave your luggage until they have cleared you to board, and I see some people with theirs, but no one asked us to carry ours. The porter just took them together with everyone else's. This is in case we are denied boarding for any Covid-related issue. Not sure what would happen if they took my luggage already and we have to stay, so it's probably good idea to carry yours, just in case,. although of course it is more uncomfortable, I'm happy without the bags 😅

Then you probably don't read all his posts on Facebook. Many people write him quite bad stuff, but he does take it very lightly.

I got our approval about 2 weeks after submitting and a long time before the cruise itself.

This is the link I used https://www.carnival.com/vaccine-exemption-submission

You can try calling the "covid line" for Carnival 1800 314 9859. This is where you would call if you tested positive or need to cancel due to Covid related stuff. So they are the closest ones to look at your issue. 

Also I agree with the suggestion of contacting John Heald. Many may not like him but he is actually very friendly and he does have certain freedom to help people, which may not sound like what you would expect of contacting someone over Facebook. His page is https://www.facebook.com/JohnHeald

Your best option is to check with your doctor. He may be able to administer a rapid-test on Thursday at the clinic and give a medical report explaining his findings.

You can also take a rapid test in CVS/walgreens anytime now and see if it is negative. This can clear your mind and have better planning for the actual cruising test

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Hello cruise friends.

Our family of 4, DH and DH in late 30s and 2 little girls (3 and 5 yo) will be on the Carnival Dream from Galveston starting this Saturday 23rd. I know this may not be the most interesting review, as it is not a new ship and it has been sailing for some months already, but as a parent, I thought our experience may be useful for other parents thinking on cruising these days. So, I've decided to (at least try) to write a live review and answer any questions other parents may have. 

Background:

A little background before we start, which would hopefully help anyone reading to make their own informed decisions, based on the subjective information I will be sharing in the next few days. As you may notice in my signature, we are experienced cruisers. Ever since we tried our first one back in 2009, we have loved the idea and we cruised every time we could. We have been in different cruise lines and maybe our favorite is HAL, although Carnival price-quality relation is very hard to beat, so here is where we have cruised the most. Also it is not the first time we cruise with kids, as we already did two with the eldest and one with the little one. We have also traveled extensively in "normal" flying vacations and lived in 5 different countries in 3 different continents.

Not saying we are the biggest experts, but i'd say our opinion is to be relatively trusted.

Talking about pandemic times, I think it is also worth to relate where we stand. Please, don't make it a vaccine-war, far from my intention, but we follow the instructions from the health authorities. We vaccinated when it was available and we plan to vaccinate our kids when it is approved. We wear our masks outside, wash our hands, avoid crowds when possible, etc etc etc. But at the same time, life goes on. Our kids go to school, I work in an office, we see friends every now and then, we go out sometimes, and we take vacations. I think you can get the point, we are cautious without being paranoid. And we trust that the authorities have their best intentions within their own imperfections and limitations, so we follow their guidance. 

And that is precisely what brought us here. Given all the constraints and risks, we think that cruising is one of the safest options for a vacation in these times. And we know that we will enjoy it despite any temporary restrictions. 

Booking and pre-cruise

Ok, now to important stuff. Let's talk about the booking and pre-cruise preparations.

We have been following the status of cruising for some months, hoping we could take one this year. I had some vacation days to burn and we were due a trip abroad in order to renew our inmigration status (new passports needed new stamps). So we decided to try cruising earlier than originally planned. I booked this one at the beginning of August, which is shorter planning that we would normally do, but still give us enough time to see how the cruising evolved. Booking itself was as easy as usual, did some research online until I narrowed it to a couple different itineraries, then called Carnival directly so we could get the help of one of their vaction planners (His name is Ray and he was great!).

One of the things that made us trust the booking with Carnival was that their cancellations policy was/is very clear. If you cannot board because of Covid related issues, you get a full refund. It is very comforting to know that the main uncertainty is easy to solve. On the other hand, their limitations on the number of unvaccinated, quarantine, bubble tours, etc, despite being somehow restrictive, make the most sense to me (both from the "company" standpoint but also as a cautious guest).

One thing I didn't quite like was that the cruise had to be paid in full. And I have looked at other itineraries for next year and in all cases I see that I have no option of a deposit, it is either pay in full or use some sort of payment plan with a third party (Affirm, I think, can't remember). Not sure if this is something that has been implemented recently by Carnival for everyone, if it is because I am traveling with unvaccinated kids, or if it is just that the itineraries I have looked at have this limitation. In any case, I prefer the old way of paying a deposit and having the freedom of making payments later.

Back to the booking process, once I got the email with the confirmation (Mind that I booked over the phone), I was expecting to receive the Exemption Request form for my kids, but it didn't come. Also I looked online and could not easily locate it, so I had to contact Ray (Carnival PVP) again and he sent me the link. Filled out the information and clicked send. We were told that this would not be confirmed until just a couple weeks before cruising, but I was surprised to get the approval letter within two weeks from booking.

Since then I have received countless emails from Carnival with different updates. They are doing a great job with keeping passengers updated of the different changes, but be careful if your mail thinks it is Spam because of the many different ones that come to you. Some of the emails have been very useful information about the documents or restrictions, others have been about changes in the itinerary or the procedures, while a few of them have been the typical reminders that you can book spa or other stuff for your cruise.

The rest of the cruise preparation has also been very similar to before. You have to go on your cruise planner online to fill out all the passengers information, accept the contract, add your credit card for deposits (If you choose to do so), buy your add-ons (Internet, photo packages, drink packages, excursions, etc. More on that later). Two things to highlight here are: first, the need to fill out a health questionaire with your vaccination status (Which you need to do twice, once early in the process and again within a few days from the cruise) and that the check-in process can only be completed within 15 days of cruising, so you cannot do it too much in advance. Regarding the second time we had to fill-out the questionaire, I got a big scare yesterday. Once I said that the kids are not vaccinated, the system now shows a big warning message that basically says I should not go to the port. I called them on the phone it shows and they said it is a problem with the system that automatically says this, but that we are all clear with our exemption letter and that it is ok to go tomorrow.

Regarding the tours planning, perhaps the biggest limitation about cruising with kids (or unvaccinated in general) is that they can only debark with Carnival's Bubble tours. This may be a deal breaker for many, as they only offer a few of such Bubble tours and they are more expensive than the regular option, so you either be prepared to pay or stay on the boat for the whole time. I have information that this only applies to the kids, so we could go out without them if we wished to do so, but for that we would need to pay the nanny services (As the kids programs are not functioning at the time). We knew this when booked, so we chose an itinerary that would not be too hard on our pockets. It had one stop in Key West (Which was cancelled by Carnival claiming the Covid cases there were too high) and one stop in the private island, so at least two ports we would not need to pay bubble tours. Then two stops in the Bahamas, where we planned to go ashore. As time went by we kept looking for Bubble tour options, but only two were offered in those ports: Swim with dolphins or beach break. We booked the Dolphins on one of the ports (less expensive of the two hehe) but paying 70+$ to be taken to the beach for 2 hours was not appealing, so we are hoping more options will open while on-board. Otherwise, we will just enjoy the pool with the kids. 

Other two important items for the pre-cruise were parking and testing. As we are coming from Austin (Just under 4-hrs drive), we plan to drive in the morning of embarkation. We could have gone on Friday and sleep there, but then it means hotels and other stuff, so we rather drive in the morning. We have a check-in time for 1pm, so there is enough time to get there. For parking we are using DCP, which is not the nearest option, but it is one of the cheapest. I'm paying 100$ for 8-nights covered parking including the shuttle to the cruise terminal. This is at least 20% less than other options I found online.

As for testing, it was perhaps the most stressful part of the planning. Having half of the party vaccinated and the other half unvaccinated, we needed different type of tests at different times. The kids needed PCR 3 days before and we needed the quick test 2 days before. After looking at different options, I booked CVS online about 2 weeks in advance (As early as I could in their system). Do not leave this for last minute as appointments tend to go quickly!

The test process was slightly different for the kids, as they do it in the drive-thru window. They hand you the kit, you do the test yourself in the car and then place the container with the sample inside of an special box. For the rapid-test we had to park in the designated area and a nurse practicioner comes to the car with the kit and takes the sample herself. In all cases, make sure that the samples are correctly identified! My results came within 1 hour, but my wife's did not arrive, so she went to the CVS again about 3 hours later. Apparently the nurse made a mistake and sent the results to someone else... She searched and sent it again and this time we got it. For the kids the results arrived 24 hours later. In all cases they send you an sms with a link where you can download a pdf with the results, but this link stops working 5 days after. Alternatively you can register an account with their clinic where you can store the results for longer.

I think this is all for pre-cruise. I will come back tomorrow and update about the embarkation once we are on-board. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave below and I will try my best to answer.

Thanks for reading!

I booked CVS about 2 weeks in advance and all the tests went well.

But you may consider calling your doctor. Any clinic should be able to do testing. It is likely going to be cheaper than buying the home kit

I know they don't use the printed Fun times anymore, but did anyone happen to keep theirs recently?
Digital screenshots maybe? Or if you requested the printed one, even better!

Just want to have a look at what things may be going on these days, especially kids friendly

Thanks a lot!

Thanks for this review. Will sail the Dream on Oct 23th. We sail with two little ones, do experience will be a bit different, but we are really looking forward to it!

Another Oct 23rd was going to offer help haha

We will be on board the Dream next weekend (Oct 23rd) with our two kids. All the info here is very much appreciated.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask while I'm on board

13 hours ago, lhsail said:

Can my husband drop me off at the ship with our luggage then go park in one of the lots that are close enough to walk?  Would rather not have to walk dragging the luggage, but not a show stopper. 

This should be possible under normal conditions, not sure how it is under covid times

Cheapest I found was DCP Cruise Parking, for 100$ in my October 2021 8-Days cruise.
This is covered including shuttle. Uncovered was cheaper (Obviously)

bump.

No one?

Any discount codes for ezcruise or port of Galveston parking?

Hi friends.

We are booked on Carnival Dream for Oct 23.

In the past we have bought the unlimited digital photos, in Carnival and other cruise lines.

Does this still exist to purchase on board? It is not available on Carnival website.

Thanks!

I was coming to check about parking.

So far google has given me about 100$ for my cruise (8d on 23rd October). Any options I should check?

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has an idea of the entertainment and activities for the Australia/New Zealand season this year.

We will be sailing on November 23rd from Auckland

Thanks in advance!

Cheers

Decided to bite it and chose the one we felt more inclined, Holland.

Hopefully it will be fine with the little ones.

Thanks all for your comments