JLBellaCC

We would have a veranda on the NA- and a Lanai on the Maasdam. What is important to us are the pools, the casino and the food. Haha. And of course, most of all perhaps, is the itinerary- which I mentioned we like both!

Thank you for your info!

Have you been on the Maasdam?

NA- HMC, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Key West. (Which I think is the same itin as our last cruise. We are selecting between these two based on dates we can travel......

Maasdam- HMC, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Ocho Rios.

We are looking at two itineraries- one on the Nieuw Amsterdam and one on the Maasdam- either would be great. Also, we have sailed the NA once before and enjoyed. In light of that- which would you select?

Actually, we just got off the Dream last week and we were given the CHOICE between morning or evening service. They came in the morning only for us and they slipped our Fun Times under the door in the evening.

But don't miss the sea day brunches in the MDR....they are super yummy!

I was on the Dream also and During the platinum get together the Captain said that during the first attempt to moor up one of the ships winches broke due to the swells and being on the end dock made the docking dangerous and difficult.

 

The day before we were in Antigua and the water was rough even in the normal peaceful dickenson bay.

Yes, I agree it was rough on the Antigua port. We saw an injury to a person on the beach who had to be taken by ambulance. I do not disagree that we had trouble mooring up- I wonder why we had to take that spot on the dock.

Did you enjoy the cruise? :)

Well one thing is for sure- they definitely made up for any lost excursion revenue on the drinks, casino, shopping and bingo. Aside from that, how do they decide who parks where on a dock? Of course, seems part of it would be arrival time, but we arrived before the Oasis and they got the full dock next to the dock we were at- as did the next ship that arrived after us.

And at this point it really makes no difference- except that while I am the type of person who accepts the ups and downs of a vacation very well.....when it makes sense to me. But at times- such as this, when things don't quite add up, I like to look to CC for others opinions.

As far as the advice of not looking to the "uninformed" for cruising decisions- a fellow passenger is no less informed than anyone else on the CC boards. I enjoy the opinions of others and use these opinions to form my own decisions. To not consider, digest and formulate your own thoughts with the information provided to you is just plan silly.

We have been back from our 11 day cruise on the Dream for just about a week. Carnival was a new try for us as we usually sail RC or Celebrity. Overall we had a great time! But, I am still thinking about the last day on board, we pulled into St. Maarten, attempted to dock for a bit- and ultimately pulled back out and it was announced that the swales were too large to allow for a safe docking. (There were two small ships in front of us on either side of the dock, so we were in second place.) Two large ships were docked on either side of the other dock. We would instead be at sea- which of course if not a hardship, exactly. Basically, it seemed we drew the short stick and got a crappy location on the dock and we couldn't tie off because we were sticking out too far beyond the dock. Later, as we enjoyed the poolside fun and drinks- a fellow cruiser told us she and her fellow cruisers received notes the previous night that their Carnival excursions would be canceled for the St. Maarten stop, due to bad weather. Hmmmm- now this is rather strange, I am thinking. Canceling the night before for bad weather for an ATV excursion? We later confirmed ALL Carnival excursions were canceled the night before- not just the ATV excursion! The weather was gorgeous- sunshine and barely a wind.

Now we have been to St. Maarten several times, so we were fine with a sea day. Many cruisers were very angry- as this could be considered the best port of call. One cruiser said that Carnival was on the cheap and did not pay the required dollars for a front spot- a risk which would pay off if the waters were calm, but not with the slightest of swales. Could this be true? If this is true, then I have a problem handing over my hard earned dollars to a cruise line that would gamble a port call in this way.

Makes a bit of sense when you combine it with canceling the excursions the night before, I am sure Carnival has to pay big bucks if they don't bring all the cruisers to the excursion without proper notice.

Anyway, this has left a bad taste that has lingered since returning home. We are booking our next cruise for April- and am thinking not another Carnival- just curious if anyone has any insight into this situation?

Thank you for the great idea!!

Reservation made! Fingers crossed!

Lucky you! Is there a table request we should ask about?

I can handle that! Woot! Woot!

Thank you for the great information!

Well, I don't have much info about Sheer Rocks, but what I know is that we have a sun lounger from 12-4 and our lunch reservation is at 1pm. The only charge is what we pay for lunch and what we drink, so we don't pay for the lounger per se..... But of course we ultimately pay through the food and drink- heehee. We are looking forward as it is a beaut of a location and the food is supposed to be really good,as well.

Hi all,

Thought a nice dinner on the beach would be a great way to spend the evening in Aruba. But I can't decide between these two restaurants! The planes flying over Barefoot kinda has me wondering if we would mind that...... but it looks prettier in the pictures than Passion- don't know if that is true or not! Is one more convenient for returning to the cruise ship? Reviews seem to indicate the food may be better at Passion, but Barefoot is rated higher on Tripadvisor. Lastly, if we spend time on the beach before going to dinner, I worry if we will look nice enough to go to these restaurants. So.....which would you pick?

Thank you!

I just made a lunch/sun lounger reservation at Sheer Rocks for 1pm on the day we will be in Antigua. We are thinking of a beach stop prior to this- which beach would be best for this, Valley Church or Ffryes Beach?

Thank you!

Hi cruisers!

We are very excited to be sailing the Dream on Jan 3 out of NOLA- in spite of the negative reviews! We will make our own fun if the ship comes up short- haha. But, I did get to thinking- does anyone have any of the dailies from recent sailings, what are they called? Fun Times? Sorry, I am not sure of the name, this is our first Carnival cruise, we generally cruise for the itinerary- so we are not loyal to any one line. So, this time the Dream came with an itinerary that looked fun to us. It would be great if someone could post one or more of these so we could take a look.

We are spending NYE in NOLA prior to the cruise, so we have just 21 days until we leave!! Yippee Skippee!!

Looking for a few ideas for a day on Bonaire for a non-snorkeler......

We have been trying to decide between the three beach areas- Carambola, Cockleshell, Shipwreck Beach Bar areas- then I saw someone mention in another person's post, why not visit all of them? So I got to thinking that it might be fun to do a "Tour d'Beaches! So, fellow CCers- how would you do this? Farthest beach first- Cockleshell, then make our way back? Should I rent chairs in advance at Carambola- or would that put a time constraint on the day (maybe go here first with a reservation! then move on from there?) Will taxis be readily available at the beaches when we choose to leave? And which area is best for eats? I am mostly torn between Shipwreck and Spice Mill- but other recoms are welcome! Now I see I have spelled Cockelshell wrong throughout the post..... Oh well! Thank You! Also, maybe we could walk from Carambola to Shipwreck area? Is there another beach area worth adding to the tour?

Thanks for all the info! I couldn't imagine the reviewers info could be accurate. I appreciate everyone's input!

We are taking our first Carnival cruise soon. I was reading a review of someone on the Dream and the reviewer said when they arrived at their muster station only a couple people showed up- does Carnival not enforce that everyone must attend this drill?

Now are these Stardust cruises for accomplished dancers- or will beginners also be on board?

We are booked at Cabana Bay! From everything you have mentioned, it will be a super fun day and evening! I would have loved the Hard Rock, but just can't justify the cost for such a short stay- maybe next time! But, I have to say I am a huge fan of anything retro, so I think I am going to really enjoy the theming at CB. Thanks for your ideas!

Oh yes! That sounds like fun, but I believe it is over by the time we arrive on Nov 5th. We went to WDW Halloween party last year- and the Universal Halloween looks like a ton of fun! Maybe next year! Thank you..