Night of the Living Drunks: Our 2017 Halloween cruise aboard the Carnival Dream!

"When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers 'tis near Halloween'." -Abraham Lincoln (Or somebody, I'm too lazy to look it up.)

 

Ladies and gentlemen, just as promised, Watermelonqueen99 is back with another review! This time, it's a full picture review of our Western Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Dream that left NOLA on 10/29/17. I wrote a review of our cruise on the Freedom earlier this year, and I really enjoyed doing it. I won't link to it, because I'm not into contributing to delinquency (that's a lie, it's actually a hobby of mine), but it's on here if you wanna search for it. (Disclaimer: If you're easily offended, your last name is Duggar, or you're currently on medication, I don't recommend it.) Because Photoshop now wants to charge me to host my pictures, and that money could go toward alcohol, Botox, or scratch-off tickets at the gas station, only the text remains. But it's worth a read if you're planning on sailing on the Freedom, or if you want to lower your IQ by a few points. To begin, I will give you a little overview of who we are, my writing style, and what we do and don't do when we cruise, then I'll get started with the actual review. I have 595 pictures (I don't even have that many pictures of my 2 children combined) that are uploading that I have to sort through, so please be patient with me. I copy/pasted this intro from my Freedom review (because I didn't have to put my drink down to type a new one), and just modified it a little:

 

Hey, girl, hey! We are T (me) and C (him). We met in 1998 in college, and married the next year. We are late 30's, and we own our own business that allows us a lot of flexibility. We first started cruising in April 2014 for our 15th wedding anniversary, got completely hooked, and this cruise on the Dream was #8 for us. We cruise 2-3 times a year. We are currently Gold (actually, it's more of a mustard yellow color ), and looking forward to that Platinum card, mostly so that we can get our draws washed for free and we don't have to keep going to the Deck 2 laundry room like mere pheasants. We'll only be lowly Gold card members for 2 more cruises, thankfully. We are loyal to Carnival, and are very laid-back and easy to please. We have a 15 year old son and an 11 year old daughter, but we do not cruise with them. We do, however, take them to Disney World every summer. (Our bank account just dropped by $6K when I typed that. Reaching for Xanax/Vodka cocktail.) On the ship, we are very social, very friendly, and love to make new friends. During the day, you'll find us around the ship playing cards, people watching, day drinking, wasting money at the casino, or getting wind blown on one the lower, quieter decks. At night, you'll find us at our favorite bar, hanging out with our favorite bartenders and new friends we've met. We don't go to any of the shows, comedy or otherwise. We don't go to dinner in the MDR. (We prefer the classy ambiance of Guy's Burger Joint and/or the Lido buffet.) We do not cruise without the Cheers package, and we make full use of it, no shame. (15 drinks? Honey, that's not a limit, that's a goal.)

 

Also, for this review, I wanted to throw in a little known fact about myself: I'm an athlete. Okay, I'm being a little modest here, I'm actually an Olympic athlete who has won several gold medals. Here is a pic of me and a fellow Olympian after our last competition:

 

 

My mama was so proud of me that day. I had been training since I was 16 years old. Anyway, now that my little secret is out, let's talk about my writing. If you're not familiar with my review style, consider yourself lucky. It's not appropriate for women, children, small animals, men of the cloth, virgins, people who wear sweater vests, or really anybody with any decency or intelligence. If you're still here after reading that, shame on you. Also, we should be friends.

 

This was our second time on the Dream and our second time doing this itinerary (sort of, we had to miss Grand Cayman on our first cruise). The pictures will include the ship, food, drinks, what we did in port, screenshots of the FunTimes and more. I took lots of notes, so I may get a little long-winded. (Which is nothing new.) My reviews are far from serious, but I also try to make them informative. My review will be chronological, and will include the good, the bad, and the ugly. Although we do love Carnival, we are also critical when something doesn't live up to the standard we're used to. Like I said, I'm still sorting through the pictures, and I also have a little bit of writer's block (translation: I'm still hungover from the last night of the cruise), so bear with me as I prepare to write this mess for you. I should be here with a full installment tomorrow evening. So feel free to put on that nice track suit you've been saving for your cousin's third wedding, crack open a wine cooler that expired 2 years ago, and join me as I relive our week aboard the Carnival Dream.

OMG....What a hoot! I cant wait to kick back with a pitcher of margaritas and read this entire thread. :D I will be on the October 28th 2018 sailing of the Dream out of NOLA. I hope you decide to cruise then also....would love to hang out with you...I think we may be soul sisters......

:D Yep! I really loved reading your review. I'm hooked, I'll be reading your ship adventures in the future! 6 of us are going to Galveston in February 2018, cruising on the Freedom.

BTW thank you for sharing the Cemetary photos. Used to read Ann Rice vampire books. One day I hope to have a land vacation here. But, it'll have to wait till my hubby retires. We always travel at the end of August, and that will just be too hot & muggy for New Orleans!:eek:

Thanks again,

Bobbi

We were in NOLA at the end of August last year, and the heat was unbearable. We're used to triple digit summers here in OK, but it's just a different kind of heat down there. Lol

Thanks for writing so a fun piece to read.

 

 

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You're very welcome, thanks for reading!

"That's what she said."

 

Thanks for the great review, hope you enjoy the Breeze. We are going on her for the second time over NYE, the only ship to get a repeat visit from us.

Bahahaha. :')

You're welcome, and thanks for reading! Heard nothing but good about the Breeze, can't wait. Have a wonderful cruise! NYE on a ship is on our bucket list!

Great review! Thanks for all the hard work it took to document your travels!

Betty

You're very welcome, thanks for reading!

You are a lot of fun. I bet you stay fun all the time, even when you are not doing the Watermelon Crawl. There is such a time, right?

Every now and then I'll take a break. Lol Thank you, and thanks for reading! :D

Thanks for your very entertaining review! We're going on the Dream (for the first time) in January and reading about your trip has me even more excited, and I'm looking forward to meeting my daily goal onboard :-)

You're welcome, thanks for reading! Have a GREAT cruise, and know that I'll be there in spirit cheering you on to your daily goal! :D:D

Write it and they will come......lol

 

GREAT review and literary talent.

 

You're probably shy in real life- yes? hahahaha

 

You really should write a book, or a set of travel books, and then you could quit real work and travel all the time!

 

Helaine

Thank you so much for your kind words, and thanks for reading! C probably wishes I was shy in real life, maybe we wouldn't get in so much trouble. :'):') I would love to travel full time, but I need to set up a liver donor first. :'):')

Thank you for the detailed review, I love it!

 

Just an FYI - I'm getting "This picture is no longer available" for the majority of the photos on pages 3-6 (haven't read any further than that yet).

Yeah, I had a glitch (:mad::mad:), but it all worked out. Hope you enjoy the rest of the review, and thanks for reading!

Awww crap, we have to wait until you sail Breeze now? :') I have really enjoyed this one and yes, laughed my arse off and more than once. It won't be a cruise, but we'll be in New Orleans for about a week in May for a *classy* (lol, who am I kidding) 50th birthday celebration for one of our good friends with lots of booze and fun. We've already began training, but really don't need that much practice. I love those Christmas gift ideas, will have to look for those. Bourbon Street?

 

Thanks again for taking the time to do a review (you get great pictures too) and looking forward to following along on the next.

Yes, I do believe that was Bourbon Street that I found those exquisite gifts. :') I hope your week in NOLA is filled with bad decisions, regret, and a spontaneous tattoo. :'):'):')

Thanks again for reading! :D

OMG....What a hoot! I cant wait to kick back with a pitcher of margaritas and read this entire thread. :D I will be on the October 28th 2018 sailing of the Dream out of NOLA. I hope you decide to cruise then also....would love to hang out with you...I think we may be soul sisters......

I was in love at "pitcher of margaritas." :') I had a few glitches with the pics in the first several installments, but it sorts itself out eventually. We were originally booked on the Dream again for the Halloween 2018 cruise, but switched to the Glory out of Miami. But we've been kicking back and forth the idea of switching back to the Dream, so you never know. Lol I hope you enjoy the review!

We were in NOLA at the end of August last year, and the heat was unbearable. We're used to triple digit summers here in OK, but it's just a different kind of heat down there. Lol

Oklahoma? You’re a northerner :D

Just as with your "Let Freedom Ring" review, I enjoyed every minute of this one! I'm off work this week on a "stay-cation", and of course I end up getting sick. Thank you so much for keeping me entertained as I sit on the couch blowing my nose and eating cough drops.

Can't wait for your next one!

Thank you so much for your kind words, and thanks for reading! C probably wishes I was shy in real life, maybe we wouldn't get in so much trouble. :'):') I would love to travel full time, but I need to set up a liver donor first. :'):')

Better get busy on that- lol- I think it takes time....

Helaine

Oklahoma? You’re a northerner :D

I went to OK State, and there was a guy who would always tell me that anyone who lives north of I-40 was a yankee. Lol

Just as with your "Let Freedom Ring" review, I enjoyed every minute of this one! I'm off work this week on a "stay-cation", and of course I end up getting sick. Thank you so much for keeping me entertained as I sit on the couch blowing my nose and eating cough drops.

Can't wait for your next one!

Thank you so much for reading, so glad you enjoyed it! I hope you feel better soon!

Better get busy on that- lol- I think it takes time....

Helaine

I'll look into getting on the list. :D

Hey everyone, just found out today that due to work conflicts, we're not going to be able to cruise this spring like we usually do. And since we are highly allergic to any children that we did not create ourselves, we do not cruise in the summer months. I'm devastated, and I booked an appointment with a therapist (Dr. Jose Cuervo) to deal with it. So I won't be back here with a review until this fall. But, it's our epic, we-both-turn-40-this-year-trip, so my review will include our 5 days at Disney pre-cruise, our Glory Halloween cruise, and our day in Miami afterward, so there's that. So pull out your good mourning veil (a lampshade on your head will suffice) and accept my apologies. Happy cruising and I'll see you here in November!

LOVED your review, I was entertained the whole way through!! You explained your trip well!

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LOVED your review, I was entertained the whole way through!! You explained your trip well!

 

 

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Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!

Ahoy!!!!!

I was ready for you this time! Captain Morgan 90proof coconut rum and some beef jerky!

Awesome, fantastic, wonderful!!  Couldn't see some of the pictures but the commentary was worth every page!

Thank you again

Nicki