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Hopefully a Live from the Dream thread :)

megnsamsgracie

By megnsamsgracie,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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hug71

hug71

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Just off Carnival Dream this morning, and I hope you'll have a superb vacation yourselves . . . as did I and numerous others for these last nine fantastic days. :D

 

 

:) Bon Voyage!! :)

 

we did have a good time didnt we? It was great getting to know you over the 9 days

 

for all getting on her today have a great time

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megnsamsgracie

megnsamsgracie

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Embarkation was easy breezy! We got to the port at 10:53 and went right through security. I had a case of bottled water and 2 12packs of soda in a rolling duffel bag and the security guy just asked… I was honest and offered to open it.. He said no that’s okay! Wow! Upstairs… into line got zone 8 but they were already boarding 1-7. We waited 3 minutes in line to get an agent and then it took us about 4 or 5 to do the cards. Then straight on to the ship! From start to eating, 15 minutes TOPS! NICE! We probably will eat in the dining room most of the time because tables for 6 were hard to find. We got Crimson room table 214... Table for 6 on the elevated part of the lower dining room, near the stairs.

Buffet was not too bad… I unfortunately didn’t study the deck plans too well as we stopped at taste of nations, forgetting that the buffet was back farther! Oh well! Food was good. Lines were so so at this point. We went to guest services to swap my sons room and mine and get a key for DH and I to get into the kids room. Very pleasant!

Went to celebrations and picked up DH’s tux… that was easy. Rooms were open by 1:30 but the stewards actually let us put our soda/water into the room earlier. Rooms are nice and seem a bit larger than the Valor even though they are probably the same size. We are in a balcony 8E room 10224 and the deck 5 track does cut back in a bit under our room so its not that huge a deal.

We have found our way around so far. My kids have all gone off to check out their clubs and my 12 y/o who did NOT want to come and hates vacation knows where everything is and what times they open already! He is so excited!

 

It is super windy out! It says 83-85KMH but they keep replenishing the sea sick meds!

 

Dinner was good... slow start with service but both waiters were very nice and good with the kids. We did the sweet n sour shrimp, flat iron steak and ribs and all was good. DH wasnt too thrilled with the cesar salad.. a LOT smaller than normal and skimped on the dressing.. that is his favorite thing on the cruise!

 

We are exhausted and heading to bed soon. We fell asleep at 9pm Friday so we were up by 5:30 and no naps! I put up pics of the decorations in the lobby atrium and pics from our balcony. Straight down, to the right and left.

 

My kids are very happy, especially my almost 13 y/o DS who is in Circle C... he was against this vacation now he is bugging us on when its time to go!

 

Will be back posting pics and more info tomorrow. Its a day at sea and formal night tomorrow.

 

And sailaway was drizzly... it did pour a few times tonight but we were inside when it did, no biggie. Oh and bags were in the room around 4ish just after muster drill (which was late but easy) and our stuff did make it nicely and was already put on ice by the steward!!

 

Let me just add... this is a BIG ship to get around but not hard at all. We have let our kids go out alone and they all know where everything is. Staff is very accomodating to help you if need be though. Not one rude staff yet! We did meet a crew member from our home state!

 

Ask away for any questions!

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PaulMedik

PaulMedik

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A bit about us... DH and I are early 30s with 4 kids (13, 11, 8 and 6). And were very loyal Royals until we tried the Carnival Valor in July. I did like it but missed certain design layouts of Royal. But for the money, Carnival is worth it! So I booked us on the Dream! We have an 8E balcony and a 4H inside for the kids. This is cruise #8 for me.

 

We arrived yesterday afternoon. For a minivan rental for 6 of us, even with a discount I was looking at $200 for 2 one way rentals, not including the gas. I ended up paying $300 all inclusive for a 16 passenger Cadillac limo (service from Port to Disney at the end)! It was a splurge but I had some $100 prepaid visa gift cards and used them. We booked through SAI Limo and they were awesome! He met us at the escalator with a sign with our name but I totally missed him! So he caught up with us at baggage claim. Grabbed our bags and escorted outside and we waited like 3 minutes while he went to get the limo. Kids were SHOCKED! Nice treat! I had planned on like a 15-20min stop at Target to get beer, wine, soda and water but with 2 registers open, it took like 30 but he didnt care! Very nice.

 

I booked us a room at the Country Inn and Suites and paid $52 on priceline. I was told Priceline rooms are all kid suites.. not facing the port. They would have given me a room facing the port for the same price but none were available. The shuttle guy Vinny was outside waiting and said he would take us anywhere nearby for free :) Got our room and it is really nice! Just dropped off the luggage and went to Fishlips for dinner. Food was really good and reasonable... no wait on a Friday! Vinny gave us his card for return service and said that he would take us to ABC liquor for what Target didnt have.

 

Great service, good breakfast. I would stay here again!

 

I am going to upload everything to webshots to make it easier. Right now, just pics of the inside of the limo but the link is here http://community.webshots.com/album/575893088TTkDlw

 

 

megnsamsgracie,

 

Great 'Live from' thread! Enjoy your cruise and thanks for letting us tag along.

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iwannacruz

iwannacruz

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A bit about us... DH and I are early 30s with 4 kids (13, 11, 8 and 6). And were very loyal Royals until we tried the Carnival Valor in July. I did like it but missed certain design layouts of Royal. But for the money, Carnival is worth it! So I booked us on the Dream! We have an 8E balcony and a 4H inside for the kids. This is cruise #8 for me.

 

We arrived yesterday afternoon. For a minivan rental for 6 of us, even with a discount I was looking at $200 for 2 one way rentals, not including the gas. I ended up paying $300 all inclusive for a 16 passenger Cadillac limo (service from Port to Disney at the end)! It was a splurge but I had some $100 prepaid visa gift cards and used them. We booked through SAI Limo and they were awesome! He met us at the escalator with a sign with our name but I totally missed him! So he caught up with us at baggage claim. Grabbed our bags and escorted outside and we waited like 3 minutes while he went to get the limo. Kids were SHOCKED! Nice treat! I had planned on like a 15-20min stop at Target to get beer, wine, soda and water but with 2 registers open, it took like 30 but he didnt care! Very nice.

 

I booked us a room at the Country Inn and Suites and paid $52 on priceline. I was told Priceline rooms are all kid suites.. not facing the port. They would have given me a room facing the port for the same price but none were available. The shuttle guy Vinny was outside waiting and said he would take us anywhere nearby for free :) Got our room and it is really nice! Just dropped off the luggage and went to Fishlips for dinner. Food was really good and reasonable... no wait on a Friday! Vinny gave us his card for return service and said that he would take us to ABC liquor for what Target didnt have.

 

Great service, good breakfast. I would stay here again!

 

I am going to upload everything to webshots to make it easier. Right now, just pics of the inside of the limo but the link is here http://community.webshots.com/album/575893088TTkDlw

I was wondering how you specifically used Priceline to book the Country Inn & Suites for such a good price. Were you able to specifiy that particular hotel or did they pick it for you?

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bighamlin

bighamlin

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Thank you so much for doing this. Our extended family of 11 leave the day after Christmas on the Dream. It was great reading all the postings and seeing all the pictures up to this point, but your posts will be telling about our actual itenerary (sp?). I will be using some of your observations and experiences to answer a lot of my family's questions. I appreciate things like your comment on bringing aboard the water/soda.

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them

them

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Great review so far! Have you checked out the spa yet? Would love to hear your thoughts, if you've seen it.....

 

Also, how has the Circle C been so far for your children? And is your youngest in Camp Carnival also - how is he enjoying that?

 

Thanks again - glad to see that embarkation was easy!

 

T.H.E.M.

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ruthie101

ruthie101

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Okay.. Embarkation was easy breezy! Got to port at 10:53 and were done eating by 11:20... We were on the ship within 10 minutes! Easy to get around so far. Like our room but found the walls are thin.... Can hear our neighbors coming and going and their conversation clearly.

 

Decorations are up and so pretty! I have pics and video to upload

 

We were on the Dream on the 12/03 cruise and I am wondering about the thin walls. Could it be just certain areas because our room was 12216 and we thought we were the only ones on the floor it was so quiet!!

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megnsamsgracie

megnsamsgracie

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Wonderful day at sea today! I was out cold by 10pm, my 3 younger kids were asleep by 10:15.. My vacation hating almost teen checked in close to 1 that he was back.. When asked if he had fun, I got a “maybe” with a big ole smile…. So he is enjoying himself!

DH and the kids got up early and saw the sun rise… he is now a balcony snob! LOVED that sunrise. They went to the buffet around 7:30 and said there were some longish lines. Around 8:15 I was up and went to the dining room and no wait. But by 9:15, there was a line of close to 25! Food was pretty good and service was good. We headed to the slides around 10 and the lines weren’t too bad right when they opened. Give in 20 minutes and the drainpipe and twister are about 10 minute waits.. The racing slides most of the day were no wait. My kids spent about 3hrs up there! I even did the slides! I got a bit dizzy in them but glad I did it. There weren’t a lot of chairs around the pool until about 4pm. But up by the slides we easily found space. We did lunch in the dining room at 1 with no wait. Food choices were okay. Better on the Valor.

We did morning trivia but unlike the Valor cruise… this time it was mostly seniors showing up and they kicked our butts! It was still fun! We got all dolled up for dinner and did a few family pics. Tonight was elegant night and the Captains reception. We had the prime rib and I did the lobster/shrimp too. Lobster was TINY and just so-so, prime rib was good. Tonight they sang “That’s Amore” to us and it was fun.. They turned the lights down and had these neat white lights blinking and encouraged the couples to dance. We did!

The show was Get Ready and I really did enjoy it. Definitely get there early! The seniors on this cruise were sitting by 7:45 for the 8:30 show so seats were not easy to come by! There are 2 adult comedy shows tonight but I don’t think we will go… they repeat tomorrow

My kids are thoroughly enjoying this cruise! My almost teen is off doing his thing. The 6-8 group are rehearsing with the singers for a holiday production and the 9-11 group is practicing with the dancers for the show. Tonight they took the kids to the show and then there is some special party 10-12am. I guess on Costa Maya night there is some other party from 10-3:30 that is $26 for the first kid, $14 each additional kids. Not sure how much tonights party is.

Seas were very calm tonight. Last night wasn’t fun L Seas were rough. We are on deck 10 forward and the winds were hitting us head on our side so we definitely felt it. I do like our location. Easy with kids to get to Camp Carnival and the pool and the waterworks. Would definitely pick this location again… maybe a bit more midship on deck 10. Even my 6 year old knows his way around already! He can get to/from Camp Carnival, the dining room and even the bathrooms on deck 3 by our restaurant! I am amazed!

　

I took pics of the kids 6-8 capers to show some of the stuff (hope they come out okay) and I tried to get one of the main capers. I will scan them in when I get home but hopefully this does help a bit. I will do the 9-11 one when my DD gets back to the room and gives hers back to me. I don’t have anyone in the 2-5 but I will try and find a caper to take pics. Unlike Royal Caribbean that does open camp the first night from like 8-10, Carnival did not. It was just a “viewing”

 

I will answer the ?s tomorrow posted so far.... cheaper on the internet! More pics updated

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cbressler76

cbressler76

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I took pics of the kids 6-8 capers to show some of the stuff (hope they come out okay) and I tried to get one of the main capers. I will scan them in when I get home but hopefully this does help a bit. I will do the 9-11 one when my DD gets back to the room and gives hers back to me. I don’t have anyone in the 2-5 but I will try and find a caper to take pics. Unlike Royal Caribbean that does open camp the first night from like 8-10, Carnival did not. It was just a “viewing”

 

I will answer the ?s tomorrow posted so far.... cheaper on the internet! More pics updated

 

We will be sailing on the Valor Feb 7.........I have two boys.....7 and soon to be 4...... I can't wait to see the 6-8 capers....do you think that they will have the same activities on Valor? Thanks!!

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megnsamsgracie

megnsamsgracie

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Another gorgeous day in Cozumel! We docked earlier than 10 like we were supposed to. I was up at 8:10 and the harbor pilot was already bringing us in, I would say we were docked by 9 (we were up at the buffet bringing breakfast down for the kids) and cleared shortly after.

My husband today really started commenting on size and flow around the ship. We are supposedly at 4100 guests and 1400 crew. He hates going to the buffet because it is poorly set up. The lines are really long at certain times and it also does not flow too well either. We did RCI’s Liberty of the Seas with more guests and the buffet there always flowed smoothly. He said this was horrible compared to the Valor. We didn’t wait long today around 8:30, just brought 2 trays of food to the room for the kids.

We were off the ship around 11:10 today with no wait. While we were getting off, there was an ambulance bringing a sick looking crew member off.. Dr went with them! I did ask staff later about him/her and was told she was medically ill and was being flow home (Philippines she looked like). I wished her our best.

In Cozumel we always go to Paradise Beach… never with 6 of us though and didn’t plan on $28 each way for the taxi for 6! 1-4 is still $13, 5 is $19. Oh well, we still like it. It is now $12pp for the water toys but they added more. There is a jungle joe and small water slide, a new trampoline, this 4person rock-it ride. The kids had a ball! They floated on mats, snorkeled and saw lots of fish and just played all day. My vacation hating teen spent all but 10 minutes in the water… DEFINITELY load up on sunscreen as we were about 85 today and not much clouds! Tom is a very gracious host and we love his company and learning about the island and all the new things (like the first drive thru Burger King!). We spent 4hrs there just hanging out and then back to the ship. We didn’t spend any time at the shops as we got all we needed in July. We were in port with just the Ecstasy unless the RCI ship docked elsewhere this time (they were near us in July). I took side by side pics and boy can you tell the difference.

We were relaxing on the balcony watching the last 4 Ecstasy guests running… definitely worth the balcony!!

Dinner was on par for Carnival and the servers are nice but expect to ask for milk MANY times before it comes! Servers are very apologetic and our head waiter has just 3 tables of 6 (ours is the only one with kids). Tonight they danced to shake your booty or whatever that song is… they did it on the Valor too.

We actually fell asleep by 8 so missed tonights show but it was the juggler. There is also the red/blue deck party tonight and it was pretty fun. My kids were all asleep by 11pm tonight because they are ZONKED! Sun really wiped them out! Older DS is still out with Circle C having fun! He has done a ton of contests and games and won medals and ships on a stick. My kids only did Camp Carnival for 2hours tonight but did have fun and didn’t want to leave!!

I do love the ship and all the features (water works etc) but they really need to figure out a better way to manage the people.. They do need more staff to handle the more people but it seems as though there is just as much staff for this amount of guests as there was on the Valor.

Tomorrow is Roatan and I booked a day with Juan Carlos going to Mayan Princess.

Oh yeah.. I had 2 rooms with a combined OBC of $740, my double balcony was $430 and my inside was $310. Since I was paying for both rooms, they let me put everything on one! So I had one account for all 6 with ALL the OBC combined. That made it easy. I was told after they probably wouldn’t do it but they were very nice about it.

Also, last night I went to guest services to add charging to my almost teens card. The Captain was actually at the desk helping! He was VERY nice to talk with and spent a few minutes chatting with us! So far I have encountered nothing but nice crew!!

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