Review of our Spring Break cruise on Carnival Dream

[Savoia]

[quote name='thunderbird1']I third that--best invention ever! They come in several scents (including hypoallergenic) and I can't recommend them highly enough!



Curious about what you mean by maximum sunshine? We're looking at the non-spa deck 11 balconies, but are unsure whether the balcony is "covered" (like a traditional balcony--by the deck above) or whether it's open to above (something like the lanai). We'd kind of like a little shade, and would prefer not to have everyone on the deck above leaning over and looking (or dropping things) directly down on us. Any advice?



Yikes--that is quite a line! Do you recall if the bbq was every day or only on sea days? Just thinking it might be a little easier to get to if we came back early from a port stop.

Thanks again for your terrific review and pictures![/quote]

That line for food is just incredible! Carnival planned poorly the needs of this ship..a simple issue of cramming too many passengers onto a ship that obviously can't handle the volume. This is the view from a passenger balcony? How incredibly disappointing.

[Savoia]

[quote name='PaulMedik']Bernie,

I didn't witness any adult activities, but when I reviewed the pics I noticed a few body parts protruding that I had not seen when walking through. The 'old funnel deck' activities were also in evidence in multiple pics. I enlarge the pics before I upload them and sometimes I can crop people out and sometimes I can't. From time to time I hear about pics I've uploaded to Webshots that I missed too. Applying filters, particularly sun filters also causes some swimsuits to be invisible and I try and not upload any of those. Legally I don't think it would ever be an issue, but I'm not qoing to knowingly upload pics of someone in compromising circumstances.....well unless they deserve it and I have uploaded some of those!



The sparkling clean baclony glass is slanted such that some awesome views are created;

[URL="http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2190576020065094172lnhaQm"][IMG]http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/10056/2190576020065094172S600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

This pic looks like it's taken through the glass from the inside, but it's actually taken straight down from the outside. To those who don't enjoy such pics, please be patient because I took a lot of them;

[URL="http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2711048890065094172jcEqpx"][IMG]http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/43810/2711048890065094172S600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Bryson was finally awake, but not roaming;

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Outside his window the BBQ was going strong;

[URL="http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2659056270065094172vnNwYu"][IMG]http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/44350/2659056270065094172S600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


I asked Bryson if he'd been down to the Lanai BBQ. He said he went to the grill earlier because the line was too long on the Lanai. I guess he was right;

[URL="http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2321926270065094172paHusg"][IMG]http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/36850/2321926270065094172S600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

The boys had some OBC notices on the first day and two more arrived on the first day at sea;

[URL="http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2814752790065094172XmXIxl"][IMG]http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/46659/2814752790065094172S600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/quote]

That line for food..can you imagine the noise, the foot traffic and all that cooking smoke..from passenger balconies! No thank you..this is a huge design blunder..reviewers have said the Dream is simply too crowded and now we can see it for ourselves.

[ourfamilylovescruising]

This is crazy!! I cant wait to read the rest of your review. I check everyday to see if you posted anymore. It's like waiting for your favorite author to write a new book. LOL

[Hogladyrider]

I hear you on the excitment, reminds me of reading an exciting book, can't wait to get back to it!

Unfortunately life gets in the way at times so I figure we have some exciting reading to look forward to when Paul finally post more of his review!
Susan

[PaulMedik]

Thank you all for your kind comments and sorry for the delay.

[quote name='thunderbird1']I third that--best invention ever! They come in several scents (including hypoallergenic) and I can't recommend them highly enough!



Curious about what you mean by maximum sunshine? We're looking at the non-spa deck 11 balconies, but are unsure whether the balcony is "covered" (like a traditional balcony--by the deck above) or whether it's open to above (something like the lanai). We'd kind of like a little shade, and would prefer not to have everyone on the deck above leaning over and looking (or dropping things) directly down on us. Any advice?



Yikes--that is quite a line! Do you recall if the bbq was every day or only on sea days? Just thinking it might be a little easier to get to if we came back early from a port stop.

Thanks again for your terrific review and pictures![/quote]

thunderbird1,

The spa balconies have very little overhand thus when the sun is overhead or on your side of the ship you will get plenty on your deck. I'd prefer a spa balcony over all but the aft wraps.

The BBQ may have been every day, but I only recall it on sea days or days we left ports early such as Costa Maya.

[quote name='Gorilla579']Love the review. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. We will be in that cabin in October, and I have a question for you. We were hoping to have everone in our group out on our balcony for sail away. Can you tell me if there is enough room between the bed and couch to fit a wheelchair? If not we will need to pick a different location. Thanks so much![/quote]

Gorilla579,

Thank you.

I don't recall the distance between the bed and couch, but it wasn't too tight. There was plenty of room between the bed and the desk area and the beds could easily be moved over some to make more room. I would guess they could even situate the beds separately to form an L since they are two twin beds if need for full time handicap access, but the bathroom is another story; it's waaaay too tight. I coudn't enter the bathroom without turning sideways.

[quote name='awaaslates'][SIZE=4]I have really enjoyed reading your review. I also noticed that you have been on the Legend. We are getting ready to book our 6th Carnival Cruise for this November and have narrowed it down to the Legend or the Dream. We are traveling with a group of friends and family with kids age 5 through 12. We are a little worried about the crowding on the Dream, but think the kids might enjoy the extras the Dream has to offer. On the other hand, have been on the Miracle and, so far, it has been our favorite ship. Only comparing ship to ship (not cost, embarkation port, or ports of call) which ship would you choose? Thank so much.[/SIZE][/quote]

awaaslates,

Thank you.

I would choose Dream over Legend, but I'm a Conquest Class fan instead of Spirt Class. Legend is a fine ship, but like others are lost on Conquest Class, I was lost on Legend. :o

[PaulMedik]

[quote name='TakeMeAway1001']Another fantastic review, thanks for taking the time to write one. I just found this today and read it in one sitting, trying to catch up. One question....did you notice if the Serenity Deck was 18 and over or was it 21?
Thanks again ;)[/quote]

TakeMeAway1001,

As I recall it just said 'adults only.' I'll look closer at my pics and see if it specifies an age.

[quote name='flalady29']Is Britt wearing Steelers lounge pants? Go Steelers :-)[/quote]

flalady29,

LOL, yes he was.

[quote name='Savoia']That line for food..can you imagine the noise, the foot traffic and all that cooking smoke..from passenger balconies! No thank you..this is a huge design blunder..reviewers have said the Dream is simply too crowded and now we can see it for ourselves.[/quote]

Savoia,

The view from the side balconies is great, unless you look down. The view from our aft was fine even when looking down. I didn't mind the occasional noise plus there was some entertainment there from time to time.

The cooking smoke wasn't bad at all and in fact it was quite tasty smelling! I love smelling a good BBQ and the Lanai BBQ smell ranks quite high on the list of good smelling BBQs. :D

[falkcor]

[quote name='PaulMedik']Thank you all for your kind comments and sorry for the delay.[/quote]

welcome back, paul :)

[quote name='PaulMedik']I would choose Dream over Legend, but I'm a Conquest Class fan instead of Spirt Class. Legend is a fine ship, but like others are lost on Conquest Class, I was lost on Legend. :o[/quote]

and that's kind of interesting... the spirit class ships are definitely 'different', though i found carnival pride incredibly easy to traverse, and in my opinion, pride NEVER felt crowded, at all, anywhere, and lines were all but non-existent...

that said, i almost kinda wished at times that the ship were perhaps a little bit larger, with a little bit more pax, especially when prime spots like the piano bar were relatively empty, past say 11pm...

also related, i think, is that while destiny / 'triumph' / conquest / splendor dream classes have most of the night life centralized largely on promenade aft, spirit class ships are quite a bit more spread out... like butterflies lounge on deck 1, disco on 1/2, piano bar forward near the theater, etc. i can see how that'd be confusing, but i had a lot of practice locating said locations :cool:

[PaulMedik]

[quote name='jljlinda'][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Your reviews are the next best thing to actually being on the ship with you and your family. All that I have read thus far have been so very well written and fully documented with tons of pics, both of which are fantastic. (Since "a picture is worth a thousand words," I try to imagine how large a volume would result if you substituted words for pics!! WOW!!)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I have enjoyed your Carnival reviews so much, I cannot help but wonder if you have sailed on other cruise lines. Have you tried lines other than Carnival? If so, (and if you don't mind sharing,) what other lines and ships have you sailed? Again, if so, did you "publish" in depth reviews of other line's sailings and where can I find them? (Please don't misunderstand - we love sailing on Carnival's ships but we stay open-minded!)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Looking forward to reading the remainder of your great review of the Dream!![/FONT][/COLOR][/quote]

jljlinda,

Thank you.

Our first cruise was in 1989 on Premier Cruise Line's StarShip Majestic.

Our first family cruise was on Carnival Victory and I did post a review here on the Carnival boards. Back then the boards didn't have the capability for posting pictures so I posted URLs or hot links to pictures in the reviews. As I recall I did a few more reviews with links to individual pictures then switched to including thumbnails (thumbnails of the pics are what you actually see in the threads) when that option became available. All of the reviews I have posted on Cruise Critic have been of Carnival sailings and all are after our boys were old enough to sail with us and experience the areas we sailed to.

Britt was four years old the first time we took him up Dunn's river falls;

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We hired a private guide for our tour of Jamaica and he arranged for the Dunn's River Falls guide to carry our camera and to hold Britt's hand going up the falls. When Britt was eight we used the same private guide again and he made the same arrangement with same guide to carry our camera, but that time he didn't have to hold Britt's hand the whole way.

I mentioned the Dunn's River Falls and Britt's age because there was a thread way back when about how kids under ten shouldn't be allowed to go up the falls. All of my sons were under ten and I had just posted a review with picture links so it was fresh in my mind. :rolleyes:

The only cruise line we have sailed on with our sons is Carnival. We booked Freedom of the Seas back in '08, but cancelled it and booked on Carnival Freedom for a chance to sail again with John Heald.

I had Ruby Princess planned for next year, but the boys insisted on returning to Liberty and Half Moon Cay. I have talked to them about Royal Caribbean several times and they seem to have no desire to climb a rock wall while at sea or ice skate at sea; personally I'd like to see those features, but wouldn't use them either. Pricing the cruises out I have found Liberty of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, and several others to be similar in price to our Carnival sailings, but not for our aft wraps; they simply don't have comparable balconies that I can determine.

I do hope to take the boys on Princess, RCCL, HAL, and Cunard. Yes, HAL and Cunard; I know they aren't known for kids, but HAL has Half Moon Cay and Cunard sends me some of the best prices on balconies that I've ever seen; even better than Carnival. I have never sailed Celebrity, but if I keep reading about Tom's (of Tom&Cheryl) experiences with Celebrity, I am going to have to give them a try. The one cruise line that my boys show no interest in is Disney and I can't explain that one other than to say that Karen and I enjoyed Disney, but wouldn't enjoy it now or in the future. No casino? What's up with that?

Sorry for the off topic stuff there......I'll try and get back on track soon. :p

[PaulMedik]

[quote name='falkcor']welcome back, paul :)



and that's kind of interesting... the spirit class ships are definitely 'different', though i found carnival pride incredibly easy to traverse, and in my opinion, pride NEVER felt crowded, at all, anywhere, and lines were all but non-existent...

that said, i almost kinda wished at times that the ship were perhaps a little bit larger, with a little bit more pax, especially when prime spots like the piano bar were relatively empty, past say 11pm...

also related, i think, is that while destiny / 'triumph' / conquest / splendor dream classes have most of the night life centralized largely on promenade aft, spirit class ships are quite a bit more spread out... like butterflies lounge on deck 1, disco on 1/2, piano bar forward near the theater, etc. i can see how that'd be confusing, but i had a lot of practice locating said locations :cool:[/quote]


Mark,

Thank you. Good to be back!

I am definately in the minority in my opinion of Spirt Class. I did enjoy Legend and hope to enjoy her again some day as well as her twin siblings, but I was too experienced on basically Destiny class when I sailed her. Destiny class really encompasses all of the >100k ton ships including Dream if you think about it.

For me it wasn't so much that there wasn't a lot of action, it was that I couldn't find my way to things even when I knew where they were....does that make any sense? :confused: I like the slide up near the front where it's supposed to be and I like the Destiny style stadium feel on mid Lido; that was also missing on Dream.

I guess Legend just looked familiar and had a familiar feel, but the venues were moved and not where I went looking for them...that sounds a lot like I was lost doesn't it? :D

[falkcor]

[quote name='PaulMedik']I am definately in the minority in my opinion of Spirt Class. I did enjoy Legend and hope to enjoy her again some day as well as her twin siblings, but I was too experienced on basically Destiny class when I sailed her. [/quote]

i really do enjoy the spirit class... but, just like i said previously, they definitely are a little 'different'.

and i can understand about being experienced on destiny - which does hold over to related classes... but i'd think that for a newbie, the spirit class is probably more 'approachable' or 'accessible' as far as navigation is concerned, etc.

clearly, though, from dialogue here on cc - they had a hit... i still don't understand why they don't build a few more, or use that as a template for a new class of ship... we KNOW they are good at that template thing ;)

[quote name='PaulMedik']Destiny class really encompasses all of the >100k ton ships including Dream if you think about it.[/quote]

segue into you comment about destiny class being the 'template' for 'triumph', conquest, splendor, dream classes - no doubt! they all have the same basic ship architecture, just slightly tweaked... and destiny's set the tone for all new builds save the last fantasy class ships, and spirit class...

they're so similar, that, in fact, i will always type 'triumph' class with the ' 's... because even internally, carnival considers the destiny, triumph and victory destiny class ships... john heald has even said the same, repeatedly... i don't understand why they split them for marketing purposes, exactly... when you just add a 1/3 length passenger deck (more cabins, just like with the dream - what's up with those 'beards'?)... seriously, that's not a new class.. just like the carnival magic is not considered at this time a class of her own. same ship, just 5.5 pounds of passengers in a 5 pound bag :D

[quote name='PaulMedik']For me it wasn't so much that there wasn't a lot of action, it was that I couldn't find my way to things even when I knew where they were....does that make any sense? :confused: I like the slide up near the front where it's supposed to be and I like the Destiny style stadium feel on mid Lido; that was also missing on Dream.[/quote]

well... part of it is just that i think you're used to the other configuration, so this one didn't make sense... hence the 'slide up near the front where it's supposed to be' - learned behavior... see: pavlov hehe...

but, perhaps it was also the fact that the spirit class ships have those 'indentations'? i think that makes at least the pax hallways a little less clear and confusing... especially on the way back to the room late at night, from the wrong elevator lol...

i didn't really miss the stadium seating, because i don't lounge in the sun anyway... but, the lido did seem a little less energetic in the current configuration... and putting tile ALL around the pool area... dumbest idea, ever...

and speaking of dream, i'm not a fan of how 'glassed in' so much is in the open deck areas... i MUCH prefer the spirit class open aft design... that is a very nice feature.

[quote name='PaulMedik']I guess Legend just looked familiar and had a familiar feel, but the venues were moved and not where I went looking for them...[/quote]

i think another thing is the fact that the spirit class has a relatively narrow beam, and a greater ration of length vs. width. i think that is why some venues are so spread out - it's out of necessity... i would definitely say that you have to walk around a lot more on a spirit class ship than the 'destiny lineage'... there's one dining room all the way aft, even passenger deck 1 is used for some venues, and there's just more space between them all in my opinion... perhaps greater distance, but i still think it's more intuitively set up for newbies... if one knows the deck plans well before hand though, i don't think there should be any trouble getting around either... but, clearly there is for some...

[quote name='PaulMedik']that sounds a lot like I was lost doesn't it? :D[/quote]

sure does :p

[gail811]

Welcome back Paul....the anticipation is so bad that the first thing I do in the morning is check for updates here; even before I check for price drops on my upcoming cruises!

[Cruise Envy]

Paul, OUTSTANDING review! I don't know how I'll make it the next 204 days until my cruise....

[PaulMedik]

After choosing our seats at Paradise Beach, Karen applied sunscreen to the boys. Sun screen is so much easier now that they have spray on instead of the wipe on type;

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She still insists on using wipe on for some areas prone to extra exposure;

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My skin doesn't burn so I got to skip the sunscreen session and head out onto the large water mattress to catch some rays. The boys filtered out after their sunscreen was applied;

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Bryson and Spencer did their best to try and sink the mattress;

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All I had to do to sink my section was swing my legs over the side;

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Karen had to rest up from appling sunscreen to the boys;

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[Time2CruiseAgain]

YAY!!! Great pics of PB!! We were there 2 years ago and we are going back there in 2 weeks!! WOOHOO!!! Can't wait!!

Were they still free-pouring that blue stuff? lol

Thanks again for the awesome review!

[PaulMedik]

While Bryson and I were in the water, Karen, Spencer, and Britt went to check out the nearly deserted Paradise Beach. They were avoiding our chairs because one particular foul mouthed female had taken up residence in the row of chairs in front of ours;

Spencer, I think....wrapped in one of many hammocks at Paradise Beach;

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Britt & Spencer jumping on the trampoline;

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My cold drink in hand, I avoided capturing an image of the foul mouthed female in front of me;

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Karen zoomed in on me as I was waiting for a picture of Bryson on the iceburg. I am standing on the far end of the pier where most of the snorkling folks at PB go;

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Byrson making his way up the iceburg as a previous climber descends;

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Nearing the top;

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[jnet2213]

Paul-

Really enjoying your review & pics. Appreciate all your time & effort to help the rest of us out!!

[PaulMedik]

[quote name='Time2CruiseAgain']YAY!!! Great pics of PB!! We were there 2 years ago and we are going back there in 2 weeks!! WOOHOO!!! Can't wait!!

Were they still free-pouring that blue stuff? lol

Thanks again for the awesome review![/quote]


Time2CruiseAgain,

Thank you.

Yes, the blue stuff was free pouring. They poured a lot of blue and gold down the gullet of the loud mouth in front of us in an apparent effort to shut her up...... The should have just used the cork instead. I am well practiced at CPR, but I don't know that I would have cleared her airway...




Byrson climbed and jumped off the iceburg at least thirty times during the day, but each time he jumped he gave little or no warning so all that I got was a splash. It took a while, but I did get him in mid air one time;

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Britt geared up for snorkeling and heading out to the deep blue sea (out of respect for my fellow humans, I will not mention that the foul mouthed female's image is diplayed in this picture. I also wont mention that she's the one with her hand up near her mouth. Obviously it's her best angle since you can't see her mouth) ;

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Britt cautiously surveying his snorkle area;

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And finally surveying the bottom;

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There's an easier way to walk with flippers, but Britt doesn't know how and I enjoy watching him too much to tell him;

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Pretty soon he was back in the water;

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Our day at Paradise Beach was unlike any time we've been there in the past all because of the aforementioned female. She arrived about an hour after we did and was with a large group going back and forth between PB and the beach beside it. She was the only member of her group that used foul language and several other members of her group including her husband apoligized several times for her behavior.

When I say foul launguage, I mean every other word out of her mouth began with F and she demonstrated classic head injury symptoms by telling the same story over and over and over. Apparently the highlight of her life is that she once told a world famous singer F*** you and to F*** off. We were forced to listen to this story repeatedly as were the families all around her.

Stress for me comes in the form of neck and back stiffness accompanied by spasms. It can further be defined as the reaction my body exhibits when my mind over rides my desire to choke the living kaka out of someone who dearly deserves it. For the first time in my life I sat and envisioned myself actually striking a woman. For the record, I have never done so, but I do confess the thought crossed my mind. I also contemplated hitting her husband because he did not stop her, but then I had to banish that thought because I am not the type to feel a husband should control his wife.

The loud mouth also spent considerable time complaining about the increased cost of wrist bands and the fact that she refused to buy one. The wrist bands now cost $12 and entitle the use of all water toys and snorkel gear at PB. It's a very reasonable cost in my opinion. The loud mouth seemed to feel that the roped area used by the jet ski launch was the only water she was allowed to enter because that's where she went any time she entered the ocean to cool off. She would go there and cuss about the wrist bands. I had planned to rent a jetski, but opted not to because I knew I'd be tempted to ram her simply for making it too easy; the jetski guys mentioned the area was for jet skis one time, but she went into a rage so they left her alone.

In my occupaton I have frequent exposure to mental patients who are out of control. I could sense that this individual would become violent if confronted and would need psychopharmacological intervention to get her under control. Her best treatment would have been isolation, but that wasn't really an option; we could have moved, but as farfetched as it sounds I believe my sons were actually learning from watching her behavior. They were observing an adult acting out verbally and we discussed her actions in a calm manner. In other settings where I could not visually observe any weapons she might have had access to, I would have taken my family and left; in this case it was simply an observe and discuss situation. I was confident that if any confrontation did occur that it could be summarily dealt with; not pleasantly, but safely for my family.

Even now as I think back to that day I am annoyed at human behavior. Her behavior was entirely appropriate for a bar setting. In fact, when we were walking the pier later that day to reboard the ship, she was dancing at the bar alongside the pier entrance; bar dancing is definately where she belonged. I have no issues with loud, boisterous behavior even with profanity interlaced at a bar, but a public beach with families all around is not the place for it. I saw her several times on the ship later in the week and she was a different person on board the ship. I did see her husband confronted and forced to back down at the casino sports bar after the Butler vs Duke game. He opted to yell[I] Butler sucks [/I]right after the game ended and the bar was packed with Butler fans. The Butler fan that was in his face told him not to say it again. I pleaded for him to say it one more time, but he would not.

[PaulMedik]

Moving on from ranting about the foul mouthed......sorry for the interlude of venting there.


Half Moon Cay is my favorite port, but Cozumel and Paradise Beach is Bryson's favorite and he spent most of the day in the water on the various water toys;

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Karen enjoyed a Paradise Beach massage;

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The new craze at beaches seems to be the stand up surf boards. These girls went all over the place before returning to pose for pics together;

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I don't know what this guy did wrong to have to hold that canoe up, but he held it for hours;

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Similar to Rum Point in Grand Cayman?;

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[Naomi John]

We were at Paradise Beach via the Triumph on 04/15. DD is 8 and she loves all the new toys as well.

[PaulMedik]

Since our ship was the only ship in port, PB was very open and uncrowded;

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On busy days there would be people everywhere in this pic;

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Byrson climbing the iceburg again;

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It was a beautiful day in Paradise at Paradise Beach;

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What do you eat when you're in Mexico? I eat Mexican. We have a Mexian restaurant her in our hometown that the boys go to at least once a week.... The boys opted for pizza;

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And my Mexican was perfect;

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[PolishDude]

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i love that pier, will be there in 2 months :)

[PaulMedik]

Spencer tried out the hottest hot sause they had;

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Karen had the camera and insisted on a picture of the three of them right after Spencer ate the hot sause;

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Spencer then sucked down his entire drink;

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I then demonstrated the proper way to eat hot sause;

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The green hot sause caused my tongue to emulate a freshly killed deer;

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The perfect chaser for hot sause is a self prepared tortilla;

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[PaulMedik]

The Chips and Salsa were also great;

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After eating his entire pizza appetizer, Bryson proceded with his main course of nachos;

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We're in Mexico and Karen opts for a salad;

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I finished my lunch margarita while replying to the Live From Carnival Dream thread on Cruise Critic via the free internet / computer at Paradise Beach;

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After lunch we hit the ocean Kayaks. Here's Karen and Britt after they ran over Bryson;

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Usually the Kayak's are just used to see the area, but somedays they are used as bumper kayaks;

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[Ashpalo]

Love your review!!!

Thanks for posting so many pictures of PB! We'll be there in August and your pics are really helping me get excited! Hopefully we won't encounter any foul-mouthed individuals!:eek:

Ashley :)

[PaulMedik]

Britt and Karen posing just before being T-boned by Bryson;

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Normally there's too many people in the water and the life guards steer kayaks away from the water toys, but on this day he joined them in the bumper battle;

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Coming back to shore;

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Spencer had a late night at Circle C so he was asleep in a hammock;

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Karen checking facebook at the bar;

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Updating your facebook page / status while on vacation is just mean;

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