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Just off the Dream ...my $.02, but a long $.02

SnowWhiteNYC

By SnowWhiteNYC,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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SnowWhiteNYC

SnowWhiteNYC

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Just got home after our 1200 mile drive from Port Canaveral and our Dream cruise!

 

Thought the ship was beautiful, the colors more subdued than other ccl ships

Easy embarkation...arrived at about 10:15, on board before 11 (we are platinum)

Loved the main shows (Extreme Country, Dancing in the Streets and Get Ready) super high energy.

Loved the addition of the Fun Force dancers. They did a show in the Atrium one night and then were a part of Dancing in the Streets. Awesome update to the entertainment. I even took a hip hop dance class offered by them....great fun!

Loved the comedy club...saw all 4 comedians, two were great, the other two were good.

Liked the juggler/comedian, thought the magician/comedian was okay.

Loved the Lounge Hop leading into the deck party.

 

Wasn't overly impressed with the laser shows...wouldn't make an effort again to see them...

 

Lots of hot tubs (too hot out for me to boil in water) not enough pool space for the extreme carib. heat

 

Thought the food was among the best in my 16 CCl cruises, however, not overly impressed with the Lanai BBQ. Much preferred the Tandoor and Mongolian Grills on Lido.

Had breakfast in the MDR twice...much preferred the Lido deck for breakfast. More varied and the food was hotter.

 

Loved the layout of Deck 5 promenade...but hated my Deck 6 balcony and the fact that the extension of promenade below eliminated almost all of the balcony privacy I am used to.

 

Didn't care for the layout of the MDR. If you weren't in the center section you couldn't see the entertainment or "showtime." Call me silly, but I look forward to the singing an dancing at meals...we were kind of sheltered from it.

 

I have been on 9 different CCL ships, and had a hard time finding the public bathrooms. Not sure if there were fewer, or they were oddly placed or I was just being dumb, but most times I wound up going back to my room...

 

Only noticed the smell once...first day and not again!

 

Didn't mind the switch to western itinerary. We still did 4 excursions on our own. Rented a car in Cozumel, went to Caye Caulker via water taxi in Belize, went to West Bay Beach (would highly rec. Bananarama) via taxi and just roamed the port area in Costa Maya. Had a great time! I don't really care for 4 ports in 7 days however...not enough ship time imho.

 

Hot water situation didn't bother us...loved the open bar...we found a good space and had several drinks each on the house.

 

I had arranged a private party for our CC roll call and it was AWESOME! We did 1.5 hours open bar for 16.36 pp (which included gratuity). We had it in the jazz lounge (The Song) and had a fantastic group. Would do that again in a heartbeat. I think we all drank our monies worth!

 

That's all for now...need to unpack... argh!

 

Have capers now for western if anyone needs...willing to take questions as well...

 

Would cruise the Dream again for the right price...in a heartbeat....

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topspin1267

topspin1267

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Thanks for the review and welcome home. I'd love to see the capers. We're going in just under 6 weeks. We have the meet & greet in the Song Lounge also.

 

How hard was the water taxi to Caye Caulker? We have plans everywhere but Belize. Last time we just shopped but I am interested in going over to Caye Caulker.

 

What was the car rental rate in Coz? We are thinking of geocaching there and need to rent a car. If not it'll just be off to

Paradise Beach.

 

Thanks in advance.

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SnowWhiteNYC

SnowWhiteNYC

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water taxi is right next to where the tenders dock...really easy. It's about 45 minutes each way over to Caye Caulker...we love it there...

 

We rented a mini-van for 85 dollars...unlimited mileage...drove around the whole island...wound up having to put about $10 worth of gas in....Have lunch at Coconuts...LOVED IT!

 

I'll arrange to get you the capers if you'd like....

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SnowWhiteNYC

SnowWhiteNYC

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There was a mardi gras "parade" on one of the nights...but it only lasted about 30 minutes...they threw beads in the atrium...I got several...the parade went to the Burgundy Lounge for a live band karaoke...there were kids who made masks....I don't remember seeing adults doing that

 

I don't remember a disco party but I will look at the capers once they're unpacked...There was a disco dance class on the first sea day (Sunday) that the CD taught

 

The Legends show was Friday nite in the main lounge...it was okay...

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the Lounge Hop on Weds. nite followed by the deck party. That was a great time!

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ChefSusan

ChefSusan

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I am looking into organizing a M&G for our Magic Roll Call - have a couple of questions regarding your M&G:

  • How many people from your Roll Call attended?
  • What day did you plan it for?
  • Did the cost include light appetizers or just the open bar?

Looking forward to the rest of your review - we're planning on going on Dream at some point in December - a possible late anniversary celebration of sorts!

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afcj1

afcj1

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I am looking into organizing a M&G for our Magic Roll Call - have a couple of questions regarding your M&G:

  • How many people from your Roll Call attended?
  • What day did you plan it for?
  • Did the cost include light appetizers or just the open bar?

Looking forward to the rest of your review - we're planning on going on Dream at some point in December - a possible late anniversary celebration of sorts!

 

I'm not the OP, but here's the info:

 

To have a M&G on the ship you'll need a minimum of 20 ppl or pay for 20. You can give the ship specific dates/times, but ultimately it's up to them. They're quite accomodating and will have you in one of their lounge areas. The cost for 1 hr is $11.44 or like the OP had $16 + change for 1 1/2 hrs. It includes the open bar for the specific amount of time and dry snacks. For anyone who doesn't drink alcohol or for kids there's a $5.00 cost for soda/juices. All other items are at a cost. I've arranged 2 of these and they're a lot of fun. Here's the contact info:

 

Phone: 1.800.933.4968 Fax: 1.800.638.1646

The Weddings Department is open Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

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travel girl23

travel girl23

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Loved the layout of Deck 5 promenade...but hated my Deck 6 balcony and the fact that the extension of promenade below eliminated almost all of the balcony privacy I am used to.

 

I'm glad you mentioned this. We booked a balcony on Upper Deck of the Magic (sister ship to the Dream) and I happened to see some photos of the balcony overlooking the Promenade Deck. :eek: We immediately changed to a cove balcony and I'm so glad we did. Now you confirmed it.

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SnowWhiteNYC

SnowWhiteNYC

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We had 41 people at our open bar...we had dry snacks...We had an incredible amount of control over where and when...they were very accomodating. We had it on the first sea day because there were no other conflicting parties (past cruisers etc...) and we had it from 2 - 3:30. People who wanted in paid me via paypal so I didn't have to worry about laying out all the cash...I would do it again.

 

We had no hot water because of a pipe burst from late Weds. afternoon until Thursday afternoon. As a result they had an open bar for 1.5 hours at every bar on the deck 5.

 

Loved the burrito bar. Only ate there one day. One day in the MDR, one Tandoor Grill, one Mongolian grill, one lanai bbq...not enough days to eat everywhere!

 

We were in 6379...right over a hot tub...argh!

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andychris

andychris

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sounds like you had a nice vacation-

would love to see the capers also

we are planning this cruise for next august

long drive from ny to florida-how was it? we also live in ny but will probably fly but am rethinking it because of the baggage restrictions/cost on flights

thanks

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SnowWhiteNYC

SnowWhiteNYC

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Thought that there were far fewer people getting dressed up for meals...including myself :0)

 

Attended the farewell party on Friday at 5 in the Burgundy Lounge and had a great time getting many free drinks...Not a well advertised event and not very many people attending...The lounge holds 450 people and there was room to move...There were 4500 people on board, that means less than 1 in 10 attended an open bar party....

 

Loved the Serenity Deck, but it was much hotter there than on other open areas...could have used an adult only pool.

Waterworks and slides seemed popular but I did not use them.

 

Unless I knew someone in the Legends show, would not see it again...same for the Welcome aboard show...

As I mentioned the other three shows were not to miss!

 

Cozumel was packed, glad we rented the car immediately and went off the beaten trail...we tried to stop at playa San Francisco in the afternoon...way to crowded for me...we went back to the ship instead!

 

Would love to be back on the Dream

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shortstop95

shortstop95

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Attended the farewell party on Friday at 5 in the Burgundy Lounge and had a great time getting many free drinks...Not a well advertised event and not very many people attending...The lounge holds 450 people and there was room to move...There were 4500 people on board, that means less than 1 in 10 attended an open bar party....

 

 

 

We're all about the free drinks and we've missed this new farewell party both times on our last two cruises. It's certainly not in their daily Top 10. After missing it on the Inspiration in July- I said we will NOT miss it on the Dream- and sure enough that last sea day on Friday just flew right by.

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BIG O in TEXAS

BIG O in TEXAS

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I also just got back off the Dream. It really was a great trip. Everything was great except for the kids. There were 1400 passengers less than 18 and about 1200 of them were completely out of control. They ran up and down halls banging on doors, ran amock on the open decks and public areas, were escorted out of the adult comedy shows, and were completely rude to adults. Carnival did remove them from the Serenity deck. Parents seem to be non-existant. It's certainly isn't Carnivals fault but something really needs to be done. Other than this it was a great vacation.

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CRUISETYPIST

CRUISETYPIST

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Snow White - Im hoping that our 8B cabin will be okay as far as noise goes . We are supposed to be in #6430 and our PVP says it is right over the art gallery so hopefully will be quiet. Im just worried about all the negative comments about being so close to the promenade deck below us. :eek:

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