A Vacation–No! A DREAM VACATION – Review with pictures April 2, 2011

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Enjoying the review and the pictures... we will be on the Dream in October.:) Your pictures are very clear... would you mind sharing what kind of camera you use?

 

PS.... You all look AWESOME for Elegant Night. :D

 

 

I looked when i got home. And it is a Sony DSC-HX5V.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Let me start by saying, "what a wonderful family you have" You guys looked like you really enjoyed your cruise. :D

Your reviews are very informative and great. I showed all of my family the pics... Just love the PICS! We are sailing on the dream in 8 days! I hope we enjoy our cruise as much as you did!

Thank you so much for the reviews. :p

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks! We aren't liking you right now! Can you stowe us away in your luggage? I have a steward(we thought about bringing our steward home) size suitcase! Just kidding, we hope you have a great time.

[tazco]

Loving your review. Your ring is the most beautiful one I have ever seen. I am not a big jewelry fan but it makes me want to look around.:)

[sunseeker04259]

I am loving your review! You have such a beautiful family! We are going on the Dream next March and cannot wait to take our children on their first cruise.

 

I'm sorry you missed Roatan...this seems to happen frequently and this port is the reason I chose this itinerary. I hope we get to experience it.

 

I wasn't sure what we were going to do in Costa Maya but I think you have taken care of that for me:) Absolutely beautiful!

 

How were you able to book the dolphin encounter directly as it seems the cruise ships have a thing with them to make you pay the higher ship prices!

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this review, they can be very time consuming and I hope you can take another cruise soon:D

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Hi Mom of 4 I graduated from Dalton state College Nsg program I live in Copperhill TN and work at the hospital in BlueRidge, Ga. Small world..Im sail:Ding on the Dream 2/2/13 for a superbowl cruise and my Birthday, loving the review and the pictures cant wait for more.

 

 

Well, we're practically neighbors then - we need to get together with GaMtnMom (she lives in Ellijay) and talk cruising!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Awesome review so far & your children are gorgeous!! Thanks for taking the time to share:p

 

 

CRUISENANNY - Thank you so much and thanks for reading. I'm going to try and finish it tonight!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Loving your review we are from Monroe GA and our foster parents as well we have 8 kids, 5 are adopted and we are adopting our last foster child tomorrow. We are going on the inspiration in June for a short 5 day cruise to see how the kids do and hoping to do the dream next spring or summer. We are also planning on doing the dolphin swim in cozumel our kids range from 2-14 do you recomend it for the smaller kids or should we plan on doing something else?

 

 

Congratulations on the adoption! You are super people to take on 8 children. We have had as many as 6 at a time and our house was like a zoo - I can't imagine having 8.

 

Collin is 6 and he did ok with the dolphin swim. I don't know that I would recommend it for children much younger though just because the water you stand in is about 4 feet deep (you actually stand on a grate type platform) and it would be hard for a smaller child to do I think. I know the trainer had to actually hold onto Collin a few times - like when he was doing the dancing with the dolphin and the kiss. Good luck though - it's an experience of a lifetime!

[Dedivah]

I'm disappointed for you for missing Roatan! I am putting in my prayers from now for a nice calm day when we get there. I have the same tour booked. I am so looking forward to holding the capuchin monkeys! I would hate to miss it! :(

 

The ring is absolutely lovely!!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I'm disappointed for you for missing Roatan! I am putting in my prayers from now for a nice calm day when we get there. I have the same tour booked. I am so looking forward to holding the capuchin monkeys! I would hate to miss it! :(

 

The ring is absolutely lovely!!

 

 

I'll put my prayers in for you too! The cruise we are now planning is for the Western also - because we missed Roatan last time. I would have like to have done something different, but I want to see Roatan. Whitney is fussing because she wants to go back to Costa Maya and this itinerary we are looking at now goes to Grand Cayman instead.

[crewsweeper]

GM4...Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. I can tell by the smiles on the kids faces they're hooked on cruising:).

 

35 days and we'll be following in your footsteps:D

 

Sorry you missed Roatan. It's been a hit or miss on the Dream. Since your cruise they've changed up the itinerary and we'll be hitting Roatan before Belize, and by ourselves, so that'll increase our chances of docking. BTW, the ship in the pic of Roatan is at Coxen Hole, the other dock there. Water did look a bit choppy.

 

Steve does take care of folks at Tropicante (no need to *** it)so glad you found him and enjoyed your day there. Next time get him to set up a realtor tour for you so you can see more what it's like to live there.

 

Again thanks for sharing. Looking forward to hearing about your next cruise.:)

[jwle143]

Hi Mom of 4 I graduated from Dalton state College Nsg program I live in Copperhill TN and work at the hospital in BlueRidge, Ga. Small world..Im sail:Ding on the Dream 2/2/13 for a superbowl cruise and my Birthday, loving the review and the pictures cant wait for more.

 

What a small world! I live in Canton GA, and I have family in Copper Hill :-) Copper Hill is so small lol my dads whole family practically lives there lol

 

enjoying the review :-) Not taking my next cruise for 155 days... it cant go any slower!! lol

[sailing_under_the_stars]

I'll put my prayers in for you too! The cruise we are now planning is for the Western also - because we missed Roatan last time. I would have like to have done something different, but I want to see Roatan. Whitney is fussing because she wants to go back to Costa Maya and this itinerary we are looking at now goes to Grand Cayman instead.

 

 

I must tell you I LOVE Grand Cayman!! In fact, we did a cruise last year that did the Grand Cayman, and my husband and I loved it so much, that we flew there for a week for our anniversary this past February!!!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I must tell you I LOVE Grand Cayman!! In fact, we did a cruise last year that did the Grand Cayman, and my husband and I loved it so much, that we flew there for a week for our anniversary this past February!!!

 

SAILING UNDER THE STARS

 

Please tell me why you love it so much! What all did you do? What would be good and inexpensive for a family of 6?

 

Thanks!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

What a small world! I live in Canton GA, and I have family in Copper Hill :-) Copper Hill is so small lol my dads whole family practically lives there lol

 

enjoying the review :-) Not taking my next cruise for 155 days... it cant go any slower!! lol

 

 

JWLE143

 

It is a small world isn't it? I had family that lived in Canton for a long time - they've now moved to Tate I think? Not too far up the road!

 

You're luckier than we are! Our next planned one isn't for almost a year and a half!

[TAMMY400099]

Thanks! We aren't liking you right now! Can you stowe us away in your luggage? I have a steward(we thought about bringing our steward home) size suitcase! Just kidding, we hope you have a great time.

LOL Your your ring is beautiful! Well, I hope we get to dock in Isla Roataan. I am looking forward to going there.

[jbrn]

Well, we're practically neighbors then - we need to get together with GaMtnMom (she lives in Ellijay) and talk cruising!

Sounds good to me :D Dalton, Monroe, Ellijay, BlueRidge, Canton becoming a Ga cruise Board

[GeorgiaMomof4]

GM4...Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. I can tell by the smiles on the kids faces they're hooked on cruising:).

 

35 days and we'll be following in your footsteps:D

 

Sorry you missed Roatan. It's been a hit or miss on the Dream. Since your cruise they've changed up the itinerary and we'll be hitting Roatan before Belize, and by ourselves, so that'll increase our chances of docking. BTW, the ship in the pic of Roatan is at Coxen Hole, the other dock there. Water did look a bit choppy.

 

Steve does take care of folks at Tropicante (no need to *** it)so glad you found him and enjoyed your day there. Next time get him to set up a realtor tour for you so you can see more what it's like to live there.

 

Again thanks for sharing. Looking forward to hearing about your next cruise.:)

 

 

 

 

CREWSWEEPER -

 

Thanks for reading! I wish I had known about the realtor tour - that sounds very interesting. I'll have to keep that in mind if we make it back to Costa Maya.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Sounds good to me :D Dalton, Monroe, Ellijay, BlueRidge, Canton becoming a Ga cruise Board

 

 

 

Hey! That's an idea! We could meet once a month - without the guys and talk cruise! LOL!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Hey! I was going to post more tonight on my review buy my girls have talked me into going to the movies with them. We're leaving now so if I'm not asleep when we get back - I'll try to post a little then. I'm ready to finish this thing up - gosh, it's time consuming. But, I want to tell you all I can remember because like I said before, I got so much info on here before our cruise - I can't ever repay everyone for their great information!

[sallwee]

Sounds good to me :D Dalton, Monroe, Ellijay, BlueRidge, Canton becoming a Ga cruise Board

 

Add us too!!! We live in Adairsville, Georgia....I work in Cartersville and DH works in Rome.

I just got back yesterday from a 4 day cruise on the Sensation, and DH and I are booked on the Dream for November 2011!!! Go DAWGS>>>>>>>>

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Add us too!!! We live in Adairsville, Georgia....I work in Cartersville and DH works in Rome.

I just got back yesterday from a 4 day cruise on the Sensation, and DH and I are booked on the Dream for November 2011!!! Go DAWGS>>>>>>>>

 

 

You're just a hop, skip and jump from us too! Sounds like we could start a GA board! Hey, I notice you've been on the Legend twice. She the one we're looking at for our next cruise! Tell me some stuff...good, bad and ugly!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I'm enjoying reading your review! It looks like you all had a wonderful time. Would you mind letting me know how much you paid for the pictures with the dolphins? Did you have to barter with them to lower the cost? I'm hesitant to sign up for the excursion because I don't want to end up paying more for the pictures than the excursion itself!

 

 

Hey! Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. I knew there was someone I needed to answer! I'm thinking he told us the pictures were like $20 each, but you could get them put on a disc and get a better deal. Since there were 6 of us - they took tons of pictures. We were on a tight schedule because we needed to get back to the ship and I just went through and selected all our pictures and he gave me a price of $190. I can try and let you know later exactly how many that was, but there are lots. I really hadn't planned on spending that much for pictures, but I'm thinking this is probably a once in a lifetime event for us. I had read on CC before we left that you could barter with them, but this guy wasn't bartering...believe me, I tried. So, I did pay the $190 and I've tried not to regret it! If you had more time and started to walk away or whatever, you might be able to get them for less. Hope this helps!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

We all made it back to the ship with just a few minutes to spare. Costa Maya is such a beautiful place and the time there is so short that there was a huge line waiting to get back on the ship at about 2:25 or so (everyone was supposed to be back on at 2:30). I think everyone stayed as long as they could and were all trying to get back on at the same time. I really wish we could have stayed there at least until 5:00 – then we wouldn’t have had to be back on until 4:30. Time there was just too short.

We went to the Lido and grabbed a snack and went back to our balcony to watch us leave Costa Maya. It’s amazing how they use the thrusters to push that huge ship away from the dock. So long Costa Maya – we hope to see you again soon!

RONNIE AND LISA ON THEIR BALCONY AS WE'RE LEAVING COSTA MAYA - GOOD VIEW OF THE BRIDGE TOO!

Tonight was our last elegant night so we were all getting dressed up again – much to Glen’s dismay. He looks so good dressed up though! Anyway we all got ready, went down to make some pictures and then headed to dinner. Dinner was wonderful as usual and we all got up and danced with Jaco and Chonthicha. I think we actually sang and danced every night with the exception of a couple.

These are some of the pictures we bought from Carnival. I think they are a little grainy since they've been scanned and copied and all. Sorry!

 

ME GETTING TO SHOW OFF MY NEW RING

 

 

 

YOU CAN JUST SEE THE MEANESS OOZING THROUGH

 

 

SHE'S A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL, DON'T YOU THINK?

 

 

 

ME AND THE BIG GIRLS!

[TAMMY400099]

We all made it back to the ship with just a few minutes to spare. Costa Maya is such a beautiful place and the time there is so short that there was a huge line waiting to get back on the ship at about 2:25 or so (everyone was supposed to be back on at 2:30). I think everyone stayed as long as they could and were all trying to get back on at the same time. I really wish we could have stayed there at least until 5:00 – then we wouldn’t have had to be back on until 4:30. Time there was just too short.

We went to the Lido and grabbed a snack and went back to our balcony to watch us leave Costa Maya. It’s amazing how they use the thrusters to push that huge ship away from the dock. So long Costa Maya – we hope to see you again soon!

RONNIE AND LISA ON THEIR BALCONY AS WE'RE LEAVING COSTA MAYA - GOOD VIEW OF THE BRIDGE TOO!

Tonight was our last elegant night so we were all getting dressed up again – much to Glen’s dismay. He looks so good dressed up though! Anyway we all got ready, went down to make some pictures and then headed to dinner. Dinner was wonderful as usual and we all got up and danced with Jaco and Chonthicha. I think we actually sang and danced every night with the exception of a couple.

These are some of the pictures we bought from Carnival. I think they are a little grainy since they've been scanned and copied and all. Sorry!

 

ME GETTING TO SHOW OFF MY NEW RING

 

 

 

YOU CAN JUST SEE THE MEANESS OOZING THROUGH

 

 

SHE'S A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL, DON'T YOU THINK?

 

 

 

ME AND THE BIG GIRLS!

Which one is the Mom? Wink Wink

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I’ve neglected to tell you something about our assistant waitress Chonthicha. She absolutely fell in love with my little Collin. He is such a handsome and loving little guy though. It was really funny because she would always come over and ask him to dance or she would be hugging and kissing on him all the time. He just eat it up! (I think Glen, Ronnie and Andrew might have been a tad bit jealous). She did actually come and get Ronnie one evening and dance with him and gave him a peck on the check. Afterward, Collin looked at Ronnie and said “Well, that’s okay that you got a kiss, but I’m ahead of you with 2”. Trust me, by the end of the week, there was no competition – Ronnie had been left in the dust when it came to kisses! All Ronnie had to say about it was that you just couldn’t compete with 6 and cute too!

She was really funny because when we were down at breakfast a couple of mornings at the buffet she would actually come over and talk to Collin. She would say, “Collin, come on and we’ll go get you some pancakes and bacon” and off they would go. I’m not sure if she had a little brother at home that she missed or not, but she and Collin hit it off. It was sweet to watch how she doted on him and I appreciated all the attention she gave him and Hope too. She helped to make our cruise even that more special.

COLLIN AND CHONTHICHA AT BREAKFAST

Another drawback to waiting a month to do this review is that I can’t remember if we went to the show in the Encore theater tonight or not. I’ve looked back on my Fun Times and the name of the show was Get Ready. I guess if we went, it wasn’t that spectacular since I can’t remember what it was about.

I do know without a doubt that we went back to the Lanai deck to the Ocean Plaza and listened to the Blackjack band. We would hang out there for several hours each night. I’m telling you – if you are into the kind of music they play – don’t miss them. Find them early in the cruise and you’ll end up listening to them every night just like we did.

NOT A GREAT PICTURE - BUT THE LEADS OF THE BLACKJACK BAND. HE CAN PLAY THE FIDDLE LIKE NO ONE'S BUSINESS!

We stayed out late tonight because we knew that Friday was a sea day and we didn’t have to be up early for any reason.

That's all for tonight - this morning! Will do more tomorrow - hopefully might even finish!