Dream Western Review with Pic June 23-30, 2012

[sjfarley]

Loving your review and especially since you actually got the spa pass. I plan on getting the single pass when I go in 8 days!!! My son is just 17 and not interested anyway in the spa. I can't wait to read more about the spa.

 

Great job on keeping up with eating right and exercising on the cruise.

[Cushing985]

(Warning: Gratuitious and blatant grab for attention ahead)

 

I just noticed that I have over 1600 views of this thread - so I want to know who is reading! If you post I might try harder to keep writing the review :D

 

Excellent review with great pictures. We're hoping to go on a family cruise in June, 2013 and we're leaning toward the Dream. Your review seals the deal!

[WAHMto5]

Thanks for the review, can't wait to read the rest! We love the Dream and can't wait to go back on her in a couple of months;)

[LBumb]

great pics

[tandemcruzr]

Just for a compare and contrast, for any other geeky runners out there, here is a screen shot from Garmin connect of my veeery slow jog when we were tendered in Belize. That one brought hot and humid to a whole new level.

 

Anyway, so you'll see the ship appears to drift over time. I don't know if that's really what happened, or if the satellites were just a bit off.

 

Belize is a tender port and the ship will drift around its anchor based on the currents, winds, etc. ;)

[teacher34]

I am loving your pics and your review! I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. We were on the Dream in 2011 and we also got the week spa pass. We went everyday and loved it!! We are thinking about doing the Dream western Cari. in 2013. Last time we did the Eastern Cari. and we liked that. I am anxious to see and hear what the western cruise is like. I can't wait to read and see more!

[im4clowns]

Thank you! I am glad someone else besides me and DH appreciate those pics! You know, everyone thinks everything their kid does is the best thing ever :)

 

Lol. My 3 year old dd has taking over my old Sony camera and takes some of the funniest pictures. A lot of me and dh with no heads.

Enjoying your review. We go in August.

[Catrin]

I'm reading!! Loving your review!

 

Catrin

[DREAMGIRL2012]

I love the review. I was on the Dream in March and had a great time. We did the spa pass too and felt it was well worth the money. Loved the stone chairs and the view.

[Maryscooking]

Ok I love all the comments! I want to write you all back, but first I'm going to post a little more review. Tonight will be just a little, but tomorrow night I should have more time.

 

First is a random thing I thought of from embarkation day - when we went to do a spa tour, in the reception area two massueses were doing complimentary 5 min neck and shoulder massages. They demonstrated three different techniques - hot stone (my favorite by far), a bamboo roller, and a aromatherapy poultice massage. It was very nice after a morning of carrying bags around. There was no pressure to book anything at that time, and you could have easily just wandered off instead of staying for the tour (there were lots of people around to blend in with).

[Maryscooking]

Day Two (At Sea) Continued - Spa VIP Area

 

After running, DH and I took our very sweaty selves to the Spa VIP area (just a staircase or so away from the track) and changed into swimsuits. Then we used the "open air" rain shower before hopping in the thalasso pool. I say open air because the shower was right in the hall, with no door or anything. I think (?) there were two of them and they were very cool. Here is a pic:

 

 

There is the big overhead rain showerhead. There was also a handheld wand style one, and several misting jets. There were push button controls for everything. It didn't seem you could control the temp on the misting and sideways jets - but that ended up being kind of cool, because I'd make the rain shower pretty warm, and still get a cool mist from the jets. And there were the different colored lights going on, like standing in the middle of a rainbow.

 

So given the open nature of thing, we really just used it for rinsing off. Kind of weird knowing anyone could just walk by and peek in on you showering (even in a bathing suit) but I did still like it enough to use it every day.

 

Random: Note all the tiny glass and mosiac tiles? The spa was literally covered with them. All I could think of was how expensive those tiles are at home improvement stores. Really they were beautiful - although some of Carnival's corresponding "coordinating" decorating took away from that beauty. I'd have to say that in general, the decor of their ships is far and away my least favorite thing about Carnival. Hopefully that will change with the new designers on board.

 

Back to the spa. After rinsing off, we hopped to the thalasso pool. It is basically a very large jetted tub that is I think about 100 degrees F - so you can stay in it longer than a traditional hot tub is how the spa tour person explained it. Honestly, I think all the hot tubs we went in on the ship were pretty close to that temp.

 

The t-pool is also described as being filled with mineral water that is beneficial to the skin. No real way to verify this I guess. But I still made it a practice to let myself sink underwater (submerging my face) and stay there as long as possible. Figure the skin needs whatever help it can get :rolleyes:. (Totally unrelated side note: I have lost 102 lbs in the last 9 months, and while I wouldn't trade it for the world, the thinning out of my face has exposed -gasp! - fine (and some not so fine) lines and wrinkles I didn't know were there! Oh well I guess that's what restalyne and botox are for, right?)

 

Ok here are some t-pool pictures. You might be able to tell that the pool is enclosed all around with windows, and they look out into the fitness center. From there you can see outside, which is nice.

 

 

 

This area, as well as the rest of the VIP area had a ready supply of fresh towels. And it had a little place to put your VIP card while in the pool, which was clever.

 

The pool was the only part of the VIP area that ever seemed to be close to capacity, and even then that was only once or twice. And we still found a spot. You can see in the pic the stainless horizontal bars in the forefront of the pool - rows of those bars extend all the down into the pool, forming the shape of a long bench. And that bench is jetted underneath (the jets are off in that pic).

 

On the non-bench side, a neat thing are two faucets that pour a waterfall of cool water out when you turn them on. If you position yourself under it, it is a mild neck and shoulder massage.

[Maryscooking]

After getting our fill of the t-pool, we would head to the steam rooms. There was an unscented one, and a scented one (maybe more than one I forget, but we only used one). The scented one was eucalyptus, and it was wonderful. I seriously loved this room. If I ever win the lottery, I am going to have one built in my house.

 

I don't have a picture for you. Wait - yes I do. But it looks like this:

 

 

(Just file it among the other random non-helpful pics that have made an appearance in this review)

 

The minute you opened the door, steam poured out, making my camera worthless.

 

The room was totally covered in those tiny metallic mosiac tiles, which made me happy. A curvy bench lined the room. You could turn on the water dripper (to make it more steamy) with a button by the door. The eucalyptus scent, although wonderful for clearing my sinuses and deep breathing, was pretty strong and the steam would almost be too much - except for one thing.

 

There were SHOWERHEADS (the handheld kind) in 2-4 different spots in the room, right by the bench, so you could just grab it without even moving, and hose yourself down with cool water. Oh my goodness, it was sooo nice. My gym at home only has a dry sauna so I don't know, maybe these showers are common in steam rooms - either way, I thought it was the bomb.

 

When the spa person mentioned them during the tour, at first I thought it would be awkward to use a shower right in front of other people (bathing suit or not), but when I was in the room alone I eyeballed it and thought "why the heck not?" And then after that, it was all I could do not to force anyone else in the steam room when I went not to try it too!

 

From the aromatherapy steam room, there was a door into one of the heated tile lounger rooms:

 

 

We'd grab fresh towels (I think I'd go through at least four towels every visit) and pop right in. We found the temperature of the tiled loungers to be perfect to lay directly on - and the shape just right with a neck roll/towel pillow under head. We did always use fresh towels to wipe off the loungers before and after using them...but I have to say that I did not see everyone doing this (yuck).

 

This was another room I could have stayed in for a looong time.

 

Here is a pic of another heated tile lounger room that we didn't really use:

 

 

After this room, we'd get showered and dressed in the VIP lockers. The women's locker room had two private shower rooms (which I oddly enough never found anyone using). The non-handicapped room had a changing area and a big glassed in shower. The VIP lockers also have lockers with electronic locks (very nice touch, wish my gym had these), lots of thick towels, and a dressing area with hair dryers.

 

Our last stop was always the relaxation room. You could get lemon or orange flavored ice water, or make practically any variety of hot tea. I drank soo much tea on this cruise. After having a hot tea while staring at the ocean, I liked to brew a very strong hot green tea and then take it back to the cabin to add ice to make iced green tea.

 

Here are relaxation room pics, with the bonus of my hot husband modeling the use of the room :D

 

 

 

We could tell from the used glassware tray, that many other people had been in and out of the room, but for some reason we rarely ran into them. Oh well, I'm definitely not complaining!

 

One other note, for future users of the relaxation room - the cushions on those chairs are CLOTH! They are not appropriate for wet bathing suits! I sat on a wet cushion one night - SO not cool. And not relaxing.

 

Ok I have to go cut up the brownies I made for my husband to take to work tomorrow. They are the strangest brownies ever - only a quarter inch thick! Hope the guys appreciate the effort at least. I haven't baked in almost a year. He is going to a new fire station tomorrow so I of course had to send treats with him. However, my treats are going to include a note asking that they not hold my poor baking skills against him, lol!

 

Will write more tomorrow.

[kona_wahine]

Loving your trip report. We are doing the same route on the Dream in February. I'm looking forward to your review of the ports.

[meatloafsfan]

thanks for the info on the hotel.

 

Great pictures (love the ones from your daughter - so cute!) and I'm still enjoying your review.

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Loving the review and the info about the spa. We have been on 13 Carnival cruises and have not once used the Spa. We will be on the Dream in November and I am now intrigued enough to get more info on the spa package. Can't wait to read more!

[kbad]

Thank you for the awesome review. I am booked on the dream, with spa passes, in May 2013. I love your pictures. Congrats on your weight loss!

[Maryscooking]

Belize is a tender port and the ship will drift around its anchor based on the currents, winds, etc. ;)

 

 

 

 

Right, so I know that part. What I don't know is how much of what my Garmin shows is actual drifting (100-200 feet in either direction) or just my Garmin being a bit off. At home I've noticed it will sometimes show me running paths 10-20 feet apart when I've really backtracked right over the same trail. Thats all.

 

 

 

Loving your trip report. We are doing the same route on the Dream in February. I'm looking forward to your review of the ports.

 

 

 

Well I hope I don't disapoint! I'll have good reports for Cozumel and Roatan, but we didn't even make it off the ship for Costa Maya (unplanned ship day) and Belize (planned ship day).

 

 

Loving the review and the info about the spa. We have been on 13 Carnival cruises and have not once used the Spa. We will be on the Dream in November and I am now intrigued enough to get more info on the spa package. Can't wait to read more!

 

 

I will definitely include my thoughts on the pricing of the Cloud 9 package, buts worth at least looking at on embarkation day.

 

Thank you for the awesome review. I am booked on the dream, with spa passes, in May 2013. I love your pictures. Congrats on your weight loss!

 

Thank you very much :). I feel like I have my life back, and that's no small thing.

[txmom11]

Love your review, and don't worry about the brownies. Most firemen I know will eat them, and never say a word. :p

[pcrum]

I am loving your review. Thanks for the tip on Vacation Strategy...what a great price for a full condo at Disney!

 

I wondered how crowded the spa was? Did you ever feel like it was packed and that you could not enjoy the facilities? I ask because we purchased a spa pass on a NCL cruise to Alaska and except for the first day, the spa was so crowded that it was not enjoyable. Now, this was an Alaskan cruise, so on sea days when it was cold outside, the spa was a great option, but not being able to find a chair or even room in the pool was a bit of a downer.

 

Love the photos of your DD and what a treat for her to have a personal invitation to dine with the princesses and a new dress for the occasion!! Enjoy her...they grow up way too quickly. I have 17 year old twins (DS and DD) and I remember the days when a character dinner at Disney was just the coolest thing ever. Now, of course, not so much...

 

Looking forward to the rest...

[nathand95]

Awesome review! Your pictures are great and I love your humor too! I can't wait to read the rest.

 

P.S. Thank your husband for being a firefighter for me please. I have the utmost respect for firefighters and law enforcement. God Bless him!

[Maryscooking]

Ok, so I think I'm about up to lunch on Day 2? This review is turning into a book! Better get on with it.

 

We went and picked up DD from the kid's club for lunch. She said she was having a really good time. We explained that after lunch she was going right back so that mommy and daddy could do their spa seminar, but we'd pick her up for swimming as soon as it was done. Which was fine with her. During the week, as long as she had gotten her fill of swimming, she always chose the camp over us. Lest anyone think we are "dump the kid in the camp at every opportunity" type parents. We had spent 24/7 together at WDW the previous six days, and I think she needed to hang out with some peeps her own age as much as we did.

 

One of the thing I really like about cruising is it does give her that day camp feel, give us some alone time, with whatever mix of family time we desire. Due to our work schedules, we have lots of family time at home, so don't feel any particular need to always be together on vacation.

 

We went to the buffet, had a bit to eat, and then dropped DD off again. We then went to the spa seminar on eliminating lower back pain. It was basically an infomercial for these shoe inserts that are not Dr. Scholls but also not orthotics...I think they are called Good Feet? Don't remember. The trainer did the seminar, and he talked about how problems with the feet just transfer on up into the back. And these inserts support the 4 arches of the foot, and distribute the weight the best way. My DH actually got picked on to be the demo guy for how supportive these inserts are.

 

They wanted $189 for the inserts!!! And said this is a big discount on the land based price. I don't know, I've been meaning to look them up just out of curiousity.

 

In a bit of coincidence, DH and I were both reading Born to Run on this cruise, which makes a strong argument that your foot is best on its own and big ole fancy shoes just cause injuries. So we weren't about to put out $189.

 

I definitely need something for my lower back but it is not shoe inserts. I think carrying around all my exta weight for so long totally threw off my posture. And I need to just work on standing up straight and strengthen things up to support that now.

 

So the trainer was doing foot print analysis to show people how the pressure was off balance when they walked (or something like that). When he started that, DH and I just slipped out the door.

 

Since we had promised DD swimming, we went and got her. Now I can't remember if it was yesterday or today, but one time the water works area was closed due to hyper chlorination going on. Lets just say it was today.

 

It was still plenty over cast from Debby happening further North, and since the slides were closed, AND DD did not want to swim in the pools (since she can't quite touch), we told her we'd look for an empty hot tub we could hang out in.

 

Remember how I said the hot tubs were really like body temp? This is perfect for lounging in while your five yr old plays her water games. The deal we made with her is that we had to find an empty tub, or one that already had kids in it. I'm conscientious of adults not wanting kids in the hot tubs. It really bugs me when people let their kids just sit in the tubs on the pool deck all day.

 

So we went down to the lanai and walked around and found a hot tub with just another couple and their daughter, who looked to be about 8. Perfect! Those hot tubs are a pretty decent size, plenty of room for the six of us to not feel like we were in each other's space. Wish I had pics of the lanai/ocean plaza/hot tubs. After WDW, I think I was just tired of carrying the camera all the time, and as a result did not take as many pics as I usually do on the cruise. Cadie practiced floating and holding her breath underwater and generally just messed around. DH and I reminded her not to splash and just relaxed. Nobody ever walked by looking for a hot tub, so I did not have an opportunity to feel guilty about my kid taking up hot tub real estate.

 

When we got out of the tub, it was actually a bit chilly! We wrapped up in our towels and made our way back to the cabin to get ready for the evening.

 

When getting my DD showered, DH lowered the showerhead so it was closer to her level, which she loved. Then he let her take the hand held nozzle off and use it that way. He is more trusting than me. Maybe because I'd already had the chance to see what can happen when you mix a five yr old, a handheld shower nozzle and a cloth shower curtain. She proved my missgivings wrong though, by keeping all the water in the shower for the whole cruise.

 

We asked DD if she wanted to eat with us or eat with camp, and she didn't even hesitate - eating "on her own" with her friends was such a huge deal to her. She chose to eat with camp every dinner that she could. Truthfully, I'm proud of her for this. She was a really shy kiddo for a while, and she's come out of her shell.

 

Dinner at Camp Carnival is in the area where the pasta bar is during lunch. Nice because its pretty secure. The staff is really serious about keeping track of the children. In the past, I've observed them from afar, and they have never given me pause.

 

Dinner is a set menu for the kids that changes each night. It is described on the kid's schedule so we always let her know ahead of time what to expect and she could decide if she wanted to eat there or not. There was also a sample plate sitting out at the dinner check in.

 

After dinner, the kids are taken back to camp for the remainder of the evening. Before dinner, we told DD we'd check on her at 10pm to see if she was ready to leave. But we also made sure she knew that she could ask the counselors to call us at anytime (we had the camp provided cell phone) if she wanted to leave. I didn't want her to feel stuck there if she wasn't having a good time for some reason.

 

DH took DD to dinner while I got ready. We had a mission. We wanted some formal pictures together. I liked the idea that we could take a ton of pics with different backgrounds, with no obligation to buy anything. We intended to eat in the MDR tonight as well (lobster night).

 

Once we were ready, we went down to the Atrium to relax. Atrium and atrium bar:

 

 

I found it to be a bit dark for my taste, but still a nice place to relax. There was often live music, and we both enjoy that. The atrium bar also intermittently had Thirsty Frog Red Ale on tap, which DH really enjoyed.

 

We took pics of each other because we are cool like that:

 

DH (notice the beer):

 

Me:

 

DH was supposed to be wearing a gray shirt with his suit, not the black one. I'm not sure how it got packed instead, but it did. It kind of bothered him but I think it was fine.

 

Here are two formal pics we ended up buying:

 

 

 

The pictures are better quality than they look actually. My scanner was set to the quick mode when I scanned them in.

[Maryscooking]

I am loving your review. Thanks for the tip on Vacation Strategy...what a great price for a full condo at Disney!

 

I wondered how crowded the spa was? Did you ever feel like it was packed and that you could not enjoy the facilities? I ask because we purchased a spa pass on a NCL cruise to Alaska and except for the first day, the spa was so crowded that it was not enjoyable. Now, this was an Alaskan cruise, so on sea days when it was cold outside, the spa was a great option, but not being able to find a chair or even room in the pool was a bit of a downer.

 

Love the photos of your DD and what a treat for her to have a personal invitation to dine with the princesses and a new dress for the occasion!! Enjoy her...they grow up way too quickly. I have 17 year old twins (DS and DD) and I remember the days when a character dinner at Disney was just the coolest thing ever. Now, of course, not so much...

 

Looking forward to the rest...

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Honestly, I don't know if we were hitting the spa at off times or what, but it always seemed practically empty to us. Only on the last night, was the t-pool a bit crowded - and even then, it wasn't so crowded that it wasn't enjoyable.

 

I really do enjoy DD, especially because she is my only one. More is just not in the cards, so I am conscientious that I'm not going to get to see another one grow up. I have to temper that with not spoiling her though :rolleyes:. I got the "invitation" idea from someone else on disboards, and was pretty happy with how it all turned out.

[Maryscooking]

After posing for all our pictures (we did four different backgrounds) we decided to go see the family friendly comedian before dinner.

 

I can't remember if his first or last name was Drake, and I lost my fun times for the day, so I can't tell you. But he was funny. We intended to come back for the adult version later in the evening but didn't make it there. I thought we'd be able to see him later in the week, but it turned out that today was the only day he performed. There was a different comedian for the other comedy night.

 

We then made our way to the MDR. I forget if it was crimson or scarlet. And I'm too lazy to go dig out my sign and sail card.

 

Take my impressions of dinner with a grain of salt because we were only there one night. But the waitstaff seemed overworked. They were rushing around all the time. They didn't introduce themselves, ask about our day, or attempt to make any conversation at all. Don't get me wrong, service was competent, but I think the overworked waiters hurt the ambience of the dining room.

 

My husband talked to someone later in the week who had started off in our dining room, noticed the same thing, was later moved to the other dining room for a reason I forget, and said the vibe was totally different. More relaxed. So take that for what its worth.

 

We both had the same thing - the stuffed mushroom appetizer (good) and the lobster and shrimp entree. The lobster was not good, way overcooked. I think that when making thousand's of lobsters, it is luck of the draw if you get one that hasn't been on the warmer a bit too long. Honestly, I should've known better and gotten the prime rib instead. I had the warm chocolate melting cake for dessert. It was good. But probably not as good as it is made out to be on these boards. I decided it wasn't worth the calories to order it again (and then we never went back to the MDR so it didn't matter).

 

When the waiters started to get ready to sing, we made our way out of the MDR. I really don't like the singing waiters bit. Call me a party pooper.

 

So then I can't remember what we did after that. We didn't go to a show. I know we checked on Cadie and she absolutely didn't want to leave camp.

 

I forgot to mention earlier that it rained in the late afternoon/early evening. It was really coming down and a bit foggy too. And super windy. It was so cool, kind of mystical looking actually. I didn't get a good pic of what it really looked like. Here is my best effort:

 

 

The ship was rocking pretty good that night, again thanks to Debby. I use the motion sickness patch with very good results. But a couple of nights, I added a bonine as well, and this was one of them. Now this is not totally normal. But I get motion sick from a carousel if I don't have meds (yeah really). So your personal mileage may vary.

 

It bugs me that I can't remember what we did that evening. Wish I'd at least written a few notes each day.

 

Tomorrow is our first port day, in Cozumel. We went to Mr. Sanchos and had a great time. Hopefully I'll post that tomorrow.

[valsdancin]

Hi! I just wanted to check in and let you know I'm following your review. It's great so far!

[Hogladyrider]

Ditto on thoroughly enjoying your review......especially the spa details.

 

We stopped eating in the MDR several cruises ago, we enjoy the "do it yourself" aspect of leisurely cruising.

 

Hope you discovered the custom salad bar during lunch time where the Sushi Bar is, that is just amazing.

 

Looking forward to reading more of your review.

 

Congratulations on your weight loss!

Susan