Carnival Dream July 6

[breaking80]

We are new to Carnival. Has anyone been on this 7 night Western Caribbean cruise to Belize, Cozumel, Mahogany, Costa Maya.

We are looking for travel tips, what to do, what to avoid. Booking tours privately, dining tips. Do the shows/entertainment take reservations? Do you have to line up early to get in?

We are traveling with our 3 children (20/17/15). Any information you can share will be very appreciated! Thank you!

Blessings,

John

[MandynJim]

There is a current review on this exact ship and itinerary you should read. Will give you lots of great ideas.

[breaking80]

Thank you- I will check it out.

[Ironmen]

We are new to Carnival. Has anyone been on this 7 night Western Caribbean cruise to Belize, Cozumel, Mahogany, Costa Maya.

We are looking for travel tips, what to do, what to avoid. Booking tours privately, dining tips. Do the shows/entertainment take reservations? Do you have to line up early to get in?

We are traveling with our 3 children (20/17/15). Any information you can share will be very appreciated! Thank you!

Blessings,

John

 

In Belize we did the cave tubing (used cavetubing.com) and had a great time. The kids loved it. In Cozumel we did the swimming with the dolphins and the entire family said this was the highlight of the trip, in Mahogany we rode the chair lifts to the beach, and Costa Maya we caught a cab to a free beach with a restaurant and bar right there at us. We never book excursions through carnival, but all of our excursions were very good.

 

There are lots of reviews about the Dream that will be helpful for you if you look around the boards.

[battchief1]

Yes there is a review going right now with tons of info on your cruise. Lots of pics and ideas and tips on the ship. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851647

 

The above is the link to the review. we are also going on this exact cruise on June 22 and have booked Victor Boden on Rotan and using the http://www.sandalsandskis.com/Tropicante.html in Costa Maya. Most likely not doing alot in Belize as we have been there before. In Cozumel we are just going out and exploring.

[breaking80]

Thank you-- I would love to hear about your experience after your upcoming cruise!

I really want to make this cruise experience special for my family, so if you feel up to it, I would love some insight when you return!

 

Thanks,

[battchief1]

Thank you-- I would love to hear about your experience after your upcoming cruise!

I really want to make this cruise experience special for my family, so if you feel up to it, I would love some insight when you return!

 

Thanks,

 

No problem I will be happy to. We are traveling with our 18 yo DD and 9 YO DD. I will try to post a review when we return or you can pm me here and I will get in touch and let you know how it went.

[jjdmom8]

We will be getting off the Dream the day you get on... you will be happy.. I will be sad.

[Mrsdigi]

We are new to Carnival. Has anyone been on this 7 night Western Caribbean cruise to Belize, Cozumel, Mahogany, Costa Maya.

We are looking for travel tips, what to do, what to avoid. Booking tours privately, dining tips. Do the shows/entertainment take reservations? Do you have to line up early to get in?

We are traveling with our 3 children (20/17/15). Any information you can share will be very appreciated! Thank you!

Blessings,

John

 

Hey we have a roll call...come find us..some are setting up a meet and Greet.

[breaking80]

:)

Thanks.

[Socref124]

John, you and your family will love the Dream. We are going on the Dream for the third time in October for our 10th anniversary.

I agree with the others, check out the review from an NCL customer. It's pretty good and very accurate.

Excursions: If you book your own excursion, make sure there is plenty of time to get back to the ship. Carnival will wait for their excusions if it is running late but not for a private excursion. If you are looking for a beach day or two, look at Nachi Cocum in Cozumel, Nahooch Key in Costa Maya and you can stay at Mohogany Bay in Roatan. In Belize we have done the cavetubing.com and had a great time with Yhonny and the guys, We also did a Carnival zip line canopy tour and had a great time. If any of you are divers Cozumel is a must. I highly recommend Diving with Alison. We have used her three or four times and she always takes us to a different spot. In Roatan we have only used the Carnival trip which takes you to Anthony's Key. Pretty good diving but they take you to the same spot every time.

On the ship there is a secret door to a deck above the bridge. Go all the way to the front of the ship on Deck 9. When you pass the last numbered cabin there will be a door that leads out to this deck. Not many people know of it and it is nice for sailaway or just some peace and quiet on sea days.

If you get a balcony on the Upper Deck (6), make sure it is not directly above the giant chess pieces or the hot tubs. People tend to congregate in these areas throughout the night and it could disturb you. Also, because of the promanade on Deck 5, you don't have very much privacy on your balcony. I would suggest a balcony on Deck 7 or above.

As far as reservations for the shows, there aren't reservations. It is first come first served and saving seats is supposedly not allowed. I would suggest trying the Punchliner Comedy Club at least one night. They usually have two comedians that split several shows. rated shows and an R rated show. The R rated show will have several F bombs, so if that offends you stay away from the R rated shows.

Dinning options: At lunch, there is a BBQ on Deck 5 on the promanade outside the Ocean Plaza. It's pretty good. On the Lido Deck they also have several different choices. We prefer the NY Deli and the Mongolian Wok. The Pizza counter is open 24/7 and I have heard a lot of people rave about the pizza but it just ok to me. At dinner time there is the early seating, the late seating and Anytime dinning. ATD gives one more flexibility but figure out which is best for you and your family.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I will try to answer them for you.:D I hope you have a great cruise.

[wildcpl]

ok i have to ask 42f i would love to have a little onboard fun. where do all the playful people hang out? or are there any fling website that are good? any help!

[Mdchris]

Costa Maya: the best call I made was to go to Maya Chan! we booked that when our port to Belize was canceled last minute and changed to Costa Maya. They only let in 60 people max a day and it was amazing. The day we went there were only 10 or so people. The waitress walked out into the ocean where I was floating on an intertube to give me another beer!

 

Beach side massages were cheap and great! The cabanas were beautiful and the food was great. It was like our own personal corona commercial! They have a website, but it was like $60 for an all inclusive deal. The food was out of this world! The guy that runs it is from LA and speaks fluent English.

You won't regret it!

[cruiserlori]

We have been on this itinerary twice, lastly this past May, and have it booked again for August 17. The Dream is our favorite Carnival ship, and this is a great itinerary.

 

In Cozumel, we just browse the shops at the pier, as we've been here many times. The Mexican restaurant is supposed to be very good here & you can walk to Hard Rock Café across the street. There is a jewelry shop that has a sign advertising $5 & $10 jewelry that I love. We also enjoy sitting in the free lounge chairs that overlook the water & ship. We have previously done the ship excursion to Tulum & loved it. Don't miss the beach there, it's the best we've ever been to.

 

We loved Belize, so much that it is the reason we booked this cruise for the 2nd time. Don't listen to the reviews that tell you to stay on the ship. You'll be missing out on a great experience if you do. Our 1st trip, we booked a cave tubing excursion with VIV tours, which is the single best excursion we've ever taken. I can't say enough good things about VIV or the beauty of these caves. In May we booking a tubing/ATV tour with cavetubing.com, and also enjoyed it very much. The pier area is beautiful, & don't miss the mahogany shop in the rear of the complex. (I think it's called Best of Belize, or something similar.) It has super cheap very nice souvenirs, like mahogany bookmarks, picture frames, earrings, etc. We found the people of Belize to be very friendly & welcoming. I would say, though, to avoid the "flea market" area outside the port, that the tour operators tell about. People there were "helpful" to the point of being frightening in their attempt to get a tip for their "help." The tender process can be a pain, so go early & expect a wait. Note that once you go get your tender #, you are not "permitted" to leave the holding area, so come armed with breakfast & all the supplies for your day.

 

In Roatan, we have enjoyed the beach area right at the pier. It is free & not a bad walk from the ship. The ship docks literally right at the beach area, so it makes for great pictures. There is a nice playground and stone animals for kids to play on, several restaurants, funny "stocks" for cool photos, and pedalboat/kayak rentals. The shops here are dull & pricey, but the beach is very nice. You can also walk to the zipline across the street. We really like this port, as it's completely free & very easy to go back on the ship for lunch.

 

We also love Costa Maya, & think it's a shame that we get such a short day here. We take a $2 taxi to the free beach. Be sure to walk further down from where the taxi drops you, as the beach is nicer & prices better. We go to the Tropicante restaurant area. Massages here are $25 for an hour, and you only get a half hour at the places near the beach entrance. The little booths along the pathway sell nice souvenirs & jewelry. The taxi back is $3 per person. The pier area is nice, with a large free pool, & there is a dolphin tank there where you can watch them swim around. Note that it is a very long walk to the port area, though there is a free tram.

 

As far as dining on the ship, you can find the dinner menus at zydecocruiser.net. Dining room food is very good. The buffets leave something to be desired. Be sure to check out the pasta bar, on the upper level of the buffet area, and the burrito bar, in the middle of the rear buffet. They are made to order, & generally better food than the buffet. Room service has the best non dining room food on the ship. Don't miss the Punchliners brunch also. It is free, & the food is miles better than the buffet breakfast.

 

Enjoy!