Cruising with a Toddler. Our Photo Intense Trip Recap of the 9-7-13 Carnival Dream

[nchikk]

This was the only time on the cruise where I couldn't believe how rude and incosiderate other guests could be.

 

Whether passengers were on the ship, in port, day, night, doing stuff, just relaxing...it didn't matter. We were on the same sailing, and I noticed that too, and mentioned it in my review.

[sasysutler]

we were also on this sailing, and gotta agree. Hey, I found some photos of us in your photos!

[TeknikDC2]

Whether passengers were on the ship, in port, day, night, doing stuff, just relaxing...it didn't matter. We were on the same sailing, and I noticed that too, and mentioned it in my review.

 

I guess I forgot as well earlier in the day when trying to get off the ship in Grand Turk. I mean we had a child in a stroller trying to carry it down the stairs (since Nobody would let us even close to an elevator) and people were still pushing and cutting us off. I mean that stuff doesn't bother me too bad when its just Kiera and I or when we were with our friends. But we had a Toddler with us who could have been hurt from there actions. Honestly though other then that we didn't have any other issues with other guests on board.

 

we were also on this sailing, and gotta agree. Hey, I found some photos of us in your photos!

 

haha thats funny. I always like to look at photo reviews from our same cruise as well to see if we could spot ourselves as well.

[nchikk]

we were also on this sailing, and gotta agree. Hey, I found some photos of us in your photos!

 

I'm still looking for us.

[jenseib]

There are rude people on all lines. It always amazes me ho some feel they deserve more than everyone else.

 

I am still hear and actually glad you are going slow as I haven't had a lot of time to read lately.

[TeknikDC2]

Day 10: Second Full Day at Sea

 

When we awoke from our sleep this morning we were faced with what would be our final full day of our cruise. In 24 hours we would be back in Florida debarking the ship. And just like our previous cruise on the Dream there seemed to be so much packed in to this final day at sea.

 

 

With a busy day ahead of us we quickly got ready to swim and lay in the sun and then went up to the Lido deck and grabbed some breakfast. It wasn't any later in the morning now then it was on our first Sea day back on Monday but the deck seemed to be much more packed. We couldn't find any empty lounge chairs anywhere. Especially around the Toddler area where we liked to spend time with Daniel. Since we couldn't find any chairs we settled for the round wood thing that people lay out and relax on thats located next to the Toddler area.

 

 

You couldn't hold Daniel back from running to the play area. He did really good today as he did better at remembering and following the rules. Today though he learned that going down the slide head first is a lot of fun too and continued to do that most of the day. Although I mentioned that the decks seemed more packed now then earlier in the week the toddler play area wasn't any more packed then normal.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

I couldn't resist going on the slides one last time before our cruise ended so while Kiera watched Daniel I went and did a slide marathon again just like on the last cruise. As it neared lunch time again the wait for the slides became next to nothing so it was pretty easy to do them over and over again. I also went up to the Serenity Deck and relaxed in one of the Hot Tubs for a little bit.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

When I was done with the slides Kiera and Daniel were laying down on the wood thing. That didn't last long though as once Daniel saw that I was back he was up and ready to go play on the toddler slides again.

 

[TeknikDC2]

As Daniel was playing they announced that they were about to start the Ice Carving demonstration around the main pool. So I walked over to the bannester and watched from a couple decks above. They mentioned that the Ice Carver on the Dream recently won a contest between all the Carnival Ice Carvers giving him the title of the best carver in the fleet. It was pretty amazing to watch him at work as he turned that block of ice into a beautiful indian sculpture in under 15 minutes. He made the work look so easy.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Once the Ice Carving was over we decided to call it quits with our time in the sun as we still had many more things we wanted to do today so we needed to go get ready for the day. First though we stopped into the lido Buffet for our final Lunch of the cruise where I once again tried the Burrito Bar. If you recall from our first experiance with the Burrito Bar we thought it was really good. However I am a pickey eater and only liked the meat and rice in my burritos and needless to say that makes them pretty small. Well today when I passed on all the veggies and beans the Crew Member making them gave me extra meat so I thought that was great of him to do. Today was also the Chocolate Buffet so we also loaded up on many different Chocolate goodies.

 

[TeknikDC2]

Back in the cabin we showered and got ready for the day. But after Daniels bath and while Kiera finished getting ready he fell asleep to take a nap. Normally we would just let him be but with such a packed day we took him out with us and just hoped he would stay asleep. Kiera finally finished getting ready and we ran out the cabin to go to the Encore Theater for our next activity. The Marriage Show.

 

 

This is a show that has taken place on each cruise we have been on. Most ships have called it the Marriage show but its also known as the Newlywed game. The show is very funny and something we strive not to miss on each cruise. Although the questions and even some answers have been repetitive on each cruise its something that hasn't gotten old to us. We arrived to the theater late and found some seating on the third level of the theater right as they were picking the contestants for the game. Dispite the theater being pretty loud Daniel actually stayed asleep for the majority of the show, waking up right before it was over. The show was alot of fun as usual and in our opinion is not to be missed.

 

 

Right after the Marriage show finished would be our next planned activity which would also be taking place in the Encore theater. That would be 5 game Bingo. We moved to the main level of the theater and while Kiera found us a place to sit I got in line to get us our Bingo Card. After waiting in the line that seemed to take forever I got our one Bingo Card. I also got us 2 of the lottery ticket things.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Bingo is something we have done on each of our cruises but we have never actually won. We hoped that Daniel would be our good luck charm though for it on this cruise. We also learned after our 2nd cruise that it wasn't worth it to play 1/2 price Bingo. We use to buy 2 cards for 1/2 price bingo but soon realized that they only play one game during 1/2 price. So we now watch for when they do 5 or more games and only buy 1 card as our chances of winning are higher that way. This was the only time on the cruise that I saw more then 5 games though.

 

 

We pulled apart the Lottery tickets before the Bingo games started but we unfortunatly didn't win anything with those. As Bingo started we got very close to winning on the first game but ended up being one number away. This would repeat for 3 of the 5 games where we got so close but never actually won. So yet again another cruise where we didn't win anything with Bingo. Oh well it was still fun to do.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After losing at Bingo we made our way to the Dreams Atrium and then up to the Fun Shops to do some shopping. Since our bags had to be packed up tonight this was our last chance to buy anything we wanted aboard the ship. We looked thru the shops but all we ended up with were our traditional postcard and Christmas ornament. We also looked thru the photos that we took the previous Elegant night again to see if there were any we liked. Dispite myself not having a tie on we actually found some we liked and intended to purchase them. That was until we saw the price though and decided we would rather put that money towards a full photo shoot when we get home.

 

 

Before heading back to our cabin after our purchases we decided to go outside and walk around the Promanade one last time before our cruise ended. We hadn't walked around the front of the ship yet so thats the way we went and found it to be very windy at the front of the ship. As we looked out into the ocean we still couldn't belive how flat and glassy the ocean looked as it was like it wasn't moving at all. It was surreal and we had never seen the ocean look that calm in all of our cruises.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Back inside the ship we now made our way back down to Deck 1 and eventually down the never ending hallway to our cabin. It was time for what we least looked forward to. It was time to get packed up.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

There turned out to be a Kids show on the TV today while we packed so that helped to keep Daniel occupied. We pulled out all of the bags and then started the long process of getting everything organized and packed up. The bags had to be outside our door by I believe 8:30pm and since we still had some things we wanted to do in the early evening we needed to have the bags out there sooner then that. Packing up is never fun as its a long process. But even worse is that it means the cruise really is coming to an end in the morning. While packing we came across the adult life vests and tried one on Daniel. He really didn't seem to like it though. Soon enough though the bags were packed and outside the door and we would continue on with our final day aboard the Carnival Dream.

 

 

Next up on the to do list was go back to the Atrium to watch the Fun Force Breakdancing crew. As mentioned earlier in this recap these guys are pretty amazing dancers. They stole the show in the Welcome Aboard Show and were what made Dancing in the Streets such an amazing show. So when I saw they were doing one last show It was something I didn't want to miss. We got to the Atrium right before the show was scheduled to start and the crew was there getting warmed up for the show. As the time came to start though it quickly left as the crew wasn't ready to start yet. Eventually the show started about 15 minutes later then it was suppose to. Which sucked for us as we would end up missing most the show as we had to get to the Comedy Club. Still what we did see was pretty cool and fun to see. These guys are very good at what they do and pretty entertaining.

 

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

 

We didn't want to leave the Fun Force show early. But we didn't have a choice since it started late and we really wanted to make it to the final PG Comedy show of the cruise. We decided that the Comedy was the higher priority so off we went. We made it to the Lounge right as the show was starting and found our seats for tonights show. Tonight the Comedian was Thomas Brown. And I think he is the only one who we have seen before on a previous cruise. His show was great tonight just as with the other comedians and we were happy to have seen him. Over the course of this cruise we have come to really enjoy these PG family friendly shows and honestly in the future wether travling with kids or not we may try to make it the PG shows instead of the R rated shows. I honestly though the PG were better.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After the show we still had some time to kill before dinner so we made our way to the oceans plaza so that we could try what was ever at the Taist Bar one last time. Tonight it was an enchilada soup and some other mexican type snack. Both were actually pretty good. We went out again on the Promenade to eat our the snacks and Kiera soaked her feet in one of the hot tubs. This would be her only time in the Hot Tub on this trip. We then made our way one final time to the Scarlett restaurant for our final dinner of the cruise.

 

 

As we sat down for dinner our wait staff was there waiting as they had been each and every night of the cruise. You could feel the sadness in the air though as we begun our last dinner of the cruise. In the short time we had been sitting down many different waiters and waitresses had made there way over to see Daniel one last time and say there goodbyes to him. They adored that little boy.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

For our final starters I went with my usual Caesar Salad and I believe a Chicken Alfrado pasta. Kiera went with the Grilled Portabella Mushroom and Lettuce as well as the Mango Cream soup. We didn't order off the Kids menu tonight for Daniel. Instead we got him the Bacon Mac and Cheese off the adults menu that was actually pretty good.

 

 

As far as Main dishes go I had to have my favorite meal on the Carnival Ships once more so I got the Prime Rib once again. Kiera changed it up though and got the Mahi Mahi.

 

[TeknikDC2]

The wait staff then performaned for us as they sang us there goodbyes. It was sad for us to think it was over after tonight. Our dinning staff were really great on this cruise. We connected with them unlike any other before and its like they knew Daniel on a personal level. We will never forget the experiance we had on this cruise with this staff. It really was sad to hear them sing there goodbyes.

 

 

We had our last desserts of the cruise which we kept simple and got the Chocolate Melting Cake once more. Then it was time to really say our goodbyes to our waitstaff. We got a final picture and then said our goodbyes to this amazing staff. It was sad as Danilo gave Daniel a big hug and many of the staff members had tears in there eyes. This was a testimat to me of how much these people enjoy what there doing and the special bonds they make with some of there guests. Never before this cruise did I think a 23 month your old little boy would touch the hearts of those serving us. This truely was the hardest goodbye we've ever had on a cruise.

 

 

After dinner we returned to our room where believe it or not we would end up spending what remained of the evening. The room now felt so empty with everything packed up and gone with only what we needed for the next day remaining. Daniel enjoyed playing in the now empty closets though and especially got a kick out of the toddler life vest that he came across. He liked it much more then the adult one we tried on him earlier anyways. One plus though was that we did have a Towel heart on our bed. On our past 2 cruises we did not recieve any towel animal of any sort on the final night of the cruise so that was a welcomed surprise.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Soon enough we were in bed and ready for sleep. We would have to be up early tomorrow morning to be out of the cabin early and await our time to get off the ship. Our cruise was quickly coming to and end.

 

 

 

 

And thats all for day 10 and the final full day of the cruise. Thanks to those still following along. I appreciate your support and comments and questions. Thank you so much everyone. Although the cruise portion of the recap is quickly coming to and end there will still be a couple days left of this vacation. Coming up in the next update will be the Debarkation of the Dream, a Return to Universal Orlando Resort, and also a visit to Downtown Disney. Thanks again everyone.

 

 

 

 

.

[TeknikDC2]

Day 11, Part 1: Debarkation

 

We awoke early to one of the days we had been dreading most. Our cruise was over today. When we had woke up for the day we were already back in Port Canaveral and docked. We had to be out of the cabin today by 8:30am and then we would be waiting for our zone to be called to Debark the ship. Our zone was 32 which is one of the last so we tried to delay our time in the cabin as much as possible. Daniel enjoyed watching all the trucks and tractors work on the dock below while Kiera and I finished getting ready and the last of our stuff together. Its amazing how dirty our cabin window got over the course of the cruise.

 

 

8:30am soon arrived and thats exactly when we vacated our room to wait for our zone to be called. We thought this would go pretty quickly as when we left the room the Self Disembark passingers and the first few zones had already been called. We hoped to be off the ship pretty quickly so that we could grab some lunch and also visit Coco Beach. I mean we have sailed out of Port Canaveral now 3 times and have never stepped foot on Coco Beach.

 

 

There are few places around the ship that you can wait for your zone to be called. One of which is the Lido deck and buffet which is fine because they will still be serving breakfast while you wait. However when we got up there all of the stations were closing down but one as they prepaired the stations for the lunch buffet for the passingers boarding the ship this day. After getting our food it was kinda hard finding a place to sit though as many people will eat and then just stay sitting where they are at until there zone was called. We eventually found a spot outside though next to the sea side theater.

 

After eating and now waiting what would seem like an eternity for our zone to be called I decided to go up to Deck 12 and take some photos of the surrounding areas since I really didn't do much of that before we sailed away. Once again the Disney Fantasy was in port with us but so was the Carnival Ecstacy. This was the most ships I had ever seen in Port Canaveral at one time. Once again the Dream had docked in the same area that we embarked from.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

The last couple times we sailed back into Port Canaveral it was pretty hazy and visibility of the surrounding areas pretty limited. That was not the case today though as it was very clear and you could see the NASA facilities off in the distance.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

As I finished taking photos I returned to the Lido Deck to the pool area where Daniel and Kiera were at. I walked past the Blue Iguana bar and just like I did with the Red Frog bar earlier in the trip I had to check out the signs as there were even more ports listed that we have visited in the past. Speaking of the Red Frog bar it was completly closed off with some quick referbishing going on to have it up and ready for the next passingers.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

I returned to Kiera where we waited and waited and waited. I imagine that our really late debark group was because we wouldn't be leaving home for another 2 days after the cruise. I guess thats why the cruise line asks for your flight information. We took the time to look over our Sail and Sign account statement and the few things we actually purchased on the card checked out. Our info didn't even fill a half a page yet it amazed me how many people around us had pages, both front and back for there sail and sign statement. I couldn't imagine what the bills were on those cards.

 

We eventually moved inside to the Lido Buffet to wait. Daniel loved once again seeing the Disney Fantasy as he could recognize the Mickey Head anywhere he goes as we too are a Disney family. Our time in the Lido Buffet didn't last long though as although our zone hadn't been called yet, Carnival Staff came along and asked everyone to leave the restaurant and entire Lido deck as they had to prepare it for the next sailing. We were instructed to move to the Encore Theater to finish waiting.

 

 

After waiting for over 2 hours as we were making our way to the Atrium and Encore theater they finally called our zone to Debark the the ship. We would be getting off the ship later then I thought we would but we should still have time to go to Coco Beach. The line was actually short thru the Atrium to get off the ship and into the Cruise Terminal. I figured we would be off in no time as our previous experiances at the other dock in Port Canaveral have been great.