Willdra's Dramatic Carnival Dream October 15-22 Cruise

[Drazil65]

Love, love, love your reviews....gets me in the cruising spirit for our next one...keep it up, you are hysterical :D!

[lohgan]

Willdra - what luggage do you use? And what size? Just out of curiousity! I have my first cruise in January and we're still trying to decide if we will do carry on only or bring one bigger suitcase. Thanks!

[jenniferandwhatnot]

Loving the review! We were on the Miracle last year at this time and my Facebook "reminders" have me feeling a little nostalgic. Your review is helping - especially because your cabin is almost identical to the one we stayed in! Also loving the food pics. Ahhhhhhh take me back!

[willdra]

Love, love, love your reviews....gets me in the cruising spirit for our next one...keep it up, you are hysterical :D!

 

 

 

Thank you so much!!! I’m glad you’re enjoying it! [emoji8]

 

 

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[willdra]

Loving the review! We were on the Miracle last year at this time and my Facebook "reminders" have me feeling a little nostalgic. Your review is helping - especially because your cabin is almost identical to the one we stayed in! Also loving the food pics. Ahhhhhhh take me back!

 

LOL, thank you!! Hopefully you will be back on board another cruise soon! :D

[willdra]

Willdra - what luggage do you use? And what size? Just out of curiousity! I have my first cruise in January and we're still trying to decide if we will do carry on only or bring one bigger suitcase. Thanks!

 

Here's a link to my exact luggage set. I take the large one and the small one on cruises. Just the large one could work, especially with packing cubes, because it is huge. I just take both because I like to keep my clothes and toiletries/liquids in separate bags. Hope this helps. ;)

 

http://amzn.to/2zXpbxm

[dporter]

Here is what 7 days worth of clothes looks like in 4 medium and 1 small packing cubes.

 

 

I got mine from Amazon:

Shacke Pak – 5 Set Packing Cubes – Medium/Small – Luggage Packing Travel Organizers (Black / Blue)

interesting, i never heard of them before

[willdra]

Roatan Relaxation

 

Our official meet uptime was set for 10:30 on Roatan Day. I woke up around 9 but I had no trouble falling back asleep.Laziness is still my BFF. It was also looking about as cheerful as a case of head lice outside, so no rush.I suddenly remembered that Blue Iguana waits for no man, and I got up shortly after that so I could make it before it closed. OMG W is starting to be a bad influence on me! I can’t possibly wake up to go to the gym but I seem to have no problem waking up for food. I need to go sit in a corner and rethink my entire life. What better place to do that than on the Lido with some nice warm arepas tho? I'm already ahead of the game!

 

I woke W up with my excitement, and he started moving around at about 10. I let him know where I was going and that I couldn't wait because arepas were imperative to my survival. Now if anyone understands food goals, it's W. He just nodded and said he'd meet me up there. I’m a lucky girl!

 

When I got up to the Blue Iguana, the server was very nice. He was telling me the arepas were extra special today, and that he would give me the recipe, so I told him I would come back for it. Never did, because I forgot. I need to start writing stuff down, this is ridiculous! I'm now forgetting GOOD stuff! This is how I know I'm 48.

 

I got my arepas accompanied by huevos rancheros without the huevos, no recipe, then went to the aft breakfast section to eat and breathe. A and Z were just walking in when I got back there so the timing was perfect. Soon W, BIL, and SIL found us too. AC and L wandered over but AC still wasn't quite ready to go, so they went back to their cabin. It takes her forever to get ready, and I don’t know why. I've known her for over 30 years, and I still can't figure it out, and I'm too tired to try.

My beautiful breakfast

The Fam laughing at one of my many funny jokes (JK I have no idea why they were laughing!)

 

 

We wanted to get out to Roatan that same day, so we left when everyone at the table was finished eating. We would have to catch AC and L later. We couldn't wait for whatever it was that they were doing. Plus it was still sprinkling a little but not raining hard, so this was as good a time as any to venture out.

[willdra]

A quick trip to the gangway, and we were off of the ship. We walked out through the shopping area and down to the beach. This was BIL and SIL'S first time on Roatan and they had no idea where to go and what to do. We kept telling them it was not complicated but they didn't believe it until they saw it. I guess they thought that we were tricking them so we could laugh about it later or something. We wouldn't do that. Or would we? Seemingly.

 

On the beach, we walked all the way down to the Carnival Lounge Chair Graveyard, where cruise ship lounge chairs go to live out their final days before they die. Also these chairs are the nicest, cleanest, free ones on the beach, in my very limited opinion. The other ones look sad and saggy. Some of them have butt prints that touch the ground (not in a good way), and they need to be put out of their (and our) misery. No thanks.

 

Carnival Lounge Chair Graveyard

 

W in the water

 

Carnival Magic

 

Beach

 

Trees

 

 

W got in the water while the rest of us sat in the corner and contemplated our past,present, and future situations. After about 2 seconds of this, A and SIL went to the bar which left Z, BIL, and I on the lounge chairs. Z decided that getting in the water was better than sitting there listening to BIL regale us with the same tales over and over again, and I couldn't blame him for that. If it wasn't as cold as a bucket of ice on the North Pole, I would’ve joined them. Alas, that left BIL and I️ Alone. Joy!

[willdra]

BIL talked for a few more minutes, then right as I was about to stab myself in the hand with the sharpest object that I could find to have an excuse to get away, A and SIL came back. God really cares about my hand and my ears! I need to remember to put a few extra dollars in the collection plate on Sunday.

 

A bought a Long Island Iced Tea that looked good, so I went to cop one for myself. If I was going to be forced to listen to BIL talk all day, I needed alcohol. Lots of it. Stat. Time to fill my hand with something grand! We got the drinks in the Fat Tuesday souvenir cups, which was $14.50. You can't tip on the credit card though so bring cash for tips.

 

 

Men bond over beer

 

Happy Me after the Long Island Iced Tea

 

Disclaimer: We didn't do the fish pedicures, but I'm including it in case anyone is interested.

 

Fish Pedicure Prices

 

Fish Pedicure Facts

 

Fish Pedicure

 

[willdra]

When our drinks were done, A, SIL, and I went back out to the plaza to shop. We had to turn back right at the entrance to the beach because A had forgotten her Sail and Sign card and there was a guard there checking ID. I guess they've had issues with locals trying to use the beach, or with vandals breaking in to steal those beautiful worn out lounge chairs with the big butt prints. SIL stayed and kept the guard company while we walked back, because she wasn't feeling all of those extra calorie burning steps.

 

When A and I made it back, we all walked around looking in the different shops. There were some really nice things that I saw, but nothing compelled me to spend money. Unbelievable! SIL got a shot glass for BIL and another small thing but that's about it. We walked through the plaza quickly and when nothing else called out to us, we went back to join the men. W was out of the water and was bummed because he'd left his brand new snorkel mask on the ship. I bought him one of the full face ones for his birthday, and this would've been a good place to try it out. If he remembered to bring it with him.

 

We didn't stay long after that because everyone got hungry. We have an unwritten rule (all of them are unwritten) on cruises if we are close to the ship, we go back and eat on the ship. We already paid for that food. No need to pay for port food. Especially when that port food was not endorsed by Guy Fieri. #TripleD

 

Entrance to Mahogany Bay

 

Carnival Magic

 

Carnival Dream

 

 

Z and A Having fun with the big shoes

 

 

 

We walked through the Dufry without stopping, and were quickly scanned back on the ship. This is where having our cabin on Deck 2 is delightful. We walked upstairs, dropped off our stuff, then went to Lido. Guy's, Deli, and Pizza Pirate were still open, so W, SIL, and I had Guy's. A and Z had pizza, BIL had deli. So far this trip has been the best no wait situation ever. Everyone just walked right up and got their food. W and the young'uns wanted to play games while the mature adults needed to check the backs of their eyelids for cracks. This would take a few hours, so I told them I would see them at dinner. W stopped by the cabin to change clothes but he ended up falling victim to Carnivals soft blankets and pillows. I of course was here for it, and I got ready for a full nap. I was absolutely giddy at the thought. No pretending. Cruise sleep is my jam.

[willdra]

Random Roatan Pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

I woke up to the Captain giving us an important safe a tee message. The problem was that I missed the important part, because they don’t send all messages into the cabin.You hear just enough to know that the Captain has something tah say, but you don’t know if it requires you to put on your pants. All I heard was his now famous ending: "In Italy we say arrivaderci ciao. I say ciao." Hmmm….W would have to fill me in later, no need to put on pants. For now.

 

I got all of the way up when W returned to get ready for dinner. That man is not going to be late, and he will not miss a meal. You can set your watch by him. We were cruise casual tonight, so it only took a few minutes for us to handle our hygiene, and we were on our way.

Me awake and dressed for dinner

 

[willdra]

When we reached our table, everyone (even AC and L) was at the table except for BIL and SIL. Strange, but ok. For dinner I ordered Peach Soup, Beef Tenderloin, Salmon Cake,and Bacon Mac N Cheese. When our appetizers were ready, Randy bought out an extra Minestrone Soup and it threw us off. We kept passing it around like it was poison. When L got it, she gave it a curious look, so I started to wonder if it was really hers, but it wasn't hers either. Soup is confusing.

 

 

Menus

 

 

 

 

 

AC and L

 

A and Z

[willdra]

Our entrees were less confusing but there was a lot of food on the table. I love cruise dinners because you can order a couple of different items to try. We loved everything and we shared a lot too. Right as we were about to order dessert, BIL and SIL walked in. Somehow they were an hour behind the ship's time and they thought dinner was just beginning. We asked what happened, and SIL said that her phone changed time zones. It's a good thing they were with us off of the ship, because they would still be in Roatan living on those saggy lounge chairs otherwise. We have our phones and devices set so they don't change when we change time zones. It's too confusing to try to figure out, especially when alcohol is involved. Nope, don’t need those problems. I also told her that on the ship, she can use the Hub App if she ever needs to double check ship's time, that's one of the features that really does come in handy.

 

 

 

Cream of Broccoli Soup

 

Peach Soup

 

Caesar Salad

 

Salmon Cake with Bacon Mac N Cheese

 

Fried Chicken

 

Beef Tenderloin

 

 

Anywho, Surin andteam still took their orders and we sat with them while they ate dinner. Wethanked the waiters for that, as it was a pure courtesy, BIL and SIL completelyexpected to be told to kick rocks.

[willdra]

For dessert W and I ordered the s'mores parfait. Z went to the restroom and A said she didn't want dessert. We told her to get the parfait but she declined. I ordered the parfait for Z since he wasn't there. When the desserts came out A was mad that she didn't get it but Z shared his with her. It pays to listen to your parents! Especially when it comes to desserts. W also got an extra parfait to bring back and put into the fridge. He's the real MVP!

 

Minestrone Milanese

 

S'mores Parfait

 

 

Z was very happy that I ordered for him!

 

 

 

It seems like this is the night that the Love and Marriage Show would happen on other sailings. For some reason they did it the day before at 1 pm, so we missed it. On purpose.Tonight was Quest but I couldn't talk any of the fam into going with me. They wanted to play that game in Ocean Plaza again. #Lame

 

I went shopping and I found SIL a cute cover up for her birthday which was the next day. I meant to get her something before we left home, but life got in the way, plus I really didn’t know what to get her. After my big shopping spree, I stopped by Ocean Plaza to see W and the kids, they were still being boring, so I went back to the cabin to retire. I gave myself a lecture because I really needed to hit the gym at some point on this cruise. This workout boycott has gotten out of control. I hope I take my own advice!

 

 

Before I fell asleep I thanked God for dinner. Dinner is divine! Some of God's best work can be found at dinner.

[Clarea]

Great photos!

[joand452]

So happy to have found your new review. This will help get me in the mood (who am I kidding. Always in the mood) for our first Carnival cruise in just 10 days! I’m already selecting my meals from each menu you post.

 

Looking forward to more!

 

 

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[willdra]

So happy to have found your new review. This will help get me in the mood (who am I kidding. Always in the mood) for our first Carnival cruise in just 10 days! I’m already selecting my meals from each menu you post.

 

Looking forward to more!

 

 

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Thanks and congrats on taking your first cruise!! The food is fabulous! Don’t forget if you order something you don’t like, let the waiters know and they will bring you something else. [emoji6]Please feel free to ask questions here too. Bon Voyage!❤️[emoji8]❤️

 

 

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[heffy2]

Great review! I was on this cruise, it was pretty wonderful.

[Shaded Lady]

LOVE LOVE LOVE a Willdra Review!!! (other than the strange looks from everyone around me as I chuckle out loud now & again!)

[HeyJut]

Just love your fun and down-to-earth reviews. So many laughs, but just about lost it with the bra taking a knee! (Here I would insert emojis if I knew how)!

Love your prayers too.

 

And I’m also a big fan of packing cubes. Got mine from ebags.

[willdra]

Great review! I was on this cruise, it was pretty wonderful.

 

 

 

Thank you! Yes it was a fun cruise! [emoji4]

 

 

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[willdra]

LOVE LOVE LOVE a Willdra Review!!! (other than the strange looks from everyone around me as I chuckle out loud now & again!)

 

 

 

LOL [emoji23] Thank you so much!! [emoji8]

 

 

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[rs45thompson]

Love your reviews. Thank you so much for taking the time to do them

 

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