Willdra's Dramatic Carnival Dream October 15-22 Cruise

[willdra]

On our last Sea Day, I woke up around 10:30. I knew it wasn't time to get up yet because W didn't move at all when I got up to check the time. I got back into bed but I removed my earplugs so I would hear W when he got up. As soon as I removed my earplugs,I was startled by a loud rolling noise, some crashing, and a persistent humming. My first thought was that the world had ended and this was the rapture, so I immediately started praying: "Dear God make me into a bird,so I can fly far far away from here". When that didn't work, I thought maybe it was the sound of the ship sinking and we missed the alarm. I listened intently a little longer to see if the Captain was making announcements for us to proceed to our Muster Station,until I finally realized that the noise was coming from the galley. We are directly below the galley in this cabin, and it took me all cruise to notice!These earplugs are amazing y'all! Get some. Unless you want to hear the world ending outside. If that's the case, skip em. But I say surprise me. I don’t wanna see or hear it coming! I'm not quite ready for the rapture.

 

After that pretend crisis was averted, we got all the way out of bed at 11, so we would have plenty of time for Sea Day Brunch. Before we left the cabin I took one of the Non-Drowsy Dramamine that I keep on hand in case of rough seas. The ocean didn't look too happy, and I didn't want to take any chances. Sea sickness is not sexy.

 

We made it to brunch after a long time of getting ready. I ordered my usual Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Cheddar Grits, and Bacon. I also ordered a side of ham and the Double Chocolate Brownie. When my food was brought out, I didn't receive chocolate chip pancakes, but I didn't complain. The universe must've intervened for me so that I wouldn't take in all of those calories. It was the Lord's will. God cares about calories.

 

 

Chocolate-less Pancakes

 

Cheddar Grits with Bacon

 

W wastes no time digging in!

 

Disappointment in a dish- there was so much potential here!

 

[willdra]

We ate, but we were still daydreaming and not fully awake, so we sat at the table a long time. We finally got up when it was no longer socially acceptable to sit there. Our next move was to Serenity. It was overcast which was good because we could sit anywhere if there were no covered seats. There were two clamshells available right when we walked up, so W took one and I took the other. I sent A a message on the app and told her where we were. They came right up, so I surrendered my own personal paradise to A and Z. I went over and joined W and within seconds, I was knocked out. Apparently I was still tired. Astonishing.

 

 

While I was napping, A and Z had their binoculars out, and were fascinated by some flying fish. I don't know what could possibly be so entertaining about fish, or what there is to continuously discuss, but they talked about them for an hour or so. Until rain happened. I could tell it was going to rain because the sky became sad, heavy, and a random cool breeze started. When the rain drops hit my leg I jumped up and pretty much ran back to the cabin like my swimsuit had caught fire. I was so happy that I could go get back into bed! I wasted zero time getting out of dodge. You never have to twist my arm for full bed napping. W just looked and smiled. He knows the deal.

 

 

Back in the cabin, I had 2 hours before it was time to go to the Diamond Platinum Party. I spent every second of it sleeping. Guilt free. W and the young'uns went to their spot on Ocean Plaza to do whatever they do there. My alarm went off just as W was coming back to collect me. I got up and straightened up as much as possible, then we walked up to the Burgundy Lounge.

 

 

 

We were met at the door with a tray of drinks and W went straight for the beer table. I two fisted some rum punches and we found a seat. I forgot to bring my wrap which I never do because every venue inside is always as cold as an Eskimo's nose. I started drinking my drinks in hopes that they would warm me up. They did, and before long I forgot about being cold, my name, and anything else important. As a matter of fact, I forgot about everything and suddenly I couldn't stop laughing. Then W caught a case of silliness with me and we giggled uncontrollably. We got our money's worth from those drinks! Soon another round of drinks mysteriously appeared on our table, and we couldn't be rude, so we ended them. This is why we came. To have nice things.

 

 

 

[willdra]

The party on The Dream was a larger party, and it was cool to see the Captain dance and tell jokes. He has a lot of personality. I was hoping he would say his famous line, but no luck this time.

 

 

 

Afterwards we went to look at pictures. I know what you’re thinking. This seems so old school compared to viewing them via the app on The Vista. But it is what it is. We found most of our pictures and I settled on my top 3. Z came up to get their pictures while we were up there and we agreed on the best ones. I wanted to use my birthday coupon to get $12 off of one of the pictures. The rep charged me for all of them at first then he realized his mistake. He charged me $10 again for one of the pictures and he was supposed to void the first receipt out. I told W after I left the shop and he immediately went to the kiosk to reprint the receipts. The refund hadn't been processed yet. We went shopping in the gift shop and after I got my last purchases we walked over to Guest Services where there was no line. Turns out they can't override photo dept so back to photo dept we went. While we were there we got extra luggage tags for A and Z so their bags will go in our zone.

 

 

 

 

 

When we got the tags,we walked back to the photo depot and spoke with the same guy who helped me earlier. He had my receipt as he had just processed the refund. That was easy. We had to go back to the cabin for I don't know what, then we left to go give A and Z their tags. Except we didn't have the tags. We had left them in our cabin in the photo bag. Who are we, Lucy and Ethel? We had one job! Smh. That rum punch that we had at the party must've contained rainbows and direwolf essence, because it had us running useless errands, and forgetting everything! We just knocked on A and Z's door to tell them not to put their luggage out until after dinner because we had their tags. We're a mess.

[willdra]

After the empty errands, we went back to 2365 to pack and get ready for dinner. I packed the big suitcase quickly thanks to the packing cubes! I decided to carry the other suitcase off because I have too many things the last night to fit into my backpack or my beach bag. It's just easier this way. It really took no time at all to get everything together. I told W my plan to keep one of my suitcases,and he said it was sad that I have so much stuff. Pray for me y'all I thought I was doing good.

 

Soon it was time to get ready for dinner. I cleaned up and quickly, and we were on our way. A, Z, AC, and L were there when we got there. BIL came a few minutes later with no SIL. They had gotten separated along the way somewhere. After SIL didn't show up for awhile, BIL went to fetch her. She had gotten lost. On the way to dinner. On the last night. Bless her heart.

 

A and Z

 

AC and L

 

AC

 

W and I

 

BIL being BIL

 

Last Twilight Zone of the cruise

 

[willdra]

Once we were all situated we got caught up on everyone's day and as usual BIL one upped all of our stories. For dinner I had the Mango Cream Soup, Shrimp Cocktail, Prime Rib, and my first and only Warm Chocolate Melting Cake of this cruise. Since I asked for butter pecan ice cream with my WCMC, they brought me cherry pie also. I was not mad.

 

Mango Cream Soup

 

Flatbread

 

Tiger Shrimp Creole

 

Shrimp Cocktail

 

Prime Rib

 

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

 

[willdra]

 

 

Dinner passed by fast with all of our laughing and carrying on. We heard the "Leaving our Funship" song and then "Gangnam Style" which always signifies the end of a perfect cruise. We still had a few more things to throw into our suitcases before we put them in the hall, so W and I left right after dessert. We also wanted to make it to the last Comedy Show.

 

The Burgundy Lounge was not crowded and we found good seats. We should've let that one go tho, because it was a repeat of the one we saw on Thursday. The show was good, but not "see it twice"good.

 

After the show we bumped around the cabin putting stuff away and making sure we had everything. I set the alarm and decided to forgo the earplugs so I would actually hear the alarm when it went off. Bad idea. I heard everything, especially W’s nightly Texas Chainsaw imitation.

 

 

Before I fell asleep I thanked God for Rum Punch. That stuff had W and I faded, and we didn't even know it! I must get the recipe.

[willdra]

We will be doing same cruise next month & have only been to Cozumel once before. You said you went to Paradise Beach but what's the name of the resort you stayed at? Great review!!

 

 

 

Thanks! Paradise Beach is a daytime resort. For $7 you can use the pool or beach loungers for the day. They just ask that you purchase $10 worth of food and/or drinks. If you would like to use the water toys the fee is $18 for the day. No reservations necessary. [emoji2]

http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.com

 

 

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[willdra]

If you are going to NOLA, you have to stay in the French Quarters. It’s a one in a life time experience. You may not get any sleep. But you will always remember that night

 

 

 

Agreed! [emoji6]

 

 

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[phinfan63]

Thank you so much for this!! ❤️❤️ I’m giving packing cubes to everyone for Christmas this year because they are life changing! Let me know how they worked out for you after you use them! [emoji2] Bon Voyage! [emoji924][emoji924][emoji924]

 

 

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I watched the video for the packing cubes and it looks like all of the clothes would be extremely wrinkled. Is this the case? I do roll my clothes when I put them in the suitcase but they aren't scrunched together like they showed in the packing cubes. Just curious.

[Leanne0605]

Thank you for the awesome review! It has me even more excited for our first cruise ever (and on Dream) next month.

[ceddy1968]

Great review. You mentioned someone from your group was above the theater. What room we're they in and how loud was it.

[willdra]

Great review. You mentioned someone from your group was above the theater. What room we're they in and how loud was it.

 

 

 

The cabin was 6251, and it was loud during shows and when they were rehearsing (an hour or 2 before showtime). It wasn’t bad enough for them to complain or ask to move, because the shows don’t go on late at night. They had earplugs that they wore if they wanted to nap before dinner.

 

 

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[willdra]

Thank you for the awesome review! It has me even more excited for our first cruise ever (and on Dream) next month.

 

 

 

Thanks! The Dream is a great ship to start your cruise addiction! [emoji7]

 

 

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[willdra]

I watched the video for the packing cubes and it looks like all of the clothes would be extremely wrinkled. Is this the case? I do roll my clothes when I put them in the suitcase but they aren't scrunched together like they showed in the packing cubes. Just curious.

 

 

 

I’ve used the Packing Cubes a few times now, and so far, I haven’t had issues with wrinkles. I was concerned about that at first, but it hasn’t happened yet. Now I do wear a lot of stretchy stuff, because there’s always food involved, and I enjoy having circulation in my waist and legs after eating. So the types of clothes may be a factor too. [emoji6]

 

 

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[pghsteelerfan]

Glad to see your review pop up again. I was following along and then that thing called Christmas, and all the preparation for it, happened. Sooo, I was finally able to finish reading the rest today. I enjoyed this review as much as I have your others, always enjoy the humor you throw in and you're pictures always come out so nice. Thank you for taking the time to share another cruise with us. We're due for another western Caribbean cruise again, last time was in 2014. But not this year...New Orleans for almost a week to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of our good friends, so look out NOLA, here we come! I'll have to satisfy my cruise cravings by living vicariously through reviews for a while. :)

[pacruise804]

Love your reviews! I'm aspiring to be more like you and get more naps in on my next cruise and embrace my inner laziness versus what usually happens of trying to do every activity that looks interesting and worrying that we are missing something. Part of getting away is to relax and recharge, not just come home more exhausted than before we left ;)

 

BTW, your braids are stunning. Do you have to do anything to them in the morning or is it once they are done they are done? I'm a pale white girl (should probably warn my roll call to have their sunglasses for the glare on beach day:D ) and my hair always tries to slip out of braids and to make it look nice I need to use daughter's flat iron.

 

Thanks again for sharing your memories and humor with us.

[willdra]

Glad to see your review pop up again. I was following along and then that thing called Christmas, and all the preparation for it, happened. Sooo, I was finally able to finish reading the rest today. I enjoyed this review as much as I have your others, always enjoy the humor you throw in and you're pictures always come out so nice. Thank you for taking the time to share another cruise with us. We're due for another western Caribbean cruise again, last time was in 2014. But not this year...New Orleans for almost a week to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of our good friends, so look out NOLA, here we come! I'll have to satisfy my cruise cravings by living vicariously through reviews for a while. :)

 

 

 

Thank you so much for dropping back in! You are gonna have so much fun in Nola! We are here for Mardi Gras now, and it’s lit! [emoji5][emoji322][emoji322][emoji5]

 

 

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[willdra]

Love your reviews! I'm aspiring to be more like you and get more naps in on my next cruise and embrace my inner laziness versus what usually happens of trying to do every activity that looks interesting and worrying that we are missing something. Part of getting away is to relax and recharge, not just come home more exhausted than before we left ;)

 

BTW, your braids are stunning. Do you have to do anything to them in the morning or is it once they are done they are done? I'm a pale white girl (should probably warn my roll call to have their sunglasses for the glare on beach day:D ) and my hair always tries to slip out of braids and to make it look nice I need to use daughter's flat iron.

 

Thanks again for sharing your memories and humor with us.

 

 

 

Thanks so much!! For us, laziness is life!! I look forward to how lazy I’m gonna be.[emoji2][emoji2][emoji2] The trick to keeping my braids fresh, is wrapping them in a scarf 🧣 before bed. [emoji5]

 

 

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[j603]

Just stumbled across this review. It was a great one!!! It really makes me look forward to our cruise on the ship in August! Thanks for making my lunch break go by way quicker. :)

[Kanyon71]

Awesome review as always. You and your husband are a lot like my wife and I, each day on the cruise we make a nap (or 3) is had, for me it's all about making sure I get my money back in food or if not at least putting a good hurt on their food bills. We have been to many of the islands so most of the time it's about finding the beach and some good liquor to just relax. First time one of our friends went on a cruise with us him and his gf at the time (now his wife) wanted to do EVERYTHING all the TIME, after that trip they came to realize it's all about relaxing and having fun.

[beccawes7471]

What a great review! I am also a big fan of lazy and sleeping, I could definitely win a gold medal in each if they were in the Olympics:) I had to read several parts of your review out loud to my husband they were so funny! We are considering our first Carnival Cruise ( we’ve done RCCL, HAL, NCL and Disney) and are looking at the Dream and the Breeze, this review really helped and it looks awesome. Thanks and can’t wait for the next one-

[pacruise804]

Thanks so much!! For us, laziness is life!! I look forward to how lazy I’m gonna be.[emoji2][emoji2][emoji2] The trick to keeping my braids fresh, is wrapping them in a scarf 🧣 before bed. [emoji5]

 

 

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Thanks! I'll try to remember about a scarf if I get the type of braid again that might last a day or two.

[timc.jb]

Great review and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[willdra]

Great review and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

 

 

 

Thank you [emoji1488]!!

 

 

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[willdra]

Just stumbled across this review. It was a great one!!! It really makes me look forward to our cruise on the ship in August! Thanks for making my lunch break go by way quicker. :)

 

 

 

Thanks for reading along! Have a fantastic voyage! [emoji2]

 

 

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