DREAMing of my Honeymoon - review and pictures!

[scuba_ninja]

There was also a tree lighting ceremony in the atrium. It was decently well attended.

 

 

As part of it there was supposed to be "snow", but it was a dud. Hard to see, but a few "flakes" of some kind of soap mixture fell down from the sky, but even the CD was commenting how lame it was. Clearly the machine they were using wasn't working correctly. Despite warnings not to, several kids did try to eat it. Clearly we're not sailing on "genius of the seas".

 

 

Next most interesting thing to happen was dinner.

 

Again, a fairly sizable crowd had formed outside MDR, but at least this time someone was serving tea and coffee. This was the first and last time that happened.

 

 

I had the Oysters Rockefeller to start and the Duck pot stickers. Oysters were OK, but the wontons (they were really more wontons than pot stickers) were top notch. If there hadn't been lobster on the menu that night, I would have asked for about a dozen of those wontons for dinner. The oysters were fresh, but lacked flavor to me.

 

 

The crab/tuna salad was also very fresh, but wasn't very... special. It was fine, but didn't wow me like some other dished. I also tried the oxtail consomme. I thought it would be a nice palate cleanser, but it was pretty much just bouillon cubes. Not worth ordering.

 

 

I have to admit, I was actually surprised by just how good the lobster was. It tasted very fresh and it wasn't overcooked at all. I will neither confirm nor deny rumors that I had 2 orders. I will only say I regret not ordering 3. Even the risoto they were served over was very good. I heard the ham was also very good and tasted as though it were made completely on board.

 

[scuba_ninja]

Dessert was.... OK. The melting cakes are pretty good, I see why people order multiples every night. The "raspberry holiday" was actually awful. It was like raspberry cough syrup mixed into some kind of spackle/playdough mixture. Terrible. I had 3 bites, mostly to make sure that was I was tasting was real. It was the single worst thing I ate on the ship. The cookie was also flavorless and a little stale. Thank goodness for the melting cake!

 

 

After dinner we got our first "show". They played music while the wait staff walked around twirling towels, and asking us to twirl too. It was cute, but I was too full to put any energy into that kinda thing.

 

Edited January 11, 2018 by scuba_ninja
added photo

[scuba_ninja]

Fun times anyone?

 

 

 

I actually don't have a lot more fun times pics. They really didn't change much at all. The restaurant times never changed, sea day or not. The shows were all around the same times and the shopping pitches were all the same garbage. Serious question, those of you that go to these "seminars".... why? I went to two on Celebrity and couldn't believe how awful they were. They went something like this:

 

"Your really expensive jewelry is TERRIBLE! It doesn't follow any of the rules of the 5Cs! You need to buy our WAY OVER PRICED AND LOW QUALITY stuff to make your life better". Or "You're super fat and ugly! Spend 1,000 on a beauty treatment that does absolutely nothing, but also only costs $50 at home". I know that sometimes they'll give away stuff, but I just don't find any positive side to these sales pitches. Maybe I'm being super harsh, but I was not impressed. I felt it to be exceptionally scammy. My wife didn't even go to any of these events this cruise. I never walked through the art gallery on the ship. The one on Celebrity was particularly ugly and overpriced, I decided Carnival's wasn't going to be a lot better.

 

Our Christmas towel animal was a puppy! A Christmas puppy!

 

 

This was also the night I learned a very important lesson. THE TOWEL ANIMAL IS NOT FOR USING! Silly me, I thought that a towel was for, you know, showering and stuff. Nope. "YOU KILLED IT". "LOOK AT ITS EYES ON THE FLOOR". Yeah, you get the idea. I'm a terrible husband, even worse cabin mate and slaughterer of towel animals. I should have been locked in the brig.

 

The next morning was Cozumel!!!

 

 

I found the port area to be fairly clean and festively decorated.

 

[scuba_ninja]

Our activity for the day was SCUBA DIVING! I've been doing this for over 20 years, but finally convinced my wife to give it a shot. Note to all - Aldora divers is a top notch outfit. I was really happy with how they handled everything. The gear was in good shape, the instructor was awesome. Not only was he a good instructor, he was very respecful of me and communicated well to us both. He was actually Egyptian, but living in Cozumel. Spoke perfect english! I would not hesitate to dive with Aldora again. While my wife got a great one on one Discover SCUBA, He let me take pictures, putter around, etc. They have a lovely private beach where they do their discover scuba experiences.

 

 

I was actually impressed by how well my wife did.

 

 

Marine life was plentiful too!

 

 

[CajunCruiseDreamer]

How very strange. I have sailed the Dream twice and many other ships out of NOLA. NEVER did we have to wait until 1pm to embark. I am wondering if the ship was late getting in maybe?

 

 

 

Loving your review though!!!

 

 

 

There was 1 time that we did not get to board until 1p and it was due to a Coast Guard inspection that took longer than expected.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[dreadpirate3]

Our activity for the day was SCUBA DIVING! I've been doing this for over 20 years, but finally convinced my wife to give it a shot. Note to all - Aldora divers is a top notch outfit. I was really happy with how they handled everything. The gear was in good shape, the instructor was awesome. Not only was he a good instructor, he was very respecful of me and communicated well to us both. He was actually Egyptian, but living in Cozumel. Spoke perfect english! I would not hesitate to dive with Aldora again. While my wife got a great one on one Discover SCUBA, He let me take pictures, putter around, etc. They have a lovely private beach where they do their discover scuba experiences.

 

 

 

 

Phenomenal shot. I know where I want to go next time.

[tropicaledrink]

There was 1 time that we did not get to board until 1p and it was due to a Coast Guard inspection that took longer than expected.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Actually, this sailing was cleared about 10:45am (they came in and told us in the Captains Lounge). There were no weddings on this sailing. I am Platinum and set foot on the ship about 11:15am (per text messages). My sister and brother in law were in Zone 5 and on by 11:35am.

[scuba_ninja]

Sorry folks, it's like I can't win lately. I created a Flikr account for these posts and it looks like that account was compromised today. Soon as I can get it back under my control I'll keep going.

[j603]

Bummer. Sorry to hear. I had to ditch my NCL Bliss vacation and booked the Dream so I was enjoying your pics and point of view.

[scuba_ninja]

OK, back up and running! A very silly error on my part. I signed in to upload some pics on a computer that was infected. Totally fault, I mixed up a clean and a dirty PC at work.

 

Anyway, moving on here's two bonus underwater shots that I think looked neat.

 

 

[scuba_ninja]

Cozumel is a tourist trap, and I mean that in the most loving way possible. I had fun, it's not an unsafe port (as far as I could see) people were nice, etc. It's just... completely 100% all about tourism.

 

 

And a little crowded.

 

 

There are a few ports there, and the one we were docked at was reasonably clean. Cab drivers were super pushy, but at least there were not too many people trying to force cheap trinkets into your hands. There were plenty of knockoff "cuban" cigars to be had though if that's your thing. Just stand by this fountain for about 30 seconds, they'll offer you a bunch.

 

 

The stores all cater to tourists

 

 

It actually reminded me of the towns the Alaskan cruises stop in, but these had palm trees and far more agressive shop owners. NO I DO NOT WANT A MASSAGE IN YOUR SHADY BACK ROOM. I like my kidneys in MY body, not on the black market thank-you-very-much.

 

 

 

BTW, Aldora Divers is right across the street from the hospital, which, thankfully we had no use for. It looked decent enough though from the outside. I believe they have a hyperbaric chamber there (good for divers to know).

 

[scuba_ninja]

I'll say this, I don't remember seeing any Graffiti. I imagine that while Mexico certainly has its issues, Cozumel is kept in check for the sake of tourists. I wouldn't walk around waving fist fulls of cash, but I did feel it was reasonably safe to wander around.

 

 

I did NOT feel the need to have a horse and buggy ride. The horses looked a little thin for my tastes. Even the much maligned NYC carriage ride horses look to be in better shape.

 

 

There was a funny acrobatics sort of show going on in this plaza. They kept repeating it every few minutes. Not very many people watching though. There was also a pan-asian restaurant here that clearly catered to ship's crew. We didn't go in, but it did smell good.

 

 

 

[scuba_ninja]

Friends, let's take a minute to talk about Vanilla.

 

 

No, the picture is not mine. It's from a random google search, but I thought y'all would pay better attention with a photo.

 

There's far too many posts on these boards about Mexican Vanilla. Let's get some facts straight.

 

1) Mexican Vanilla, even the "real" stuff is considered the lowest quality vanilla.

2) You're better off getting your vanilla in the US

3) YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

4) THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CLEAR NATURAL VANILLA. PERIOD!

 

The labels on the vanilla bottles in Mexico are about as trustworthy as a Chicago politician. If you believe that the clear vanilla you bough has ANY vanilla in it at all, I've got several bridges for sale, some of them are clear even!

 

Look, I get it, "REAL MEXICAN VANILLA" is a great gift for the person watching your pets. Heck, I even bought a bottle EXACTLY FOR THAT PURPOSE! But don't go to Mexico thinking you're getting a great deal on real vanilla. You're not. By all means, read the label, do your best to avoid fake stuff, but be aware that it's likely all BS. I've worked in this industry, I can promise you that the quality is way better in the states, where people do stuff like, follow food safety and purity laws.

 

Also, if you're worried about Coumarin, I hope you never use cinnamon. 98% (yes, even fancy organic stuff) of the Cinnamon we get in the US is Cassia Cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon has so much coumarin in it that many EU countries have warned against its use.

 

Like I said, I myself bought some. The label said it was pure, and contained "real bits". I smelled a bottle, it was pleasant and slightly smokey like mexican vanilla should be. I can't promise it doesn't have added sugars and things, but it's good enough for my pet sitter as a thank you. If I'm going to be making cookies for an important guest, I'm buying some Nielsen-Massey brand.

Edited January 12, 2018 by scuba_ninja
spelling

[scuba_ninja]

Back to the fun.

 

We actually had lunch at a GREAT place near the port. I have no idea what the name was, but look for this decor.

 

 

The music was loud, but the food was actually really good and very cheap. We even got a free tequila shot!

 

 

I'm a spicy food addict. Their salsas are NO JOKE! Delicious and very clearly made in house. There was one that was just smoked ground peppers, maybe with a touch of salt. Amazing. I should have taken some home in a bag.

 

 

It was across from a Carl's Jr. Apparently. If you got to Mexico and eat at a Carl's Jr. I AM JUDGING YOU! HARSHLY!

 

 

Basically, to find this place, go out of the cruise port and make a left down the main road. Go down like 2 blocks, almost impossible to miss it.

 

We made it back to the ship in plenty of time. Apparently not everyone did. We lost 3 guests as far as I understand it in Cozumel.

 

 

Oh well, more space for me to take pretty panorama shots

 

Edited January 12, 2018 by scuba_ninja
spelling

[scuba_ninja]

Dinner that night was pretty good. I had the lamb and really enjoyed it. I should have ordered a second, but I just wasn't hungry. A shame. Sorry, no food pics. We were having too good a time chatting with our tablemates and I forgot entirely. The seared tuna was dry, I don't think the tuna was very fresh. I was tempted to get the rabbit, but I really have not enjoyed it many of the times I've had it, so I skipped.

 

 

[scuba_ninja]

Since I didn't have food pics, here's some random port pics to make up for it.

 

There's lots of these funky buggy type things to rent everywhere.

img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4603/27872647549_59e043ba27_b.jpg[/img]

 

OK, serious question. People who eat in the port restaurants, why? I'm not judging, I'm actually curious. They were considerably more expensive than the others right outside. Is the food any better? Is it safer? The place we ate was fantastic and gave us free bottled water that came sealed. No complaints.

 

 

Cozumel's port had the best (and by far the most) shopping IN port, and around it. I can't speak for how much of it was actually locally made, we really didn't buy anything, but it was for sure the biggest. It was also the most crowded.

 

[scuba_ninja]

Leaving cozumel was interesting. We left after dark and a few other cruise ships were following us it looked like for a long way. I didn't get any great pics of it, but we could see the ship's lights behind us for a long time. I did get a got shot of us pulling way from the dock.

 

 

My guess is we were following some kind of channel away from Cozumel through the many atolls and islets in the area, it looked like we were turning a bunch.

 

Now, for those of you who have been on the dream, did anyone else notice that her butt wiggles? When you're in the stern section, especially down low there's a very pronounced wiggle to the ship. My guess is it was either built funny (super possible) and/or there's a cavitation problem with a propeller (very common on large ships). Italians are great designers, weird engineers. Their engineering is kind of like the politics. Backwards and upside down. If you'e ever actually driving a fancy Italian sports car, you probably understand. They are dreams to look at but often handle terribly and have odd quirks and need very special (and constant) tuning. A friend of mine used to work for one of the largest Ferrari clubs in America. He was their tow driver. See, they've had meetups, and his job was to drive this special rig that was designed to tow a Ferrari without hurting it. Why would you need that? Because inevitably a good number of the cars would need tows back home. Even brand new ones. The Carnival Dream isn't dissimilar. I'm glad we never needed a tow anywhere, but I wouldn't be surprised if she had some major work done soon. Also, as far as I can tell, the ship doesn't have stabilizers. The Celebrity ship had a very sophisticated stabilizer system and it worked beautifully.

 

On to Belize.

 

Belize as a country is a.... not nice place. We had fun, but as my wife said "I'm very done with Belize". She actually has relatives that moved there for a few years to escape the cold. They are from Detroit, and all I can think of is that it must have reminded them of the worst parts of Detroit, so they might have felt at home? Horribly poor country. I do not under and circumstances recommend leaving the secure port area without being in a tour group.

 

Belize is a tender port, which sucks. There's no way around it. Also, this port was a great example of how the Dream may be just a little too big for its own good. Communications amongst the very over worked staff is terrible. To make a long story short, I bought FTTF largely BECAUSE of this port. I wanted to make sure we got on an early tender to get to our chosen excursion. Well, they done messed up. We were told one thing at guest services, another completely was announced over the loudspeakers. We wound up following the announcements and waiting with the rest of the FTTF folks. We were led by a member of the fun staff a long ways down the ship all the way to the same line the SCUBA divers who booked through Carnival were on. After waiting in this area for a few minutes, we were told we were in the wrong place. We couldn't get on a tender here because the only boat that was going to come to this part of the ship was a dive boat. Oops. At this point many people (rightly so) were absolitely incenced. The staffer's response was "don't care, not my problem". THEY led us to the wrong spot. After a lot of yelling on our part, and some yelling into radios on theirs, we were finally told they'd lead us back to the right place. They led us back across the ship from stern to bow again, and finally did let us get on a tender.

 

Our activity of the day was Cave Tubing. We booked directly through the tour operator, and it was by far a cheaper and better tour than what we've been told anyone who booked through carnival got.

 

The port itself is small and not as well kept as Cozumel. After being in such a huge port village that was so clean, Belize was a letdown. We didn't buy anything at all.

 

We met our contact right inside the port. We were running late, so I was very worried we'd miss him, but despite his strong warnings, we still waiting around a while.

 

 

Now, here's where the crappy parts of Belize hits you right away. The gentelman kept telling us we'd be leaving in 5 minutes.. for about 20 minutes. After we finally did leave, he passed us off to some woman he knew, who wasn't wearing a guide shirt like he was, but she very very pushy about getting us to the vans. I was getting a little worried we'd been duped, especially after she put a bracelet of jewelry on my wife's hand and tried to force her to buy it. My wife was a lot nicer than I would have been and declined. She eventually backed off. I wasn't happy about that.

 

Here's some more pics of the port shops. The shop keepers DO NOT like when you take pictures. So I snapped a few sort of covertly.

 

 

I'm still very upset that my wife wouldn't let me but this bathing suit and wear it tubing.

 

 

[scuba_ninja]

 

After we finally got on the vans, we noticed they had no AC. And it was a very hot steamy day. YAY!

 

Once our guide finally arrived, the day really did start to turn around. For the hour or so it took to drive to our first stop, she talked non-stop, but I mean that in a good way. She gave us GREAT info and history. She answered questions and engaged us well. Her English was excellent and I loved hearing her describe life in Belize. She was great and made me forget about the awful heat.

 

But, like I said, This is not a well developed country. THis is the LAST place I'd like to be left in port. I'd probably start swimming for the ship.

 

 

I'm sorry, I would not spend a dollar on those restrooms. Very glad to have not stopped there!

 

 

Also, very thankful for the ship's MDR and not having to shop for food here!

 

 

Or here

 

[scuba_ninja]

phenomenal shot. I know where i want to go next time.

 

 

thanks!

[scuba_ninja]

Apparently there's a lot of Coke painted places in Belize because coke will paint your shop for free. Your shop looks nicer and coke get free advertising. Win/Win I guess.

 

 

 

 

Belize is a very religious nation. All the schools are religious based, and you have to pay to attend school. It's also mandatory until you are 14. Interesting system. Our guide told us a lot about it and the kind of struggle it is to put her kids through school.

 

 

After about an hour drive, we arrived at our first stop. It was Mr. Vitalino's house. He owns the tour company and set his house up as the changing/outfitting/payment place. It was servicable, and about a 10 minute drive from there to the caves park.

 

 

 

The cave park itself was a busy spot.

[scuba_ninja]

Hopefully some of you folks are still reading, so here's on to the cave tubing.

 

The park itself is pretty busy, since there are a number of operators that use the park. The Gov't owns the park, and collects money from the tour companies but doesn't actually do a whole lot of maintenance it seems. The tour guides actually complained about that. There was a path that washed away a few months ago apparently and it means that we now have to cross the river a bunch of different times to get up to the starting point.

 

There was visitors center of some sort, but it was closed.

 

 

I'd call the whole thing "rustic but serviceable". There was a building of restrooms/changing areas that was very large, and clean enough for our purposes.

 

The place where the bus drops you off is the end of the ride tube ride actually, so you have to walk a good 20-25 minutes to get to the point where you put in your tubes. Some groups carry tubes the whole way, ours did not. They had the tubes waiting for us just about at the edge of the river where we put in. I regret not taking pictures on the walk, it really was beautiful. It was like something out of the Jurassic age with enormous tropical forests. I could not believe how dense the foliage was too. This to me looked like a true jungle. I can't imagine trying to go "off road".

 

The walk itself was muddy and rocky, but not awful if you don't have mobility issues. The guide did rush us though, I really wish I had more time to check out points of interest and take pictures. Several other groups were stopping often to talk about plants and history, Our group only stopped once or twice. In a way though, it's good, because our guide was VERY conscious about getting us back to port on time.

 

If we had more time, we could have walked up river more and done more caves, but alas, we did not, so we put in at the largest cave.

 

 

It really was an incredibly beautiful place. I wish we had been a little less rushed, I'd love to have taken more pictures and taken in the scenery a bit more.

 

 

The caves themselves are very interesting. I wish our headlamps had been a little better. Mine didn't even work. Pro tip - If you're serious about taking pics in the cave, consider bringing your own lamp. Also, the cave is way too big, your camera flash won't do much more than temporarily blind people.

 

 

This is where the guides really earn their money. The river doesn't flow fast enough to move you along, so they actually pull you along by swimming/walking the tubes (water depth changes frequently). They really do have to work hard at this point.

 

[scuba_ninja]

There are actually not very many features in the cave. Frequent floods wash away most stalagmites and things of that sort. There were a few tree branches stuck in odd spots on the ceiling. They get washed in with the floods.

 

We did not see any bats, but there are bats in the caves.

 

 

You pass inside and outside a bit, and it's all really cool actually.

 

 

Once you exit the caves for good, the view really is incredible. Make sure you can take in as much of it as you can.

 

 

img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4712/38778681645_ef582d2c21_b.jpg[/img]

 

The water is refreshingly cool and CRYSTAL clear. I was tempted to taste it, but then I remembered I didn't but extra medical insurance for the cruise. The guides did tell us that many people do rely on the river for drinking water. Some don't even bother boiling it. I can promise you that my weak American immune system would not have survived that.

 

 

At the end of the ride we simply had to carry our tubes about 100 yards to the same spot where we got our lights, helmets and life jackets.

 

 

I hoped the visitor's center would be open, but no such luck

 

[scuba_ninja]

This picture isn't too bad. It shows you the changing/restroom building and also gives you a little sense of just how big and mature the trees are around here.

 

 

After getting dried off, we were taken back to Mr. Vitalino's home. were his backyard has been covered over, and it's a sort of cafeteria type place. You get a cup of rum punch and a bottle of soda. They then seat you at long picnic benches and serve lunch.

 

 

Ok, I know it looks simple, but this was honestly one of the best things we ate on the trip. Everyone at the table had seconds. There was just something about it. It was the kind of food that your Belizean Grandma would have served you, and it was GOOD. Very simple flavors, but it all just worked. Marie Sharp's hot sauce was also in the table, and that's made in Belize too. If you like spicy, that's some good stuff.

 

I had a Pineapple Fanta which apparently is bottled there. They were adamant about recycling the bottles, and by the looks of the wear marks on them, I bet they get sent right back to the coke plant, just like they did in the US years ago. Very cool.

 

[Keith1010]

Terrific way to Honeymoon and a wonderful memory.

 

Keith

[scuba_ninja]

Getting back to the ship was thankfully uneventful. We walked around the port shops for about 20 minutes before deciding we were done and we went to go catch a tender. The port shops sadly didn't have anything we thought was worth taking home. We ended up JUST missing a tender by 2 minutes, but we only had to wait about 10 moe for a new one.

 

We were actually late (not us personally, the whole ship) leaving Belize, rumor has it that a Carnival expedition of some kind was late getting back, but even still I think we ended up leaving someone on Belize.

 

Funny enough though, From what I hear we actually picked up a few passengers! From what I understand there was a group that had been left in Belize the day before on a Carnival cruise, and our ship picked them up and brought them to Roatan the next day, where they were able to rejoin their ship. I'm glad that worked out for them. Being left Belize would make me instantly poop myself in fear. There are few places in this world I've been where I felt like I was possibly unsafe for being different. I grew up in a bad part of NY. I watched my drug dealer neighbor get dragged behind a van naked for failing to pay his suppliers (true story). I didn't feel like I wanted to spend any time in Belize without a guide. Or Robocop. Or at least a small squad of ninjas.

 

Goodbye Belize!