Friday, April 7, 2017

Living the Dream- Disembarkation

Time to Wake Up... The Dream is Over 
Sunday, March 19, 2017 

This cruise was AMAZING and lived up to all of our exceptions but sadly it was time to say good-bye to the Dream. 

Disembarkation
Unfortunately, we set our alarm clocks bright and early for 6AM and were up and at 'em before the sun came up. We got dressed and ready and then went to Blue Iguana for our last breakfast on the wonderful Carnival Dream. We ate and then planned to go back to the room to wait for the "announcement" about self- assist disembark. TIP- Self assist is a way of getting off the ship completely unassisted. You must carry ALL of your luggage off with you. Many times you have to use stairs the entire way as elevators are closed for deck crew setting up for the following cruise. We have used this on many of our cruises and even though you have to carry luggage far it is worth it to us. However, we have noticed more and more people using this service. 
Watching the sunrise over New Orleans. 

While we were walking back to the room we noticed people in the atrium in a line with luggage and we knew we needed to check it out. We never heard the announcement that we had cleared customs or that self assist had begun and I am still uncertain if it was ever made but people were getting off the ship. We went to our room and loaded up and luckily found an elevator to go down to deck 3 from our 6th floor cabin.

The atrium stairway was FULL of people and luggage.
It was a nightmare for a claustrophobic person like me. 


The line to get off the ship. 

It was crazy crowded and I would say at least 1,000 people were trying to get off. We dwindled our way through the crowd and to the gangway. We heard the last "DING" at 7:13AM and started our way down the gangway to the New Orleans Cruise Terminal. The gangway was very claustrophobic and had lots of zig and zags but we made it. By 7:32AM we were past customs and had called our hotel for our "pre-paid" taxi.

Another claustrophobic nightmare on the 10 foot wide gangway! 

We waited for about 15 minutes before our taxi arrived at 7:49AM. TIP- The Harvey Comfort Suites offers a "Cruise and Park" package which allows for 7 days of parking during the duration of the cruise and taxi transportation to and from the cruise pier. It was very easy to get the cab and we only waited 15 minutes. We were back at the hotel and loading our car by 8:12AM. 

The rest of the day was spent on I-10 trying to get back to The Woodlands and our babies. The drive was easy and uneventful (unlike the previous Sunday's drive) and we made it back home to our kiddos by 2:30PM.

Welcome back to God's country!
Texas will always be my HOME SWEET HOME!


Oh how I missed this adorable face! 

Our Dream Review
The Carnival Dream was an excellent ship and we enjoyed our cruise on her very much. 

Overall Ship Decor and Appeal
This ship's decor was good and had a Moulin Rouge feel to it. It was not over the top but definitely gaudy. The theater and lounges were well kept and well laid out. 

Food
The Dream Lido deck offered a variety of choices such as Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, Mongolian Wok, Pizzeria del Capitano, the deli as well as the regular buffet. In addition,  Pasta Bella and Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ was also available. This almost made for TOO MANY choices but we considered it a challenge and ate at them all. The Main Dining Room food did not disappoint but I would not label it as our best or our worst. The Chef's Art Steakhouse was superb and we will do it again in the future. 

Service
This cruise provided some of the best service we have ever had at sea. Our stateroom steward was quick with our request and very efficient yet not seen too much to be a bother. Our dining room staff was incredible and addressed us by name every night as well as met our every need and demand. This was the shining part of this particular cruise. 

Miscellaneous Offerings
The Dream, while a sister ship of the Magic, did not offer as much as the Magic did. We were kinda in shock at the amount of small things we noticed missing. The biggest being the Rope Course the Magic and sister ship Breeze offer. We are excited to sail on the Breeze in July to try all 3 of these sister ships and sail on a complete class of ships.

Next Up
In less than 100 days we will set sail on the Carnival Breeze with our kids. We are very excited to complete the Dream Class of ships and sail on Carnival's 2nd largest ship (currently). 

Cruise Number 10 is in the books and we are looking forward to Number 11. Plus we have Number 12 and 13 booked and 1-2 more on the horizon… like I said, WE ARE ADDICTED!

Thank you so much, fellow friends and cruisers, for following along and taking the time to read our daily life aboard a cruise ship. I have tried to make this an easy to read and easy to follow blog. I hope you have been able to find some tips and tricks for your upcoming cruise vacations! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!






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