Monday, April 3, 2017

Living the Dream- Sea Day #2

Mastering the Art of "Chillaxing"
Friday, March 17, 2017 


Happy St. Patrick's Day from the high seas. We spent out time enjoying the beautiful skies and calm seas while trying to enjoy as much as we could of the Carnival Dream. 


Morning 
We woke up later than usual at 8:30AM after having enjoyed a wonderful night's sleep. Since it was later in the morning we got dressed and quickly got a very light breakfast as we knew would be partaking in Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ later in the day. After breakfast we walked around the a little bit before settling on the lanai near Guy's Pig and Anchor where we rested and napped for over an hour. The temperature was still around 65* and it was windy so I had to go back and get long pants and our hoodies just to stay warm on deck.

Our morning view... This NEVER gets old! 
This right here is my happy place!

Our noon announcement of where we were in the trip back to New Orleans.
The route and directions are so intriguing to me! 

Afternoon 
As soon as Guy's Pig and Anchored opened at noon we made our way to it's line and enjoy yet another wonderful lunch aboard the Carnival Dream. The line for Guy's Pig and Anchor was even longer than that of the 1st sea day. TIP- Guy's Pig and Anchor is much like "SEA SIDE BBQ" on other Dream class ships and is only open and offered on sea days from 12-2:30PM. It is also not as well known early in the cruise so be prepared for a LONG line on the 2nd and 3rd sea days. The food was EXCELLENT and we were impressed. 
In line for Pig and Anchor... Yummy! 

We walked around the ship and enjoyed people watching for a little while before going up to deck 11 for the Pasta Bella pasta bar despite having just ate lunch. TIP- This is one of those times were the Carnival Dream almost feels like it has TOO MANY food options, especially for lunch. It is a mega-ship in this category and it was nearly impossible to try (and really enjoy) them all. I knew I like the Pasta Bar as we had it on embarkation as well as on the Magic in 2015. We arrived and got a table and it too was very crowded as it is also not as well known earlier in the cruise. We had about a 15 minute wait time which was not an issue for us as we enjoyed our time and conversation together. The food was excellent yet again and at this point we were STUFFED! 

After eating at Pasta Bella it was nearly 2PM and we tried looking for deck chairs throughout the Lido deck with no luck. The sun was shining and there was live music, a deck chair was nowhere to be found. TIP-We did not notice as many people reserving chairs as usual but everyone was out enjoying the day at sea. 
There was not an empty chair in sight... sun or shade! 

We finally found something in the Serenity area and laid out on a hammock for over an hour before feeling like we were getting burnt. I told Chris I would go and get sunscreen and look for chairs on the lanai deck in the shade. If I was not back in 20 minutes, then I found chairs on the Lanai deck 5 and come and find me. 

I went back to the room and got towels, sunscreen and our Lido bag and made my way to the Lanai. Sure enough there were plenty of chairs and even some with a great view. I found 2 lovely chairs all alone and set up camp with our towels and drinks. Nearly an hour passed and I still had not seen Chris. An announcement came on for the medical team to go to "Blue Station" and even though I did not know where that was, I also did not know where my husband was so I packed everything up and started looking. I walked back up to Serenity and all over Lido looking for him with no luck. After 30 minutes I went back to the room and left him a note saying I would be on the Lanai deck forward port side. I went back to my spot and got all comfortable and still no sign of him. I went walking on deck 5 all around the ship and still no sign of him. Finally around 3:30PM I found him in the original spot waiting for me. All was well in the world again. 

We laid out on the Lanai for the rest of the afternoon just relaxing and "chillaxing" the day away. We had fallen asleep and were wakened by the sound of a fighter pilot plane. We remember a naval airplane "buzzing" the ship back in March 2015 while we were on the Serenade and sure enough, a military plane "buzzed" our ship. This time I got a great view of the whole ordeal (not a picture as he was just too fast). It was really cool and he was flying low and FAST! TIP- This happened on both of our trips to Key West as there is a naval base there. We talked to other passengers that said this happens EVERY TIME on the return trip back home. It is really neat so plan ahead and be looking for it. 

We packed up our stuff and went into the Ocean Plaza for FRIENDS trivia. This is always one of our favorites and I am pretty familiar with the show and it's trivia. Well usually... this time not so much! I only scored 15-21 and usually I am tied for 2nd or 1st. One of these days I will win a "ship on a stick" for that trivia! That is a bucket list item for sure. We ended up staying for the "Diva" trivia and oddly enough we did really well thanks to Chris's undiscovered knowledge of all things Aretha Franklin! We enjoyed the Taste Bar as it was right there in Ocean Plaza and then enjoyed a nice cool breeze before catching the sun set over the Caribbean. 


Evening
This sunset was amazing as there were hardly any clouds in the sky. We got to see the entire circular sun set over the horizon and it was unforgettable. We went back to the room and changed before going down to the Main Dining Room for our 2nd formal night at sea.



PRICELESS!

Sunset selfie! 

This formal night is never as "fancy" as the 1st, especially for us, but the food in the MDR is just as good as the 1st formal night. Since it was formal night and we were late getting in there due to the sunset we had to wait for a table for nearly 20 minutes but we were sitting down and Selvin was taking our order by 7:50PM. Even though it was a formal night and the service is usually slower, ours was still great and we were able to enjoy a laid back formal meal within 90 minutes.

A special St. Patrick's Day dessert served to every table!

We ate dinner and then went back to the room to get more comfortable and then go to the Carnival Dream premiere of "America Rocks". This show turned out to be VERY good and we enjoyed all of the historical Rock and Roll anthems played. TIP- This show has a pre-show where they give away bandannas and other memorabilia like glow sticks. It's called the "pre-party" and is offered for other shows as well. Be sure to get there early if you want any of these items. 
The props and effects of this and all of the shows on the Dream were awe-inspiring to us! 

Loved the LIVE band on this show!
(Again, now I want to quit my job and join them. Think my kids could go to school on the ship?)
25 or 6 2 4 by Chicago... classic american rock and roll! 

After the show we made our way to the aft of the ship for an adult comedy show but within minutes we had to walk away as the comedian was just cursing TOO much. Over a dozen F-bombs within 5 minutes is just not needed. NEVER!  We opted to explore more of the night life on the ship. We found a St. Patrick's day party going on in the atrium and they were offering a Pub Crawl on the ship. We hesitated and before we had made up our minds to do it, it was too late. TIP- This "special" event was not listed in the FunTimes so on any type of holiday or special day be pay attention for events like this! It looked like a LOT of fun! We eventually called it a night just passed midnight. 

This was a day filled with fun, laughter and sunshine and through it all we learned how to sit back and "chillax". 

Thanks for following along! Be sure to check back for tomorrow's post! 



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