oriolesfan22
2nd Officer
Why isn't George posting?
Carnival Dream 9/11/2010 - I'm Dreaming of a Big Big Big Cats Cruise! The Sequel
- Thread starter oriolesfan22
- Start date
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
I'm here...I'm here...I'm right here... 
tommyjeepster
3rd Officer
Since were guessing....hmmm...let me see....how about the 2008 Cleveland Browns Highlights
The Ocala horse auction.
Sorry you could not make the trip over Jim...you could of been my trail B@*&%. Jeeps are amaizing even the stock ones.
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
G'day mates...
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
Good morning all,
Just read on a Dream review that Ken the Maitre ‘d is on the ship...great pipes...can sing anything.
Just read on a Dream review that Ken the Maitre ‘d is on the ship...great pipes...can sing anything.
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
Sheree...as the new GM for the Rams, I am prepared to offer you the number pick in the draft, for your 1st and second I'm surprised the Rams haven't traded Jackson...price must be to steep.
I'm surprised the Rams haven't traded Jackson...price must be to steep.StudMuffin
2nd Officer
A review of the Dream....
Carnival's New Dream Ship in the Mediterranean!
My husband and I were on the second sailing of the Carnival Dream in the Mediterranean. We booked one of the new ocean view cabins with two bathrooms and our cabin was located on the Deck 2 (Main).
We arrived in Rome the night before the cruise and joined up with another couple for a transfer over to Civitavecchia. The transfer was great and without delay and we arrived at the new embarkation building by 10:45 AM. We were onboard around 11:15 AM as there isn’t much process to embarkation at this port.
What a time we had! The itinerary was great (Italy, Spain, Croatia) and the new features onboard, while still getting the kinks ironed out, were really special.
LASER SHOW - We attended all the laser shows and they were having a lot of difficulty with the smoke staying in place so the lasers would actually appear – the wind kept interfering. At the last show of the cruise (which few attended), we finally had a great show and all the hype Todd (cruise director) had created was dead-on – just make sure you are at the back, centre, facing the screen and you are in for quite a treat.
ENCORE THEATRE SHOWS – These were probably the best we’ve seen on the seas yet (we’ve only been on three cruises though…) but the ‘Dancin’ in the Street’ show was all that was promised and more – we were so excited after this show – it has something for everyone (the ‘glow-in-the-dark’ dance segment was spectacular). The ‘Extreme Country’ show (it’s inaugural show during our sailing) was probably great if you like country music. As a non-American cruiser, I have to say that the patriotism was a bit alienating at the end for some of us.
COMEDY CLUB – A new feature for Carnival, they had four comedians onboard during our 12-day cruise. Two out of the four were absolutely side-splittingly hilarious with a third being very good as well. The fourth was a disaster (we were not alone in our thoughts on this!) but perhaps his brand of humour just wasn’t suited to the crowd. I’m sure these will vary from cruise to cruise.
ADULTS-ONLY LOUNGE – This was an extremely popular area on nearly any half-decent-weather day. On sea days, the place was overflowing. They’ve got some great wicker lounge chairs and its in a great spot up near the spa. We spent quite a bit of time up there but it can be a bit windy if you plan on reading.
PUBLIC AREAS – Your typical shops and casino are right in place where they usually are, along with the atrium and kids club areas. The pools were small and not used frequently during this cruise, though it wasn’t for lack of heat.
FUNHUB - The FunHub computer areas are a great idea but the Funville portal could use a bit of upgrading with user options and the quantity of information shown (it showed the same temperature every day of the cruise, which is not helpful at all when planning what to wear the next day). They usually had the current activities displayed, but these were not always current.
FOOD – The food was good – not amazing, but better than how I usually eat at home. We didn’t try the supper club and alternated with dining for dinner in the Lido and the restaurant. Our servers in the restaurant were super funny and friendly and I wouldn’t have chosen any others. The Lido has the Mongolian grill (which was always swamped with people and had crazy-long lines), Tandoori, Deli, Grill, Pizza, Pasta, and of course, the grand buffet. Sushi is down on the 5th deck – WHY!?!? Also, why do they only serve sushi three or four times during a 12-day cruise? And why only at dinner time? As a sushi-lover, I was disappointed and didn’t get to try their sushi even once. Also, as you may already know, the midnight buffets are gone. I was a bit disappointed in this, but I understand if they were just wasting food by running it each day. The “midnight snacks†they advertised everyday was just burgers, fries, cookies, and brownies beside the Seaside Theatre – not the same at all.
SPA – After using the spa on my last cruise and getting hideously ripped off by a sales pitch for some Elemis pills, I was very wary on using the spa again. During embarkation day, they offered to give us a tour, which turned into a sales pitch for the thermal suites/thalassotherapy pool/sauna passes they sell (which covers the duration of the cruise - $329 per couple). I was immediately turned off and was yet more so when I saw the price list for the spa and had scribbled out that a single-use pass was $20 – much more reasonable if I wanted to use it only on sea days, but this was no longer an option for some reason. I ended up not going to the spa for fear of a sales pitch, but one of our traveling companions went on the last day of the cruise for $1/minute massage and said it was the best he’d ever had.
CABINS – BEWARE IF YOUR CABIN IS ON THE LOWER DECKS! I had never experienced this before on lower decks (that I can remember), but the ship will shudder and bang like it is falling apart when docking in port. Sometimes this hideous awakening will jar you from sleep at 6 AM and will go off and on for about 15-20 minutes. No sleeping in for you if you are in port on a day and you wanted to relax! I liken it to a space shuttle launch. The two bathrooms in our room came in quite handy since my husband and I like to have our own space. They are quite small, but having a bathtub is always nice. Temperature control, TV, etc, were all in great condition and the one time we had maintenance issues, it was resolved very promptly.
The Dream is big – 15 decks and 3,600 passengers can leave things a bit frustrating when everyone is in a hurry (like during breakfast in port) or trying to catch an elevator from the bottom to the top when everyone in the middle doesn’t want to walk a flight or two up. There were several occasions during the cruise when sarcastic comments were made about people getting into other peoples’ way and there was lots of line-cutting at the buffet line (is this common?), but I don’t think this is escapable since people will be people no matter where they are.
The ship is sadly already showing some wear! There are things like pits in the paneling in the theatre, pen doodles on the walls in the hall, stains on the carpet, etc. It is, however, a lovely ship. We had a great time, loved the boat and the crew and will remember this cruise always.
Carnival's New Dream Ship in the Mediterranean!
My husband and I were on the second sailing of the Carnival Dream in the Mediterranean. We booked one of the new ocean view cabins with two bathrooms and our cabin was located on the Deck 2 (Main).
We arrived in Rome the night before the cruise and joined up with another couple for a transfer over to Civitavecchia. The transfer was great and without delay and we arrived at the new embarkation building by 10:45 AM. We were onboard around 11:15 AM as there isn’t much process to embarkation at this port.
What a time we had! The itinerary was great (Italy, Spain, Croatia) and the new features onboard, while still getting the kinks ironed out, were really special.
LASER SHOW - We attended all the laser shows and they were having a lot of difficulty with the smoke staying in place so the lasers would actually appear – the wind kept interfering. At the last show of the cruise (which few attended), we finally had a great show and all the hype Todd (cruise director) had created was dead-on – just make sure you are at the back, centre, facing the screen and you are in for quite a treat.
ENCORE THEATRE SHOWS – These were probably the best we’ve seen on the seas yet (we’ve only been on three cruises though…) but the ‘Dancin’ in the Street’ show was all that was promised and more – we were so excited after this show – it has something for everyone (the ‘glow-in-the-dark’ dance segment was spectacular). The ‘Extreme Country’ show (it’s inaugural show during our sailing) was probably great if you like country music. As a non-American cruiser, I have to say that the patriotism was a bit alienating at the end for some of us.
COMEDY CLUB – A new feature for Carnival, they had four comedians onboard during our 12-day cruise. Two out of the four were absolutely side-splittingly hilarious with a third being very good as well. The fourth was a disaster (we were not alone in our thoughts on this!) but perhaps his brand of humour just wasn’t suited to the crowd. I’m sure these will vary from cruise to cruise.
ADULTS-ONLY LOUNGE – This was an extremely popular area on nearly any half-decent-weather day. On sea days, the place was overflowing. They’ve got some great wicker lounge chairs and its in a great spot up near the spa. We spent quite a bit of time up there but it can be a bit windy if you plan on reading.
PUBLIC AREAS – Your typical shops and casino are right in place where they usually are, along with the atrium and kids club areas. The pools were small and not used frequently during this cruise, though it wasn’t for lack of heat.
FUNHUB - The FunHub computer areas are a great idea but the Funville portal could use a bit of upgrading with user options and the quantity of information shown (it showed the same temperature every day of the cruise, which is not helpful at all when planning what to wear the next day). They usually had the current activities displayed, but these were not always current.
FOOD – The food was good – not amazing, but better than how I usually eat at home. We didn’t try the supper club and alternated with dining for dinner in the Lido and the restaurant. Our servers in the restaurant were super funny and friendly and I wouldn’t have chosen any others. The Lido has the Mongolian grill (which was always swamped with people and had crazy-long lines), Tandoori, Deli, Grill, Pizza, Pasta, and of course, the grand buffet. Sushi is down on the 5th deck – WHY!?!? Also, why do they only serve sushi three or four times during a 12-day cruise? And why only at dinner time? As a sushi-lover, I was disappointed and didn’t get to try their sushi even once. Also, as you may already know, the midnight buffets are gone. I was a bit disappointed in this, but I understand if they were just wasting food by running it each day. The “midnight snacks†they advertised everyday was just burgers, fries, cookies, and brownies beside the Seaside Theatre – not the same at all.
SPA – After using the spa on my last cruise and getting hideously ripped off by a sales pitch for some Elemis pills, I was very wary on using the spa again. During embarkation day, they offered to give us a tour, which turned into a sales pitch for the thermal suites/thalassotherapy pool/sauna passes they sell (which covers the duration of the cruise - $329 per couple). I was immediately turned off and was yet more so when I saw the price list for the spa and had scribbled out that a single-use pass was $20 – much more reasonable if I wanted to use it only on sea days, but this was no longer an option for some reason. I ended up not going to the spa for fear of a sales pitch, but one of our traveling companions went on the last day of the cruise for $1/minute massage and said it was the best he’d ever had.
CABINS – BEWARE IF YOUR CABIN IS ON THE LOWER DECKS! I had never experienced this before on lower decks (that I can remember), but the ship will shudder and bang like it is falling apart when docking in port. Sometimes this hideous awakening will jar you from sleep at 6 AM and will go off and on for about 15-20 minutes. No sleeping in for you if you are in port on a day and you wanted to relax! I liken it to a space shuttle launch. The two bathrooms in our room came in quite handy since my husband and I like to have our own space. They are quite small, but having a bathtub is always nice. Temperature control, TV, etc, were all in great condition and the one time we had maintenance issues, it was resolved very promptly.
The Dream is big – 15 decks and 3,600 passengers can leave things a bit frustrating when everyone is in a hurry (like during breakfast in port) or trying to catch an elevator from the bottom to the top when everyone in the middle doesn’t want to walk a flight or two up. There were several occasions during the cruise when sarcastic comments were made about people getting into other peoples’ way and there was lots of line-cutting at the buffet line (is this common?), but I don’t think this is escapable since people will be people no matter where they are.
The ship is sadly already showing some wear! There are things like pits in the paneling in the theatre, pen doodles on the walls in the hall, stains on the carpet, etc. It is, however, a lovely ship. We had a great time, loved the boat and the crew and will remember this cruise always.
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
Cruise critic review...some big chabges from typical Carnival ships...
Carnival Dream Review - Countdown to Launch
While Carnival continues to focus on improving and expanding older classes of vessels -- $250 million has been set aside to revamp its eight Fantasy-class vessels -- there are some fresh designs. The 130,000-ton, 3,652-passenger Carnival Dream, the line's largest ship ever, began sailing in September of 2009, representing a totally new class for Carnival. Dream is an innovative twist on Carnival's tried-and-true ship designs. Features include:
The first laser light show at sea takes place by the top-deck Seaside Theater. The shows last 15 minutes and use lasers to project multi-colored patterns onto the nighttime sky, choreographed to music by rock bands like Styx, Rush, Van Halen, Boston and Pink Floyd. During the show, the Seaside Theatre's big screen displays the artists' music videos.
"The Gathering," Carnival Dream's Lido buffet, is one of the most impressive casual dining options at sea. In addition to the traditional salad bar, and hot and cold picks, choices include a deli, burrito bar, Indian tandoori oven (meat, fish, chutnies, naan), grill setup (burgers and dogs), 24-hour pizzeria, and made-to-order Mongolian wok and pasta stations. Besides the main dining rooms and buffet, there is also be for-fee option. The Chef's Art Steakhouse serves up seafood, steaks and chops for an additional $30 per person.
On Carnival Dream, the line scraps the traditional Internet cafe in lieu of 36 "FunHub" kiosks. The stations are spread out over Decks 3, 4 and 5 -- Carnival Dream's main public areas -- and in addition to providing for-fee Internet access, they offer free access to Dream's ship-specific information portal and social network. Read more about the FunHubs here.
The 11,250-square-foot adults-only Serenity area encompasses two levels -- a first for the line -- and accommodates up to 200 guests. Seating includes chaise lounges, shaded sun loungers and hammocks. Check out the lower level for the full bar and the upper level for two whirlpools overlooking the sea. Serenity spans the forward sections of Decks 14 and 15 and features custom windscreens.
Other outdoor deck spaces include four overhanging sea-view hot tubs, a mid-ship Seaside Theatre and a two-deck mini-golf course.
Carnival Dream features an expansive 23,750-square-foot Cloud 9 Spa.
A wide variety of lounges, bars and nightspots -- including a new dance club concept, Caliente, offering indoor/outdoor access -- are accessible via an 11-deck-high atrium whose ground level offers a cantilevered bandstand atop a massive dance floor.
Three production shows debuted on Dream. "Dancin' in the Street" is rich in special effects like neon lighting and video projection. Another show, "Get Ready," chronicles varying professions through music ranging from Motown to R&B. Finally, "Xtreme Country" pays homage to country and western tunes. Also performing in various venues shipwide are bands, solo singers, comedians and "Fun Force," an acrobatic team.
Already recognized as an exceptional choice for families, Carnival ups the ante on Carnival Dream, with the fleet's largest-ever kids' facilities and a WaterWorks aqua park. In addition to a 303-foot-long, four-deck-high corkscrew water slide -- the longest at sea -- there is another 104-foot-long spiral slide that leads into a giant funnel. Kids in all age groups have more than 19,000 square feet of dedicated space.
Carnival introduced some new family cabins among its stateroom options, including several with two bathrooms, and others specially designed to accommodate five guests.
The ship, constructed at Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, will offer a handful of Europe sailings before crossing the Atlantic for its official christening in New York in mid-November. Once Stateside, it will sail a few cruises from the Big Apple before heading "home" to Port Canaveral. Carnival Dream's first homeport cruise will depart on December 5. The ship will be sailing a schedule of seven-night Western and Eastern Caribbean cruises. On the former, ports will include Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya and Nassau; the latter itinerary consists of stops at Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
A sister ship, Carnival Magic, will debut in June 2011.
Carnival Dream Review - Countdown to Launch
While Carnival continues to focus on improving and expanding older classes of vessels -- $250 million has been set aside to revamp its eight Fantasy-class vessels -- there are some fresh designs. The 130,000-ton, 3,652-passenger Carnival Dream, the line's largest ship ever, began sailing in September of 2009, representing a totally new class for Carnival. Dream is an innovative twist on Carnival's tried-and-true ship designs. Features include:
The first laser light show at sea takes place by the top-deck Seaside Theater. The shows last 15 minutes and use lasers to project multi-colored patterns onto the nighttime sky, choreographed to music by rock bands like Styx, Rush, Van Halen, Boston and Pink Floyd. During the show, the Seaside Theatre's big screen displays the artists' music videos.
"The Gathering," Carnival Dream's Lido buffet, is one of the most impressive casual dining options at sea. In addition to the traditional salad bar, and hot and cold picks, choices include a deli, burrito bar, Indian tandoori oven (meat, fish, chutnies, naan), grill setup (burgers and dogs), 24-hour pizzeria, and made-to-order Mongolian wok and pasta stations. Besides the main dining rooms and buffet, there is also be for-fee option. The Chef's Art Steakhouse serves up seafood, steaks and chops for an additional $30 per person.
On Carnival Dream, the line scraps the traditional Internet cafe in lieu of 36 "FunHub" kiosks. The stations are spread out over Decks 3, 4 and 5 -- Carnival Dream's main public areas -- and in addition to providing for-fee Internet access, they offer free access to Dream's ship-specific information portal and social network. Read more about the FunHubs here.
The 11,250-square-foot adults-only Serenity area encompasses two levels -- a first for the line -- and accommodates up to 200 guests. Seating includes chaise lounges, shaded sun loungers and hammocks. Check out the lower level for the full bar and the upper level for two whirlpools overlooking the sea. Serenity spans the forward sections of Decks 14 and 15 and features custom windscreens.
Other outdoor deck spaces include four overhanging sea-view hot tubs, a mid-ship Seaside Theatre and a two-deck mini-golf course.
Carnival Dream features an expansive 23,750-square-foot Cloud 9 Spa.
A wide variety of lounges, bars and nightspots -- including a new dance club concept, Caliente, offering indoor/outdoor access -- are accessible via an 11-deck-high atrium whose ground level offers a cantilevered bandstand atop a massive dance floor.
Three production shows debuted on Dream. "Dancin' in the Street" is rich in special effects like neon lighting and video projection. Another show, "Get Ready," chronicles varying professions through music ranging from Motown to R&B. Finally, "Xtreme Country" pays homage to country and western tunes. Also performing in various venues shipwide are bands, solo singers, comedians and "Fun Force," an acrobatic team.
Already recognized as an exceptional choice for families, Carnival ups the ante on Carnival Dream, with the fleet's largest-ever kids' facilities and a WaterWorks aqua park. In addition to a 303-foot-long, four-deck-high corkscrew water slide -- the longest at sea -- there is another 104-foot-long spiral slide that leads into a giant funnel. Kids in all age groups have more than 19,000 square feet of dedicated space.
Carnival introduced some new family cabins among its stateroom options, including several with two bathrooms, and others specially designed to accommodate five guests.
The ship, constructed at Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, will offer a handful of Europe sailings before crossing the Atlantic for its official christening in New York in mid-November. Once Stateside, it will sail a few cruises from the Big Apple before heading "home" to Port Canaveral. Carnival Dream's first homeport cruise will depart on December 5. The ship will be sailing a schedule of seven-night Western and Eastern Caribbean cruises. On the former, ports will include Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya and Nassau; the latter itinerary consists of stops at Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
A sister ship, Carnival Magic, will debut in June 2011.
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oriolesfan22
2nd Officer
Sounds good George - but the ship is already showing signs of wear?? What?? Not sure what that reviewer meant. How would that even be possible?
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
I doubt that's possible on just the second sailing. She didn't strike me as someone that's easy to please. You have to much time on your hands if you are looking for "pits in the paneling in the theatre"
oriolesfan22
2nd Officer
This is why you should be the perfect husband or boyfriend to someone, Jimmy. So agreeable. Not like Greg. Or George.
oriolesfan22
2nd Officer
Keep posting Jeanie - and we'll talk you into crusing with us. In fact, many of the people in our group began as stalkers. Um, er, LURKERS.
Do give it some thought - we always have fun!
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
Jeanie, you should join us. Keep posting though...we'll eventually grow on you.
Hi All,
I had a blast this weekend camping. came home monday Back window in the terra was broke Insurance paid for it all, battery was dead in the xterra had to get a new one $90 bucks later. I have not booked yet....stuff keeeps comming up. I will soon be booking. I need cruise now LOL
I had a blast this weekend camping. came home monday Back window in the terra was broke Insurance paid for it all, battery was dead in the xterra had to get a new one $90 bucks later. I have not booked yet....stuff keeeps comming up. I will soon be booking. I need cruise now LOL
StudMuffin
2nd Officer
Good morning all,
Jim glad you had a good time. Seems like every time you go somewhere your house, and now vehicle, gets broken into. I thought you lived in the country
Jim glad you had a good time. Seems like every time you go somewhere your house, and now vehicle, gets broken into. I thought you lived in the country
One of the features of our new forums is a section called Social Groups, what these are, are mini forums but not in the mainstream forum listing. They can be accessed from the Community link within the navigation bar at the top just above the forum listings. What we would like to do is create a special section for group cruises that are not part of the Cruise Addicts Group Cruise package.
Members of the group can start threads, reply to threads and in essence it responds just like a forum, but it is your forum. It will have its own leader chosen by yourselves, (no knives or guns during selection) that will be able to keep the group organized, you can make it public, moderated or private, your choice.
Only bad part of this so far is that we have not found a way to move the posts from this existing thread, though we can leave this thread as a reference archive.
We are not going to force you to leave the roll call forum but we would really appreciate your considerations in our effort to move non sanctioned group cruise discussions into their own special area, this will also allow you to mention the travel agent to contact, discuss pricing on the group in case others would like to join in (i can't imagine why anybody would be crazy enough to subject themselves to this but just in case) plus you can become a world unto yourselves with open doors and window if you wish.
Doesn't have to be a rash decision, talk it out, think about it then let us know
Members of the group can start threads, reply to threads and in essence it responds just like a forum, but it is your forum. It will have its own leader chosen by yourselves, (no knives or guns during selection) that will be able to keep the group organized, you can make it public, moderated or private, your choice.
Only bad part of this so far is that we have not found a way to move the posts from this existing thread, though we can leave this thread as a reference archive.
We are not going to force you to leave the roll call forum but we would really appreciate your considerations in our effort to move non sanctioned group cruise discussions into their own special area, this will also allow you to mention the travel agent to contact, discuss pricing on the group in case others would like to join in (i can't imagine why anybody would be crazy enough to subject themselves to this but just in case) plus you can become a world unto yourselves with open doors and window if you wish.
Doesn't have to be a rash decision, talk it out, think about it then let us know
