Carnival Dream 2024 6-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 3 Sea Day (originally scheduled to be Costa Maya, Mexico)
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
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Day 3 Sea Day (originally scheduled to be Costa Maya, Mexico)
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Click Any Photo To Make It Larger!
Morning Walk Around Carnival Dream:
This morning I woke up shortly before 6am and by 6:20am I was out walking around the Carnival Dream. My walk started in the Carnival Dream's atrium. Since today was the Military Appreciation Gathering a large flag was hanging from the atrium. The ship was very quiet this morning, but also very rocky. I videoed some of the ship's public areas for a tour that is now posted on YouTube and in some of the clips taken from this morning you can tell it was not a steady walk. Below are some pictures taken on Deck 5 as I walked around the Carnival Dream:
This morning I woke up shortly before 6am and by 6:20am I was out walking around the Carnival Dream. My walk started in the Carnival Dream's atrium. Since today was the Military Appreciation Gathering a large flag was hanging from the atrium. The ship was very quiet this morning, but also very rocky. I videoed some of the ship's public areas for a tour that is now posted on YouTube and in some of the clips taken from this morning you can tell it was not a steady walk. Below are some pictures taken on Deck 5 as I walked around the Carnival Dream:
Atrium - View From Deck 5
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Atrium - View Of The Flag From Deck 5
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Ocean Plaza
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Ocean Plaza
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Ocean Plaza
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Alchemy Bar
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Morning Breakfast:
For today's breakfast I went to the Lido Deck to eat in The Gathering again. Since we were scheduled to be in Costa Maya later in the day the breakfast times were not adjusted for the port of call. A continental breakfast buffet line that served pastries & fruit opened at 6:30am. The main Lido buffet lines served breakfast from 7:30am until 10:30am. For cruisers wanting to eat breakfast tacos and burritos, the Blue Iguana Cantina served breakfast from 7:30am until 10:30am. One breakfast buffet line remained open until 12:00pm for late risers, but after 10:30am the rest of the lines closed to start preparing for lunch. Cruisers that did not want to eat in the buffet could eat breakfast in the Scarlet Dining Room which was serving the port of call day breakfast menu from 8am until 10:00am.
Our food choices in The Gathering were very similar to the previous day. However, today pancakes were served instead of french toast, but bacon was being served today!
Below are pictures from The Gathering's morning buffet breakfast for this half sea day and half port of call day:
For today's breakfast I went to the Lido Deck to eat in The Gathering again. Since we were scheduled to be in Costa Maya later in the day the breakfast times were not adjusted for the port of call. A continental breakfast buffet line that served pastries & fruit opened at 6:30am. The main Lido buffet lines served breakfast from 7:30am until 10:30am. For cruisers wanting to eat breakfast tacos and burritos, the Blue Iguana Cantina served breakfast from 7:30am until 10:30am. One breakfast buffet line remained open until 12:00pm for late risers, but after 10:30am the rest of the lines closed to start preparing for lunch. Cruisers that did not want to eat in the buffet could eat breakfast in the Scarlet Dining Room which was serving the port of call day breakfast menu from 8am until 10:00am.
Our food choices in The Gathering were very similar to the previous day. However, today pancakes were served instead of french toast, but bacon was being served today!
Below are pictures from The Gathering's morning buffet breakfast for this half sea day and half port of call day:
Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Continental Breakfast Buffet
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Walking Around The Open Decks:
After breakfast I walked around some of the Carnival Dream's outside upper decks. The ship was a bit rocky and due to the wind several of the higher decks were closed. Parts of Deck 14 and 15 were closed. Also, all the front decks on Deck 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 were closed. Not very many guests were out & about and my guess is people were not feeling well due to the ship's motion.
After breakfast I walked around some of the Carnival Dream's outside upper decks. The ship was a bit rocky and due to the wind several of the higher decks were closed. Parts of Deck 14 and 15 were closed. Also, all the front decks on Deck 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 were closed. Not very many guests were out & about and my guess is people were not feeling well due to the ship's motion.
View From Deck 12
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Mini Golf Course
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Deck 12
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Deck 12
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WaterWorks
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WaterWorks
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I took a trip down to Deck 5 to also look around on it. The Coffee Bar had several people and there were some people playing in the casino, but it was not very crowded around the ship. Below are some pictures taken on the Lanai. It was a little slick outside and crew members were working on drying the deck.
Deck 5 Lanai
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Deck 5 Lanai
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Deck 5 Lanai
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Deck 5 Lanai
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Deck 5 Lanai
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Towel Animal Frog
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In the middle of the morning we went to the Scarlet Dining Room to redeem our brunch drinks. This is one of the VIFP Platinum rewards. Since this cruise ended the reward has changed to be redeemable only on the last day of the cruise. I got a Dr. Pepper since I needed caffeine and it was good!
Our stateroom steward came by late in the morning to clean the room and he left a towel animal frog! The room was nicely clean and our steward did a good job throughout the cruise. |
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VIFP Platinum Chocolate Delight Plate:
We decided to call room service to order our Chocolate Delight plate. We ordered 3 plates of the Chocolate Delight and received two chocolate delights and one plate of strawberries. The chocolate covered strawberries tasted very good and the little chocolate round balls were also very good. TIP: If you are a VIFP Platinum or Diamond guest that is ordering the Chocolate Delight you can request to get strawberries only. If you cannot eat strawberries or something on the plate they will usually give you a choice of another plate such as some cookies or possibly fruit. |
Chocolate Delight Plates
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After eating some strawberries I went up to Deck 14. Only a small section of Deck 14 was open and this was probably due to it being the entrance to the Carnival Dream's racing waterslides. The stairwell up to Deck 15 was blocked and closed due to high wind so the other waterslides were unable to open. There was nobody using the waterslide the entire 30 minutes I stood outside watching the ocean go by.
WaterWorks - View From Deck 12
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Racing Slides Entrance on Deck 14
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Mini Golf Course
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Mini Golf Course
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Mini Golf Course
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Mini Golf Course
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Before heading back towards the room, I stepped outside and walked to the back of Deck 5 to have a look out. We could see mainland Mexico in the far distance.
Deck 5 Aft Lanai
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View From The Back of Deck 5
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View From Deck 5
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Announcement: Cancelled Costa Maya Port Stop
As we were sitting down to eat lunch, the Carnival Dream's captain came over the PA to announce our stop in Costa Maya was cancelled due to unsafe conditions for docking. People in the buffet were very upset though I was not surprised that it was unsafe to dock because of how windy it was outside. Shortly after the captain's announcement our cruise director, Andy, came over the PA to announce additional entertainment activities and events were going to be held around the ship since the rest of the day was now a sea day. New FunTimes were printed for the afternoon as a one-pager (for those who cruised right after Covid-19 shutdown the printed format of the afternoon activities was similar to the old "What's Happening" papers).
As we were sitting down to eat lunch, the Carnival Dream's captain came over the PA to announce our stop in Costa Maya was cancelled due to unsafe conditions for docking. People in the buffet were very upset though I was not surprised that it was unsafe to dock because of how windy it was outside. Shortly after the captain's announcement our cruise director, Andy, came over the PA to announce additional entertainment activities and events were going to be held around the ship since the rest of the day was now a sea day. New FunTimes were printed for the afternoon as a one-pager (for those who cruised right after Covid-19 shutdown the printed format of the afternoon activities was similar to the old "What's Happening" papers).
Lido Buffet Lunch:
Today's lunch was being served in The Gathering from 12:00pm until 3:30pm. The extra hour was because Carnival extends the serving times a little bit on some port of call days (even though our port stop was now cancelled). Two lines in The Gathering were serving Mediterranean and the other two main lines were serving Comfort Kitchen foods. The Carnival Deli was open for lunch and throughout the day from 11am until 11pm, the Pizzeria was open starting at 9am, the Blue Iguana Cantina was open 12:00pm until 3:30pm, and Guy's Burger Joint was open 12pm until 6pm.
Bonsai Sushi was not opening until 5pm, Seafood Shack was not opening until 3pm, and Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ was closed today.
Below are some buffet food pictures:
Today's lunch was being served in The Gathering from 12:00pm until 3:30pm. The extra hour was because Carnival extends the serving times a little bit on some port of call days (even though our port stop was now cancelled). Two lines in The Gathering were serving Mediterranean and the other two main lines were serving Comfort Kitchen foods. The Carnival Deli was open for lunch and throughout the day from 11am until 11pm, the Pizzeria was open starting at 9am, the Blue Iguana Cantina was open 12:00pm until 3:30pm, and Guy's Burger Joint was open 12pm until 6pm.
Bonsai Sushi was not opening until 5pm, Seafood Shack was not opening until 3pm, and Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ was closed today.
Below are some buffet food pictures:
Lunch Salad Bar
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Lunch Salad Bar
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Lunch Salad Bar
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Lunch Salad Bar
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Lunch Salad Bar
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Lunch Salad Bar
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Lunch Salad Bar
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Lunch Salad Bar
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Lunch Salad Bar
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Comfort Kitchen Buffet Line
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Comfort Kitchen Buffet Line
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Comfort Kitchen Buffet Line
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Comfort Kitchen Buffet Line
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Comfort Kitchen Buffet Line
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Comfort Kitchen Buffet Line
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Below are pictures of the Lido buffet desserts from this day of the cruise:
Lido Buffet Desserts
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Lido Buffet Desserts
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Lido Buffet Desserts
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Lido Buffet Desserts
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Lido Buffet Desserts
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Lido Buffet Desserts
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After lunch I spent some walking around the ship, listening to live music, and relaxing. One thing I have not noted in this review is the Carnival Dream's doors to the outside. Since the last time I was on this ship Carnival disabled the automated doors and now guests have to press a button to go inside and outside. This was annoying at times, especially when carrying something.
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Dinner In The Crimson Dining Room:
Tonight we ate dinner on the Deck 3 level of the Crimson Dining Room. We had a different set of waitstaff for tonight's dinner and they were great! I had the Girod Street Salad and Caesar Salad for appetizers, the Roasted Sirloin of Beef for main course, and Banana Creme Pie for dessert. It was a great meal! |
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Below are pictures from our table's dinner:
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Appetizer: Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup
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Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail
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Appetizer: Hawaiian Shrimp Poke
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Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail
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Appetizer: BBQ Beef Spring Roll
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Appetizer: Girod Street Salad
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Main Course: Southern Fried Chicken
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Main Course: Eggplant Cutlet A La Parmigiana
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Main Course: Beef Steak Salad
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Main Course: Roasted Sirloin of Beef
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Banana Split From Kid's Menu
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Dessert: Butter Pecan Ice Cream
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Dessert: Banana Creme Pie
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80's Pop To The Max:
Tonight's Playlist Productions show was 80's Pop to the Max. The show was great and featured songs from the 80's. The first showing was scheduled for 7:30pm and the second showing was scheduled for 9:30pm. Doors opened 30 minutes prior to each showing and the Encore Theater was closed in between the showings. This is one of my favorite Carnival shows to watch! For those interested in theme parties onboard the 80's Rock and Glow party was happening onboard at 8:30pm and was hosted by our cruise director, Andy. While I did not attend this party I happened to walk by and saw several people dressed in 80's clothes and the Carnival Dream's entertainment team was handing out glow sticks to the attendees. |
After watching 80's Pop to the Max I took a quick walk outside on Decks 5 and 12.
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I did not stay out late because I wanted to get some sleep before our early morning in Belize!
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