Carnival Dream 2020 4-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 3 Part 2 January 4, 2020 Cozumel, Mexico
Scheduled Arrival: 9:00am Scheduled Departure: 5:00pm
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Day 3 Part 2 January 4, 2020 Cozumel, Mexico
Scheduled Arrival: 9:00am Scheduled Departure: 5:00pm
Click Any Photo To Make It Larger!
As I walked back through Puerta Maya I noticed how empty the cruise complex felt. This was because the Carnival Dream was the only ship docked at the cruise complex for the day. Normally, when there are two or three ships the shops can feel crowded. On my way back through Puerta Maya I stopped at a rum cake store and ended up buying a few rum cakes. The store had a sample of vanilla rum cake and it tasted extremely good!
Walking Back To The Ship - Entering The Pier:
In order to walk back onto the pier, we had to go through a security checkpoint. We had to show our Sail & Sign card to the security guard. The security guard was checking Sail & Sign cards for ship names and sailing dates. There was no wait at this security checkpoint. Once this was done we were able to walk onto the pier. We had to walk through the long shop on the pier before being able to get back to the ship. The shop was much easier to navigate this time because it was less crowded. The employees of the shop were trying hard to make sales, but I did not stop to look at anything.
Walking Back To The Ship - Entering The Pier:
In order to walk back onto the pier, we had to go through a security checkpoint. We had to show our Sail & Sign card to the security guard. The security guard was checking Sail & Sign cards for ship names and sailing dates. There was no wait at this security checkpoint. Once this was done we were able to walk onto the pier. We had to walk through the long shop on the pier before being able to get back to the ship. The shop was much easier to navigate this time because it was less crowded. The employees of the shop were trying hard to make sales, but I did not stop to look at anything.
Puerta Maya Photo Prop
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One Of The Christmas Decorations Still Up
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Three Amigos & Cozumel Shoreline
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After getting out of the on-pier shops, I was able to walk along the outside portion of the pier. From this area I was able to get a good view of Cozumel, the Carnival Dream, and the shoreline. Some dark clouds were forming in the distance, but the weather at Puerta Maya was still nice and sunny.
Carnival Dream
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Crew Walkway - Crew members from the ship didn't have to walk through the shops
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Shoreline
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Enchantment of the Seas & Brilliance of the Seas
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Looking Back
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Cozumel - View From The Pier
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Looking Up At the Carnival Dream's Lifeboats & Lanai
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Carnival Dream's Front Gangway - For Guests Only
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Looking Towards The Ship's Front
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Getting Back On The Carnival Dream:
After walking up the Carnival Dream's gangway we had our Sail & Sign cards scanned. This was done by a security guard with a handheld tablet. As each person's card was scanned his or her picture appeared on the screen for security to verify the identity of the cruiser. After getting our Sail & Sign card scanned we had to go through the metal detector & bag screening. All electronic items had to be emptied from our pockets and placed in a bin to go through a separate scanning. Bags, purses, and backpacks also had to be scanned separately. The security checkpoint did not take long! After proceeding through this checkpoint we were free to leave Deck 0.
After walking up the Carnival Dream's gangway we had our Sail & Sign cards scanned. This was done by a security guard with a handheld tablet. As each person's card was scanned his or her picture appeared on the screen for security to verify the identity of the cruiser. After getting our Sail & Sign card scanned we had to go through the metal detector & bag screening. All electronic items had to be emptied from our pockets and placed in a bin to go through a separate scanning. Bags, purses, and backpacks also had to be scanned separately. The security checkpoint did not take long! After proceeding through this checkpoint we were free to leave Deck 0.
Sign Indicating To Secure Belongings Due To Wind
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View From The Gangway As I Got Onboard
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Stateroom
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Day 3's Lido Buffet Lunch:
Even though the ship's buffet was open for lunch during our port of call stop in Cozumel, the buffet was partially reduced due to most guests being off the ship. Also, some of the crew were off the ship so having less buffet lines open meant less crew were needed to run the buffet. For today's lunch, I started with some shrimp tacos from the Blue Iguana Cantina and then got a caesar salad from the Pasta Bar. For dessert, I had some of the Red Velvet Cake. I really liked the red cake, but did not like the icing. Lunch was good today!
Today's buffet hours for lunch were slightly different due to the ship being docked. Here are today's choice and open times:
Note: Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ and Bonsai Sushi were both closed.
Even though the ship's buffet was open for lunch during our port of call stop in Cozumel, the buffet was partially reduced due to most guests being off the ship. Also, some of the crew were off the ship so having less buffet lines open meant less crew were needed to run the buffet. For today's lunch, I started with some shrimp tacos from the Blue Iguana Cantina and then got a caesar salad from the Pasta Bar. For dessert, I had some of the Red Velvet Cake. I really liked the red cake, but did not like the icing. Lunch was good today!
Today's buffet hours for lunch were slightly different due to the ship being docked. Here are today's choice and open times:
- Seafood Shack - The Seafood Shack is located at the back of the lido buffet by the aft pool. This venue costs extra and was open from 12:00pm until 5:30pm for lunch and was also open for dinner from 5:30pm until 10:00pm.
- Blue Iguana Cantina - 12:00pm - 3:30pm
- Mongolian Wok - The Carnival Dream's Mongolian Wok is located in the lido buffet near the front area of the interior space. This venue was open from 12:00pm until 3:30pm.
- Pasta Bar - The pasta bar offers guests the ability to create a customized bowl of pasta. Essentially, guests fill out a paper form that gives options of what can be put in a pasta bowl. The form is turned into a hostess and a crew member makes the bowl of pasta. Caesar salads and garlic bread are also available. This venue was open from 12:00pm until 3:30pm.
- Guy's Burger Joint - 12:00pm - 6:00pm
- The deli was open for lunch, but was also available for dinner (it closed at 11pm).
Note: Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ and Bonsai Sushi were both closed.
Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Lido Main Lunch Buffet Line
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Coffee & Cream Cheesecake
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Dark Chocolate Honeycomb Cake
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Apple Salted Caramel Cake
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Red Velvet Layer Cake
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German Chocolate Cake
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Strawberry Lemonade Cake
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Shrimp Tacos From The Blue Iguana Cantina
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Bowl From The Mongolian Wok
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Caesar Salad From The Pasta Bar
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Straight Up Burger From Guy's Burger Joint
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Slice Of Red Velvet Cake
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Afternoon Walk Around The Carnival Dream:
Almost all of the Carnival Dream's public interior spaces were empty this afternoon because most guests were still in Cozumel. I started my after lunch walk on the Promenade Deck.
Almost all of the Carnival Dream's public interior spaces were empty this afternoon because most guests were still in Cozumel. I started my after lunch walk on the Promenade Deck.
Promenade Walkway
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Bonsai Sushi Counter
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Tables At Bonsai Sushi
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Fun Hub Internet Cafe Station By Ocean Plaza
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Ship's Atrium
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Lanai
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While I was on Deck 5 I stepped out onto the Lanai. One side of the ship showed very nice sunny weather and the other side had some dark clouds in the far distance. The Lanai was mostly empty too with the exception of a few people using deck chairs. Part of the Lanai was closed for deck maintenance, but most of the outside area was open.
Lanai
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View Of Cozumel From The Ship
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Looking Towards The Shore From The Lanai
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After stepping outside I walked into the Carnival Dream's atrium on the Deck 5 level. I immediately noticed the Christmas decorations had been removed. On the other side of the atrium crew members were boxing up decorations and taking apart Christmas trees. The decorations were being placed into large cardboard boxes that had "Dream" written on the side. The Carnival Dream's Christmas decorations will be put back up in late 2020.
Looking Down On The Atrium Bar
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Atrium - View From Deck 4
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Atrium Dance Floor By The Atrium Bar
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I left Deck 5 and went up to Deck 9 to look out from the ship's front observation deck. This is the same deck area I was at when the Carnival Dream arrived in Cozumel earlier in the day. The dark clouds were getting closer to us, but it was not raining yet. When I looked out from the other side of the ship, it looked very sunny and bright.
View From Deck 10 - Dark Clouds In The Distance
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View From The Ship's Front On Deck 10
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View From Deck 10 - Very Nice Weather On This Side!
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After leaving the front area of Deck 9, I walked up to Deck 12. We found the ship's bean bag toss boards located by the jogging track so we played the game for about an hour. As we played, the weather began quickly changing. Dark clouds started getting closer from the Cozumel side of the ship, but some dark clouds were not able to be seen on the other side of the ship. The water also started having small whitecaps that got larger as the afternoon passed. Playing a game of bean tag toss was fun, but when the wind started getting strong we stopped.
Mini Golf Course - Deck 12
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Balls & Putts From A Mini Golf Game
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Mini Golf Course
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Rain in The Distance
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Deck 11 Hottub - View From Deck 12
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Bean Bag Toss Board By the Jogging Track
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After playing I walked to the back of the ship on Deck 12 and saw the entrance to the Chef's Art Steakhouse was open. The Carnival Dream's steakhouse is a venue that is open at dinner and costs extra per person.
Chef's Art Steakhouse
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Chef's Art Steakhouse - Table Setup For Dinner
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Hand Sanitizer Outside The Steakhouse
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Below are a few pictures I took before the rain started. The sky was covered with clouds. It felt hard to believe the day was so nice and sunny earlier, but the weather can change quickly.
Weather Changed Quickly
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Waves Near The Shore Were A Little Rougher
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Looking Down At The Water And Ship's Ropes
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Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ - Not Open On Cozumel Day
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Lanai Area Outside Ocean Plaza
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After being outside I went back to my stateroom to get ready for dinner. I kept the window opened and watched as it started pouring outside. I was hoping that the weather would go away because I was worried that once our ship left Cozumel we would be in choppy seas. Thankfully, there was not much extra movement due to the weather when we left later in the evening. Our scheduled departure time was 5:00pm, but people were delayed getting back to the ship due to Carnival sponsored excursions coming back late. Our departure was not too delayed, but the last few guests to board the ship probably got soaked from the pouring rain. Although it was raining outside, I stepped outside and stayed under a small covered area on the Lanai to take a few pictures. The Enchantment of the Seas was already leaving Cozumel to head back to Galveston.
View Of The Waves From My Stateroom
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Lanai - Chessboard Pieces Removed Prior To Storm
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Enchantment of the Seas Leaving During The Rain
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Brilliance of the Seas
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Lanai - Deck Was Slick
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Looking In The Distance
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Main Dining Room At Dinner:
Once again, I ate dinner in the Crimson Dining Room. Normally on a port of call day the dining room is not as packed because cruisers are tired after a day in port. However, due to the weather more people came to the dining room. We had the same waitstaff as the prior two nights. For tonight's dinner I had shrimp cocktail, romaine caesar salad, steak tacos, and apple pie. All of the food was good! Our service was good too!
Below are copies of the menus from tonight's dinner. These were taken from the Carnival Hub App. Tonight's port of call themed section was Cozumel which gave guests an extra option of Tortilla Soup With Braised Chicken as an appetizer and Steak Tacos as a main course. Click any image below to make it larger!
Once again, I ate dinner in the Crimson Dining Room. Normally on a port of call day the dining room is not as packed because cruisers are tired after a day in port. However, due to the weather more people came to the dining room. We had the same waitstaff as the prior two nights. For tonight's dinner I had shrimp cocktail, romaine caesar salad, steak tacos, and apple pie. All of the food was good! Our service was good too!
Below are copies of the menus from tonight's dinner. These were taken from the Carnival Hub App. Tonight's port of call themed section was Cozumel which gave guests an extra option of Tortilla Soup With Braised Chicken as an appetizer and Steak Tacos as a main course. Click any image below to make it larger!
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Bread Basket
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Appetizer: Vegetable Spring Rolls
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Appetizer: Baked Meatballs
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Appetizer: Greek Salad
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Appetizer: Romaine Caesar Salad
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Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail
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Main Course: Steak Tacos - Plus A Side Baked Potato
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Main Course: Flat Iron Steak
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Main Course: Veal Parmesan
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Side Dish: Green Beans
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Main Course: Salmon Fillet
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Dessert: Carnival Melting Cake
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Dessert: Banana Split (From Kid's Menu)
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Dessert: Apple Pie
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Hasbro The Game Show:
After dinner Hasbro the Game Show was being held in the Encore Theater. Hasbro the Game Show is a show that has games modeled after popular Hasbro games. For our cruise, the games played were Connect 4 Basketball and Simon Flash. It was enjoyable watching the show and the contestants did a good job.
After dinner Hasbro the Game Show was being held in the Encore Theater. Hasbro the Game Show is a show that has games modeled after popular Hasbro games. For our cruise, the games played were Connect 4 Basketball and Simon Flash. It was enjoyable watching the show and the contestants did a good job.
Following Hasbro the Game Show, we walked outside on the Lanai. We were away from the rain and the decking was dry. Although the wind was moderately strong, it felt great outside as we walked around the Lanai.
Towel Animal
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Lanai
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Lanai
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Click Here For Our Facebook Page I will be sharing review updates, cruise tips, and more! Carnival Dream Fun Fact: There is no Deck 13 on the Carnival Dream. Guests walking up one deck from Deck 12 will go straight from Deck 12 to Deck 14. This is the same on other Carnival ships!
The answer to the previously asked just for fun trivia question about how many Dream class ships are part of Carnival Cruise Line's fleet is 3. The Carnival Dream, Carnival Magic, and Carnival Breeze are Carnival's three Dream class ships. |
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