Carnival Dream 11/24/12

Last week we went on another cruise and headed to the western Caribbean. We stayed on the Carnival Dream one more week with Captain Antonio Marchetti, Chief Engineer Walter Ambrogini, Hotel Director Donato Becce, and Cruise Director Jaime Dee who in a meeting last week . Here is a journal about that week:

Day 1 Embarkation

When we got back on the ship, of course our new sail and sign cards didn’t work. They told us to come back at noon to get new cards issued which we did but then they told me to come back at 12:30. We went to the pasta bar for lunch and then I went to get in line to get assigned a table for dinner (they had us for any time dining which we didn’t want!) Then we sat on the serenity deck in the sun before going back to our cabin for an afternoon nap and football games. We went to dinner at the same table we had last week. Our table mates never joined us so maybe next week!

Day 2 At Sea

We had another relaxing day at sea. We sat on the deck for awhile to enjoy the fresh air and attended a detox and weight loss seminar which was just a sales pitch. For lunch we went to the Punchliner brunch where I had filet mignon and caramelized cheesecake along with my margarita. After lunch we walked around the ship and then sat out in the sun for a little while again and I worked on my socks. In the late afternoon we took another nap. At 7:30 we met with the captain and the senior officers for cocktail hour. I even got a picture with the captain! After dinner, we went to the show “Get Ready” which was pretty good.

Day 3 Cozumel

After breakfast in the dining room, we headed to Cozumel. We walked about 3.5 miles into town but the breeze was lovely and it wasn’t too hot. When we reached town we went into the grocery store to look around. When I was going to get in line to buy a diet pepsi and lifesavers, I had to ask if they took US Dollars which they did but I didn’t know which line to get in. A nun stopped to help me and took my arm to guide me into the right line. I guess she could tell I had no clue what I was doing. I also walked into a fabric store and found yarn for sale but I didn’t buy any. All of the yarn (mostly Red Heart) was behind the counter on shelves and well guarded. The tons of buttons were in a glass case and well guarded too. We spent the day shopping and had some beer at Ambar. We also saw Andreas in front of the jewelry store. He is an elderly man we met years ago who has had a bleeding ulcer. He looked healthier this time we saw him. He came to our table and brought some sapphires to show me. The one I liked was $450 but he would sell it to me for $200. Needless to say, I left Cozumel without them. We returned around 3pm and had lunch on the ship. Then it was time for a nap. The show was at 7pm before dinner for us and featured the active comedy of Thien Fu (juggler) who was pretty good!

Day 4 Belize

This port is our least favorite and you have to tender to get ashore so we stayed on the ship. We spent the day being lazy. We did walk laps around the ship in the morning. Then we sat out on the deck in different places in between eating. It was a fun day actually. We never did go down the slide because we just weren’t in the mood for it. I was able to finish my pair of socks and now am continuing to work on my leprosy bandage. I probably will get the one I’ve been working on finished this week now that it is the only project I’m working on. I am ready to get to work again on my sweater (which was left behind in the car) and I really miss my spinning. After dinner we went to the show Dancing in the Street which showed break dancing and acrobatics as well as singing and dancing.

Day 5 Honduras

We arrived in Roatan around 9am. It was overcast so we brought our rain coats. First we checked out the cab prices to town. It was going to cost us $30 per person round trip to go to West End which was a 25 minute ride so we decided we didn’t want to go there for $60. So we walked to Mahogany Beach. There were some people snorkeling but since rain was coming, we decided not to do that. While we were looking at the colorful fish in the water, it began to rain so we headed back to the ship for lunch. I enjoyed the pasta bar! After lunch we went back to the stateroom for a nap. Before dinner we walked laps around the ship for about an hour. There was no show after dinner so we had an early night.

Day 6 Costa Maya

It was raining when we arrived in Costa Maya but by the time we got off the ship at 8am, it had stopped. We walked around the shops in the port and decided to walk outside the port. We kept walking along this pretty roadway and before we knew it, we had walked about 3.5 miles to Mahajual (the little town we really like). The cab ride cost $3 there and $2 back to the ship. We got to one point in our walk where this sketchy guy got behind us and we walked faster to the intersection away from him. We also saw the military guys patrolling with their assault rifles. When we reached town, we walked along the shops and I saw a lady crocheting a baby blanket so I had to stop and talk to her. She moved there with her husband and 4 kids from Utah this past January. I bought some earrings from her and we talked about yarn. She says it is really hard to get any yarn here but when they come to the states, she stocks up on yarn. I told her that if we come back on a cruise, I will bring her some yarn. We stopped at the YaYa bar and had 5 beers for $10. After that we walked around because Don was feeling sick. I think the sun came out and got him overheated. We went back to the bar and sat in the shade so he could have another beer and he felt better. We found a cab and took it back to the ship. I went up to the pasta bar for lunch and then we sat out on the deck. Before you knew it, it was time for the ship to pull out. They kept calling 4 names and we eventually left at 2:30 instead of 2:00. I’m not sure those 4 people ever showed up. We watched from the covered deck as we pulled away from the dock and sat out on the deck for awhile when Don noticed an ugly cloud ahead of us. Just as we got ready to leave, we heard people screaming from the open decks as the rain began to pour down! We ended up going to our cabin for a nap before dinner.

Day 7 At Sea

We didn’t do much today. In the morning I went to a towel folding class and learned to make a dog and an elephant. We went to the Q & A talk by the cruise director to talk about how the crew’s life on a cruise ship is like. Then we went to the dining room for brunch and it was awful! We sat with 2 nice ladies who ordered their free cocktail and I ordered a diet coke. We never got them until after we were done eating and had to complain twice. I guess because I complained, I never got served my dessert. I also sat on the deck and watched podcasts while Don exercised. In the afternoon we went to the Marriage Show again and I enjoy that. After that I packed my suitcase and we watched TV while we waited for them to deliver the liquor that we bought. When I asked about 6pm, I was told they would deliver at 7pm. Then 7:30pm. At 8pm I checked with the cabin steward and there was no liquor. This meant we couldn’t pack Don’s suitcase. Don got angry because we hadn’t packed so we could put our suitcases in the hall before dinner. This meant that after dinner we had to miss the show so we could pack. Don was so upset that he could hardly eat dinner. When we got back to the room, the liquor was there and we packed but by then it was too late to go to the show so we went to bed.

Debarkation

We met in the Crimson Lounge at 7:15. By 7:20 we were escorted off the ship and got our luggage. A shuttle was waiting for us to take us back to the Hampton Inn. We were in our car on the road and headed for home by 8am.