For us, a "Dream" of a cruise

By Sarge6870

• January 24, 2013

• Carnival
• Dream

I know this review is a bit late, but still this vessel is worthy of a mention. Our biggest compliment has to go to the new Cove Balconies and to the new style of design Carnival has chosen.

The Cove Balconies are "carved" into the hull of the ship just above the waterline. As opposed to the normal balcony design, an oval is cut into the steel hull presenting a sort of oval window. There is no plexiglass. It is all an open area. The location of the balconies are very private (except for the cameras mounted on the outside of the ship, so don't get any funny ideas). It was so nice pulling into port and being only about 15 or 20 feet above the dock.

Carnival has left the old, dreary Orange colors and the naked statues for a more appealing presentation. Embarkation took a whopping :30 minutes!! Of course, timing is everything and we still choose to be there at 11am. We love to see the last passengers, frowns on faces disembarking faced with our ear to ear smiles!! Disembarking was just as smooth. We were off the ship at 7:15am.

Our itinerary, the Western is our favorite. Except for 1 port, Belize City. The 30 minute tender ride to port is a bit much. The port itself is an eyesore, with people hanging over the walls trying to get you to come outside and take one of their horse and buggy rides. The port is setup as kind of a "Flea Market" style with most shops all selling the same thing. We didn't do an excursion here but I hear that those are great. We also had Costa Maya, Cozumel and our new favorite, Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan. Carnival owns the port there and they have their own beach. They also have a private section where you can purchase a private cabana for four for $200. It came to $50 each and was worth it with your own butler. NOTE: The cabanas are ONLY available to Carnival passengers yet other lines do dock there.

I am always happy to answer questions about our past cruises and ports. I would recommend this ship to all!!