Texasmom22

Really enjoyed the Dream - long review! 😳😆 So nice to have this larger ship in Galveston! Beautiful and new places to explore. Nice big fun shops - the valor fun shops were tiny on our last cruise. Great smoking Lanai on deck 5 Port side, for my husband and his cigars, along with deck 11. :) Our spa balcony came with access to the spa thermal suites, and it would be worth it to buy the pass if you didn't have the spa deck room. The cool, dry room with heated lounge chairs, after 5 minutes in the aroma steam room, was so calming. Deck 11 is more of a pain to get to because you have to rely more on the elevators and go outside to get through to the aft. Or take an elevator down to 5, then aft, then down to the 3rd floor aft dining room. We're used to deck 6-7 midships because it's so accessible with just a flight or two of stairs to get anywhere. Good to note-- reading reviews (after I'd booked the room, 11240) of deck 11 Port side, I was so worried about noise from the gym and weight room above - but it was perfectly quiet. Rarely saw anyone in the gym and never heard anything in the room. The steakhouse was amazing! We'd tried it on the Valor and were not impressed -- but so much better on the Dream. The spicy ribeye was the best ribeye I have ever had -- believe me, I love finding good steaks! Perfectly marbled cut of meat. My husband said his was the best surf and turf he's had - the filet mignon melted like butter. We also did Chef's Table, and I've posted pictures. The food was creative and really good, and I thought I would like sitting at the table in the galley, but you actually couldn't hear the chef very well. We've done this on a different ship and were in a small banquet room, and you could hear the chef talk and ask lots of questions. Other things... We brought our own foam mattress topper for the first time, and our steward was great to put it on the bed under the sheets. We hate the split down the middle of the bed, but the topper really helped. They had pizza delivery to your room! I know, crazy to tip for this but nice to avoid the lines! ☺️ Oh, and the Dream has a Behind the Fun tour!! I've never seen this on the other carnival ships out of Galveston! We decided to skip an excursion in Cozumel to do this tour. Galley, laundry, crew lounge, crew dining room, crew hot tub at the front of the ship (!), Engine control room, Bridge and pic with the captain! Very cool. Finally, faster to the Fun was worth it again. They do not seem to have the boarding figured out yet - you come in on deck 2 down a hall of cabins instead of into the lobby. To disembark, the hosts had to lead us down in multiple elevator trips with our luggage, which just seems so inefficient, and we crossed the dock and had to wait on fork lifts to pass before we could enter the building - thinking Galveston needs to build a taller gangway to reach deck 3 lobby. Overall - go, relax and enjoy!! 💖🛳

Had a great time on our cruise, 11/8-11/12! Fantastic weather. We don’t attend a lot of the onboard activities – we just chill on deck, on our balcony, in our room, or the dining room. :) Really nice and relaxing time. A cruise is all about what you make it - and about those Guy’s burgers! I guess because of the time of year the ship wasn’t crowded at all. A few tips – go to the steakhouse cooking demonstration the first sea day! It’s a short demo, but it has 4 courses of tasting samples! Soup, Salad, entrée, dessert. Excellent food. A tip for the dining room – if they have pasta as an entrée, I will get that as my appetizer (comes in a smaller portion). Maybe you can do this with other entrees as well, but I know for sure with the pasta. Great way to taste an entrée without ordering the full portion. Even after all the prep and research, I made a mistake with our 12-packs of cokes. I remembered packing them in a rolling bag before… so we just stuck them in our suitcases. Wrong! They were confiscated from our checked bags! So sad! As all good ShipMates know – you’re supposed to carry them on! Ugh. So we bought the Bubbles packages and it worked out just fine. My husband just missed his Diet Mt. Dew. Lol They also confiscated my travel fan! We’ve brought this before. It was a plug-in item, and they called it an “iron” on the paper. It wasn’t an iron! I don’t bring any appliances. But if you’re bringing a fan, maybe go for battery-powered or they may take it. Ship Valor is very similar to the other ships (Liberty, Freedom) so it felt familiar. If you’re ever stuck, just remember that the 5th floor (casino and shops) goes all the way through from forward to aft. We felt the rooms were a little smaller than the other ships – smaller bathroom, narrower entrance hall at the closets, and shorter front to back. Not a big deal, just noted it. Our shower didn’t drain the first evening, but our room steward got it handled ASAP. Room steward was great and cheerful. Oh – we did go to one show called Studio VIP, all 70s music. The singing was better than usual, but wow, the show itself was cheesy. The costumes got crazier as it went on. At one point, my husband said “flamboyant,” and I said “flaming.” One male dancer attempted an actual stripper routine, which was just kind of embarrassingly sad. Just, yikes. It was like a train-wreck, we couldn’t look away. Lol (Sorry, Carnival – still love you!) The Fury Catamaran excursion was fun – that company is top-notch. Very clean boat, looked freshly painted and the workers were cleaning as we went. They serve margaritas and cokes freely after you snorkel. Snorkel gear was clean and new. The pictures they took for us were reasonably priced. We bought 2 for about $12/ea (same price as a 5x7 on the ship). Private beach was OK – it had inflatables and the souvenir sellers didn’t hassle at all. Plenty of chairs and hammocks, and we snagged a cabana. Spent $11 on a cheeseburger to share, with potato salad and pasta salad. Overall – love cruising, love the value of Carnival, great food, great price. Enjoy!