step four: get required "us" photo

We always buy one photo from each cruise. Yes, they're costly. But what a great memento. And it's kinda cool seeing how we've changed! This particular one is from the first elegant night onboard.

Our tablemates took this photo of us at dinner - we definitely look more comfy (less posed), don't we?! This was the second elegant night.

We made the decision this year to be more casual for elegant night. I was in skirt and blouse each night, rather than a glitzy dress, and Greg was in slacks and suitcoat, rather than a tux. We totally fit in with the masses. Yes, some folks dressed to the nines, and yes, others ran around in shorts and t-shirts (I didn't see anyone that casual in the main dining rooms tho - yay!).

step 3: enjoy time with new friends

I had spent a lot of time "chatting" online at cruisecritic.com with other folks who were going on our cruise. We got to know each other a bit, not just regarding the cruise, but personally too. So we were all looking forward to meeting each other irl (in real life). We met at a hotel the night before the cruise, then at sailaway from Port Canaveral, then the next day too! :) And we ran into each other all over the ship. Plus some of us had planned excursions together. They're all such great folks - I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know them. It was such fun and it brought a whole new dimension to cruising!!

We totally lucked out with our tablemates. Chris and Allison are our age and were fun to chat and goof with!

next stop: Roatan

This was our first time in Roatan, so we did a “best of” tour with Victor Bodden Tours. Ali was our guide, and he was really great. He emphasized several times that it was our day, our tour, and we could do whatever we wanted. A couple from the roll call joined us, and it was great having Craig and Jane with us. We were all pretty easy going, just wanted to see the sights, which we did. We visited Bodden’s Monkey Business, which was neat and sad. It was very cool holding and playing with the various monkeys (and birds), but it makes me sad that the animals aren’t out in the wild as they should be. We had a great lunch at a restaurant overlooking the sea – we had the coconut fish, as it is a local dish. NUMMY! We stopped at the cameo factory, and although it was neat to see the items for sale, we were disappointed that we did not get to see anyone actually working on the cameos.

Cruising into Roatan

Orange coconuts - cool!

a Roatan village

the old road used to go right along this beach area

Craig and Jane (friends from cruisecritic.com), me and Greg :)

the little monkeys were so CUTE!!

check out this pile of 3 little babies, oh so sweet...

these guys are very smart - they know where the guides keep the treats, they will steal sunglasses, open purses, unzip zippers, take coins out of pockets...

monkeys aren't the only animals at Monkey Business

just one of the beautiful flowers we saw

work in progress at the cameo factory

can you imagine this huge behemoth pulling up next to your town/village??!!

step 2: visit some ports

In Cozumel we taxied to Nachi Cocom and had a relaxing day on the beach, even tho the day was overcast. There were a lot of folks from our cc roll call, and it was great chatting with everyone. Our beverage service was not very good, so DH frequently went to the bar to get drinks for us. The banana coladas were tasty! Appetizers and lunch were good – the guac is definitely not for just one person. For some reason, I expected a fine sand beach, which it is not – it is very coarse and somewhat harsh to walk on. However I really appreciated that Nachi Cocum limits the number of guests, so that folks are spread out, and not double or triple lined on the beach.

cruising into Cozumel, Mexico - photo taken from our fantastic cove balcony

Cozumel port

Nacho Cocom, an all-inclusive in Cozumel...

photo op from the Cozumel port area - hehehehehe

the Dream

Here are some photos of the Carnival Dream, dream of a ship she is...

The 11 deck high atrium has its piano on a platform over the bar - cool!

Looking down from near the top of the atrium - it's a long ways down!

The Scarlet Dining Room midship

afternoon tea served on sea days - great service, fun little sandwiches and treats, and nummy tea of course!

Wasabi - the sushi bar - has light fare during lunch

the pasta bar is in the second level of the lido buffet area. Other food stations include: pizza, deli, tandoor (Indian), burrito, mongolian bbq, grill, lanai bbq... Way too many to try in just one short week!

the Dream has a new room for Carnival - the Burgundy Lounge offered comedians most nights, with karaoke interspersed. We saw some great comedians, particularly Alan Ball.

Barry Miller was the piano player in the sing-a-long bar - and omg, was he GREAT! He kept the place rockin'. And late night was definitely not a G-rated show, either! LOL

Pre-teens and teens have their own dance clubs too - this is part of Club O2.

The lido deck midship pool area is where most of the outdoor action occurs: movies at night, ice carving display, hairy chest contest, deck parties, etc.

The Dream has two slides: a twister and a drainpipe. Looks fun, don't it?

The aft pool tends to be quieter than the midship area, so it's a good place to relax.

The mini golf course is definitely Carnival's biggest - and it was pretty good too! :)

The Dream is the first Carnival ship to have the new adult-only area Serenity as part of the initial plan, versus retrofit later. And it is the largest Serenity amongst the ships also. It has wonderful comfy seating and lounges, and even has a couple hammocks!

For me, this picture says it all: an awesome blended drink with the straw wrapper in a heart shape, on a napkin that says "Carnival - the fun ships." Yep - that's the truth!