CRUISE LIFE: Boarding the Ship & Setting Sail – Carnival Dream
After much anticipation and waiting… We finally arrive at the port and board the Carnival Dream! I must say this was the quickest we have ever gotten through check-in and security to board a ship, literally the line never stopped moving, it was so fast! Thank you New Orleans Port!!!
We are finally on board!
Once on board we headed to deck 8 to drop our bags off in our cabins. But unfortunately, the doors were closed and we couldn’t get it… This had never happened to us before but we are easy going. We just headed back down to the lobby, grabbed a drink and spoke to guest services and the Maitre D to straighten out a few mix-ups we had. So at 1:00 we returned to our cabin and unpacked everything. We then headed up to Lido for our first look at the main outdoor entertainment & food deck and to grab some lunch. The kids scattered as they wanted to jump in the pools and they didn’t want us parents to slow them down…
Our first meal on the Carnival Dream
After walking to the back of the ship and taking in the views of the aft pool deck, the city of New Orleans, the Mississippi River and the nice Norwegian ship parked behind us we were starving! After much deliberation, we decided the Mongolian Wok would be our first meal on board. This takes a bit of time but is well worth it because it is cooked fresh and to order. First, you grab a bowl and load it with noodles and vegetables you want. When it is your turn, you hand your bowl over to the cook and choose your meat (there are three to choose from) and your sauce which ranges from mild (black bean sauce) to crazy hot (Szechuan sauce)! Mild for me (Alisa) and spicy for Jason of which he was surprised with two scoops of the spicy goodness. Let me say this is so good and worth the approximately 20 minutes in line it took for our order! So good!!! After eating, I noticed the dessert buffet behind me so of course, I had to try some…
It’s time to sail away!
A drink to set sail with
After lunch, it was time for the muster drill. Luckily on the bigger ships, these tend to be in nice air-conditioned areas. As opposed to cramming everyone on the small decks outside by the lifeboats. We were in the aft dining room and seated by the window so we had an excellent view of the river. But could also clearly see what we needed to do in case of an emergency. Once the mandatory safety drill is over, everyone makes their way back up to lido deck for the sail away party. We have never cruised another line, but I must say Carnival does an excellent job of making their sail away parties fun and memorable! Chris ‘The Flying Scotsman’ our cruise director was on a platform by the pool He was in his kilt, surrounded by the Dream’s Fun Squad and had everyone dancing and having fun! Energetic music, line dancing, drinks in hand and explosions of confetti… makes for a good time!
When the party was over, Jason and I walked up to the Serenity deck and were able to snag one of the comfy loungers to sit and relax as we watched the ship sail down the Mississippi River…
Do you want to see the story come to life? Here is the video: Carnival Dream Day 1: Part 2
Want to see more from this trip? Here is the full Carnival Dream Playlist.
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Thanks,
Alisa
EECC Travels
