Becoming Universal AP Holders and our Carnival Dream September Trip Recap

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After Twister (which does seem out of place in this area of the park) we continued further into the New York Section. As you walk thru New York take it slow and take in the themeing of the area as its among the best in the resort. Some of the buildings are themed after some real life locations and even some locations from movies and tv shows.




We soon made it to the next ride that we were going to which is one of the best in the park. Revenge of the Mummy. This ride has recieved some minor work since the last time we were here. Most notibly was the que reconfigurartion. You use to enter the ride right thru the Museum facade. Now though you enter the theater facade and go thru part of the rides extended que before entering the museum and main que. I'm not positive why the change was made as it seems somewhat pointless. As the other rides we did Single Rider with Child Swap here and walked right on to the ride. In addition to the que change there is some slight changes to the ride too. Mostly in the form of the projectors used as I thought I read these too were upgraded to 4k HD. The beetle scene is much more clear now as well as the imohop projection. The turntable room also has them but it makes the room much brighter then it was before. Other then that the ride is still the great and amazing ride its always been. Although the story and ending are pretty weak still the ride is significantly better then the Hollywood version and still a Do Not Miss in the studios. Its a ride that you will likly want to do multipule times. After my ride Kiera went as well and I stayed with Daniel in the Child Swap room. The room is unthemed here but they do have a TV playing the Mummy Cartoon show to keep kids entertained.






We were now done with everything in the New York section of the park. Across the way on Delancy Street the Blues Brothers performance was going on. But we decided to look around some of the other less traveled areas of New York and found our way to and down Sting Alley. Again the themeing here is so great and Kiera mentioned how cool it could be for locals to come here and have photos taken with such great backdrops. Sting Alley dumped us out in front of the lagoon and just down the street from Transformers. So I bet you can guess where we would be heading next.








And if you guessed Transformers then you'd be correct. Kiera didn't ride this the other night when I did and with it being one of the best rides in the resort I was ready to go on it again. The line had a 25 minute wait posted but we once again did Single Rider with Child Swap and only waited about 5 minutes before we were at the load area. The ride was amazing again but its still no Spiderman. After my ride I meet Kiera in the Child Swap room and then she went and took her ride. Now I have said that the Orlando version of Transformers has been better then the Hollywood version in practically every way except the que. Well another area where Hollywoods is better is in the Child Swap room. Both versions have TV's that play the Transformers prime cartoon but in Hollywood there are tons of buttons and screens that the waiting kids can play with and push that make sounds and activate content on the screens. I thought it was great that Universal created a interactive child swap room for those kids not tall enough to ride so I was dissapointed that Orlando didn't do this. Soon enough Kiera was finished with her ride and we walked into the Transformers Gift Shop which unlike in Hollywood is located in the same building as the ride.




With Transformers done now we continued thru the park to make our way to Kidzone. As we were heading that way we passed one of the stages that was set up for Rock the Universe that they were doing some soundchecks on. Walking thru Central Park we also got our first looks at some of the scarezone sets for Halloween Horror Nights that were being set up. HHN usually has like 6 different themed scare zones for the event. However for the first time this years HHN scarezones are all themed to the TV show "The Walking Dead". So each scarezone is from the show in one way or another. I don't watch the show so I don't know for sure what it all is but in Central Park there was a bunch of forest themed props and right before entering Kids Zone there was a large campsite set up with tents and a motorhome. Again i'm sure if I watched the show they would make more sense.







We went into Kidzone to do some of the Rides and Play areas in there but we noticed that the Animal Actors show was about to begin. Daniel loves animals so we figured that this was a show that he'd probably really enjoy. Plus in all of our visits this is something that we had never done before. We entered the theater and found some seats and soon after the show began. Now they say that all of the animals in the show are screen used animals that were used in the movies. I don't know for sure if thats true or if there just look alikes but the show is pretty cute and most of the kids in the audiance really seemed to enjoy it. Daniel really thought it was great. There is whole assortment of different animals in the show from Dogs and Cats to Birds and Pigs. I would guess the show likely changes based on what Animals are currently there. This show is something I wouldn't consider a must do but its something that most kids are sure to enjoy. Afterwards you can even go up close and get some pictures with some of the animals.

 

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Across from the Animal Actors theater is the new Spongebob Storepants store which was under construction last time we came. This is where you can meet Spongebob and Patrick and the entire store is themed to Spongebob. We didn't go in it at this time but we would later in the vacation.



Its whats next to Spongebob Storepants though that we would be heading to. The E.T. Adventure. This is pretty much the only Nestolgic thing Universal has left in the park. In fact its the only Original ride left from when the park opened in 1991. With how fast Universal is replaceing there classics we find E.T. a must ride as we don't know if its time is numbered. I really hope it never gets removed but with it being removed already in Hollywood and Japan, Orlando is the only one left. Although the ride is family friendly it still has a ride height of 34 inches to ride. We really hoped Daniel would hit 34 so that he would have another ride to go on. When we messured him right before the trip he was a little taller then 34 inches so we thought he would be good. But at the ride he was slightly under 34. We figured the parks probably do set the signs higher to account for shoes but we figured it would probably be for the best. With the freak outs he seemed to be having on most the rides theres no way he would stand being held down by himself on E.T. So we would do Child Swap instead.



The wait said only 10 minutes so we entered the que and got thru the Pre-Show. Its after the pre-show where child swap is and the good forest portion of the que starts. I would go first but as I entered the forest que I didn't make it far before I was meet with a line. there is very rarely a line in the forest que. I could see the load area from where I was and noticed no vehicles moving. The ride was broken down. I waited for a few minutes and the ride did eventually start back up again. But with the entire indoor forest que being full I figured it was probably a 30 minute wait before I would get to load. So I walked back out of the Que to where Kiera and Daniel were and told them we would just come back later once the line had lowered.

Next to E.T. is Fivel's Playland (do kids even know who Fivel is?) Since Daniel hadn't really done anything he liked yet we decided to let him play around in here for a while. This playland is a little kids paradise as theres so many things for them to do and play on. There are slides and ball pits and things to climb up. He was having a blast. This was the first time he had ever been in a ball pit before and he had a blast in it. So much so that I had to go in and get him out as he would have stayed there all day long otherwise.





There is a small ride in the playland too. Its a water slide that you go down in a raft that I thought Daniel would really like as he loves slides and it didn't have a height limit. Well we climbed all the way up the tower to the start of the slide and sat down in the raft. Heres where we had a problem though. The Ride attendant wouldn't let me just hold Daniel between my legs. He had to be able to hold the raft handles on his own. Which he could normally do but he also started to have a freak out again like he had on other rides. So since he wouldn't hold the handles He couldn't ride so we exited the raft and walked back down the tower.






He played on a few other slides before we were finally starving and ready for lunch. The Fivels play area is big and cute but honestly kids don't know who Fivel is so its time for it to go. And with rumors of a whole Kidzone makeover happening in the next few years it likely will be very soon. Daniel wasn't happy to leave but we would be back to Kidzone later. It was time to eat and I knew just the place where I wanted to go.

Right next to Kidszone if you recall is the new Springfield land. This formerly bland area of the park is now the mecha of some of the best food offerings in the whole park. Once again by getting to the park later in the morning we had missed the lunch rush so we wouldn't have to wait long to get some food. Although there are food offerings outside at Lard Lads doughnuts or Bumblebee Mans Taco Truck we would be stopping in at Fast Food Blvd where the majority of the food options are located.







We entered thru Moe's Tavern. Which as I mentioned is a full size replica and seperated from the rest of the food options. This was the first we stepped foot in Moe's and other then being lite much brighter then it is in the cartoon it looks identical to the TV show.





In the back of moes theres still an entry into the restaurant area. Before Fast Food Blvd this restaurant was known as International Food Festival. This area was not themed at all and seemed more like a restaurant you would find on film backlot. Inside the food options were set up like a cafeteria food court. There were different stations offering different foods. You pick up what you want and then go pay a cashier. FFB is still set up this way. Its a large room with different stations. Except the stations are fully themed to resemble some of the restaurants from The Simpsons.



The options you have are Lisa's Tea House (Of Horror) which has ready to eat healthier options, Luigi's where you can get Pizza, The Frying Dutchman which has Sea Food type entrees but thanks to Homer is no longer All you can eat, Cletus' Chicken Shack which is original and created specifically for the park and serves chicken type dishes (I hear the Chicken and Waffle Sandwich is great), Krusty Burger which is your typical fast food burgers and hot dogs, and theres also Flaming Moe's which has a number of different specialty drinks.

 

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Kiera decided to get a Turkey Wrap from Lisa's Tea House while I decided to get a Krusty Burger. I mean I can't come all the way to Springfield and Not try a Krusty Burger. This is the only place on earth to try one. After you get your food there are TM's that will direct you to an open table. But Kiera had already gone ahead and found us a table in the Krusty Burger section of the restuarant. Kiera said that the wrap was actually really good for being pre-packaged. I really liked the Krusty Burger too. In typical Krusty the Clown fashion the burger doesn't have real cheese on it. Instead its the liquid cheese like you put on nachos. I thought this was a great idea and could honestly say this was the best of many burgers that i've had around Universal property. It also came with Curly Fries that were pretty good. Take your time and look around if your a Simpsons fan as the restaurant has two cool murels in it as well. FFB is a hit for Universal and is doing well. Its amazing where another park down the street (caugh Disney caugh) is trying to cut costs with food related items Universal comes and introduces a Unique experiance with specific details down to the tissue paper. They really hit it out the park here and this will be a must eat at place each visit we make in the coming years.






As we exited the restaurant after eating I noticed right outside of Springfield that Doc Brown was out meeting guests in front of the Delorean and Time Train from Back to the Future. I'm a huge fan of the films so I had to go see Doc. This actor was much better then the one I meet last year and seriously sounded just like the real Doc. Sorry for the cloudiness in the next few photos though. While eating Daniel got ahold of the camera and got a finger print on the lens that I didn't realize until later.









It was now time for more rides. So we walked back into Springfield to continue north into the park. We stopped for some photos ops cause I mean who doesn't want a photo with Duffman (Oh Yeah!!!!). Entering the Krustyland area of Springfield we passed the festive environment of the carnival games and Kudos and Kang and finally arrived at where we were going. The Simpsons Ride.









As we walked over the the Stroller parking we noticed the sky was starting to get very dark. Fearing that it may start raining at any moment we quickly pulled out one of the ponchos and got the stroller covered up. Then we entered the ride which only had a 10 minute wait posted. As we walked thru we noticed that the TM's were sending people to the upper levels of the ride to wait. This is normally fine as the upper levels will give a better ride experiance. The downside to this though is the upper ramps are not covered so if it started raining we would be stuck in the rain. But lucky for us they kept us on the lower level that is covered. I'm guessing the lower level might be the only one with a Child swap room.





I've talked about the Simpsons Ride for years and have always been a fan for it. Well except for one reason. That it replaced my favorite Simulator ride of all time. Back to the Future the Ride. I don't know what it is about BTTF but to this day I still miss the ride and find the Simpsons doesn't quite live up to it. Last year the Simpsons also got knocked down a notch on my favorite simulator list as I thought the New Star Tours over at Disney blows it out of the water. Still the Simpsons is a Must Do attraction if your one who can handle Simulators. Because out of every ride on the property this thing is likely to make you more sick then anything else. So check it out if your up for the ride. Because it is still a very good one. I didn't find out until after the trip but supposedly theres still a Back to the Future reference in the child swap area. Where I spent much time while Kiera rode the ride. If doing child swap just keep in mind that this ride does seem to take longer then most rides.




When we exited the ride we were pretty surprised to find that no rain had fallen while we were inside. With how dark the sky's had got we thought for sure it would be raining when we finished. We loaded Daniel into the stroller and then started to head towards Men in Black. We made a quick stop though at a snack stand to refill our Popcorn bucket. It was while we were filling the bucket that the sky opened up and the rain started to come down. And boy did it come down. It went from nothing to a major downpoar in a matter of seconds. The snack stand had a overhang where we were able to take cover while Kiera pulled out the Umbrella then we needed to decide what to do next as whatever we decided we would need to go out in the downpoar to get there. We could have continued over to Men in Black but we did that the previous night. Or we could continue on to Disaster which is a long attraction that would get us out of the rain for awhile.

 

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To get to Disaster though we would pass thru the former Amity area where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion is currently being constructed. I would have liked to have spent more time looking around at the construction but with how the rain was coming down and Kiera already being far ahead of me I had to rush thru the area at this time. In less then a year this expansion will be open. That waterfront wall is already finished and just awaiting additonal theming. The buildings you see under construction along the waterfront will consist of London inspired buildings and is the Non Magic portion of the land. Among these London facades will be the Leaky Caldren which as those who follow Harry Potter know is the entrance to Diagon Alley. And such it will be in this land as behind the wall of London facades is the huge Diagon Alley section of the expansion. Theres unfotunatly not any photos of the construction of that though as the London buildings block out everything behind it.









Exiting the London construction you will enter a small area of the park themed to San Fransisco and might be the next area of change in the park. This is also where Disaster is located. I say it might be changed soon because there are strong rumors going around that Disaster will be closing soon and the King, Old banana breath himself will be returning. Yes if rumors are to be true then King Kong will be returning and replacing Disaster. If that happens I can only imagine that San Fransisco will be rethemed and obsorbed into the New York section of the park right next to it. As for what Kong will be like? I imagine it will be similar to the Kong 360 portion of the tram tour in Hollywood although with a new film putting the action in New York instead of Skull Island. But only time will tell.



Until that time we will continue to experiance Disaster with what might be out final ride on it if it closes to become Kong soon. The rain was still poring down and it was somewhat of a relief to get to Disaster. Just watch out for the rails in the street as they become very slick when wet. The wait time posted for Disaster was 20 minutes but it would get us out of the rain for a while so we could deal with it. This was another ride that Daniel would be able to do but he had fallen asleep. but we had nearly 30 minutes worth of pre-shows to go thru before the actual ride portion.





We ended up only waiting 1 group before we were taken into the building from the covered que. The line was long but each group takes hundreds of people at a time. We were amung the last in the building before they cut off the line though. Disaster is unique in that its a mix of a show and ride. Its a decent attraction that can be pretty funny based on the cast picked. You are supposedly touring a movie studio when all the actors quit so they need people to fill in. They will pick people from the audience to fill those rolls as you move thru the pre-shows and then actually watch the "filming" take place. The ride concludes with what use to be the Earthquake ride. Yes its pretty much the same thing as whats on the tram tour in Hollywood as well.





Daniel woke up from his nap right as we were boarding the ride vehicle as he wouldn't have been able to ride if he wasn't awake. The ride does move and shake much more then the tram tour in hollywood but it seems to be that the ride is getting dated quickly. I also prefer the "actual earthquake happening" then the where filming you for a movie story of the attraction. Although the film trailer you watch as you reverse back to the station is great especially with all the actor footage cut in to it. Disaster is a fun attraction if it has a low wait or you need to get out of the rain for awhile like we did. But its not one I consider a Must Do. It will be interesting to see if Kong changes that. None the less maybe you should take a ride on it as its existance may soon be gone.



It takes over a half hour to go thru the Disaster attraction so by the time we finished we happy to find the rain had let up. It hadn't completly stopped but it was now more of a sprinkle then an all out downpoar. Before leaving San Fransisco we had to stop and get photos with Jaws as this has become a tradition for us in each Universal Park we have gone to.







We had rode pretty much every ride in the park now except for E.T. so we decided to head back to Kidzone to do it. As we walked thru New York and past Transformers for the first time this trip the park actually felt packed. It was obvious that the crowds for Rock the Universe tonight were starting to show up as the walkways were more crowded and although Transformers only had a 30 minute wait posted a portion of the outdoor que was in use so I imagine the wait was closer to 50 minutes.

 

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Having made our way thru the crowds we eventually made it back over to Kidzone which was much less crowded the the other areas of the park and we were happy to find E.T. only posting a 10 minute wait. And unlike earlier in the day when the ride broke down it was less then 10 minutes as there was no wait inside the building.



E.T. is a ride that Universal needs more of. Not only is it basically the last remaining original ride in the park but its one thats close to a traditional dark ride that most families can experiance together. The interior forest que is incredibly detailed and themed and honestly I wish they could figure out a way to make the whole que this way. The ride is simple as you escape the nasa scientists trying to capture E.T. and then fly to the Green Planet to save it with E.T.'s healing touch. The Green Planet is weird and the Animatronics in the earth scenes seem to be incredibly dated but this is a ride that I consider a Must do. Mostly for nistolgic reasons though i'm sure. I just hope this ride gets a good update soon instead of being replaced like the Hollywood and Japan versions were. Its a good little ride that just needs a little love.





We were now done with the rides we wanted to do but we still continued further back into the Kidzone area to get to the Curious George goes to town play area. This was another area we figured Daniel would love. The outdoor potion is water play area though so kids will get very wet playing outside. We had come prepared for this with Daniels Swimming Suit but with the rain he never got a chance to play in it. With the rain starting to pick up again we made our way to the indoor Ball factory portion of the play area to get out of the rain. And this was probably Daniels favorite part of the Studios.




We ended up spending a lot of time playing in the Ball Factory before leaving. Inside there are hundreds of small foam balls that you can load into guns and cannons and shot at other people. They are soft and don't hurt and was fun for kids and adults. Theres also some slides and other playground pieces that Daniel just loved but he too liked to pick up the balls and throw them or load them in the different contraptions located inside. Check out the Ball factory for some good old fashion fun.









When we finished to in the Ball Factory the rain had once again become a downpoar. It was nearing 6pm meaning that the Studios would soon be closing for Rock the Universe so we started to make our way towards the exit. We made a quickstop though at the Transformers meet and greet as surprisingly there was no wait to Meet Bumblebee.





If we though New York was packed it was nowhere near as bad as Production Central was right now with people trying to leave the park and even more people entering the park for Rock the Universe. Instead of trying to push thru the crowds the main exit we went to the alternate exit thats down the street in front of Despicable Me. This exit puts you in front of the Blue Man Group theater.



For those that were a 90's kid like me may recognize the Blue Man Group building. This was the former Nickelodeon Studios. This was a huge part of my childhood and i'm so glad my parents brought us to Florida as a child and I got to tour Nickelodeon Studios before it was closed. It still saddens me to this day that its no longer used by Nick and is so bland without all the Nick decor and the removal of the Slim Fountain. So many good memories.




With the rain downpoaring and the Stuidos now closed to Day guests you would think we would call our time in the parks done. But we were having Butterbeer cravings and Islands of Adventure was still open for another hour until 7pm. So we made our way across Citywalk and entered the Islands. With the rain coming down hard this was probably the quickest we ever walked thru the park to get back to the Wizarding World. I didn't even stop to take any photos.

We b-lined it strait to the Hogs Head where we would get our frozen Butterbeers. It would also get us out of the rain. The drinks were great as usual although we started to notice that the Butterbeers from the Hogshead seemed to be more watered down then those from the Three Broomsticks or the Carts outside. Although it was nice being out of the rain the A/C was turned on inside the Three Broomsticks and with out wet clothes we were freezing.




So we went back outside and across the street to the covered Owlry to finish our drinks. I had never seen the Wizarding World so empty before. I guess with the rain so many people had just left the park for the day. And anyone left was taking cover in the Owlry with us. While relaxing in the Wizarding World I walked up the Dragons Challenge exit to under a bridge to make a phone call to my work. The day before vacation I interviewed for a transfer to another store (I work in the Grocery industry) and while on vacation I found out that I got it. So had to call my work to inform them and put in a 3 weeks notice.

 

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After the phone call we made one last stop in at Honeydukes to get some Candy and other treats for the cruise. They sell many of the different treats and candy found in the Harry Potter books and our most favorite treat over the years have become Peppermint Toads. We grabbed a box of those as well as a Caldron Cake and then we would be finished. Zonkos is also attached to Honeydukes inside and you can walk freely amung both spaces and use ether shops registers to check out no matter what your buying. Zonkos is a joke shop and has a bunch of gag type products found in the books.







We finished all we wanted to do in the Wizarding World and with Islands now closed too we once again quickly walked thru the downpoar of rain back into Citywalk and onto our car. At least when we made it to the moving walkways we would be covered from the rain the rest of the walk. Just like the Studios were getting when we left Citywalk was also very packed with people showing up for Rock the Universe. It would be a cold and wet night for all of them as the rain didn't seem like it would be letting up any time soon.




We got the car packed back up and then it was time to head back to the hotel. I post the photo of our car below though cause if you look on the ground near the rear bumper you will see our empty Butterbeer mugs sitting on the ground. This is where the mugs would stay as we drove off. I thought Kiera put them in the car. Kiera thought I put them in the trunk. We didn't realize until we got to the hotel that we left them behind. Since we stayed so close to the parks we drove back to the parking garage and told the TM that we left some stuff in the garage. We were directed to speak to a security member that was parked a little ways ahead. So we drove forward to speak to him. He told us the South Garage was closed for the night and no cars could get in to it. So we went to the north garage where I dropped Kiera off who ran down and over to South Garage while I exited the North Garage and went to the Guest Pick Up area to wait for Kiera. Although only about 20 minutes total time had passed Kiera came back empty handed. Ether Security picked them up and hopefully they'd be in the lost and found, or someone got themselves some free gifts from the park. Kiera felt sick about leaving them but I told her it would be alright. We didn't get a discount for refills anyways anymore. Still though it did suck to loose something we've had since our first Wizarding World visit.



Our original plans for tonight were to go out to Downtown Disney and maybe do some more swimming. But with the rain still coming down hard we pretty much spent the rest of the night in the hotel. We spent more time today in the rain then we wanted to and didn't feel like going out in it again. So we watched some movies on TV and got all the bags repacked and together so they would be ready for check out in the morning when we would head to Port Canaveral for our cruise.



We did leave the hotel for a little while though as we went to try and find something to eat for Dinner. This seemed to be a joke as once again it seemed like we couldn't find any decent fast food locations on International Drive. We finally found a Subway which sounded good especially since they were doing any footlong for $5 but I walked in only to find they were out of all there bread but flatbread. So the search continued. Knowing Sand Lake Drive had many fast food places we headed down that way and a few miles down the road we found another Subway and this one had everything in stock. We got out sandwiches and then went back to the hotel for the rest of the night to eat them.

What we hoped would be an easy bedtime process turned into a huge ordeal. So far this whole trip Daniel had been having issues with Drinking. He didn't want to drink anything and was getting dehidrated. Tonight it was so bad that when he started to throw a tantrum that he actually threw up. We were worried and didn't know what to do. We debated taking him to the hospital as dehidration was not something we wanted to deal with going in to a cruise. After finally getting him calmed down and asleep I decided to give him a blessing and see how he was doing in the morning. We were nervous as we went to bed. Dehydration and sickness from a child is not something any parent wants to deal with. Especially the night before a cruise.

 

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Day 4: Embarkation

Finally the day our Cruise would begin was upon us. We had much to do still before heading out to Cape Canaveral and not much time to do it. So Kiera and I were up early so that we could finish getting ready and things packed and then I hauled all of the bags down to the car. Last night was a tough night with Daniel as he was getting very Dehydrated but thankfully he was doing much better this morning. He drank and ate fine and seemed to be fine. We would be watching him very closely.

By 9:45am the car was packed and we were checking out of the hotel. The hotel check out took much longer then it shoud have though. They only had one person working the desk and there seemed to be an issue with a large tour group that was in town for Rock the Universe. So there was a big line of us waiting to check out while the only person working handled it. Honestly though this ended up being the only issue we had with the hotel. We did really enjoy our stay here. The rooms were nice and clean as well as the pool and lobby areas. This is hotel we would stay at again and we especially loved being so close to Universal.

Our first stop this morning was by the Wal-Mart again. There were still some odds and ends we forgot to get a couple nights earlier that we needed for the cruise. While there we also figured we would let Daniel pick out a couple of new Sippy Cups in hopes that if he got to pick the cups then maybe it would help him drink more. We had brought his favorite Sippy Cups with us but we think he was missing the ones he didin't like. He picked out 2 cups and he did start drinking better from today on. We also got him some juice boxes that he seemed to like alot.

It was almost 10:30 by the time we were done at Wal-Mart. Most people by now were probably heading out to Port Canaveral to get on the ship. But not us. Our boarding pass said not to show up until 12:30pm so since we had our Annual Passes and Free Parking to Universal we decided to head back to the parks for a little bit and grab some more Butterbeer. As we were leaving Wal-Mart we made a call to Universals Lost and Found in hopes that our Butterbeer mugs got turned in but unfortunatly they didn't. The Wal-Mart is just down the street from Universal and we were soon passing Universals New Cabana Bay Hotel that is currently under Construction and will open next spring. This new hotel will be Universals First Value hotel. Unfortunatly unlike the others though it will not give the Unlimited Express pass to guests. It also won't have the water taxi service. But if the rates are cheaper and it still grants early access to the parks then it might be a place we consider staying next year when the Wizarding World expansion opens.




A little after 11 we were entering Citywalk and heading Strait for Islands of Adventure. There wouldn't be much time as I hoped to be pretty much in and out. I wanted to be on the road heading to Port Canaveral by 12:30 so we really only had about 1 1/2 hours to spend in the park. Diffenitly enought time to grab some Butterbeer and squeeze in a ride or 2.








We made our way thru the park back to the Wizarding World. The park was noticibly busier then it was the last couple of days. I'm guessing that in addition to the Rock the Universe crowds that were here for the weekend, it being a Saturday also brought many people to the parks.










After our brisk walk the Suess Landing and the Lost Continant we arrived back in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We went strait to the Hogs Head to get our Butterbeer and we were sad to have to ask for a normal cup of it instead of refilling our mugs. It was weird drinking it from the normal cups as without the handles of the mugs our hands got cold holding the delicious drink. We sat right outside the Hogs Head as we enjoyed the drink and people watched.







With time still to spare we figured we could probably squeeze in one ride. I orignally thought about heading to Spiderman and riding that but to save the time walking we decided to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey instead. The wait for the Forbidden Journey was posted at 45 minutes but we would once again use Single Rider with Child Swap. Although Single Rider was much quicker this would still be the longest wait we had for the ride this whole trip. The line for the lockers extended out of Hogwarts but we knew of the secret doors to single rider line. When you see a walkway into the cliffs turn down that walkway and at the end you will find some doors that will put you in the single rider line.




We waited the longest we had in the Griffendor Common Room before finally being sent over to the Child swap line. Kiera got sent ahead to the Child Swap Room and while I was waiting to board I noticed they stopped the line and many ride vehicles were being sent thru empty. I really thought this was strange as I didn't know why they would be cycling the ride empty. After a few minutes of this though a ride vehicle came forward with a man sitting on the bench with his head between his legs looking very sick. They stopped the ride completly almost right in front of us as about 8 employees ran over to the man. It was obvious that he got very sick on the ride and likely lost his lunch. The Team Members helped get him off of the bench as his family falled him and other employees into a room just off the load area. The bench he was on was then given a red light which I believe pulls it off the ride circuit for cleaning and then they finally started loading the empty benches again.

Once I was on the ride I have to admit that this was probably one of the best rides I had on it this trip. The projetors were smooth and bright again, the new movements of the bench felt great, and best of all the Scene lighting seemed to be perfect as it wasn't too dark or bright. The ride was great although with the temporary halt the ride had I was worried if we would still be on our tight time schedule. I got off and then Kiera took her spin on the ride which went flawlessly for her too.

While Kiera was in the Child Swap room with Daniel a Team Member came by and gave him a certificate. This certficate is pretty cool and well done and basically its a pass for Daniel that when he is finally tall enough to ride the Forbidden Journey it can be used for Priority access for himself and 5 others to go to the front of the line. This was the first we had seen something like this and we thought it was really cool. He also got one for E.T. yesterday but that one isn't as detailed as the Harry Potter one is. I doubt we will ever use the certifcate but it makes for a cool souviner.



The ride did end up taking longer then we planned so after grabbing another Butterbeer to share we made a quick walk thru Islands of Adventure back towards the parking garage. We were quickly nearing our time limit we gave ourselves and in Citywalk we were fighting thru the crowds that were coming to the parks for the day. We soon made it to the garage and got to the car right at 12:30. We were still on schedule.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

The drive from Universal to Cape Canaveral is about 45 minutes. Which was good as I remembered it being an hour. When driving on the Beachway out to Cape Canaveral don't forget your quarters. There are 4 tolls that you will pass thru to get to the port. We spent I believe $4.25 in tolls to get out there so its not a bad idea to just get a roll of quarters. The drive itself was pretty uneventful. Daniel fell asleep for most of the drive. For the first time ever though we hit rain while driving out to the port. We hoped that this rain would let up by the time we sailed away as the rain is never fun on a cruise ship.




We soon came up over a bridge and there was the port in the distance. We could see the Disney Fantasy and our ship the Carnival Dream. This would be our 3rd time sailing out of Port Canaveral so we were suprised to see the Dream docked at one of the West docks instead of the East Dock like it had been on our past 2 visits. I don't know why this is for sure but I imagine it has to do with the Disney Fantasy being larger then the other Disney ships that theres not enough room for it and the Dream to be so close on the east side.

We made a quick stop to top off the fuel in the rental car and then we made our way to the return location. Cape Canaveral just recently started serving Alamo Rental car so the drop off location is at there parent location of Enterprise. When we pulled in they were already loading up a bus to head to the Cruise Terminals. Some employees were kind enough to haul all of our stuff over to the bus while I finished checking the car back in. We continue to become great fans of Alamo and it still got better as since we had a rental booked with them for after our cruise we were able to leave the Car Seat at there location in storage until we returned from our cruise. Something that was awesome as that was one less thing we would have to haul onto the ship. They held the bus for us and as soon as we got on we were on our way to the port. We were the only ones on the bus heading to the Dream though. Everyone else was going to Disney.



It was so odd getting dropped off at the West Dock instead of the East. It was like cruising out of a new location. We were dropped off in basically a large parking lot where the porters were standing around waiting for passingers. We left a tip for our driver and then a tip for the porter who helped us with our bags and then we started our walk to the terminal. We were finally back. There above us was our home for the next week. We had returned to the Carnival Dream.



It was just after 2pm when we arrived at the Cruise terminal making this the latest that we had ever arrived to one of cruises. But it really worked to our advantage. We got to have some additional fun in the park but best of all we missed the majority of the crowds. Check in was extremely easy as there was no wait what so ever. We walked strait thru security and there was no wait ether to check in and get our sail and sign cards. Once again for all of the photos there was no wait ether. We loved how quick it was as we probably spent more time walking to the gangway after the photos then it took us to check in. I know alot of people like being at the ship as early as possible but we really liked getting there later and not having any lines.

We walked off that Gangway and entered the Dream Atrium. Its official we had returned. And since this was a ship that we had sailed on before (the most recent infact) then it felt like we had never left. We were getting hungry but one of the other advantages to arriving later was that we were able to go strait to our room as it was already ready for us. When I originally booked this cruise I booked us an Inside Cabin on Mid Ship on Deck 7. But when Carnival ran there More=Marrier rate I was able to upgrade us to a Deluxe Oceanview Cabin on Deck 1 for no additional cost. We have never had an Oceanview Cabin before so I was really excited for it. I also didn't tell Kiera about the change. I hoped to surprise her with it once we were on the ship. Unfortunatly 2 days before we left she found out though as she found the boarding pass and noticed our room was on deck 1 and not 7 like she thought. Although my surprise was spoiled she was pretty excited about the change I made too.

So after boarding the ship we went strait to our room so that we could drop off our Carry on Items and the Stroller before going up to Lido to eat. I mentioned the cabin was on Deck 1. It was room 1360 and was on the Port Side. It was considered a Mid Ship Cabin but it was still further to the back. Upon opening the door we instantly noticed how much larger this Deluxe Oceanview Room was then the Interior rooms we've had in the past. It even felt larger then the Balcony room we had on the Pride. Perhaps thats where the Deluxe part comes in as in additional to the extra closet and storage space it had it also has and extra wash room with a sink and bathtub which would work our great with having a Toddler.







Daniel absolutly loved the Window in our Cabin and we loved the natural light. The area around the window was large enough to sit in and Daniel really loved looking out and seeing what was going on. Especially since they were loading up the ship right now with supplies and baggage and Daniel loves Tractors and Trucks. He was in heaven watching them go back and forth. Our Cabin Steward even had an extra surprise for us as on the wall was a "Happy Birthday" banner. I didn't request this or anything. I'm guessing that upon seeing that Daniel and Kieras birthdays were 10 days after the cruise that this vacation was in part for them. It was such a great touch that wasn't asked for.




All of our Embarkation paper stuff was on the counter. With Carnivals newer VFIP club we recieved our Gold Level pins as well as 2 free Drink Coupons to be used in the Main Dinning Room for Breakfast, Brunch, or Lunch. We weren't in the room long but our Room Steward was very quick to come and introduce himself to us and ask any special requests we had. We didn't have anything special we needed but the Steward was great and was always ahead of us. I heard that you have to request to have your ice filled now. But he always had it stocked full for us to keep Daniels Milk chilled. Again something we didn't ask that he just did. All he asked of us was to let him know when we would be leaving the cabin later in the evening so that he could convert the Sofa into a bed for Daniel.

We were still hungry but upon looking over the Fun Times we noticed that they were doing Tours of the Spa and that they are only done before we set Sail. Kiera is a Master Estaticion by profession and actually teaches how to do Spa type stuff. So she was really interested in seeing the ships spa facilities and what they offer. Since we were running out of time we decided to go do the Spa tour first. The spa was pretty packed at the time with many people taking tours. We thought that maybe everything would be open and it would be a self tour type thing. But be warned. Its a guided tour and it took us over 40 minutes to complete it. It was neat seeing some of the different rooms though and whats offered and Kiera liked learning more about what they do at sea to teach her students.



After the tour we walked around the upper decks of the ship and took Daniel over to see the Disney Fantasy. He knew right away seeing the Mickey face that it was a Disney ship and was really excited to see it. Someday we will take him on a Disney cruise but the price is really gonna need to drop a bunch before we do that lol. We walked around the aft of the ship and in the distance you could see the Nasa Facilities.







Finally we decided to head back down to Lido and grab some lunch. But we were barely too late. The call was made to start getting ready for the Muster drill and so all the Buffet areas were closed down. We literally missed it by about 60 seconds. So since we couldn't get any food at this time we headed strait down to our Muster station for the Muster Drill. We would have to wait and eat after Muster was over.

Our Muster station was E3 and was located in the Scarlett Dinning Room on Deck 3. As we walked into the dinning room there was a crew member there from Camp Carnival putting the Muster Bracelets on Children under 12. This was something Daniel did not like at all. He fought her the whole time she tried putting it on but she finally got it. As we went and sat down he was trying to pull the braclet off him. Not long after the drill had started he was successful and managed to get the braclet off. The Camp Carnival Lady came by again though and waved her down for another bracelet. We asked if she could put it on his ankle instead as he would do better with it there but she said it has to go on there wrist and nowhere else. We held Daniel down again as he once again fought her but this time she was able to get it on tighter and it wouldn't be able to come off. He was not happy about the braclet and for the rest of the night and speradicly thruout the cruise he would try to pull it off.




Once Muster was done we were starving. The buffets would reopen so back up to Deck 10 we went. For those that have read our past reviews may remember that we avoid the Elevators as much as possible and try to only use the stairs. This did not change with a Toddler in tow. It was a lot of work. Especially with our room on Deck 1 and having to carry a toddler up the stairs with us. But we did it. We used the stairs this whole trip.

By the time we got up to the Lido deck we were starving and ready to eat. Unfortunatly the regular buffet options did not reopen as we had hoped they would. So we would have to resort to the food options that are open pretty much all afternoon. Kiera decided to get Daniel a Sandwich and Wrap for her while I went to the Grill to get a Hamburger and also some Pizza. I had heard they changed the Pizza to a thin crust style and one of my co-workers just raved about how good the new pizza was. Honestly I wasn't a big fan though. I missed the old pizza as I liked it much more. The Cheeseburger was good though as were the sandwich items that Kiera got.

Since we had started to eat so much later in the day then we had on previous cruises we missed part of the sail away. I've always been one who enjoys to watch the ship pull away from the dock and set sail from any location. And even though i'd seen the sail away out of Cape Canaveral Twice already I was still kinda sad that we missed the bulk of it today. Once we finished with our lunch we hurried outside though and up to Deck 12 to watch what was left. We pretty much missed the whole sailing out of the Channel and were already past Coco beach and into the open ocean by the time we got out there.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Still we enjoyed seeing all the small boats still passing us by and just people watching in General. Daniel climbed up into one of the lounge chairs and already seemed to know what cruising was all about as he sat and just relaxed. As the ship got further and further from shore we walked around the deck a bit more. One of the things we really worried about with bringing a Toddler on a cruise was how he would do on the outside deck. This was the only thing we were afraid of as we didn't want him falling overboard or trying to climb railing or anything. Thankfully Daniels common sense kicked in and he was perfectly fine. He stayed a few feet back from all railing and never got close to the edge. We worried for nothing and he did fine the entire cruise.








After grabbing some Ice cream we made our way back down to our Cabin so that we could unpack. When on a week long cruise we are not ones who will live out of our Suitcases like so many are. We will completly unpack and utilize pretty much all of the Closet and Drawer space for all of our clothes and other things. We would settle in for the week and make it our home. There really wasn't any kids shows on the TV so to keep Daniel occupied while we unpacked I put a movie on for him on the Laptop and got out all his toys to play with. He also loved sitting up in the window area to play and watch the ocean go by.






We spent much of the afternoon getting unpacked but eventually we finished and decided to leave the cabin for the evening. We made a call to our room steward to let him know that we would be gone so that he could come make the couch into a bed for Daniel and then we walked up to Deck 5. I was saddened to hear that there is no longer a Sushi Bar on the Dream and I think all the other Carnival Ships. I enjoyed being able to grab a small treat before Dinner and I never did see Sushi anywhere else on the ship. The Sushi Bar has instead been replaced by the Taist Bar. The Taist Bar on the Dream is located in the Oceans Plaza on Deck 5. The Taist Bar samples food featured in some of the Restaurants onboard as well as others across the Carnival Fleet. Tonight I believe it featured food from the Blue Iguana. I don't recall exactly what it was but it was but I remember it being pretty good.




We had alot of time to kill before dinner so we went out and got reaquanted with the layout of the ship. Also on Deck 5 is the Casino and since it is a smoking area of the ship it was an area we tried to avoid at all costs as we didn't want to expose Daniel to the smoke and smell. Its good that the Dream Class ships have the Lanai as we were able to avoid the Casino by walking out to the Lanai to pass it by. The Lanai in general is a feature we enjoy of the ship and love how it goes around the entire ship. We also love the Hot Tub features on the deck and its usually much more quite then the Lido Deck. We reentered the ship at the Atrium and took a look at the photo stuff.




Its always a good time for Ice Cream so we went back up to the Lido deck to grab some and to just hang out up there. Since our last cruise over 2 years ago the Dream had a dry dock and recieved some of the 2.0 Upgrades. The most notible of the upgrades was the additions of the Red Frog Rum Bar and the Blue Iguana Taquila Bars around the Midship Pool. We don't drink but I thought the bars were well done and more fun then the Plain Bars that were there before.




We were outside as Our first Sunset at Sea on this trip took place. We always enjoy watching the sunset as its so beautiful on the Ocean. Espcially when there are also cool clouds in the sky. Tonight you could see the sun setting behind a storm around the Mainland.






As the skys began to turn dark we went back into the ship and down to the Atrium where we would look around the fun shops to start getting ideas of what we would want to purchase on this trip. We have a tradition of buying a Christmas Ornament on each trip so we were curious if there were any new ones this year that we would like. There were a few of them we liked but we would make our final decision at the end of the week. Daniel seemed somewhat interested in a Fun Ship Freddy plush but we ended up not getting it.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

It was almost time for Dinner so we started to make our way to the Aft of the ship to the Scarlett Dinning room where we would be eating Dinner all week. We still had about 10 minutes to kill so we went into the Warehouse Arcade area and Daniel lit up like a kid in a candy store. It seemed there were many more games and activities in here then there was the last time we sailed on the Dream. We didn't actually play any games but Daniel had a blast running up to and checking out each one. I was glad to see they still have the Motorcycle game so that I could get my traditional photos on it. Daniel joined in this year too.










Finally it was time for dinner and the doors were opened. We were on the bottom level of the restaurant and found that we had a table just to our small Family. Our main waiter was named Daniello and his helper was Rammie. They both turned out to be excellent servers and rank up there with the best we've had. You could tell that they really enjoyed there job and they especially had a special bond and love for Daniel. By the end of the week you would have thought they were Daniels best friends.

One of the things we missed of cruising the most was the food. We have always found Carnival's Main Dinning Room to be really good and something we always looked forward to. We found that no different on this cruise as the food was great as always. You'll have to forgive me this first night as I forgot to take photos of our main dishes and dessert. We just got too caught up in the good food.



For Starters I got my usual Ceasar Salad as well as the Cured Salmon and Candied Tomato. Kiera would just go with the Guacamole and Tomato Salsa for her Starter.




This was the first time we would be ordering anything off the Kids Menu but it was pretty simple and filled with things that kids normally like. You know Pizza, Hamburgers, Chicken Nuggets, Mac and Cheese, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, ect... We decided to get Daniel the Mac and Cheese tonight and they brought it out with our starters. He seemed to really like it.




For our main dishes I went with the Tender Braised Beef Brisket and Kiera kept it simple with the Atlantic Salmon. For dessert I couldn't pass up the Creme Brulee and I think Kiera got the Orange Cake.

If you hadn't guessed yet or if hasn't been obvious we elected to do late Dinner on this cruise. We have always liked having Late Dinning more in the past as we found it typically doesn't require to rush back to the ship when in port to get ready for the night. And Daniel is a night owl who is usually up past 11pm anyways so we figured it wouldn't be an issue for him ether. Looking back now though when traveling with an Infant we can't recommend enough to do Early Dinning. We found ourselves getting hungry around the Early dinning time. And dispite being a night owl Daniel was falling alseep during dinner practically every single night. Its a mistake we made that we won't make again in the future.



After the delecious dinner we returned to our cabin to let Daniel rest up a bit before heading back out. Our room had been turned down for the night and Daniels bed had been made. On our bed was our towel animal and Fun Times for the next day of the cruise.




Being our first day of the cruise it ment tonight would be the Welcome Aboard Show in the Encore! theater. Daniel was still asleep when we left the room but woke up shortly after we got to the theater. Right before the show began the Ships Captain and Officers were introduced to everyone. I don't know if they do this on each Carnival Ship now but they have done this on both of our cruises on the Dream.




The Welcome Aboard show is not only a celebration to start off your vacation but to also introduce you to the Carnival Singers and Dancers as well as the Cruise Director. The Dancers and Singers start off the show and to tell you the truth we are getting tired of this part. For 5 years now it has been the exact same show on each different ship. Its just getting old. And then to add to it the Dancers and Singers seem to be getting worse each year. This is a part of the show that I think its time to retire and do something new. I told Kiera in the future that made we will just show up about 15 minutes late then we won't have to sit thru this part again as we really are over it.




After the initial opening of the show though we do tend to like it. Thats why we keep going. Once the dancers and singers are finished doing there thing the show is pretty much in control of the Cruise Director who can then put his own twist on the remaining parts of the show. On this cruise our Cruise Director was James Charlton. We had never had James as a Cruise Director before. But we have had him as an Assistant Cruise Director. Twice infact. So we are pretty familiar with James and were glad to see he made it to the head position. This was also his first week as Cruise Director on the Dream. He did a little introduction of himself and then had some guests come on stage to do a little portion of the show which turned out to be pretty funny.



James then had one of the Comedians come out and do a small preview of what you could expect to see in the Punchliner Comedy Club. We absolutly love the Comedy Clubs and try to go each night they take place. This comedian was really funny and one of my favorites that i've seen over the years. I dont' have my Fun Times with me right now so I don't recall his name but I will have it for you in one of the Day 5 updates as we went and saw him in the Punchliner club that night.



The show concluded with the Fun Force Team also coming out and doing a demonstration of what they do. Fun Force is Carnivals Break Dance Crew and I think the Dream is one of the only ships that features them. And these guys are good. There are 3 of them and the one who played the part of the "automated ship captain" was probably one of the best poppers i've seen perform. They were all very good and I looked forward to seeing more of them thruout the cruise.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

It was pretty late now and we would be in our first port early in the morning. But we couldn't go to bed without some more Ice Cream. So back up to Lido we went and grabbed some Ice Cream. We went out to the Seaside Theater to relax under the stars and found the Giants Vs. Cowboys football game being broadcast on the large Outdoor Screen. I'm not the biggest pro football fan but it was fun to sit out and watch so many other guests react to the game. I'm glad to see that Carnival now gives out free popcorn (the charged for it last time we were on the Dream) for the movies under the stars which we go tonight. Alhough they were out of salt at the moment but thats ok as Kiera likes it without.




The Football game was in the final minutes and it was pretty close. Right at midnight though when it looked like the Giants could pull the lead back from the Cowboys the screen defaulted back to its default programing. It was pretty funny to see everyone watching immidiatly get upset that the game was turned off in a moment of suspense. Many went running to I assume there cabins to try and catch the game. After a few minutes though the game did get put back on only to see an Interception was made and returned for a touchdown securing the win for the Cowboys.




We were up there long enough for the midnight buffet to start. In the past this use to be just your normal grill type items. Basically just Hamburgers and Hotdogs. But now its an assortment of different things. I tried a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and thought it was good. But it gave me heartburn pretty bad.

After the midnight snack we decided to call it a night. We went back down the 10 decks of stairs to get to our room. Daniel tried to go down on his stomach on his own but found the metel edging of the stairs didn't feel to good and had us carry him down instead. Back in our room we quickly got ready for bed. We didn't know if Daniel would struggle sleeping on a new bed (especially having a late night nap earlier) but he did good and fell asleep quickly. Soon enough we too were in bed and asleep.




We had our first port day ahead of us. When we wake up we would be in Nassau. This would be our first time returning to a port that we had already been to. What would we end up doing that we hadn't already. Well you'll just have to wait and find out.

 

[mrsabbott]

Our family has been thinking about doing a cruise! I've talked to a few friends who highly recommend it! We would love to do a Disney cruise, but the prices are pretty astronomical! I have read that Carnival is very family friendly. Perhaps you might know since you have done several cruises..
Do they have adjoining rooms for larger families? I can never seem to find anything online about that and I don't really want to call unless we are serious about booking a cruise!
Looking forward to reading more about it! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Our family has been thinking about doing a cruise! I've talked to a few friends who highly recommend it! We would love to do a Disney cruise, but the prices are pretty astronomical! I have read that Carnival is very family friendly. Perhaps you might know since you have done several cruises..
Do they have adjoining rooms for larger families? I can never seem to find anything online about that and I don't really want to call unless we are serious about booking a cruise!
Looking forward to reading more about it! Thank you for sharing!

Hi. I would highly recommending giving a cruise a try. Its personally our favorite way to vacation. Although it may not be for everyone you should at least find out for yourself.

Yes Disney is crazy expensive. I'm getting a large bonus this year so we considered maybe splurging on a Disney Cruise next year and I still can't justify it lol. But Carnival has become pretty family friendly as well as they have been shedding that party boat image they got in the 90's. They signed a deal earlier this year that will bring Dr. Seuss themed areas and programs to all of there ships by the end of next year.

As for adjoining Staterooms yes they do exist. At least on the newer ships anyways. I don't know how you go about booking them but they are available.

Anyways if you have any other questions just let me know.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Day 5: Nassau

Our first full day of our cruise was upon us and when we awoke this day we found ourselves already docked in our first port of Nassau in the Bahamas. Not only was this first port of the cruise but this was the first time we have ever been back to a port that we had previously visited. Honestly though Nassau is not one of our favorite ports. I'm pretty sure if rivales Ocho Rios as our least favorite. So we didn't really plan to do anything in port today. We figured we'd get off for a couple hours and look at the shops and then get back onboard and enjoy the empty ship.

Since we were in no rush to get off the ship we tried to sleep in. Which didn't happen when Daniel decided it was time to get up for the day. We got all ready for the day while Daniel played with his toys. He kept pointing at the Carnival Fantasy which was docked next to us and enjoyed watching the people walk by below.




Before heading out we made the trek up to the Lido Deck to grab some breakfast. Today I decided to get my favorite cruise breakfast item which is a Ham and Cheese Omlet. Of course I also got some toast and bacon and what not. Today Daniel was introduced to those small boxes of Cereal and ended up having to have one each day after this point. He loved him some Fruit Loops.



As we ate breakfast next to a window looking down on the Carnival Fantasy I could't help but think of my family for a bit. The moved to Charleston over 2 years ago which is where the Fantasy's home port is. We've considered over the years going out and visiting my parents and also doing a cruise on the Fantasy. But its been so hard to justify the cost for a cruise thats less then 7 days. Oh well maybe someday. I would still like to try out one of the smaller Fantasy Class ships some day.



We finished breakfast and after grabbing the stroller and bag from the cabin we headed to the gangway to exit the ship. Last time we were in Nassau we ended up taking a tour to see the sites of the Island and to also visit Atlantis (which is really the highlight of Nassau). But today we wouldn't be doing much. We just decided to check out the Straw Market and look around. Maybe we would walk to the nearby beach. We were able to get off the ship pretty quickly as we have been docked for a while now and most people were already off the ship.




The Dream was just one of 4 ships docked in Nassau today. In addition to us and the Carnival Fantasy there was also the Norwigien Sky and the Royal Caribbean Mammoth the Oasis of the Seas. I was pretty excited to see the Oasis in person as a ship that large really amazes me. If theres one ship that would get me to try Royal it would be the Oasis or Allure as I really want to experiance one of those ships first hand. It dwarfed all of the other ships in dock with us.







Last time we came to Nassau it was raining when we got in and got off the ship. Even for most of our tour it was raining but cleared up in the afternoon and was really nice. Today when we got off the ship it was nice and sunny but there were some darker clouds around. After dealing with rain in Orlando pretty much the whole time prior to our cruise we really hoped we wouldn't have to deal with rain again here too.





After walking thru the welcome center that has a few little shops we were outside and on the streets of Nassau. As with most ports when you exit the welcome center there were locals everywhere offering Tours and Excursions. This was where we found our tour 4 years earlier but since we wouldn't be doing any today we declined each time we were asked.





One place we planned to visit was the Straw Market. The Straw Market is a short walk from the ship and is a place where there probably hundreds of locals selling all sorts of local gifts. The market looked much better now then it did 4 years ago. Now its a actual building where last time we came it was just a large tent. Although there were a ton of stuff for sale in the Straw Market we were pretty dissapointed in it. Last time when we came it seemed that the roof was stacked to the celing with products. Espcially the knock off products like purses. But now those things were nowhere to be seen. This use to have the best selction of those type items but we didn't see them anywhere today.






Having been dissapointed in the Straw Market we walked over to the waters edge next to Senior Frogs. When the sun is out the water in the Bahamas is incredibly pretty. Most the shops would have the same things as most of the other cruise ports so we decided tried to decide what we should do next.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

So we decided to walk down to the Beach to see how Daniel would like it since we had Beach days planned for other ports on our cruise. The Beach is called Junkanoo Beach and it probably took us about 15 minutes to walk to it from the Straw Market. The walk is pretty uneventful and its not a strait shot to the beach. You'll walk up and down streets but as long as you follow the road along the waterfront then you will get to it. Theres also signs to help you find your way. The walk was easy to make and there were many other tourists from the 4 ships also making the walk towards the beach.







For how many people were walking to and from the Beach we were surprised to find it not packed at all. Now Junkanoo isn't the prettiest beach in the Caribbean but it was significantly better then the beach we were taken to on our tour 4 years earlier. As with most beaches you could probably spend the whole day here if you'd like. The sand was soft and the water gorgous plus it had the facilities that you'd probably like most beaches to have such as Restrooms, Showers, and places to Eat.





We had brought Daniels Swimsuit with us but we didn't know how he would like the beach. In hindsight we probably should have put it on him before we left the ship. We have taken Daniel to a beach twice before. The first time was Newport Beach in California. But it was in December so we never went in the water as it was too cold. Then just this May we went to Myrtle Beach for a few days. But again it was too cold as it rained and stormed the whole time we were there. So this was really the first time Daniel got to play on a warm beach. Kiera walked into the water with him and he was hisitant at first about the water but before long he flopped himself down and into the water. Yes in his clothes and everything. But that was ok. He was loving life.











As we walked further down the beach line the skys started to get dark quickly. Soon there was a very loud crash of thunder and light rain started to fall. This was our que that we should probably wrap up our time at the beach as a storm was rolling in. Dispite being scared of Thunder and Lightning and being a bit startled by the loud crash of Thunder now every few minutes Daniel didn't want to leave the beach. He was really mad when we took him out of the ocean. Not expecting it to storm we left our Umbrella and ponchos back on the ship. A little rain doesn't bother me but since tonight was Elegant Night on the ship Kiera really didn't want her hair to get wet so she started trying to protect it all that she could. After stripping Daniel down and washing him off at the beaches showers we started our walk back to the ship as the rain started to come down harder.

 

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We walked quickly and right before we got back to the shop area of Nassau the sky gave us all it had and it the rain started to come down harder and faster. We thought what we saw in Florida was bad but it was nothing compared to this downpoar. This was one of the hardest rain falls we have ever witnessed. And it came from practically nowhere. And then to make it worse we were stuck in the middle of it.








Luckly for us though this must happen regularly in Nassau as most of the buildings are designed for it. We made it back to the shops just as the hard rain started to come and all of the sidewalks outside the buildings are completley covered. So although the rain was coming down hard and we still had a long walk back to the ship at least the walkways were dry and other then crossing the streets we would be able to keep out of the rain.








As we slowly made our way back to the ship we stopped and looked in many of the shops along the way. We didn't plan on buying anything in Nassau other then our traditional post card but you never know what you might come across in the shops. As we took our time the rain started to let up which was good as we would have a stretch of sidewalk back to the cruise center that wasn't covered. I mentioned that there were shops in the Welcome Center and this was out last stop before heading back to the ship. Dispite stopping at all those shops on the way back we still hadn't found a postcard. Good thing out of all the shops in the welcome center we found one that sold postcards and then after waiting in a long line we were thru the security check and walking the dock back to the ship.




While we were walking along the docks the rain once again picked up and became a downpoar again. Theres some covering back to the ships but not much so we were almost running between each covered area. Still we waited in the rain and got us a photo with the Bahamas sign before heading back to the ship. They had two sets of ramps open to get back on the ship so there was basically no wait to get back on. There was however a wait to use the elevators. One of the advantages to having our cabin on deck 1 was a short walk back to the room. With the long wait for the elevators we decided to just carry Daniels Stroller up the stairs since we were only going up 1 deck. I'm sure this ended up being quicker anyways.






We would now be back on the ship for the rest of the day. We were hungry but we decided while in the Cabin to get Daniel bathed and cleaned up now instead of later. Even though he was washed off at the beach he still had sand all over him. This was when we really loved having the tub as it was easy to get him cleaned up.



Once Daniel was all cleaned up we were about 30 minutes away from the sail away. But just like when we left Port Canaveral we were starving so food took priority. Today we decided to eat at the Pasta Bar located on Deck 11 above the Lido buffet area. We found last time we sailed on the Dream that the Pasta bar stays fairly empty on days the that the ship is in Port so we figured today would be a great day for a pasta lunch. And we were right the place was empty. We had no wait. After placing our order and fearing i'd miss the sail away I ran outside quickly to snap some photos of Nassau from the ship before leaving.

 

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The Pasta Bar works kinda like a Restaurant. You go in and a Hostess will take you to a table and give you a order sheet to fill out. On this sheet you choose what type of Pasta you want as well as your sauce, toppings, and sides. After you finish filling out the paper you then take it over to the cooks and they will bring it out to your table once its done. Its one of those dinning aspects that I love about the Dream and would miss when sailing any other ships. I got a fettichini Alfrado with Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp as well as a side Ceasar Salad, and Garlic Bread. I can't seem to recall what Kiera got though. The food was delicious and all of us enjoyed it. Be prepared though as you do get alot of food.



Although we finished lunch after our scheduled departure time the ship was still in dock. So I was happy that we would catch the sail away afterall. I'm not positive of the reasons why we didn't leave right at 2. I could only guess that it likely had something to do with the Oasis of the Seas also leaving at 2 and perhaps with how large that mammoth ship is it has to leave the channel first. I know that Oasis seems to get alot of crap for how large it is. And yes the thing is massive. But it intrigues me so much. That is one ship that I really do want to sail on some day. I mean the experiance is the ship pretty much with that thing. I was in awe the whole time it sailed away.






Once the Oasis cleared the Channel then the Dream started moving and we were on our way as well. This was Daniels first official Sail Away since we missed the one in Port Canaveral. And he loved it. The whole time we were pulling away from the Norwigian Sky he was waving good by to everyone on that ship and laughing. He was having such a great time. We passed the Junkanoo beach where we spent some time earlier and then passing the Lighthouse we were in the open sea. Off in the distance we could make out another resort that looks to be under construction and rivaling the size of Atlantis. I don't know what it is though and I could be completely wrong.














Now that we were out in the open sea and on our way to our next port we once again grabbed some Ice Cream and made our way back down to our cabin. If your traveling with a toddler get use to spending alot of time in your Cabin. Daniel had yet to have a nap today so thats what we were going down to the cabin to do. After letting him play for a bit he and Kiera crashed out for a afternoon nap as I watched some shows on TV.

 

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After everyone woke up from there Naps we started to get ready for the evening. Tonight was the ships first Eligant Night. In the past we have usually waited to iron our clothes until the evening of the first Eligant Night. But we thought ahead on this trip and Kiera ironed everything the day before. As we were getting ready for the night though I ran into a little problem. As I was putting my dress shirt on I asked Kiera where my Ties were. She replied "I thought you grabbed them". Yeah I didn't grab my Ties. They were left at home. Looks like I would be going Tie-less on the Eligant Nights this trip.




We were ready for the evening and rushing out our cabin door a little before 7:30pm. We didn't have dinner until 8:15pm but tonight was the opening night of the Punchliner Comedy Club and we didn't want to miss it. We ran into the club a little after it started. The Host Fun Dude was doing his set. We found some seats and then kicked back to enjoy the show that featured Seth Buchwald tonight. He was also the one who performed a short set the night before at the Welcome Aboard show.





This was a new experiance for us. We had never been to the Comedy Club this early in the evening before. On our past 4 cruises that have featured the Comedy Club each and every show that we went to were the Adult only R rated shows that take place later in the evenings. Dispite some questionable raunchy humor these Adult shows always gave us a good laugh. With a toddler though it ment the Adult shows were out of the question so we would be experiancing the Family Friendly shows for the first time this trip. I'm not gonna lie it seemed much harder to prioritize the Comedy Shows when they took place earlier in the evenings. Especially when there were time conflicts with the shows in the main theater. This is another thing that would be easier had we had Early dinning instead of Late. Seth put on a great show and we were laughing hard nearly the entire time. I didn't realize how funny these family shows would be. And the humor was clean too. It was nice to not feel guilty or sickened by any of the material being used and talked about. Even if we go on an adults only cruise again I think we would consider the Family Shows as they were probably even more funnier then the Adult shows were.





The Comedy Club finished shortly before our Dinner was scheduled to start so we went back down to Deck 3 and waited with everyone else for the Dinning Room doors to open up. Tonight they opened early and in we went where our wait staff was waiting and happy to see us. Tonight is always a night I look forward to in the main dining room as it typically has my favorite line up of foods of the cruise. Its just too bad my stomach isn't big enough for all of it.





To start off tonight Kiera got the West Indian Roasted Pumpkin Soup while I went with the Spicy Alligator Fritters and also the Spaghetti Carbonara as a starter. For the first time I think I didn't get a Caesar Salad as I planned to get 2 entrees tonight and that would be way too much food.





Looks like I missed a pictures of Daniel's food tonight but we got him the Chicken Nuggets. Kiera went with the Prime Rib tonight while I went with the Prime Rib (my favorite of our cruise's) and also the Lobster Tail with Jumbo Shrimp. And yes I finished both of them.




Tonight the Dinning Room staff treated us with there first show of the cruise. Now I know this isn't something that everyone likes. But we really enjoy when they put on a show for us. The staff work so hard that they deserve a chance to let loose and have some fun each night. We think they do a great job and Daniel really got in and enjoyed it too.

 

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After the Showtime we were served our desserts. Tonight I settled for the Chocolate Melting Cake which is my favorite dessert that Carnival serves and Kiera ordered a Banana Split off of the Kids Menu.





Since we were all dressed up nicer for Eligant Night we decided to get some photos taken. We haven't bought an actual photo from Carnival since our first cruise back in 2008. So we figured that maybe we could get a nice photo of our family to purchase from this cruise. We took a bunch of photos at many different stations. We wouldn't see the photos until the next day but for the most part there seemed to be something we didn't like with all but a couple of them. Still taking photos was kinda fun and diffenitly killed some time.




Afterwards we walked around out onto the Lanai for a bit before returning to our cabin to change out of our nice clothes for the rest of the evening. Off in the distance we could see the lights of another cruise ship in the distance. Of course we had no clue which ship it could be. Daniel always loved running around out on the Lanai.






Our room was once again turned down by the time we got back and since Daniel didn't fall asleep tonight he really liked seeing the Towel Animal there tonight. We got changed back into our clothes but we decided to put Daniel in his Pajamas and then we went up to the Lido deck to get some Ice Cream and see what was taking place at the Seaside Theater. It was pretty funny when Daniel tried being Mister Independent and tried climbing up the stairs all by himself. He made it to about Deck 4 when he finally gave up and had us carry him the rest of the way.




It didn't take long for Daniel to figure out the Lido deck as once we were on Deck 10 he wanted down and knew exactly where to run to to find the Ice Cream Machine. And continuing his independence kick tonight he even tried working the machine himself. With Ice Cream in his hand the kid was in Heaven.




We went out to the Seaside Theater to relax under the stars and found the Giants Vs. Cowboys football game being broadcast on the large Outdoor Screen. I'm not the biggest pro football fan but it was fun to sit out and watch so many other guests react to the game. I'm glad to see that Carnival now gives out free popcorn (the charged for it last time we were on the Dream) for the movies under the stars which we go tonight. Alhough they were out of salt at the moment but thats ok as Kiera likes it without.




The Football game was in the final minutes and it was pretty close. Right at midnight though when it looked like the Giants could pull the lead back from the Cowboys the screen defaulted back to its default programing. It was pretty funny to see everyone watching immidiatly get upset that the game was turned off in a moment of suspense. Many went running to I assume there cabins to try and catch the game. After a few minutes though the game did get put back on only to see an Interception was made and returned for a touchdown securing the win for the Cowboys.



The Movie that was gonna play that night on the screen started right after the game finished but we weren't gonna stick around for it. Daniel was tired and it was getting late so we headed back down to our Cabin for the remainder of the night. As Kiera and I was getting ready for bed though we found him hiding near a corner snacking away on some treats that we thought we put out of his reach.



Soon enough though we got him settled into his bed for the night and he fell asleep and we weren't far behind him. Tomorrow would be our first full day of sleep so we hoped we would be able to sleep in for a little while. I guess we would have to see if Daniel would allow that or not.

 

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Day 6: First Sea Day

For pretty much the entire trip we've had to wake Daniel up each morning for the activitiy we had planned. Today was our First day at Sea and that ment that we didn't have to wake up early for anything today. We could sleep in and we wouldn't have to wake up Daniel.

So of course that ment on the day that we could sleep in Daniel decided to wake up early. There would be no sleeping in for us. No matter how much we looked forward to it. At least we didn't have to spend much time this morning getting ready for the day. As it would be lazy day just laying out in the Sun and playing in the Water.



Before that we needed to grab some breakfast first though. So up to the Lido buffet we went. Today I made myself a breakfast sandwich to eat. I just got some peices of toast and put some egg's and bacon, and ham on it. Pretty easy to make and very good to eat. Daniel of course was happy with his box of Fruit Loops and Kiera just got misc items from the buffet.




When we were finished with breakfast it was time to head outside and try to find a spot to relax the rest of the day. Many of you know how crowded the deck space can get on sea days around the Lido Pools. And this was no exception as the pool are was rediculously packed. Its a good thing we weren't gonna try to find a spot here. Instead we were heading up to Deck 12 to see if we could find a spot near the Toddler play area so that Daniel could play. It was just as packed up here as it was around the Lido pool but we were able to find at least one empty chair right across from the Toddler slides. One chair would work out just fine for us as Kiera relaxed in the Sun and I walked over to sit near the Toddler slides to Watch Daniel as he played.



Daniel was in heaven as soon as he got in the play area. Not only does he love slides and water but he also loves playing with other Little Kids. There were alot of kids playing on the slides today. And about 90% of them were around his age or a bit younger. So he had a blast with them. But he also had a blast going down the slides over and over and over and over again. It was kinda funny as at first he would only go down the right side slide. Even if there was no wait for the left. He played well and most of the other kids played well too in the area.






After so long though Daniel would realize that he needed a break from the play area so he would go back and lay next to Kiera or just play in the shade.




That never seemed to last too long though as he would then run right back to start playing on to the slides and water again. This when we had to get after him a bit though as he started trying to climb up the slides which is not allowed. He eventually caught on though and didn't try again. He finally realized as well that he can go down both slides and not just the Right side.






He hopped out to go lay with Kiera again so while he was out and Kiera was watching him I decided to go up and do the big slides. Last time we sailed on the Dream I had a great time on the slides. I love what Carnival is doing with there Waterworks slide area. It was now around lunch time so for the most part there was a very short wait for the slides. The first one I did was the Drainpipe Slide which had the shorter wait of the two. The slide is alot of fun but I was soon reminded of what I hate about the slides on the Dream. They are so rough. And I like to slide down with my back arched as you get more speed this way so they were even more painful as you can feel the edge each time a peice of the tube was attached to another. This hurt last time we sailed but it hurt even more this year as the slide has gotten more worn out. I really wish there was a way for Carnival to fix this.









That didn't stop me though from going back and doing the Twister slide next. The wait was longer for this slide but it only took a few minutes. Off in the Distance I noticed another Cruise Ship ahead of us. I wasn't sure which ship it was until after I went down the slide and came back with my Camera though. The twister slide was also fun but just as painful as the Drainpipe slide was. After the slides I needed a break from them so thats when I grabbed my camera to take the photos posted above and below. The ship ahead of us turned out to be the Oasis of the Seas. Which upon looking at the night photo I posted in the previous update I believe that was also the Oasis.