Louisiana and Carnival Dream (Part 2 of 2)

The cruise port in New Orleans is quite close to Downtown, but as you can imagine is very busy when boarding and disembarking. Our luggage was collected kerbside and then we just had to join the very quick moving queue through security to get our Sail & Sign cards. By completing the online check-in (something I arrange for all my clients) it was simply signing and handing over a document getting my picture taken and I was ready to board. The Carnival Dream is not the largest ship in the Carnival fleet but large enough with a capacity of 3,646 guests. At the start of the US Spring Break holiday it was also very busy. It was easy enough to find my Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom - my home for the next week and I was delighted with the size of it. It had a full bathroom plus a separate washroom (ideal for a family) and could sleep a family of four comfortably. It was also equipped with satellite TV, wardrobe space and personal safe. My luggage was quickly delivered and after a quick unpack I was up on deck to see the sail away from New Orleans. The ship then spends the next 100 miles or so cruising down the Mississippi before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. There was a great atmosphere on board the ship with lots of families enjoying the views, the entertainment and frequenting the two bars (The Red Frog Rum Bar and the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar) by the main pool. Carnival is a very informal cruise line (compared to some) when it comes to dress, there are two codes Cruise Casual and Cruise Elegant both of which are quite relaxed. Our group were generally dining in the main Scarlett restaurant for our trip and were booked on the late dining at 8.15pm. The standard of food throughout the cruise was excellent, whether it was at dinner, or lunch and breakfast in The Gathering (self-service), it was difficult to fault. We also managed to eat in the Chef’s Art Steakhouse on a couple of evenings, this has a cover charge but it is well worth it for any special occasion that you would like to celebrate. Another must (especially if travelling with children) is the Dr Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast where you are joined by the Cat and the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2 amongst others. Our first day at sea was spent training on the Carnival product as well as having a tour of the ship to see some of the facilities on board. I was particularly impressed by the wonderful kids clubs and the popularity of these by the many families on board. Another impressive part of the ship was the adult’s only Serenity area (which unlike other cruise lines) is free to use. I was also impressed by the quality and speed of the Wi-Fi, yes this does cost a bit more but being able to keep in touch with home easily was great. After two days at sea we were looking forward to our first port of call, Mahogany Bay, Roantan Island, Honduras. This is a specially developed resort for cruise passengers with a great beach resort and shopping area just a short walk from the ship. The shops had a variety of tourist souvenirs as well as some wonderful local handcrafted items. Our next port of call was Belize. Due to environmental concerns the ship does not dock in Belize and you have to transfer by tender. We had booked an excursion here to visit the Xunantunich Mayan ruins. This archaeological site is near the Guatemalan border and a two hour coach ride from Belize City, the ruins are very impressive as are the views from the top of El Castillo, the highest point. Our final stop on our cruise was Cozumel in Mexico, this lovely island is large enough to deal with lots of cruise ship visitors (I counted at least five ships visiting on the same day). There are lots to do and see and lots of fun to be had. Our final sea day on our way back to New Orleans also brought with it one of the highlights for me – we took part on the “Behind the Fun Ultimate Tour”. This tour is very exclusive only 16 Carnival guests can take part per cruise and it takes you to parts of the ship that guests do not usually get to see. My particular highlight of this tour was being shown the bridge by the ship’s captain. As this tour is so exclusive it is one that I would definitely recommend that you book as soon as possible. Having cruised with other cruise lines before I was a little unsure what to expect with Carnival, however what they have done is taken all the all the best aspects of cruising and blended it with the best of a land resort holiday to produce a great all round vacation experience. No fussy dress codes just a great value holiday experience, ideal especially for first time cruisers.