Dream Maiden Voyage Trip Report, A Dream Come True = Completed

[Tammy Stringer]

Wow Claire what amazing photos - The Dream looks amazing.

Tam

 

[almcg]

I've been looking at your photos and all I can say is....WOW!

 

[squitty]

Aww Claire I would've been furious too having to put up with what you did before the Cruise.

The Dream looks lovely..can't wait to see part 2.

 

[saratogagirl]

Well done Lee for telling those queue cheaters what for, your nerves must have been frazzled between everything!

Stunning, Stunning, Stunning, I love the picture of you outside in front of The Dream, it all looks amazing..

Whats going on with that bath, how am I meant to take a tub, roll myself into a ball!!

Now please, excuse me I am so excited I just peed my pants lol xxx

Get the next part up honeybunch ....

 

[gemmybear83]

Can't believe that woman at check in! Ours wasnt the best either!

Lovinh your report Claire - more please!

 

[katiec]

Fab trip report = fab holiday!

The Dream looks just out of this world

If only DH would conquer his fear of sea sickness......

Looking forward to reading the next installment

Katie x

 

[Pinky166]

Well done Lee for telling those queue cheaters what for, your nerves must have been frazzled between everything!

Stunning, Stunning, Stunning, I love the picture of you outside in front of The Dream, it all looks amazing..

Whats going on with that bath, how am I meant to take a tub, roll myself into a ball!!

Now please, excuse me I am so excited I just peed my pants lol xxx

Get the next part up honeybunch ....

Too funny!

The bath is actually bigger than it looks in the photo, plus once you've stood under the fabulous shower you won't want a bath!

Can't believe that woman at check in! Ours wasnt the best either!

Lovinh your report Claire - more please!

Thanks.....more coming up in a minute.

Fab trip report = fab holiday!

The Dream looks just out of this world

If only DH would conquer his fear of sea sickness......

Looking forward to reading the next installment

Katie x

Thanks Katie.

I'm by no means a seasoned cruiser, we have done two 4 nighters (wonder & dream) but you honestly could not tell that the ship is moving. I think it maybe because it's bigger.

I felt it on the Wonder, it didn't make me sea sick but it made me a bit wobbly at times but we didn't experience any of that on this ship. Definately try and convince your hubby, he really won't regret it.

 

[Pinky166]

Wednesday 26th January 2011 – My dream, Our Dream – THE Dream!!!!!! = Part 2


Ok so I left off early afternoon and we were exploring our Stateroom. We then took a walk around taking a million photo’s…..sorry but here comes photo overload!


First off the Adult area:

The adult only sun deck above Cove pool:

The Meridian bar which is between Palo & Remy’s:

The family areas:

Continued in next post……..​

 

[Pinky166]

Nemo’s Reef for under 8 year olds……no fair! I wanted to play!

Mr Ray slide!

Flo’s Café menu’s:

We went to Cabana’s for some lunch, we were shown to a table and a cast member was walking around with trays of cocktails so we got two Bahama Mamas. They have such a large selection of food in Cabana’s, in fact we didn’t realise quite how big it was and later figured out that we had got our lunch from only half of the stands, if we had carried on walking to the other side of the restaurant they had sushi, crab, joints of turkey etc which was being carved. Everything we had was delicious.

After lunch we went back to the room as it was nearing the time for the Muster drill and we had forgotten to check where our meeting point was. Our luggage had been delivered to our room so we quickly began to unpack, an announcement came over the tannoy telling everyone to return to their stateroom ready for the start of the muster drill. You are no longer required to wear (or take) the lifejackets with you, we were then informed that once the alarm began to sound you need to make you way to your meeting point and that is what we did, we walked down the stairs to deck 4 section M. It was quite funny as the elderly couple that were stood next to us were the only people to be wearing life jackets. Now if that was me that had made the mistake I would have sheepishly taken it off and just held it but they stood there wearing them proudly.


After the usual demonstration, we along with everyone else made our way up to Deck 12 for the Sail Away party, we were handed a special commemorative glass (to keep) of Champagne to toast the ship, we had the perfect spot on Deck 12 as we were standing right near the table where they were handing the drinks out as they very kindly kept topping my glass up. I asked the guy who was clearing away if I could have one of the corks as I collect them, so I have that too.

The sail away party began and they also had a plane flying over with a banner, there was also another plane that wrote “Bon Voyage” in the sky.

Continued below…..​

 

[Pinky166]

Everyone at the party was waving plastic Mickey hands, I asked the guy next to us where he got them from and he said they were in his stateroom on the bed but we didn’t have them in our room, anyway they did show up the next day so I guess our room host just forgot to put them out.

After the Sail Away party I went down to Deck 3 to see if the shops had opened and Lee dashed back to the room to drop off our Champagne glasses then came & joined me in the queue. There was already a few people queuing outside the shop so I joined it and was chatting to the lady behind me, after a few minutes I realised that I was standing right behind Corey (from the DIS Podcast), I can’t quite recall how we started chatting to him but I said something about the DIS Unplugged and jokingly winked at him, he laughed and asked if I was a listener and we chatted for about 45 mins until the shop opened. What a lovely guy, his sister Anna came by and we spoke to her for a while too. Lee joined me in the queue and I introduced him to Corey & Anna, then Pete came past (he & Walter were further back in the queue) and Corey introduced us to Pete, we spoke to him for about ten minutes - he was so funny saying how much he loved the Brits. They were all so friendly and I was pleased that I had got to meet them. :


Eventually the shop opened and it was CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!! Lee knew what sort of things I wanted to buy so we ended up splitting up and he went one way around the shop & I went the other. Thankfully Lee had done a far better job than I had, he really should be a personal shopper! After comparing what we had both collected we paid and got out fast before the pushing and snatching began! Once we had finished in the shops we went back up to the room and finished the unpacking we started earlier, I put my Fish Extender and door magnets out.

We didn’t realise how late it was and would never be changed in time for the Golden Mickeys show, so we got showered and dressed for dinner which was at the restaurant I was most looking forward to seeing……Enchanted Garden.


On the way we saw Donald & Daisy in the Atrium:

We were seated at Table #10 and our servers came straight over to introduce themselves, Ivana from the Czech Republic and Monika also from the Czech Republic but had been living in Scotland for a few years before joining the Dream. Shortly after we were joined by our table mates the delightful Karen (CustardTart) and her wonderful daughter Sophie. We were each given a special Maiden Voyage menu that we were able to keep.

Firstly we ordered some drinks, Lee a Corona and I opted for a speciality cocktail, Snow Fall – Vanilla Vodka, Crème de Cacao white, Baileys, Galliano & Vanilla mix:

For starters Lee ordered North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli with Roasted Garlic and Sweet Basil in a light Tomato Broth:

I had the Golden and Red Beet Carpaccio seasoned with Celtic Salt and a Ginger, Garlic and Rice Wine Vinaigrette:

We both had the Romaine Wedge to follow – Fresh Crisp Romaine topped with a creamy Romano dressing and homemade Spiced Croutons.

For Main Course Lee had Caramelised Sea Scallops with Roasted Asparagus, Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pearl Pasta, garnished with Caramelised Leeks and Veal Jus Reduction:

I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio and for main course chose the Grilled New York Strip Steak with Thyme Roasted Vegetables, Double-Baked Potato topped with Herb Butter:

Continued below..............​

 

[Pinky166]

For dessert Lee had a Lemon Sponge pudding and I opted for a Bananas Fosters Sundae:

During the meal the restaurant changes from Day time to night time, which is really lovely and very subtle.


Day:

Night:

I finished the meal off with an Amaretto and Lee had a Café Latte. We had a lovely meal with Karen & Sophie and said our goodbyes, we went for a walk around Deck 3 and ended up back in the shops. We had another look around to see if we had missed anything after the chaos earlier and surprise surprise I managed to buy lots more! We took the shopping back to the room and I cleared all the camera cards on to my laptop then hit the sack at 1am.


Our towel animal for today was a bunny rabbit:

Coming soon – Day 2: Nassau! ​

 

[mandymouse]

Claire, I am loving all your photos, so keep them coming. Are there any pics of all your purchases, I bet you got some lovely Maiden Voyage things

A great first day onboard, the Dream looks beautiful. I look forward to your next installment

 

[cannp123165]

Another great update! The ship looks amazing!

 

[eeyorefanuk]

loving your report, and lovely photos - that cocktail at enchanted garden looks more like a dessert - my type of drink

 

[wickesy]

Another great report Claire. The merchandise situation is the only thing I'm not looking forward to next year - I'm really hoping I don't miss out on anything.

 

[Pinky166]

Claire, I am loving all your photos, so keep them coming. Are there any pics of all your purchases, I bet you got some lovely Maiden Voyage things

A great first day onboard, the Dream looks beautiful. I look forward to your next installment

Thanks hun, I have indeed got photos of the stuff I bought. I was going to add them on a day that is not quite so photo heavy!

loving your report, and lovely photos - that cocktail at enchanted garden looks more like a dessert - my type of drink

Thanks. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was lovely. It would have been better at the end of the meal though.

Another great report Claire. The merchandise situation is the only thing I'm not looking forward to next year - I'm really hoping I don't miss out on anything.

I am sure they would have learn't a thing or two from this year as it really was a joke! I wouldn't be surprised if they listed everything on the RSP form as that part was much more organised.

I also suggest you don't bother going on the first night as everything was restocked for the next day and it wasn't such madness. They just could not restock and serve everyone quick enough on the first night, plus they didn't limit the amount of people they let in so it was a free for all & you could not move.

 

[Tinks1984]

Ooooo lovely Claire, I'm loving all the pictures! I can't get over how amazing the ship looks, it's very detailed, I keep looking back to see what I've missed.

Looking forward to seeing your purchases too

 

[irongirlof12]

brilliant photo's loving your report, more please

 

[squitty]

Love all your photos Claire...really enjoying seeing the Dream, the food and drinks are nice too.

I am looking forward to more.

 

[Chilly]

The ship looks stunning. Can't wait to hear more.