We joined the ‘Carnival Dream’ family with little fuss given there were almost 3000 passengers setting sail with us. The loudness and brashness of our new family members however hit us in the face as did some of their t-shirts!

The first day was rough, and I don’t mean the sea! Finding your tribe or understanding you might be content with your tribe of two and then getting routines for your small tribe takes time. Especially when you first get on and see the routines of many other tibes; all bars full, and the majority of passengers already having pizza despite it almost being dinner time.

By the 2nd day it was better- much better.

  • We had already grown to love Chris, the Flying Scotsman our Program Director. He would however, never come close to the Mimiar’s PD, but that goes without saying.
  • We switched our dining to ‘your time dining’ which meant we could sit by ourselves with our regular waiters. Sometimes it’s okay to be anti-social.
  • Ms X enjoyed boffee time at the cafe and Mr X was happy to taste the different beers on board.
  • And a walking track and gym was handy if you wanted to get your 10000 steps up.
  • The entertainment in the evening was always something to look forward to from comedy shows to full production musical shows.
  • By day there were Trivia games, or gamestyle shows if you wanted to join in or mini-golf or bingo
  • There were massages to be had as well.
  • There was always a quiet spot with a deck chair that would enable you to escape the mayhem.
  • There was snooty Sally and Rory from Southampton who we voted off our tribe after the first night.
  • Rony the waiter from Honduras would banter with us as the Socceroos were playing Honduras in the World Cup qualifier
  • Armando from the Philippines who, after 21 years on a Carnival ship still greeted us each night as fresh as if it was his first cruise was amazing.

Our ports?

Roatan in Honduras

We escaped the tourist compound and shared a cab with a Canadian couple into the town. Our cab driver wanted to know if we wanted to go uptown, downtown or to the main shopping district. We didn’t have the heart to tell him that we knew it was all in the one block!Mrs Canada however was entertaining for a strange reason. She couldn’t wait to tell us that her late husband died on her last cruise 2 years ago. On the last night! It seemed she was most put out.The town of Roatan appeared extremely poor. We visited a school and enjoyed a local boffee before heading to Mahogany Bay Beach for the afternoon.

🇧🇿 Belize

Again we escaped the tourist area and joined a tour group going for a trip around the country. Before this cruise we knew zilch about this place however after 2 hrs with our guide we had learnt so much. Didn’t know that they were a former commonwealth nation that now no longer plays cricket. Didn’t realise that we could have driven from Belize to Minneapolis. Thought it was an Island. Oops. We enjoyed a meal at The Wet Lizard and then didn’t enjoy the next bit when our credit card wouldn’t scan and we had a single $1 note in our wallets. Wash dishes? Make a run for it? Ms X was up for it however Mr X found someone to loan him $40. We were off the hook.

Cozumel, Mexico

By this stage we knew the drill. Escape the tourist area, wander and explore. Which we did. Some great Mexican Food at the Pirate Restaraunt and a refreshing margarita were highlights. Unfortunately the heavens opened and we decided to cut short our stay and headed back to the boat to dry out.