Cruise Virgin with the Carnival Dream

Thanks sooo much to the Carnival Staff for making me feel so important throughout the entire trip! Most of the this trip/perks were comp’d but ALL opinions are my own. 

I’ve always loved traveling whether to multiple places within the US or out of the country because there’s nothing like getting away even for a little while. My normal method of transportation while traveling is by car or plane, sometimes even a bus been on a cruise ship.  I’ve been wanting to for years but no one would go with me (scared of water or ships) or it just never happened at the right time. On May 20th that all changed. That’s why if you’re following me on Instagram I’ve called myself, “The Cruise Virgin.”  I took a week-long adventure along The Carnival Dream….

Here’s what you need to know if you’re a #cruisevirgin

Bring medication-may need it

Prior to getting on the cruise, I asked multiple people if I should bring medication or not? To be honest, there were a lot of mixed reviews but most sided for nausea patches. These patches can be found on Amazon (like most things) and should be placed right behind your ears. Did they work for me? NO. Initially, the patches were working until we started experienced some bad weather a few days into the trip.  (Thanks a lot Alberto) lol Of course, the first time I want to cruise a storm would occur. So, let’s just say I did experience being nauseous more than I would have liked but once I got some medication (thanks Wendy) I was okay. If you’re thinking whether to bring medication or not, just bring it just in case, you won’t regret that you did.

You’ll meet people young AND old (+Carnival Staff)

Loved visiting the kitchen for a complimentary food tasting (check out my IG for the video (Naturally_Nex)

Our sweet waiter, Gregorio from the Philippines 

We embarked from New Orleans, but of course multiple people either flew or drove into New Orleans to get aboard. I met a lot of different people both younger and older from all areas of the US and outside of the US. I’ll say that they are some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met in my life. I can’t get over how accommodating they were from Day 1 to Day 7, they were the same. So, if you’re a customer service person like myself, you’ll be happy to know that the Carnival Staff is some of the best. Also, I loved that every single one of them was from a different part of the world (India and Europe are examples)

What’s not included?

So, most of everything is paid for prior to sailing, right? Yes, but there’s some things that can be purchased on board or a discounted rate online prior to boarding.

Paid items:

-Room

-All the food (Snacks/Desserts) FYI: I ate wayyy too much but still didn’t gain a lot of weight ;-/

-All on board entertainment (comedy shows, musical acts, swimming pools, night club, hot tub, golfing, water park, etc)

-Gym

Can be purchased: 

-Alcoholic Beverages (range from $7-10) Drink packages are available if you plan to drink a lot.

-Shopping (If you forgot to purchase something at one of the locations)

-Wifi/Internet Access (different speeds for purchase)

-Spa

-Excursions (although I didn’t take any this trip, some suggest purchasing off-board for cheaper rates)

 

Take naps

Listen! Your first cruise is still a vacation right? Well, yes, I took multiple naps aboard the Carnival Dream. The funny thing is wasn’t in my room a lot, I took a nap wherever I could on the boat. I took a nap on a couch on one of the decks. lol  There was a lot of fun happening, so much, that I wore myself out, took a nap, got right back into the fun. I think naps are beneficial and helped in this case because I got to enjoy the activities in the afternoon/night-time without being too tired. Also, I noticed once I got off the ship I wasn’t exhausted going back to work.

 

Food FOOD FOOOOD!

Everyone knows there’s sooo much food on a cruise, which is why most people want to cruise. Or I’ll speak for myself, food was one of the main reasons why I wanted to cruise. Lol Sad. In any case, there’s so much food available to you. You don’t have to go to your assigned dinner time whether you’re assigned to late or early dinner. Room service (not the same food-mostly free, some not) is available. Also, there’s another restaurant that has anytime seating whenever you’re ready to eat (same food). There’s buffets, burger stations (ATE ONE EVERYDAY), Mexican stations, etc. Oh, yeah, lets not forget the dessert stations and the NEVER closed ice cream stations. Ya’ll I had about 3 ice cream cones a day. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the food whether at the restaurant for breakfast/dinner, or buffet.

 

You don’t have to leave the ship but leave the ship (app included)

The Carnival Dream is one of the biggest ships within Carnival and like I said there’s a lot of activities on the ship, which makes it hard to leave once you hit one of your destinations. But leave the ship anyways, yes, I cruised because I wanted to experience the ship but I also wanted to experience Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel. I wanted to explore and that I did! Just keep track of your time. You can do so by downloading the Carnival Hub app (It’s $5 the whole trip-worth it- text friends on ship, gives you the boat time).

3 day, 4 day, 7 day

This cruise, which was my first lasted 7 days. Did I think the 7 days flew by? Yes and no. I had a lot of fun! Like seriously it was one of best experiences of my life, but ya’ll 7 days is a lot time. lol When I cruise again, because I will, I’ll probably go for 4 days. It’s just enough time to see everything on the boat, go to some islands, and then turn around to come home. All in all if you’re a cruise virgin like I was, then please experience (unforgettable experience) it whenever you can and I suggest going with Carnival.

 

 

Thanks again Carnival! Please let me know your experiences if you’ve cruised before! I want to know.