Becoming Universal AP Holders and our Carnival Dream September Trip Recap

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Just past the slides in the Ships Serenity area. This too was one of our favorite features of the Dream on our past cruise. This Adult only area is for those 21 and older only and is very relaxing and peaceful. Of course traveling with a Toddler on this trip ment that we wouldn't use it on this trip though.




I returned to Kiera and Daniel who were still laying out. Kiera decided she needed a break from laying out and wanted to do the slides as well. So up we went back to the slides which still had a short wait with most people having lunch at the time. She decided to do the Drainpipe slide and also agreed that it hurt pretty badly. She only ended up making it around once though before she stopped.








When she was done I decided to go down the Drainpipe again as well. And this was the best spin around the slide that I've had. Its also the time I kinda got in trouble. Apparently there is some unwritten rule that you can only go around the twister slide 3 times. I made it around 4 times on this run and when I finally stopped I was told very sternly that your only allowed to go around 3 times. Again this is some rule that I didn't see written anywhere in the rules of the slide nore is it told to you. But whatever I doubt I could make it around that many times again even if I tried lol.





After we were done with the slides it was back to Toddler area where Daniel once again got back to playing on the slides and having a good time. On the Toddler play are there are also some ropes that the kids can pull and have water dump onto them which Daniel found he liked too. Of course he wasn't tall enough to reach the ropes on his own though. Overall the Toddler slide area is a cute area that every kid seemed to enjoy. There isn't a lifeguard on duty or anything but all of the parents around the toddler area were really good about helping keep an eye on one anothers children. At one point some much larger kids showed up and started going down the slides and plowing into other kids. But one of the Crew Members that was monitoring the bottom of the Twister slide was quick to walk over and kick those larger kids out so that the Toddlers could play in peace.







Down on the Lido Deck next to the pool they had started one of the games they do thruout the day. This time they were doing a Hulu Hoop contest and I thought it was pretty funny that pretty much all of the contestants were children. It was cute and some of those kids really knew how to Hulu Hoop.




Back at the Toddler area Daniel was still enjoying the slides. But he also discovered a new part of the play area. At the top of the stairs on the plateform before the kids go down the slide there are fountains that spray up out of the ground. These fountains are controlled by a steering wheel that any of the toddlers can play with. You turn it one way and it turns the fountains off. The other way it turns them on full blast. Daniel found the wheel and thought this was the coolest thing. He turned it back and forth just laughing the whole time for a while.

 

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It was not around 2pm and we were once again getting hungry. So down to the Lido buffet we went to find something for lunch. Today we decided to try something that we didn't get a chance to try on our previous Dream cruise. We were gonna try out the Burrito Bar. The Burritos are made to order. You go up to the station and pick your meats and beans and whatever else you want in it. Then its wrapped up and put on your plate. I don't like veggies or beans so when I just asked for Meat and Rice at first I was kinda dissapointed with how little meat they put on it. However it turned out to be very, very filling. I also tried some of the green salsa with it but I wasn't too impressed with the taist of the salsa. Kiera also got the Burrito bar.



While eating though you could tell Daniel was getting pretty beat from playing in the sun all afternoon and after only a few bites of food he crashed out asleep on Kiera. And he stayed asleep for a few hours afterwards.



With our stomachs full from lunch we headed back to our lounge chair in the alloted time. Luckly for us though right as we returned the people next to us were leaving for the afternoon and so we were finally able to get a 2nd lounge chair. I've noted in past reports that I honestly don't like laying out in the sun. So I pulled my lounger into the shade. Daniel was still asleep so I took him to lay with me so that he was out of the sun too. But before long i was joining him asleep. Kiera eventually fell asleep as well and we were out for over an hour.





I awoke slightly before Kiera did but Daniel would still be out for over another hour. I really didn't plan on getting wet any more this afternoon but since Daniel was asleep anyways I went down to the Lido Deck and took a dip in the pool for a few minutes.




When Daniel finally started to wake up we decided that it was time to head back down to our cabin and get ready for the evening activities. We had spent nearly 6 hours in the sun and honestly I was ready to go back inside lol.






We spent the next 2 hours getting cleaned up and ready for the night. As I looked over the Fun Times we came across our first delema of the cruise. Once again the Family Comedy Show tonight would be at 7:30pm in the Punchliner Comedy Club. However also at 7:30pm would be the late Dinnings Show in the Encore! Theater and tonight it featured a Hipnotist. Both of these we really wanted to see and do but there was no way we could do both.

We eventually decided on the Hipnotist. Mainly because there is usually lots of Comedy found in Hipnotist shows as well. So sorry but I won't be able to tell you how the Comdedian in the Comedy Club was tonight as we never did see him on this cruise. Kiera was running late getting ready so me and Daniel left the cabin early to head to the Encore Theater and get us some seats for the show. Dispite Kiera running late though she still made it before the show actually began.





If you've seen Hipnotist shows before then you know they all follow the same outline. The host picks people out of the audiance and then proceeds to hypnotise them. Not all of the can be hynotised though so as most will fall deeper into the trance some of them do not and are sent to sit back down. Once they are hypnotised though its pretty funny what the host has them do. We were laughing pretty hard. Especially at one girl that was pretty deep into it and was very funny. At one point she actually slapped the host very hard which he got back to her for at the end by not taking her completly out of the Hypnotism.

The Show was very good and we were very glad that we decided to go to this instead of the Comedy Club. It was every bit as funny and we had a great time. The show got out right as our Dinner time would be starting so from the theater we made our way to the Aft of the ship to our Dinning room for Dinner.






We went in and got seated where our amazing wait staff was waiting for us. Its funny as by this night Daniel really had an idea of what was going on and immidiatly started to look around for the bread basket as he loved getting bread each night. So many of the wait staff loved Daniel that somtimes 4 different baskets of bread would come by so they could say hello to Daniel. Our waitstaff would also take Daniels Sippy Cup when we sat down and go get if filled with Milk for us each night. This was easily one of the best wait staffs we've ever had. Tonight for Daniels dinner we once again ordered him the Chicken Nuggets.




For our Starters tonight I got the Study in Sushi as well as my Caesar Salad and went an extra step further and also got the Shrimp Cocktailand Kiera started out with the Chicken Quesadilla and a Fields Green Salad.

 

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For our main courses tonight I went with the Braised Short Ribs and Kiera once again got the Atlantic Salmon.




Daniel was once again getting tired and falling asleep at Dinner tonight. He was so tired that he couldn't even get a french frie in his mouth lol. But once the show started tonight which may have been Gungnam Style he woke right up and had a great time the rest of the evening.








For our Dessert Kiera and I both decided to get the Strawberry Cheesecake which was also very, very good.



After our very good dinner we again returned to our cabin as we do every night. The cabin had again been turned down already and we had another towel animal waiting for us on the bed.



By the time we left the cabin again it was after 10pm. We were once again heading up the Lido deck not only for our nightly ice cream run but tonight was also the Red Frog Deck Party. The Deck had been completly cleared and the party was hopping. The Cruise Staff was leading the party and everyone in the dance moves. We sat and watched for a moment enjoying the atmosphere. We grabbed our Ice Cream and then went out to enjoy the festivities further.









The dance party was in full swing but at some point we noticed they must have given out some prizes as people were carrying around inflatable animals and glow sticks and other things. Daniel danced around for a bit before we went up to deck 11 to watch the happenings below us.







Eventually though the party started to let up and as with many others who obviously had left we figured it was time for us to head back to our cabin as well.

 

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Not that we didn't have any more energy in us but tomorrow we would be in our 2nd port of San Juan and we wanted to get some rest for what was sure to be a long day ahead of us as we explored this port that we have never been to before. Daniel went down surprisingly quickly and we soon followed. Although we had a later arrival time into Puerto Rico tomorrow we still needed to be up and ready early to get off the ship to make the most of our day.

 

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Day 7: San Juan, Puerto Rico

As we awoke our 3rd day of the cruise would begin. Today we would find ourselves in our second port of call of San Juan, Puerto Rico. This would be a new port for us and one that I really looked forward to visiting. The only thing we really had planned for the day in port was to walk around and see Old Town.

We had a later arrival into San Juan today as the ship wouldn't dock until 11am. We got up earlier though so that we could get ready for the day and grab breakfast before getting off the ship. Of course Daniel once again tried sneaking some treats first though. As we finished getting ready the open seas outside our window soon changed and San Juan was in sight. As we were approching the large fort of El Marro we left our room to go grab breakfast.






Today we decided to do something different for breakfast and tried out the Main Dinning Room. Not only had we not done breakfast in the MDR since our 2nd cruise but this was also one of the few oppertunities we would have to use our free drink coupons that we got for being Gold status in the VFIP program.

We were able to go right in and get sat down for breakfast. I guess it helped that we got there about 15 minutes before it closed lol. We were directed to a table and then brought our menus. Breakfast in the MDR is done just like dinner is. You have a wait staff that comes by and takes your order from the menu. It took us a while though to get us our food. But it was alright as we weren't in a hurry. The food was really good and much better then anything found in the Lido buffet for breakfast. I wish we could have made it to the MDR for breakfast again on this trip but never did.



If there was one thing I could complain about a little it was using these free drink coupons though. As you walked into the MDR they had a table set up showing some of the drinks you could order. Now I assumed just like at dinner there would be waiters walking around taking Drink orders. We never saw anyone taking drink orders. The only time we even saw our regular table waiter was when our order was taken and when our food was brought. So I don't know if we were suppose to give our drink coupons to them or what. Then once the MDR closed for the morning we really didn't see anyone else. I just wish there was more clarity on how to use them or more ways to use them as we never got the chance to do so.




After we finished breakfast we went upstairs to the upper decks to watch the ship finish docking in San Juan. The island and water looked great from the ship and it was so odd to see ourselves coming into whats a fairly large city. Puerto Rico is also part of the United States so we had Cell service here. It was fun to take some photos as the ship started to dock to send back home to our families and to post up on facebook.








We walked around to the other side of the ship see the city on that side and to make our way towards the ice cream machines. On the top of the hill in the distance you could see one of the forts which we planned on visiting today.








The announcement soon came over that we were cleared to get off the ship so we got our ice cream and then went back down to our cabin to get the stroller and anything else we would need during our time off of the ship.




We didn't get off the ship until a little after 11:30 but it worked out great as we missed that initial rush of people trying to get off the ship. We were able to get an elevator with ease and before we knew it we were walking along the dock next to the ship. We would be the only ship docked in San Juan today which was nice and i'm sure helped with the crowds.

 

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As I mentioned before our plan today for San Juan was simple. We would just walk around and tour Old Town a bit. We wanted to see the forts for sure. Since we were traveling on our own with a toddler we were pretty limited as to what we could do for excursions anyways. As I researched what to do in San Juan prior to the cruise I read that old town was pretty easy to do on your own as its not very large. So we planned for lots of walking today.




Dispite all the reasearch done though we still really didn't know our way around. We knew one of the 2 forts was pretty much strait up the hill from where the ship docked so we figured that we would head in that direction. Once you leave the Dock area there as usual were many people trying to offer tours and excursions in San Juan but there were also some people handing out maps of Old Town that turned out to be very helpful. We found the streets on the map that would get us to the first fort and we were on our way. After passing the resorts the line the waterfront by the ship you find yourself in the more quant areas of old town. The building are close together, all the roads are pretty much one way, and they are paved with beautiful blue cobble stone.






Eventually we got to an open park area with a large monument built to commemorate Christopher Columbus as Puerto Rico was one of the first places he came to when he discovered the New World. Around this little plaza were also some little booths that were set up with locals selling items. Across from this plaza we could see the fort. We were almost there.






The only thing left between us and the fort was a hill. A pretty steep hill that made us start to rethink our walking idea as we had to push a stroller up that large hill. We eventually made it though and at the top had a pretty great view of the Ocean ahead of us. To our right would be the entrance to the Fort we were going to. San Cristóbal.









We walked up to the gates of the fort where you pay. The forts are ran by the US National Park service but are very reasonably priced to visit. It would cost $3 per person to visit one fort or you could get a pass to see both San Cristobal and El Morro for only $5 per person. Daniel was free but I don't recall at what age children would need a ticket. You enter into the forts large courtyard and from there you can ether wait for a guided tour to start or you can tour around the fort on you own. We decided to tour the fort on our own and started with all the rooms to the left. Many of these rooms are empty but one of them was the gift card and others had stuff about the explorers who founded the island.

 

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After these rooms we next went up a big tunnel and ramp to the upper leve of the fort. Up top there was another large open area with cut outs in the wall where cannons use to be stationed. We walked around up here and went into one of the guards towers that over looked the ocean and gave the best view of the coast line towards El Morro. Although it kinda saddened me to see how many people had wrote there names on the inside walls of this lookout. I mean do people really not have any respect for history.









We walked all around the upper level of the fort and took a look out of many of the lookouts and canon cut outs as you could see pretty much ever part of old San Juan from up here. Look one way and you could see the capital buildings and the newer more modern parts of San Juan, another way you could look down to the fields and lowest levels of the fort, another way you were seeing the city part of Old Town, and a different direction you could see the port and our ship docked.










Eventually we made it back down to the lower level courtyard of the fort and took a look around some of the rooms down here. Some of them were set up to resemble how they may have been when the fort was in use. One was a solders quaters room. A few of the rooms were then set up to show the history of the fort.








We finished up with San Cristobal by looking at a few other rooms on the lower level. Some still had the original tile work that was really cool and you could see the Spanish influence in the design. After these last few rooms we decided that we were finished with this fort. We stopped in at the Gift shop to browse for a moment and then we exited the way we came. I love history and seeing old forts like this so it was really fun for me to see it and i'm glad we did.

 

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But we had to hurry on our way because we still had another fort to visit and much more of San Juan to see. From San Cristobal it would practically be a strait shot walk to our next destination. El Morro.



As we started our walk towards El Morro one of the San Juan Trolleys pulled up. This Trolley is free to use and will take you all around Old San Juan. There are many stops and you can get on and get off as you please. And since we were the only ship in port this day the trolley wasn't even full. However we decided not to ride it. El Morro didn't seem too far away so it shouldn't be a bad walk. Plus sometimes its a pain to fold up the stroller getting on and off these trolleys. So we bipased it and continued on our way. The road that runs in front of San Cristobal goes strait to El Morro so its easy to find your way.





We soon started to question our idea of walking to El Morro though. Not because it was scary or anything as we felt comfortable walking between the forts. But because it was so hot and humid this day. Not only that but the walk turned out to be much further then we thought. It was well over a mile walk to make. Maybe we should have took the trolley lol. Oh well. We passed a San Juan elementry school on the way and also some of the museums but we never stopped into them.







As you continue the walk you will pass some roads that turn and go into an area of homes and buildings down by the water front. I don't recall the name of this area but from what I read online prior to the trip it is Highly recommend to not wander into that area. I guess its the bad part of San Juan and pretty shady and scary. If you stay on the main road that we were you will travel above the area and never go thru it. I don't know whats so bad about it but we weren't about to find out.






Eventually we got to the end of the road and ahead of us a was a large green field with El Morro at the end of it. There were a few small booths set up selling kits and other local items but I will touch on why a bit later. Before walking across the field to El Morro though we decided to go take a look at the San Juan Cemetery. I saw this Cemetery in photos and had to see it in person. Its just down the hill of this grassy area and sits on a cliff over looking the ocean. To get to it you go down a small road and thru a tunnel then you are there. The Cemetery is pretty large and many of the White Headstones are pretty intrecatly detailed.









We walked around the cemetery looking at the ages on the many different headstones and just taking in how amazing the detail was on them. Some of the headstones were as old as the 1700's and as new as last year. There are two parts of the cemetery so we went to the back part as well and this is where we started to see some of the graves that were damaged. Some had headstones knocked over and others had only plywood covering the grave. You could have probably looked into the grave on some of them had you liked. The graveyard is very pretty and worth seeing for how amazing the detail is on the sculptures. And the fact that it sits outside the wall on a cliff is unique too. But keep in mind that there is only 1 way in and out. So when we left we had to go back thru that tunnel and road. Which is still in heavy use so I had to run ahead and let Kiera know when it was ok to push Daniel ahead when no cars were coming.

 

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We were now back on the grass area in front of El Morro and started to make our way across it to the next fort. But theres something special about this grassy area. Apparently its one of the best places in the world to fly a kite. Thats why there were little booths set up selling kits (for I think $5). But we came prepaired for this and bought an Ironman Kite from the Dollar Store back home so that we could fly it here with Daniel.




I got the kite all assembled and then Kiera started to fly it to Daniels excitment. It was doing well as we started to let it get higher and higher. I then took over flying it and was gonna let Daniel hold it when it then crashed to the ground. When we walked over to the kite we found one of the bars had busted so the kite was now damaged and we couldn't really fly it any more. So learn from our mistake and don't buy a cheap dollar store kite to fly here. By one thats actually decent lol. It was fun while it lasted though.








Wither the Kite was flying or not though Daniel was having a good time just being able to be out of the stroller and running and playing around on the grass. I eventually found some other pieces of a broken kite and rigged them up to kinda work on our kite but it was never able to get very high again.







Soon we were walking towards El Morro to check out this fort which is said to be the better of the two. Daniel was finally back in his stroller and I had my rigged kite flying about 3 feet above the ground as we made our way to the enterance. As we were walking up the path to El Morro one of the Trolleys passed us. Yep the Trolley will even take you right to the enterance of El Morro instead of just dropping you off at the end of the path.








We entered the fort and came to the area where you pay to enter. Since we bought the 2 fort pass back at the other fort we just had to show our reciept and we were allowed to enter. Just like the other fort once you enter you walk into a large courtyard of sorts. We explored around this level of the fort before heading to the upper levels.

 

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On the top level of the fort there is a lighthouse that is still in use today. And you can even go inside that lighthouse. We parked the stroller and then climbed as high as they would allow (you can't go where the actual light is). The views from the lighthouse were some of the best of Old San Juan that you could get.








That main level of the fort where you entered is huge and has much to see. We came across a triangle staircase which was very interesting to see. We also took a look around the rooms they had set up. Most of them were set up just like they were at the other fort though. This one at least had some cannons on display though.












All that we really had left to see at El Morro was the lower levels of the fort. However the ramp was closed to walk on and you had to use the stairs. Not wanting to attempt this with Daniel, Kiera stayed behind while I ran down to the lower level real quickly. the lower levels are pretty cool as you are practically right on the water.

 

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The views down here are pretty cool. Especially looking up and seeing the massive walls of this giant fort. And I wasn't even at the lowest levels of it. Not wanting to keep Kiera and Daniel waiting long though I didn't spend a lot of time down here or got to the other levels. After getting the photos I wanted I made the climb back up the steps to my family.







After I rejoined Kiera and Daniel we looked at some final rooms and then headed for the exit. I mentioned that main of the rooms here were done up like the other fort and the info was pretty much the same. But this fort had a small chuch area which we didn't see at the other one. We were soon outside the fort and back on the long path back to the roads.








We had a really good time seeing the forts and the history behind them is amazing. These I would say where the Must do things in San Juan. However so much of the stuff at the forts were the same between the 2. Honestly I don't know if you'd need to go to both forts. Pick one or the other and you'd be fine. Unless you have alot of time to kill. Also if you do both maybe consider taking the trolley between them as we were exhausted after the walk in the heat between the two forts. Still though i'm glad to say we saw both of them.

After touring El Morro we were hot, tired, and exhausted. So we decided that maybe it was time to start heading back to the ship. I figured that if we just walked basically strait down the road from El Morro that we would eventually get back to the ship. That was until that road ended after passing by a couple of the buildings that looked to be museums. Its a good thing I grabbed that Map right after I got off the ship.




After looking over the map we turned down a street that after passing a couple different plaza areas took us to the front of a church where the road ended. I never thought to see if we could go inside the church but it looked pretty old and I loved the old Spanish influence of the buildings archatecture.






The road ended at that church so we turned down the next street and from here it was basically a strait shot to the waterfront where the cruise docks were located. We were also now in the old San Juan shopping areas which was weird as it felt like we were walking down some alleys instead of major streets. The roads were skinny and only 1 way and they were paved with the beautiful blue cobble stone. As we walked down the street we once again passed another church that looked cool. This one had construction going on though.







As we continued on down the road we passed by many little Cafe's and shops. Again it was kinda odd seeing so many of the same shops you see in every port in these small streets instead of large cruise shopping areas. We still needed to find a post card so we stopped in a couple shops to look around. In one of the shops we found a pair of sandels that Kieras sister wanted us to get her so we ended up buying those. This shop seemed to be one of the few that had post cards as well but seeing as how they had topless girls on them we passed on them.

 

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We eventually reached the end of the road we were on. It ended at a large gate type thing that I honestly have no clue what it was for. Maybe it was one of the original gates to the walled city or something. We had reached the other side of the harbor and in the distance we could see the Carnival Dream. We weren't too far away now. If you look at the pictures of when we started docking we were actually on top of the old wall that you could see from the Dream. Next to this gate area was a park that had hundreds of pigions sitting in it. Although kinda cool it was pretty creepy at the same time. We turned down another street that ran along the wall and figured we wouldn't have to turn down many more streets before getting back to the ship.







As we got closer to the ship we actually found more shops that were your regular tacky tourist shops. The cheap tee shirt type places that also sold useless junk that you could find at any port. I was happy though as these type of places are typically where you will find post cards and sure enough I found one that would work. I also picked myself up a Pepsi as I always tend to buy a soda in at least one of our ports. We were just a couple of blocks from the ship now and as we were walking down the street there were some small booths set up along the sidewalk selling sunglasses. I hadn't seen Fake Oakley Sunglasses anywhere else yet on this trip but I finally found them here at this booth. I have bought a pair of fake Oakleys on each one of our cruises and I planned to do so again so I was happy to find them. Especially since I didn't think I would in Puerto Rico. To make it even better they only wanted $10 a pair. So I picked up two pairs.







We were soon back on the main road where the cruise dock entrance would be located. We looked around another small plaza that had some booths set up and then we walked along the shoreline back to the ship. Getting thru the security check was pretty easy as we had arrived back at the ship nearly 3 hours before we were scheduled to set sail.










Once were back on the ship we had one thing in mind. Food. We were starving after walking around in the hot and humid air all morning and afternoon. We dropped off the stroller and bags in our room and then up to the Lido buffet we went. Today we decided to get the Mongolian Wok for lunch. And we made it just in time as they closed it up right after we got our food. We love Mongolian food back home and its one of our favorite options on the dream. The food was very good today as well and hit the spot for both of us.

After lunch and Ice Cream we returned back to our cabin to relax a bit before we set sail. As Kiera and I relaxed on the bed Daniel enjoyed helping himself again to snacks and also playing with our stuff on the counter.





It was soon time for the sale away from Puerto Rico so up we went to the upper decks to watch us sail away.



When we finally climbed the 11 decks of stairs the ship was already backing away from the dock. We continued to climb to deck 12 which is where we would watch the sail away from. As the ship started to turn itself towards the ocean we got our last few biews of the newer areas of San Juan. We do wish we could have spent more time in San Juan to see more then just the old town. It would be the perfect place to sail out of for a cruise someday.

 

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The ship soon finished turning around and we were on our way out of San Juan. To our right was now old San Juan and we watched the area slowly pass us by as we looked and pointed out the places that we had walked earlier in the day. Although we knew that we had walked alot today the area looked much larger then it seemed like.












And then soon El Morro was in our sight which was the furthest point that we walked to today. It seriously seemed so much further away as we sailed towards it then it did when we were walking. The structure looked pretty magnificent as we sailed towards it.








Soon enough we sailed around the front of El Morro and were back in the open Caribbean waters on our way to our next destination. San Juan was alot of fun and is probably in my top 5 favorite ports we've visited. The history here is amazing and there is alot to see. You can do it all while walking like we did but keep in mind there is a free trolley that will take you around to. This is a port I wouldn't mind coming back to or even sailing out of someday as it seemed like there was much more to do here then we did. As I mentioned before I'd like to get out and see more of the newer parts of San Juan and even see some Puerto Rican beaches some day.

 

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We were out in the open sea now and one of the other perks of our sail away time was that we caught the Sunset today. This would be the only sunset of the entire cruise that we would catch while outside on the Carnival Dream. As Puerto Rico got further from us we decided to go get our Ice Cream and took some photos along the way.












As we made our way back down to Deck 10 to get to the Lido buffet we passed by the Red Frog Rum Bar next to the Lido pool. This was the first I really looked closely at the decore and some of the signs that were up. All of the signs had the name of almost all the ports that we have visited before. I thought this was awesome.





We soon got our ice cream but at this time of night the Lido Buffet was up and running again for dinner. We were still over an hour away from our dinner time but that didn't stop me from grabbing some food to try from the Lido buffet. In all our of cruises we have only done dinner in the Lido buffet once and it was on our 2nd cruise and we got back to the ship after our scheduled dinner was set to begin. The food we had tonight was pretty decent I thought but then again we only had a couple of things so we wouldn't get too full for our actual dinner. After our pre dinner snack we returned to our room where we would hang out until our actual dinner time.




Finally our dinner time came and to the Main Dinning room we went. As we sat down our wonderful wait staff was once again there waiting for us and was happy to take Daniels sippy cup to fill up with milk and to get us an bread that we wanted.




Tonight for our starters Kiera would end up getting the Vine Ripe Beefsteak Tomatoes and Buffalo Mozzarella, as well as the Fruit Cocktail. I chose today my regular Caesar Salad and also the Chicken Tenders in Tai Spices.





I forgot to take a picture but tonight we got Daniel the Pizza. Which he didn't really eat much of because he fell asleep tonight before our main dishes even arrived. I mentioned though that I wasn't a big fan of the new thin crust pizza thats served up on the Lido deck. But I was glad to see the pizza on the kids menu in the MDR is still the old Pizza that I still think taists much better.




For our main dishes tonight Kiera and I both got the Petite Filet Mignon and Braised Boneless Short Ribs which is always very good and one of my favorites of the cruise.



We kept it simple for our dessert tonight and just got the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake as nothing else really seemed to appitizing tonight. I don't recall there being a Dinning staff show tonight ether.

Daniel was pretty crashed out so after dinner we went back to our room to rest up a bit. If this was any other night we likely would have stayed in the room all night and let Daniel sleep. But tonight was the night of a show that is the absolute Do Not Miss of the Cruise. Dancing in the Streets.



With Daniel still asleep we made our way to the Encore Theater about 15 minutes prior to show time so that we could still get a decent seat. We were so impressed with this show the last time we sailed the Dream that we wanted to make sure we did not miss it. Sorry there won't be any photos though as this is a show that does not allow photos or video to be taken.



This show is unlike anything else we've seen at sea. Its very high energy and brings together almost every piece of entertainment found on the Dream. I mentioned before that we weren't the biggest fans of the actual Carnival Dream dancers but really enjoy the Fun Force break dance team. Well the Fun Force is really the main focus of Dancing in the Streets so it is very entertaining to watch. They even fly in Acrobats for each show that do some pretty amazing stuff. Daniel woke up shortly after the show started but he seemed to enjoy it just as much as we did. Words really cannot discribe how amazing this show is. If you don't do anything else on the Dream, make sure you see Dancing in the Streets. It ranks up there as one of the best shows i've ever seen period.

After the show finished we returned to our Cabin to get ready for bed. Luckly Daniel fell back asleep fairly quickly and we weren't far behind him. We would have our earliest morning of the cruise tomorrow as we would be arriving in St. Thomas at 7am. With how early we would be arriving we decided to try something we've never done on our previous cruises. We decided to get room service for breakfast. So after filling out the breakfast card and placing it on our door we quickly retired to bed in anticipation of what was to be another amazing day. We were very excited to return to St. Thomas. The port that after 4 previous cruises still topped our list of our favorite ports.

 

[nextidiot]

Hi Jeff,

I am enjoying reading this TR. What is the significance of buying a Pepsi in port? Does the taste vary from port to port?

Happy Holidays,
Steve

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Hi Jeff,

I am enjoying reading this TR. What is the significance of buying a Pepsi in port? Does the taste vary from port to port?

Happy Holidays,
Steve

Sorry for the late response but I have a little tradition of buying a Soda in different ports. And yes they do very from country to country as different ones have different ingediants then the US versions. The bottles are also fun to collect.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Day 8: St. Thomas

This was one of the earliest mornings we woke up all trip. We arrived in St. Thomas at 7am and when we did the rain was falling out of the sky. Although we were docked we actually didn't need to meet our excursion until 8:30am so we had time to get somewhat ready for the day. Looking out our Cabin window though we had a view of the city across the harbor.




Last night we tried something new and decided to order room service for breakfast since we would be awake and leaving the ship earlier in the morning. We filled out the card the night before and left it on the door asking for the food to be delivered between 7:30 and 7:45. I don't know if its normal as this was the first time and only time we ordered room service but it was pretty much exactly 7:45 when it was delivered. We tipped the crew member who brought it a few bucks and then ate our food in our cabin before we left. I honestly can't remember what all we ordered though but it was a nice and quick alternative to heading upstairs to the Lido buffet.

It was about 8:15am when we finally left our cabin and made our way to the Gangway to exit the ship. Many people were already off so we had no problem getting an elevator and getting off on St. Thomas. As we walked along the pier the Disney Fantasy which was next to us in Port Canaveral was once again next to us here in St. Thomas.




Today was the only day of our cruise that we had an actual excursion booked. Prior to our cruise we booked a Island Tour, Shopping, and Beach trip with Godfrey Tours. We had originally just wanted to go to a beach but seeing most Taxi or Shuttle costs to get to a beach like Megans bay would almost be as much as a whole Island tour. Last time we came to St. Thomas we also took and island tour and instantly fell in love with the Island. Back in 2009 we used EEE tours which was great and I would have loved to have used him again. However his prices went up and we were able to take a similar tour with Godfrey Tours for nealy $10 a person less. Godfrey also had great reviews and didn't charge for Daniel.

The email I recieved from Godfrey said the tour would start at 8:30 and he would have a sign waiting outside the cruise port. We assumed he would already be there when we exited the Dream but he was not. There were many other people around though offering tours. After wondering around for almost 10 minutes though Godfrey finally showed up and we were directed to his truck where we paid him for the tour and then waited for the rest of the people who would be joining us today.




Everyone was soon accounted for and away we went to begin our tour of the beautiful island of St. Thomas. Do to the limited amount of time we were docked on the Island today though we were told that we probably wouldn't get the full 2 hours at the beach. That was our whole reason for the tour but it would be ok. We left the cruise area which has many different ships and made our way towards downtown where the shopping portion of the tour would be the first stop.







Godfrey showed us some sites as we made our way towards downtown and told us some of the history of the island. We soon made it downtown though and were dropped off next to the outdoor market area where many locals set up booths to sell goods to tourists. Just up the street would be the main shopping area in St. Thomas. Honestly we didn't really care to shop. We would have rather spent more time touring the island and spending time at a beach. But since we didn't really have a choice we figured we take a look around and see what we could find. Godfrey would give us 1 1/2 hours to shop before we would meet back up and continue on with the Island tour.








Since we were right next to the Outdoor Flee Market we decided to take a look there first. Back in 2009 Kiera bought a necklass here that she really loved and broke so she wanted to see if she could find another one. After looking at many of the tarp covered booths she did eventually find one. But what was once pretty cheap was now expensive so she decided to pass on it. She never did find any others. We looked around most of the booths that were selling all sorts of stuff but didn't find anything of interest at this time. Many of the booths were actually still setting up so maybe we would check back again later.








We decided to walk down the sidewalk next to the main road the goes along the Harbor. We stopped in at a few different shops along the way to see if we found anything we wanted. Which other then our traditional Post Card wasn't anything else.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

We walked down the street quite a ways and once we got to the Magic Ice bar we decided that maybe it was time to start heading back to where we would meet to continue on with our tour. Instead of walking back the way we had come though we walked up a block to that street which is said to have the best shopping in St. Thomas. This street did have many shops. Most of which of course were the ones found in every port though. Still we took a look at many different ones.










As we made our way back to the Outdoor Market we stopped by a shop and Kiera found some Sunglasses she liked for only $10 so we picked those up. Then we made our way back to the Market passing thru a park that had a replica of the Liberty Bell and also some statues that were represented some of the founders of the island.







Since we still had a little more time to kill before we would meet back up with Godfrey we decided to yet again take a look around the Outdoor Flee Market. Now that most of the booths were open we found a few more things we were interested in. Kiera was able to find a purse that she liked (she gets one each cruise). It was pretty large and a Coach Knockoff. We also found some Tee Shirts to take home to Kieras Siblings. We got one for Daniel too.




When we finished shopping the market we noticed that Godfrey was parked across the street waiting for everyone in the group to finish shopping. Since we were done we walked across the street and climbed into the truck to wait for everyone else to finish. Another reason I picked Godfrey for our tour on our visit today was because he offered free Water and Soda to those on the tour as well. So I grabbed us some drinks out of the cooler to have while we waited. I thought it was great that these were offered to us. Daniel really enjoyed the fruit punch I got him and enjoyed drinking out of a can for the first time. Even though it kinda stained his face lol.



Everyone was soon loaded into the truck and away we went to head into the More mountainous area of St. Thomas for our Island tour. We first went by some of the more historic buildings in the city first including whats said to be the oldest building on the Island and then we started to make our way up some of the mountain roads. I mentioned back in 2009 that people in St. Thomas drive pretty crazy. And not much has changed. They are still crazy drivers here. Its diffenitly not a place i'd want to attempt driving on our own.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

We climbed higher and higher on the island passing many gorgous sites along the way. The island is very lush and beautiful and green. It is hands down the prettiest places that I have every had the oppertunity to visit. Thats probably why its our favorite port as well.









As we got higher and higher Godfrey eventually pulled over at a look out area for us to get out and look over the city and harbor. The views were similar to a place we stopped back in 2009 but I'm pretty sure it was different location. There were other tours stopping here as well. While we looked out over the city Godfrey pointed out all the sites to us and told us some more about the island history. The views of this side of the island were really great and we loved seeing the ships docked down in the harbor.









Another tour showed up just as we were finishing and that signaled it was our time to move on with our Island tour. But looking off into the distance we could see another Cruise Ship making its way towards the island. It was the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. Although we would see it next to the Dream later in the day I thought it was cool to actually see the ship sailing just off the outskirts of the island.




We loaded back onto the truck and continued our tour of the island. As we continued our climb up the mountain to our next destination Godfrey continued to tell us about the Island and is History. The land lushness seemed to get nicer the higher up the mountain we got. It is so pretty here. We passed a few houses where all that remained were foundations and we were told these were houses distroyed by some of the Hurricanes that had hit the island. I guess many people actually don't have hurricane insurance on the island because it is rediculously expensive now.










At nearly the top of the highest point of the island we reached the distination we were heading to. We were at a large gift shop and look out area called Mountain Top and its famous for being the home of the original Banana Daquari. This was new for us as when we visited the island in 2009 we didn't come to Mountain top as it had burned down in a fire and we went to the Great House instead.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

We would have 30 minutes to take in the views and shop around the store. After parking the tour truck we went strait to the observation deck where Godfrey once again explained what we were looking at. We now had a view of the other side of the island.





Directly below us was Megans Bay. A beach that National Geographic named as one of the top 5 beaches in the world. Off in the distance though you could see some of the other Virgin Islands such as St. John.






The view of the surrounding islands from here is incredible and its worth coming up here for the view alone. In the distance you could also see some storms passing by that look really cool.






After being told about what we could see from the view at Mountain Top we went back inside to look around the shop. But what this shop was really famous for is the original Banana Daquari. We couldn't come all this way to the birthplace of this drink and not try one. In the back of the shop they have a huge stand set up that sells the drink. We don't drink alcohol but they do offer a Virgin version of the drink which was pretty good. We just got one to share. Daniel really enjoyed it as well.




We made our way back to the truck as we finished off our drink as it was nearly time to go. Outside of the Mountain Top Shop it is very beautifuly landscapped. There are also many different pirate stautes that tell about some of the pirates that called St. Thomas home.






When we left Mountain Top we started to make our way back down the mountain on the opposite side of the Island from where the ships were docked. Thats because this side of the island is where most of the beaches are located. We passed the Great House where we stopped last time we visited but now seemed very empty with all the buisness back at Mountain Top.








Shortly after we started driving Daniel fell asleep in Kieras arms. The drive down the mountain was slow though so he slept pretty soundly. I'm sure he didn't know what he was looking at anyways so its not like the tour was exciting to him. This side of the island is just as lush and beautiful as the other side and we loved getting the peaks at the ocean and other islands in the distance as we made our way down the mountain.