We selected the Carnival Dream because it's one of the few ships that offer staterooms that sleep five people.  When I tell all of my friends to stop at two kids because it makes vacation planning harder, I mean it.  On other ships our cost would be significantly jacked because we'd either need to book a suite (prohibitively expensive) or adjoining rooms (meaning we would have to pay for three 1st and 2nd passenger fees instead of just two).

Since the ship's home port is Port Canaveral, the first leg of our trip was a flight from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Orlando International Airport.  All 15 of us flew on Delta flight 2285 since they were offering the best fares on direct flights.  My wife and I woke up at 4:30 AM to get everything ready for our 7:15 departure.  We booked a van via New Ecuatoriana car service which arrived promptly at 5:30 to take us to the airport.  The driver was very helpful with the bags and great with the kids.  Our flight was on the basic but but reliable MD-88.  Chris decided he wanted to sit next to me (he had the window seat, of course) so Anthoula sat between the girls on the other side of the aisle.  As is normally the case with early morning flights, we departed exactly on time.  I really dislike flying (I prefer to do all of my flying in front of a computer screen), but it was one of the smoothest flights I've ever been on.  The kids were fantastic for the entire 2.5 hour flight so the trip was off to a great start.

We arrived at the airport, collected our baggage and I called our charter bus dispatcher to send our bus into the airport to pick us up.  Since we had 14 checked bags, numerous carry-ons and multiple children in tow, we used a SkyCap to bring our luggage over to the ground transportation area.  It was an expense well worth it.  Carnival offers their own transfer service from

Our airport transfer bus.

Orlando International Airport to Port Canaveral, but it's pricey.  I was able to book a charter bus with luggage trailer through TravelLynx for about half the cost of the Carnival transfer.  I was also able to arrange for the bus to make a stop so we could go shopping before we went to the port.  This enabled us to pick up snacks and beach toys before boarding the boat.  Our driver was extremely professional and had even cruised on the Dream, so he gave us some pointers on the ride over to the port.  As on the flight, all the kids were outstandingly behaved on the 45 minute bus ride to the port.

Port Canaveral

The Port Canaveral cruise terminal is very well run.  Porters unloaded our bags from the bus trailer and we were on our way to check-in in a matter of minutes.  After a short wait and some additional paperwork to change the credit card attached to our sign and sail cards, we had our room keys and were ready to board.  Given our boarding zone number, it appeared as though we'd have a bit of a wait before we would be able to embark. However a Carnival employee spotted us with the double stroller and three kids and let us board the ship immediately. Given that I was rushing from one place to the next, I didn't realize that our entire group wasn't boarding with us.  In hindsight I wish we would have waited or asked if we could all board together because I really wanted to get a group shot in our custom t-shirts.  Unfortunately we were never able to get a shot of us as a group in our shirts.

On Board

Once on board we immediately went to the Gathering restaurant on Deck 10 to get some lunch into ourselves and the kids.  I actually wasn't very hungry so I had a plate of fries from the grill.  The fries were outstanding; I'd actually put them up against any of the top fast food fries out there.  I don't recall what everyone else ate...but the girls didn't eat much (a theme for the remainder of the cruise) and Chris have fries (another recurring theme for the entire cruise).  Soon after we saw the rest of our group in the Gathering and we all sat together near the aft pool for a little while.  Finally, we were able to go and get into our room so we took the kids down to see our new home for the next 7 days.

Our Room

Our kids looking out the stateroom window.

We had stateroom 1-370 which was a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with a Queen sized bed, a convertible twin couch/bed and two upper twin sized Pullman beds.  We called our room attendant to come and deploy one of the upper Pullmans for Chris and had the girls share the lower bed, which they loved.  Chris also loved his "bed in the sky" and climbing up and down his ladder (although we tried to discourage this to prevent any potential accidents).  A nice touch in the room was a privacy curtain that separates the large bed from two of the other beds in the room.  The second Pullman is above the Queen, but since we didn't need it we were able to completely separate our sleeping area from the kids' sleeping area.

We also had two bathrooms; one bathroom had a shower and toilet and the other had a small tub and no toilet.  The tub was large enough for me to bathe in (I am 5'10"), although I couldn't stretch out by any means.  Having two washroom facilities was a major bonus, as we were able to each shower down one child simultaneously after our forays to the beach or pool.  We also had four closets and it was really a nice sized room for us.  I'm not sure how spacious it would be if your kids are older but if you are travelling with youngsters then it's a good room and one of the few options if you are a party of five.

Our stateroom attendant was fantastic.  He quickly adapted to our schedule and had the room tidied up every time we returned from whatever we were out doing.

 Dining

There are several dining options on the Carnival Dream.  The main dining rooms, The Gathering buffet on deck 10, Chef's Art steakhouse.  There are various "stations" around The Gathering that offer some additional options for a quick bite: pizza, the grill (burgers, fries, chili, etc.), tandoori, a mongolian grill a burrito station and pasta bar.

Main Dining Room

Our party of fifteen was seated in the Scarlet dining room.  The first night they had us split into two tables of 10 and 5.  Our service was outstanding on that first night.  On the second night, they moved us to a table of 15 seated all together.  At this point service went downhill.  Admittedly, a table of 15 is a tall order to handle and our main waiter did his best.  However, the assistant waiter was nowhere to be found most of the time leaving our waiter to do the majority of the work himself.  Our bar server was even worse.   He would appear one time after our appetizers had already come out to take our orders and would never return to see if anyone needed a second drink.

Food in the main dining room varied.  For the most part I found many of the dishes to be under-seasoned although otherwise competently prepared.  Now, don't get me wrong. The galley is putting out food for thousands of people so I set my expectations accordingly.  However, there's no excuse for under-seasoning.  For example, one night french onion soup was offered as an appetizer.  The broth had almost no flavor at all.

My other gripe with the main dining room is the portion sizes.  One night I ordered the vegetarian burritos and received two small (6" tortilla size) burritos with no side dish.  On another evening, the side dish was a condiment sized bowl of mac and cheese.  By condiment size, I mean a little bowl that most restaurants use to bring you a serving of ketchup.

Chef's Art Steakhouse

The Chef's Art Steakhouse was very good, however dining here costs an extra $30 per person.  As a comparison, I ordered the French onion soup appetizer from the steakhouse and the broth had many layers of complex flavor.  It was totally night and day when compared to the broth being served in the main dining room.  My porterhouse steak was cooked perfectly and I loved the sauteed mushrooms.  Everyone really enjoyed their food at Chef's Art and the service was top-notch.

The Gathering

The Gathering buffet was the most disappointing part of the ship. The food was generally not very hot and the selections were fairly limited from the main buffet area.

The breakfast buffet was the most disappointing.  Most other buffets I've dined at offer a selection of pancakes, waffles, or french toast.  The Gathering offered only one of those per day.  Eggs usually seemed runny.

The burrito station served up custom-made burritos (a-la Chipotle or Moe's).  They weren't bad, but nothing special.

I passed on the Mongolian grill because the line for this was always long and Mongolian grill isn't particularly exotic when you live in a city where every other deli in Manhattan has something similar.

I did not try the pizza myself, but other members of my party said they liked it.

The grill was pretty good - I had a burger one day that was fairly juicy.  The fries they were serving would stack up against some of the top fast-food fries out there.  Golden-crisp and nicely salted.  My dad and brother-in-law really liked the chili they were serving.

The Tandoori station was also good.  The options here were different and spicy.  I was happy to see them not toning down the spice to appeal to the typically bland American palate.

Entertainment

Since my wife and I were travelling with our 3 year olds, we didn't really take advantage of any of the entertainment options on board.  The Dream offered nightly "production" shows, comedy and live music acts scattered throughout the ship.  The live musicians were pretty good and added to the lively atmosphere on board.

Camp Carnival

Our son LOVED Camp Carnival. He wanted to go every day.  The staff was warm, patient and accommodating.  Unfortunately our daughters did not enjoy camp so the staff had to call us to come and pick them up, as they spent their time there crying for their mom the entire time.  They have lots of toys and activities and the children are well supervised.

Casino

The Casino

The casino was your typical cruise ship casino offering a mix of table games and slots.  I won a modest amount of money playing slots so I can't complain.  Table games were usually crowded in the evenings.  The casino is one of the few places on board where smoking is allowed so that's my only negative mark against it.

Decor/Finish

The decor of the ship is fine.  It wasn't as gaudy as I expected it to be but it seems a little "cheap".  The finish in certain areas of the ship is lacking.  For example, the light covers and molding in our stateroom didn't match up leaving gaps and edges.  Some of the decorations on the lights in the Gathering had fallen off (or been removed by passengers) leaving the residue of adhesive behind.  Little things like that give a bad impression.  The materials and decor were definitely not as nice as the Crown Princess, but Princess is marketed as a higher end experience than Carnival, so that's to be expected.

Deck 3 Atrium / Lobby

Despite these minor gripes, the boat is well maintained and cared for by her crew and I never saw an unclean area.

Photography

As any cruise veteran knows, every ship has an army of photographers and backdrops waiting to take your picture.  I found that many of the photographers were not professional and just looking to get through their line.  For example, they didn't spend any time posing or arranging people so a face wouldn't be lit, etc.  There were a handful of good ones, but many were not.

We did buy some portraits since we don't have many opportunities to all get in a photo together.  At $21.99 it's somewhat of a ripoff, but I guess they have to cover the cost of the thousands of pictures that go into the garbage.  This is one of the most wasteful parts of a cruise and it would nice to see it go all electronic.  The lack of multiple purchase discounts was also disappointing, as Princess Cruises does offer a discount for buying more than one photo.

The Ports

Cozumel, Mexico

A view of Nachi Cocom Beach Club from our parasailing boat.

At Cozumel we went to Nachi Cocom beach club.  We booked this excursion on our own several months prior to cruising.  The beach club was great.  They do not allow a "party" atmosphere (think spring break), so it's perfect for families.  Unlimited food and drinks are included in the fee.  Service was outstanding, the drinks were strong, and the food was tasty.  The beach was very clean and the water impeccably clear.

You can also rent jet skis, go para-sailing and partake in various other activities (all at additional cost) at Nachi Cocom.  Six of us decided to go para-sailing.  The two man crew was extremely pleasant and professional.

Isla Roatan, Honduras

Mahogany Bay Beach

Our second stop was at Isla Roatan.  Here we purchased the Relax on the Beach package through Carnival.  This included unlimited rides on their "Flying Chairs", a clamshell, beach chairs and two floating rafts.  The Mahogany Bay is artificial and was built by the cruise company, so it's there to serve as a tourist money grabber. We chose it because it was very close to the ship.  The beach featured a slide playset for the kids, some restaurants and a relaxed atmosphere.  There is a lot of grass covering the sea bottom in most of the swimming area, which I was not a big fan of.

I expected this beach to be crowded since it was the most convenient, and I was correct.  As the morning wore on and the late risers staggered in, the beach started filling up.  At no point though did the beach feel overcrowded.  I was happy we bought the relax on the beach package because we got chairs close to the water and the clamshells were great for keeping the kids out of the sun when they weren't enjoying the water.

We ate lunch at one the restaurants on the beach area and the food was solid, if unspectacular.  Think sit down chain restaurant and your expectations will be moderated appropriately.

If I am lucky enough to visit Roatan again and our kids our older I would do something to get out of the Mahogany Bay area, as I am sure the natural beaches and areas on the island are much more appealing.

Belize

Goff's Caye, Belize

The channels in Belize aren't deep enough for the cruise ship to dock on land, so tendering is required here.  Five of us booked the Goff's Caye Snorkeling excursion through Carnival and the others decided to stay on the ship.  Our snorkeling boat came directly to the ship to pick us up and we were off.

This was a "guided" tour around one of the reefs surrounding Goff's Caye.  We jumped off the boat and basically swam around the island to the beach.  They said that we'd be snorkeling from 45-60 minutes and then spending an hour or so on the beach.  I believe that we were in the water snorkeling for over an hour though because we only spent about 30 minutes on the beach after our snorkel tour was complete.

The reef was gorgeous with lots of interesting corals and fish.  However, a lot of the outcroppings don't come near the surface, so in order to see a lot of fish up close you have to dive under.  This was ok with me, but between that and 60+ minutes of swimming, I am not sure that I would recommend this for the beginning snorkeler.  There was another option to snorkel off the beach instead of jumping off of the boat, so that may be a better option for a beginner or inexperienced swimmer.

Costa Maya, Mexico

Maya Chan Beach Club

As with Cozumel, we booked a beach excursion at Maya Chan beach club prior to cruising.  In order to get to the beach club you have to take a bus or taxi (arranged through Maya Chan, so the cost is included in your fee).  The ride is bumpy on an unpaved road through a poor fishing town called Majahual.  I will admit that it is somewhat depressing to see people living in small shacks on your way to enjoy yourself at a beach club.

We were welcomed to Maya Chan by our host, Zack, and were offered drinks and fruit.  While Maya Chan itself was nicely outfitted--we had a large "hut" with loads of comfortable chairs and a hammock--the beach there isn't the greatest.  There is a lot of sea grass, but they do have a worker diligently raking it up and disposing it.

That's where the party ended, as mother nature would not cooperate with us on that day.  The rain started coming down in sheets and the wind was blowing it sideways.  All the kids were wet and cold so we decided to return to the ship early.  While we were waiting in the bar area we had chips and guacamole, both of which were very good.  They were in the process of preparing lunch, and the bbq smelled great.  I was really disappointed that we didn't get to sample lunch at Maya Chan.

Behind the Fun Tour

Early in the cruise I booked the Behind the Fun Tour for me and my dad.  The tour took place on the last sea day and allows participants to visit "off limits" areas of the ship such as the laundry, galley, food storage areas, engine control room, bridge, etc.  On the bridge we got to take photos with the captain and he answered all of our questions patiently and candidly.  It was a very great experience, although at $95 per person is definitely overpriced.  For your participation you get a cheap backpack, hat and lanyard, a soap carving, the recipe for the Chocolate Melting Cake dessert, and three photos taken during the tour.  It's a long tour (almost 4 hours) so make sure you wear your walking shoes.

In The End

I would say that we all had an enjoyable time on our cruise.  When cruising everything won't be perfect, especially on a boat with almost 4,000 passengers.  My biggest disappointment is the high degree of "nickle and diming" that happens once you get on board.  There's an icee machine by the pool--that will be $3.00 for a large.  Want gelato from the dessert bar on deck 5?  That's another $3.  Every video game in the arcade costs $1.00 to play.  $6-8 for drinks.  You get the picture.  It's easy to leave the cruise having spent hundreds of extra dollars while on board, so if you're a first time cruiser don't be deceived by the seemingly low prices of some cruises.

Cruising with three nearly 3-year olds isn't easy, and we were fortunate to be with family that was there to help out and offer a hand when needed.  We never would have been able to do this trip on our own...or if we did it would have been far more stress filled.  Sure, there were some tense moments, but we had a great time.  The kids really loved being on the boat and going to beaches where fish were visible in the water, etc.  I expect that this won't be our last cruise together.  (Spoiler alert: We already have another booked for next year, but we're leaving out of NYC so it will be a lot easier.)

I was really craving something sweet and we had 4 large apples in our little fruit tray on the table.  I don't know what kind of apples they were because my wife did the food shopping this week and she didn't remember the variety.  She said she thought the name began with a "j", but a quick review of allaboutapples.com reveals that there are 18 such varieties.

Anyhow, the night air has been cool and fall is settling into the New York City area, so I thought "What better to make than a nice apple crisp?"  Disaster nearly set in when I couldn't find our fruit/vegetable peeler; I was forced to peel the apples with a paring knife.  The knife wasn't as sharp as I would have liked, but I struggled through and peeled 3 apples.  The full recipe follows after the break.

A crummy iPhone photo of my yummy apple crisp.

Rich's Apple Crisp

The Filling

• 3 large apples or 5 medium apples. Use whatever variety you like best.  For a nice treat use 2 or 3 different varieties.
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ground nutmeg (this is optional - I usually grate in about 1/8-1/4 of a teaspoon - you want to get a hint of nutmeg, not really have it overpower everything)

The Topping

• 1 stick of butter (melted)
• 1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Putting It All Together

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Peel, core and cut the apples into slices.  If you are using one of those 8-segment apple corers, I would then slice those 8 in half to get 16 slices per apple.
3. In a large bowl, toss the apples, sugar and cinnamon.  Let this all sit together while the oven preheats and you make the topping.
4. In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Try to break up the brown sugar so it's evenly distributed and you don't have big lumps of brown sugar.
5. Gradually pour the melted butter over the flour mixture and mix it in until your crumb mixture comes together.  You can use a rubber spatula to do this, but I've found that it's easiest to just use your hands.
6. Put a pie plate or baking dish onto a small cookie sheet (to catch any possible overflow).  I usually use a glass pie plate for this, but really any size or shape baking vessel will do.
7. Pour the apples into the dish to create an even layer.
8. Sprinkle the topping over the apples
9. Place in the middle of the oven and bake.  I like some bite to the apples, so I usually bake mine for 30-35 minutes.  If you like softer apples, bake it longer.  It's easy enough to check with a fork to see how soft the apples are.