A Christmas Dream: Planning
This is a 7-day, solo cruise on the Carnival Dream out of New Orleans. This is my ninth carnival cruise–seventh out of New Orleans. This will be my second time on the Dream. We will be cruising to Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel. I previously visited Mahogany Bay and Belize on Freedom and Breeze. This will be my eighth time in Cozumel.
Booking
This was what I would consider a last minute cruise. I’ve been booking 6-18 months out and I booked this one less than three months out. My next cruise was supposed to be the Vista in February but I found out I needed to take some vacation time by the end of the year so…I immediately started looking at when I could fit a cruise in. A major part of the reason I cruise at the end of August and end of February is because of football season…I don’t like to miss it. So I go just before and just after football season. The first thing I needed to look at was the Saints schedule. Immediately I noticed they play on Thursday this week. Which means they don’t play on Sunday. That gives me a 10-day period until their next game. If I do a sunday-sunday I’ll get back on the day of their next game. All I’ll need to do is be able to get to a sports bar by noon…or If I cruise out of New Orleans…any bar by noon.
Bonus: The ships are decorated for Christmas the first week of December–something that has been on my cruising bucket list.
Preference was drivable ports so Galveston or New Orleans for me. That gave me Vista, Freedom, Or Valor out of Galveston and Dream or Triumph out of New Orleans. I immediately eliminated Valor because her 5-day Cruise was about as much as the 7-day Dream cruise…insane! Freedom is doing the same eastern route I just did on Dream in August. I do want to go back…but not so soon…and preferably on a Dream class ship. Vista is doing the same route I’m taking on Vista in February so I eliminated her. That left me with Dream or Triumph. Part of me wanted to do Triumph one last time before the dry dock. But I really love the Dream class and 7-day cruises…and this will be my last chance to do a 7-day on the Dream before she starts doing short cruises out of Galveston. Since then I’ve read some of the stories about issues on the Triumph with them starting the renovations early–I’m even more happy with my decision now.
I normally book on my own when carnival offers a reduced deposit and $50 OBC. I let the OBC go towards gratuities. Time is pretty critical now because I’ve decided where I want my room to be and there is only one room left in that area. Carnival isn’t offering any OBC so I decide to see what the travel agents have to offer. I read about a website on here once where travel agents…compete for your cruise. I got quotes from them for my last dream cruise but didn’t book through any of them. This time I was motivated to get some OBC. I let the quotes come in over a period of a couple days. The best quote was from a place that sounds like something a queen would wear on her head. They offered the same price as carnival + $75 OBC. I ended up booking through them. The guy who sent me the quote wasn’t answering the phone or replying to emails. The next morning I decided just to call the main line and try to get another person at the agency to book me. A guy named Eric booked me and it was quick and painless. Ever since I booked, I’ve been managing the cruise online just as I always do. Now I don’t know how it would be if I had to do payments and price drops. Maybe I would’ve had to deal with the agent more. Since I booked after final payment date and the cruise was nearing a sellout, I paid in full and didn’t have to worry about price drops.
I’ve been booking cruises 6-18 months out. One of the reasons why is because I like lido inside rooms and they sell pretty fast. This time they were sold out so I took a room on deck 9.
Another issue with booking late was the dining time. I like your time dining. I’m not into the two hour dining experience. I like to get in right when they open and get out before any of the evening entertainment begins. All they had available was late dining. That was horrible! That’s during my comedy shows! I may have to eat in the buffet. You can’t go back to the buffet after you get hooked on the dining room! “I can’t. I won’t.” I spent a couple weeks on the waitlist but finally I got confirmed for YTD.
I was concerned that I would get stuck with a late check-in time since I booked inside of 90 days. It wasn’t too bad. I got a noon check-in time. Last time I had 11:30 and showed up at the port at 11:50 so noon is a good time for me.
Parking/HotelP
The rates for one week of parking after taxes and fees are typically Fulton rooftop $83, Fulton covered $106, Machu Picchu $110, Port $140. I’ve been using Fulton rooftop for $83. I haven’t cruised out of New Orleans during the winter since Feb ’16 but apparently now Fulton is jacking up prices in the winter…to the point where my rooftop parking would cost an additional $40! This note comes up when I try to book “Please note: season rate of $15.00 per day in affect (should be effect) from 11/04/2018 to 05/05/2019” This brings the total cost for my week to $122 rooftop or $134 covered. If you’re going to pay $134, you might as well just park at the port for $140…assuming they haven’t raised their rates. I checked with Machu Picchu and they are still $110 if you pay cash. $115 if you pay credit.
Since I hadn’t booked my pre-cruise hotel yet, I just decided to book the Country Inn & Suites in Metairie which has the park n cruise package that includes breakfast, 8 days of parking, and a shuttle to the port. The cost of the park n cruise package is $150. It came to $170 after taxes. What it doesn’t include is a shuttle back from the port. That’s a $15-20 Uber/Lyft. I’ve heard there’s a shuttle the hotel recommends for $10/person. That works great for me since I’m just one person. Someone who used that shuttle a couple weeks ago told me the shuttle driver was in touch with them on debarkation day via text message and was outside waiting when they got off of the ship. Sounds great and I’ll probably give it a try.
Excursions
Roatan:
Roatan has the free beach but I’m not much of a beach guy and we’re going to be in port with the Breeze…8,000 people fighting over beach chairs doesn’t sound good to me. I gotta get out of there for a little bit. I was looking at this city tour through carnival where you feed Iguanas, go to a rum factory and a chocolate factory…maybe a couple other things. It’s at 9am and I want to say it was a 4-5 hour tour. I looked at a couple of other sites and I came across this glass boat excursion on the site that I found my travel agent on….the site where they…compete for your cruise. The glass boat is only a 2-hour excursion and they have two time options 9:30 and 12:30…..12:30? I’m the type that I don’t want to get up until 8..and I want to grab breakfast and coffee..maybe a bloody mary. I don’t really want to get off the boat until 10. All these excursions leave so darn early. This 12:30 is a huge bonus for me. From the reviews it sounds like they may tack on a stop at the chocolate factory. So that’s one of the stops on the other excursion.
I’m always tempted to try snorkeling or scuba diving. But then I think…you have to have all this equipment. You have to change clothes. You get wet…have to avoid sharks…dry off…change clothes again…deal with your wet equipment. It just seems like a big hassle on vacation. Fun fact..in eight cruises the only water I’ve touched has been in the shower, sink, out of a water bottle, or the melted ice in a cocktail glass. So I look at this glass boat thing and think…This is my kind of snorkel. I get to stay dry. I don’t need any equipment. They have a little table for my Bloody Mary.
In Cozumel they have a submarine for like $100 you can go 100 feet under. In one of the ports there’s a sub that goes 1000-1500 under. Looks cool but I think I’m going to start out with 4 feet. I’m going to “ease into the water like an old man into a nice warm bath.”
I booked the glass bottom boat excursion for $62 on that site where they compete from your cruise. Here are the details:
Tour Details
Roatan Island is renowned the world over for its lush and vivid marine life. And you’ll see it all by glass-bottom boat on this Roatan excursion.
After meeting your driver at the pier area, you will travel approximately 30 minutes to reach your boat on Half Moon Bay on Roatan’s West End. As it is situated on the second-largest reef system in the world, Roatan’s claim to fame is under the sea off its coast. During your Roatan shore excursion, you will experience the magic and majesty of the reef from the comfort and security of your glass-bottom boat.
The boat is 44 feet long, 12 feet wide, is air conditioned and accommodates 28 passengers. The viewing area can be reached by a narrow staircase leading from the upper deck down into the hull of the boat. Here, metal benches fold down so you can sit and watch the underwater world go by. The windows face out, offering a much larger viewing field than the traditional glass bottoms that only look down.
While keeping comfortable and dry, you will be able to be face-to-face with sea fauna, untouched reef systems, eels, sharks, and a whole host of fish species. It is an unforgettable experience observing, photographing, and simply being one with the underwater ecosystem like never before. Your glass bottom cruise lasts approximately 40 minutes. After the tour, you will have a few minutes to take pictures or purchase a refreshment before you are transferred back to the cruise pier.
Belize:
In Belize there’s a lot of zip lining and cave tubing and snokeling. We’ve already talked about getting wet. I don’t think after a long night at the Alchemy and a small amount of sleep that slinging myself through a jungle on a zip line is a very good idea. So I hear these Lamanai ruins are a good thing to see. A bit pricey through Carnival at $124.99. And it’s a six hour tour going outside of Carnival which seems a bit risky. So I look over on the Belize board and see people have been off and on getting price matches from Carnival for this one tour over the past year. At first they were getting the 110% refund on the full difference. Then for awhile people were getting denied. The most recent ones had people getting approved but at a higher rate than the competitor’s excursion..Which is what I got. I purchased the carnival excursion at $124.99, submitted the price protection form, and I’m getting $32.99 OBC. That brings the cost down to $92. I also booked the excursion using my Carnival Mastercard which gives me a 10% statement credit on Carnival excursions. That gave me another $12.50 bringing the cost down to $79.50.
Add that $32.99 OBC to the $75 I got from the travel agency and that should cover my gratuities and the tax on some of my mississippi river drinks.
For anyone interested in booking this excursion and submitting the price protection form here is the link you need to send them and the response I received.
| Message History Response By Email (11/19/2018 04:14 PM) Hello Greg, Thank you for submitting a Shore Excursions Best Price Guarantee claim. We are excited to inform you that your claim was accepted and your account will have an onboard credit of $32.99. You may print out this email for your records and proof of this onboard credit which will only show once aboard the ship. Although your claim was accepted it was approved under the $95.00 rate per guest. Our tour launches from an exclusive Ayinha property built solely for efficient access to Lamanai. Ayinha reduces down the overall travel time by motor coach & boat transfer by 2 hours to reach the Lamanai ruins. This provides the time for guests to actually climb the temples, providing the experience of a lifetime. Ayinha day admission is USD $20.00 per person, and includes a fusion of Belizean cultural along with Belizean Lunch Buffet. This $20 entrance fee has been included to make the tours comparable. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Scott Carnival Cruise Line | 3655 NW 87th Avenue | Miami, FL 33178 |
EXCURSION DETAILS
Your adventure will begin when you hop aboard a comfortable air-conditioned bus for a one hour drive through the scenic Belize River Valley. You will pass through the historic villages, which were the original settlements of the colony of British Honduras; all of which form the Belize River Valley, on the way to Ayinha Eco Park. You will then board a riverboat for a 30 minute cruise of the New River Lagoon, with its spectacular rainforest teeming with exotic birds, deer and iguanas, mangroves and orchids. Experience the thrill of gliding along the sparkling New River Lagoon, while viewing the spectacular rain forest. This includes exotic animals and birds en route to Lamanai (from Lama’anayin, “submerged crocodile” in Yucatec Maya), once the largest Mayan ceremonial site in Meso-America and occupied as early as 1500 B.C.
Lamanai is one of the largest and most excavated Mayan Site in Northern Belize, and it lies about 24 miles south of the town of Orange Walk. These Ruins are known for its impressive architecture, surrounded by dense rainforest and overlooking the expanse of the magnificent New River Lagoon, which was an important part of the way of life of the Mayans.
There is evidence of Mayan life that dates from about 1500 B.C. through Post classic (A.D.950 – 1544) and Spanish colonial times (A.D. 1544 – 1700). Lamanai was once the largest Mayan ceremonial site in Meso America. During the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan, Spanish friars established two Roman Catholic Churches here, but a Maya revolt drove the Spanish out. The British had also settled in Lamanai and built a sugar mill.
Upon completion of the tour at Lamanai, you will return to Ayinha Eco Park. While at Ayinha you can enjoy our truly world class facilities which includes restaurant (upper & lower deck) and bars, modern bathroom facilities, gift shop for souvenir shopping. While at Ayinha, enjoy a tasty Belizean style lunch, cooked with local coconut oil and seasoned to perfection. You will break at Ayinha for 1 hour where you can relax and purchase tropical drinks, our locally brewed Belikin beer or sample our local rums paired with fresh organic coconut water. Then you will board your comfortable air-conditioned bus for your ride back to Belize City, which once again, takes you through the historic villages of the Belize River Valley.
We provide free water, box lunch and fruit punch
Cozumel
This is going to be my 8th time in Cozumel. I don’t have anything booked right now. That could change but as of now I’m just going to do my own thing that day.
