Phil Reimer aboard the Carnival Dream--Yesterday it was Marcia Gay Harden’s day in the sun as she officially named the Carnival's newest ship the Carnival Dream. That makes her forever the godmother of the ship. The newest godmother of this ship is only 9 years old and cute as a button. Hailee Steberger of New Jersey is the godmother to the 306-foot water slide. She was the winner of the Book of Dreams competition and if you ever take a trip on the Carnival Dream, look for her plaque at the Water Works section of the ship.
At a press conference, Gerry Cahill, President of Carnival Cruise Lines, described at great length the various areas of the ship. We will get to all of those spots and describe them in detail over the next five days.
First impressions:
The ship is neatly laid out and while many of the areas are familiar to Carnival cruisers, if the first night is any indication, Deck 5 is going to become the hub of a lot of activity both day and night. Outside, this deck wraps right around the ship. If you're into walking, you only have to make two laps around the ship to equal a mile. I used to carry coins in my pocket, transferring them from one pocket to the other on those ships counting five laps to the mile—not the case here. I'll go through this deck from one end to the other in later blog posts. This deck inside and out looks like a winner.
The other area that impresses me is Serenity. As someone noted at the press conference, sometimes you just have to get away from the kids.
The kid’s area encompasses 20,000 square feet and every age bracket has their area. The kids don’t mess with the teen club, and the tweens have their own too.
The permanent home for this ship is Port Canaveral, so it has been conceived with families in mind.
Okay, I got carried away—back to Serenity. It's not that big, but it’s located right at the top and the bow of the ship and can accommodate about 200. Great loungers and even a hammock can be found. Most importantly—it's free.
A new pasta restaurant has been added on a second tier to the Lido Deck. You will find it inside the main buffet area. I'll let you in on a secret that everyone will now know. When The Gathering (the name of the buffet) is full in the morning, just walk upstairs to the pasta area. I went up there this morning and I was the only one.
So Deck 5's Serenity, pasta restaurant and kid’s area so far have impressed me. I will put them under some tougher scrutiny in the days ahead.
By the way, the wind and the rain combined to cause cancellation of some flights here in New York yesterday. Thank goodness both the rain and the wind eased off in time for a 6 p.m. sailing. You don’t realize how big New York is until you see the buildings lining both sides of the Hudson.
All for now.