Oct 15.2009 - Civitavecchia, Italy

DKP : WE HAVE ARRIVED!! What a night... my back is not happy with me now but the sea made a kind companion for the night's journey to Civitavecchia. Just being back on the sea is enough for me in some ways... it's always as if I have never been gone.

The DREAM is a magnificent piece of engineering and design, plus, she is simply a beautiful site to behold. Her hull is sleek and modern, a marriage between a floating skyscraper and a super yacht. The Italians, not usually known for their efficiency, surprised us with one of the easiest boardings ever. So we checked the bags in and headed back downtown for a bit before boarding.

Once finally onboard, we I am impressed with the unique treatments of space and color. Splendor "pink" has become Dream "red", very RED but a pleasing palette with complimentary browns and tans throughout. There is something about this ship that feels cohesive; it feels as if she knows what she is meant to be. There has been consideration given to reorganizing the look and feel and flow of the large community spaces such as the Lido (Deck 10) and Promenade (Deck 5). As a designer, I really noticed and appreciated the changes. The various venues feel more spacious and allow for traffic flow in a more efficient fashion.

Even the upper outside Decks 11 & 12 have been redesigned with a more functional and attractive locations for the Mini-Golf (now mid ship protected from the wind), the Water Park (moved forward to mix with the double barrel water slide) and the Serenity Area, moved forward to wrap around the from Port to Starboard creating a relaxing space complete with plush lounges and cabana couches looking out to sea from behind protective wind screens.

Even the Decor in the Restaurants and Disco are more elegant and hipified from their predecessors. The Dining Rooms are elegant, yet progressive in their ostentatious lighting decor and the Disco has finally caught up to the popular Chillout Scene complete with pseudo-private leather couch beds lining the walls draped with sheer fabric curtains as dividers. The use of design materials, Venezian Masks, Parisian Chandaliers all work together in some artful way creating a fun Euro-steeped vibe. Every aspect from furniture to sound systems to lighting to traffic flow has been well considered and is much appreciated from this designer.

Most impressive however, is the addition of 6+ jacuzzis perched out from the deck above the sea on the 360º outer Promenade Deck. These are intermingled with very chic and comfy lounge couches and chairs that provide outdoor smoking areas for the Disco and Lanai Venues.

This new DREAM class vessel features 75% cabins with balconies, from the upper Spa Decks all the way down to Deck 2. A feature which improves the cruising experience 10 fold in my opinion, although this chilly time of year is not ideal but it is always balanced out with ability to get great shots from your own private deck space.

I'll add more later as we discover the ship over the 28 days onboard. We haven't even seen the Main Show Lounge or the Spa / Gym yet due to the busy at Port schedule. After we begin the Transatlantic Crossing Cruise, we will most likely have opportunities to tour the Galley, Bridge, Laundry and Store Rooms again to report on the latest CCL innovations used on the Dream.

One last note... we would like to graciously thank Hotel Director Donato for the Bon Voyage gift in our cabin upon arrival. We would also like to thank my parents, Everette & Diane Phillips for their generous Bon Voyage gift as well, the drink vouchers are being used wisely ;-) Also, a big shout out to Jackie in reservations for getting us set up for the most traveled year of our lives... hope you and yours are listening to SmoothJazz.com or SmoothLounge.com Radio as you read this.

PS - Photos albums going live soon.

______>>_______

SS : In an endeavor to secure our sanity, preserve some patience and add some shelf life to our beautifully weathered working relationship, Donna and I will traverse the waters of Travel Journal Blogging by switching back and forth between each other – Day hop scotching if you will. Donna will start here, as today is THE DREAM… a magnificent new ship in the Carnival fleet, a cruise line that her father, Everette Philips, put 20+ years of blood, sweat and tears into building (the tears were mostly Donna’s :-). So please enjoy Miss Donna’s first observations of The Dream… catch ya tomorrow.

P.S. There are exceptions to this rule… if we both feel like writing, we will… and I’m sure you can expect this to happen as we’re rarely at a loss for words.

P.S.S. Please note that while one of us is writing, the other is tagging the captions on the photos. :-)