Carnival Dream or Princess Crown

I would like to take my family (2 adults, two teens and one young child) on a cruise in April. I received a quote of $2,870 for Carnival Dream Eastern Caribbean for 5 people in an outside family stateroom and a quote of $2947 for Princess Crown Western Caribbean for two inside cabins. Sail date is April 9.

I'm looking for a ship with a "wow" factor and one that has entertainment for my whole family. The Dream atrium looks incredible in pictures. I'd appreciate your advice. I should mention that Carnival sails out of Port Canaveral and Crown out of Fort Lauderdale. Flying into Orlando will probably cost us less than flying into Fort Lauderdale.

Money you save by flying into Orlando, will perhaps be eaten up getting to the coast, as orlando is the middle of the state. I guess you could rent a car and stuff all of you into the car.

Ft. Lauderdale the airport is 10 minutes from the port.

I loved Caribbean princess .. not so much the decorating of the Grand Princess, as it seemed outdated to me. But then Im not a huge fan of Carnival's decorating either lol. (I lean to RCL for teens especially, as RCL has more to do for younger families and bigger pools).

Dream will be nice, and have good activities for the whole family too, so I would lean to Carnival for a family cruise.

I would like to take my family (2 adults, two teens and one young child) on a cruise in April. I received a quote of $2,870 for Carnival Dream Eastern Caribbean for 5 people in an outside family stateroom and a quote of $2947 for Princess Crown Western Caribbean for two inside cabins. Sail date is April 9.

 

I'm looking for a ship with a "wow" factor and one that has entertainment for my whole family. The Dream atrium looks incredible in pictures. I'd appreciate your advice. I should mention that Carnival sails out of Port Canaveral and Crown out of Fort Lauderdale. Flying into Orlando will probably cost us less than flying into Fort Lauderdale.

go for the Dream!!!

Crown Princess!

- TWO cabins

- MUCH nicer itinerary

- Crown Princess gets better reviews than the Carnival Dream (check out the review section)

- Lower expenses associated with transfers to the port (Port Canaveral is a good 40 miles away from the airport, Ft. Lauderdale is roughly a mile!)

Have a great cruise!

I vote for the Crown too. You will definitely get that 'wow' factor from the atrium - it is simply stunning in person! I personally would also like the idea of having two rooms for the 5 of you vs the one on the Dream.

Whatever you decide, enjoy. I'm sure you will have a great time with either ship:D

i have been on both.is this a spring break cruise? princess had a much older crowd when we went in jan. with activities geared toward seniors.the dream had a much younger crowd. 10 pm on the crown was dead.

Id bet you can get two insides on Dream for about the same price as the family OV .. I would price it more than one way. Those cabins are overpriced to me.

Thank you for your suggestions. I originally was looking at the Royal Caribbean Freedom, however, the price was $1000 more, not in my budget this time.

I am concerned about having one cabin on the Dream, I will call and have them price me out two inside cabins.

The Crown Princess looks like an awesome ship, I was worried it may have a much older crowd, especially that I'm travelling off season.

The Dream atrium looks incredible in pictures.

I personally think that the Crown Princess' atrium is more stunning...

CROWN PRINCESS

CARNIVAL DREAM

My wife and I have travelled with both companies but on neither of these ships. I can definitely say that when we travel with our kids, Carnival is our choice. Princess does seem to shut down earlier and caters to an older crowd. We also are doing the Dream during Spring Break for 5. We got 2 rooms for $3400.00

The Crown Princess looks like an awesome ship, I was worried it may have a much older crowd, especially that I'm travelling off season.

Since you'll be cruising in April (in the middle of Spring Break), you can expect a younger demographic, with many,many families onboard.

You're traveling on a seven night Caribbean cruise. These are popular with families. If you were traveling on a longer itinerary to more exotic destinations, THEN you could expect a much older crowd.

BTW, no matter which ship you select, try to get two cabins. Sharing a cabin for 5 with two teenagers can turn your dream vacation into the week from hell...:eek:

Id bet you can get two insides on Dream for about the same price as the family OV .. I would price it more than one way. Those cabins are overpriced to me.

Do you think these prices are too high? Carnival quoted me the least. I just checked on the Carnival site and it looks like I can get two inside cabins for approx. $20 more. I used Cruisecomplete and was getting quotes of approx. $3200 for 5.

I personally think that the Crown Princess' atrium is more stunning...

 

CROWN PRINCESS

 

CARNIVAL DREAM

Wow, that's stunning! This definitely makes my decision harder!

My experience is kids could care less about how a ship is stunning or not, unless they are a little older, they really dont care.

there will be fewer other children to play with on Princess. Princess wouldnt have waterpark, which Dream has. slides and all. I think it comes down to who makes the decision the kids or the adults.

I will admit up front that I've never been on Crown Princess, but I'm going to easily vote for it over Carnival Dream (a ship I've sailed three times).

My vote would be for Dream. We have sailed on the Caribbean Princess and Emerald Princess. I would choose Carnival Dream in a heartbeat. It is a wonderful ship.

The Crown hands down. I can vouch for the wow factor. Simply stunning.

The date and itinerary you picked should be the same age groups as Carnival......that was our experience. Carnival does not have a ship that even remotely compares to the Crown.......

Yeah, been on both ships, if stunning is the questions, then the Crown.

RCCL Freedom of the seas would have been the right fit for you if it wasn't that much high in price as you say.

The decor of the Dream was more like a "Uhhh?" kind of reaction for us.

Just read reviews of both ships, check out as many youtube videos as you can and decide.

Don't forget to keep an eye on the RCCL Freedom/Liberty for a price drop in the meantime.

I have been on both and for a family I would go for the Dream. They have a really nice kids program from what I have heard from the kids onboard.

I have sailed 8 times on Carnival. Once on the Dream..E.Caribbean. I have sailed once on Princess. The Crown Royal. I would take the Crown Royal in a heartbeat. I would crawl over glass to take the Crown Royal over the Dream. Now if it was the Freedom...not so.

The Crown has food places open 24/7. Their Caribe Cafe...buffet..opens at night as a snack area..with hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and stays open all night. The International Cafe is a delightful place to lunch..and miss the crowds on the Lido Deck. The food is complimentary. A fine coffee stand for lattes, etc adjoins. They serve Chicken salad.....really good. Shrimp Salad really good. Cookies. Small sandwiches..and Ben and Jerry Ice Cream..the one thing that costs..and that is $1.50 for four large scoops.

The pools are bigger. Much less crowded. More space. More chairs. Kids can get in the pool safely. Parents on Princess seem to control their children better. All I saw were very well behaved. Not so on Carnival sadly enough sometimes. The Dream lacks elevators I thought. Princess Crown had up to SIX elevators on some floors. NEVER a problem.

Food was about the same. Good on both. Activities...trivia..theme nights..line dancing..crafts...Something was popping on Princess all the time..FOUR Trivia games each day...WE LOVED IT.

Carnival has MUCH better production Shows. The CAsinos are about the same. Staff on both could not be more pleasant. Cabin on Carnival bigger..but Princess..has Walk In Closets with mega storage..and another place to dress.

People on Princess...more laid back. Older but not by much. Not like HAL. Did not see any Family Reunions. Hoo Ray. Sorry. Had to put that in..

I like Carnival. I LOVE Princess. didn't expect too...but I did. I am thinking of booking the same cruise again on the Crown and have already booked for the Jan 2012 sailing to Aruba and Curaso.

But whatever you pick.........You will have a great time. We did.

I would take the Crown Royal in a heartbeat. .

Crown Princess or Royal Princess? Or are you talking about the liquor? ;)

Thanks everyone for your help. We've decided to go with Crown Princess. I got quote for two inside cabins for the same price as the Dream plus $75 OBC for each cabin. I preferred the Crown's itinerary and I like the idea of two cabins instead of one.