Carnival Dream - What's the deal?

[tandemcruzr]

I think there are more complaints about Dream, and being overcrowded and other things. Maybe the bar is higher for a new ship, causing some of the complaints, but many seem to be dissapointed.

 

Well, we weren't.

 

Weather wasn't the best, but we figured out when were the best times to go to breakfast and lunch buffets and enjoyed our week.

 

Link to our review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1164559&highlight=tandemcruzr

[winddawn]

I can't help but wonder if the friends of the OP who didn't enjoy their Dream cruise are used to smaller ships. Today's new ships are much larger than most older ships.

[balcony bound]

I can't help but wonder if the friends of the OP who didn't enjoy their Dream cruise are used to smaller ships. Today's new ships are much larger than most older ships.

 

Could be :)

 

I remember thinking that we wouldn't enjoy a larger ship. Good thing I was wrong! But, we do also like smaller ships. Nice to enjoy both, and have a choice, too. At least they checked it out. I hope it wasn't all bad.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Okay. Have to know why. Saw Tom agreed. Why? Prefer straight up aft or view bad or what? Maybe these were the ones there was so much talk about in the beginning? Can't remember. Do tell.

 

Thanks!

 

The day they opened the bookings for the Dream (July 2008) I had someone in Miami book the deck 7 corner aft cabin for us (we were, LOL, on a cruise). Then shortly after that we went ahead and booked February and November 2010. We enjoy aft corners so much, I wanted to try all 3 decks of Cat 9 cabins. Some time passed, and pictures started to appear. Within the first couple of cruises someone posted pictures on the deck 8 corner. The balcony was WAY smaller than the others (it has been enlarged, as the Shipyard placed a divider in the wrong place :rolleyes:) and the cabin was tiny. Many people, including us, who had a deck 8 corner booked - "jumped ship", well really they changed cabins. For the cruise we went on last month (originally the deck 8 sailing) we switched to a deck 7 midship suite (that was the one which had the balcony which was not peaceful). On that sailing I took a stroll down to the deck 6 aft-corner cabin, as a fellow CC'er had the one we have booked for Thanksgiving this year. The cabin - well, it is still not as large as ANY previous aft corner cabin in ANY class of ship.. but the balcony was noticably larger than deck 7. We are keeping the deck 6 corner as several CC'ers who have sailed before booked a block of cabins there --- that should be a blast!

 

So... I would say that any aft-corner we might ever sail in on the Dream would be deck 6 owing to it's superior balcony, everything else being somewhat equal. Of course that does not change the fact that the aft corner cabins on the Dream are in ALL WAYS inferior to the aft cabins on Conquest class ships (larger rooms and balconies) and also the Spirit aft corner SUITES -- which are the aft corners which all other Carnival ships should be compared to. As I have posted numerous times - and will continue to do - Carnival is dumbing down the aft corners, squeezing them into smaller and smaller spaces to get more and more people on the ship. They really couldn't care less about having a cabin back there which makes a statement, as Carnival is not really about that at all --- they are a straight up mass market line, which works GREAT for them from a bottom line standpoint.

 

Off soapbox again...

 

Tom

[Dave85]

Honestly, no lines or crowding that is any different than any other of the Carnival ships we've sailed on.

 

...which is an issue to many on the Conquest Class ships. The answer was not to pile more people on yet leave (as many have reported) many of the public areas the same size.

 

Listen, I'm not trying to be overly negative or critical of a ship I haven't been on. The point I'm trying to make is that I live up in the DC area. I would need to fly (or take a really long drive or train ride which I'm not inclined to do) to go on the Dream. That's expensive and inconvenient. If I were inclined to do so Carnival needs to give me (and everyone else up here) a reason to do so... and I'm just stating that IMHO Carnival hasn't done so with the Dream, especially after reading most of the Dream reviews that come in here. I'm honestly disappointed, I was hoping for great reviews that would inspire me to book!

 

Believe me, I love Carnival and 3 of my last 4 cruises have been on Carnival so that's not the issue. Competition's tough down in Florida though, especially with RCI's prices on Freedom Class ships still deflated and the Dream (at least for dates I've checked) pricing slightly ahead of the other CCL ships.

[balcony bound]

Dave, I do hope you find a ship that really suits you. I think it's a lot like that business/marketing saying... you can have it good, fast, cheap - pick two. It comes down to picking a ship, itinerary, price - and you can usually get two of those ;)

[jstcruizin]

I dont' cruise during sprink break or peak cruise season!

 

Why do people always seem to blame the cruise line!

 

 

We dont cruise dring Springbreak or peak months either , but we live in Florida and I homeschool my Daughter so we are able to cruise anytime but we prefer either October , Beginnig of May or December,

[BobbyD]

I have looked at the deck plans for the Magic and they look exactly like the Dream deck plan to me. So, for bottleneck issues around coffee bar, etc, I expect those to remain the same.

 

I feel for anyone who has a balcony close over the lanai, but the higher up balconies wouldn't have a problem with noise, I would think. I really enjoyed the lanai as I like to walk and I could even walk at night and not have to navigate up and down the stairs and all around. It was kind of spooky, though, to go around the front of the ship and it is pitch dark there because of the bridge.

 

I expect to spend more time getting room service before excursions, for a change. We went to the buffet before. I agree on the special order pizza--that was a disappointment. I had that on Princess, but not the Dream--they only put out their common requests. They do keep busy with that, though. I plan to have lunch in the pasta bar for sure. I enjoy the dinner in MDR too much so don't want to take away from that.

 

All in all, it will be interesting to compare. Todd W was great on the inaugural of the Dream and John Heald will be taking the Magic out. We are on the second sailing this time. I thought Todd did a great job and I loved the shows--they were as good as I've seen on Broadway and Grady Gammage in Phoenix.

 

I have to admit that I am more loyal to Royal, but I have been on 2 CCL cruises as well. We are close to putting down a deposit on the Magic for next summer for their 12 day out of Barcelona. It is almost an identical itinerary to the Brilliance OTS but about $2,000 cheaper for what we want to do. I know that there have been both good and bad reviews of the Dream but the reviews have gotten better as time has passed. I love the flow of Royal's ships and am not afraid of a lot of people (we have been on the Freedom OTS). I do hope that I won't be disappointed but I am excited to try something new!