Comparing Dream to Conquest class ships...

[MamaParrotHead]

We're looking into which cruise we'd like to do next (on Carnival). Can someone who's cruised both Conquest and Dream class ships compare/contrast them for me? Pros and cons and experiences of both. Pics are also appreciated. Just looking for info to help us make this decision. We sail OV/6C, incase that factors into the info.

 

Thanks!

[LHP]

zydecocruiser has the most complete set of pictures of the Dream....if you google his name...his website will come up.

 

We have sailed on all the Conquest class ships except the Liberty (hitting that one in November) and we cruised the Dream on the 9 day in December.

 

I view the Dream as a "beefed up" Conquest class.

 

I will just list a few things the Dream has that the Conquest class does not.....

 

The Promenade is almost identical with the except that the Dream has the expanded Ocean Plaza area in the middle and a slight variation of the piano bar area. The Dream has the outdoor lanai area that goes around the ship with hot tubs that hang over the side. The Ocean Plaza does seem to cause a bottleneck at the coffeebar on the Promenade.

 

 

The Dream offers the Spa Cabins with the Thalassotherapy pool, Saunas and Relaxation rooms.....and of course, these cabins and baloncies are non smoking. This spa area is in addition to the standard gym and spa area that the Conquest has.

 

The Dream has COVE balconies on Main which are kinda neat.....

 

The Dream also has a deck underneath the Promenade that has the library, Club O2, Circle C, Internet area and walls of windows looking into one of the Main Dining Rooms. This is a great way to get from the Atrium to the back of the ship in a hurry....since it was rarely used on our cruise. They call it Lower Dream Street. (a great way to avoid the bottleneck at the coffee bar)

 

 

Cigar smoking is restricted to the outdoors (Port side) on the Dream and more than half of the casino is nonsmoking.

 

The Dream has a Pasta Bar.....the Conquest class has Fish and Chips in the same area.

 

We sailed on the Conquest years ago..... Glory and the Valor last year....the Freedom the year before and had a great time on all.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either class....

[matj2000]

From looking at deck plans, the Dream is almost the same as the Conquest ships but they just added more rooms.

More people same amount of space.

[sunlover5]

We have done the Liberty twice and the Freedom. Just got off the Dream. It was not a bad cruise by any means, but it did have many more drawbacks than any of our other cruises.

It is crowded, so we learned to eat at slow times to avoid the crowds. They didn't do well when you came back from ports. Most were hungry so it made the grill, deli, pizza, etc. very crowded because the main buffet would be closed.

Very noisy ship. Doors were terribly loud when slammed. And we could hear in our neighbors cabin. Talking, flushing of toilet. They were not adjoining rooms. Never had this on any other Carnival ship.

It was a good cruise and enjoyed it, but we loved the Liberty and Freedom, so that would be our choice!

[dalsti]

The main differences will be the center Lido, and the addition of the Ocean Plaza on Promenade Deck. Everything else is just slightly changed.

 

The Lido is similar to the Spendor. It is sunken in and surrounded by 2 levels of decks. THis limits the sun in certain areas, and doesn't allow for as many chairs around the pool or within view of the big screen. The conquest class has the stair case type layout and has more places for lounge chairs. We liked the conquest layout better.

 

On Promenade deck they inserted the Ocean Plaza between the Sushi bar and Casino. This was a feature we liked. They had 2 bars, live music, seating inside and outside, and never felt crowded. They have removed the sports bar and added a bunch of TV's playing sports to the casino bar.

 

I would prefer the Dream layout, over the conquest, if it wasn't for the additional guest and crowding on the Dream.

 

I will still consdider sailing on the Magic, and hopefully thet will work out some of the trafiic flow issues.

 

Either way yo will have a grat cruise.