Will this lover of NCL love Carnival Dream as much???

[RobinSie]

It has been 8 years and 2 kids since our last cruise. We are in the planning stages for one at the end of 2012. We love NCL, and although I never thought I would, I'm considering sailing on Carnival Dream. Our dd will be 8 and ds will be 6. I've heard amazing things about the kids programs, but will the adults be equally impressed? Also looking for balcony cabin suggestions for the 4 of us? I appreciate this community so much and am looking forwarding to your feedback.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

It has been 8 years and 2 kids since our last cruise. We are in the planning stages for one at the end of 2012. We love NCL, and although I never thought I would, I'm considering sailing on Carnival Dream. Our dd will be 8 and ds will be 6. I've heard amazing things about the kids programs, but will the adults be equally impressed? Also looking for balcony cabin suggestions for the 4 of us? I appreciate this community so much and am looking forwarding to your feedback.

 

When you last cruised on NCL what impressed you so much that you loved it?

 

Was it freestyle back then?

 

Bill

[halos]

Will this lover of NCL love Carnival Dream as much???

 

Only you will know the answer to that, after you have sailed. I wish you blue skies and calm seas and hope you come back to tell us what you think :)

[Tapi]

You came to the right place where people will tell you how much better CCL is over NCL! :rolleyes:

 

You can read the good and the bad on my review about the Carnival Dream below. Nice ship. About the only negative is that it's a very high density ship (lots of passengers).

 

We had a midship balcony on deck 6. While we didn't have any issues with it, I would at least to go up one deck, where you have cabins above and below you. My mother in law had a cabin also on deck 6 but all the way forward and she had to switch cabins because the noise from the public areas below was so loud that it was unbearable.

 

Have a great time!

[finsupcruiser]

Funny you ask that. We have sailed on CCL for last several times. After two booked cruises are done we are returning to NCL.

 

We have no young children so can not address kids program.

 

We are returning to NCL for more adult atmosphere.

 

Enjoy whatever you choose

[Quincella]

NCL is my preferred line, by a lot. That said I just cruised Carnival Freedom with my fiance and had a wonderful time. No regrets.

 

Would I do it again? Sure, if the price and itinerary were right. Do I still prefer NCL? Yes, and still by a lot. I think every cruise line has a "feel" to it and I happen to like the NCL product.

 

Also, my kids love the kids programming on NCL, although I, too, have heard wonderful things about Carnival's programs. So if that's what's holding you back, I wouldn't let it. Our last cruise was on the Epic and I could barely get my then almost-8-year-old-daughter out of the club.

[pcrum]

Having sailed both lines, we prefer Carnival. Some differences:

 

NCL has a coffee pot in the cabin, not so with Carnival. This might be important to coffee drinkers....made no difference at all to me, but to my mom, the ability to make coffee in the room in the middle of a cold Alaskan day was priceless.

 

NCL has theatre style seating in the large show lounge, with cup holders like in the movie theater. Carnival has booths with tables. On NCL if someone in the middle ordered a drink, the server had to pass it down to them, stadium style. I personally did not care for 20 strangers handling my drink before I received it.

 

NCL gives a welcome aboard drink free of charge--either champagne or mimosas, not so with Carnival.

 

NCL had a system whereby you can fill out a card with your desired shore excursion, drop it in a box and the shore excursion desk and the tickets will be delivered to your room. Carnival offers an interactive TV for booking shore excursion with the tickets also being delivered to your room.

 

The biggest difference we found was in the quality of the MDR food. We found that on NCL in order to get a good meal, we had to go to one of the restaurants that charge a surcharge and even then, it was hit or miss. We prefer the MDR on Carnival, where a quality meal may be had for the price of the cruise fare. However we did find the buffet food on NCL to be superior to Carnival. Mostly a matter of personal taste, so you might feel differently.

 

Hard, ice cream parlor style ice cream is available free of charge on NCL whereas Carnival only has soft serve.

 

Having sailed many of the mainstream lines, I find far more similarities than differences between them. We liked our NCL cruise due to the lovely Alaskan scenery. I would not go out of my way to book them again, though. I'm sure others prefer NCL over Carnival. I'm sure you will have a wonderful cruise!!

[CruizeCast]

One nice thing is that the cabins on the Carnival Dream tend to be larger than most of NCL's. Also, the Dream has a great waterpark if that helps at all. The BBQ on sea days is great, and it also has a higher number of hot tubs than normal. Hope that helps a bit, and hope you have a great cruise, whatever you choose.

[RobinSie]

Thanks so much to all who have responded. I plan to love whichever cruise I am on. My kids are very flexible, go with the flow and will be happy with whatever is going on.

 

We are looking at 3 different ships at the moment...RCL FOS, NCL Epic & CCL Dream.

 

We love the freestyle of NCL. In our experience the service has always been great and we have never had a bad meal (although I'm no food critic and am always happy when someone else is cooking and cleaning up).

 

I am just so happy to be planning a cruise again, I can hardly stand it. Travel Channel...if you are reading this and want to start a cruise show...pick me, pick me, pick me! (and everyone else on CC).

 

Thanks all and please keep the feedback coming!

[jakesnana]

Thanks so much to all who have responded. I plan to love whichever cruise I am on. My kids are very flexible, go with the flow and will be happy with whatever is going on.

 

We are looking at 3 different ships at the moment...RCL FOS, NCL Epic & CCL Dream.

 

We love the freestyle of NCL. In our experience the service has always been great and we have never had a bad meal (although I'm no food critic and am always happy when someone else is cooking and cleaning up).

 

I am just so happy to be planning a cruise again, I can hardly stand it. Travel Channel...if you are reading this and want to start a cruise show...pick me, pick me, pick me! (and everyone else on CC).

 

Thanks all and please keep the feedback coming!

 

Having been on all 3 lines recently, I will add my $ .02, for what it's worth.

 

On the RCI FOS, you children will probably be too young for many of the things that set it apart from other mass market lines (flowrider, rock wall and ice skating), so unless these are perks you and DH plan on using I would make this my 3rd choice, especially since pricing is usually higher on this ship.

 

Have not been on the Epic, but I sailed the Pearl in 11/10 and the CCL Freedom in 1/11. We loved both sailings. NCL has Freestyle down to a science, while CCL is still working out the bugs. MDR food is better on CCL and buffets were better on NCL.

 

With young kids, I don't know what your priorities are for dining. While I don't have young kids, I did view the kids club on both ships and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time, on both ships.

 

I would make my decision between the Dream and Epic, depending on price and itinerary (pricing being a major factor, especially for 4 people).

 

All that being said, you can't go wrong, no matter which ship you choose. As you've previously stated, a bad day on a cruise beats a good day at work, cooking and cleaning :)

[CruiserChloe]

It has been 8 years and 2 kids since our last cruise. We are in the planning stages for one at the end of 2012. We love NCL, and although I never thought I would, I'm considering sailing on Carnival Dream. Our dd will be 8 and ds will be 6. I've heard amazing things about the kids programs, but will the adults be equally impressed? Also looking for balcony cabin suggestions for the 4 of us? I appreciate this community so much and am looking forwarding to your feedback.

 

If you were a recent NCL cruiser, I'd say you might be disappointed. I only say this because the Dream is a much more crowded ship than NCL's ships. But since it has been 8 years since your last cruise, you may enjoy it. You may find the ship very impressive compared to the memories of your last cruise.

[CruiserChloe]

We are looking at 3 different ships at the moment...RCL FOS, NCL Epic & CCL Dream.

 

I've been on all 3. I recommend them in the order you mentioned. I think FOS will leave you with the best lasting impressions.

[RobinSie]

Thanks so much for the posts. I've been reading reviews and watching youtube videos. Every line has it's loyal following as well as it's share of critics for sure. I appreciate the comparisons/contrasts. Since I still have several months (looking to sail the first or second week of Dec. 2012) the luxury of time is on my side. I will keep researching...and hoping for that deal I just can't pass up. Thanks again for the posts...please keep them coming.