to Dream or not to Dream

[genegri]

No other ships are .. so what :rolleyes:

 

Not everyone wants to cruise solely on the Oasis and Allure.

 

Some of us are more adventurous and enjoy a variety o cruising experiences.

 

Don't be silly, I am not against trying Dream at all. :p In fact, a group of us are booked on Breeze, a sister ship of Dream. :D

[jmom5]

I wouldn't sail on the Dream unless it was free. We've only been on one Carnival cruise - the Conquest class Carnival Freedom - which from what I understand, the Dream is a larger version of the Conquest class. Larger version meaning more staterooms (more people) but same size public areas. My main complaint on the Freedom was that the public areas are too small for the amount of people on board - especially the pool deck, so I can't imagine adding more people to the same amount of public space. I felt like I was waiting in line for something all week, including my food.

[Karter]

IMHO Dream really is not of the same caliber as Oasis and Allure. The prices reflect it too.

 

What I like about Dream is its Western Caribbean itinerary. if you decide to go for Dream I highly recommend the Western.

 

My biggest complaint about Dream is somewhat strange. Dream's promenade deck (the big wrap around deck 5) looks nice; HOWEVER, it has very high railings with flexiglass, not the usual open railing promenade on smaller ships. Unless you are 7 foot tall you can't see over the glass. This may not be an issue for many (indeed I haven't seen anyone else mentioning it) but I really don't like it. It is just not open enough and gives the otherwise very nice promenade a closed-in feel.

 

I keep thinking about trying the Dream but now that I know about the plexiglass on the promenade deck I will cross it off my list of ships to try. I do not like looking through plexiglass on any ship it really takes away from the view and experience.

 

Plus I also didn't like the balconies overlooking the promenade deck. When I was considering the Dream it would have been in a cove balcony which looks really interesting.

[broberts]

. . . Picture this - same number of passengers as Freedom of the Seas on a ship the size of Voyager of the Seas . . .

 

I have seen this comparison made many times. What bothers me about it is that it ignores the unused space above the Royal Promenade on Voyager class ships. It seems to me that the comparison is simply not an apt one. I'm not questioning how cramped one may feel on the Dream, just the attempt to compare it to a ship with a completely different design.

[Cruzaholic41]

I have seen this comparison made many times. What bothers me about it is that it ignores the unused space above the Royal Promenade on Voyager class ships. It seems to me that the comparison is simply not an apt one. I'm not questioning how cramped one may feel on the Dream, just the attempt to compare it to a ship with a completely different design.

 

You've seen it many times because it's true. The design comparison is very valid because it's the closed in, cramped design of Dream that makes it feel so crowded, not to mention so many people. If Dream had large, open spaces like Voyager, it wouldn't be so bad. What I say is from experience, not what I've read. Have you been on Dream, Voyager and Freedom? When you do, you'll know the comparison is legit.

[Phillies14]

Can anyone give any input on the Carnival Dream? My brother and sister-in-law want my husband and I to sail with them on the Dream in March. We have sailed RCI for a total of 8 cruises (including 1 trans Atlantic) We have always been loyal to Royal, having never cruised with another cruise line. Am I being silly for not wanting to go on Carnival? Should I experience it for myself or save the money and go on our own again with RCI? Thanks

Save your money and sail with RC...K.O. Near Philly:)

[rstout]

I would say have fun with your family, and keep an open mind. We were loyal 5-time RCCL cruisers before trying the Dream. My husband spent the week comparing the Dream to our previous RCCL cruises, and really doesn't remember much about our week on the Dream other than they had nice slides for the kids and he came home with some kind of parasite picked up on an island. I had more of an open mind and found more to enjoy, I think. We were able to get a larger cabin for the same money as a RCCL cruise, the slides were great for the kids, and I thought the food was comparable and in some cases better than RCCL. But the ship layout was just weird (RCCL is so much better in this respect on all ships we were previously on - Adventure, Navigator, Freedom, Jewel and even Majesty), and there were not enough pools for the people on board (although they weren't really packed). I wouldn't go on the Dream again, but I don't regret that we went. You will probably get to go to a few new islands and have fun with your family. It really is a lot about your frame of mind - if you go into it not wanting to go and expecting you won't like it, that's probably how it will turn out. But it's a cruise - it can't be all that bad!