RC vs Carnival Dream - any opinions?

[reeltrouble11]

Hi all,

 

we were supposed to be going on a 7 nighter on the Freedom in March, but had to change plans due to finances. I can book a balcony on the Dream for 7 nights, Western itinerary out of Port Canaveral, but I have never been on that ship and have very limited experience with Carnival. I have done a week on the Navigator, can anyone please share some comparisons for me so we can decide whether or not to give it a shot? Specifically on-board activities, food, etc..

 

thanks!

[Motorman23]

I have been on 17 cruises, 14 of them on RCCL and 3 on Carnival. We were on Dream a year ago last November with our Daughter and her family. We had a great time and the price was the reason we went on Dream instead of RCCL. Sure I missed the events for being Diamond on RCCL but we still had fun on Carnival. The only complaint I had was the breakfast buffet, it is much better on Royal than Carnival but I am certain that is subjective. If price is the factor about going or not going on a cruise then I say go on Dream and enjoy.

 

Mike

[Jbird81]

I've also sailed on the Dream, and on a RCCL ship. I found the Dream to be comparable to everything we had on Radiance of the Seas, and that it was an excellent vacation for the money. It was much cheaper to sail on the Dream vs Freedom when we went, hence why we chose her. Food was excellent, no complaints at all, entertainment spectacular, and there was always something to do. I'd rank the Dream at parity with our RCCL cruise.

[JetsFanCruiser]

Hi all,

 

we were supposed to be going on a 7 nighter on the Freedom in March, but had to change plans due to finances. I can book a balcony on the Dream for 7 nights, Western itinerary out of Port Canaveral, but I have never been on that ship and have very limited experience with Carnival. I have done a week on the Navigator, can anyone please share some comparisons for me so we can decide whether or not to give it a shot? Specifically on-board activities, food, etc..

 

thanks!

 

I've been on both the Freedoom and Dream. IMHO, there is a difference in both, although the ships themselves are both nice with pros and cons. RCCL does a better job of people moviing, and keeping everyone current on activities. I don't mind Carnival and it's not that I think their product is bad, I just prefer RCCL. Here's a short review I did back in July:

 

I was on Dream 2 weeks ago and here's my take. I am typically a RCCL cruiser and tried the Dream becasue of cost.

 

Ship - Good ship. Not spectactular, but good to very good. Cruise lines can add a lot of features (lighting, art, tile, etc.) to make a ship more stunning, and Carnival does a good, not great, job with the Dream. I was not disappointed in this area, but it's not the best I've seen. On sea days the pools/loungers get crowded, and Carnival needs to do a better job of communicating activities to spread people around. By communicating, I don't just mean mentioning it in the daily paper, but they need to make announcements that activities will begin in xx minutes. This is the area where I truly believe RCCL excels. At one point I looked in the pool and there were 35 people in it and almost shoulder to shoulder.

 

Food/Dining - This really is what you make it to be. I have 2 young kids and they brought their dinner out within 5 minutes of ordering (chicken fingers, pasta, cheeseburger, etc.). Our dinner was good and I have no complaints. It wasn't "Wow that was absolutely spectactular", but it was good. I see no issues here.

 

Cabin - Nice cabins, and room steward was good. No issues here. They did there job and did it well. Teh room itself isn't as nice as RCCL, but I expected that as I did a lot of research.

 

Kids Club - Great!! My kids loved it.

 

BTW - Sorry to say that there is a sewage odor on this ship. Every now and then you will smell it. It's not unbearable, almost like someone passed gas next to you, but you will smell it. Again, it won't ruin your trip (unless you're completely a wack job and let it ruin your trip), but it's there.

 

Overall I give this ship a grade of a B. Will I cruise Carnival (or Dream) again, probably not, but only becasue I now appreaciate more what RCCL offers for the extra price tag. In my opinion, the extra stuff RCCL offers is worth it. Again, just my opinion.

 

For those of you traveling on the Dream in the future, you will have a great time. It's a good ship and you'll have a blast. Don't sweat the overly negative reviews.

[debache]

The Dream is slightly smaller then the Explorer and has 500 more people..we had a good time but will not be sailing her again. We had a balcony and you look down and there is a deck with hot tub and people walking, I prefer looking down on the ocean. They had a very good grill on deck with hamburgers being made fresh. You will have a good time, but if you have sailed on the Freedom of the Seas there is no comparison (strictly my opinion). When I say no comparison, I mean in the ships design. Prefer the activities and the sport court of the Freedom (my husband and son say "no flowrider, no caribbean for them".

[suamom]

After sailing 8 times with Royal and a few times w Disney, Princess and Celebrity, we gave Carnival and the Dream a try this past summer. Newer ship with great prices.

 

The one thing that was extremely noticeable to us and while it may not be important to some people, it is very important to us. The service and the treatment from the staff was vastly different in our opinion. The crew on the Dream did not act welcoming nor did they smile or even act like they wanted to be there there. They did not seem to be enjoying their jobs at all. We always feel very welcomed and love the staff with Royal but just did not get that feeling from Carnival. We love the MDR experience and it was seriously lacking on the Dream. Our waiter was not good nor friendly and the service was so bad that 2 nights, the head waiter took care of our table with a few others. Perhaps, it was just that sailing but we probably will not sail Carnival again. Even our two daughters loved RC much more than Carnival.

[JimAOk1945]

We prefer RC over Carnival. The biggest difference being RC provides better service.

[dogchopper]

I just booked a cruise today for the freedom of the seas. (We sail in sept). I've been on 4 carnival cruises and one RC. We were going to book the dream but freedom was only 50 bucks more and we were told its a much better ship.. I've heard nothing but good things about the dream (on the carnival page here) and usually don't come on this page since I haven't sailed RC in years ..

I assume if you go on the dream you will have a great time. Usually the price difference is worth it, we just lucked out and are taking advantage of it

[micro yaya]

We are platinum on both lines and are booked on fos in march and did dream. Last Aug. Sorry but the entertainment. On dream has gone downhill the guy in the casino area playing the guitar. Stinks no Latin band no place to dance no red white and blue team competion I just thought there was something missing and this was our 4th time on her. So back to the fos. For our second time to compare again

.

[CoachT]

We sailed Carnival Dream in September 2011. We felt the fellow passengers make or break a cruise. We got on real well with about 10%. The other 90% I described as Garage Sale visitors. Lots of no shirts in the buffets, not waiting until everyone has been served at dinner to eat, etc.

 

Ok Entertainment but very crowded in so many areas. We booked a GTY last minute and were right above a nightclub, but we know that can happen. The child enjoyed the kids club though.

 

It was just not for me and we will never ever sail Carnival again!

[funfamilyof6]

We gave Carnival a try last summer after cruising with RCCL, Disney, and Celebrity. I'm not going to lie, we were disappointed. We did our homework and knew what to expect, it just felt like something was missing. We chose Carnival last time for the port (which we loved), but the overall cruise experience with Carnival was disappointing. :(

[rstout]

We have sailed on both the Freedom of the Seas and the Carnival Dream, and much prefer the Freedom. Passenger flow and the look of the ship are far superior on the Freedom. My husband prefers RCCL food, although I think they are comparable. I honestly didn't really like the Dream itinerary either. We felt there weren't enough pools on the Dream, although the slides are great. Our kids had a great time on both ships, and I'm sure you will enjoy either cruise, but if prices are the same, I'd go with the Freedom without a doubt.

[mtsnd1900]

Have done many RCCL cruises to include the Freedom. Last year we did the Allure and the CCL Dream. It was our first Carnival Cruise. Here are my OPINIONS.

 

1. Boarding was easy - and you can bring on bottles of wine, a case of water and 2 12 packs of coke (put the case of water in an extra duffel bag we brought with us, 1ea 12 pack in our backpacks - purchased the drinks in FL when we arrived).

2. Bon Voyage was perfect - we bought multiple bottles of rum/whiskey months before we got on the ship, and limited ourselves to only a hand full of drinks.

3. Pool deck - Dreams sucked - NO sitting room on any deck, ever.

4. Dining Room - Our Matradee on Dream was best I have ever had - catered to my allergy like no other.

5. Food - hit or miss on both

6. room - we had a cove balcony on the Dream and agree it was the best ocean view balcony we have had - secluded, great views. On Allure, we had the last balcony over the Aqua Theater, that was the best non-ocean view (thoughwas a great view of the ocean!) balcony.

7. Entertainment - RCCL.

many other differences, gotta run for now...

[elkie20000]

We have been on Liberty of the Seas twice and we just went on the Carnival Dream last summer since their prices were a lot lower than RCCL when we booked. We enjoyed the Dream, but our family all thought that the Liberty was much better...which is why we are sailing on the Freedom this June.

 

My opinion is that the service on RCCL is significantly better (especially in all dining areas) and to me that is what truly makes the difference. I could give a bunch of examples, if you'd like specifics.

 

We loved the chocolate melting cake on the Dream, but overall liked the food on RCCL better.

 

The cabins were comparable in size and appearance but I feel that the RCCL cabins are designed better especially for storage by having shelves and cabinets located where they are useful.

 

The entertainment on all the RCCL ships we have been on has been better than the entertainment on the Dream. It was fine on the Dream and we enjoyed it, but it just wasn't anything special.

 

The kids enjoyed the water slide on the Dream but that was really all they enjoyed. On the Freedom they enjoyed the Flow Rider, rock wall, pools and H2O Zone. Our cruise on the Dream was just last summer, but it is the cruises on the LOS that they still talk about!

 

Personally, I would pay more for RCCL, but if the Dream is significantly less, I would go on it. I'm sure you'll have a great time either way.

[nbsjcruiser]

Hi all,

 

we were supposed to be going on a 7 nighter on the Freedom in March, but had to change plans due to finances. I can book a balcony on the Dream for 7 nights, Western itinerary out of Port Canaveral, but I have never been on that ship and have very limited experience with Carnival. I have done a week on the Navigator, can anyone please share some comparisons for me so we can decide whether or not to give it a shot? Specifically on-board activities, food, etc..

 

thanks!

 

We've been on the Navigator and we've been on 3 mega-Carnival ships. We've never been on the Dream but I can tell you about my experiences on Carnival.

 

The ship designs and looks are much nicer on RCI. Carnival ships have that 70's glitzy look.

 

Food on Carnival has gone downhill. The buffet food selection was ok but we found that in many cases it was not very good. Breakfast food on all 3 cruises we were on was cold, wet and soggy on more than one occasion. MDR food has really gone downhill. If you want a decent steak and there isn't a specialty dining option, then you're not getting a steak on Carnival unless you want to gnaw on a flat iron steak - no thanks.

 

You cannot compare the pool decks on the two lines. RCI makes their pools decks inviting and beautiful. In most cases there's live bands to enjoy with multiple large pools. On Carnival, their pools are an afterthought. It was like they put them there after the ship was built. They have 2 very tiny pools and the pool deck is overrun by the God Awful 50 foot TVs. No entertainment on deck either unless you want to watch CNN on a big TV.

 

Service is comparable on both lines.

[dogchopper]

We have been on Liberty of the Seas twice and we just went on the Carnival Dream last summer since their prices were a lot lower than RCCL when we booked. We enjoyed the Dream, but our family all thought that the Liberty was much better...which is why we are sailing on the Freedom this June.

 

My opinion is that the service on RCCL is significantly better (especially in all dining areas) and to me that is what truly makes the difference. I could give a bunch of examples, if you'd like specifics.

 

We loved the chocolate melting cake on the Dream, but overall liked the food on RCCL better.

 

The cabins were comparable in size and appearance but I feel that the RCCL cabins are designed better especially for storage by having shelves and cabinets located where they are useful.

 

The entertainment on all the RCCL ships we have been on has been better than the entertainment on the Dream. It was fine on the Dream and we enjoyed it, but it just wasn't anything special.

 

The kids enjoyed the water slide on the Dream but that was really all they enjoyed. On the Freedom they enjoyed the Flow Rider, rock wall, pools and H2O Zone. Our cruise on the Dream was just last summer, but it is the cruises on the LOS that they still talk about!

 

Personally, I would pay more for RCCL, but if the Dream is significantly less, I would go on it. I'm sure you'll have a great time either way.

My husband is bummed about not going on a carnival cruise just because of the chocolate melting cake.. He has it every night on the cruise. But he made the sacrifice so we could try FOS

[airmj2123]

My personal take: (sailed both within bast couple years)

 

Ship- FOS is much better although the slides on the Dream are quite fun. I also thought the Dream had a good number of hot tubs (always can find one that is not full), but the pool area was lacking. FOS inside is far superior to Dream.

 

Food- Same... Carnival steakhouse is better than the charge ones on FOS.

 

Staff- Depends on who you get, only once had a bad waiter or room steward in 30+ cruises.

 

Ports- They are pretty similar, depends on route you go... I like Haiti better than any other out island.

 

People- Will depend on when you go, you will have people from all walks of life on both ships. BOTH LINES ATTRACT A VERY SIMILAR CLIENTELE!

[funfamilyof6]

My husband is bummed about not going on a carnival cruise just because of the chocolate melting cake.. He has it every night on the cruise. But he made the sacrifice so we could try FOS

 

LOL, the chocolate melting cake was probably one of the few things that my teens liked on Carnival. They loved it so much that I found a recipe of it online and made it at home for them. :)

[emmacruises00]

Alright, here it goes. Since you have already been on RCCL, here is my advice.

The crowds are two TOTALLY different crowds. I'm certainly not into the whole 'Carnival is a party boat' thing, but based on my experiences, the crowd will be a lot louder, bigger (and better!) partying group (which makes for a GREAT game show crowd!!!), and pushier (buffet lines, show lines, ESPECIALLY tender lines). RCCL, well, you've been on the GORGEOUS Navigator of the Seas, so you got a pretty good idea of what to expect (isn't Nav beautiful, by the way!!??). Carnival's ships themselves are BEAUTIFUL and so much fun! It's really the crowd that you have to watch out for. Yes, I know that you can get those people on any line, but we've experienced it more often and worse on Carnival (this is just an observation). So, I guess it's what you think. If you think you can stand up to the crowd and won't mind what they do, then go for it! If you're looking for a more relaxed vacation, and care a lot about your fellow passenger's behavior, then go for RCCL -- you really can't go wrong with any of their ships, it's really just about the amenities on board each ship.

Good luck! You really can't have a bad vacation (unless you're on the Costa Concordia :) )

[Eriksgarden]

Never sailed on Carnival, but everyone I've ever spoken with has pretty much guaranteed that we never will. We love RCCL. Would give NCL a try, though.

[emmacruises00]

Good choice @Eriksgarden . NCL is great, too. RCCL and NCL are totally different, so you can't really compare them. NCL is freestyle cruising, and RCCL is...... it's just the amazing Royal Caribbean!