Carnival Dream vs Navigator of the Seas

[Tall-Cruiser]

I won't bore you guys with the details but I have to pick one Carnival Dream or Navigator of the Seas. the itinerary is completely irrelevant they both have a similar one.

 

I have been on both Carnival Dream and Navigator OTS. I would pick Navigator again any day. When we went on Dream it was just after cruising on Oasis and being blown away. There was no way we could compare and wanted to be very objective and open minded. We only started talking about things when we heard some people on our tour bus that had only sailed on Carnival and how they did not like Dream compared to other Carnival cruises they had taken. We also had more fun and better cruise experience on Carnival Liberty than on Dream.

Dream at the time was also very new but still had some issues from a design and flow perspective (IMO). I remember sitting in the Lido deck for lunch on departure day at PC and rain water from the deck above was leaking down on the tables and floor. Strange for a new ship I thought. We were in a Spa Suite which seemed very noisy. Well, part of the noisiness was due to the fact that the cabin door had a vent (guess for air in-take not sure) whereby standing in your cabin and looking down at the vent you could see peoples feet as they walked by your cabin. Unusual I thought and maybe just I the cabins on our deck. I went around checking other decks were we had some friends and every cabin door was the same. I talk to friend who is a Naval Architect about this and he noted that lots of cruise ships have the air in-take in the bathroom ceiling and not the front cabin door. This may not be an issue for some at all. The other observation I had was the ceiling heights on Dream seemed lower. I specifically saw in the main theater (upper level) and somewhere in one of the promenade stairs were the structure right above was wrapped (with blanket looking thing) so that one would not hit their head. Again for a new ship design how did they miss that! The flow on the RC ships is also much better (IMO). Going to the dining room from our cabin involved elevator, walk along the promenade and then another set of stairs. On the RC ships, Voyager, Freedom and Oasis Class you can walk from one end of the ship to another in a straight shot. So for flow and design I give RC the edge.

 

Food is subjective. Deserts were better on Carnival but Main Dining experience and service was better on Navigator. The Promenade Cafe is always a great option for any time of the day snack especially late at night. Shows on Navigator were also better (Broadway style and Ice Skating). I prefer the Promenade parade on Navigator to the laser light show we had on Dream. Don’t forget the Quest show. A must see on RC ships.

 

The best thing about our cruise on Dream was the Itinerary which included Honduras and Belize. It was one of the best we have had. Another was the CD at the time. I believe his name was Todd Whittmeyer (not sure spelling). We had him on Carnival Liberty and he was great.

Last point, as noted above Navigator will be coming out of drydock soon, so she will have some new things and refresh cabins.

 

Enjoy your cruise regardless of what you pick:)

Edited January 18, 2014 by Tall-Cruiser

[pspercy]

Very interesting. I wonder how well mass (tonnage) translates into volume (space).

 

Actually GT not GRT these days.

 

GT is in fact a measurement of volume.

Edited January 18, 2014 by pspercy

[SpartacusMD]

Actually GT not GRT these days.

 

GT is in fact a measurement of volume.

 

Hmm. Its kind of confusing but I thought GT is calculated by first measuring the volume of water displaced by the ship which is then converted in a unit of mass/weight. So if my understanding is correct (and it may very well not be correct since this is no where near my field) but the GT is not directly related to the volume of the ship.

 

Either way it doesn't really matter since what we are both REALLY discussing is surface area parallel to the ocean floor (the space we can stand on).

[mo&fran]

We have been on both ships. We were doing a yearly cruise at the time and were doing TA cruises. We had done 4 on Celebrity and our friends suggested we try Navigator. My first impression on boarding the ship was wow. I never thought a ship could be this amazing. We were on a B2B, Eastern Med and TA. Loved the ship. At the time, I had just retired, and wanted to cruise the Caribbean, there was no question, it would be an RC Voyager ship.

We decided to at least give Carnival at try, so we booked the TA when it did its inaugural TA. When I boarded that ship. There was no wow. It was a wonderful cruise. I guess. but to me, all cruises are. There was nothing about it that stood out about that I actually remember anymore.

I remember my first navigator cruise well. Not the dream. We have no interest in returning to Dream, or for that matter, Carnival, unless they can match something like the Oasis.

[pspercy]

You're likely confusing it with displacement!

 

Can't cut n'paste with this tablet but I just checked Wikipedia and it has the full scoop on GT, GRT etc..

[The Big Booper]

The pax count quoted a few posts above only count double occupancy and don't consider 3rds and 4ths.

 

Total pax on Nav would be around 3,700 max and on the Dream over 4,300 pax, making the difference even larger.

 

Displacement has nothing to do with GT (or GRT) which is a volume measurement of the enclosed areas of the ship, and does not count open areas. If you look at the length of a ship that is a good guide to non enclosed areas of the ship. That is why Oasis class always seems somewhat empty considering it has almost 6,000 pax every week. If you factor in the vast open decks and Boardwalk and Central Park, the usable space is over 300,000 GRT equivalent rather then the official 225,000. JMHO.

 

They pack em in like Sardines on most Carnival ships.

[Robinola]

Oh...Ya! I almost forgot my NUMBER ONE reason why I Loved Carnival Dream...

Shucks.....No one on board was discussing how GT is calculated! Is it by first measuring volume of water displaced....converted to unit/mass weight?

No one talked about total pax count vs displacement even ONCE!

 

hee hee

giggle giggle

 

now...THAT'S funny!

[lglancy]

No question, Navigator all the way. I have been on the Dream three times, because of their low prices, and have been on Voyager class ships four times as well, and booked on Independence in April. RC ships have it over Carnival in every way. You will find very few activities on Carnival, don't be fooled. On our last two cruises on the Dream, the most recent being in April and August, 2013, they did not have the laser show at all. Carnival buffets are horrible, whereas RC buffets are excellent, and RC ships themselves just have so much more to offer. We will never sail again on Carnival. Their cheap prices have lured in a cheap class of people (no offense meant to those that don't fall into that category),as we discovered on our last two cruises when the drunks ruined our vacation. On the last cruise, my husband was assaulted by a group of unruly intoxicated men as he played mini golf with my 65 year old father. The past two cruises with Carnival have shown to be an unsafe environment, and I will not take my child into this situation again. RC maintains a much better show of safety and security as well as just being all around better in every aspect. I think you will LOVE the Navigator, and just be "meh" about the Dream.

[SpartacusMD]

Oh...Ya! I almost forgot my NUMBER ONE reason why I Loved Carnival Dream...

Shucks.....No one on board was discussing how GT is calculated! Is it by first measuring volume of water displaced....converted to unit/mass weight?

No one talked about total pax count vs displacement even ONCE!

 

hee hee

giggle giggle

 

now...THAT'S funny!

 

Actually. I don't get your post at all. Don't you like to know about the ship you're spending almost a week on?

[Robinola]

Poor Spartie,

Can't take a joke.

So sorry to offend......

And YES! I am very excited for my vaca!

Giddy up.

[time4u2go]

Hmm. Its kind of confusing but I thought GT is calculated by first measuring the volume of water displaced by the ship which is then converted in a unit of mass/weight. So if my understanding is correct (and it may very well not be correct since this is no where near my field) but the GT is not directly related to the volume of the ship.

 

Either way it doesn't really matter since what we are both REALLY discussing is surface area parallel to the ocean floor (the space we can stand on).

 

Knowing the square footage of publicly-available deck areas would be nice.

[Tapi]

I youtubed both ships and the dream seemed to have more stuff going on and it looked very cool at night with all the blue and green laser lights.

 

The laser show on the Dream was a failure. It's gone. That's one of the things that I was looking forward to when I sailed on the Dream and it was a huge disappointment. In order for the show to work, it has to be in a no wind condition. Otherwise the wind blows away the smoke necessary to see the lasers. Guess what, when the ship is in motion, the wind blows the smoke away. I watched for 3-4 minutes and just walked away. Simply, there was nothing to see.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Tapi

[thecruiserofships]

The laser show on the Dream was a failure. It's gone. That's one of the things that I was looking forward to when I sailed on the Dream and it was a huge disappointment. In order for the show to work, it has to be in a no wind condition. Otherwise the wind blows away the smoke necessary to see the lasers. Guess what, when the ship is in motion, the wind blows the smoke away. I watched for 3-4 minutes and just walked away. Simply, there was nothing to see.

 

Hate to hear that the laser show was a failure. I may try it once, but if it is not good I just won't go back again if it is offered again.

[zaknzoey]

I know OP has probably gotten all the replies needed, but I'll chime in. :rolleyes:

 

I have not been on Dream, but have been on 4 Carnival cruises. Then one day, I stepped on to Voyager for my first Royal cruise. I was so impressed, that while on that cruise, I booked my next Royal cruise, which was on Navigator. While on Navigator, I booked my next cruise, which leaves next Saturday on Serenade! :D

 

Navigator is awesome! I'm probably going to book Navigator again, while I'm on my cruise next week.

 

As you can see, once I stepped foot on a Royal ship, I never looked back.

 

I would go Navigator all the way! Especially after the dry dock upgrade she's getting now.

[Noelchristian92610]

Sailed on the Magic and loved it, but there are quite a few parties, some kind of rowdy. We sail the Navigator in May and can't wait! (The Dream and Magic are almost identical.)

[kruzerci]

[quote name='Noelchristian92610']Sailed on the Magic and loved it, but there are quite a few parties, some kind of rowdy. We sail the Navigator in May and can't wait! (The Dream and Magic are almost identical.)[/QUOTE]


Except those god awful Carnival neons and Vegas themes were supposed to be toned down on the Breeze.