Help! Breeze vs Dream

[Gaprofitt]

Hey All,

 

I just got off the May 24th, 2014 cruise on Breeze. I really liked it and had a blast. I had a standard balcony on the 9th floor. I am a single Dad with a 3 year old son. I recently got the free inside/discounted balcony promo for two cruises. We are booked on Dec 6th Sunshine Southern Caribbean and my family is going again as well with us. I want to book another that will be just me and my son for January. Must has well take advantage of the promo huh? :)

 

I enjoyed the Breeze but sort of don't want to go on the same ship again, however my son loved the waterworks splash areas and he loved the mini-golf. We enjoyed Grand Turk especially and went to the beach in St. Maarten. We enjoyed guys burgers but it's not a deal breaker not having it.

 

I've heard some people say the Dream is a letdown after going on the Breeze, is this true? The mini-golf course looks awesome compared to the Breeze. We played like 30 times on the Breeze..haha. I've heard the splash areas for small kids is weak on the Dream/lackluster. Someone mentioned a play area for kids on the Dream somewhere else but I haven't found that.

 

I am not generally a fan of the Western Carribean, Cozumel, etc however I'd rather go on another ship that has waterworks and good mini golf. Should I go back on Breeze again or go for the Dream as a different experience? I don't want to be disappointed if it's not comparable at all.

 

I am also debating between a Aft Extended Balcony and a Cove Balcony. I thought my son might like being near the water but I'm not crazy about being down that low. How do those cove balcony sizes compare to standard balconies? I like the aft extended but not sure extra walking with a 3 year old is a good thing. I'm also a little worried about too much sun but then again I could perhaps get a tan.. :)

 

If I choose Cove are all the rooms identical that are cove?

 

Thanks so much for any and all advice.

[cruisinqt]

We went on the Dream last year and had a blast. :) The waterworks area is really nice, our kids loved it. The Dream also has one of the best mini golf courses I've ever seen on carnival. It is a sister ship to the Breeze so I don't see there being a let down there, they are very similar.

As far as cove balconies go, I've read reviews of people being disappointed because their balcony was closed due to water splashing up into the balcony because of rough seas. That's why I haven't done one. I would hate being unable to use my balcony for a few days, it would really bum me out. :( I would try an aft wrap, those are so nice. :D

[k2excursion]

I felt that the Breeze was a bit of a letdown after sailing on the Dream twice. After the Breeze, I went back to the Dream, and had a magnificent time once again. Don't get me wrong. I did like the Breeze. She's a nice ship, but I greatly prefer the Dream. The nightly entertainment & shows on the Breeze are the biggest letdown, as the Dream's are amazing and the Breeze's are pathetic.

 

Dream does have a few splashing things for the kids to play with, but not as extensive as the Breeze's splash structure. The Dream does have twin one-story racer slides, in addition to the kiddie slides. No height minimum for those. The big slides are almost identical with both ships. Dream's mini golf is 18 holes and not just 9, like on Breeze. No ropes course on Dream.

 

We did a cove on the Breeze, and I would highly highly recommend getting one of those! They are amazing. It's so awesome being so close to the water. Plus, the stigma of being low on the ship meaning that you are a lower class of human is a very extinct stigma. That definitely no longer applies at all. You get just as good of service, just as nice of rooms as if you were up high. Cove balconies are 10 sq.ft. larger than standard balconies (45 compared to 35). They have very very rarely been locked up, only in very very very rough seas. Didn't happen in our 8 days.

 

However, not all coves are created equally. Some are below the galley/kitchen, which you do not want. Some of those rooms can have noise from above at odd hours in the middle of the night. Those run from the midship elevators to the aft elevators. Our room was under the midship dining room, forward of the midship elevators, and that was perfect! The dining room is carpeted, plus it's empty all night long. You'd have to try very hard to hear even the slightest peep from above, and that's only when dining is going on. Anything forward of the midship elevators will be fine, but below the dining room is most ideal. Most of the coves have a lifeboat overhead, which helps to block the sun. For some people, this is a dealbreaker for the coves. But it sounds like you would love to have that shade. I liked the balcony being shaded.

Edited June 16, 2014 by k2excursion