50th on Dream, New Orleans

[kdkstormy]

We are looking at the Dream for a 50th birthday and our 15th anniversary. I've been reading reviews, searching info on staterooms, etc.

 

This would be the first time on Carnival for us. We usually book a balcony and from looking at deck plans some balconies are better than others.

 

Any advice from the experienced carnival cruisers out there on staterooms?

Edited May 26, 2016 by kdkstormy

[BigB0882]

Without knowing more than just that you like balcony rooms:

 

We always get a cove balcony. Make sure to get one not under the galley, you can look up deck plans to be sure of what your room would be under. We love being nearer the water, the sound is so soothing sitting on the balcony.

 

We also once had a L shaped cabin that had an extra long balcony and that was amazing. The problem is we don't usually spend a ton of time in the room or on the balcony so the extra space was not a huge plus for us although it easily could be for someone else.

[nwo4life]

Some of the balconies on decks 6 and 7 offer very little privacy as the deck 5 lanai is right below.

[cruisin2ccu]

if its available get 7448. I stayed in that one a few years back and it was great. L-Shaped room so it had twice as long a balcony and it is far enough back that the Lanai is to its narrow point, so you will have privacy. No couch in the room though if that makes a difference

[kdkstormy]

To expand on what we enooy about balconies, we love to sit on the balcony and have our coffee in the am as well as a cocktail in the evening. Also we enjoy the balcony to get away from the crowds and read and listen to music.

[eeyoreme]

I would also recommend a cove balcony. We had 2302; no problem with noise and convenient to both fore and aft.

 

Make sure to note both the anniversary and birthday celebrations when you book or do online check-in. Some people have reported receiving free gifts (no guarantees).

[tazwtrdvl]

If you are planning with some time, the aft wrap arounds are very popular and sell out fast. We have one on the June 26 sailing. Large balcony and a great view off the back of the ship

[WPTNGirl]

We love a balcony on the Lido deck. This is a great location to be close to everything. I like the rooms closer to midship but any are good.

[rtaurus]

Balconies at back sides of ship (not talking about aft) have a better view as the wide part of the lanai isn't below them(I think you can almost look straight down to water?, only reference is from a video). Decks 7 and 8 would be ideal as they just have rooms above/below them. Deck 6 has a lounge below them and Deck 9 has pool above. I booked a deck 7 balcony there for upcoming cruise after watching a video on room 7433 here:

[mimireese]

Our Carnival guy told me to always get deck 7 whether interior or balcony. That is the level all the suites are on for a reason. :) And of course middle of the ship. But on deck 7 there are rooms above you and below you.

[AdventurousCruiser07]

I would also recommend a cove balcony. We had 2302; no problem with noise and convenient to both fore and aft.

 

Make sure to note both the anniversary and birthday celebrations when you book or do online check-in. Some people have reported receiving free gifts (no guarantees).

 

Silly question.. but when you note anniversary/birthday dates during booking, do you put the year as when the date originally occurred (say 1/1/2011) or the date on the cruise that the date will fall on (1/1/2017)? I didn't know if there was an algorithm in the system that alerted staff based on the date inputed.

 

Thanks!

[eeyoreme]

Silly question.. but when you note anniversary/birthday dates during booking, do you put the year as when the date originally occurred (say 1/1/2011) or the date on the cruise that the date will fall on (1/1/2017)? I didn't know if there was an algorithm in the system that alerted staff based on the date inputed.

 

Thanks!

 

After I booked, I went to :

Manage

My Booking

Cruise Details

My Guests

Modify (under each name)

 

There are check boxes for Anniversary, Birthday and Honeymoon. If you check Anniversary or Birthday, another field comes up where you can fill in mm/dd/yyyy; I never thought to put the current year, just automatically put the year we got married. We have never been able to cruise on our actual anniversary, but we enter it if that happens to be what we are celebrating on that cruise (within the month).

 

It has been a few years since we did an 'anniversary cruise', but our dining room waiters brought us a special dessert and sang. (I kind of wish they hadn't done it, as I don't like to draw attention.) Some people have been reporting lately of gifts or coupons given to them for special occasions, while others with special occasions didn't receive anything. It seems to be hit or miss and no guarantee. Just FYI.

[marcimm]

if its available get 7448. I stayed in that one a few years back and it was great. L-Shaped room so it had twice as long a balcony and it is far enough back that the Lanai is to its narrow point, so you will have privacy. No couch in the room though if that makes a difference

 

I concur with cabin 7448. We had regular balcony cabin 7444, 7448 and aft wrap 7454 and had the dividers open so had a huge balcony. But we all agreed that for the same price as a regular balcony, 7448 had the better balcony due to its length. Being in the aft, deck 5 was a non-issue. Plus the starboard side meant being able to see New Orleans as you cruised down the Mississippi.

[leedm]

We had an aft wrap on one of our Dream cruises. It was wonderful sailing down the Mississippi river and and into the gulf seeing all of the buildings and oil rigs. On the last morning sailing up to the mouth of the river you can see all of the oil rigs lite up. Very special. :D:D

[kdkstormy]

I booked a cove balcony today to take advantage of the 50% deposit. I'm looking forward to trying the cove balcony