Carnival Dream vs Vista vs Norwegian Gem

[mikem1977]

Evening all,

I am looking at taking the family (Me, wife, three teenagers) on our 3rd family cruise during December 2018. Our choices are

- Carnival Dream for 3780, Cove Balcony and Ocean View: Mahogany Bay, Belize, Cozumel +

- Carnival Vista for 4711, Cove Balcony and Ocean View: Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Cozumel

- Norwegian Gem for 5400, Midship Balcony and Ocean View: Roatan Bay, Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya

 

- Is the Vista/different ports worth the extra 1000?

-1700 More for Norwegian Gem, is the ship that nice and worth the extra money for the one more port

 

- We would be coming from Austin so would love to leave from Galveston vs driving an extra 3.5 hours one way but not for 1000 (unless its worth it)

- Also for those that have used the Havana Cabana staterooms on Vista, are they worth the extra money over the cove balcony

[momof4girls]

I can't offer much of an opinion on the ships (only been on one of them...the Dream) but I will give my thoughts on the ports. I actually prefer the ports with the Dream over the Vista. While I haven't been to a lot of ports, so far my favorite has been Mahogany Bay. Love it!!! The Dream was in dry dock a couple weeks back and she got Guys Burgers and Blue Iguana Cantina added on, so I will definitely be looking forward to those on our next cruise! That was the only thing I missed this last time sailing on her. NOLA is easy to port out of and parking isn't that expensive (neither is Galveston).

 

We almost booked a cruise on the Vista for next November, but I just can't seem to want to pull the trigger after reading reviews and seeing pictures.

 

I have never sailed on NCL although I am curious about the ships, especially the bigger ones. I know, for me personally, I would not spend an extra $1700 for those ports no matter how nice the ship!

[Kimberlyr22]

We love the NCL Gem, but only because my husband is anti social and it's a smaller capacity ship and has the Haven so he can hide from other people. It also has a couple of suites with private hot tubs which are fun to splurge on every few years. It would not be my first choice if my husband had normal social habits (or it was a non splurge year). My teenage stepson (15) was unimpressed with the activities on board and spent most of his time with his new cruise friends watching movies in our room or on our room's verandah.

 

Im on the Dream next month with my sister and I'm looking forward to all the extras it has that the Gem doesn't -- bigger water slides (gem slide is lame), outdoor movies, more lunch time/lido food options, cloud nine spa etc.

 

My stepson would probably love the Vista or the Dream for the expanded water areas and additional activities, but my husband will never go on a boat with a capacity over 3000.

 

 

 

 

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[SNJCruisers]

Does the price for the Gem include 2 perks? If it does, that should be a factor.

 

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[maryred]

Here's my thoughts (in the quote in red) take them for what you will...

Evening all,

I am looking at taking the family (Me, wife, three teenagers) on our 3rd family cruise during December 2018. Our choices are

- Carnival Dream for 3780, Cove Balcony and Ocean View: Mahogany Bay, Belize, Cozumel +

We love the Dream class ships, if airfare to NOLA, TX, or FL wasn't so expensive from our home we would sail this class as often as possible. To us the ships are well balanced for the number of passengers it can accomedate and the size of the public venues.

- Carnival Vista for 4711, Cove Balcony and Ocean View: Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Cozumel

We felt this ship was over hyped and the layout and distribution of public venues made it difficult to either get to certain areas easily or left a lot of the seating at shows or events without a good sight-lines. BUT the added activities areas might be beneficial to your teens.

- Norwegian Gem for 5400, Midship Balcony and Ocean View: Roatan Bay, Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya

We've sailed only on the Breakaway so this might not be a completely fair impression. NCL touts Freestyle Cruising but we found out that making your reservations for dinner and shows during your online check-in process was the only way to do these things when you wanted.

- Is the Vista/different ports worth the extra 1000?

This is truelysubjective, we have done cruises ourselves that were more expensive than other offerings at that time because of the ports that ship was visiting.

-1700 More for Norwegian Gem, is the ship that nice and worth the extra money for the one more port

As another poster pointed out if this price includes the "Free At Sea" 2 perk promotion, that should be considered as part of the pros when comparing itto the 2 Carnival cruises.

According to reports from other family members this is a older ship than the ones NCL shows in it's advertisements. I'm not sure which venues it lacks in comparison to say the Breakaway.

- We would be coming from Austin so would love to leave from Galveston vs driving an extra 3.5 hours one way but not for 1000 (unless its worth it)

Again you know your family best, and if a ship has venues, activities, or inclusions that are more appealing to the marjority of your family it could very well be worth the extra drive time.

- Also for those that have used the Havana Cabana staterooms on Vista, are they worth the extra money over the cove balcony

From my understanding when we did the know your ship tour the Havana area and cabins are limited to passengers over 18 only. So not sure if you will be able to book there with your teenagers. Carnival balanced that restriction out by having the Family Harbor area only for those traveling with at least one minor under 18, and it's own list of special perks.

[Cinders411]

We have not yet sailed on NCL however, have sailed on both the Dream & the Vista. As far as the ships go, Dream hands down.

[Sixtytwo]

Just did that same itinerary on the Dream and would highly recommend it. First, the Dream is a great ship. Loved the decor and the crew was good. The upgrade has just been completed so it is fresh. The itinerary is great! Belize was our least favorite, but it is still a great selection of ports. Let me recommend grabbing a taxi from Cozumel to Paradise Beach. Great place to spend the day!

 

 

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[SNJCruisers]

The restriction regarding the Havana rooms on the Vista is 12 years old, not 18. Check out the threads regarding the Havana area and videos on YouTube. It's nice and there are about 40 balcony/lanai and 14 inside.

 

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