mrBit

Kids might see him like

 

Lord of Darkness

 

while parents see Freddie like this

 

lmao! Yea but my kids really liked him... well my oldest... my younger two never cruised before until the Dream which did not have Freddy. But my oldest hyped him up and the videos we have of my oldest dancing with Freddy... made my kids want to meet him.

I don't think there is anything subjective about setting the thermostat to it's coldest and having to sleep without your sheets because it is too hot.

The Dream had a real issue felt by many.

lol that picture is too funny...

I can't believe so many don't like Freddy... i liked the mascot...

I just got off the Dream and we filled out a sheet and it was Rum vs Tequila as in Red Frog vs Blue Iguana....

I wish they would have allowed Vodka....

THere were a lot of entries and only 4 of us got picked. I did a non-sweet drink... as I hate sweet drinks but it lost out.... oh well :P

none were frozen drinks

However there were not restrictions on how much, they encouraged a lot... like 6 shots of Tequila or Rum.

Dance, dance and dance... though.

Are you kidding me!!!????? It has been a while since we sailed Carnival and my 10 year old loved Freddy and got his younger brothers to be fans. So we get on the Dream, can't find Freddy and they tell me that Freddy is discontinued....

Oh... hell no! My kids were devastated.

They did like the force dancers and Dr. Sues but really wanted Freddy.

So Carnival, it does not take much... you still have all the costumes and such, just bring him out once and while.. at least for the kids.

Freddy is legend in my house... keep Freddy alive!

OP, if you have the time, go on your deck and walk midship to aft and that last set of stairs, let me know if you experience the same thing. If not go to deck 2, walk from 2388 to 2440, let me know if you feel that layer of humidity and feel the temp go up just about past the stairs.

Many of us on that deck complained.

I just got off the Dream... back home now. I was 2440 aft and family was 2388 cove balcony.

I complained... it was not hot but it could never get cool. I had the tech come out and they would leave the card that says "we were here and it meets carnival's specifications"

holy crap... i would go and get dressed in the other cabin which was cooler 2388 but not by much. My son and I could not sleep with our sheets on, never happened before with carnival but i just hated how it did not get cool.

Let me say this, i could walk down the hall from 2388 and right at the junction where the stairs and elevators are... the hall became humid and hotter... i am telling you, i asked others in their rooms and they noticed too and had also complained... yes there is definitely a cooling issue aft.

It is a crap pie, but there is much more to enjoy... don't let it define the vacation.

I've been paying LESS for at least 15 years, including ALL the 7 day Carnival cruises I have taken this year- which is 8 so far, compared to my Carnivale sailing in 1983. :) Have sailed 91 cruises.

Wow, hats off.

I don't get the whole "cheap" deal. Royal was cheaper than Carnival in Galveston for our last cruise. I have compared markets in FL, and find prices all over the place.

All brands have cheaper fairs for the shorter cruises and such but comparable in terms of scale to each companies "big and little guns" for what they want to market as their brand, i will say it again, Royal can be cheaper many times.

I like Carnival because it feels like a cruise, my Royal cruise felt like I was on vacation but not the "fun feel" i like, at times i felt like I was in a Mall at home :P. That wont sway me from sailing Royal again though, I like other things about their brand.

To me a cruise with no matter what company almost always beats a land based vacation.

great! Thanks for the posts.

ha, yep free cruises...

RCL was awesome too, for a little inconvenience my wife and i thought nothing of and they gave us discount certs...

As for Carnival what better way to get people to "buy now" because prices are going up tomorrow. Yep, good move.

i think the industry is doing just fine.

I read the same thing back in 2007, it was the European wave then... then the ships came back... now it will be an Asian wave and the ships will come back.

It has gotten more competitive so yes the bottom line is going to come under pressure but just as with the European, the Asian wave will yield hopefully some growth and we will see newer ships, more additions and such. Comparing when i sailed in 07 to now, ships have more to offer in my opinion. Loyalty programs have changed, that is true, now it is a point system vs the amount of cruises. I remember 10 cruises got you the top tier with Carnival.

Royal Caribbean is even competitive now vs its prices in 07 in my opinion. Heck in some cases Carnival is more expensive.

RCL has WAY better kid programs vs what it had in 07.... Carnival has always had great kids programs.

Across the industry, the water slides are better, flowrider, ripcord, rope courses, walk the plank, movie screens, ice bars, custom burgers, faster checkin, wifi, virtual balconies, better deck plans with hot tubs, royal promenades, cafes, fitter foods, RCL's new drink policy...(come on Carnival), splashing buckets and water parks, elevator bars, wine clubs, bumper cars, changing scenes... and the list goes on.

funny thing is I am paying about the same for my 2014 cruises as i did in 07... i have no complaints.

Ok, i have 2 certs from RCCL and my question is that the stipulation is that i must sail by March... that is impossible, we want to sail next year Decemberish.

I already emailed RCCL for an answer but got none.... I will keep calling or emailing but wanted to know if anyone has had experience where RCCL allowed you to extend the date to sail in order to use the certificates????

If and when i get an answer one of these days, I will post the result but I would like to here from you.

Did you use the Internet on the ship at all? Just wondering how the speed seemed to you.

I went in Feb and it was SLOOOOOOOW, however the tech told me they were still upgrading.. for what it's worth.

Instead of a call i got an email to upgrade for 35 from interior to oceanview. It gave me a specific extension and code... I took it and it was 30 flat....

Ok, you have a $1400 difference that does not include excursions and such. I like both brands, but for me it would come down to... is this cruise about the ship as the destination or about the ports? Then I would weight special dinning on both. I love RCCL's Izumi.... mmm but I also eat a lot in the MDR of which I prefer Carnival.

Oasis is a destination if of itself but as stated above, 1400, can go a long way for shore excursions, shopping and such that would not be in "addition to" to the fare on Oasis.

What about a freedom class ship, those prices have to be comparable to Carnival? I guess I would ask why the Oasis specifically which I am assuming you are leaning to the ship as the destination?

Carnival however, i love... the party atmosphere, deck parties, food and the "fun feel" they have and a rope course is not much against all the frills of Oasis, but then again, that is not the point of Carnival... to me both are great vacations but for me Carnival feels more like a cruise.

I am rambling... bottom line you have to weigh what is more important and what the 1400 could best be used for if you can give up a bit of the "ship as a destination"

OP it is always nice to try new cruise lines. We are loyal to Carnival because it really is "FUN" maybe my age or the little party kid in me at almost 40.

We have also sailed Royal and had a great time but it was not the "party feel" but then again Royal had its own appeal. We had always wanted to try Royal but back in 2006 & 2007, Royal did not have as "advanced" kids camp in taking little ones which we needed and Carnival was up to the challenge, that has changed since then.

My kids love waterslides but i really like the Florider... lol I have two little ones that cannot ride the Florider because of height restrictions but after our Carnival Dream cruise this summer, next year we hope to go on Liberty OTS with the Dreamworks experience, they want to try that... although I would like to try the Oasis class.

For 2016, we want to try NCL and see what they are like. There is such a thing as loyalty while trying something new every now and then :)

Great review! We are going on the Dream Aug 17th and your review helped a lot. This will be a return to Carnival after a few years. We went on RCI earlier this year... just the wife and I but this cruise will be for the kids... 3 boys. My oldest has cruised before but my younger 2 have not, this will be their first.

I will have to read your NCL reviews, I am very interested in NCL... I think maybe for 2016. We have one more for RCI cruise that we want to try first with the dreamworks experience in 2015

thanks again.

Sorry but I'm not asking you to buy into it, you have your opinion I have mine. I did not say say RCI doesn't have a cheaper cruise in some cases, but more often than not CCL is less expensive, if you don't believe I'm right do more than one search comparing the two with same date and same port. Since you are from Tx, maybe you search Galveston more than other ports, and yes in Galveston RCI has cheaper cruises than CCL. And yes I agree with the everyone 21 must buy it is the downside to the cheers.

of course this is opinion :) but tell me why from the context of a consumer do you "agree" with making everyone over 21 get the cheers package vs individual?

I get your point about what the other poster said in CCL emulating RCL, in that you disagree and I would agree with your position on that, but in principle, the cruise brands aside is what i am getting at.

While there are some things I dislike about the cheers program, I disagree they need to " catch up or match " RCI. Do you think CCL should also match RCI cruise prices ? As a rule RCI is much higher than CCL is in cruise price. Since RCI charges more for their cruises they can be a little cheaper with their drink package. I like CCL's way of doing it better.

I don't buy into that, Carnival Magic can be quite expensive and RCL has competitive prices IMO when searching recently for my next cruise. You did not reply to my quote, but I think Carnival needs to kill the all over 21 rule/stateroom, especially since there is a 15 drink limit. While RCI had no limit, I don't think 15 is out of line and would aid an individual purchase program, by limiting exposure.

The other thing is buying the program. I live in Texas and RCI allows prepay in Texas so you can drink on day 1 or buy the package on day 1.

Yes sadly Texas has unique laws but RCI gets around it via bonded liquor, i am sure they license from a "Texas" source. Carnival with all the money they have poured into Texas, I would think would have had that taken care of.

This is just one pet peeve of mine. I enjoy Carnival and have obviously almost sailed them exclusively with the exception of Navigator.

ditto,

 

IMO, Carnival's Cheers package is the worst drink package offered by any of the cruise lines. They really need to adjust and catch up.

 

Recently had the RCI premium drink package, costs less than Cheers, is unlimited, and despite both of us buying at the time, it is now available individually and both passengers in a cabin don't have to purchase. DW doesn't drink much so individual choice is now a much better offering.

 

Despite neither of us being serious consumers with RCI premium it was good to have a fixed budget, no worries about over spending, and discretion to order what we wanted, whenever.

 

BTW never saw anyone drunk or abusing themselves or the program all week.

 

Next cruise is a 14 day Carnival Pride, and Cheers is a limited package, only available if purchase for the entire cruise and both of us have to pay.

 

Cheers way too much cost vs convenience, esp. on a 14 day cruise.

 

Cheers cost is prohibitive. Will not be purchasing.

 

But next time we sail RCI we will purchase their premium package!

 

Carnival needs to at least match RCI!!!!

Exactly, I mean geesh the 15 limit drink per 24hours should invalidate the need to force everyone over 21 in the same stateroom to pay for cheers you would think.

I don't mind the 15 drink limit for Carnival but just coming off my first cruise with RCL, they changed the policy to allow individuals vs everyone over 21 in the stateroom to buy their beverage program. Carnival, PLEASE FOLLOW SUIT!!!!

Things i liked for Royal are:

Alcoholic packages, awesome!!!! You can prepay it and have it active in port and in TEXAS. Carnival.. nope.

 

I can't believe i left out the biggest point to the RC beverage program, it does not force everyone in the same stateroom to buy it. Major Kudos to RC

The Cruise Director and Captain doesn't keep you 'in the loop' about anything! On Carnival they are engaging you each day in the events, activities and just daily announcements. RC does not do that! Missed it :(

Yes, i Know what you mean, but on RC's NOS the captain did announce at noon everyday and the CD had 1 or 2 announcements. So on NOS we were glued to the daily letter they had. I don't know what i like more though... I think the CD announcing as they have on our Carnival cruises makes it more fun.

The buffets during in one area...the Windjammer. And it is through ONE set of doors, (that are closed and locked when buffet hours are over)completely packed away in a tight area and there will NEVER be a table for you available unless you are practically the first ones in there at opening!! Carnival has 3-4buffets open at peak times. 1-2 is right by the main pool and the other one(s) are further back inside the AC and there is ALWAYS a table available for you and your family. They have two floors of tables! Inside AND out!!! I missed that SO BAD while on the RC cruise!!

Also RC did NOT have 'help yourself' drink stations like Carnival! The crew made it for you and if you wanted coffee, you had to wait for them to make it for you. Ugh this was horrible!! Oh and it wasn't available AT ALL during the times that the Windjammer doors were closed! So if you wanted , juice, tea, coffee during the morning, day or night but not during buffet hours..too bad! You had to take an elevator to deck 5 Promenade and get it from down there! NOT convenient when you're enjoying the pool or the decks)

A lot in this paragraph...

Yes, the Windjammer was not as good as my Carnival experiences, I have a review the RCL forum.... as they had Indian/Paki food everyday. It was good the first day but not the rest, I would have preferred if it was going to be International food to switch it up. The salads were good but inconsistent in what meat was available like Turkey or chicken to go with the salad.

As for the doors to access the Windjammer, i think it was the same, just one set and we got kicked out of one line by the staff to go to the other and then comeback to see people in our original line. Carnival did seem to have more buffets open.

As for tables, we always had a table available though.

As for the drinks, our experience was that you could get yourself a drink at the same stations your waiter would.

As for closing times, it was VERY FRUSTRATING on NOS to have to go to the Promenade Cafe for everything when the Windjammer was closed which meant LONG WAITS... ugh and it crowded the promenade. That is a drastic difference from going to the Carnival buffet area to get what you need.

We preferred the MDR food on NOS vs its Windjammer. We were definitely in the Carnival buffets more than on NOS and prefer Carnival's MDR too.

No 24 self-serve ice cream!!! Only open 11:30-7! (And that's if the guy in charge opens it on time...which ours was late 5 out of the 7 days).

The food in Carnival is a LOT better!! I'm serious!! So disappointed in RC food when I've heard its the best in the industry!! Especially in the main dining room....and OMG did we miss our chocolate melting cake!!!!!!

Lol, well on this, i don't care for Icecream but Carnival's MDR is better but NOS's was not bad either.

Staterooms are ok but the attendants on Carnival are way more personable!

On this, both Carnival and Royal had awesome attendants, I cannot say which is better on that.

Things i liked for Royal are:

Alcoholic packages, awesome!!!! You can prepay it and have it active in port and in TEXAS. Carnival.. nope.

The ICE SHOW is the best entertainment i have seen to date.

Navigating the ship is easier IMO.

Flowrider! Flowrider! Flowrider! Flowrider! Flowrider!

Izumi... HOLY COW best Sushi on a ship to date.

The Virtual Balcony was a nice touch.

Things I liked for Carnival are:

More energy on the ship, it just has this atmosphere I cannot explain having sailed them 5 times that RC did not have.

Deck parties.... RC they sucked! Maybe it was the demographic of passengers... who knows.

Carnival's decor... i love love love the PIZAZZ/bling Vegas style on Carnival's ships, it feels like a Vacation where as RC is much more conservative and reserve.

I prefer Carnival's Atriums/promenade layout... yep i said it.... RC does have the WOW... it lasted all but 2 hours for me. The promenade is a pain in the arse and feels like I am at the mall once the WOW wore off, not like being on a ship, and having so much depend on the Cafe... just SUCKS!

Bottom line for us though, we will sail Carnival this December and RC next.. we want to try a Freedom or Oasis class but waiting to see if LOS will come to Galveston to replace NOS. We want to try the Dreamworks experience and because our kids ages I think they would have been a bit bored on NOS. 2 of them cannot use the Flowrider but they could use the slides on Magic and love slides anyway. My oldest loves Funship Freddy but wants to also try the Dreamworks on RC so the next RC cruise will have to have the Dreamworks deal.

NCL has come to Houston, I may give them a try in the future too.

Isn't that the truth? LOL

 

I started cruising in 1980 on Sitmar. The whole cruise industry has declined in the last 5-10 years. It doesn't stop me from cruising. If I don't like the way something is going, I change what I do. It's all about choices, and I'm sure glad we have them.

 

And I cruised 20 years before message boards...the anticipation was exciting, and there were no expectations.

Very true, the old way... a truly genuine experience.... you only have what you have and wing it.