Is it possible to enjoy Carnival again after sailing on Royal Caribbean? - A REVIEW

[Tapi]

Plain and simple, the answer is YES!

 

Some background: Over the last few years (and many Carnival cruises), we'd felt that we had outgrown Carnival. Still, we decided to sail in December aboard the Carnival Fascination, (which turned out to be a letdown and made us think of not sailing on Carnival again).

 

This experience encouraged us to try other cruise lines. In May, we sailed on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. The experience was absolutely amazing and wonderful, so we thought that it would be impossible to go back to Carnival.

 

We decided to give Carnival another try before completely writing them off, this time aboard the Carnival Dream. We just returned on Saturday and I'm happy to inform that we had a WONDERFUL cruise (and at a fraction of the price!)

 

No, the Carnival Dream is NOT the Allure of the Seas, but she still shines. We found her to be a great ship, nicely decorated (while still keeping its Carnival personality), and perfectly appropriate for a 7 night cruise.

 

I won't write a full review, but here are some highlights of our experience:

 

• We spent a night pre-cruise at the Doubletree Oceanfront - Cocoa Beach. Great hotel at a great location. Only about 10 minutes from the pier, and a great place to relax right on the beach before beginning our cruise!
  

• We had a balcony on deck 6 (midship). Great location. We had read about people complaining about these balconies being too close to the promenade below, but it never bothered us. No loud noise, no privacy issues. However, I can see some people having issues with these balconies if they don't want to be seen at all.
  

• The Steakhouse was once again the highlight of our cruise. The Chef's Art ambiance, service, and food quality are so superior to anything else onboard that it's worth the extra $30pp!
  

• For those of you asking about whether to pick a cabin on the port (left) side or starboard (right) side, our balcony was on the starboard side and we felt as if we were on the "wrong" side of the ship the entire time. We faced away from the port at all of our ports of call.
  

• New Menu - We selected the new comfort food items on the last night just to say that we've tried them. Mac and Cheese gets a thumbs up. Meatloaf was OK. Southern Fried Chicken felt as if we were eating a TV dinner, or something served at Denny's late at night. It does bring the MDR experience a few notches down, but it didn't stop many fellow cruisers from ordering these entree's. I guess Carnival knows their clientele.
  

• WARNING! - My mother in law had a cabin located on the Upper deck forward, right above the Encore Theater. The noise was so loud during performances that after the second night, she requested to be moved to a different cabin. Thankfully, there was a cabin open on deck 10, so they moved her promptly and efficiently. Kudos to the Guest Services staff for a quick and very satisfactory response!
  

• As some of you may have heard, parking rates have recently increased in Port Canaveral. Instead, we decided to park at Park N' Cruise for only $6.99/day. Not only is it less than half the cost of parking at the cruise terminal, but they offer great service. They even helped us offload and load our car! Their shuttle was very quick! Upon our return, we walked off the ship at 7:20am, and we were on the expressway by 7:50am!
  

• We did the Western itinerary. Cozumel: Didn't get off the ship (it was raining, plus I was feeling a bit under the weather). Belize: We did a Belize City Tour. Very interesting and informative. Roatan: Spent the day in Mahogany Beach. Costa Maya: This place has really gotten crowded and overly comercialized over the years. We took a $3 cab to Mahahual and got $20 massages on the beach and enjoyed a quiet, uncrowded day of relaxation.
  

• We went on this cruise fully knowing that our son would not be able to participate on regular Camp Carnival activities, but it was still a shame. While the staff was wonderful during play time, we wish they would offer babysitting for kids under the age of 2. That's one thing we missed from our previous Royal Caribbean cruise (the Royal Babies and Tots nursery). We would've gladly paid extra to have the opportunity to drop our son off for a few hours while the adults participated in an excursion not suitable for little ones, etc. We hope that in a future not too distant from now, Carnival considers a similar babysitting program aboard their ships.
  

• One of my biggest complains from our previous Carnival cruise had to do with incessant smoking and cigarrette smell all over the ship. Thankfully, the Dream is less "smoke friendly", so you can walk around the ship without breathing cigarrette smoke. The only times it bothered us was when our balcony neighbors would light up, but overall, the ship smells considerably clean.
  

So once again, YES, we'll be cruising on Carnival again. We had a WONDERFUL time! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

[jenninlaca]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this review! I was especially interested in the photo of your adorable son enjoying the little kid slide. We have a boy who will be 2.5 when we sail the Dream in December and I was not sure if there were any slides he could ride. This one looks perfect.

 

I thought RCI only took kids in the program at age 3 or older and had to be potty trained. It sounds like they have paid babysitting for the babies and under 3 set? This is our first cruise and we chose Carnival partially because it took kids 2 and under, not potty trained. We really want to try Allure of the Seas at some point (after we save up...).

[Tapi]

I thought RCI only took kids in the program at age 3 or older and had to be potty trained. It sounds like they have paid babysitting for the babies and under 3 set?

 

Royal Caribbean's free kids program does start at the age of 3. However, they offer on some ships (including the Allure), the Royal Babies and Tots program. It's available starting at the age of 6 months, and it's open from 8am until midnight. You do pay $8/hr for the service, but it's a nice option to have when you are traveling with kids that are not quite old enough for the regular kids program. Royal Caribbean is currently retrofitting their older ships with the Royal Babies and Tots nursery, so I'm assuming that it's popular.

 

If your kid has already turned 2, you're better off sailing on Carnival since he can attend Camp Carnival for free. :)

[maxxedout2]

>>>Plain and simple, the answer is YES!<<<

 

Thanks, nice review. I agree.

We use CCL, RCI and Princess so far.

Depends on who's going, the ports, our

schedule and budget.

 

:cool::cool:

 

In our case, one cruise line does-not-fit-all...

[Ply474]

Thank you for the great review!! We booked again for the Dream in March 2012.... looking foward to a great get away! We sailed on the Dream in Dec 2009 on her maiden voyage to the Western Carribean. It was alot of fun! Your review is spot on!

[DarthGrady]

Plain and simple, the answer is YES!

 

Totally agree Tapi! Cruising with RCI hasn't made me enjoy CCL any less. Although I do admit that I like Royal's Diamond perks more. My wife and I have been cruising RCI for the longer trips recently just to get to D+ sooner.

[mag]

Thanks Tapi...we are cruising for the first time on Royal next April. We love Carnival but are very excited for our Explorer cruise!

[ashley0826]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this review! I was especially interested in the photo of your adorable son enjoying the little kid slide. We have a boy who will be 2.5 when we sail the Dream in December and I was not sure if there were any slides he could ride. This one looks perfect.

 

I thought RCI only took kids in the program at age 3 or older and had to be potty trained. It sounds like they have paid babysitting for the babies and under 3 set? This is our first cruise and we chose Carnival partially because it took kids 2 and under, not potty trained. We really want to try Allure of the Seas at some point (after we save up...).

 

It's something they have just started in the past year or so. I believe it's something they are phasing in. Most of the larger newer ships have it I believe.

[VolzCruiser]

Thank you Tapi once again you have been fair and honest

[tiggerman101]

Nice write up. I have been bopping back and forth for the last couple years and enjoy it all. I love to switch it up here and there to keep the excitement going. I sail Allure with my mother in less then two weeks and am excited to see her reaction (I have been on Oasis). There is deffinitly something for me in all the cruise lines. i plan on exploring most of them at one point.

[esdivacruiser]

great to this info about carnival dream. will be cruising on the dream on the 22 of oct. cant wait. I want know if who else is cruising?

[right trip]

Two years ago, we sailed on RCCL's Vision of the Seas in Europe. It was a great cruise. The staff was great, our stewart was wonderful, our dining room servers were first class. The food was not as good as Carnival (I am not a foodie), the cabin was dumpy, and the ship rocked most of the time. The entertainment was good; however, not as good as that on Carnival.

In November, we are sailing on Celebrity for a Holyland cruise. If Carnival sailed to Israel, we would be on that ship. Three years ago we were on the Freedom out of Rome. That was my favorite European sailing.

We have now traveled with four different companies. Carnival is my favorite. Our last cruise was on the Valor in June. It was one of the best. Come to think of it, every Carnival vacation has been a "trip of a life time".

[H82seaUgo]

interesting take.

 

the big plus on rccl was the ship itself. most everything else was pretty much on par, except for always one thing.

 

the fun.

 

it always seems on every rccl sailing that it's just a bunch of people cruising.

 

yet, on carnival, it is always a community; a group that is sailing, drawn together by whatever it is that carnival does.

 

at the end, it's how i feel, when i get off a carnival ship.

 

 

getting off rccl, it's what i did, never what i feel.

 

that magic fun element that carnival does so well, adds that extra layer onto cruising. i've never experienced it on any other line.

[ToesntheSand]

Great mini review we sail in 10 days on the Dream, although the Eastern route. This will be our first time trying any steakhouse, I will have to relay the message to my group of how good it is!

 

 

great to this info about carnival dream. will be cruising on the dream on the 22 of oct. cant wait. I want know if who else is cruising?

 

We have a roll call going over on the roll call boards, come join!

[gelo7]

Nice review, thanks.

[my3boys4]

Thank you for taking the time to write this nice review. I will be sailing on the Dream in November. This is our 2nd cruise with Carnival, we were loyal RCL folks until we cruised Carnival in 2008. We will cruise RCL again, but for right now Carnival is the way to go.

[Meyer2]

Thanks Tapi for your great mini-review! Well done!!! And your son is so cute!

[Halftocruz]

Thanks for the review Tapi! You read so many bad reviews about the Dream so I'm glad yours was a great experience. A cruise is what you make it :p. I have always wondered what another cruise line would be like but for the price and the fun I think Carnival is #1!!! Wow that was corny :eek:

 

Can't wait for my Dream cruise in 56 days!!!

 

Kellie

[MrFunInTheSun]

Nice review Tapi.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

 

 

Just wanted to say, your son is so stinking cute!!! :)

[MsSoCalCruiser]

I'm sorry, I forgot to say thank you for you review!:o

[sjn911]

Great review, cute son, and yeah to trying them all and being able to go back and forth as things suit...Sarah

[not-enough-cruising]

Thanks for the review. i am in a slightly different position as most others that have replied. I have my first Carnival cruise upcoming. Have been with Disney and RCL previously. I am really looking forward to a new experience, and everyone on these boards have helped to elevate the excitement.

 

Thanks again

[lillian marie]

Glad that you enjoyed your holiday!