Need some expert advice on Carnival ships (Dream?)

[MaiTaiMary]

My head is spinning. :o :eek: :( :cool:

 

I just can't keep all of these ships straight! Somebody please give me some advice.

 

I'm looking into a cruise in 2014. We'll have kids with us (ages 5 - 9). I thought the "water works" water slides would be a lot of fun for them, so I've been looking into the Dream.

 

However... I keep reading about how "crowded" the Dream is. :( I love lounging around by the pool on sea days. Sounds like it would be very difficult to get a pool chair. I've never sailed on a ship with the "Serenity" area. Sounds wonderful, but again.... do I have to get out there by 8:00a to get a seat?

 

There are SO many options on Carnival now. I'm just wondering if I should look into another ship? I REALLY don't like the idea of being on a super crowded ship and fighting off others for pool chairs. However, I just love, love the waterpark area for the kids.

 

Thoughts? Any other ships you'd recommend I look into?

 

Thanks. :)

[CruisingSoon88]

We have sailed on the Dream twice. The first year my kids were 2 and 5 and then again last year when they were 3 and 6. My 6 year old loved the slides both trips. It worked perfectly for us because my little one also had his area with the little slides and splash area. We are not people who need to have chairs right beside the pool so I can't speak for that. I don't remember ever having a problem getting chairs near the slides or spalsh area. Believe me, we were never up on the serenity deck early and we always also found seats there. Honestly I have never felt like the Dream was crowded. Just using a little common sense when visiting the buffets goes a long way. I will also say that my in-laws went with us on our last Dream cruise. They are very experienced cruisers on several different lines. They were very concerned about Carnival and especially going on a bigger ship like the Dream. Needless to say, they were so impressed that they have booked the Breeze with us in April. I recently started doing some research on a possible cruise on the Liberty over next Thanksgiving and mentioned it to my mother in law. She asked if it was like the Dream and I told her it was smaller. She said no I don't want to go on a smaller ship. LOL We had to beg them to go and now they are hooked. There are plenty of people on here who have loved the Dream. Not everyone has the same taste or expectations. I never judge something until I can experience it for myself. I know that your kids would love the slides and all that the Dream has to offer. I would be happy to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. HTH:)

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Have not been on the Dream, but I believe Magic is about the same, and it did seem somewhat crowded IMO. I really liked the Conquest in comparison,but some will say they love the Magic.

[MaiTaiMary]

So the Magic, Breeze, and Dream are all pretty much the same ship?

 

What about the Conquest?

 

I just can't keep all these ships straight! :(

 

I've been on the Spirit and the Elation. The Elation cruise was a long time ago and I don't remember much about it. I liked the Spirit very much, but that cruise was just my DH and myself. For the group cruise, we'll have a our kids with us and our friends will have their kids as well. Also, we'll have older cruises. (60+ years old). For these reasons, I thought a larger ship would help cater to everybody.

 

I wasn't impressed with the Camp Carnival area on the Spirit. Looked very.... dark. I dunno. Maybe it was just the area it was on the ship.

 

 

Yes, I realize everybody will have different opinions on all the different ships. I'm just trying the best I can to research what it is people like and dislike and what the differences are so I can chose what I think will be best for us.

 

It's just so hard to tell about the Dream being crowded and hard to find pool chairs. :confused: For every person that tells me one thing, I read another post with the opposite opinion. LOL

[MaiTaiMary]

We have sailed on the Dream twice. The first year my kids were 2 and 5 and then again last year when they were 3 and 6.

 

Did they go to Camp Carnival on the Dream? If so, they did they/you think?

 

The kids in our group will be ages 6 - 9 when we cruise next year and we plan on taking advantage of Camp Carnival. :D

[hckyfan68]

My head is spinning. :o :eek: :( :cool:

 

I just can't keep all of these ships straight! Somebody please give me some advice.

 

I'm looking into a cruise in 2014. We'll have kids with us (ages 5 - 9). I thought the "water works" water slides would be a lot of fun for them, so I've been looking into the Dream.

 

However... I keep reading about how "crowded" the Dream is. :( I love lounging around by the pool on sea days. Sounds like it would be very difficult to get a pool chair. I've never sailed on a ship with the "Serenity" area. Sounds wonderful, but again.... do I have to get out there by 8:00a to get a seat?

 

There are SO many options on Carnival now. I'm just wondering if I should look into another ship? I REALLY don't like the idea of being on a super crowded ship and fighting off others for pool chairs. However, I just love, love the waterpark area for the kids.

 

Thoughts? Any other ships you'd recommend I look into?

 

Thanks. :)

 

Hi Mary,

 

DW and I were on the Dream in November and we had a great time. It never felt crowded and we only experienced lines once or twice, and then they only lasted 10-15. And that was on the first elegant night and to get into the comedy club.

 

If you are interested here is my review of the Dream

 

FYI the Dream, Magic, and Breeze are all Dream class ships, so they are similar. Yes, I know the Breeze was designed by a different person, but...

 

We loved the Dream and we planning on booking a cruise on the Breeze next. While we didn't bring our kids this time, they are coming with us on the Breeze (10,2,2,)

[dshefter]

Would agree with Hckyfan. We were on the Dream in early December and the crowds were not that bad and we had wonderful weather. We always found a deck chair, sometimes on 12 (two above pool), and while the slide can get busy, it's not that long of a wait. Our 9 yr old couldn't stop using the slides.

[OZjones12]

The dream is a great ship and the serenity area is nice! Just dont sleep till noon and expect a good spot. I just got off last month and I never thought it was too crowded and they said we had a full ship. (also been on Valor, Glory and Imagination)

[bamboozel]

Loved the Dream!!! We sailed her last may. Never felt the ship over crowded. The ship was big and beautiful!!! You will love it!!!

[Colorado Kat]

Depends when you go. We sailed the Dream in early Jan, and the ship was at capacity. Really no seats outside, anywhere. If it's a time when most kids are in school, you should be fine.

 

Early December is one of the quietest months to cruise.

[CruisingSoon88]

Did they go to Camp Carnival on the Dream? If so, they did they/you think?

 

The kids in our group will be ages 6 - 9 when we cruise next year and we plan on taking advantage of Camp Carnival. :D

 

On our first cruise both of my boys were in the 2-5 year old room and my 5 year old was ready to move up. To be honest, I was less than impressed with the counselors on that cruise. My kids liked them so they obviously weren't mean to them or anything, they just weren't very friendly to me. Fortunately the second time around was sooo much better. My then 6 year old loved it. They went to the special parties that they had and we always picked them up between 12:30-1 am. Our routine was to have dinner with them and then they were itching to go to camp and we would head to the casino. They played games and DS loved winning a medal for dancing. He still talks about that. I know all kids are different, but mine really like camp thank goodness.

[Ltcsquad]

We did the Dream in Feb 2011.It was fantastic, Yes there are a lot of people on board but there are so much to do. We never felt Crowded. Didn't have problem finding chairs on deck. Do not know about camp Carnival.

Hope you have a great Trip.

[crusinfamof4]

We sailed the Dream in Aug of 2011-at the time our sons were 14 & 12, our youngest loved the slides and stayed on it as long as they were open. I did not find the Dream crowded and due to the # of children, we were a full+ ship. We found chairs right at the pool, no problem. Even the comedy club was comfy. Of course, I did read all the reviews before we went and everywhere we went, we arrived 30 minutes early to guarantee a good seat-comedy and show lounge.

 

We sailed the Fascination in Nov 2012-it was awful, it was very crowded, people trying to push to get somewhere. I don't ever want to sail on that one again. I told my DH we will only stick with Conquest size and above.

 

Tbh, if our youngest son didn't have high school orientation the week we wanted to sail (same iternary as we did in 2011), we would have gone on the Dream again. We loved it.

[Tapi]

We enjoyed our time on the Dream, BUT it did feel more crowded than other ships we've sailed on. The trick is to be smart and avoid peak times or areas that may get crowded. We followed this basic rule and avoided the crowds most of the time.

 

But there were some moments when my jaw dropped jus staring at the lines of people. Among them, the line for embarkation (it was RIDICULOUSLY long) and the lines at The Gathering (buffet). There are just way too many tables crammed in that area.

 

Once again, learn to avoid peak times and busy areas and you'll be fine.

[gred1994]

We booked the Dream for this summer. We went on a family cruise on the Fascination in September 2011. We knew nothing about the water slides, and we were impressed with the water works. DH and I went on the Legend for our anniversary this past summer. We LoVED the ship, BUT the slides ( yes slide! Only one). Was pathetic. We talked about how glad we were that our kids weren't there. They would have been so disappointed!

 

So booking another family cruise, the water works were our top priority. We also wanted a full week. :D

[rockyman935]

So the Magic, Breeze, and Dream are all pretty much the same ship?

 

What about the Conquest?

 

I just can't keep all these ships straight! :(

 

I've been on the Spirit and the Elation. The Elation cruise was a long time ago and I don't remember much about it. I liked the Spirit very much, but that cruise was just my DH and myself. For the group cruise, we'll have a our kids with us and our friends will have their kids as well. Also, we'll have older cruises. (60+ years old). For these reasons, I thought a larger ship would help cater to everybody.

 

I wasn't impressed with the Camp Carnival area on the Spirit. Looked very.... dark. I dunno. Maybe it was just the area it was on the ship.

 

 

Yes, I realize everybody will have different opinions on all the different ships. I'm just trying the best I can to research what it is people like and dislike and what the differences are so I can chose what I think will be best for us.

 

It's just so hard to tell about the Dream being crowded and hard to find pool chairs. :confused: For every person that tells me one thing, I read another post with the opposite opinion. LOL

Alright to be honest never been on the dream so I have no advice yet !! But I have been told the conquests layout is alot like the dream ! I know I took my kids last march on the conquest we chased the magic the whole 7 days and my kids got water slide envy BADLY!!!! So this year we are going on the dream ! I will get chewed out for this I wasnt much on the conquest but to add I have loved all my cruises with carnival but the conquest didnt fit my family as others in the past had you will learn very fast all ships have there own personality! So good luck !! Call a travel agent Its free It does not cost 1 penny more to use one!! (if they try to charge you more find a better agent)!