5 Night on the Dream or 6 Night on the Freedom?

[sailawaybellaluna]

Hello,

 

I'm debating on booking the 5-night Dream for my family next April (great price, we like the ports). But then I noticed the 6-night on the Freedom with the same itinerary also includes a stop in Mahogany Bay, which my kids really loved! The price for the extra night is comparable and we'd be doing a balcony cabin on both.

 

It seems overall that the Dream is just a much nicer ship?! I've been on a good number of Carnival cruises but never either of these ships! I'd love your feedback, especially if you've sailed both.

 

Thank you!

[bury me at sea]

I haven't sailed on the Dream but have sailed multiple times on both of her sister ships, the Magic and the Breeze.  I enjoyed both tremendously.

 

Then I sailed on the Freedom.  I was wowed.  It doesn't have a couple of enhancements added to the Dream class - the lovely wrap around deck 5 comes to mind.  But the biggest thing for me was it didn't have the crowding, bottlenecks, and in lots of cases the long lines encountered on the Magic and the Breeze.

 

I enjoyed the Freedom even more, have sailed on her twice, and currently have two booked on her.

 

All other things being equal I would choose the Freedom, even if it didn't include an extra day.

 

The only reason I might go back to a Dream class ship would be if the spa was particularly important to my cabin mate.  In my opinion the spa facilities on the Dream class ships are unparalleled on the Carnival line.

 

Happy sailing.  You should have a great time whichever ship you choose.

[sailawaybellaluna]

20 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

I haven't sailed on the Dream but have sailed multiple times on both of her sister ships, the Magic and the Breeze.  I enjoyed both tremendously.

 

Then I sailed on the Freedom.  I was wowed.  It doesn't have a couple of enhancements added to the Dream class - the lovely wrap around deck 5 comes to mind.  But the biggest thing for me was it didn't have the crowding, bottlenecks, and in lots of cases the long lines encountered on the Magic and the Breeze.

 

I enjoyed the Freedom even more, have sailed on her twice, and currently have two booked on her.

 

All other things being equal I would choose the Freedom, even if it didn't include an extra day.

 

The only reason I might go back to a Dream class ship would be if the spa was particularly important to my cabin mate.  In my opinion the spa facilities on the Dream class ships are unparalleled on the Carnival line.

 

Happy sailing.  You should have a great time whichever ship you choose.

Wow! Thanks so much for your feedback! I too have sailed the Breeze (in the Med during her inaugural season) and so far, she is my favorite Carnival ship!

 

Happy you were wowed by the Freedom! I do love the wrap around promenade on Deck 5, but I don't enjoy crowds. 

 

How were the passengers on the Freedom? I know some Carnival ships are known to be more "booze cruises", and we're not really boozy cruisers. 🙂 

[bury me at sea]

8 minutes ago, sailawaybellaluna said:

Wow! Thanks so much for your feedback! I too have sailed the Breeze (in the Med during her inaugural season) and so far, she is my favorite Carnival ship!

 

Happy you were wowed by the Freedom! I do love the wrap around promenade on Deck 5, but I don't enjoy crowds. 

 

How were the passengers on the Freedom? I know some Carnival ships are known to be more "booze cruises", and we're not really boozy cruisers. 🙂 

 

My cruises have always been 7 days.  I have seen several isolated people who probably had a little too much to drink, but I've never personally encountered obnoxious behavior or groups, or anything else remotely reminiscent of " booze cruisers."

[Theosprey247]

6 days is better than 5 days.  If it was up to me I would book the Freedom.

[sailawaybellaluna]

6 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

 

My cruises have always been 7 days.  I have seen several isolated people who probably had a little too much to drink, but I've never personally encountered obnoxious behavior or groups, or anything else remotely reminiscent of " booze cruisers."

You're lucky! Our home port in Southern California only does 3 and 4-night sailings. So they are notorious for bachelor/bachelorette parties and can get crazy! I still take the risk in going because they have great service, good food, and I enjoy any cruise regardless of who's around me! 🙂

[Saint Greg]

I’m sure most will say go for the longer cruise. I like Dream class enough that I booked a 6-day magic over a 7-day conquest. And the 7-day would’ve given me platinum status.

 

 

Edited September 24, 2019 by Saint Greg

[watermelonqueen99]

We've sailed on both and I would pick the Dream all day long. Bigger ship, indoor muster drill, Ocean Plaza, Lanai, etc.

[Joe817]

We had a 5 day on the Dream last July 27-Aug.1. Had a wonderful time. We've now booked on the Freedom in Sept.2020. There are things to weigh, both pluses and minuses. A 5 day with 2 stops(one being very ho-hum) or 3 stops, plus an additional day. Both will stop at Cozumel, which is a real hoot. If the price is comparable,  I'd opt for the 6(?) day. The extra day and the extra stop would tip the scales toward Freedom. Just my opinion. Either way, you all will have a great time. 

[Lottacruises]

Dream is newer and "nicer" but too crowded. I prefer the layout  of and the less crowded freedom

[wardamnweagle]

14 minutes ago, Lottacruises said:

Dream is newer and "nicer" but too crowded. I prefer the layout  of and the less crowded freedom

 

I felt this in certain areas. We didn’t even bother trying to use the pool decks. Mostly lounged on deck 5, hot tubs always had room. Although, we never waited long for food or had to search for a seat. Still, it seemed like people were everywhere, no quiet places, save for the atrium at 5am 😉. 

[sailawaybellaluna]

1 hour ago, Joe817 said:

We had a 5 day on the Dream last July 27-Aug.1. Had a wonderful time. We've now booked on the Freedom in Sept.2020. There are things to weigh, both pluses and minuses. A 5 day with 2 stops(one being very ho-hum) or 3 stops, plus an additional day. Both will stop at Cozumel, which is a real hoot. If the price is comparable,  I'd opt for the 6(?) day. The extra day and the extra stop would tip the scales toward Freedom. Just my opinion. Either way, you all will have a great time. 

Thanks for your feedback! We've been to all the ports before, but the Freedom is an extra $300 for our family of 4 and includes Mahogany Bay (which we really like). My kids loved the chair lifts on the beach last time we were there...I usually plan around $100/person/day on average if we're not in Europe, so an extra $300 and a port we like is why I'm tempted to go with Freedom. But the Dream does seem like a "nicer" ship!? Plus my kids love the Chipmunks movie that they filmed onboard! 🙂

 

I'm appreciating everyone's feedback!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Thanks everyone! The price on the Freedom ended up dropping even further, and since my family LOVED Mahogony Bay, we went for it and booked it yesterday!

[PhillyFan33579]

On 9/24/2019 at 7:12 PM, Saint Greg said:

I’m sure most will say go for the longer cruise. I like Dream class enough that I booked a 6-day magic over a 7-day conquest. And the 7-day would’ve given me platinum status.

 

 

 

Magic is my favorite Carnival ship of the 12 I have cruised on, but tough to pass up a 7 day cruise for a 6 day cruise, especially when both ships are ships I like. 

 

We always get a Cloud 9 cabin on ships that have them, and that is a huge plus for Magic. I love spending time every morning in the thermal suite and especially the thalassotherapy pool. 

 

On the other hand, we spend a lot of time at the Alchemy Bar and going to comedy shows. I prefer the location of the Alchemy Bar on Conquest class ships and I also prefer the aft lounge on Conquest class ships for comedy.  

 

All things being equal, which they never really are, I would pick a 7 day cruise on Conquest, but I don’t see anything wrong with the decision you made. 

[Saint Greg]

8 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Magic is my favorite Carnival ship of the 12 I have cruised on, but tough to pass up a 7 day cruise for a 6 day cruise, especially when both ships are ships I like. 

 

We always get a Cloud 9 cabin on ships that have them, and that is a huge plus for Magic. I love spending time every morning in the thermal suite and especially the thalassotherapy pool. 

 

On the other hand, we spend a lot of time at the Alchemy Bar and going to comedy shows. I prefer the location of the Alchemy Bar on Conquest class ships and I also prefer the aft lounge on Conquest class ships for comedy.  

 

All things being equal, which they never really are, I would pick a 7 day cruise on Conquest, but I don’t see anything wrong with the decision you made. 

 

See I prefer the Dream class comedy club. I also prefer the larger alchemy bar, additional alchemist, and the fact that it stays open later on the Dream class. I like that Breeze and Magic have the red frog pub right next to the alchemy. I like having the Italian restaurant on the Dream class.  I like having the lanai on deck 5. Ocean plaza instead of squeezing entertainment on the promenade walkway. It's not even close for me.

 

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Saint Greg

[PhillyFan33579]

23 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

See I prefer the Dream class comedy club. I also prefer the larger alchemy bar, additional alchemist, and the fact that it stays open later on the Dream class. I like that Breeze and Magic have the red frog pub right next to the alchemy. I like having the Italian restaurant on the Dream class.  I like having the lanai on deck 5. Ocean plaza instead of squeezing entertainment on the promenade walkway. It's not even close for me.

 

 

 

All good points. I really enjoy talking with the Alchemists, which is why I am not crazy about the location of the Alchemy Bar on Dream class ships. The last several times I have been on both Breeze and Magic it was tough to have any kind of conversation there because of the band playing at Ocean Plaza every night. Of course if the band is good, sitting at the Alchemy Bar and listening to music and watching people dance is fun. 

[Saint Greg]

24 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

All good points. I really enjoy talking with the Alchemists, which is why I am not crazy about the location of the Alchemy Bar on Dream class ships. The last several times I have been on both Breeze and Magic it was tough to have any kind of conversation there because of the band playing at Ocean Plaza every night. Of course if the band is good, sitting at the Alchemy Bar and listening to music and watching people dance is fun. 

 

I'm willing to make that one compromise to get everything else. And it's not like there's a band there playing all the time. The alchemy opens a few hours before they start and stays open an hour after they stop...and there are breaks.

[bury me at sea]

2 hours ago, sailawaybellaluna said:

Thanks everyone! The price on the Freedom ended up dropping even further, and since my family LOVED Mahogony Bay, we went for it and booked it yesterday!

 

Enjoy!

[jbwilson1988]

On 9/28/2019 at 12:59 PM, sailawaybellaluna said:

Thanks everyone! The price on the Freedom ended up dropping even further, and since my family LOVED Mahogony Bay, we went for it and booked it yesterday!

Have a great time! We will be on Freedom in April for our Honeymoon. It was between that and Vista, and an overwhelming amount of things I read said that Freedom is better because it is not as crowded and you feel like you have more space. It was a major factor for us not to mention the ports of Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel as well as the fact it ended up being the sailing the day after our wedding. I have been on Triumph in 2014 which is now the Sunshine but I understand that the layout on Freedom is pretty similar to that of the old Triumph.