Dream... Every good cruise is like dream... One on the Carnival Dream is especially dream... It is not an advertisement, just opinion of not so experienced cruiser :)
What is the Dream? Read here!
When I heard about Dream I wanted it. No wonder why, newest, biggest in the Carnival flee, this ship definitely deserved checking it out.
How did it all turn out?
While Dream is huge it does not really feel like that. It is easy to get around and it has all the nice amenities one may need. We got a balcony stateroom. Size was 185 sqft + 35 sqft of balcony.
On 3 different cruises we traveled in the inside, ocean view and balcony one... I should mention that while prices differ the experience depends on who you are and what you want.
Olga and myself enjoyed our first cruise on Carnival Fascination in the inside stateroom. We just spent most of our time outside... Specifics of the inside is that you can forget about time unless you set alarm.
On the Carribean Princess we stayed in the oceanview. There is not too much difference between inside and oceanview ones. In later you get just a relatively small window an usually they are on lower decks. Otherwise... same stuff except one can watch the time by the sun movement :)
Balcony stateroom proved to be a different animal. First of it resolved a little a/c problem. We both don't really like much of a/c and in cruise a/c is everywhere. In a stateroom it can be tuned down, but not turned off. With the balcony available passenger eager for a fresh air can open a balcony door, decrease a/c and voile, one breaths in a fresh ocean cleaned air.
Another clear advantage is a separation of compartments. Whether you need to get a baby to sleep or want to read a book slowly sipping Georgian wine and throwing inspired looks at the ocean surface, while the rest of the family peacefully rests lulled by sounds of waves breaking at the boards of the ship, balcony is your ally. It also helps when a little too much of the cloth is wet and needs to be dried.
Is balcony safe, especially for children and toddlers? There are no openings at the bottom of balcony fencing where young ones could squeeze through. However,when the chair or journal table is close to the fence older child (ages 1.5+ I'd say) could climb up. So it is not absolutely safe and an eye should be kept on youngsters, who may not yet realize dangers of climbing balcony fence.
Stateroom of ours had a sofa, which our steward initially tried to adopt for a baby cradle. It did not work - Alice could easily fall from it, so we got a real cradle, where Alice safely spend most of the nights and day naps.
In general stateroom was likable, enough space for 2 adults and baby. I would say that it could have (with pullman bank) accommodate family of 4 without a lot of tension. One interesting innovation I found was in the bathroom. Small, yet convenient it had a water temperature regulator graduated by Celsius. I could have water of exactly the temperature I wanted to have. Features I would not mind to have in our house.
TV set hanging on the wall is a dual purpose. You can watch TV (if you find time) or order different things including breakfast in stateroom and shore excursions using remote. Very convenient and easy to work with.
While on previous cruises our stateroom was at lower decks this time it was high (Veranda deck - 8). The view from balcony was nicer than from lower deck oceanview (and not obstructed as well) and the amenities we used most (buffet, pool, water park, jogging trek) were closer. Some others, such as sushi bar (oh yes, there was a sushi bar!), theater, restaurants and shops took a bit longer time to reach. In any case this is not that significant, unless one wants to use elevators in the rush hour forgetting that legs are designed primarily for walking and running :)
In general Dream met or exceeded our expectations - very nice ship with a lot of fun on board and ashore during the stops. Since after all it is a huge sea going hotel - it seems to be fair to compare it to real hotels. So all our cruises were comparable to 4-4.5 star European hotels. Or 5+ star Carribean/Central American/Mexican one.
More on food, entertainment and stop in following post.
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