Are you loyal to a cruise line? We are typically loyal to Royal Caribbean but this summer, we hit a little planning snag. So, here’s the question. Would a Royal Caribbean fan enjoy a Carnival Cruise? In this post, I’ll share 5 reasons to sail on Carnival Dream, even if you’re loyal to Royal.
My family loves Royal Caribbean and we are currently at their Emerald Crown & Anchor Society loyalty status. First, let me set the stage. This past spring we were “those parents”. We were crying over the fact that our oldest was graduating high school and leaving the nest. We were desperate for that “last family summer vacation”. At least the last one we could force our oldest to join us. So, we booked late. At the point of our booking, and compounded by the fact that we wanted 3 balcony rooms together…RCCL was sold out. Full disclosure, we also had a kid that wanted to leave out of a new port and one that was begging to go to Grand Cayman. What’s a mom to do?!
So…we ended up on the Carnival Dream. My husband, who is super laid back, looked at me and said: “Wait, What?!” “We have priority boarding on RC!” We also have the RC Visa so we earn points and onboard credit. All compelling reasons to sail on RC. So, everyone was excited about a cruise, excited about vacation… but a little worried about our Carnival experience”. As the designated cruise planner of our extended family, I began to feel stressed. I could just see it, everyone was going to find fault…and it was going to be MY fault. #ProWorrier
But guess what? It was great! We had a fabulous time.
Yes, there were a few little differences we noticed. Our room steward asked us to select a single time of day for our room to be cleaned – morning or evening. As a group, we felt like the dining room food was a little lacking. We had to dig through a pile of pictures in the gallery because the onboard and port photos were not tied to our card. Printing out all of the photos seems so wasteful. All things considered, minor things.
We were on the Carnival Dream and the ship itself was great! It’s a large ship with the 2.0 upgrade and if we were ever to sail with Carnival again, I’d make sure to pick a boat with the same upgrade.
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Carnival Hub app
– The app was awesome and worked well 90% of the time. It gave us access to the schedule of onboard activities. We could even select an item and it would remind us to go. You could use the map to locate all areas of the ship. We added everyone to our group and it would even let us know who else in our group planned to go as well. Fun! I hate missing out! Also, for a small fee of $5 for the entire cruise, we could chat/text members of our group. It was a great way to communicate when we weren’t together.
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A la Carte food options
Ok…Guy’s Burger Joint is no joke! It’s delicious. Blue Iguana Cantina was great, too. Both are located near the pool and are super convenient. The lines can be long but if you go at a slightly off time (don’t line up at noon) it’s not bad. There is no upcharge for these two culinary delights, unlike RCCL’s Johnny Rocket’s.
The made-to-order pizza at the back of the boat was also excellent. The buffet had a good variety, however, we could not break the habit of calling it the Wind Jammer all week.
There are up-charge options on board as well. One of our favorites was Bonsai sushi. It was conveniently located and we stopped by a couple of times during the week for an early evening sushi roll.
Bonsai Sushi Onboard the Carnival Dream. -
Music
Another reason we really liked the Carnival Dream is the many venues on board that had live music. It seemed like at any time of day or evening there was live music available on the ship. We really enjoy listening to music and we thoroughly enjoyed a particularly talented duo known as The Awesome Twosome. Nice guys!
Musical Talent Onboard the Carnival Dream. -
One alcohol package
The alcohol package, Cheers!, was very simple and included specialty coffee (RCCL has now consolidated to one package as well – excludes Starbucks). I loved the one package that included everything. Don’t confuse me with exclusions. I’m on vacation! There are some pricing limitations but it was never an issue. For reference, the Cheers! Package is $49.95 plus 15% gratuity and will have a $2 price increase beginning January 2018. The package is $5 more per day if you wait until you are on board to purchase. The RCCL counterpart is advertised at $55 per day plus gratuity but you can also get it at a discounted rate by purchasing prior to boarding. For our March 2018 cruise, I was able to purchase the package for a 20% discount. There are also special restrictions regarding other guests in your room, etc. so let me know if you have any specific questions.
The Alchemy Bar Onboard the Carnival Dream. -
Price – There is no getting around it, the price of this cruise was less than we typically pay for RCCL.
There you have it! My 5 reasons to sail on Carnival Dream, even if you’re loyal to Royal. There were some minor differences in quality and service. But, overall, I have to say I was pretty impressed and had a fabulous time! Don’t ever pass up an opportunity to GO, EXPLORE and be thankful for each day!
For Next Time:
I would definitely sail on Carnival again. I’m not likely to turn down a cruise! I would enjoy Carnival (one with a 2.0 upgrade) for a trip with teens, in order to sail with friends, or for a specific itinerary. But, for the most part, I will stick to RCCL for our extended family trips due to familiarity and because we have added benefits earned on the loyalty program. I have a full list of all of the cruises we have been on here. If you have a question about cruising or specific questions about one of the itineraries please comment below and I will do my best to help!
What cruise line do you prefer? Comment below!
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Happy Travels!
Jill
I’m a pretty loyal Royal Caribbean cruiser also, but I am interested in trying the newer Carnival ships!
You should! Let me know if you do. I am anxious to hear what you think.
We are the opposite of you in that we normally sail Carnival, and just did RC for the first time earlier this year. The entire time on board RC, we really missed Carnival. The biggest differences for us (besides not having our ‘status’ perks) was the included food options and entertainment. We felt both were seriously lacking on RC. On Carnival, we eat at Blue Iguana or Guy’s almost daily – huge bonus and always better than the buffet. The pizza on RC doesn’t even begin to compare to Carnival — in both quality and availability. We may have just had bad luck, but we had horrible service on RC as well, both in the dining room and pay restaurants — and we aren’t that picky. I’ve never had so many servers be so rude. I also wish RC would provide better entertainment options. The comedy clubs on Carnival are awesome and there was nothing comparable on RC. Though to be fair, it seemed the RC cruise we were on catered to the super-elderly crowd. We may try RC again (a different boat) if we have to based on availability and ports, but we will try not to!
Yvonne, Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I loved the pizza on Carnival as well! It’s so fresh. What RC boat were you on? I feel like the main stage entertainment is generally better on RC but I did really like all of the different options/venues on the Carnival Dream. Happy New Year!
I appreciate all of these details! I’ve only been on one cruise, so my experience is very limited. I’ll definitely come back here for tips/advice when we plan our next cruise!
Thanks April! I’m so glad you liked it. Let me know when you are thinking about your next cruise. I’d love to help. I’m a little obsessed with cruising!