Carnival Legend OR Dream

I know what your thinking.... Dream! Newer ship, all the bells and whistles. But I have never cruised on a ship of this size before, only fantasy class ships with large groups.

My questions are:

1. Does larger ship mean much harder to keep up with group members?

2. Does larger ship mean much larger lines ect.

3. Are the extra bells and whistles worth the hassle of the extra people?

Your thoughts and opinions are very appreciated.

Cruise On! :D

I would pick the Legend! I have been on the Breeze which is similar to the Dream but the Dream does not have all the same venues/amenities. The Legend is the only ship in the fleet I have repeated. I believe it is the perfect size ship and the pax/space ratio is perfect. I was very easy to keep our group together on that ship.

I liked the Legend better. I felt like I was constantly waiting for something on the Dream.

The Legend is my favorite ship! If my options were just those two, I'd pick the Legend!

We've done both and while we had a great time on both, we prefer Dream. However, I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Prefer the Dream class over Spirit. Twice on the Dream and never thought lines were to bad.

We have sailed both several times, but I would choose the Legend in a heartbeat. I LOVE the spirit class ships!

To answer your questions:

1. Because the Dream is a larger ship, it takes longer to get from Point A to Point B.

2. On the Dream, it felt like my week was spent in one long line everywhere.

3. In my opinion, the extra bells and whistles offered on the Dream do not make up for the extra traffic, long lines, and the feeling I was one of the herd with a big cow bell around my neck. After the first couple of days, I made sure I was up early to get in the breakfast line, ate at off hours for lunch, and arrived a little late for dinner to avoid the crowds going into the main dining rooms.

I would definitely pick the Legend over the Dream. There was never a crowd anywhere, I never had to wait at any of the buffet venues, I never had to walk around and around looking for a clean table, there was always a table available...the food stations are scattered around which makes it easy to get a quick salad or slice of pizza if that is all you want, the Serenity deck is in the aft of the ship...it is beautiful and there was always a lounger available and nice tables and chairs in the shade near the bar, the layout of the ship is easy to navigate, the shows were great, staff was friendly, great ship and wonderful cruise experience.

The Interior rooms with french doors on the Legend are the best. The staterooms are the same size as a balcony room, they have a sofa and table, you can open your french doors...these rooms are the nicest and biggest bargain on the ship.

The Dream was too big, too impersonal, too many lines for food and entertainment venues, debarking at the ports, too many people.

You didn't say when you are going but we are going on the Legend on March 2nd. The Legend will just be coming back the week or so before from drydock and will have some new features.

One of the primary reasons we sail Carnival is the Spirit class of ships. We've sailed on all of them. We are just off the Legend Sunday - we wanted to sail her before she is moved to Australia.

Never felt crowded.

With a larger group I would also look at any differences in travel to/from the ship, price for parking and hotels(if needed) and if there is any difference in itinerary or the time spent at the ports. I personally like the bigger ships and don't mind that it takes longer to walk from one spot to another, I need that extra exercise to work off that Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. :D I have an aft facing cabin booked on the Dream so I will be walking a lot.

The Dream has been so far our 2nd favorite Carnival cruise (1st is Liberty). One of the reasons why it's not 1st is exactly because the Dream did feel more crowded, but we enjoyed the ship's larger size and extra amenities.

While we haven't sailed on a Carnival Spirit class ship, we did sail on a Holland America Signature class ship last summer (which is structurally the same as a Spirit class ship). Yes, the layout is easier, the ship doesn't feel as crowded, but we did miss having more bells and whistles.

Based on my personal preferences, I would lean towards a Dream class ship even with the crowds.

For me, it boils down to the cloud 9 spa... After enjoying the thalassotherapy pool and thermal suites for the first time, I look for the opportunity to book a cloud 9 stateroom! (We found the ship to seem much less crowded, because we were in the spa so much!)

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Bigger/Newer cannot compare with a Classic - LEGEND!!!

Sailed the dream last sept and had a blast. Never felt crowded as some people complain about. Were sailing on the legend in a month so I can let you know the differences then! I think you will be fine either way.

I prefer Legend. Dream had a few extras, but main showroom seemed very crowded to me. I like Legend's pool area better as well.

The OP DEFINITELY doesn't know what I'm thinking!

Dream = :mad:

ShotoJuku...AMEN.

I too, have sailed both ships over, and over again, and currently have "Dream" booked for both this month (Jan) and next month. I personally, don't think you can go wrong with either, and would consider all the other variations (ie; itinerary, price, port of embarkation, etc.) in the decision. Yes, Dream is far more crowded than Legend, but with just a little bit of pre-planning, most of the crowds can be avoided.

"SKY"

I think i will go with the Legend. Can't thank you fine folks enough for your opinions. Happy Sailings. Any other suggestions for the Legend would be appreciated, if you have time to spare. :o

We made this same choice a couple years ago. We ended up with the Legend too. We loved that cruise and thought the ship size was perfect. We ended up picking the Legend as we were going during spring break and I was afraid the Dream was going to be too crowded. On the Legend my kids were able to actually swim in the pools every day (not just stand). Im kinda sad we ended up choosing the freedom this trip only because I know the Legend will be gone in Australia and we wont get to sail her again.

wow!

I dont think i've ever seen such support for a ship. What is it you love the most about the Legend? What, in your own opinion, sets her apart from the other ships you have sailed in the past? :rolleyes:

We were on the Legend in August/September 2013 sailing the Baltics. We LOVE the Legend!

Carol