Inside or balcony cabin on Carnival Dream

We have a group of eight people cruising on the Dream this summer. There are four kids and four adults. We have never cruised on Carnival before so we are unsure of what to expect. I currently have us booked in two balcony rooms port side middle and aft on deck 7.

I have two concerns that were brought to my attention. I was told that deck 5, two decks below us is the smoking section. I am highly allergic to any kind of smoke including cigarettes and I get horrible headaches from just being around smoke for more than ten minutes. (My inlaws who are going do smoke so it wouldn't bother them) Has anyone had experience with the Dream deck 7 port side balcony?

Second, I was told by a friend that our cabin overlooks the hot tub and it can get PG-13 if not R rated at times. I honestly do not want to have that conversation with the kids on this trip. :) So, I need to make sure that we are not going to give our kids too much of an education on the cruise, they are young.

Third, it is $600 less in total to book an interior on another deck. We have never been in an interior room and I don't know if it will bother us to have it completely dark all the time. The cruises that we have gone on are usually port heavy, so we are only in our room to sleep and change to go out. But, this one has three sea days and I am thinking we may spend more time in our cabin than the other cruises.

So my question is... should I move to another room on the starboard side or just move into a cheaper inside cabin on deck 8 or 9? Is the smoke really an issue and do people really get ridiculous in the hot tubs?

Any advice is much appreciated!

I was told by a friend that our cabin overlooks the hot tub and it can get PG-13 if not R rated at times. I honestly do not want to have that conversation with the kids on this trip. :) So, I need to make sure that we are not going to give our kids too much of an education on the cruise, they are young.

As for the kids seeing anything you would need to have "the talk" about... not likely. I have never seen anything remotely close to that on a cruise. I have heard it in the cabin next door... but you could have that in any cabin.

I like the cove balconies on Dream. Will still give you a balcony without your other concerns, and a little cheaper than other balconies.

If you are not going to spend much time on the balcony is it worth the extra cost.

We will go either way between balcony and inside and inside doesnt bother us as we do not spend much time in the cabin.

When we have an inside we leave light on in bathroom so we have a nightlite.

I've done a balcony like you've described. It really depends on how much smoke bothers you and how many smokers there are on the ship. It didn't bother my husband, but it bothered me. In fact, I am careful not to book another balcony in that location. As for things in the hot tub, we travel with our kids and that has never been an issue. Noises from the cabin next door however. . . :o

We've also cruised in inside staterooms. You sleep great inside those and its also great if you have little ones that you are trying to get to nap. However, the balcony on a ship is my happy place. I love to just sit and watch the water. If you can move to a cove balcony, that would be a great option.

Have u thought about a Cove Balcony? I would highly recommend looking into one of them. I find that viewing some YouTube videos helps me to really get a “feel” for what they would be like. :)

We have a group of eight people cruising on the Dream this summer. There are four kids and four adults. We have never cruised on Carnival before so we are unsure of what to expect. I currently have us booked in two balcony rooms port side middle and aft on deck 7.

 

I have two concerns that were brought to my attention. I was told that deck 5, two decks below us is the smoking section. I am highly allergic to any kind of smoke including cigarettes and I get horrible headaches from just being around smoke for more than ten minutes. (My inlaws who are going do smoke so it wouldn't bother them) Has anyone had experience with the Dream deck 7 port side balcony?

 

The Lanai port side is indeed the smoking side. This why we always book starboard balcony cabins on Dream class ships.

Second, I was told by a friend that our cabin overlooks the hot tub and it can get PG-13 if not R rated at times. I honestly do not want to have that conversation with the kids on this trip. :) So, I need to make sure that we are not going to give our kids too much of an education on the cruise, they are young.

 

We experienced times when the hot tubs on Lanai were full of young teenagers laughing and screaming later into the night. Hence, we learned and book a balcony cabin between the hot tub areas on Lido.

 

Third, it is $600 less in total to book an interior on another deck. We have never been in an interior room and I don't know if it will bother us to have it completely dark all the time. The cruises that we have gone on are usually port heavy, so we are only in our room to sleep and change to go out. But, this one has three sea days and I am thinking we may spend more time in our cabin than the other cruises.

 

I could never be in an inside cabin. We used our balconies a lot.

 

So my question is... should I move to another room on the starboard side or just move into a cheaper inside cabin on deck 8 or 9? Is the smoke really an issue and do people really get ridiculous in the hot tubs?

 

Any advice is much appreciated!

What are you cabin numbers? We've sailed Dream, Magic, and Breeze (twice) so I am pretty familiar with the layouts of the ships.

Since you are asking for advice, I suggest moving to starboard balconies. If you can afford Lido deck, it's wonderful to be close to the pools and buffet. If you need to stay on deck 7, contact the person with whom you booked to move to starboard.

There were not any Starboard cabins available. :( Our room numbers are 7340 and 7440. Maybe we should move to a cove. I just didn't know if it would be as nice sitting on the deck of a cove, but in August, it probably would be better because of the shade.

Does this ship sell out? It looks like a lot of the rooms are taken and there is not much availability. I'm glad I locked two in, we already have airline tickets.

Hi

Have you looked at an OV cabin. They give you the benefit of the view and more space for a price somewhere between the cost of an inside and a balcony. So unless you really "like" sitting on a balcony while cruising, I would consider alternatives. Some people (including myself) realized after trying, that I didn't spend enough time out there to justify the extra expense. We did get a balcony when we went to Alaska and really enjoyed it. While I didn't go out to sit for any length of time, I did go out often for short periods to take in the vistas...but that was Alaska.

I can see how saving $600 for an inside cabin can be tempting. That really would have to be your decision.

have a great cruise

Actually, the OV cabins are a little more right now. I might move to the interior. I honestly don't think we will be out there that much. The extra money will pay for an excursion that we would enjoy. :)

I love interior rooms. I would take the $600 in a heart beat. I spend time in my room to sleep, change clothes, and use the bathroom. I’m not saying people who like balconies are wrong. It’s personal preference. I just don’t cruise for the cabin.

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Actually, the OV cabins are a little more right now. I might move to the interior. I honestly don't think we will be out there that much. The extra money will pay for an excursion that we would enjoy. :)

I love interior rooms. I would take the $600 in a heart beat. I spend time in my room to sleep, change clothes, and use the bathroom. I’m not saying people who like balconies are wrong. It’s personal preference. I just don’t cruise for the cabin.

 

 

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Agreed. That $ 600 pays for a significant part of our next cruise.

We have same setup on the Magic, balcony, midship, port side, never a problem with the smoking from deck 5 below or any noise (or racy things going on) in the hot tub below. Balcony or OS is a must for us so a no brainer for us between that cabin and any other one truthfully. We leave in 3 days on the Magic again and I will let you know if anything changes with that location but I think you will be just fine ;p!!!!

What are you cabin numbers? We've sailed Dream, Magic, and Breeze (twice) so I am pretty familiar with the layouts of the ships.

 

Since you are asking for advice, I suggest moving to starboard balconies. If you can afford Lido deck, it's wonderful to be close to the pools and buffet. If you need to stay on deck 7, contact the person with whom you booked to move to starboard.

I've searched the boards extensively, and still haven't found any real comparisons between Carnival Dream and Carnival Breeze. I know this is off topic, but did you prefer one over the other?

To me, who only sails in a balcony, being in an inside cabin is what I think being in a closet would be like. Many years ago I sailed in inside cabins, but they were huge. I didn't like the idea of no light, but the cabins I sailed in were about twice the size of the inside cabins now.

I think not having any daylight in the cabin would be totally depressing. I don't care that I could turn on the tv and see it become daylight. It's not the same. Even worse for me would be having more than 2 in an inside. Sorry, I'd rather not sail at all than have to do an inside.

I know many like to save the money and sail more often and can do so by taking advantage of the inside. Not all of us feel that way though.

I don't like smoking either, but I'd try to find a way to go to a cabin that was up higher, or even a cove before I'd book an inside. I realize it's your money and your family and I am sure you will do what's best for all of you. Enjoy.

Will carnival let you down grade to an interior? Usually you can only upgrade. Even if they would the interiors ate so super tiny for four people. I'd move to a deluxe oceanview with the two bathrooms or a cove like the other poster suggested.

Thanks so much for all the advice. I decided to stick with the balcony cabin. I agree that it would be depressing and my son and I are super claustrophobic. So after all the comments we are staying in our cabin. Now I have to figure out how to upgrade to the Lido Deck for that dame price.

We have a group of eight people cruising on the Dream this summer. There are four kids and four adults. We have never cruised on Carnival before so we are unsure of what to expect. I currently have us booked in two balcony rooms port side middle and aft on deck 7.

 

I have two concerns that were brought to my attention. I was told that deck 5, two decks below us is the smoking section. I am highly allergic to any kind of smoke including cigarettes and I get horrible headaches from just being around smoke for more than ten minutes. (My inlaws who are going do smoke so it wouldn't bother them) Has anyone had experience with the Dream deck 7 port side balcony?

 

Second, I was told by a friend that our cabin overlooks the hot tub and it can get PG-13 if not R rated at times. I honestly do not want to have that conversation with the kids on this trip. :) So, I need to make sure that we are not going to give our kids too much of an education on the cruise, they are young.

 

Third, it is $600 less in total to book an interior on another deck. We have never been in an interior room and I don't know if it will bother us to have it completely dark all the time. The cruises that we have gone on are usually port heavy, so we are only in our room to sleep and change to go out. But, this one has three sea days and I am thinking we may spend more time in our cabin than the other cruises.

 

So my question is... should I move to another room on the starboard side or just move into a cheaper inside cabin on deck 8 or 9? Is the smoke really an issue and do people really get ridiculous in the hot tubs?

 

Any advice is much appreciated!

It's your $$$.

I've searched the boards extensively, and still haven't found any real comparisons between Carnival Dream and Carnival Breeze. I know this is off topic, but did you prefer one over the other?

Breeze has Red Frog Pub, which Dream does not have. We love hanging out and listening to the live music at night. Breeze's decor is more subdued, with light yellows and fake trees on Lido buffet. (I don't care about decor but my husband loves Breeze for this reason.) Otherwise, they are mostly the same.