Dream Cove Balcony Question??

Hi,

I'm curious about the Cove Balcony. I'd be traveling solo and boy that's a first for me!! Our son's new cruise contract has him on the Dream in the new year. Of course, me being Mom I like to go on "his" cruise. So I was thinking a Cove Cabin. I'm not a big sun worshiper, I would just burn, so shade is a great choice.

My big concern is the possibility of Carnival blocking my Balcony due to high waves. I'm looking at March or April 2019, Dream goes out of New Orleans then, switches to Galveston in May.

Can those who have past experience with sailing at this time of year in this kind of Balcony offer me suggestions and information?

Thanks,

Bobbi

Really loved the cove balcony on the Dream. Only cabin I would ever book if it was available. Would not book one of the ones toward the front as seemed to be much spray.

If the seas became so rough they had to close off the balcony it would be irrelevant. You would not be out there anyway.

Best cabin at sea in my opinion. The time of year you are considering sailing the ocean should be calm.

Thank you Mexicbob for sharing that info with me.

Bobbi

:)

Coves are better than regular balconies in my opinion. I love being close to the water.

Hi,

I'm curious about the Cove Balcony...........

Here are my notes gleaned from searching for info on cove balconies a few years back. None of these are my comments; we never did book cove balcony as I could never find a "good one" according to the recommendations below. We have since moved on to aft view cabins, but the idea of a cabin down close to the water still appeals to me. Be advised that cove balconies, at least the desirable ones, are booked very early!

These are on several ships I recall:

All cove balconies from the midship elevators on back are under the galley, plus a few of the OV rooms near the aft elevators. It sounds like you had some good luck with noise, because the area around that room (2404)has had several reports of noise from above.

Some rooms under the galley will be fine, some will not. For those that had a noisy spot under the galley, don't let that cause you to swear off coves. Just pick one forward of the midship elevators next time. Anything under the dining room is great, since it's empty all night long. Under the lobby is fine as well, since it gets very little use overnight. There are no coves under the casino or theater.

The cabins are the same size, 185 sq ft. But the balcony is a little larger on the cove. They are 45 sq ft on the cove and 35 sq ft on a standard balcony.

I LOVED the cove, but I think I would rather be a little further back next time to avoid spray in rough water.

Link to deck 2 cove: http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Carnival-Dream

Deck 2 by the for'd elevators is quite shore excursion and guest services.

deck 3 is public areas showing galley, lobby, etc. Galley starts just aft of the mid-ship elevators.

Deck below (1) is all passenger cabins.

REPORTED Cove balcony rating - still need to verify location by ME:

GOOD: 2252 (under guest services),2248, 2337, 2314 (no lifeboat),2281 there is a gap between the lifeboats,

BAD:2204

We spent 10 days in room 2374 on the Dream back in 2016. The waves would have to get really high to close the balconies off. We had really rough waters the last couple of sea days. Water would spray up on the balcony and we were able to watch the waves rolling from the couch inside the room. They never closed them off. We loved the cove balcony and have booked it on the Dream again in 2019.

We did have some noise overhead. We would occasionally hear carts. Nothing bad enough to keep us from booking again!

We sailed back through a tropical storm back in July (rough waves) and we stayed on our balcony at night watching them. Never once did any doors get closed.

We've done coves at least 3 times, and never had them close it off. Sometimes the waves were pretty impressive but normal sailings would likely never see them close it. They do close the door one day each week to hose off the balconies, but that takes a few hours tops.

Boy, lots of useful information in your posts, thanks to each one of you. I might sound corny, but it sounds kinda exciting to see the waves/water hitting the balcony from the safety of the cabin! :D

And, I didn't think about the Galley noise, something to at least consider.

Thank you all so much!

Bobbi

I don't think anyone mentioned the price either; cove balconies are less expensive.....a lot. But as I said earlier; book early, they go fast!

We sailed in the gulf when Hurricane Patricia was hitting Mexico in 2015, and we also sailed though Tropical Storm Philippe in 2017. Both times in a cove balcony. Neither time was our door to the balcony closed off, despite the rough seas. Even though upper decks on the ship were closed because of high winds. So I would imagine that it’s a very rare occurrence.

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I don't think anyone mentioned the price either; cove balconies are less expensive.....a lot. But as I said earlier; book early, they go fast!

Not always. I’ve actually seen it where the coves were more expensive that the regular balconies. My guess is that it depends on the demand for the coves.

We were on the Dream in a Cove Balcony in April of 2017 for two weeks. LOVED IT!! We had a room underneath Guest Services, not the Galley, so it was very quiet. It was also far enough back that we didn't get a ton of spray from the front of the boat, but we still did get some. It was very nice to have the shade, and I didn't think it was as windy as normal balconies can be. We never had any issues with the balconies being closed up. We wouldn't hesitate to book a Cove again!

We had the 1st cove balcony on the starboard side and while I loved being close to the water the spray kept the balcony wet a good part of the time. My kids had the 3rd and 4th on the port side and had the same issue but somewhat lesser degree. The area was very quiet by the front elevators and we loved that. BUT the best thing was coming back onboard we just walked up one flight of stairs to our cabin, no jamming in the elevators with 15 sweaty strangers :). If I were to book another cove I'd try one 10 cabins back.

We've done the Cove cabin on Dream, Magic (twice) and we are booked on Horizon. So nice to have the shade, the privacy and just the right amount of breeze. Speaking of Breeze, we will eventually get on that one too! We have been choosing the ships based on the Cove cabins. That's how much we love them.

Thanks so much for all the positive reviews! :D :D

Bobbi

I've never seen cove balconies that were more expensive than regular balconies - they've always been quite a bit less expensive anytime I've ever checked.

It is EXTREMEMLY important for you to look closely at the deck plans and do not choose a cabin under the galley. The first time we booked a cove on the Dream there wasn't a lot of information out there and I didn't look close enough. Even though my cabin wasn't too noisy, my sister's cabin was really, really bad. It truly sounded like someone rolling huge pans around - like bowling with pans. It would start super early in the morning & go until very late at night. My sister & her daughter both purchased ear plugs from the ships onboard, but even then it was still pretty bad.

I really like coves, but I wouldn't book one if the only ones open were under the galley.

We cruised on the Dream in a Cove balcony in December and had some pretty rough seas. A couple of times we got hit with a little sea spray and water but it wasn't a big deal. Very quiet cabin and we loved it.

Just my two cents on the cove. We LOVE it! My hubby’s choice is the very first one. Maybe a bit of spray but we weren’t bothered by smoke from the neighbors balcony.

We had the same cove balcony two years in a row on the Dream in March, below guest services I think. The doors were closed off one night after we came back for bed but were open again in the morning.

Ok, I did look online at the general Deck Plans for 2 and 3 and see that a big portion of cabins are under the Galley, or the Main Stage. :confused:

I'm booking via Friends & Family on Carnival, another first. So, I guess I better decide on the actual cruise date. Even with the small employee discount, I'm still paying a double because I'm solo. :(

I'm asking a few relatives and friends if they'd be interested in going with me .

Hi,

I'm curious about the Cove Balcony. I'd be traveling solo and boy that's a first for me!! Our son's new cruise contract has him on the Dream in the new year. Of course, me being Mom I like to go on "his" cruise. So I was thinking a Cove Cabin. I'm not a big sun worshiper, I would just burn, so shade is a great choice.

My big concern is the possibility of Carnival blocking my Balcony due to high waves. I'm looking at March or April 2019, Dream goes out of New Orleans then, switches to Galveston in May.

Can those who have past experience with sailing at this time of year in this kind of Balcony offer me suggestions and information?

Thanks,

Bobbi

If you are worried about it go higher.

Also not a sun worshipper and loved the cove balcony on the Dream for that exact reason. It's nice to be close to the water - completely different perspective.

If you are worried about it go higher.

I had no personal knowledge of the Cove Balcony. So, I voiced my concerns. The nice folks here on CC Board kindly answered. :):)

Also not a sun worshipper and loved the cove balcony on the Dream for that exact reason. It's nice to be close to the water - completely different perspective.

Thank you! I believe I will :hearteyes: the location too!