Just back from 7 wondrous days on The Dream, wondering about smaller/older ships

[MYRN1]

We had an absolute fabulous trip. I was blown away by the ship, and decor. We enjoyed many of the onboard amenities such as the water park, loved Fun Force, enjoyed the tandoor, etc. We are looking into our next cruise, and wonder how hard it will be to choose a smaller/older ship? Will we not be Wowed like we were?

 

We have thought of sailing the Dream again, either the same itinerary or switching to the eastern. We have also thought of trying The Breeze. ANy thoughts? We would prefer to sail out of either Florida or an eastern US state and go to the Caribbean. Jet Blue offers nonstop to PR so that is also not out of the question. Our kids are 7 and 2, and will be 8 and 3 next sailing date if that makes any difference.

 

Oh, and a minimum of 7 days..b2b also not out of the question.

[joybaby]

We love the Dream as well, but it is huge. The Legend is a great ship out of Tampa. Not as large and more manageable. This is my favorite class ship.

Also the Fascination out of Jax. It is old and smaller, but it is just a fantastic get away for us. Really great service on this ship. Living near the port is a plus for us.

Any cruise is a great vacation for me.

[CruisingSoon88]

We have the same issue after sailing on the Dream last year. This was our kids' first cruise and they would not understand going on a smaller class ship without those waterslides that they loved so much. I have to admit that DH and I loved the spa so much that we are spoiled to the Dream class as well. The Conquest class does offer a couple of differences that I perferrred such as the fish and chips over the italian. Then I go back to how much we loved our cove balcony. Port Canaveral is alot closer for us than Miami so we booked the eastern route on the Dream this year and we'll probably do the Breeze next year. I almost wish that we hadn't "spoiled" our kids by taking them on the Dream first, but whats done is done. I can live with going back on the Dream again!:D

[Eliot Ness]

The smaller ships definitely have a lot to offer, especially since they went through a major refurbishing a few years back. I've been on smaller ships to larger ships and back to smaller ships and adapted very well. I actually think I like the Fantasy and Spirit class ships the best, but our next cruise is on the Dream so I'll break out my good walking shoes :).

[GTO-Girl]

We just came back from a 5 day on the Facination out of Jacksonville. I was a bit concerned because we have always sailed 7 days and usually on the biggest and newest Carnival had to offer.

 

We had a wonderful time!!! Yes the ship is older/smaller and it doesn't have all the "bells and whistles", but it is well maintained and very clean. We enjoyed not fighting all the crowds, in fact we very rarely had to wait for an elevator....:eek:....and the ship sailed full.

 

Due to the time of year it was mostly an older crowd.....so I can't say what it might be during Spring Break or summers.

 

We will sail the Facination again without hesitation

[jaixrx]

Our kids' first cruise was on the Dream so we went through the same "dilemma". We chose the Freedom for their second cruise and they said hands down they liked it better than the Dream, (so did the adults). The layout was pretty much the same, just less people, lines, crowds.

 

We sail on the Miracle in a few months so it will be interesting to see how they enjoy that class. DH and I enjoyed the Legend without the kids so I know we will like it!

[Regestd]

We have sailed on several classes of Carnival's ships and the Dream was actually our least favorite. Yes, it had some ameneties that the smaller ships don't have Fun Force and the Pasta Bar were our fav's, but there were more negatives for us. The ship got larger by adding staterooms, but the common areas were not increased accordingly. We found only two pools, both overcroweded from morning until night, if you didn't arrive at the show 45 minutes early you risked getting a very poor seat. The smaller ships may not have all the bells and whistles but I think you will find they are well maintained and you don't feel as if you are sailing with a small city. :p

[italianfemmy]

We have sailed on several classes of Carnival's ships and the Dream was actually our least favorite. Yes, it had some ameneties that the smaller ships don't have Fun Force and the Pasta Bar were our fav's, but there were more negatives for us. The ship got larger by adding staterooms, but the common areas were not increased accordingly. We found only two pools, both overcroweded from morning until night, if you didn't arrive at the show 45 minutes early you risked getting a very poor seat. The smaller ships may not have all the bells and whistles but I think you will find they are well maintained and you don't feel as if you are sailing with a small city. :p

 

Weird. Just got off of her in December and if we arrived 15 minutes early to shows, we always got a great seat. I agree with the public spaces not being increased in size however we never found the ship to be crowded. We don't swim in the ship pools (for fear of things that have been done in them... lol) but we never thought they were filled with too many people. There was plenty of room in them everytime we passed by them to go into the buffet for lunch.

 

To the person going on the Miracle - we loved that ship but would highly recommend against anytime dining on her.

 

I feel spoiled now by the Cloud 9 spa and wish they'd add it fleetwide. I think it'll be hard for me to book a ship without it now that it has been hands down the most enjoyable part of any vacation I've ever taken. I left my vacation for the first time feeling like I actually had a vacation. :-)

[Suntanz]

My kids went on the Dream last year & absolutely loved it. They are 10 & 11 years old. We are debating whether or not to sail the Fantasy, since it is less then a 3 hour drive for us. I know its an older & smaller ship, but does have Water slides. Can anyone offer an opinion if I spoiled my kids with the Dream & will they be disappointed with the Fantasy?

[ready2cruzagain]

I have not been on a mega ship so can't say anything about them (at least not until I go on the Breeze later this year).

 

However, we were on the Fascination which is a smaller ship last month and did a b2b and LOVED it. It does have the water slides and it also has miniature golf.

[arpie05]

Unless it's a really great price to just get away - we won't go back to Fantasy class. For my teenager - Basketball is his number one request. The Paradise and Elation still have for a bit longer. We enjoy this size of ship. Sad they can't figure out a place to put. The waterslides are for little kids on the Fantasy Class - the jumping water stuff - not older kids. As your kids get older - you will need something like the Dream.

 

His second request is Burrito station ;) Sports and Food - already a man I guess :D I wish the Glory had the Tandori, it was really good.

Mongolian is over rated! (I don't like the new sauces they now have, liked the sauces two years ago better. The hot was actually hot.)

 

The kids club area on the Fantasy class are very small too. But we've enjoyed. As your kids get older - do you want to vacation more for less $ or do nicer trips? Let the kids decide.

[RunsWithFlyingDolphins]

See, I'm not a big fan of the Dream class ships. My kids absolutely (5 of them, ages 18-30, all boys) loved it, but the wife and I... not so much. I just don't "feel" the ship, if you will. Like I just seem to get a sort of vibe when I walk on a ship and I know early on how I'll feel about the ship. Now if given another opportunity paired with a great deal, I'll do it. My favorite class is the Spirit class... but they're not the best for kids.