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Is bigger really better ?

floridagirl4ever90

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floridagirl4ever90

floridagirl4ever90

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My family and I will be cruising on the Dream in August with a group of friends. I know we will have a great time, but I've been reading several post here on CC and I'm starting to worry. This will be only the second cruise for my DH and I and the first for my daughter. Our first cruise was on the Sensation and we LOVED it. We had an AFT extended balcony and enjoyed it very much. The ship never felt crowed, and we always had great seats for the shows. This time we will be in a deluxe ocean view room. I'm sure the room will be fine, but I'm worried that being on the Dream will fell super crowed. All the post are saying be at shows 45 minutes early or you won't get a seat, and how crowed the ship feels. So may question is do the bigger ships feel more crowed then the smaller ones.

Thanks for the input.

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misguidedangel

misguidedangel

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Bigger is definitely not better. Carnival won't make a ship larger than Dream Class. That ship is about as big as I want to go on. There are ships on other lines that are larger. I won't be going on those ships. The Magic was the biggest ship and to be honest, the Conquest class ships are perfect size.

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Beth

Beth

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Love the Dream, if you go to Lido to eat atprime times, yes it is crowd, but so many options for lunch never a problem for us. Go with a fun attitude & you will have fun. Be sure you try the past bar at lunch. Love BLT's from room service late at night.

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MrPete

MrPete

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My family and I will be cruising on the Dream in August with a group of friends. I know we will have a great time, but I've been reading several post here on CC and I'm starting to worry. This will be only the second cruise for my DH and I and the first for my daughter. Our first cruise was on the Sensation and we LOVED it. We had an AFT extended balcony and enjoyed it very much. The ship never felt crowed, and we always had great seats for the shows. This time we will be in a deluxe ocean view room. I'm sure the room will be fine, but I'm worried that being on the Dream will fell super crowed. All the post are saying be at shows 45 minutes early or you won't get a seat, and how crowed the ship feels. So may question is do the bigger ships feel more crowed then the smaller ones.

Thanks for the input.

 

Our experience is, NOT ON CARNIVAL.

 

We grew with ship size as they rolled them out. But once we hit the Destiny class, something was severely wrong, starting with the layout of the Lido deck, and the crowd factor.

 

We then settled back to the Spirit class, assuming big meant crowded.

 

Until we tried RCCL, lured by their sailings to Bermuda. We figured we'd put up with the crowds to get back to an itinerary that Carnival abandoned.

 

And found quite the opposite. RCCL had spacous layouts, and crowd control. Everywhere we went, the was always a space for us. The activities were so diversified, everyone was just spread out, even at the pools.

 

(I still balk at those that say "I don't rock climb, skate, or ...etc. Good!

Those that do are drawn THERE, leaving more space for you where YOU want to be.)

 

So I scratch my head back at CCL, when they are taking the original of that dreaded crowded class, and adding yet more staterooms. :rolleyes:

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islandchicklet

islandchicklet

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We have been on four cruises, 2 RC and 2 Carnival. The most fun was Carnival Miracle and the worst was Allure of the Seas!

 

I'm just the opposite. I've been on 5 different Carnival ships and the Allure was by far my favorite ship. While the largest, it felt the least crowded to me. Of course I was on the Maiden voyage so it being all shiny and new might have something to do with that. It was so beautiful that I tried to explore every nook and crany. That does tend to keep you out of "crowded" places a little. But I did all the shows and such, so I would have had the opportunity to run into the crowds.

 

I think it helps to research the layout of a ship so you know more than one route to get around (which is especially useful when shows are letting out or the mad rush is on for food at the Lido).

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okgirl

okgirl

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Love the Dream, if you go to Lido to eat atprime times, yes it is crowd, but so many options for lunch never a problem for us. Go with a fun attitude & you will have fun. Be sure you try the past bar at lunch. Love BLT's from room service late at night.

 

The Dream doesn't have a Cucina del Capitano, so no pasta bar at lunch.

 

I love the other two Dream class ships (Magic and Breeze), but I wasn't a fan of the Dream....I sailed on her when she was new and before they addressed some of the crowd control issues.

 

I see that they do have the Taste bar so that might be helping with the lunch crowd if they are serving wraps and salads there. But without the Red Frog Pub, Cucina del Capitano or Bonsai Sushi the Lido is still the main food venue.

 

I have heard that they might have a BBQ on the Lanai, but even on her sister ships that's always a really crowded place.

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