After much consideration, I think the best way to describe Carnival Dream is that she has gravitas. The ship is confident, substantial and important.
For nearly a decade Carnival Cruise Lines has been developing the design that first debuted with Carnival Destiny. With each ship, new features were added and the size of the ships grew somewhat.
With Carnival Dream, the line took a substantial step up in size. Its previous ship, Carnival Splendor, is 113,000 gross tons while Carnival Dream is 130,000 gross tons.
This difference in size gives the ship better proportions and makes her more substantial from her predecessors. It is like everything that had gone before was leading up to this.
This is so not just with the ship’s physical size but also with what Carnival is doing onboard. For example, the line has been moving steadily away from its origins as a party venue for young people towards being a family vacation experience. With 19,000 square feet devoted to children - - not placed off in some out-of-the-way corner of the ship but right in the center - - Carnival line is making clear that it is a family vacation experience.
One can also see that the line is increasing the overall quality of its product. Carnival has always been good value for money but it has been pushing upwards, offering items that with the Dream are the equivalent of those found on premium market cruises. A clear example is the multi-deck spa.
Carnival has also taken a step upward with the new shows it is featuring in the ship’s theater. These are not just musical revues but rather more akin to Broadway productions. While they still rely primarily on popular tunes, they are packaged in a more thought-provoking production.
The Dream is not just a good development of some old ideas. The Carnival experience is enhanced by the addition of several new features. One of these is the transformation of the outdoor promenade into the Lanai. In the past, the outdoor promenade was the gloomy area under the lifeboats where only a few souls went primarily to have a smoke. The Lanai is a much wider area that is protected from the wind and which is sunlit due to the fact that the lifeboats have been placed underneath it. There are also whirlpools, nice padded furniture and an area of tables where one can bring drinks and/or food.
The Lanai opens into the Ocean Plaza, which includes a bar, the specialty coffee bar, seating and a stage for live performances. This area gives the public rooms a centerpiece that was lacking on prior Carnival ships. It is a user-friendly place for the ship’s programmed activities as well as a crossroads.
Beyondships profile of Carnival Dream is at and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalDream-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary starts at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalDream-Tour-1.html
Turning to the news, Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Cunard, Costa and several other lines, announced that it earned $193 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. This was better than what Wall Street analysts had been expecting and indicates that even in poor economic times, people are reluctant to sacrifice their vacation and that the public recognizes that cruising is a very economical way to vacation.
Winter has commenced early in the northeast and Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 managed to arrive in New York on schedule during the first blizard of the season. The ship encountered 30 foot waves coming up the coast from the Caribbean and managed to maintain a speed of approximately 25 knots. The ship is doing a series of Caribbean cruises from New York before beginning her world cruise.
Meanwhile, NCL’s Norwegian Gem returned to New York on December 12 for a season of winter cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. The Gem is the only ship sailing from Manhattan this winter. On the other side of the harbor, however, Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas will be sailing again this winter from Bayonne, New Jersey.
For nearly a decade Carnival Cruise Lines has been developing the design that first debuted with Carnival Destiny. With each ship, new features were added and the size of the ships grew somewhat.
With Carnival Dream, the line took a substantial step up in size. Its previous ship, Carnival Splendor, is 113,000 gross tons while Carnival Dream is 130,000 gross tons.
This difference in size gives the ship better proportions and makes her more substantial from her predecessors. It is like everything that had gone before was leading up to this.
This is so not just with the ship’s physical size but also with what Carnival is doing onboard. For example, the line has been moving steadily away from its origins as a party venue for young people towards being a family vacation experience. With 19,000 square feet devoted to children - - not placed off in some out-of-the-way corner of the ship but right in the center - - Carnival line is making clear that it is a family vacation experience.
One can also see that the line is increasing the overall quality of its product. Carnival has always been good value for money but it has been pushing upwards, offering items that with the Dream are the equivalent of those found on premium market cruises. A clear example is the multi-deck spa.
Carnival has also taken a step upward with the new shows it is featuring in the ship’s theater. These are not just musical revues but rather more akin to Broadway productions. While they still rely primarily on popular tunes, they are packaged in a more thought-provoking production.
The Dream is not just a good development of some old ideas. The Carnival experience is enhanced by the addition of several new features. One of these is the transformation of the outdoor promenade into the Lanai. In the past, the outdoor promenade was the gloomy area under the lifeboats where only a few souls went primarily to have a smoke. The Lanai is a much wider area that is protected from the wind and which is sunlit due to the fact that the lifeboats have been placed underneath it. There are also whirlpools, nice padded furniture and an area of tables where one can bring drinks and/or food.
The Lanai opens into the Ocean Plaza, which includes a bar, the specialty coffee bar, seating and a stage for live performances. This area gives the public rooms a centerpiece that was lacking on prior Carnival ships. It is a user-friendly place for the ship’s programmed activities as well as a crossroads.
Beyondships profile of Carnival Dream is at and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalDream-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary starts at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalDream-Tour-1.html
Turning to the news, Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Cunard, Costa and several other lines, announced that it earned $193 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. This was better than what Wall Street analysts had been expecting and indicates that even in poor economic times, people are reluctant to sacrifice their vacation and that the public recognizes that cruising is a very economical way to vacation.
Winter has commenced early in the northeast and Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 managed to arrive in New York on schedule during the first blizard of the season. The ship encountered 30 foot waves coming up the coast from the Caribbean and managed to maintain a speed of approximately 25 knots. The ship is doing a series of Caribbean cruises from New York before beginning her world cruise.
Meanwhile, NCL’s Norwegian Gem returned to New York on December 12 for a season of winter cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. The Gem is the only ship sailing from Manhattan this winter. On the other side of the harbor, however, Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas will be sailing again this winter from Bayonne, New Jersey.
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