Carnival Dream

Your Carnival Dream is here and offering a host of innovations

Ship Review by Matt Roseboom, November 2009

www.flickr.com Cruise News Weekly’s Carnival Dream photoset

The Carnival Dream recently made her North American debut. The 130,000-ton ship is the first of a new class of ships for Carnival Cruise Lines and their largest yet. It’s 1,004 feet long and holds up to 3,646 passengers. The Dream offers many firsts for Carnival and cruise lines in general.

The most obvious innovation as you approach the ship is WaterWorks on Deck 12. Among the splash zones and spray toys you’ll find Twister, the largest water slide at sea (303 feet). Also unique to the Dream is DrainPipe. Like the name sounds, it’s a water slide that ends with a spin down the middle of a large bowl. Rounding out the fun in WaterWorks are two 80-foot-long racing slides.

While much of the ship looks similar to other Carnival ships, only larger, you’ll notice a difference in the middle of Deck 5. Ocean Plaza is a port to starboard open area with live music and specialty food and drink shops. Ocean Plaza also provides easy access to the outer part of deck five called The Lanai. This half-mile open air promenade encircles the ship. The Lanai features four whirlpools that extend out over the sea.

What’s a new ship without some new dining options? You’ll find the usual buffet as well as sandwiches and pizza in The Gathering on the Lido deck with three new options. The Pasta Bar, Burrito Bar and Mongolian Wok offer delicious creations made to order. The Scarlett and Crimson dining rooms offer both traditional seating and “Your Time” dining. You’ll also find some smaller specialty foods around the ship such as a sushi bar, specialty coffee and sweets.

The main show lounge, Encore!, features three new productions, but for something different, check out the nightly outdoor laser shows. The lasers dance in time with rock music as fog machines blow and images fill the Seaside Theater’s giant screen. It’s a cool hypnotic experience.

Carnival has been paying attention to the packed lounges on its other ships during comedy nights, as such, the Dream features its own dedicated Comedy Club. Comedians will perform six shows on four different nights in the Burgundy Lounge. Both family-friendly and adults only shows will be available each night.

This is just a sample of what the Carnival Dream has to offer. There’s also the Cloud 9 spa, Carnival’s largest, and Serenity, a free two-level adults only retreat. The Dream is also one of the first Carnival ships to offer a new onboard social network called FunHub. The many computer stations around the ship not only offer pay-per-minute Internet access, but guests can look up ship information and connect with fellow passengers for free. FunHub is also available via guests own laptops and smart phones while onboard.

The Carnival Dream will be sailing year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral starting Dec. 12.