Carnival Dream Cruise Vacation with children
A Carnival Dream Cruise is an excellent Family Vacation option  The Dream is a Dream Class Ship featuring 14 decks, a huge "WaterWorks water park, and wrap-around veranda with hot tubs overlooking the sea....

Our family enjoyed our Carnival Dream Cruise in May 2010. On this trip, our family traveled with 4 other families from our hometown - we a total of 27 on the trip. If you can work out a family vacation with a large group, it is an amazing way to travel!

We sailed on the Carnival Dream from Port Canaveral, Florida to the Western Caribbean ports of Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya.  This particular itinerary is pretty aggressive as all four port were visited on consecutive days... with a day at sea on the first day, and on the last day.  We did try to at least visit each port, but chose our activities wisely to not wear ourselves out.

Carnival does a fantastic job keeping everyone occupied while cruising.  They have activities for all age groups form young children through adult.  It is "hands down" our family's favorite cruise line.

 The photo of the Carnival Dream that you see above was taken from one of our port visits. The Carnival Dream is a  the largest Carnival Cruise Ship (2010).  The ship is 1004 feet long, and has capacity for 3.646 guests.  When the ship is in port, it is a stately portrait seen for many miles. 

Fun outside on the Carnival Dream

The Carnival Dream sports the largest of the new Carnival WaterWorks Water Parks.  The Water Park atop the Carnival Dream consists of three water slides (My favorite was the DrainPipe).  The Carnival Dream also has two large swimming pool areas for families in addition to the water park slides. 

For outdoor entertainment, the Dream  features a 12' X 22' outdoor screen which is used to play movies and other entertainment throughout the day and evening.  The big screen is shown below.... Believe it or not, the sound was fantastic from the big screen sound system.... even with all of the activity going on around the pool.

In addition to the pools, water slides, and big screen entertainment, the Carnival Dream also has a 18 hole minigolf course, as well as basketball, volleyball, etc....

Then... all new for the Dream Class Vessels is the expanded Promenade Deck layout   It includes a 1/2 mile walking path and 4 hot tubs overlooking the ships bows.  These decks also have lounge chairs available for those who do not want to spend time around the pools.  As an extra-special treat, on sea days, there is a bar-b-que on the Promenade deck at lunchtime.

Each night in our Carnival Dream Cruise stateroom, we were greeted by a cute towel animal crafted by our cabin steward.  The crew aboard the Glory was very attentive and always ready to jump up and help the guests in any way possible.  You truly feel spoiled while onboard.

In addition to the great service, and the fantastic pools and waterslide, we would be amiss if we did not mention the fabulous onboard entertainment that awaits you each night after dinner.  The entertainment is top-notch.  We were treated to seven fantastic live shows featuring singers and dancers, and comedians.  If you are fortunate enough to cruise as a family, be sure to take in the entertainment each night.

Now, as I was mentioning the after dinner entertainment, that thought brought to mind the incredible dining room staff and the awesome dinners.  Each night at dinner, you will be handed a menu to select an appetizer and entree.  After dinner, you will be given a different menu from which to select your dessert.  Let me just tell you now, go to dinner hungry, and be sure to try something new.  You will be amazed at the cuisine that you will be offered - from broiled lobster to salmon and shrimp, filet mignon, prime rib, pasta dishes, and the list goes on and on.

If you are a seasoned cruiser, you will have noticed that over the years, cruise ships have moved form the enormous midnight buffets to a more "food all the time" approach.  The old favorites are still around (including the chocolate bar, the pizza bar, the mexican buffet, etc...) you will just find those served at different times and different places than you are used to.... keep an eye on the buffet areas and the newsletters!

 You may enjoy all of our Carnival Dream Cruise Photos on our Facebook Page....     

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