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Disclosure: I was a guest aboard Carnival Cruise Lines and Carnival Dream. All opinions and thoughts are my own. For more information, please refer to this site’s disclosure section.
I started writing my about Carnival Cruise Lines and Carnival Dream experience which set sail out of New Orleans but as I began to edit my pictures I began to get very emotional. Initially I began writing about Carnival Dream and how appropriate this ship was for my family. You see, I have older children. Although they are not in high school quite yet, they are adult in size. My son, the youngest is only 9 years old is over 5 Ft 5 inches tall. My daughter is almost 14 years old and like typical 14 year old, do not want to be treated like a child. But she is and my children are growing up.
Carnival Dream exceeded our expectation in size. It should, as part of their Dream Fleet, it is one of Carnival’s largest cruise ships. As you can see by our picture below, the living space for our family compliments our stature as a family.
My kids loved our cruise ship experience. Why? Because they had freedom!
Yes, they played in the water park, enjoyed swimming and loved the night time cruise ship entertainment. It did not take long before I glanced over to my teenage daughter and she was sitting in a lounge chair reading a book while she soaked in the sun or my son asking if he could spend a couple hours at Camp Carnival so he can play with his friends. My kids are growing up!
Vacations are different for us now! I remember those days when traveling with my family was a huge ordeal. Diaper bags, activity toys and car games were part of our trip planning. Now, my kids carry their own backpack and packing for our trips is a breeze because they packed for our recent cruise. I merely made sure they had enough underwear for the trip. Ha!
So today, I’m editing pictures and realizing that the experience we had aboard Carnival is almost a coming of age for my children. The “Fun Ship” is actually so much more than I had anticipated. It was a sense of freedom for my family.
A place where we can spend quality time with each other, creating new memories but we also spent time away from each other at Camp Carnival or just having quite-time poolside. Whether my husband and son are playing miniature golf while my daughter and I were treated with mini makeovers at the spa, we were enjoying our independence aboard the 1,004-foot cruise ship.
Traveling aboard Carnival meant we were able to arrive in New Orleans, Carnival Dream’s Departure port, and take one step aboard a Carnival’s memorable cruise ship experience. Instant vacation without being cooped up in our minivan or sleeping in tight hotel quarters, we had an entire football field of cruise ship to wander through. And FREEDOM.
I’m not sure what our next travel experience will hold. I have been fortunate in finding quality family destinations that my readers and I have enjoyed in the past. But what I do know is that Carnival Dream was a complete family experience. Perfect for my older children yet adult quality time with me and my husband.
When I reflect on these pictures I see an evolving family, a family that may not need diaper bags or a child’s favorite travel blankie, but one that is creating new memories that will be with us for a lifetime: a Carnival Experience.
I’m only about 45 minutes from New Orleans. I love that we could leave out of NO. Cruises have been out of our reach for so long because it cost so much to fly to the boat. Great photo. I’ve got to look into this for my family and I. We deserve a nice, tropical vacation. That water is so blue.
I love your photographs. Looks like an amazing family vacation idea.
What a marvelous trip! Your cabin looks so luxurious. I want to go!
cool!
Looks like you had an amazing time This would be an awesome vacation with the family. It looks beautiful and so much fun. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve always thought that a cruise would be better for my kids when they’re older. However, I think they would LOVE that room. This would be so much fun.
This looks like an AWESOME trip! and your photos are amazing!
Kids grow so fast! My daughters are still toddlers (oldest is turning 4) but feels like the yrs are just flying by.
Looks like such a fun time! I am surprised by how big the rooms look!
What a marvelous trip that appeared to be. Your children looked like they were truly enjoying themselves.
I’m only an hour away from New Orleans so i could easily take a cruise. But I have to admit as amazing as they look I’m scared. I have heard more than one horror story about a cruise. So I’m not sure if a cruise is on my bucket list or not. Your pictures are great!