If you love Las Vegas or think a week at the Bahamian resort Atlantis sounds divine, Carnival Dream is for you.   She is glitzy, high energy with loads of family programs and facilities boasting the best entertainment at sea, an enormous casino and large staterooms.  This is much more a resort experience than a cruise, although Carnival does toss in a few ports during her one week Caribbean cruises from her permanent home of Port Canaveral, Florida.

I boarded this super behemoth in New York when she arrived from Europe for her christening and discovered all the touchstones that make me a Carnival fan (terrific food, large cabins) plus some noteworthy innovations.

NOTE: If you’d rather listen to my review than read it, hop over to Cruise Radio, where it’s posted.   And, for a number of high resolution photos of the ship, click here.

The 130,000 ton Dream carries roughly 4,000 passengers making it Carnival’s largest ship but still significantly smaller that Oasis of the Seas which carries over 6,000 cruisers.     And, unlike Royal Caribbean’s new ship, you won’t find extra charges popping up: there is still only one alternative restaurant (the best at sea!) with an extra charge.  Carnival is still the biggest bang for the buck in the cruise industry.

Below are the ship’s innovations:

ENTERTAINMENT: Brand new aboard Carnival Dream is a designated Comedy Club with six adult and three family shows per day.  Carnival has also enlarged the very popular piano bar, Sam’s Club, in order to hold all the people who want to sing along.  At night, go out on deck for laser shows.  Smoke machines enhance the laser light effects amplified by rock music amplified by a 70,000 watt sound system.

FOOD: In my opinion, Carnival serves the best food in the cruise industry outside the luxury segment so I was particularly interested in seeing enhancements in this area.  In the upper level of the ship’s Lido Restaurant, Carnival has added a pasta restaurant where it is made to order.  Additional features include a Burrito Bar (again, made to order) and and an Indian restaurant.  Of course there’s still pizza available 24 hours per day and a deli station.  And of course, there is no extra charge.

In the main dining rooms you can opt for traditional assigned two seating or choose a flexible plan that lets you dine when and with whom you please.   I was also impressed by the room service menu with no extra charges no matter what you order or the time of day.

INNOVATIONS ON DECK: Perched high on deck is “Carnival Water Works”,an extensive aqua park with a 303-foot long twister and other thrilling slides located near the pool and a 22-foot wide LED screen.  Parents who want to ditch their kids for a few hours will love Serenity, a large adults-only area with enormous lounge chairs for sunning.   The Lanai is a half-mile, open-air promenade encircling the ship on Promenade Deck, great for fast walking or lounging on a deck chair with a good book.

INNOVATIVE INDOOR FEATURES:  But you don’t have to go outside to find new features.  A first aboard any cruise ship is the “FunHub”, an intranet which lets you connect with other passengers aboard the ship.  The free on-board social network lets passengers create a personal profile to help meet other people, form groups based on interests and send email with others aboard ship.  Of course Carnival hopes you’ll also use the computers for a much more pricey activity — to email other back home and surf the net.

Ocean Plaza is an indoor/outdoor cafe with live music.   The area boasts Wi-Fi access along with 12 “PlayHub” stations.   You’ll also find four scenic whirlpools that extend out over the sea with magnificent ocean views.

STATEROOMS: Some cruisers would like to be closer to the ocean than is possible aboard modern mega-ships.   It wasn’t possible until Carnival Dream where you’ll find the first “cove” balcony cabins on Deck 2 much closer to the water line.   A new stateroom category is perfect for families:  large ocean view cabins with five berths and two bathrooms.

EXPANDED KIDS PROGRAMS: Carnival Dream boasts a teen-only club with disco, video games and computers plus babysitting service available until 3 a.m.   Camp Carnival offers supervised activities and facilities for kids ages 2-11 plus Circle “C” for 12- to 14-year olds and Club O2 for teens ages 15 to 17.

IS THIS SHIP FOR YOU? Again, Carnival Dream is much closer to Las Vegas than any other cruise ship I’ve seen.  The on board tempo is high energy and upbeat, the casino always lively throughout the day and night.   It’s perfect for families with kids and those who want to stay up late to see shows, cabaret, piano bar and comedy.   The destination you’re picking is really the ship itself; ports of call are secondary.

I don’t recommend Carnival Dream for people seeking a classical cruise experience — head instead to Princess or Holland America where on-board activities still include napkin-folding and vegetable-carving classes.  More importantly, if a low-key, subdued atmosphere suits you best, this ship isn’t for you.

Would you pick Carnival Dream for a vacation cruise?