Disney Dream: The Teen Way (2/6/11 Pre and Post-Trip Report)

[Soundragon]

I dunno, I'm a little new to this. =P
Not sure what to call it... but our report is currently underway. We set sail Sunday. WOOT!

Day 1
Destination: Tupelo, MS

After looking at the radar for one last time (I hate having to hate snow D: ), we finally set out. I took my first long drive, all the way to Marion. My dad took over once we reached the interstate, and I'm glad he did, since we went straight through Memphis. Being from a smaller town, Memphis is pretty hectic. Even dad had a little difficulty. But we finally got out, and the rest was smooth. Looks like Day 1 was a success. We arrived at Tupelo safely, and our hotel's pretty nice.

Day 2
Destination: Tifton, GA or FL
We're kinda tossing the ideas back and forth here. The plan is to either go to Tifton or FL. We hope FL, but that all depends on what the winter mess does...
We're gonna have to leave early tomorrow to try and beat the precip, though I'm not sure if that'll work...

 

[Soundragon]

Day 2:
Destination: Ocala, FL

It's official - our plans to get to FL worked out just right! We ran into lots of rain, but no icy/snowy precipitation. Ice did become a bit of a problem on some bridges. Traffic got backed up for about 15 minutes due to an eighteen wheeler that had slid into the side barriers. The driver turned out to be okay, and the situation was resolved quickly, so we were able to move on. Not much else happened aside from that, though it was foggy... we arrived at Ocala at about seven. And I finally got caught back up on my sleep!

Tomorrow's the big day, but today's the day we move over to Port Canavarel. (Spelling...? =P)

 

[Soundragon]

Day 3
Destination: Port Canavarel/Cocoa Beach
We arrived at our next stop. The drive was nice, but the toll booths were annoying. (We're not used to them.)

We're RIGHT down the road from the cruise terminal!
The weather, hotel, and view are all awesome.

Can't believe we set sail tomorrow!

 

[Soundragon]

Day 4
Destination: THE DISNEY DREAM!!!
Today's finally the day!
It's both my sixteenth birthday and our first trip on a Disney cruise in six years.

I got a Play Sport Kodak camera to film the trip with. Unfortunately, I won't be able to post updates for about four days since we aren't paying for WiFi on board. =P

I'll probably give a post on our trip Thursday, but photos and vids won't be posted until later.

I can't wait to set sail!

 

[Disneypolyprincess]

I can't wait to see your pictures! Have fun we are taking a cruise next year but I'm kinda scared something will happen

 

[Soundragon]

Okay guys, so we're back! Well... we actually arrived home yesterday. But here's my trip report, nonetheless!

It's probably gonna be shorter than normal, and I don't have pictures uploaded yet, but hopefully you'll at least get an idea of what our trip was like!

Also, most of this part will focus on my 2/3's good, 1/3 bad Vibe experience, so don't be shocked that it is the longest. =P

Cruise Terminal

You're probably wondering why I'm bringing this up. Well, things were going very smoothly as we waited at the terminal, unlike our last cruise. Things were moving right along, and while it was busy, it wasn't too busy. We were told that we would be getting on the ship when number 18 was announced, and shortly afterwards we heard number 10 announced.

Well, things kept moving smoothly. The different numbers, up to 15 I believe, were announced every five minutes or so.

All of a sudden, outta nowhere, a lady in a purple shirt walks up to us. She asks us what number we're waiting on, and we tell her our number is 18. She then proceeds to ask us to follow her... right up to the front of the line. 0_o

Though we only had three more numbers to go, we were very excited to have been given the opportunity. (Mom kept saying something about "pixie dust"... is that a common term around here?)

So we simply got in the line for boarding, got our picture taken (we never did redeem it D: ), and got on board rather quickly. Our wait altogether was only around 30 minutes, at best.

First Impressions

Needless to say, our first impressions as we boarded the ship FAR surpassed our expectations. The ship was amazingly beautiful, and you could just tell the air was seeping with good ol' Disney magic. We went through the normal process of having our names called out (our only superstar moment, pretty much XD), and we were told that our lunch would be at the Enchanted Gardens.

First Lunch

As I stated before, our first lunch was at Enchanted Gardens. It took a bit of time to get a nice spot (but just the right amount of time), but we were seated very nicely. At first, with all the hustle about, it was a small bit confusing, but we finally caught onto the idea that we were eating buffet-style. (Which we're not that used to. =P)

First off, the service was excellent. Since I was expecting American/English accents (I obviously don't go on Disney cruises enough XD), it took a little time to get used to the servers' accents. But once I learned to understand the different sounds, I found the service to be nothing short of amazing. All the staff seemed very friendly, and they each did their jobs very well.

Then came the food...

You're probably expecting me to say it was good food. Well, it wasn't...

...it was excellent. =P
Everything was very fresh, and foods I normally wouldn't even dare to look at suddenly became fast favorites on-board. We plated up with good servings of food, went back to our table, and finished it off before you could even blink. (Which, for us, means the food is better than any other foods we eat. =P)

First Artwork Experience, Room Experience

Next comes the Artwork. (What was it again... Enchanted Artwork? Magic Artwork? I can't recall...)

When we were finished eating, we made our way out into the hallway of Deck 2. As I looked to my left, I saw someone with a child pointing at a painting. After seeing the Artwork in pictures, I was expecting it to look like a TV screen behind a frame. But apparently, when you actually see it in person, it's lighted just right so that you can't tell the difference unless you walk right up to the glass. The animation began, and it was actually quite amusing to watch.

After that, we headed towards our room. Number 50462, I think...

It was a Stateroom with a Verandah. After reading some reviews, and after seeing some pictures, I was expecting something a little less cozy and inviting than what I saw.

But when we actually entered the room, we found the small size to be unnoticeable. It was cozy, clean, and something I could easily catch a few winks in. =P

Tell you the truth, it was the nicest room I've ever stayed in, aside from my own house.

The verandah was very spacious, and it provided an excellent view over the ocean. (And it also provided an excellent way of spying on our Carnival neighbors right across the way. =P)

The lights, however, did take a bit of getting used to. After hearing of the new energy conservation feature that required - supposedly - your key to the world card, we were a bit disappointed. However, thanks to more of mom's lurking around here, we picked up that any properly-sized card will do. Our Kroger card placed snugly inside, we found the rest of the light configurations to be a breeze. (Wait... why am I bringing this up again...? =P)

More coming tomorrow, probably.

...

Okay, you can stop stalking this topic now. =P

 

[orangemom]

great info -- especially for bits i have not read any where else from a teen perspective .... waiting for more travel report

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

I am enjoying your trip report. I look forward to hearing more.

 

[travellovingirl]

I'm enjoying your report and eagerly awaiting more. We are cruising on the Dream in april with 15 and 13 year old girls. Love to hear about Vibe and other things you enjoyed.

 

[Soundragon]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to keep ya waiting so long.

The Vibe

I had quite an experience at the Vibe.

But was it a good one? Mostly good. Then came the last day...

But first thing's first.

The Vibe itself is pretty cool. A lot cooler than it looks in the videos, as a matter of fact.

First, there's the main area. (You'll have to forgive me the specific terms, some of them I never quite picked up.)

In the main area, there's a "bar" for teens to get something to drink - such as coffee and smoothies. (Not alcoholic stuff. XD) I didn't really spend much time at that area, but I did pick up that the drinks are, in fact, *not* free. I didn't catch how much they specifically cost though, so I guess you'll have to find that out elsewhere. =P

However, there is something called the Free Smoothie hour. If teens come in during the designated Smoothie hour, they are welcome to a free smoothie. As it just so happens... I actually participated in that, so I can tell you a little about it.

There's not much to say about free smoothie hour really. You basically go in and grab a smoothie - your choices are wild berry smoothie, wild berry smoothie, wild berry smoothie... and wild berry smoothie *WITH* chocolate sauce. (The one I picked. )
Still, it is cool to have a free smoothie, and the smoothie I had was very good.

Anyway, onto the rest of the Vibe.

There's also another area with a huge TV - I think I heard it's 100-sumthin' inches - hooked up to a PS3 and an Xbox (with a Kinect to boot). That's actually where I ended up spending most of my time. And pretty much all the time that I spent there, the Kinect was on. Turns out the Kinect is kind of a main attraction there, or it was for our group at least. Almost every time I walked in, there was always a group of teens playing Kinect Sports. Pretty awesome, though it might sound simple. We got a good workout playing it too, no kidding.

Next to that area, there's the Pods - little cutouts in the wall that teens can kick back in and play some video games (on a PS3 or Xbox), or listen to their iPod.

There's another area called the Vibe Lounge, I believe. It is here that teens can dance, listen to some tunes, play more games (including some PC games in little stations), and take a special DJ class. (During specific times, that is. The lounge is actually closed some times, as far as I noticed, so you'll want to make sure it's open before barging in. =P)
(The DJ class only takes place during designated times.)

In the Lounge there's also a room designated to movies. At certain times you can go in and watch a movie on the medium-sized "big-screen".

The last location I noticed was the outside deck. That was pretty cool as well, with nothing but a couple of hot tubs, some foosball tables, a ping-pong table, and some lounge chairs. It's simple yet nice at the same time.

Occasional activities are also held at the Vibe.

The first I attended was a game of "WYR" (Would You Rather). I was a little late though, so I didn't really get to participate in that one. (But they still invited me in, so it's not like I just drifted around. =P)

After that, we played a game of Gender Wars, in which the guys went in head-to-head game combat with the girls. That was pretty fun, actually. The first "challenge" we had was a Random Items challenge. We were each asked to bring up a random item, and whoever got it to the CM's first won. (I won round one with my iPod Touch, BTW. )

After that, I *think* we played a large game of Rock Paper Scissors. Which was also fun.

That was pretty much what the Vibe was like for me on Day 2 as well.

On Day 3 I didn't really get to come in for much time, so I can't really say too much about that. Dad and I actually went to Atlantis - but I'll be reporting on that later.

Day 4 was a little shaky. The CM's all seemed very - VERY - tired. We didn't do the T-Shirt or DJ Class activities that were scheduled. We did play the Kinect for a while longer, as well as Uno and some other card games. We also went out and played some ping pong and foosball, which was enjoyable. I was enjoying it still up to that point, but there was one problem that would lead to trouble...

The teens were beginning to act a little bored. I don't really know why, since in my opinion there was plenty to do. But still...

...then one of the teens decided we should invade the Edge since some of the Edge members invaded the Vibe. The CM's thought this was fine apparently, and - while I won't go into too much detail - the result wasn't very good.

We did do the Scavenger hunt after that, but since the Edge invasion I just wasn't really enjoying it. So after the Scavenger hunt, I returned the camera I was told to look after, and that was pretty much it with the Vibe for me. =P

More coming later - but not too much later like last time. XD