Splish, Splash, the Dream was a Blast! UPDATED 10/21 with FE Pictures!

[Ssamara28]

Thank you so much. This information is valuable beyond your wildest imagiantion. We are crusing the Dream for 3 days in October and I have been anxiously awaiting a Personal Navigator. I am so greatful for the passport info. I hope I can remember where you said to go while we are there, we have an excursion planned but I think the stampping of the passports will be the first "Excursions" on our list. Was there a fee for the stamp? Were there certain hours they were open? I assume they are opened on Saturday. What was your stateroom number?
Thank you I truly mean it. Can not wait to read more.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Fantastic trip report!

Thank you so much. This information is valuable beyond your wildest imagiantion. We are crusing the Dream for 3 days in October and I have been anxiously awaiting a Personal Navigator. I am so greatful for the passport info. I hope I can remember where you said to go while we are there, we have an excursion planned but I think the stampping of the passports will be the first "Excursions" on our list. Was there a fee for the stamp? Were there certain hours they were open? I assume they are opened on Saturday. What was your stateroom number?
Thank you I truly mean it. Can not wait to read more.

Thanks, and welcome everyone!

For the passport...once you get off the ship, walk through the brightly colored building called Festival Place. Once outside, the Customs house is all the way to your left (past the outdoor hair braiding stand). You can always ask someone for directions if you are unsure. There is no fee for the stamp, and unfortunately, I am unsure of hours. We received our stamp just before 2:30pm.

As for our stateroom, it was room 8680. We enjoyed it and would book it again. Since it is at the back of the ship, it was quite a walk to most places (except Cabanas, which is on Deck 11 at the back). Also, we could feel and hear the vibration of the motors and the churning of water at times. However, we were so exhausted each day, that it wasn't a bother to us. I believe it was the cheapest balcony category, which was worth it to us, since we weren't in our room for most of the day!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Friday, September 2nd

2:30pm-12am

After touring Nassau, we returned to our stateroom, where our family decided to split up for the afternoon. From about 2:30pm until dinner at 5:45pm, daddy and the girls toured the ship and went swimming. Meanwhile, mommy had a relaxing afternoon in our stateroom (after grabbing a slice of pizza and ice cream cone from Deck 11!). I wanted time to relax, watch the informational channels on our tv, and read all the literature that was in our room (i.e., the daily Personal Navigators and a hard-cover informational book that is found in each cabin).

View of the Enchanted Garden from Our Table

Our restaurant for Friday was the Enchanted Garden, which had a beautiful nature-inspired setting. However, unlike Animator's Palate, we didn't pay as much attention to special effects here (like the fountain, decorative lights, and changing light schemes). Since we were seated on the outskirts of the restaurant (where larger parties seem to be situated), we were more interested in table conversation than anything going on around us. Also, we had a window at our table, which drew our attention away from the restaurant itself (again, larger parties appeared to get window seating).

View of the Pirates Deck Party
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After dinner, we relaxed and toured the ship until it was time for the Pirates IN the Caribbean deck party at 7:45pm. Disney gave each guest a bandana to wear for the party, which was a nice treat. After the party, we went to see Friday's live-theater production at 8:30pm, which was called Villians Tonight. Then it was back to the upper deck for fireworks at 10:30pm, which transitioned immediately into a pirate dance party.

View of Donald Overlooking the Atrium
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Before the night ended, we made sure to get all of our passports down to guest services. Castaway Cay was in the morning, and we wanted to get another destination stamp for our passports. The only way to get a passport stamp for Castaway Cay is through the Customs officer that comes onto the ship upon docking (fair warning--they told us the officer does not always carry a passport stamp, so it is not a guarantee!). At this point, it was close to midnight and we were off to bed!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Friday, September 2nd

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[Zandy595]

I'm really enjoying your TR so far. I never thought about having our passports stamped. We will be doing that for sure on our cruise next month. Thanks for the great idea.

 

[zurekgirl]

Thank you!!!!!! Great TR it's answering so many of my questions. Can't wait for more!!!

 

[haven_alise1997]

I finally made it over, now to catch up so far ur trip looks awesome!

 

[KS929]

Welcome, everyone!
I considered booking a dummy reservation, but just couldn't make up my mind. For future reference, you can move your sail date later and still keep any special offers, discounts, or onboard credits without penalty (if you move it before any cancellation fees start), right? I'll have to consider that for a future cruise. Canada or Alaska would be very interesting!

Wow, that's alot of people! You'll have to come up with some creative ways to keep it a surprise.

I think the Fantasy cruise is a good choice. The boat will be amazing. We would love to take a 7-day cruise, but I don't know how people get off of work for that long! For us, we would also add a hotel night to break up the drive. And then we would probably add at least one night at Disney. Usually, our max is about a 5-night vacation. But we are definitely considering all of our options. I would love to see the Fantasy, and am hoping they may add shorter itineraries to the Fantasy's lineup. Otherwise, we may have a 7-nighter in our future! And for a B2B, do they make you get off the ship? I wasn't sure how that worked.

Generally, you have to move your reservation before your final payment is due… I think that's about 75 days before sailing? maybe someone else can confirm

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I'm really enjoying your TR so far. I never thought about having our passports stamped. We will be doing that for sure on our cruise next month. Thanks for the great idea.

Thank you!!!!!! Great TR it's answering so many of my questions. Can't wait for more!!!

I finally made it over, now to catch up so far ur trip looks awesome!

Generally, you have to move your reservation before your final payment is due… I think that's about 75 days before sailing? maybe someone else can confirm

Thanks everyone, and welcome new readers!

KS929--Yes, 75 days looks like the correct timeframe (at least for the cruise length and stateroom category we would be booking). Thanks for the information!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Saturday, September 3rd

8:30am-4pm

We woke up and started getting ready for the day around 8:30am. One of the first things we did was run downstairs to retrieve our passports from Guest Services. Happily, our passports had received their second and final stamp of the trip!

View of Our Passport Stamp for Castaway Cay

We went to Cabanas again for breakfast, and disembarked the ship around 11am for Castaway Cay! Since this cruise was on the heels of Irene, we were initially unsure as to whether or not we would be visiting the island. Thankfully, our dinner servers had previously informed us that we would be going to Castaway Cay as scheduled. Since I didn't know much about Castaway Cay prior to visiting, I was really impressed with a number of details. One, I was happy to see that there were numerous lounge chairs with umbrellas, life vests, and towels, all for no charge (I know it's an all-inclusive cruise, but you never know!). I was also greatly impressed with the food at Cookies Too, which is the dining area at the family beach Pelican Point. Honestly, being a vegetarian, I wasn't expecting more than BBQ and hot dogs. However, they had corn on the cob, fresh fruit like mango, cole slaw, veggie burgers, and desserts like cookies and pineapple upside down cake. If I had known about all of their food offerings, I would not have eaten such a large breakfast. Eating at Cookies Too was actually the first and only time that I completely overate on the cruise! For some reason, I just couldn't get enough. I also enjoyed the self-serve soft ice cream machines, which were a nice treat when lounging under the umbrellas.

View of One of the Beach Areas at Castaway Cay

We didn't do any excursions or activities on Castaway Cay. We just enjoyed the beach, the food, the ocean, and the Spring-A-Leak splash park for kids. After a full day, we packed our belongings and headed over to the Post Office to mail a postcard home around 4pm. Note to future cruisers: we were expecting the post office to have cute Disney-themed postcards and stamps. No dice. They sell postcards with art from local artists, and the stamps they gave us were commemorative ones from the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Also, pay attention to Post Office hours, especially if you will be mailing postcards towards the end of the day. Keep small bills on you, as they only accept cash. If you would like to mail a cute Disney postcard, the desk drawers in your stateroom should have two tucked inside, and you should also be able to purchase them onboard the ship. As it turned out, I'm glad we purchased an "authentic" Bahamian postcard, and the Royal Wedding stamps make them unique! As of this writing, we are still waiting for our postcards to arrive home. We knew they would arrive on a slower "Bahamian time schedule", so we are eagerly awaiting them!

View of the Post Office on Castaway Cay

 

[alliebelle3]

I just found your trip report and I'm really enjoying it! I'm doing a 3 night on the Dream in November and can't wait!

Keep the updates coming!

 

[dstevens]

Friday, September 2nd

8:30am-12pm

It was about 8:30am when we started pulling into Nassau. Since we had a stateroom at the very back of the ship, it was interesting to watch the ship pull in backwards! We initially approached head-on, but once we entered the harbor area, the captain swung the ship around 180 degrees. We were the first ship in port, so I wondered if he would have attempted that move with another ship docked there!

View of Atlantis from the Dream

We finished watching the ship dock around 9am and started showering and getting dressed for the day. We then went to have breakfast at Cabanas (before it closes at 10:30am). After breakfast, we went back to the room to pack our things for Nassau. It was around 11:45am when we met with the rest of our party and started disembarking the ship. After taking some pictures outside the ship, we were on our way to the city of Nassau around noon!

View of the Dream from Nassau

View of Bahamian Signage at the End of the Dock

This is scary, my family was on the same cruise. We also stayed on the back of the ship on the 7th level, room 7069 (i believe).

 

[dstevens]

We also are still awaiting our post cards. The person in the Post Office didn't seem to be very alert so i'm hoping they were handled properly.

 

[dstevens]

I had to go back and look at some pictures to see what our state room number really was. We were 7690, the deck below you. We loved the view. The boat movement and engine noise did not really bother us. I could understand it bothering some people.

 

[basketkat]

Sounds like a very relaxing day on CC! I love the idea of sending out post cards!

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Love the report, I can't wait to hear more.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I just found your trip report and I'm really enjoying it! I'm doing a 3 night on the Dream in November and can't wait!

Keep the updates coming!

This is scary, my family was on the same cruise. We also stayed on the back of the ship on the 7th level, room 7069 (i believe).

We also are still awaiting our post cards. The person in the Post Office didn't seem to be very alert so i'm hoping they were handled properly.

I had to go back and look at some pictures to see what our state room number really was. We were 7690, the deck below you. We loved the view. The boat movement and engine noise did not really bother us. I could understand it bothering some people.

Sounds like a very relaxing day on CC! I love the idea of sending out post cards!

Love the report, I can't wait to hear more.

Thanks everyone, and welcome new readers!

dstevens--Hello! We were on the September 1st thread with you, although I never realized we were only a deck away from each other! I believe we saw the post office worker stamp and process our cards, so I'm sure they were handled ok. But I wonder if I should make a ticker to count the days until their return!

 

[princesscinderella]

The postcards take about 6 weeks we sailed on the four night 7/29 dream sailing and the post office was closed on castaway cay because it was a Sunday when we were there. I was able to buy stamps from guest services and they mailed them when they stopped at cc the sailing. We just got ours last week.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Saturday, September 3rd

4pm-11pm

After mailing our postcards at Castaway Cay, we took a few more pictures outside the ship and then boarded the Dream around 4pm. We went straight to our stateroom to shower and get dressed for dinner at 5:45pm.

View of the Aquaduck Extending Over the Ship's Side

Dinner tonight was at the Royal Palace, which was another great dining experience. It was so nice to have a relaxing sit-down dinner every night. It was one the highlights of each day, as it gave us time to unwind and meet-up with the rest of our travel party. Our servers, Mario and Viola, were so warm and friendly throughout the vacation. On this night, Viola made bows out of the children's napkins for them to wear. And, as she did every night, she placed ketchup in the shape of a Mickey head on our children's plate. For this final dinner rotation, Mario recruited my oldest daughter for a magic trick that capped off our evening!

View of Our Child's Fashionable Napkin Bow
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View of the Children's Cuisine

After dinner, it suddenly dawned on us that this was our LAST NIGHT! It somehow slipped our minds that we would be waking up early to attend breakfast and would need to leave the ship immediately afterwards. Virtually, that meant we wouldn't have time to pack or tour the ship tomorrow. So, after dinner, daddy and the girls went on some last minute escapades around the ship while mommy started packing our suitcases. We then met up at 8:30pm for the last show of the night, Disney's Believe. After the show, we decided to skip the See Ya' Real Soon event at 10:15pm in the Atrium, so that we could finish packing. Based on the event's description in the Personal Navigator, we thought it was just a meet and greet, and we would have been more interested in a "good-bye" deck party. However, after the fact, we discovered the Atrium event was a cute send-off that would have been nice to attend. As it was, the rest of the night found us busily sorting dirty laundry, folding clean clothes back into the suitcases, hanging wet clothes in the shower, and making sure all of our passports and debarkation documents were in order. It was around 11pm when we called it a night and took a picture of the little "Bahama Mama" that we brought with us on the cruise. This little lady was purchased on our honeymoon in the Bahamas seven years ago, and we thought it was fitting for her to travel with us on our return to the Bahamas for our seventh wedding anniversary. What a great way to end the last night of our first Disney cruise!

View of Our Bahama Mama

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

The postcards take about 6 weeks we sailed on the four night 7/29 dream sailing and the post office was closed on castaway cay because it was a Sunday when we were there. I was able to buy stamps from guest services and they mailed them when they stopped at cc the sailing. We just got ours last week.

Thanks for the info! I didn't even think of the Post Office being closed on certain days. That was nice of Guest Services to mail it for you!