TR:Club Level, Disney Cruise, and Castle Fun! (Mar.23-31) UPD 7/25

I didn't scan my navigators but I do still have them. I'm not sure if taking pics of them would help?? Let me know and I can try or is there something specific that you wanted to know and I can look it up for you. Let me know!!

>>>>>>

I think a lot of us just want to see what some of the current activities schedules are. I love information so anything recent I'm a glutton for. ;). Whatever you can share, pics/scans, I would love.

You're so lucky to have someone who loves Disney like you do...my husband doesn't like crowds or gift shops and was a total party pooper when we went to WDW in 2011. I'm hoping now that we have a little one he will see the magic. Looking forward to more.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I tried to take pics of the overall Navigator and it's very hard to read since the print is so small. Is there anything specific that you want to know? I tried to look at some before I went and decided to just wait..it gave me/us something to read during waiting for the muster drill to start, sitting at the pool, etc.

Dinner at Kona's looked great as did dessert

Watching fireworks from CL Lounge looks and sounds like a lot of fun.

Can't wait to hear about the cruise pixiedust:


Thanks!

Sorry I'm late but enjoying your start!:thumbsup2

:welcome:
 
ARRIVAL AT THE PORT AND FIRST GLIMPSE AT THE DREAM!​



*I hope everyone had a great weekend! I worked a 10+ hour day on Saturday and today I went to Blizzard Beach with some friends! I have decided to add "segments" of sorts of "first time cruiser lessons learned" from things I've noticed or picked up on while we were on our trip!

2 weeks ago, I was having fun on the Dream..sad day!! haha. In honor of that..here's our arrival at the port!


MAR 24, 2013


At 9:15am, we left the Poly and were on our way to the port!

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But..it began to rain!!!

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My excitement is out of this world haha

Sunshine on the water!
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About half way through the drive, I of course had to go potty. It often happens with excitement haha. We decided to stop off before we got there since we didn't know what to expect or how long it would take...

FIRST TIME CRUISER LESSON #1

#1 There is a bathroom in the parking garage at the port (level 1)


We got off an exit or two before the port and used the dirtiest potty EVER. Now I know..there is a potty in the parking garage haha.

Back on the road and 3.5 miles away!

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OUR FIRST GLIMPSE!

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I COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW CLOSE WE WERE!

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We got off the exit, went through the first round of security where you're asked if you're here for Disney, and waved through to the parking garage.

We made it in One Hour and 15 mins.

We got into the garage and I did learn on Dis to park on level 3 since that's where security and the walk-way is but..where do we drop off our bags?!!!

FIRST TIME CRUISER LESSON #2

#2 learn where to drop off the bags before you park the car!

We got out of the car and asked a family where to drop the bags and they said to take them to the bottom level and a porter would be there to get them. We got back into the car and headed to level 1. Sure enough there was a porter there collecting bags.

Outside there were white tents set up before the parking garage. It looked like people were standing waiting for rides but I"m not sure if that's where you should have dropped the bags or not?

At this point, I thought DBF was gonna throw me overboard and we weren't even on yet haha. My excitement had taken over for sure!

After we dropped the bags and parked the car again, we got in line for security. We showed our passports and Travel Documents and were on our way!

After we crossed the bridge, we were inside the terminal! It was in there where you could go downstairs to drop your bags as well. I'm glad we didn't lug them that far! We went through security (like the airport) and were officially there!

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We got in the regular check-in line since it was our first cruise but it moved pretty quickly. They said several times to have all your documents out and ready to go. In the meantime I called my parents to let them know we arrived and in no time it was our turn!

We got our room keys and pics taken and were on our way!

WITH..BOARDING GROUP 6!!!!

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It was then we found our our Dining Rotation. I had wanted Animators Pal, Royal Palace, and Enchanted Garden..DBF wanted EG, RP, and AP...

DBF WON!

Our dining rotation was E, R, A, A.

We put our documents away and got in line for a pic of Mickey which ended up being minnie!

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After our Minnie pic, we used the potty and walked around a bit longer. At this point, people already had navigators in their hands and I was in desperate need to get one!

We walked towards the concierge check-in and noticed they had an outdoor viewing area. In this pic you could actually see our room! We were 9516 (verandah!) Still not sure which floor exactly it was from the outside or how many rooms down but in this pic, you could see our room haha.

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When we got back in, I found the CM handing out Navs and snatched one from her to start reading! Around 11:30-11:45am, they began to board!!!

FINALLY 6 WAS CALLED!!!

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You enter through the Mickey and then they have stations set up where you scan your room key and that puts you officially on board the ship!

We waited in line for the on-board photo but many people were skipping the line/photo to get right on board. We waited for the pic but we weren't very fond of it!

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FINALLY THEY ANNOUNCED OUR NAMES AND WE WERE STEPPING FOOT ON THE DREAM!!!!!!


UP NEXT: MORE FIRST TIME LESSONS LEARNED AND CABANAS LUNCH!!!

 
so exciting!!

Can feel your excitement through the computer :cool1:
 
Love the update, and the first time cruiser tips, we are heading out on our 1st cruise so I'm making notes on your notes!
 




There is nothing like the feeling of hearing your boarding number called and walking through those ears!

We had the same dining rotation! I'll look forward to hearing what you thought of it :cool1:
 
so exciting!!

Can feel your excitement through the computer :cool1:

It's a toss-up between Disney Cruise Depression and I just wanna go back!

Love the update, and the first time cruiser tips, we are heading out on our 1st cruise so I'm making notes on your notes!

Fantasy..so lucky! I want to see that ship one day :)

No worries, then. :)

Can't wait to read more.

Thanks!

great report.... keep it up! :thumbsup2

Thanks!

Can't wait to hear more!!

Thanks!

There is nothing like the feeling of hearing your boarding number called and walking through those ears!

We had the same dining rotation! I'll look forward to hearing what you thought of it :cool1:

It was so magical!! It was also like a stampede of people too!
 
CABANAS LUNCH AND EXPLORING THE DREAM!​




*Hi Dis Friends!!! Thank you so much again for reading! I'm glad to have such a strong following and I hope that I'm helping future cruisers out there and helping others relive their trips! I'm heading to TN this weekend for DBF's birthday so after tonight, the week is getting a bit crazy in preparation and with school stuff that I probably won't be able to update until next week when I get back so here's a taste of what's to come in the weeks ahead!!

Oh..and my one BFF has diagnosed me with severe Disney Dream Cruise Depression..the only way to cure it..BOOK ANOTHER! But until then, I'll continue to use the H2O Spa products with Captain Mickey on them and dream!!

MAR 24, 2013

When I left off, our boarding number was called, we walked through the Mickey, got our pic taken (which DBF chose to buy..not me!) and finally we set foot aboard the Dream!!
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Shiny things caught my eye!

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The first thing we noticed was guest relations. When we checked in, the CM said DBF said to settle the account with the cash system which I had no idea what it meant so we went to guest relations who told us you couldn't use gift cards in the shops so in the end we decided to split the accounts so DBF was not paying for all my purchases after my gift cards...hehe. When we split the accounts we also put two credit cards on file so we could have express check out and not settle our account every time it hit $300.

*FIRST TIME CRUISE LESSON #3

#3 AT LEAST ON THE DREAM...YOU CAN USE GIFT CARDS IN THE SHOPS!!!!

..how guest relations did not know this when they are 10 steps away from the shops blows my mind...you'll find out more about this later on! So in the end we didn't need to really split the accounts but it's good we did bc I ended up $78 over my gift cards I had and then DBF wasn't stuck paying for it lol.

After a good 20 mins at guest relations..yes 20. We headed up the elevators to find Cabanas for lunch!

When we found it, we were given wipes to sanitize our hands and we hit the buffet!

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*FIRST TIME CRUISE LESSON #4

#4 DBF had read that the buffet further away from the doors was less busy. I didn't listen and waited for the closer one and later when we left it was less busy..he was right!

After we got our food, we found a table next to the window and enjoyed the views!
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So glad we weren't on that!

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RC ship on the other side.

Even Mickey was on the cups!

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Not 10 mins after we sat and they were already serving the drink of the day. I was buying it if for anything to have the glass which I thought was pink but was actually orange. All in all though we left 4 days later with 4 cups (pink, orange, green, and blue). The drink was very refreshing and I felt like I was officially on vacation!


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I didn't wanna seem like creepy picture girl so I snapped one real quick of the palm tree views haha
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After lunch (and we were there for a good 45mins-1hour just taking it all in) we decided to go exploring. A friend of mine suggest the 1pm ship tour but we decided to go on our own..how big could it be?!

Since the splash pad was right outside Cabanas we started there.

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*FIRST TIME CRUISE LESSON #5

#5..Not sure if this would be a first time cruise lesson or not but the pool and aqua duck were not very busy at all around 12:45pm. I brought my suit (I listened to fellow Dis'ers) and DBF did not pack his in his carry-on but in the end I'm glad we did a tour of the ship instead of going right to the pool..next time and same ship..you better believe it, I'm riding that duck first thing!

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Just some reminders incase you forgot what ship you were on..as if you could possibly forget!


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ALL YOU CAN EAT ICE CREAM!

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Finally we hit he adult area of the deck..as I called it..paradise behind those glass walls!!!

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We walked up to the next two decks of the adult side. I wanted this pic on our last day and thought I didn't take it..I did..day one!

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After our pool tour we decided to head inside to check out the kids clubs, where the shops were, and the restaurants!!

UP NEXT: CABIN WITH VERANDAH ..WAS IT WORTH IT?​

 
we've been on the magic, but not the dream. thanks for sharing your experience. when you said:
*FIRST TIME CRUISE LESSON #5

#5..Not sure if this would be a first time cruise lesson or not but the pool and aqua duck were not very busy at all around 12:45pm. I brought my suit (I listened to fellow Dis'ers) and DBF did not pack his in his carry-on but in the end I'm glad we did a tour of the ship instead of going right to the pool..next time and same ship..you better believe it, I'm riding that duck first thing!

would you recommend we try the aqua duck first? i know our kids want to ride and so do i...but we don't want to wait forever in line.

:goodvibes
 
I'm in!! Can't wait to read more! Dang work expecting me to be on time so I can't just read it now!! :rotfl2:
 
Ok, all caught up now!!! I didn't see you in the terminal, but there's probably a reason for that--our terminal arrival was nuts (just wait for that in the TR!). I did see you at Castaway Cay and at Dress-Up night in the atrium, but both times, as I walked up to you, D took off for parts unknown, so I had to go corral him!

Here's a bizarre thing, though. . .we had the same dining rotation! Did you have main or late seating? I was disappointed when we got that one at first, because I had thought I wanted to start in Animator's, but I was SO glad by the end because I loved having Pirate Night and the Final Night in there!

Ok, I have to ask, where did you get the navy and red DCL bag? I LOVE it!! Pretty sure I NEED one!!

I also have Post Disney Cruise Depression! Tell him it must be an epidemic!! And have a fun visit to our "neighborhood" this weekend! If you have sinus issues, bring your anti-sinus-yuckiness medication! It's hitting hard this week!
 
we've been on the magic, but not the dream. thanks for sharing your experience. when you said:
*FIRST TIME CRUISE LESSON #5

#5..Not sure if this would be a first time cruise lesson or not but the pool and aqua duck were not very busy at all around 12:45pm. I brought my suit (I listened to fellow Dis'ers) and DBF did not pack his in his carry-on but in the end I'm glad we did a tour of the ship instead of going right to the pool..next time and same ship..you better believe it, I'm riding that duck first thing!

would you recommend we try the aqua duck first? i know our kids want to ride and so do i...but we don't want to wait forever in line.

:goodvibes

It's hard to say! It was just the two of us without kids. We had a sold out ship and still managed to fit it in on sea day. I don't think I saw more than a 20 or 30 min wait the whole time we were on there and I could imagine that the Nassau day and CC day were even less waits. We waited 15 mins on the sea day and that was late afternoon I think. We would have done it again but the line had doubled since we did it and next time we will try and fit it in on day 1. Our weather was also so-so..high 60s low 70s so I can imagine that maybe on warmer days it is longer too. You could always do it and then explore the ship! Many families we saw were already in suits when they boarded the ship and many were changing in the bathrooms of the terminal.

Great trip report....so FUN!!!

Thanks!

I'm in!! Can't wait to read more! Dang work expecting me to be on time so I can't just read it now!! :rotfl2:

:welcome:

Ok, all caught up now!!! I didn't see you in the terminal, but there's probably a reason for that--our terminal arrival was nuts (just wait for that in the TR!). I did see you at Castaway Cay and at Dress-Up night in the atrium, but both times, as I walked up to you, D took off for parts unknown, so I had to go corral him!

Here's a bizarre thing, though. . .we had the same dining rotation! Did you have main or late seating? I was disappointed when we got that one at first, because I had thought I wanted to start in Animator's, but I was SO glad by the end because I loved having Pirate Night and the Final Night in there!

Ok, I have to ask, where did you get the navy and red DCL bag? I LOVE it!! Pretty sure I NEED one!!

I also have Post Disney Cruise Depression! Tell Jim it must be an epidemic!! And have a fun visit to our "neighborhood" this weekend! If you have sinus issues, bring your anti-sinus-yuckiness medication! It's hitting hard this week!

Haha!! I'm nearly 100% sure it was you on check-in time because were in the line on the left and you were to the right (we chose poorly!). We had the 8:15pm dining rotation which worked great for us and we were sat with 3 other couples around our ages which was great too.

DBF bought the bag for me on Disneycruiseline.com. He got it for me for xmas..not sure how much he paid but compared to the POC backpack he got as the in-room gift and the water bottles (that also broke at one point)..it seems to have held up and held up with a lot of weight! It's test will be this weekend at the airport as my carry-on bag!

I take allergy meds daily but I'll be sure to pack extra haha!
 
That is crazy about guest relations and not knowing about gift cards

Your drink looked really good :)

What I have seen so far looks great

Can't wait to see more

Have fun this weekend with your DBF :goodvibes
 
Ok, I was re-reading my response, and I am :rotfl2: that my autocorrect decided to make DBF's name "Jim". That's what I get. . .it was supposed to be "tell him. . .". Just wanted you to know I hadn't just renamed your DBF!! ;)
 
Hi Megan!

I'm so in for this trip report! Going back to read now...

:welcome:

Hi Megan! I am in! Great updates so far! Can't wait to see your room and your meals.

:welcome: That's all in the future :)

That is crazy about guest relations and not knowing about gift cards

Your drink looked really good :)

What I have seen so far looks great

Can't wait to see more

Have fun this weekend with your DBF :goodvibes

Really couldn't believe it! This wouldn't be the first time that GS was wrong on stuff! Odd considering it's Disney!

Ok, I was re-reading my response, and I am :rotfl2: that my autocorrect decided to make DBF's name "Jim". That's what I get. . .it was supposed to be "tell him. . .". Just wanted you to know I hadn't just renamed your DBF!! ;)

Haha, it's okay!
 

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