Our "Dreamy" anniversary cruise....with pics 5/30/13-6/02/13 UPDATED W/ALL NAVIGATORS

[tweis]

Tricia I'm reading along too despite the weather we still enjoyed the cruise I can't wait to read your trip report.

Hi! Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We did too despite the weather. Did you rebook onboard?

Trina

 

[tweis]

DH and I took an adult only last year and we are going to do the same thing next week. I am looking forward to the rest of your report. After living in Destin no other Beach can compare, outside of Castaway Cay of course.

Good for you! We enjoyed ours so much that we are considering an adult's only vacation every year in addition to our family trip. We normally vacation in the Destin/Panama area and we were totally shocked by the Tybee beach

The water at CC is still cooler to me than the Gulf but its totally worth it.

 

[tweis]

I, of course, forgot to take pics of the Dreams unlimited gift basket and the Castaway Club gift upon finding them in our stateroom but here are a couple of pics of the things we got.

This is the returning Castaway Club gift for Silver members.


This was part of the gift basket from our Dreams Unlimited TA. It had lots of useful items. There was a glow stick type necklace, a whiteboard, highlighters, deck of cards, fruity snacks, chocolates, antibacterial wipes, stop watch type of thing, an extension cord, and DU cups with lids. Plus DU reusable shopping bag.



We, of course, like children on Christmas morning couldn't wait to see what all we had gotten. I hadn't told DH about the gift basket because I wanted him to be surprised.

Speaking of surprises, a couple of months before our cruise I went on the DCL website and scheduled a character call for DH. We were packing our hotel room in Savannah and his phone rang with a number he didn't recognize so he just ignored it since we were busy. They called right back and he had laid the phone on the desk so I tapped ignore. A few minutes later we were leaving the room and he realized he had a message. It was DCL, with the character call that I had forgotten about scheduling. He didn't know it was a character call he just knew it was DCL because of the music. I immediatly went back on the website and scheduled another call and received the email confirmation. I looked at the confirmation and panicked even worse. I had somehow put in the wrong phone number! DH's last digit is 4 and I had hit 3!! The website says only 2 call are allowed so I was freaking out. I checked my email and it showed the calls had been unsuccessful so I tried scheduling another immediate call and it let me. We were having breakfast at the Waffle House and DH's phone rang and it was Goofy welcoming him onboard the Disney Dream and hoping he had a "magical" trip to the Bahamas. Seeing DH's face light up over Goofy's voice even though he's over 40, was totally worth the panic I experienced trying to set the call up. It may seem like a small thing but it really set the tone for our whole cruise.

We unpacked our gift basket and checked to see if our luggage had arrived. It had! I was so surprised at how good everything was working out. We unpacked our suitcase and hung up all of our clothes in the closet. We put our beautiful magnets that some very talented DISers had created for us on our door. Oh yeah, we also had a DU magnet in our basket so we put it up also. I did not see alot of doors decorated but we loved having our magnets. I have even started looking for some for next years cruise.

After all this hard work DH decided we needed a drink but we needed ice for the drinks. Last year we had never gotten or needed ice so we had no idea where to get it other than at the drink stations on the pool deck. We were gonna take our cups with lids that we had brought up to the pool deck and fill them with ice but we met our wonderful room hostess, Leliy, in the hall way and she insisted on taking our bucket and filling it. Leliy also instructed us on where we were to go for the muster drill which was the Walt Disney Theater. DH made us a couple of drinks and we just hung out on our verandah until close to time for the muster drill and thought would go check out some of the adult clubs before going to the drill. This didn't work out because people were already starting to line up for the muster drill so we headed on to the theater. I normally try not to judge what others choose to wear on vacation but during the drill several people came in with dripping wet swimsuits and had a seat where others would be sitting for the show in just a couple of hours. It just seemed disrespectful and that was exactly why we had chosen not to go to the pool because we didn't want to have to put our swimsuits on and then change back before our drill.

 

[MinnieMommy2381]

Hi! Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We did too despite the weather. Did you rebook onboard?

Trina

Trina,

Yes we definitely booked onboard. My friends and coworkers are planning on the Magic April 4, 2014. It's another 3-day but we can't wait to see the new ship.

 

[tweis]

Trina,

Yes we definitely booked onboard. My friends and coworkers are planning on the Magic April 4, 2014. It's another 3-day but we can't wait to see the new ship.

Did you all enjoy the magical porthole rooms? We had wanted to book the Magic out of Miami for December 2014 since we will be on the Fantasy in May 2014 but now it seem that the Magic is being moved to Port Canaveral and may not be doing short cruises during that time. I will just have to wait and see but if the Magic doesn't work out we may book the Dream again for a short 3 day around Christmas.

 

[MinnieMommy2381]

Did you all enjoy the magical porthole rooms? We had wanted to book the Magic out of Miami for December 2014 since we will be on the Fantasy in May 2014 but now it seem that the Magic is being moved to Port Canaveral and may not be doing short cruises during that time. I will just have to wait and see but if the Magic doesn't work out we may book the Dream again for a short 3 day around Christmas.

Trina,

The girls ABSOLUTELY loved the porthole. Every few minutes the youngest would always yell look mom you missed it LOL. It was nice enjoying the ship with them. I personally wanted to do a longer trip maybe 5 day but since it will be everyone's first trip I imagine I can wait. I want to do a Christmas trip too but it won't be until 2015. I ended up buying a timeshare in Orlando so will be using my points the rest of next year and this year.

 

[tweis]

Trina,

The girls ABSOLUTELY loved the porthole. Every few minutes the youngest would always yell look mom you missed it LOL. It was nice enjoying the ship with them. I personally wanted to do a longer trip maybe 5 day but since it will be everyone's first trip I imagine I can wait. I want to do a Christmas trip too but it won't be until 2015. I ended up buying a timeshare in Orlando so will be using my points the rest of next year and this year.

So glad you all enjoyed your cruise. I wanted to book inside connecting rooms for our Fantasy trip next year but they were sold out. Maybe next time. I hope you enjoy your timeshare.

 

[tweis]

The muster drill was quick and painless. We decided to head back to our room to change into our swimsuits so that we could enjoy the adult pool a little before heading to the future cruise desk. I have to mention that the first day there were tons of kids getting in the pool in the adult area BUT the CMs in the area did a great job of sending them on their way very quickly. The pool is not huge and obviously you can't swim laps or anything but it worked well for just splashing around or just relaxing. While we were in the pool we pulled out from PC. We decided not to join to the sail away party since it was really loud of there and it was so peaceful in the Quiet Cove area. We started noticing the water sloshing back and forth in the pool and thought it was really cool because it didn't feel like the ship was actually moving that much. We would change our minds about that later.



The future cruise desk opened at 6:00 and we wanted to "reshop" our Western on the Fantasy for May 2014 to save a few bucks and to get additional onboard credit from Disney. We were hoping to book two connecting inside rooms and cancel our 8C. I told the CM what I wanted and he told me there were no connecting rooms available for the cruise. Bummer. We were really wanting the extra space and a little privacy. The CM then went on to tell me the price for connecting rooms in the same category that I was currently sailing in. I wasn't interested in those at all. I knew 2 5Bs were not in our budget. Then he gave me a price for connecting 8Cs. I didn't want those either. He didn't seem to understand that since the connecting 11Bs were not available that I just wanted ONE 8C. He finally gave me the price for it and it was quite a bit more than what I had saw online just a few hours earlier. I mentioned this and he said it was due to others booking while onboard. Well, ok. It made no sense to rebook the same cruise at a higher price so I inquired about December 2014 on the Magic. He gave me a price that we were okay with and we paid the deposit.

I must mention that while sitting at the future cruise desk I was really noticing the movement of the ship. The CM said we were in the Florida Straits and that it would smooth out soon. I hoped so. We went back to our room and ordered a couple of all hands on deck cheese platters since we still had a while until dinner. The platters included some very tart and yummy purple grapes, cheddar, swiss, gouda, blue and babybel cheeses and I had what tasted like townhouse crackers while my DH had some kind of wheat crackers. We traded.

 

[Dixielady908]

Enjoying your report so far....
I never realized that the prices for future cruises increased due to other people booking??? Kinda strange...

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

thanks for sharing

 

[tweis]

Enjoying your report so far....
I never realized that the prices for future cruises increased due to other people booking??? Kinda strange...

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

thanks for sharing

I will discuss that more a little later but once a certain number of rooms sell at say opening day prices, they raise prices, then once a certain number of rooms sell at those prices they once again increase and so on. We booked opening day for $5100 and the same room is now up to $5600. He made it sound like enough rooms had sold for the price to rise.

 

[tweis]

I was still really noticing the movement of the ship and decided to take a Bonine. DH decided that he would take one also. I will spare you the details but the Bonine did not help, or it could be that I waited too late to take it, but I became very sick. After this, I started to feel a little better and got ready for dinner. We had late dining and had requested either RAE or ARE so that we could enjoy Palo on our EG night. I love the menu in RP and I enjoy the ambiance so I was thrilled that we were going to RP on the first night.

We got dressed and headed down to deck 3 to RP. I was really noticing the movement again and was starting not to feel well. We were seated at our table for two and met our wonderful head server, Angel. I realized that I was not going to be able to sit through dinner due to me not feeling well and I told Angel this. He was a doll and said that he would have our dinner prepared and sent up to our room. DH agreed even though I wasn't sure I would be able to eat a bite. I excused myself to what I thought was the nearest ladies room while our wonderful assistant server went in search of gingerale for me.

I left the ladies room and found DH with two glasses of gingerale. I slowly sipped on it as we made our way back up to deck 8. DH started watching the bridge report and realized that we were experiencing some really strong winds and rough seas which was causing the constant movement of the ship. I was still feeling terrible and continued to be sick until I finally managed to fall asleep. DH said that he also became sick and when room service delivered our dinner, he had to send him away. With a tip of course.

I have to say, that on our 5 night last year, I never noticed the movement of the ship except once in AP. DH and myself nor our two children ever felt sick at all. I think this is why it never occured to me that we should have started taking Bonine before we ever set foot on the ship. Lesson learned. Next time we will definitely be prepared and all of us will take it BEFORE we cruise.

I woke up the next morning, starving! I was also very disappointed that we had missed Match Your Mate. I had really been looking forward to this and they only had it the first night of our cruise. I was also disappointed that I had missed RP. I fell in love with RP last year and I loved Belle's french onion soup and had been looking forward to it for months.

 

[tweis]

CRUISE DAY 2- NASSAU

We had planned to take a cab to the Sheraton on Cable Beach and get a day pass that can be purchased for $30. They have unlimited day passes that are good from 7am-7pm and they include kayaking, snorkel gear, water trampoline, flotation mats, aqua cycles and paddle boats. However, the weather was not cooperating with our plans. We woke up to a rainy and grey Nassau.

Oh well, we would just explore the ship and find other things to do. DH and I showered and I am still on the fence if I liked the shower better this time or the one from last time. This time we had a regular shower with a regular shower head and the controls were a little easier to figure out. Last time we had the round shower with the rain fall like shower head. I think I liked the size of this one better but would have preferred the other shower head. Even though I had read on these boards that DCL no longer gives you body butter I was secretly hoping they had changed back. They haven't. You get body lotion instead of butter. It was fine and I actually enjoyed the feel of it a little better than the butter. I absolutely love the shampoo.

We had breakfast in Cabanas this morning and I think I've decided that I like breakfast better there than in Enchanted Garden. Of course this could change the next time I eat in Enchanted Garden. I thought they had a really good selection. Last year we tried Cabanas once for breakfast but it quickly turned to total chaos with our two boys (9 &10 at the time). For some reason it was impossible for everyone to get their breakfast, drink and get seated without something getting spilled or someone stuck in line. Speaking of lines, last year the whole line thing in Cabanas was a mess. The CMs would tell you that it was not a "line" that you go to only the pods that have food you want. Well when you do this people think you are cutting in line and can be very rude so we avoided Cabanas after the first time. I have to say that everything went alot smoother this time and I didn't hear anyone complaining about cutting in line even though people still lined up. We went from pod to pod getting what we wanted and it worked great. Before we left Cabanas, I asked about that night's menu. I was looking for french onion soup. The CM said that it would not be on the menu that evening. Bummer. He asked what our table number was and then called out to another CM. She came over and he asked if table 52 was her's. She said yes it was. This was actually our head server that we had not been able to meet the night before. She asked if I was feeling better and if I had enjoyed my dinner that was sent up to our room. I explained that I had been unable to eat due to my seasickness and she said no problem. If I wanted french onion soup tonight then I could have it. She would speak to Angel about it. I left Cabanas feeling like I had gotten a little bit of pixie dust. Alot of people talk about ordering from the other MDR menus while dining elsewhere but I had never been completely comfortable doing that so this was a real treat for me.

After breakfast we went to the adult pool area to relax for a bit. Apparently alot of others were doing this also because we were unable to find an empty lounger. The hot tub was completely full and totally out of the question. We decided instead to step into the Cove Cafe for some "real" coffee. I got a latte because I was hoping the bitterness would settle the remnants of my jumpy tummy. I don't remember the name of the "coffee" (dessert) my husband got but it looked and tasted so yummy. It had chocolate syrup, either whipped cream or ice cream, coffee and something else. It was so good. I must mention that the Cove Cafe has yummy treats through out the day that you do not have to pay extra for. Same with the Vista Cafe. On the first day my DH discovered these tiny eclairs filled with mocha cream. So good. Everytime he went in after the first day, the sweet CM working knew what he wanted. Lol She always gave him 2 at a time. After our coffee we went to explore decks 12 and 13. We found hardly no one up there and was able to get a couple of loungers and just relax for a bit. When we got up to the sundeck, most of the loungers had been tied down due to the rough seas we had the night before.


stock photo


stock photo

It was so relaxing and peaceful up here. We never had a problem finding a lounger. They had the round seats up here also. Even though it was grey and cloudy and had been raining earlier, there were workers cleaning the deck.
We stayed up here for a little bit then decided we would head back to our room for some cash and maybe go buy a tshirt while the rain had stopped. We got our KTTW card and ID and headed off the ship. There were 3 Carnival ships in port with us and things were getting a little crowded. We were unable to get our pic taken at the Bahamas sign due to so many people but this is ours from last year.
I think everyone's eyes were closed but thats just how our family pics work.


ALOT of people don't like Nassau and I have read about the recent crimes but to date, we haven't had any problems. It was starting to sprinkle again as we made our way into the building that you have to go through to get to the shopping area. I don't know what the building is called but there are vendors set up inside of it also. We immediately saw a Pepsi sign and went in search of Mtn. Dew. We hadn't carried any onboard with us because we can go without it but here it was right in front of us for $1.50. Woohoo!! We literally chugged half of the bottle before moving from the spot where we bought them. We wandered around inside of the building for a little while but didn't see anything that interested us. We stepped outside and was immediately asked if we would like a carriage ride "no thanks", do we need a taxi "no thanks", hair braiding "no thanks", a walking tour "no thanks". It kind of gets annoying but no one was overly aggressive and a simple but firm "no thanks" has worked for us. We saw a sign for a tshirt store and went inside. We found a couple that we wanted and paid. This was not the type of shop for haggling so we didn't try it. We did haggle at the straw market last year but we weren't interested in going there since the rain was starting to get heavy again. We quickly made our way back to the same building and upon exiting you must show your KTTW/ID or passport to the agent. We did this and hurried back to the ship. I can't tell you how beautiful the Dream was next to the Carnival Sensation, Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Triumph. They just really looked like old tubs next to the Dream.

 

[ALMinVA]

Oh I am so sorry you were seasick on your favorite restaurant night! How sad :-( But so HAPPY to hear the pixie dust from your head server at cabanas! Thats a score and something to look forward to!

Good thing you have a do-over coming up as well

 

[tweis]

Oh I am so sorry you were seasick on your favorite restaurant night! How sad :-( But so HAPPY to hear the pixie dust from your head server at cabanas! Thats a score and something to look forward to!

Good thing you have a do-over coming up as well

I was so sad But our servers were great and really took care of us.

Definitely looking forward to the do-over so that hopefully DH and I can go watch Match Your Mate. I am not setting foot on the Fantasy without taking Bonine.

 

[tweis]

After returning to the ship, we went to our room to put away our goodies. The wonderful Leliy had already tidied up our room and had refilled our ice bucket. We decided to have lunch in Royal Palace since a) we did not get to enjoy our meal there last night and b) we had never had lunch in an MDR except on embarkation day last year when we had the buffet in Enchanted Garden. We were seated at a table with a view which was nice. I have to say that the lunch menu was not very appealing to either of us. My DH chose not to have an appetizer or soup/salad course because none of the choices sounded tasty to him. I choice the seafood sampler, the carrot ginger soup, meatloaf, and key lime pie. My DH had the chuck burger and hot chocolate fudge pudding with vanilla sauce. DH said the burger was pretty good and loved his dessert. I'm not a huge cold seafood fan so I have no idea why I ordered the seafood sampler because it included: crab claws, shrimp, scallops served with a lemon and olive oil dressing and they were all served cold. The scallops were pretty good but I didn't care for the rest. The ginger infused carrot soup was fine and I thought the ginger would be good for my tummy. Which by the way, DH and I both had already taken our bonine for the day. The meatloaf was terrible in my opinion. I told DH it compared to school lunch meatloaf and he absolutely refused to try a bite. Lol The glaze on it was quite tasty especially when I mixed it with the smashed potatoes, green beans and carrots that it was served with. So the sides were good but I would never order the meatloaf again. I have no idea what possessed me to order the meatloaf since I rarely like meatloaf. When the server came by to pick up our plates he noticed that only a tiny nibble of meatloaf was gone and asked if I liked it. I was honest and told him "no" I didn't like it. He said I should have told him and he would have gotten me something else. I told him it was fine that I didn't need anything else. I was a little worried about the key lime pie when he brought it out because I was expecting it to be lime in color. It was not. It was yellowish. I took a small bite and to my surpise, it was really good. I have to admit I ate the entire slice but it was really tart and tasty.

After lunch and the realization that I had missed nothing by not having lunch in an MDR before, we headed back to our room just to chill on the verandah for a bit. We had Mixology at 3:00 and just wanted to relax a little before heading to Skyline.

Here are some pics of Nassau from our last trip.









Something had been bugging me since we had visited the future cruise desk and booked our trip on the Magic but with me feeling so poorly the day before, I couldn't really put my finger on it. The more I thought about it the more it seemed that the deposit was off. We had only paid $177 for the deposit and the total was $2300. I know the deposit is based on the fare portion only so that put the fare at $1770 and assuming taxes/fees were $350 that put the total at $2120 but we were quoted twenty three hundred and some odd dollars. I started looking at the confirmation more closely and realized that the price quoted included gratuities for the 4 of us. Now don't get me wrong, we pay our gratuities and paid them before we sailed on our first cruise, but I don't like them being included and no one telling/asking me. DH and I discussed this and realized that this meant the CM had included $336 in gratuities on the quote he had given us for the Fantasy! So maybe we could still rebook our Fantasy cruise onboard to receive the additional $200 in OBC since we know we are taking that cruise. We want to sail on the Magic but we KNOW we are sailing the Fantasy so this made more sense to us. We checked the navigator and the future cruise desk was not open yet. It was opening at 3:00 the same time our Mixology class was scheduled for. That wouldn't work so we decided to head there directly when the class was finished.

 

[CurtisB]

Loving your TR so far! We are doing a 3 night on the Dream for a mini honeymoon in January so this is helpful!
Been on the Wonder and the Magic, but this will be a first on one of the new ships!

 

[tweis]

Loving your TR so far! We are doing a 3 night on the Dream for a mini honeymoon in January so this is helpful!
Been on the Wonder and the Magic, but this will be a first on one of the new ships!

Thank you We love the Dream and had excellent service. Make sure you take seasick meds before your cruise so that you don't miss anything.

Congrats on your wedding

 

[tweis]

Skyline is a beautiful upscale bar on the Disney Dream and the Fantasy. I don't know that we would have chose this bar just to sit and have a drink. Not because it isn't great, it's just kind of fancy for our liking. We aren't fancy people.



We met Cesar our bartender and "teacher" for the class. There were 3 other people in the class. Cesar explained the art of making drinks and proceeded to make all 5 of us a small martini. It was made with vodka and vermouth and had an olive. He explained the origins of the martini and the proper way to make it. We all tried it and my eyes started watering because it was so strong!! Lol Cesar said he could tell by the looks on our faces that the drink was too strong! He encouraged us to finish them but no one did. Next he made us each a Yellow Bird which is sometimes the drink of the day on the ships. The Yellow Bird consists of light rum, Galliano, creme de banana, orange juice and pineapple juice. This was pretty good but I'm not a fan of banana flavored anything. My DH really enjoyed this though. Next Cesar prepared for us a Captains Mai Tai. He explained that a bartender on one of the ships had created this for DCL and it was sent to shoreside for approval and now it was served at all Disney properties. The Captain's Mai Tai consists of Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Amaretto, and pineapple juice, topped with a float of Myer's Original Dark rum. This was quite tasty but kind of sweet because of the amaretto. Next Cesar made us a margarita. He made it with a cheaper tequila and it was STRONG. He said we would be making another margarita with very expensive tequila and he wanted us to be able to taste the difference. Now it was time for the group to start participating in making drinks. A guy from our group made a Mojito with directions from Cesar. A Mojito is made with muddled lime, aguave, mint leaves, rum, club soda and ice. The guy, I can't remember his name, made the Mojito in a full size glass and Cesar and his assistant passed out clean straws. I know what your thinking but no, we did not put our straw in the drink and sip it. The drink was passed around and we all stuck our straw in the drink and then capped the straw so that drink was captured and we could try it. The Mojito was very good and very refreshing. Next my DH went behind the bar to make a Caipirinha which I had never heard of. Cesar told my DH to pour approximately 4 packets of sugar into the glass. Cesar did not have sugar packets but a container full of sugar. You have to understand that my DH has no idea how much sugar is in a packet. He uses like 10 in his coffee. Lol DH poured quite a bit of sugar into the glass with Cesar laughing the whole time. Next he added lime and Leblon which Cesar's assistant said was a Brazilian liquor. DH got to use a shaker and dance around with it for a bit. Then we all went through the process of getting new straws and trying the drink. DH put too much sugar!! Now after everyone tries the drink the person that made the drink gets to keep it so DH kept the Caipirinha. Once all the sugar finally settled to the bottom of the glass, it was actually pretty good. Next a lady from our group made a margarita. Cesar instructed her to use fresh lime juice, a limited edition patron, and cointreau. This one, I have to say, tasted much better than the first and I'm not a fan of margaritas. There was myself and one other lady left who had not made anything so Cesar said that we would be making a shot for everyone. I think he said the shot was called a Woo Woo and it was made with vodka, cranberry juice and peach schnapps. We counted off our vodka and peach schnapps pours and I must have counted a little slow because my shaker was a bit fuller than the other ladies. Next we added cranberry juice and then got to shake it for a bit. We both strained ours into 3 shot glasses. Cesar then got us all to say something in a different language and we all drank the shot at the same time. Cesar had the other CM have the 6th shot because he said he had to be sober to run the bar that night. I have to say next to the Mojito this was my favorite drink. Cesar was awesome and I wish I could remember the other CM that was helping him because he was so funny. If you do visit Skyline and Cesar is the bartender I can guarantee that you will enjoy some strong drinks.

 

[TinkerbellinNY6]

I'm following along! I am looking into my first cruise and I was wondering if you could give me a little more information on cable beach. I realize that you didn't go but I was wondering if you could give me any more info that you may know about it. Thanks

 

[tweis]

I'm following along! I am looking into my first cruise and I was wondering if you could give me a little more information on cable beach. I realize that you didn't go but I was wondering if you could give me any more info that you may know about it. Thanks

Hi! Thanks for following along. Many resorts in the area offer day passes but the Sheraton on Cable Beach seemed like the best fit for us. My understanding is that it was about 15 minutes away via cab. The Sheraton offers a day room pass that includes all the water sports I mentioned plus the room for 2 people for $99 or the $30 pass I mentioned. The room pass has to be reserved ahead of time but the other pass can be purchased the day of at the hotel. My understanding is that the undertow isn't as strong as on Cabbage Beach which is where Atlantis is located. I hope this helps