DREAMS really do come true! 1/30 4-day Cruise Report with Tons of Photos! Video done!

[Snowwhitebelle]

this is the best trip report ever

like I wasn't excited enough to board the Dream next weekend, now I am beside myself....the 27th can't come soon enough

thanks so much

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I have been reading this report and find it amazing that the waiter at Palo does a so so job, makes fun of you and you tipped him extra? For what? Being rude is worth a tip today (Not in my world LOL!)

[Timon]

Originally Posted by Walt & Di

This is a great trip report. Really enjoyed it reading it every day in my free time. Great Photos, lots of great information. Thanks Di

Thanks Di, good to see you!

Originally Posted by jenseib

I used to love that game too and was fairly good at it...I tried it recently and lets just say I have totally lost my touch.

Originally Posted by disgrits

Any idea how many points per game in the arcarde?

Sorry Paige, I don't

Originally Posted by tessasmom

Hi Cass, me again!

One quick question. Do you know if the Dream always backs into CC? I had a CM tell me that they don't always back in when I tried to change from port to starbord. Anyone else chime in too! Thanks!

From what I have heard, they always try to back in but if there's a problem, they try the other way

Originally Posted by mmmagic7754

I can help here, #1 the clocks were awful. We could not get the alarm to stop and ended up pulling the plug LOL. More than one person has complained on here.
#2 The switch for the night light is one of the switches on the desk. Works great!!! Its not at the front of the room.

Glad I didn't use the alarm clock then!

Originally Posted by jenseib

I was told that after (9/11) that 95% of the time they back in. Usually if they don't, it's on a double dip cruise, and one time they go straight in and the other they back in.

Originally Posted by Ness2289

OMG!! I sure hope this gets better before April! We're trying to make our way to Universal Studios for the day. I would be sooooo disappointed if customs took this long!

I think it was so slow because the sailing before us was the Maiden Voyage and they had some issues

Originally Posted by Zitofamily

Hi - we have Stateroom 6008 and by the looks of your summary, our room will be just like 7008 - it's the first room after a corner room forward. Do you you know? That big porthole has me saying boy, aren't I good at picking rooms (but had no idea when I booked it 18 months ago!).
Thanks for the report!

Hmmm, I am guessing probably but I don't know for sure.

Originally Posted by Snowwhitebelle

this is the best trip report ever

like I wasn't excited enough to board the Dream next weekend, now I am beside myself....the 27th can't come soon enough

thanks so much

Not far away now!

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCommuter

I have been reading this report and find it amazing that the waiter at Palo does a so so job, makes fun of you and you tipped him extra? For what? Being rude is worth a tip today (Not in my world LOL!)

Actually, other than the mix up about the food stuff and what he said to the other server, he was very good. I only tipped him $5 and part of that was because we didn't pay for the meal. Michelle is a Platinum Castaway Club member which includes a free dinner so I wasn't sure if DCL would pay him his share of the $40 each It just felt wrong to me not to pay anything for the meal. Sorry, it's just not who I am

But feel free to have your own Palo experience and tip whatever you feel is the right amount for you.

[edomeracki]

I saw the photos of the Navigators and each nite it was Casual attire. Does that mean DCL stopped Dress Up night altogether or was it just for this cruise?

[Tanzanite]

Originally Posted by Roadweaver

My daughter is a chef, she was talking to the head chef of Cabana's and he told them that there are no Mickey Waffles because they only put in 2 plugs and they need at least 12 for a ship this size. He also said that there are no waffles because there is no ventilation in the area. They tried to have waffles on the maiden voyage and it was a disaster.

No Mickey waffles wil they have them on the Fantasy?

[disgrits]

Originally Posted by edomeracki

I saw the photos of the Navigators and each nite it was Casual attire. Does that mean DCL stopped Dress Up night altogether or was it just for this cruise?

I emailed my TA about this very topic. We are on the June 12 Double Dip. She said that the "dress up night" will be the night we are in Royal Palace. That doesn't sound right to me because I thought a "dress up" night would be one night for the entire population of the ship to dress up. I have decided to start reading for clues on upcoming trip reports, and if I am still not sure in a couple of months, I will call DCL directly.

Cass, what do you think?

[DisneyKidforLife]

Just wanted to say thank you so much for such a wonderful trip report. The photos are amazing!!! We are planning to cruise on the Fantasy next April and all of the information you gave has been so helpful in helping us plan.

Gabi

[Timon]

Originally Posted by edomeracki

I saw the photos of the Navigators and each nite it was Casual attire. Does that mean DCL stopped Dress Up night altogether or was it just for this cruise?

While the Navs said cruise casual, I did notice that people were dressing up too...maybe a little more so in Royal Palace but I was dressed cruise casual for all dinners (except for Palo) and I felt very comfortable.

Not sure if this will be the case for all the cruises, guess we will find out as people post their Navs

Originally Posted by disgrits

I emailed my TA about this very topic. We are on the June 12 Double Dip. She said that the "dress up night" will be the night we are in Royal Palace. That doesn't sound right to me because I thought a "dress up" night would be one night for the entire population of the ship to dress up. I have decided to start reading for clues on upcoming trip reports, and if I am still not sure in a couple of months, I will call DCL directly.

Cass, what do you think?

I talked to DCL the other day and I don't think anyone really knows for sure what they are doing for the 5-night cruise rotations. I think it totally blows for all of you because what is the point of booking early if you have no idea what night is what.

Same goes for Alaska cruisers...first 3 or 4 cruises won't know a thing because it's new and DCL hasn't released the rotations or dinner schedules

I am guessing that the 5-night will have one dressy night...3 rotation dinners, pirate dinner and a fancy dinner but that's just my guess.

Originally Posted by DisneyKidforLife

Just wanted to say thank you so much for such a wonderful trip report. The photos are amazing!!! We are planning to cruise on the Fantasy next April and all of the information you gave has been so helpful in helping us plan.

Gabi

You're welcome Gabi

[Timon]

General Stuff Part 1

OK, this is where I am putting the photos that don't really belong anywhere else

For my non-FB friends who didn't see this live as I was posting...

My dear friends Nancy & Chuck sent me a fabulous gift basket!! It was super appreciated...thanks guys!!





I could be wrong...but I don't think I included these pics of Cabanas in my report...if they are repeats...please ignore













Some blanket "animals" left in our stateroom





We got these as part of our AEP thing..



Came in handy for CC! We also got the regular red bags for CC members and we gave those to our tablemates who hadn't gotten them before.

And Michelle got this too and gave it to me How sweet!









Nassau pics...

[Timon]

General Stuff Part 2

And here's Atlantis...the resort I have been wanting to visit for about 11 years now, after I first saw it on Oprah. I didn't leave the ship though because I wanted to wait to be able to share it with Rob and Kira for the first time! Another time maybe





Nice!




I was snacking on chicken strips as we pulled away from Nassau....this was my view...






The always amazing Jeff Civillico at Evolution...





Speaking of Evolution...those seats you see in that photo are the worst seats ever created!!! Well, OK, maybe only the worst for people with back problems We first sat close to the stage in those but after about 3 seconds, I had to move, they were ridiculously uncomfortable to me! Michelle didn't have any problems though but she has a good back

We sat back in a semi-booth and watched as several people sat in them and then promptly moved elsewhere

This was in the Atrium...thought it was a little odd



The I-totally-can't-even-tell-it's-a-cell-tower palm tree at CC



The only new addition to the Disney details in the Atrium is Max



And JC again in D Lounge





And last but not least...For my baby girl, I dropped off a pillow case and sharpies at GS on the first night and asked for as many signatures as possible...this is what I got.



I did one of these for Kira on our last cruise and it was FULL of signatures...so this time I decided to do a king-sized one and only got about half of the signatures as the smaller one Oh well, she was happy with it



Oops, forgot this one....

[LuvEeyore]

Thanks for the wonderful report and all the beautiful pictures!!!!
A couple of questions.
Were there anythings you did or saw that you wouldn't do again?
What kind of dining rotation did you have and are your hearing that the cruises since are the same?

Thanks again.
Lee

[Timon]

Disembarkation


Normally I am so sad on the morning that we have to leave the ship but I was really looking forward to going home to see my babes so I was OK with it

I don't eat in the morning on vacation so we both skipped breakfast and made our way down to the Atrium just before 8am. Got in the line to get off the ship and for about 10 minutes we didn't move an inch and the line got very long. Finally the line started moving and we were down in the luggage room about 6-7 minutes later.

The luggage room was ridiculously CROWDED!!! I have never seen it like that!! We had to go all the way down to the right-front part to get our suitcase and then go all the way around the MASSIVE line of people to get to the back of the line!

There really must be a better way to do this! It wasn't so bad once we made our way through the throngs of people to find the end of the line but it was chaos and madness trying to get there.

5 minutes after getting in the line, I was directed to a separate line for non-US citizens (finally a Disney perk for being Canadian ) and was out of the terminal 5 minutes later with only 2 families in front of me for customs.

I was able to head outside and rearrange my suitcase while I waited for Michelle to join me. We hopped on the DCL bus for the airport and 10 minutes later we left.

You really can't beat the convenience of taking the DCL buses if you are going straight to the airport!

About an hour later, we arrived at side B and made our separate ways to check-in.

Although my flight didn't leave until 5:45pm...I was REALLY hoping to catch an earlier flight home. My original flight didn't get me home until midnight my time and then I would have to grab my bags and go through CDN customs so I wouldn't have been home until about 2 am and wouldn't have been able to see my daughter, who would be sleeping, until the next morning.

Luckily, I spoke to a really nice agent and he was able to get me on the 10:30 flight to Denver, which would get me home at 6pm!!!

Since I was flying on a rewards certificate, he was able to just switch the flight and not charge me anything, so it worked out great! Now I just had to make it through security and to my gate in less than 25 minutes!!

The lines for security were REALLY long on both sides but luckily I picked a fast-moving line and made it with 5 minutes to spare

I didn't even have time to tell Rob about my early flight so as soon as we landed in Denver, I texted him and he was very excited

After almost 3 hours in Denver, I made my last flight into Calgary and landed just a little late. And after customs, my two babes were there waiting for me

It was soooooo good to see them!!! I really missed them, more than I even thought I would! I'm not the kind of person who needs to be away from their family in order to appreciate them...I tell both of them every single day just how much I love them and appreciate them and how lucky I am to have them so being away from them just made me appreciate them even more than I normally do!!


Here's some pics...




















Snowy Denver...back to reality I guess LOL!




OK, well that's it for this report...when I have time I might post about my few days in WDW and also about the whole AEP experience.

Also, when I get my video/s done, I will post a link in the Index

Thanks everyone for reading along, posting so that I know you are reading and being patient while I wrote this retardedly-long report

Group Hug!!

[jedijill]

Hmmm, snowy Denver looks very familiar.

Great report! Thanks for all the details.

Jill in CO

[disgrits]

You are the best when it comes to details!

I loved reading every bit of it!

[Timon]

Originally Posted by LuvEeyore

Thanks for the wonderful report and all the beautiful pictures!!!!
A couple of questions.
Were there anythings you did or saw that you wouldn't do again?
What kind of dining rotation did you have and are your hearing that the cruises since are the same?

Thanks again.
Lee

Thanks Lee

Hmmm, good first question

I definitely wouldn't do the Making of the Dream presentation. Unless you didn't follow the Dream as she was built at all (which I totally did! ) it's a huge waste of time.

I wouldn't see the Villains Tonight Show again unless I was seeing it with Rob and Kira. (and only because they haven't seen it) Even then, I think I would leave early so as to not vomit during the whole Jafar/Iago scenes


I wouldn't eat another sit-down breakfast at any restaurant. I loved Cabanas too much, the food, the variety, the convenience and the atmosphere

I wouldn't attempt to get off the ship so early again! Next time, I will take my time and let the masses leave first so that the luggage room isn't full-on insanity

and most importantly....

I wouldn't ever...






..

NOT SAIL ON DCL AGAIN!!!

No matter how many things go wrong...no matter how crappy the service may be....there is nothing better than sailing with Disney

If I had the $$$, I would probably sail 5-6 times a year


Oh and for question #2....We had AERR but I haven't seen any recent posting with rotations on them so I don't know if Disney has changed them yet