Just booked my first cruise ever on the Dream, lots of

[Cdnmom2001]

questions for you all
We just booked our first cruise (ever) for the Disney Dream May 2012(3 day cruise),
I am so excited but I also have so many questions

1) Room service, is that included in your cruise fare?
2) Drinks, this one confused me, she said that milk, water, juice and soda were only available at no charge pool side and in the restaurants. Bottled water is extra. Can anyone give me more info on how the whole drink/food thing works on disney cruises?
3) Dinner rotation and shows and more details you could share? Our CM said our dinner is at 5:45pm and show at 8:15pm. Can we request to sit as a family of 4 and not share tables?
4) we booked a deluxe stateroom with verandah room #10662, how can I verify that there will be no smoking, my ds has asthma and can not be around it.
5) Dolphin encounters, Atlantis or Blue Lagoon? The CM said that we could not book till 75 days out as we are first time disney cruisers, is this the norm? Any tips on how to get the earliest time for this event? We want to see Atlantis and feel it 's worth the extra money, can any tell anything about atlantis dolphin encounter shallow water. My dh wants me and dd(age 10) to do it and he and my ds(7) will do the observer and then we would get the discover Atlantis. Can we use their beach as well after or should we just return to the boat? Our goal is to get a first enounter and then back to the boat by 2pm. Is that a reasonable expectation


I have so many more questions, but that's a start for me. TIA!

 

[Makayna]

questions for you all
We just booked our first cruise (ever) for the Disney Dream May 2012(3 day cruise),
I am so excited but I also have so many questions

1) Room service, is that included in your cruise fare? Yes. But don't forget to tip.
2) Drinks, this one confused me, she said that milk, water, juice and soda were only available at no charge pool side and in the restaurants. Bottled water is extra. Can anyone give me more info on how the whole drink/food thing works on disney cruises?soda is free at meals and at the drink stations. Juice/Milk, I believe, are only free at meals. If you get a soda through room service or at one of the bars/lounges, then it is NOT free. But you can go to the drink stations at ANY time, and get it for free.
3) Dinner rotation and shows and more details you could share? Our CM said our dinner is at 5:45pm and show at 8:15pm. Can we request to sit as a family of 4 and not share tables? You can request it, but it's not always granted. If you want to sit by yourself, definitely call and make that request, but also understand that you still might have to sit with other families. Disney TRIES to put people with similarly aged children together, so even if you do have to sit with another family, you might end up really getting along well with them!
4) we booked a deluxe stateroom with verandah room #10662, how can I verify that there will be no smoking, my ds has asthma and can not be around it. There is no smoking allowed in any staterooms. However, people ARE allowed to smoke on the verandahs, so if you end up next to someone who smokes, especially if you are aft of them, you might get their smoke. Or, if the person who was in that room last was a smoker, and smoked outside but with the door open, you might get remnants of that. Request that a smoke cleaning and/or allergy cleaning be done in the stateroom and they can do that for you.
5) Dolphin encounters, Atlantis or Blue Lagoon? The CM said that we could not book till 75 days out as we are first time disney cruisers, is this the norm? Any tips on how to get the earliest time for this event? We want to see Atlantis and feel it 's worth the extra money, can any tell anything about atlantis dolphin encounter shallow water. My dh wants me and dd(age 10) to do it and he and my ds(7) will do the observer and then we would get the discover Atlantis. Can we use their beach as well after or should we just return to the boat? Our goal is to get a first enounter and then back to the boat by 2pm. Is that a reasonable expectationNot sure on this one, but I'm sure others will come along soon.


I have so many more questions, but that's a start for me. TIA!

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[Zandy595]

There is free milk at the drink stations on deck 11. Bottled water is extra, but they have filtered water at the drink stations and in the restaurants for free.

Unless they've changed it very recently, the second show is at 8:30pm.

 

[jelo]

We have our 1st cruise in March 2012 and have spent hours on this site reading!!

Most/all of your questions can be answered for you if you either enter in search or read back.

Good luck with all your research!! It seems like there's so much more to learn for a cruise verses WDW vacation! It definately gets you in the spirit!

Have a great cruise!

 

[chasingthedream]

questions for you all
We just booked our first cruise (ever) for the Disney Dream May 2012(3 day cruise),
I am so excited but I also have so many questions

1) Room service, is that included in your cruise fare?
2) Drinks, this one confused me, she said that milk, water, juice and soda were only available at no charge pool side and in the restaurants. Bottled water is extra. Can anyone give me more info on how the whole drink/food thing works on disney cruises?
3) Dinner rotation and shows and more details you could share? Our CM said our dinner is at 5:45pm and show at 8:15pm. Can we request to sit as a family of 4 and not share tables?
4) we booked a deluxe stateroom with verandah room #10662, how can I verify that there will be no smoking, my ds has asthma and can not be around it.
5) Dolphin encounters, Atlantis or Blue Lagoon? The CM said that we could not book till 75 days out as we are first time disney cruisers, is this the norm? Any tips on how to get the earliest time for this event? We want to see Atlantis and feel it 's worth the extra money, can any tell anything about atlantis dolphin encounter shallow water. My dh wants me and dd(age 10) to do it and he and my ds(7) will do the observer and then we would get the discover Atlantis. Can we use their beach as well after or should we just return to the boat? Our goal is to get a first enounter and then back to the boat by 2pm. Is that a reasonable expectation


I have so many more questions, but that's a start for me. TIA!

We just cruised on the Dream May 1. It was my first cruise, so I am definitely not an expert, but I will share my experience.

1) We ordered from room service a few times. (Including Mickey Bars for breakfast on my DS's birthday!) The food we ordered was completely free. We also ordered some orange juice and pineapple juice to make some tropical beverages. There was a charge for the pineapple juice, which the person taking the room service order informed us of. So, there are things you can order from room service that will have a charge, but they will definitely let you know. For the most part is is free, but be sure to tip your delivery person!

2) There is a drink station on deck 11 that is always open. It is completely free. And as I mentioned you can get drinks from room service too.

4) We had a verandah as well. Smoking is allowed out on the verandah's and I don't know if you have any control over what your neighbors do. However, we did catch a whiff of smoke on the ship anywhere during our trip.

5) We did the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter. It was SO fun! We got on the ferry to the island right around 10 am. We did our encounter and then spent the rest of the day at the beach. It was wonderful. They have a bunch of inflatables on the beach and in the water for kids to play on. There was also an abundance of lounge chairs and hammocks. There were 3 ferries back to the port so we had some control over when we got back. I have never been to Atlantis so I can't say how it would compare, but we are thrilled with our Blue Lagoon experience.

I'll just add, that I read the Dis boards obsessively for months before our cruise. But, no matter how much info you take in, you have to experience it to really understand. Have a great cruise!

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

Booking 75 days out for excursions, spa, and Palo/Remy is the norm for first time cruisers. For your second cruise, you will be able to book 90 days out.

 

[Tower]

1) Room service, is that included in your cruise fare? Yes. But don't forget to tip.

On this note, one family kept a stock of singles in a drawer available for DK's in the room to use for tipping room service. Just a handy bit of cash when required.

 

[Kdisney]

the room service menu is limited, we typically ordered coffee and tea for breakfast plus a little extra snack for my son. The muffins are really good the toast was not edible and the fruit salad- almost inedible. It's good if you need a little pick me up in the AM and we did not try it for any other meal. It was on time each morning.

We paid $30 for half a case of water when we got on board- next time I would bring my own. The drink stations are on deck 11 and we were on 2 so that was not convenient. Other drinks are 7-10 or so for a mixed drink, not sure how much wine was. I think plenty of people bring their own alcohol and you can certainly get some on the ship in their shop.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

questions for you all
We just booked our first cruise (ever) for the Disney Dream May 2012(3 day cruise),
I am so excited but I also have so many questions

1) Room service, is that included in your cruise fare?
2) Drinks, this one confused me, she said that milk, water, juice and soda were only available at no charge pool side and in the restaurants. Bottled water is extra. Can anyone give me more info on how the whole drink/food thing works on disney cruises?
3) Dinner rotation and shows and more details you could share? Our CM said our dinner is at 5:45pm and show at 8:15pm. Can we request to sit as a family of 4 and not share tables?
4) we booked a deluxe stateroom with verandah room #10662, how can I verify that there will be no smoking, my ds has asthma and can not be around it.
5) Dolphin encounters, Atlantis or Blue Lagoon? The CM said that we could not book till 75 days out as we are first time disney cruisers, is this the norm? Any tips on how to get the earliest time for this event? We want to see Atlantis and feel it 's worth the extra money, can any tell anything about atlantis dolphin encounter shallow water. My dh wants me and dd(age 10) to do it and he and my ds(7) will do the observer and then we would get the discover Atlantis. Can we use their beach as well after or should we just return to the boat? Our goal is to get a first enounter and then back to the boat by 2pm. Is that a reasonable expectation


I have so many more questions, but that's a start for me. TIA!

1.) room service included for most items- some items do cost and soda/alcohol will cost for sure.
2) That first statement is not true. To get soda free- either at dinner or buffet meals or on deck 11. Milk IS free from room service- I oughta know... I have a chocolate milk fiend and every cruise they start bringing a few chocolate milks everytime she orders anything without her even asking. LOL
3.) You can request it- but there's no guarantee it'll happen.
4.) Smoking is allowed on verandahs and a few smoking areas (generally open deck areas- and I'm not exactly sure where that is on Dream) I'm afraid I have to say there is no way to completely avoid him EVER getting a whif of smoke- but then again many people say they never have a problem with it even walking by open deck smoking areas. So your mileage may vary.
5) can't help you with that one I'm afraid.

 

[gismo1554]

4) we booked a deluxe stateroom with verandah room #10662, how can I verify that there will be no smoking, my ds has asthma and can not be around it.

Just wanted to add, my Mum has issues with smoke as well and unfortunately you can't be guarenteed anything on any cruiseline unless they are 100% non-smoking. That being said, she has only had 1 issue on DCL (on our first 4 night we had a chimney smoker next door from the smells) but usually you can't notice it. I would just watch going out on to the balcony. As DCL doesn't ask whether you are a smoker or not at time of booking there's no way they can check where smokers are around the ship. You can ask for an allergy clean before you go in the room so if there were smokers in there on the previous cruise it will get rid of any lingering odours (I know you can only smoke on balconies but the room still ends up smelling if doors are left open etc).