Schemin' and Dreamin' - a July 2014 (4-night Bahamian/Dream) Trip Report!

[sager1969]

My boys would rather cruise than do the parks just for the relaxin'! Glad that Will loves it. We are taking our first gold cruise next month. I am very excited! Thanks again for sharing everything!

 

[pierresgirl]

Just caught up, loved all the updates and completely jealous of your upcoming trips! Especially Europe! Amazing I just booked next Aug on the dream for 4 nights, far off but still something to look forward too! I did Tequila and also Mixology for my tat stings and you're right, the price is now $20. I loved the B52 as well but can't remember how he did it. AP on the Dream looks so different from Wonder, do they have Crush in there? What a cute pic of Mickey and Minnie kissing!

 

[steph0808]

Glad you guys had a good time! I will say - your report made me want to take a DCL cruise very badly!

However, getting DH to fly to FL with the baby and cruise would be difficult. We are thinking about taking a different line out of Baltimore (so a few hours of driving, but no flying involved) to test out if we enjoy cruises before taking the DCL leap! Maybe a WDW park/DCL cruise combo in a few years! That would be awesomeeeeeee.

 

[Ariel484]

Just to give the singer a little benefit of the doubt there are at least two but I think three versions of Relfections so may have been singing a different version I know the movie and Christina Augliera version are different and I think the sound track on is different too but I am not positive on that. (Drives me crazy as it is one of my favorite songs to sing it can really mess you up)

Good point about the different versions! But this singer was just making up words and obviously stumbling through the song.

Wonderful report! I hope we like our cruise because DH says we can book a christmastime cruise for this year if we do, so crossing fingers!! Enjoy your future cruises!!!!!

Thank you! OMG - I am on another board where someone did a Christmas cruise and she just finished her report. It looked AMAZING. Lots of beautiful decorations and extra activities. I definitely hope to do one someday, and I hope you get to as well!!

My boys would rather cruise than do the parks just for the relaxin'! Glad that Will loves it. We are taking our first gold cruise next month. I am very excited! Thanks again for sharing everything!

Relaxing is definitely a good thing! I'm so glad Will loved it too - I would have hated myself if I dragged him onto the ship and he was miserable the entire time. And now we can cruise together! Yay!

Congrats on your first gold cruise!! So lucky that you get to go so soon! Have a fabulous time!

Just caught up, loved all the updates and completely jealous of your upcoming trips! Especially Europe! Amazing I just booked next Aug on the dream for 4 nights, far off but still something to look forward too! I did Tequila and also Mixology for my tat stings and you're right, the price is now $20. I loved the B52 as well but can't remember how he did it. AP on the Dream looks so different from Wonder, do they have Crush in there? What a cute pic of Mickey and Minnie kissing!

OMG - I don't think I could handle the tequila tasting! I'd be on the floor! Bummer that the price went up but it's still a good deal, for sure.

Yep, Crush was in AP! Our table didn't have a screen so he didn't talk to us, though.

Glad you guys had a good time! I will say - your report made me want to take a DCL cruise very badly!

That is exactly what happened to me - I completely wasn't interested in cruising until I read a report that my Travel Agent posted - she takes amazing photos so I got a really good sense of what the ships were like and eventually I was just like...I MUST GO ON A DISNEY CRUISE. And the rest is history.

However, getting DH to fly to FL with the baby and cruise would be difficult. We are thinking about taking a different line out of Baltimore (so a few hours of driving, but no flying involved) to test out if we enjoy cruises before taking the DCL leap! Maybe a WDW park/DCL cruise combo in a few years! That would be awesomeeeeeee.

Oooh, I'm sure it would be. Which line/itinerary are you looking at?

Park/cruise combo would be awesome - best of both worlds!

 

[steph0808]

Which line/itinerary are you looking at?

It seems like Royal Caribbean and Carnival are the only lines that sail out of Baltimore (well, that I've seen). I'm looking at RC - the 7/8 night trips are only to Bermuda or Bahamas, not sure which one we'd do yet!

I am jealous of the Europe cruise! Ahhh! Flying to Europe isn't bad - you'll most likely take an overnight flight and I haven't had any trouble sleeping straight through.

Coming home is tough though - it's usually a day flight and I haven't mastered the "sleep 8 hours in the middle of the day" for those trips!

 

[steph0808]

Also - what Itinerary are you doing on your Europe cruise?

 

[Ariel484]

It seems like Royal Caribbean and Carnival are the only lines that sail out of Baltimore (well, that I've seen). I'm looking at RC - the 7/8 night trips are only to Bermuda or Bahamas, not sure which one we'd do yet!

Royal Caribbean (from what I have heard/read here) seems to be the most comparable to DCL. I'm sure you will love it!

I am jealous of the Europe cruise! Ahhh! Flying to Europe isn't bad - you'll most likely take an overnight flight and I haven't had any trouble sleeping straight through.

I'm so glad to hear you say that! I was thinking about it this morning (yes, already...even though we're well over a year away...) and was wondering how that was going to work. I can sleep on planes but Will cannot - he may need to take sleeping pills or something.

Coming home is tough though - it's usually a day flight and I haven't mastered the "sleep 8 hours in the middle of the day" for those trips!

Ugh, I know! I'm trying not to think about that part just yet!

Also - what Itinerary are you doing on your Europe cruise?

The Mediterranean Greek Isles itinerary!! http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/c...pe/itineraries/12-night-mediterranean-cruise/

 

[sulcata]

This was an amazing report. Doing my second DCL cruise in August and first on the dream. I was excited before, but now am more so!

 

[elphie101]

Noooo I don't want the TR to be over! I'm having too much fun with you guys And color me insanely jealous you booked Europe in 2016 - I about screamed when I saw that itinerary but we've already planned UK/France for later in the summer. So freaking close! But you're right, after that you'll be Gold and that's definitely worth celebrating!

Can't wait for your next adventure

 

[steph0808]

That. Itinerary. Looks. Awesome.

I am incredibly jealous!

For flights or long rides that I want to sleep, I just take the regular (not non-drowsy) Dramamine - puts me out but doesn't leave a hangover feeling!

 

[Ariel484]

This was an amazing report. Doing my second DCL cruise in August and first on the dream. I was excited before, but now am more so!

Thank you so much, that's so nice of you to say!

The Dream is such a beautiful ship. I hope you have a fabulous time!

Noooo I don't want the TR to be over! I'm having too much fun with you guys And color me insanely jealous you booked Europe in 2016 - I about screamed when I saw that itinerary but we've already planned UK/France for later in the summer. So freaking close! But you're right, after that you'll be Gold and that's definitely worth celebrating!

Well thanks!

OMG - I about screamed too, but I swear my eyes practically bugged out of my skull when I saw the British Isles cruise - just because there's a port day in Dublin. And I am a wee Irish lass...sooooo But that one doesn't work for our schedule, so it's a no-go. Which is okay, because that would have been a tough decision to make...

UK/France trip sounds cool! Will you be stopping at Disneyland Paris?

Can't wait for your next adventure

SAME. Thanks for reading!

That. Itinerary. Looks. Awesome.

I KNOW! But check out this one...it is actually making me think about cheating on DCL some day. Three port days in Ireland and one in Paris!! http://www.princess.com/find/displayItineraryPopup.do?voyageCode=B618N&tourCode=

I am incredibly jealous!

I am mostly shocked that Will agreed to 12 nights on a cruise ship - never thought that would happen! It almost seems too good to be true...

For flights or long rides that I want to sleep, I just take the regular (not non-drowsy) Dramamine - puts me out but doesn't leave a hangover feeling!

THANK YOU! I will definitely keep that in mind. I was looking at flights last night for early August of this year (just to get an idea) and you were right with what you said earlier - they all seem to be overnight. So I was telling Will that we'd probably want to sleep on the plane and then just stay awake all day after we landed. Not sure if it's realistic but I think that's the way to (try to) go!

 

[Ariel484]

delete

 

[elphie101]

OMG - I about screamed too, but I swear my eyes practically bugged out of my skull when I saw the British Isles cruise - just because there's a port day in Dublin. And I am a wee Irish lass...sooooo But that one doesn't work for our schedule, so it's a no-go. Which is okay, because that would have been a tough decision to make...

UK/France trip sounds cool! Will you be stopping at Disneyland Paris?

We will!! My birthday is 4th of July week, so while it's really expensive and kind of crazy to go to WDW on my birthday, I'm hoping it won't be quite as bad at DLP! No better way to spend your birthday then a Disney park if you ask me (well, maybe a Disney cruise )

 

[dsnyfn1022]

I love all of your trip reports! You've inspired my husband and me to start training for runDisney events! One cruise question, do you wish that you would have taken a longer trip for your first cruise? Or do you think that a 4 night trip is a good length for a new cruiser? We are planning a future cruise and I'm afraid that a 4 night is too short but a 7 night would be too long if there's an off chance that we hate cruising.

 

[Ariel484]

We will!! My birthday is 4th of July week, so while it's really expensive and kind of crazy to go to WDW on my birthday, I'm hoping it won't be quite as bad at DLP! No better way to spend your birthday then a Disney park if you ask me (well, maybe a Disney cruise )

Best birthday present ever!!

I hope it's not too crazy packed for you. We'll be in Disneyland this year on Christmas - which will simultaneously be awesome and (I'm sure) terrifying.

I love all of your trip reports! You've inspired my husband and me to start training for runDisney events! One cruise question, do you wish that you would have taken a longer trip for your first cruise? Or do you think that a 4 night trip is a good length for a new cruiser? We are planning a future cruise and I'm afraid that a 4 night is too short but a 7 night would be too long if there's an off chance that we hate cruising.

Thank you!! How exciting, which runDisney event are you looking to do?!

Hard to say with the cruise question...I did my first cruise with friends, and while I had an awesome time, I really didn't like not being able to talk to my husband at all for the length of the cruise...so I was happy to go home. If he'd been there with me I may have felt differently. You didn't mention it but I personally think that 3 nights seems too short - I mean, I've never done a 3-nighter before and obviously any nights on a ship are better than no nights on a ship, but for a first-timer especially I think it would be too rushed. Having at least one at sea day is nice so that you have more time on the ship (and that at sea day would be gone on a 3-nighter).

In our case, going forward, we're going to try to stick to 7 nights or longer...at least that's what I'd LIKE to do. We're looking forward to extra at sea days and having more time to relax...because we really only had 3 FULL Days during the cruise - the Nassau Day, the Castaway Cay day and the At Sea day. And then I guess half a day on embarkation day and practically nothing on debarkation day.

...not sure if that helps your decision any? If you really think there's a chance you'll hate it then the 4-night may be a better option, and then you'll know for next time what you prefer. I know there have been other threads on this topic on the general cruise forum, so if you do a search maybe one will come up and you can get some other opinions.

ETA: One big thing to consider is the price increase - paying for a 4-night is crazy different compared to paying for a 7-night. As I mentioned in the report, I experienced a good bit of sticker shock when we got the final price for our upcoming 7-night cruise vs. what I knew we paid for this 4-night one (almost $2K more!) - and that was even booking the 7-night one on opening day, so I know we got the lowest possible price, AND we dropped down one category for our Fantasy room compared to our Dream room.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Thank you!! How exciting, which runDisney event are you looking to do?!

Well eventually we'd love to do them all! But we are very much beginners so I think to start we'd either be looking at PHM or Wine and Dine. I think if I went during Marathon weekend I'd be sad that I wouldn't get ALL the medals! Plus I love all things Princess-y

...not sure if that helps your decision any? If you really think there's a chance you'll hate it then the 4-night may be a better option, and then you'll know for next time what you prefer. I know there have been other threads on this topic on the general cruise forum, so if you do a search maybe one will come up and you can get some other opinions.

Thanks for the advise on the other threads, I'll take a look! You've definitely given me a lot to consider. I agree, the 3-nighter seems waaaay too short. The 4-night would probably be a good way to test the waters (no pun intended) and I could probably get the hubs to agree to a few days in the parks beforehand to balance everything out

Thanks!

 

[Ariel484]

Well eventually we'd love to do them all! But we are very much beginners so I think to start we'd either be looking at PHM or Wine and Dine. I think if I went during Marathon weekend I'd be sad that I wouldn't get ALL the medals! Plus I love all things Princess-y

Princess Half is a great first runDisney race - that was my first one back in 2011. I you love all things Princess-y I think that would be the perfect one for you to do as your first. On the other hand, Wine & Dine is my favorite half course at WDW, so really, I don't think you can go wrong.

I totally know what you mean about wanting to do ALL of the race and get ALL of the medals. That's where I am right now. I'm not sure I'll ever get to cross Avengers, Star Wars or Tinkerbell off of my list though...

Thanks for the advise on the other threads, I'll take a look! You've definitely given me a lot to consider. I agree, the 3-nighter seems waaaay too short. The 4-night would probably be a good way to test the waters (no pun intended) and I could probably get the hubs to agree to a few days in the parks beforehand to balance everything out

Thanks!

Well for what it's worth, I mentioned your question to Will last night and he recommended going for the 4-nighter. It seems like a happy medium between too short and too long, especially for your first one.

 

[Slogger]

Ariel, another 4 star trip report (out of 4 of course).
So much info, thank you for sharing.

Sorry about the sunburn and that the 5k was somewhat "meh". Had hoped to do that one after Dopey this year but kiddies had to get back to school.
Hopefully RunDisney will find a way to spice it up for future events.

The ship looks beautiful. So many great photos that you took. Here come the questions.

Laughed at your tripod story. Been there. Do you have the full size one that stands on the floor? Some of those can be quite cumbersome. I have a mini-tri which is great to set up on a table, chair, etc, and small enough that it's not quite the albatross that a full size might be. Wish Will would have rounded up those hecklers for you.....

The mixology class looked awesome. Where do I sign up? What a great way to learn. Wish they weren't changing it, yours looked great, but I'm sure Disney will make magical.

The character drawing class looked fun too, did you like that better than the one at WDW?
What other classes did they offer that were interesting but you didn't have time for?

What is "gold" cruising? What kind of perks do you get now that you are most likely an elite level CruiseDisneyer?

Sorry that the wind cancelled all of the excursions, surprising even the jetskis can't run.....more waves equals more fun. Were there any interesting excursions?

Sorry about the sunburn. The strength of the sun in the islands can really sneak up on you.

Sorry about the fireworks show and not being able to see the show. You actually ended up with some interesting photos from there.

Love that chandelier. It is so cool. I can see why you took so many pics, but it definitely shines brightest when lit up instead of dark.

Did you use the pool and is that a waterslide on the ship? Or at least grab a pool lounger. On my one cruise we had small flags at our chairs that we could raise and someone would magically appear to bring us whatever we wanted. Might have missed that part of your TR, but curious how Disney does it.

Major props to both of you for exercising every day. More willpower than me.

Looked like you sampled quite a few adult beverages. Most looked tasty, but not sure about the mojito even with mango added. Might have to try.
Does Disney add up all of the extras (fine dining, alcohol, etc) and you get a big bill before departing? Hope the charges were reasonable.

Speaking of drinking, what was the best "drink of the day" that Disney offered?

Great idea of stocking up on gift cards.....were these Disney specific or just regular cards. Pure Genius, love it. Need to do that for our Triple Disney (Star Wars, Cruise, W & D) trips in 2018.
Hopefully.

You should get commissions from Disney for all of the people that probably sign up for RunDisney events and cruises after reading your TR.

 

[Ariel484]

Ariel, another 4 star trip report (out of 4 of course).
So much info, thank you for sharing.

Thank you, and thanks for reading!

Sorry about the sunburn and that the 5k was somewhat "meh". Had hoped to do that one after Dopey this year but kiddies had to get back to school.
Hopefully RunDisney will find a way to spice it up for future events.

Yeah, now that I am a little more removed from the 5K I don't feel so strongly about it anymore like I did back then. I guess I can't complain TOO much since it was free!

The ship looks beautiful. So many great photos that you took. Here come the questions.

The ship IS beautiful! Pictures do not do her justice!

Laughed at your tripod story. Been there. Do you have the full size one that stands on the floor? Some of those can be quite cumbersome. I have a mini-tri which is great to set up on a table, chair, etc, and small enough that it's not quite the albatross that a full size might be. Wish Will would have rounded up those hecklers for you.....

Yep, this is the tripod that I have: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ANK9ZA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It folds up decently small, but still sort of a pain to lug around. But I'll be bringing it on the Fantasy in July...

Will was disappointed that I wouldn't let him go after the hecklers.

The mixology class looked awesome. Where do I sign up? What a great way to learn. Wish they weren't changing it, yours looked great, but I'm sure Disney will make magical.

It was! So much fun! We signed up at Guest Services...Deck 3 in the atrium.

The character drawing class looked fun too, did you like that better than the one at WDW?

No, I like the WDW one better. I think the WDW one has people that are trained animators, where DCL didn't really have that. It was still fun though!

What other classes did they offer that were interesting but you didn't have time for?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I know they had towel animal folding, and on longer itineraries I know they have cooking demos and things like that. I'm hoping to pay better attention to what classes and tours are offered on future cruises, for sure.

What is "gold" cruising? What kind of perks do you get now that you are most likely an elite level CruiseDisneyer?

Right now I'm a Silver-level cruiser, which basically means I can check in online and book tours and things 2 weeks before brand new cruisers. You become Silver level after completing 1 cruise. DCL has been giving Castaway Club members lanyards at check-in and staterooms gifts, which is nice.

After completing 5 cruises you become a Gold member. The brings more perks - you can check in online and book things even earlier, you get a merchandise discount, a special reception on the ship, etc.

After completing 10 cruises you're Platinum. Earliest chance to book (except concierge I think) and you get priority check-in, an addition gift from DCL, free meal at Palo, etc.

More info: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/castawayclub.htm

Sorry that the wind cancelled all of the excursions, surprising even the jetskis can't run.....more waves equals more fun. Were there any interesting excursions?

I didn't look at any on Castaway Cay - I knew the island itself would keep us happy enough. I keep thinking about trying para sailing, but it's pretty expensive and you're only actually in the air for 5-7 minutes, so I always talk myself out of it.

Sorry about the sunburn. The strength of the sun in the islands can really sneak up on you.

Yes, especially for those of us that live in Ohio!!

Sorry about the fireworks show and not being able to see the show. You actually ended up with some interesting photos from there.

Yeah, it was okay. Definitely less crowded back there, which was nice. We could still SEE the fireworks, so that was good!

Love that chandelier. It is so cool. I can see why you took so many pics, but it definitely shines brightest when lit up instead of dark.

The chandelier is beautiful. Another thing that I feel like doesn't come across in pictures - in person it's pretty spectacular.

Did you use the pool and is that a waterslide on the ship? Or at least grab a pool lounger. On my one cruise we had small flags at our chairs that we could raise and someone would magically appear to bring us whatever we wanted. Might have missed that part of your TR, but curious how Disney does it.

We didn't use any of the pools at all! Now that I think about it, I don't think we hung out on the deck loungers either - on the list for next time! We also didn't try the yellow slide...on the Dream I think it's for kids only. We did ride the AquaDuck though!

Major props to both of you for exercising every day. More willpower than me.

Thakns! I'm good about getting the exercise in on cruises, for whatever reason. Not so much at WDW. Maybe it's the guilt from all of that cruise good!

Looked like you sampled quite a few adult beverages. Most looked tasty, but not sure about the mojito even with mango added. Might have to try.
Does Disney add up all of the extras (fine dining, alcohol, etc) and you get a big bill before departing? Hope the charges were reasonable.

Will loves mojitos now after the cruise! I can't say I'm a fan.

Yes, we got a BIG bill at the end. Onboard credits and giftcards took care of a good chunk but it was still alarming.

Speaking of drinking, what was the best "drink of the day" that Disney offered?

Hmm...I think the Bahama Mama, the first one, was my favorite. The Yellow Bird was good too!

Great idea of stocking up on gift cards.....were these Disney specific or just regular cards. Pure Genius, love it. Need to do that for our Triple Disney (Star Wars, Cruise, W & D) trips in 2018.
Hopefully.

Disney gift cards. I'm not sure if they take regular gift cards, but that's something to keep in mine!

You should get commissions from Disney for all of the people that probably sign up for RunDisney events and cruises after reading your TR.

I would be more than okay with that!!

 

[kaorin]

Thank you for a very nice reports.