arcticdisneylovers
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2009
- Messages
- 1,791
Well were just back from our vacation which included a cruise on the Dream from Feb 5 -9. We had a great time. This was our first cruise ever so I thought I would write a review. Thanks for all your help in planning our cruise it was a big help!
Disney Cruise Line Bus Service
We were very disappointed that we did not get to sit together. When we were asked to board, the bus was already full from other resorts. So we had to sit separately. There were only 6 seats left so DH and I sat near the back, my sister and her son sat near the middle and our DD sat with her cousin near the front. There was no place for carry on except beneath the seat in front of us (which wouldnt fit our bags) so we had stuff on our laps and we found the seats small and uncomfortable. Never again, I would definitely hire a car service. But the good news is that is where my complaints end!
Boarding
We didnt get there until a little after 1:30pm. After a near miss with another passenger mistakenly grabbing one of our carry-ons that had been under the bus. Luckily I saw him in time to prevent a mix-up. We had a 5 minute wait to go through security screening and then enjoyed an uncrowded terminal. We only had to wait 5-10 minutes to check in and by then it was open boarding. There was a huge line for the kids club but we had already registered the kids online and thanks to DIS I knew we could pick up the bracelets at the club! So we walked right on the ship! Had our boarding picture taken, no line and went straight to our rooms to drop off our carry on. We were starving so we went to Cabanas and had a terrific lunch. There were lots of tables and no lines, it was great! Then we stopped by the kids club to pick up the kids bracelets. There was no line at all so it only took a couple of minutes. Then we looked around the club and let the kids explore a bit.
Sail Away Party
We went up to Deck 11 around 20 minutes early and hardly anyone was around. A CM gave us all streamers. Because of DIS I knew there was a character show so I asked the kids if they wanted to sit in chairs somewhere near the railing or stand by the roped off area to see the show. They wanted to see the show. So we were the first people standing near the ropes. They had a great view. Once all the characters made an appearance and things were winding down we went back to our rooms to see if our luggage had arrived.
Luggage
All our luggage arrived before dinner so we were able to change and unpack.
Stateroom
We were super impressed with our stateroom. We couldnt believe how big it was
We had a Dx Family Stateroom with Veranda. There was tons of storage space, more than our room at the Contemporary. I loved that we could put all our luggage under the bed. I just unpacked what I thought we would need and left the rest in the suitcases. The room was super clean and our host was very friendly. There were terrific towel animals left on the bed every night and they were different than the ones he left in m sisters room a few doors down. So the kids got to see double the towel animals, they loved it! The veranda was great and we did use it a often as we could. But our neighbors on both sides were smokers so we usually had to leave because of the smoke! That was a bit of a bummer!
Room Service
We never ordered once. I thought we would but we just didnt seem to have time or need!
Kids Club
The kids enjoyed it but only went twice; once to the Toy Story Boot Camp and once to Super Sloppy Science Experiments (just the girls 7 & 10). There just wasnt enough time to fit it in! Plus DD and her cousins hadnt seen each other in 2 years and seemed most interested in just playing with toys in the rooms. If we hadnt been traveling with my sisters kids Im sure DD would have spent a little more time at the kids clubs. I did make note of the Open House time for families and it seemed like there was 2-3 hours a day split up so it was 1 hour in the am, 1 hour in the afternoon and 1 hour in evening. I saved my Navigators so I could provide more details about the times if anyone is interested.
Pools & Fun
DH and DD only got to go on the Aqua duck the first night (no line) after supper. The lines were understandable long on our at sea day so they only got to go once or twice. But DD liked it. The pools were tiny but we were prepared for that. There were tons of chairs available, the ones right in front of the pool were taken but besides that there were plenty.
Adult Pool
We got the chance to enjoy the adult area 3 times. They were short visits but we enjoyed them. Twice while the kids were at the club and once my sister and I went while DH watched the kids. It was great, not packed and noisy like the family area. Very small pool and hot tubs but they werent crowded at all and there was plenty of seating when we went.
Spa Services
DH and I had a couples massage booked for 9pm on our Nassau day and we were really looking forward to it. Luckily that afternoon they called and said we could go at 8pm if we liked so we took the earlier time slot. It was awesome and they have lovely change rooms. I would recommend bringing your own comb, make-up etc. to shower afterwards because of the oil though. The only thing is there was a male and female masseuse. We werent prepared for that, wed had only ever had female ones before. Well we havent had a massage in years since we live in the arctic and our experience is limited. I guess we are a bit prudish because DH was not comfortable with having a man touch him and I certainly didnt want him touching me. So they let us decide who went to who so I made DH take the guy. But I was uncomfortable even having a massage with a man in the room. But they did a terrific job and were very professional. But next time when I book it, Ill ask if its possible to have 2 females. I know its silly, you dont need to tell me!
I just wanted to warn the other prudes out there.
Evening Shows
We went to all of the shows and the kids loved them. DH and I missed the Golden Mickeys because of our massage but my sister took the kids and they liked it. Because of where we live our DD doesnt have the opportunity to see live theatre so she is easily impressed. My sisters kids live in Omaha and go to the theatre all the time and they seem to enjoy it too!
Characters
There were tons of formal Meet and Greets. We only took part before dinner on Pirate Night because the kids had just seen all the characters during our week at Disney (we do at least one character meal a day) while at the parks. But we did see Mickey unexpectedly on our at sea day. We were taking the kids up to Deck 13 to play Goofy Golf in the morning and we caught Mickey relaxing in lounge chair on Deck 12. That was neat and the kids loved it.
Food
To be honest we were very disappointed with the food in the dining room and I dont think our standards are very high! The food was barely edible in our opinion. The selection wasnt great, and the portions were tiny and it reminded me of meals you would receive as conference food. The servers were nice but the assistant was new and very slow. We usually had our appetizers before our drinks and forget about refills. We just laughed about it. But if we hadnt been with my sister we probably would have just skipped the dining rooms all together after the first night. I would say the pirate menu was the best as we had the short ribs. The first night we left without dessert (Animators Palette), we waited forever and the servers were nowhere to be found so we gave up and just left. We never saw the Head Servers that first night, the whole dining staff seemed over whelmed. The food was terrible, the adults had the beef dish and it was very raw and cold. None of us touched it. But they never came back to ask us so after the kids were done eating, we left. That being said the kids actually enjoyed their meals, they had fruit to start and pizza each night! I let DD order the pizza every night because she was willing to eat it and thats what her cousins ordered. But it wasnt a whole little pizza like at Disney restaurants, it was 2 tiny slices from a personal size pizza. Actually we thought the dining room food was nowhere near as good as WDW restaurants and much slower.
But the kids loved the pizza every day from the counter service. DH thought it was nasty but the kids liked it! We had hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers from the counter service a few times and enjoyed them. My sister got a sandwich and salad from the other counter service and liked it too. We enjoyed the Cabanas breakfasts as the food was hot, fresh and there was lots of choice. The servers were terrific. During our breakfast on our at sea day one of the servers came over and was showing the kids a magic trick and then another one came over and gave DD a blue bird folded from a napkin. They were very kind to the kids. They did a terrific job keeping the tables cleared. You would never go hungry on the ship thats for sure! But I wont rush back to the dining rooms.
Dolphin Blue Lagoon Excursion
This was absolutely the highlight of the cruise for us. We all loved it and it was worth every penny! The trainers were super nice and I would recommend this excursion for the whole family. We got right in the water and were able to touch, dance, hug, kiss and get pushed across the water by the dolphins. There was even a baby dolphin in there but we didnt touch it but it came really close. We bought the video and Im sure we will watch It over and over. There were 9 in our group and 6 of them were our family so that was nice too. It was almost like a private family visit. We didnt feel rushed at all. But at the end of the dolphin push you have to climb a very long slippery ladder to the top of a wooden walk way which does NOT have railings. I was terrified because I dont like heights. Next time I think I would skip that part just so I dont want to climb the slippery ladder and take the death defying walk back to the group! The change room was kind of nasty but the kids loved the gift shop. We didnt explore, we just got back on the boat to take us back to the ship afterwards because there was one waiting. Actually the boat waited for us so we were very thankful we didnt have to wait an hour for the next one. There were only a few people on it so they didnt mind waiting I guess.
The only warning I have is that they dont except your room card so the ship personnel told everyone to take a credit card. I used mine to pay for the pictures, video and souvenirs. It was the only time in 2 weeks that I used my credit card except to pay for the Contemporary room and the Stateroom charges. I then found out the day we were flying home that my credit card number had been stolen and used a couple of days after I used it on the Dolphin Excursion. That was the only place I used it. We dont know for sure that the number was stolen there but that what we suspect.
But even given that bummer we would still do that Dolphin Swim again and I would highly recommend it! It really made the whole cruise worth it for us!
Castaway Cay
We actually loved our beach day. We left the ship around 9:30am, there was no line to get off. It was just a short stroll to the tram. Of course my sister forgot her kids swim masks so she went back to get them and we waited. But we took pictures and it didnt take her long. So just as we walked up, the tram arrived. It was just short little ride to the second stop (Pelican Plunge). So we staked out some chairs and DH took the kids out to Pelican Plunge. The kids all had to wear life jackets as it was over their heads. They enjoyed it but didnt spend as much time as I thought they would. You have to swim out, and it was a bit far for little ones. They loved playing on the beach, we brought some sand toys with us but my sister insisted on buying a bag of sand toys from the little shop by the beach for $20, (we just gave our sand toys to other kids when we headed back to the boat, they were from the Dollar store so we didnt want to bother taking them home). I read most of the day which was awesome but DH rented snorkel equipment and went for a couple of hours and loved it! I went in the water a couple times to cool off and that was enough for me. The washrooms were really close so it was convenient. The kids rented tubes and had a great time in the water with DH. We thought the food was better than on the ship and we had a great lunch. The food was so close and no line at all! It was barbecue and it was hot and fresh with lots of choice. Staff were great there too! It was a beautiful day and we used tons of sunscreen. I was scared DD would get burnt but she didnt. I kept trying to get her to wear her hat because were not used to that hot weather. We bought a soft sided cooler with 6 bottles of water and ice from a waiter and it was great, I cant remember how much it cost though, but it was very expensive! But I wanted to make sure we stayed hydrated, I didnt want anyone to get sick. My sister bought one as did all the groups around us. I guess they knew we werent going to be drinkers because we didnt see a waiter the rest of the day. DH suggested that for the next cruise we take a longer one with more days at Castaway Cay. We tried to book a cabana months ago but no luck. Wed love to do that but with such stiff competition for the few available I guess that may never happen. It wasnt as crowded as I thought it would be but late comers did drag chairs from the back closer to the water but I didnt care. Our kids are a bit older so I didnt feel the need to be super close as long as I could see them. We went back to the ship around 3pm, that was plenty of beach time for me, though the kids would have stayed till they dragged us back.
Sea Sick?
None of our group of 6 took anything (I brought stuff in case) and none of us got sick at all. But I could really notice the movement of ship especially the first night and last night. I didnt like it, I didnt feel sick but I could feel the movement. Our room was in the middle of the ship. But even walking around the ship I felt unbalanced.
Disembarking
It was inhuman to make us have breakfast at 6:45am on our disembarking day. Yikes! But we were there and lined up to leave as soon as finished. The line was just passing the staircase when we joined. We only wait 5 minutes when they opened the doors. It couldnt have been simpler. They scanned our room keys, we walked down and an older man with a trolley (there was a huge line of guys) asked if we needed help with our bags and we said yes (definitely recommend). We told him our room number and we followed him to our luggage. He loaded it up, took our passports and declaration form. He said follow me and we did, there was no line we just breezed right up to a customs officer, the trolley man said Canadians the Customs officer said How much longer are you staying in the US? I said 8 days and she said Have a nice day. The trolley man took us to the Hertz shuttle area and the shuttle arrived as we were walking up. It happened so fast we didnt get to say goodbye to my sister so we ran over and gave our hugs and kisses as she was arriving at the Magical Express bus to the airport. Then the shuttle driver announced that we were the only ones he was meeting so we went straight to the rental office. Couldnt have been any easier! We were shocked it was so easy! We arrive at the Kennedy Space Centre at 8:15am so we had to wait till it opened at 9am. DH always Mapquests everything so it was simple to find too!
Too short!
We enjoyed the cruise and loved going with family but I dont think it is something we will add to our vacation every year. We booked it for after our week at WDW thinking that we would be able to relax but that wasnt the case for us. DH especially felt like it was too short and we had no time to relax. We would definitely do a 7 day cruise next time. We thought we would be lounging around all day reading and relaxing. But there was so much to do we felt like to tried our best but still couldnt get it all done.
Disney Cruise Line Bus Service
We were very disappointed that we did not get to sit together. When we were asked to board, the bus was already full from other resorts. So we had to sit separately. There were only 6 seats left so DH and I sat near the back, my sister and her son sat near the middle and our DD sat with her cousin near the front. There was no place for carry on except beneath the seat in front of us (which wouldnt fit our bags) so we had stuff on our laps and we found the seats small and uncomfortable. Never again, I would definitely hire a car service. But the good news is that is where my complaints end!
Boarding
We didnt get there until a little after 1:30pm. After a near miss with another passenger mistakenly grabbing one of our carry-ons that had been under the bus. Luckily I saw him in time to prevent a mix-up. We had a 5 minute wait to go through security screening and then enjoyed an uncrowded terminal. We only had to wait 5-10 minutes to check in and by then it was open boarding. There was a huge line for the kids club but we had already registered the kids online and thanks to DIS I knew we could pick up the bracelets at the club! So we walked right on the ship! Had our boarding picture taken, no line and went straight to our rooms to drop off our carry on. We were starving so we went to Cabanas and had a terrific lunch. There were lots of tables and no lines, it was great! Then we stopped by the kids club to pick up the kids bracelets. There was no line at all so it only took a couple of minutes. Then we looked around the club and let the kids explore a bit.
Sail Away Party
We went up to Deck 11 around 20 minutes early and hardly anyone was around. A CM gave us all streamers. Because of DIS I knew there was a character show so I asked the kids if they wanted to sit in chairs somewhere near the railing or stand by the roped off area to see the show. They wanted to see the show. So we were the first people standing near the ropes. They had a great view. Once all the characters made an appearance and things were winding down we went back to our rooms to see if our luggage had arrived.
Luggage
All our luggage arrived before dinner so we were able to change and unpack.
Stateroom
We were super impressed with our stateroom. We couldnt believe how big it was
We had a Dx Family Stateroom with Veranda. There was tons of storage space, more than our room at the Contemporary. I loved that we could put all our luggage under the bed. I just unpacked what I thought we would need and left the rest in the suitcases. The room was super clean and our host was very friendly. There were terrific towel animals left on the bed every night and they were different than the ones he left in m sisters room a few doors down. So the kids got to see double the towel animals, they loved it! The veranda was great and we did use it a often as we could. But our neighbors on both sides were smokers so we usually had to leave because of the smoke! That was a bit of a bummer!Room Service
We never ordered once. I thought we would but we just didnt seem to have time or need!
Kids Club
The kids enjoyed it but only went twice; once to the Toy Story Boot Camp and once to Super Sloppy Science Experiments (just the girls 7 & 10). There just wasnt enough time to fit it in! Plus DD and her cousins hadnt seen each other in 2 years and seemed most interested in just playing with toys in the rooms. If we hadnt been traveling with my sisters kids Im sure DD would have spent a little more time at the kids clubs. I did make note of the Open House time for families and it seemed like there was 2-3 hours a day split up so it was 1 hour in the am, 1 hour in the afternoon and 1 hour in evening. I saved my Navigators so I could provide more details about the times if anyone is interested.
Pools & Fun
DH and DD only got to go on the Aqua duck the first night (no line) after supper. The lines were understandable long on our at sea day so they only got to go once or twice. But DD liked it. The pools were tiny but we were prepared for that. There were tons of chairs available, the ones right in front of the pool were taken but besides that there were plenty.
Adult Pool
We got the chance to enjoy the adult area 3 times. They were short visits but we enjoyed them. Twice while the kids were at the club and once my sister and I went while DH watched the kids. It was great, not packed and noisy like the family area. Very small pool and hot tubs but they werent crowded at all and there was plenty of seating when we went.
Spa Services
DH and I had a couples massage booked for 9pm on our Nassau day and we were really looking forward to it. Luckily that afternoon they called and said we could go at 8pm if we liked so we took the earlier time slot. It was awesome and they have lovely change rooms. I would recommend bringing your own comb, make-up etc. to shower afterwards because of the oil though. The only thing is there was a male and female masseuse. We werent prepared for that, wed had only ever had female ones before. Well we havent had a massage in years since we live in the arctic and our experience is limited. I guess we are a bit prudish because DH was not comfortable with having a man touch him and I certainly didnt want him touching me. So they let us decide who went to who so I made DH take the guy. But I was uncomfortable even having a massage with a man in the room. But they did a terrific job and were very professional. But next time when I book it, Ill ask if its possible to have 2 females. I know its silly, you dont need to tell me!
I just wanted to warn the other prudes out there.Evening Shows
We went to all of the shows and the kids loved them. DH and I missed the Golden Mickeys because of our massage but my sister took the kids and they liked it. Because of where we live our DD doesnt have the opportunity to see live theatre so she is easily impressed. My sisters kids live in Omaha and go to the theatre all the time and they seem to enjoy it too!
Characters
There were tons of formal Meet and Greets. We only took part before dinner on Pirate Night because the kids had just seen all the characters during our week at Disney (we do at least one character meal a day) while at the parks. But we did see Mickey unexpectedly on our at sea day. We were taking the kids up to Deck 13 to play Goofy Golf in the morning and we caught Mickey relaxing in lounge chair on Deck 12. That was neat and the kids loved it.
Food
To be honest we were very disappointed with the food in the dining room and I dont think our standards are very high! The food was barely edible in our opinion. The selection wasnt great, and the portions were tiny and it reminded me of meals you would receive as conference food. The servers were nice but the assistant was new and very slow. We usually had our appetizers before our drinks and forget about refills. We just laughed about it. But if we hadnt been with my sister we probably would have just skipped the dining rooms all together after the first night. I would say the pirate menu was the best as we had the short ribs. The first night we left without dessert (Animators Palette), we waited forever and the servers were nowhere to be found so we gave up and just left. We never saw the Head Servers that first night, the whole dining staff seemed over whelmed. The food was terrible, the adults had the beef dish and it was very raw and cold. None of us touched it. But they never came back to ask us so after the kids were done eating, we left. That being said the kids actually enjoyed their meals, they had fruit to start and pizza each night! I let DD order the pizza every night because she was willing to eat it and thats what her cousins ordered. But it wasnt a whole little pizza like at Disney restaurants, it was 2 tiny slices from a personal size pizza. Actually we thought the dining room food was nowhere near as good as WDW restaurants and much slower.
But the kids loved the pizza every day from the counter service. DH thought it was nasty but the kids liked it! We had hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers from the counter service a few times and enjoyed them. My sister got a sandwich and salad from the other counter service and liked it too. We enjoyed the Cabanas breakfasts as the food was hot, fresh and there was lots of choice. The servers were terrific. During our breakfast on our at sea day one of the servers came over and was showing the kids a magic trick and then another one came over and gave DD a blue bird folded from a napkin. They were very kind to the kids. They did a terrific job keeping the tables cleared. You would never go hungry on the ship thats for sure! But I wont rush back to the dining rooms.
Dolphin Blue Lagoon Excursion
This was absolutely the highlight of the cruise for us. We all loved it and it was worth every penny! The trainers were super nice and I would recommend this excursion for the whole family. We got right in the water and were able to touch, dance, hug, kiss and get pushed across the water by the dolphins. There was even a baby dolphin in there but we didnt touch it but it came really close. We bought the video and Im sure we will watch It over and over. There were 9 in our group and 6 of them were our family so that was nice too. It was almost like a private family visit. We didnt feel rushed at all. But at the end of the dolphin push you have to climb a very long slippery ladder to the top of a wooden walk way which does NOT have railings. I was terrified because I dont like heights. Next time I think I would skip that part just so I dont want to climb the slippery ladder and take the death defying walk back to the group! The change room was kind of nasty but the kids loved the gift shop. We didnt explore, we just got back on the boat to take us back to the ship afterwards because there was one waiting. Actually the boat waited for us so we were very thankful we didnt have to wait an hour for the next one. There were only a few people on it so they didnt mind waiting I guess.
The only warning I have is that they dont except your room card so the ship personnel told everyone to take a credit card. I used mine to pay for the pictures, video and souvenirs. It was the only time in 2 weeks that I used my credit card except to pay for the Contemporary room and the Stateroom charges. I then found out the day we were flying home that my credit card number had been stolen and used a couple of days after I used it on the Dolphin Excursion. That was the only place I used it. We dont know for sure that the number was stolen there but that what we suspect.
But even given that bummer we would still do that Dolphin Swim again and I would highly recommend it! It really made the whole cruise worth it for us!
Castaway Cay
We actually loved our beach day. We left the ship around 9:30am, there was no line to get off. It was just a short stroll to the tram. Of course my sister forgot her kids swim masks so she went back to get them and we waited. But we took pictures and it didnt take her long. So just as we walked up, the tram arrived. It was just short little ride to the second stop (Pelican Plunge). So we staked out some chairs and DH took the kids out to Pelican Plunge. The kids all had to wear life jackets as it was over their heads. They enjoyed it but didnt spend as much time as I thought they would. You have to swim out, and it was a bit far for little ones. They loved playing on the beach, we brought some sand toys with us but my sister insisted on buying a bag of sand toys from the little shop by the beach for $20, (we just gave our sand toys to other kids when we headed back to the boat, they were from the Dollar store so we didnt want to bother taking them home). I read most of the day which was awesome but DH rented snorkel equipment and went for a couple of hours and loved it! I went in the water a couple times to cool off and that was enough for me. The washrooms were really close so it was convenient. The kids rented tubes and had a great time in the water with DH. We thought the food was better than on the ship and we had a great lunch. The food was so close and no line at all! It was barbecue and it was hot and fresh with lots of choice. Staff were great there too! It was a beautiful day and we used tons of sunscreen. I was scared DD would get burnt but she didnt. I kept trying to get her to wear her hat because were not used to that hot weather. We bought a soft sided cooler with 6 bottles of water and ice from a waiter and it was great, I cant remember how much it cost though, but it was very expensive! But I wanted to make sure we stayed hydrated, I didnt want anyone to get sick. My sister bought one as did all the groups around us. I guess they knew we werent going to be drinkers because we didnt see a waiter the rest of the day. DH suggested that for the next cruise we take a longer one with more days at Castaway Cay. We tried to book a cabana months ago but no luck. Wed love to do that but with such stiff competition for the few available I guess that may never happen. It wasnt as crowded as I thought it would be but late comers did drag chairs from the back closer to the water but I didnt care. Our kids are a bit older so I didnt feel the need to be super close as long as I could see them. We went back to the ship around 3pm, that was plenty of beach time for me, though the kids would have stayed till they dragged us back.
Sea Sick?
None of our group of 6 took anything (I brought stuff in case) and none of us got sick at all. But I could really notice the movement of ship especially the first night and last night. I didnt like it, I didnt feel sick but I could feel the movement. Our room was in the middle of the ship. But even walking around the ship I felt unbalanced.
Disembarking
It was inhuman to make us have breakfast at 6:45am on our disembarking day. Yikes! But we were there and lined up to leave as soon as finished. The line was just passing the staircase when we joined. We only wait 5 minutes when they opened the doors. It couldnt have been simpler. They scanned our room keys, we walked down and an older man with a trolley (there was a huge line of guys) asked if we needed help with our bags and we said yes (definitely recommend). We told him our room number and we followed him to our luggage. He loaded it up, took our passports and declaration form. He said follow me and we did, there was no line we just breezed right up to a customs officer, the trolley man said Canadians the Customs officer said How much longer are you staying in the US? I said 8 days and she said Have a nice day. The trolley man took us to the Hertz shuttle area and the shuttle arrived as we were walking up. It happened so fast we didnt get to say goodbye to my sister so we ran over and gave our hugs and kisses as she was arriving at the Magical Express bus to the airport. Then the shuttle driver announced that we were the only ones he was meeting so we went straight to the rental office. Couldnt have been any easier! We were shocked it was so easy! We arrive at the Kennedy Space Centre at 8:15am so we had to wait till it opened at 9am. DH always Mapquests everything so it was simple to find too!
Too short!
We enjoyed the cruise and loved going with family but I dont think it is something we will add to our vacation every year. We booked it for after our week at WDW thinking that we would be able to relax but that wasnt the case for us. DH especially felt like it was too short and we had no time to relax. We would definitely do a 7 day cruise next time. We thought we would be lounging around all day reading and relaxing. But there was so much to do we felt like to tried our best but still couldnt get it all done.
