kathi
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2005
- Messages
- 2,013
Just off the Dream yesterday (3 nights, just my husband and me, concierge family stateroom 12018). Short trip report below.
Travelers were my husband Brian (37) and me (Kathi, 45). We were celebrating both my birthday (the trip was a present from Brian) and our 11th wedding anniversary.
DAY 1Embarkation
We stayed at the MCO Hyatt the night before, which was very convenient. We went to the Disney Desk at 8:30 am and got our pass for the bus. We were told we couldnt check in because we were concierge and had to do so at the Port. The concierge people at the Port said that wasnt true but it didnt matter it was easy. We were on the first bus out of the airport (around 10:00 and arrived at the Port around 11:00). We walked right through security and into the terminal, were checked in and waiting in the concierge waiting area by 11:15. We were the first to arrive in the waiting area and it soon began filling. I know that Disney has said you cannot board with concierge or Platinum members if you are not one, but they did not stick to that rule during our cruise. A very large party came in the lounge who were fairly unruly. Based on the key cards I could see, only 2 were platinum and none concierge. It definitely marred the experience of the private lounge. We were happy when a cast member came by at about 11:25 and said we could board the ship.
Since we wanted to eat lunch at Cabanas (that did not open until 12) we went to the concierge lounge area to book our dining and have a small snack and a drink. The lounge is very nice and the concierge hosts (Melanie, Julia and Thomas) were great. Super friendly and very helpful the entire cruise. Whatever may have been off with concierge in the past on the Dream has certainly been fixed. We thought the concierge service was excellent.
Lunch in Cabanas was good. Decent quality buffet food with enough selection that everyone should be able to find something to keep them happy. We are foodies and prefer cooked to order food but were very happy with the quality, presentation and cleanliness of the buffet and the restaurant. It was starting to fill up by 12:30 and we headed off to check out our room (which was ready).
Cabin 12018 family ocean view concierge, port side. We were very pleased with our stateroom. Tasteful décor, super comfy beds, a hair dryer that actually worked well, quiet location and convenient to the concierge lounge. The only thing we would have like is an outlet in the bathroom. My husband uses an electric shaver that needed to be charged, and its nasty to shave in the living area. We also like to put a nightlight in the bathroom and couldnt do so. Not a huge deal. Cabin steward Jose was very efficient. Not super chatty, but thats fine. He knew we were celebrating our anniversary and maybe just wanted to give us privacy. Our room was very clean, he was always pleasant and handled any requests we had with ease.
We spent the afternoon exploring the ship until the safety drill. After the drill we explored some more and then went to the Rainforest Room at the spa around 5:30. It is different than on the Magic and Dream but very nice. Much bigger: a sauna, heavy steam room and Turkish bath (light steam), 4 fancy showers, heated loungers with reading lights (about 10 of them) and 2 hot tubs that overlook the ocean. The sauna also has a big window. Cold water with cucumber or lemon is set out on a counter in the room to help yourself. We paid $75 for unlimited access for 2 people for the duration of the cruise. A good deal if you like that sort of thing. They have fancy sugar and salt scrubs that you can buy for $9 that you can use in the Turkish bath. I purchased the chocolate mint sugar scrub and it was wonderful.
After the spa we got ready for dinner and hung out in the concierge lounge for a while enjoying the appetizers and open bar. We chatted with some of the other guests and the concierge hosts. Everyone was very nice and the children in the lounge were very well behaved and even chatted with the adults, which was nice. I liked hearing about their experiences so far on the ship and what they were looking forward to. We left our 7 year old daughter home this cruise and were interested in hearing what other kids had to say for future cruises with our daughter.
We had dinner at Palo at 8:15 and requested a server we met on the Wonder last August who had transferred to the Dream - Coskun from Turkey. It was great to see him again and we had a wonderful meal. We were stuffed and exhausted after dinner (and sent home with an entire pizza since Coskun didnt not want us to only take our 2 left over slices we ate it the next day and it was still delicious). We took a short stroll around the ship on the way back to our cabin and were asleep by 11. No noise from the deck above, comfy beds and a white noise machine on my iPhone allowed for a good nights sleep.
DAY 2 - NASSAU
We did not get off the ship in Nassau. This was our 8th Disney Cruise and we just wanted to relax on the ship. We had a light breakfast in the concierge lounge (pastry and fruit), drank a few mimosas in our room and then secured a spot at the pool at 9:45. I think the adult pool itself is very nice. Not really big enough to swim in, but room for people to sit and hang out in the water and keep cool. There is a deep part where you can get totally submerged and also an area that is round and maybe 3 feet deep with a bench all the way around. Great place to sit, have a drink and make some friends. The bar is directly adjacent to the pool and they have a full selection of beer, wine, cocktails and frozen drinks. There is a misting area with seats and stools next to the bar. The bartender was very nice and the drinks were tasty. The bar opens at 10 and the poolside service (versus walk up) maybe started an hour later.
Now for the not-so-good, and this is my only real complaint with the entire ship. There is NO WAY for people to get to/from the aft elevators without walking directly through the middle of the adult pool area (well, they could take a circuitous path past either the bar or the adult hot tub, which really isnt any better of an option). This is a problem. I spent 20 minutes counting the number of kids who walked within 6 inches of my lounge chair and it was over 40. It was not peaceful and it was not relaxing. The kids were exited and loud (and I totally understand why). I have a child. I realize the Disney ship is full of kids. I am not a child hater. BUT when Disney sells the cruise as having adult only areas including a pool, I DO NOT except a steady stream of kids by my chair or through the middle of the pool deck. This was bad planning and bad design and I dont see any way they can fix it. And it makes me angry. Disney paid a lot of money for a super nice ship and I paid a lot of money to be on it. How in the world did this get overlooked? And its not the fault of the parents/kids cutting through. They just dont have any other options except to turn around and go up or down a deck, which is not convenient for them once they already started on their way.
Anyway we stayed at the pool for a couple of hours and then went up to Cabanas for a late lunch (about 1:30). Again, nice selection, very clean and great service. We only ate a light meal since we were bound for Remys at 7:30. After lunch we explored the ship some more and then went to the Rainforest Room to relax. Not so much with the relaxing on to complaint No. 2, which wasnt Disneys fault. The Rainforest room is in the SPA where people go to RELAX, right? A place where you would think manners would be exercised in abundance. Not so much, Im afraid. First the place was a MESS. Dirty towels and robes all over the place on benches and loungers. Another couple walked in at the same time we did and we were just staring at the wreckage. One of them went off to try to find someone from the spa to clean up, when that didnt work, we just collected up all the wet towels and robes and put them in the appropriate bins. Then we all sat down on the loungers. A little while later I was in the steam room and my husband said a couple walked up and started complaining because they had reserved 2 loungers and the towels were gone. WHAT? There are only 10 loungers in there and the place was packed. You cant reserve a heated lounger in the spa and just walk away. My husband didnt say anything (probably good I was in the steam room). A little while later, I was back on the lounger and a group of 3 people came in speaking REALLY LOUDLY. I thought they would quiet down once they saw the place, but NO, they all got in the hot tub together (really only a 2 person hot tub) and proceeded to behave like they were in a pub. I finally got up and politely asked if they could lower their voices as it was a place of relaxation. Instead of apologizing, one of the men got stinky with me and asked if I could hear him OK. They did quiet down but I was so angry at that point, we packed up and left. NOT RELAXING NOT MY FAULT.
Dinner at Remys was AMAZING. Great service (Mathilde and Alex) with creative and delicious food. I am a vegetarian who eats a little shellfish. Mathilde helped me select my courses and my husband went with more traditional, meaty fare. We had a sampler of every cheese on the trolley, enjoyed several glasses of wine selected for us by Alex and were overwhelmed with beautiful desserts. Dinner took about 3 hours and we were finishing up right at 10:30. Alex led us out to the Starboard deck of Meridian and we watched the fireworks. It was a great night! I would recommend Remys to anyone who enjoys fine dining and excellent service. It is expensive and definitely not for everyone but we felt it was one of the highlights of our cruise.
DAY 3 CASTAWAY CAY
After the big French dinner, Brian was eager to go to the gym in the morning. I was eager not to exercise on my vacation, so I went to Cabanas to check out the offerings and bring back a little something for Brian to eat after working out. Lots to choose from and I wish I had walked to the back to see if there was an omelet station, but I totally forgot. The scrambled eggs were not good (and Im generally a fan of fake eggs on buffets but these were wet and weird). The breakfast potatoes were delicious and the fruit selection was nice. Brian had bagel, cream cheese and lox and said it was very good.
We were off the ship by 10 and took the Tram to Serenity Bay. We found 2 loungers with an umbrella about 1/3 of the way down the beach. I drug a chair out to the water and sat to read my Kindle and Brian read in the shade. It was peaceful and lovely .for a while. The beach was very crowded by noon time but everyone seemed to be able to find a location. I did feel bad that one family with a person in a wheelchair was going far down the beach to look for a spot to sit. It seemed like they should have reserved seating near the beginning of the beach for people less able to get around. I meant to ask a cast member about that but forgot until just now (will send an email tonight).
Shortly before lunch, seemingly out of nowhere, a large group of people out in the water decided they could not live without LOUDLY cheering, shouting and singing (what I assume must have been sports cheers maybe? It was not in English). It was SO HORRIBLY disruptive. And it went on and on. It was just awful. We later talked to a couple on their honeymoon who had reserved a cabana. They were really unhappy about all the ruckus directly across from them when they were trying to enjoy a romantic afternoon in paradise. Its called SERENITY BAY people not SPRING BREAK in MIAMI.
We decided to go to get some lunch to escape the insanity on the beach. Luch was wonderful, as always. There was a great selection of salads, sauces and garnishes along with grilled meats. I had grilled fish with a spicy salsa and it was excellent. We actually hadnt been hungry in at least 24 hours, but somehow we managed to try a little of just about everything. Lunch at Serenity Bay is always a highlight of a Disney Cruise for me.
We went back to our chairs to find that a group of folks had set up in the water near us. They were behaving immaturely and being unnecessarily loud and silly (showing off vs. just having a good time) but compared to the singing fools, it wasnt so bad .until one guy started to harass a young woman sitting next to us. She was attractive and in her 20s and clearly minding her own business reading a book and lying in the sun. She had been there the entire day. This guy started shouting to her to come join our beach party (dude you are just standing in the water what party?). He was asking her if she was married, if she wanted to go out later, etc. She CLEARLY didnt want to talk to him and he didnt let up. I was just about to get up and give him a piece of my mind (being the middle-aged married sea hag that I am) when the young woman packed up and left. Why in the world was that happening on a Disney Cruise? Did this guy think he was going to pick up women? He settled for telling inappropriate jokes REALLY loudly while sitting out in the water with his friends. He was obviously offending just about everyone within earshot. We decided it was time to head back to the ship.
We stopped at Pelican Point and walked the rest of the way back to enjoy some more of the lovely day and the beautiful Island. You could hardly see any residual signs of the hurricane; just a little brown foliage in a few spots. We stopped to buy some gifts for our daughter and friends and then walked the rest of the way back to the ship. We rode the Aqua Duck with only a 15 minute wait when we got back to the ship (around 3:30). It was fun and Im glad we took the time to do it.
After the Aqua Duck, we went to the Rainforest Room for an hour. It was really empty and very peaceful. I showered in the spa and Brian went back to the room to check out the early evening snacks in the concierge lounge. I wanted to catch the cast off show so made it back to the room shortly after 5 and had a glass of champagne from the lounge. My very favorite part of Castaway Cay day is waving to the cast members who stay on the Island. They line up their golf carts and put on puffy Mickey hands and wave and then bow. Its such a small thing, but I never miss it. We were up high and forward on Deck 12, but we still could see and wave. The ship played every horn music it had as we pulled away from the dock and I got a little choked up Im a sentimental Disney fool .
We then met up with another couple who was staying in concierge and had a drink in the lounge before dinner. They are from the UK and were on their honeymoon. Super nice people. We were very happy to get to know them a bit. They were going to Remy for dinner and we were going to Palo, so we agreed to meet in Meredian for a pre-dinner cocktail. Their company was completely enjoyable as was our dinner afterward. Coskun was ill that night so we were served by George from South Africa who had been on the ship a week. He was AWESOME, loved food and was super nice. After dinner we strolled around the ship for a while until it started to POUR. Then we walked once around Deck 4 and called it a night.
DEBARKATION
We were up around 7:15 and went to the concierge lounge to purchase some photos and thank our hosts. Our Castaway Cay photo was missing so we needed to go to Shutters. We were out of our room by 8:00, ate breakfast at Cabanas and purchased our photo in Shutters and were off the ship (with no line) by 8:45. The line for customs was only about 10 minutes then we boarded a bus for the airport. We had to wait almost a ½ hour for the bus to leave (which was perplexing) but our flight wasnt until 2:30, so there was plenty of time.
WRAP UP
The ship was beautiful. I was not sure I would like it since it is so big and although I still like the classic ships better, I think the Dream is an awesome ship overall. We found it a little hard to find our way around (much more difficult than the Wonder and Magic) but it was not impossible and there were always crew members to assist. We looked in almost all the public spaces (theaters, restaurants, lounges, etc.) and every single one was special and interesting and fun. There is just so much to do, 3 days cannot even begin to be enough time.
The Disney service and quality were exactly what I have come to expect and enjoy. They definitely delivered a wonderful vacation. The only place I felt the service was weak was the spa, and that is contracted out to a vendor. I mentioned to someone at the spa desk that the Rainforest Room and the changing rooms needed more frequent attention. Not sure they cared.
We did not really do many things that involved the general population of the ship. We did not go to the main dining rooms at all and did not see any shows. The only time the ship felt crowded to me was during the middle of the day on the family pool deck which we already knew and expected. The drink station was a mad house. Disney really needs to come up with a solution to the traffic pattern in the adult pool area.
The last night before Palo, I stopped by the main dining room to drop off tip envelopes for our servers. Even though we did not use the main dining rooms, they still deserved to be compensated. I was really irritated when I found the head server, gave him the envelopes and was badgered about giving an excellent rating. HELLO I just brought you a tip and you are bugging me to give you an excellent rating when I never received any service. It was obnoxious and I mentioned it on my comment card. Disney needs to somehow change their rewards structure so this does not happen. Its unprofessional, irritating and uncomfortable for the guests.
We definitely encountered some very rude, self-centered guests who didnt care about marring the experience for others. This is something I am used to in Disney World but not on the Disney cruise. I have read some comments on this board that the guests on the shorter cruises have been observed to be less polite, I dont have enough of a sampling to say for sure, but it was certainly our experience on this short cruise.
The next cruise for us will be the 7-night Western Caribbean on the Magic in November with our daughter and my parents. Cant wait!!
Travelers were my husband Brian (37) and me (Kathi, 45). We were celebrating both my birthday (the trip was a present from Brian) and our 11th wedding anniversary.
DAY 1Embarkation
We stayed at the MCO Hyatt the night before, which was very convenient. We went to the Disney Desk at 8:30 am and got our pass for the bus. We were told we couldnt check in because we were concierge and had to do so at the Port. The concierge people at the Port said that wasnt true but it didnt matter it was easy. We were on the first bus out of the airport (around 10:00 and arrived at the Port around 11:00). We walked right through security and into the terminal, were checked in and waiting in the concierge waiting area by 11:15. We were the first to arrive in the waiting area and it soon began filling. I know that Disney has said you cannot board with concierge or Platinum members if you are not one, but they did not stick to that rule during our cruise. A very large party came in the lounge who were fairly unruly. Based on the key cards I could see, only 2 were platinum and none concierge. It definitely marred the experience of the private lounge. We were happy when a cast member came by at about 11:25 and said we could board the ship.
Since we wanted to eat lunch at Cabanas (that did not open until 12) we went to the concierge lounge area to book our dining and have a small snack and a drink. The lounge is very nice and the concierge hosts (Melanie, Julia and Thomas) were great. Super friendly and very helpful the entire cruise. Whatever may have been off with concierge in the past on the Dream has certainly been fixed. We thought the concierge service was excellent.
Lunch in Cabanas was good. Decent quality buffet food with enough selection that everyone should be able to find something to keep them happy. We are foodies and prefer cooked to order food but were very happy with the quality, presentation and cleanliness of the buffet and the restaurant. It was starting to fill up by 12:30 and we headed off to check out our room (which was ready).
Cabin 12018 family ocean view concierge, port side. We were very pleased with our stateroom. Tasteful décor, super comfy beds, a hair dryer that actually worked well, quiet location and convenient to the concierge lounge. The only thing we would have like is an outlet in the bathroom. My husband uses an electric shaver that needed to be charged, and its nasty to shave in the living area. We also like to put a nightlight in the bathroom and couldnt do so. Not a huge deal. Cabin steward Jose was very efficient. Not super chatty, but thats fine. He knew we were celebrating our anniversary and maybe just wanted to give us privacy. Our room was very clean, he was always pleasant and handled any requests we had with ease.
We spent the afternoon exploring the ship until the safety drill. After the drill we explored some more and then went to the Rainforest Room at the spa around 5:30. It is different than on the Magic and Dream but very nice. Much bigger: a sauna, heavy steam room and Turkish bath (light steam), 4 fancy showers, heated loungers with reading lights (about 10 of them) and 2 hot tubs that overlook the ocean. The sauna also has a big window. Cold water with cucumber or lemon is set out on a counter in the room to help yourself. We paid $75 for unlimited access for 2 people for the duration of the cruise. A good deal if you like that sort of thing. They have fancy sugar and salt scrubs that you can buy for $9 that you can use in the Turkish bath. I purchased the chocolate mint sugar scrub and it was wonderful.
After the spa we got ready for dinner and hung out in the concierge lounge for a while enjoying the appetizers and open bar. We chatted with some of the other guests and the concierge hosts. Everyone was very nice and the children in the lounge were very well behaved and even chatted with the adults, which was nice. I liked hearing about their experiences so far on the ship and what they were looking forward to. We left our 7 year old daughter home this cruise and were interested in hearing what other kids had to say for future cruises with our daughter.
We had dinner at Palo at 8:15 and requested a server we met on the Wonder last August who had transferred to the Dream - Coskun from Turkey. It was great to see him again and we had a wonderful meal. We were stuffed and exhausted after dinner (and sent home with an entire pizza since Coskun didnt not want us to only take our 2 left over slices we ate it the next day and it was still delicious). We took a short stroll around the ship on the way back to our cabin and were asleep by 11. No noise from the deck above, comfy beds and a white noise machine on my iPhone allowed for a good nights sleep.
DAY 2 - NASSAU
We did not get off the ship in Nassau. This was our 8th Disney Cruise and we just wanted to relax on the ship. We had a light breakfast in the concierge lounge (pastry and fruit), drank a few mimosas in our room and then secured a spot at the pool at 9:45. I think the adult pool itself is very nice. Not really big enough to swim in, but room for people to sit and hang out in the water and keep cool. There is a deep part where you can get totally submerged and also an area that is round and maybe 3 feet deep with a bench all the way around. Great place to sit, have a drink and make some friends. The bar is directly adjacent to the pool and they have a full selection of beer, wine, cocktails and frozen drinks. There is a misting area with seats and stools next to the bar. The bartender was very nice and the drinks were tasty. The bar opens at 10 and the poolside service (versus walk up) maybe started an hour later.
Now for the not-so-good, and this is my only real complaint with the entire ship. There is NO WAY for people to get to/from the aft elevators without walking directly through the middle of the adult pool area (well, they could take a circuitous path past either the bar or the adult hot tub, which really isnt any better of an option). This is a problem. I spent 20 minutes counting the number of kids who walked within 6 inches of my lounge chair and it was over 40. It was not peaceful and it was not relaxing. The kids were exited and loud (and I totally understand why). I have a child. I realize the Disney ship is full of kids. I am not a child hater. BUT when Disney sells the cruise as having adult only areas including a pool, I DO NOT except a steady stream of kids by my chair or through the middle of the pool deck. This was bad planning and bad design and I dont see any way they can fix it. And it makes me angry. Disney paid a lot of money for a super nice ship and I paid a lot of money to be on it. How in the world did this get overlooked? And its not the fault of the parents/kids cutting through. They just dont have any other options except to turn around and go up or down a deck, which is not convenient for them once they already started on their way.
Anyway we stayed at the pool for a couple of hours and then went up to Cabanas for a late lunch (about 1:30). Again, nice selection, very clean and great service. We only ate a light meal since we were bound for Remys at 7:30. After lunch we explored the ship some more and then went to the Rainforest Room to relax. Not so much with the relaxing on to complaint No. 2, which wasnt Disneys fault. The Rainforest room is in the SPA where people go to RELAX, right? A place where you would think manners would be exercised in abundance. Not so much, Im afraid. First the place was a MESS. Dirty towels and robes all over the place on benches and loungers. Another couple walked in at the same time we did and we were just staring at the wreckage. One of them went off to try to find someone from the spa to clean up, when that didnt work, we just collected up all the wet towels and robes and put them in the appropriate bins. Then we all sat down on the loungers. A little while later I was in the steam room and my husband said a couple walked up and started complaining because they had reserved 2 loungers and the towels were gone. WHAT? There are only 10 loungers in there and the place was packed. You cant reserve a heated lounger in the spa and just walk away. My husband didnt say anything (probably good I was in the steam room). A little while later, I was back on the lounger and a group of 3 people came in speaking REALLY LOUDLY. I thought they would quiet down once they saw the place, but NO, they all got in the hot tub together (really only a 2 person hot tub) and proceeded to behave like they were in a pub. I finally got up and politely asked if they could lower their voices as it was a place of relaxation. Instead of apologizing, one of the men got stinky with me and asked if I could hear him OK. They did quiet down but I was so angry at that point, we packed up and left. NOT RELAXING NOT MY FAULT.
Dinner at Remys was AMAZING. Great service (Mathilde and Alex) with creative and delicious food. I am a vegetarian who eats a little shellfish. Mathilde helped me select my courses and my husband went with more traditional, meaty fare. We had a sampler of every cheese on the trolley, enjoyed several glasses of wine selected for us by Alex and were overwhelmed with beautiful desserts. Dinner took about 3 hours and we were finishing up right at 10:30. Alex led us out to the Starboard deck of Meridian and we watched the fireworks. It was a great night! I would recommend Remys to anyone who enjoys fine dining and excellent service. It is expensive and definitely not for everyone but we felt it was one of the highlights of our cruise.
DAY 3 CASTAWAY CAY
After the big French dinner, Brian was eager to go to the gym in the morning. I was eager not to exercise on my vacation, so I went to Cabanas to check out the offerings and bring back a little something for Brian to eat after working out. Lots to choose from and I wish I had walked to the back to see if there was an omelet station, but I totally forgot. The scrambled eggs were not good (and Im generally a fan of fake eggs on buffets but these were wet and weird). The breakfast potatoes were delicious and the fruit selection was nice. Brian had bagel, cream cheese and lox and said it was very good.
We were off the ship by 10 and took the Tram to Serenity Bay. We found 2 loungers with an umbrella about 1/3 of the way down the beach. I drug a chair out to the water and sat to read my Kindle and Brian read in the shade. It was peaceful and lovely .for a while. The beach was very crowded by noon time but everyone seemed to be able to find a location. I did feel bad that one family with a person in a wheelchair was going far down the beach to look for a spot to sit. It seemed like they should have reserved seating near the beginning of the beach for people less able to get around. I meant to ask a cast member about that but forgot until just now (will send an email tonight).
Shortly before lunch, seemingly out of nowhere, a large group of people out in the water decided they could not live without LOUDLY cheering, shouting and singing (what I assume must have been sports cheers maybe? It was not in English). It was SO HORRIBLY disruptive. And it went on and on. It was just awful. We later talked to a couple on their honeymoon who had reserved a cabana. They were really unhappy about all the ruckus directly across from them when they were trying to enjoy a romantic afternoon in paradise. Its called SERENITY BAY people not SPRING BREAK in MIAMI.
We decided to go to get some lunch to escape the insanity on the beach. Luch was wonderful, as always. There was a great selection of salads, sauces and garnishes along with grilled meats. I had grilled fish with a spicy salsa and it was excellent. We actually hadnt been hungry in at least 24 hours, but somehow we managed to try a little of just about everything. Lunch at Serenity Bay is always a highlight of a Disney Cruise for me.
We went back to our chairs to find that a group of folks had set up in the water near us. They were behaving immaturely and being unnecessarily loud and silly (showing off vs. just having a good time) but compared to the singing fools, it wasnt so bad .until one guy started to harass a young woman sitting next to us. She was attractive and in her 20s and clearly minding her own business reading a book and lying in the sun. She had been there the entire day. This guy started shouting to her to come join our beach party (dude you are just standing in the water what party?). He was asking her if she was married, if she wanted to go out later, etc. She CLEARLY didnt want to talk to him and he didnt let up. I was just about to get up and give him a piece of my mind (being the middle-aged married sea hag that I am) when the young woman packed up and left. Why in the world was that happening on a Disney Cruise? Did this guy think he was going to pick up women? He settled for telling inappropriate jokes REALLY loudly while sitting out in the water with his friends. He was obviously offending just about everyone within earshot. We decided it was time to head back to the ship.
We stopped at Pelican Point and walked the rest of the way back to enjoy some more of the lovely day and the beautiful Island. You could hardly see any residual signs of the hurricane; just a little brown foliage in a few spots. We stopped to buy some gifts for our daughter and friends and then walked the rest of the way back to the ship. We rode the Aqua Duck with only a 15 minute wait when we got back to the ship (around 3:30). It was fun and Im glad we took the time to do it.
After the Aqua Duck, we went to the Rainforest Room for an hour. It was really empty and very peaceful. I showered in the spa and Brian went back to the room to check out the early evening snacks in the concierge lounge. I wanted to catch the cast off show so made it back to the room shortly after 5 and had a glass of champagne from the lounge. My very favorite part of Castaway Cay day is waving to the cast members who stay on the Island. They line up their golf carts and put on puffy Mickey hands and wave and then bow. Its such a small thing, but I never miss it. We were up high and forward on Deck 12, but we still could see and wave. The ship played every horn music it had as we pulled away from the dock and I got a little choked up Im a sentimental Disney fool .
We then met up with another couple who was staying in concierge and had a drink in the lounge before dinner. They are from the UK and were on their honeymoon. Super nice people. We were very happy to get to know them a bit. They were going to Remy for dinner and we were going to Palo, so we agreed to meet in Meredian for a pre-dinner cocktail. Their company was completely enjoyable as was our dinner afterward. Coskun was ill that night so we were served by George from South Africa who had been on the ship a week. He was AWESOME, loved food and was super nice. After dinner we strolled around the ship for a while until it started to POUR. Then we walked once around Deck 4 and called it a night.
DEBARKATION
We were up around 7:15 and went to the concierge lounge to purchase some photos and thank our hosts. Our Castaway Cay photo was missing so we needed to go to Shutters. We were out of our room by 8:00, ate breakfast at Cabanas and purchased our photo in Shutters and were off the ship (with no line) by 8:45. The line for customs was only about 10 minutes then we boarded a bus for the airport. We had to wait almost a ½ hour for the bus to leave (which was perplexing) but our flight wasnt until 2:30, so there was plenty of time.
WRAP UP
The ship was beautiful. I was not sure I would like it since it is so big and although I still like the classic ships better, I think the Dream is an awesome ship overall. We found it a little hard to find our way around (much more difficult than the Wonder and Magic) but it was not impossible and there were always crew members to assist. We looked in almost all the public spaces (theaters, restaurants, lounges, etc.) and every single one was special and interesting and fun. There is just so much to do, 3 days cannot even begin to be enough time.
The Disney service and quality were exactly what I have come to expect and enjoy. They definitely delivered a wonderful vacation. The only place I felt the service was weak was the spa, and that is contracted out to a vendor. I mentioned to someone at the spa desk that the Rainforest Room and the changing rooms needed more frequent attention. Not sure they cared.
We did not really do many things that involved the general population of the ship. We did not go to the main dining rooms at all and did not see any shows. The only time the ship felt crowded to me was during the middle of the day on the family pool deck which we already knew and expected. The drink station was a mad house. Disney really needs to come up with a solution to the traffic pattern in the adult pool area.
The last night before Palo, I stopped by the main dining room to drop off tip envelopes for our servers. Even though we did not use the main dining rooms, they still deserved to be compensated. I was really irritated when I found the head server, gave him the envelopes and was badgered about giving an excellent rating. HELLO I just brought you a tip and you are bugging me to give you an excellent rating when I never received any service. It was obnoxious and I mentioned it on my comment card. Disney needs to somehow change their rewards structure so this does not happen. Its unprofessional, irritating and uncomfortable for the guests.
We definitely encountered some very rude, self-centered guests who didnt care about marring the experience for others. This is something I am used to in Disney World but not on the Disney cruise. I have read some comments on this board that the guests on the shorter cruises have been observed to be less polite, I dont have enough of a sampling to say for sure, but it was certainly our experience on this short cruise.
The next cruise for us will be the 7-night Western Caribbean on the Magic in November with our daughter and my parents. Cant wait!!
I'm a bit more modest than that would have called for. 
Of course, I could have possibly cleared the room out and had more privacy. 
) and hope you're both doing great.
