4 night Disney Dream Dining and Castaway Cay Questions

[gelatoni fan]

Looks like our family will be taking advantage of the Disney+ 3rd person free deal with some other relatives to sail on the Disney Dream. Some questions:

1. Can one person select activities for each person individually? Some people seem interested in Palo or ticketed character greetings, etc but others not. Some of the older family members don't want to mess around with that but may want to separate from other people who already have Disney accounts.
2. Given that most of us have never done a Disney cruise is Palo even worth it? I see there's brunch and dinner but brunch may not be bookable at 75 days? Would it be worth it to pay even more to do Remy instead if there's no availability?
3. How can we make sure that we are doing the same dining rotation and seated together given that we are multiple families booking and paying separately?

4. At Castaway Cay, how long does it take to get from area to area via shuttle or by walking? If the goal is to see all the Disney Imagineered things on the island, is there a best route?
5. Are there places to shower and change on the island or will we have to go back and forth between the ship and the island? I want want to dress nicer for character photos, go snorkeling, and then change out of swimwear, etc.
6. It seems like the 5K is now done via the honor system so I guess you can just do it whenever you want and pick up the medal whenever you want? Since I'm interested in taking photos of/at the beach and stuff before they're swamped with people, would it be possible to do the 5K later on in the day then?
7. Are the kids and teen areas 100% off limits to adults or can adults also go in to those areas?

8. What's the best way to get internet on the Cruise Line and Castaway Cay? Wifi seems expensive but if we can share that among multiple people/devices, it can make sense. I'm also thinking about buying a SIM card in Nassau to get coverage for that day and on Castaway Cay. Anyone have experience doing this and can recommend a SIM card shop that's easy to get to from the ship?

 

[Mommb]

Here’s what I think I know:

1. If the reservations are linked, one person can book activities for all or some of the people in the group. When you make an activity reservation, you will need to indicate which people are attending the activity. I was able to book activities for my adult sn that didn’t include me.

2. Whether to do Palo or Remy is up to you. On a four-night cruise, for dinner you will have each restaurants main menu once, and the Pirate night menu. You would need to give up one of those to do a specialty dinner. Palo is a nice dinner, a cut above the main dining room. Remy is something else, a unique experience. Both are great, but on a first cruise, not necessary. Palo brunch would give you the chance to see Palo without missing a dinner, if you are interesting in a heavy brunch.

3. Call (or, if you booked through a travel agent, have your agent call) to link your reservations.

4. The route to see “everything” will go up past the family beaches, then over to the adult beach. There is also a path to an observation deck, but it is not heavily themed. Shuttles take just a few minutes.

5. There are showers and changing areas on Castaway Cay, but I don’t think there are lockers so you would need to carry around any clothing changes with you.

6. I don’t know what the rules are now for the 5K.

7. The kids area is secure, with no adults allowed (as on the ship). I am not sure about the teen area.

8. If you use the ship’s Internet, make sure every person logs out as soon as they are done — the time goes quickly. We have T-mobile phones that worked for texting and data in the Bahamas with no additional fees, so I haven’t used a SIM card.

Happy planning!

 

[Cheburashka]

Looks like our family will be taking advantage of the Disney+ 3rd person free deal with some other relatives to sail on the Disney Dream. Some questions:

1. Can one person select activities for each person individually? Some people seem interested in Palo or ticketed character greetings, etc but others not. Some of the older family members don't want to mess around with that but may want to separate from other people who already have Disney accounts.
2. Given that most of us have never done a Disney cruise is Palo even worth it? I see there's brunch and dinner but brunch may not be bookable at 75 days? Would it be worth it to pay even more to do Remy instead if there's no availability?
3. How can we make sure that we are doing the same dining rotation and seated together given that we are multiple families booking and paying separately?

4. At Castaway Cay, how long does it take to get from area to area via shuttle or by walking? If the goal is to see all the Disney Imagineered things on the island, is there a best route?
5. Are there places to shower and change on the island or will we have to go back and forth between the ship and the island? I want want to dress nicer for character photos, go snorkeling, and then change out of swimwear, etc.
6. It seems like the 5K is now done via the honor system so I guess you can just do it whenever you want and pick up the medal whenever you want? Since I'm interested in taking photos of/at the beach and stuff before they're swamped with people, would it be possible to do the 5K later on in the day then?
7. Are the kids and teen areas 100% off limits to adults or can adults also go in to those areas?

8. What's the best way to get internet on the Cruise Line and Castaway Cay? Wifi seems expensive but if we can share that among multiple people/devices, it can make sense. I'm also thinking about buying a SIM card in Nassau to get coverage for that day and on Castaway Cay. Anyone have experience doing this and can recommend a SIM card shop that's easy to get to from the ship?

1. I've only ever booked one stateroom, so I'll let someone else answer this.
2. How many nights is the cruise? If it's a 3 night, you might just want to stick with the MDRs for dinner to get to experience them all. If it's a 4 or 5 night, book one night at Palo for dinner. Get the chocolate souffle for dessert if you like chocolate. Palo brunch is not worth it imo because their once-great brunch buffet has been eliminated. I don't recommend Remy dinner for such a short, first-time cruise, unless you're real foodies.
3. Same as #1.
4. The trams are efficient. The visitable areas of the island aren't so extensive that you'll have any problem seeing them all in one visit. Most of the island is off-limits to keep its ecosystem intact. Take a bicycle ride along the bike path. That's the best way to explore and see all of the island. There's an observation tower on the bike path that gives a great view of the island and ship btw.
5. Yes, there are public showers on the island.
6. I haven't done the 5K in several years, so can't answer, sorry.
7. The family beach area is fully open to adults.
8. I'm not a tech person, so I'll let someone else answer this.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

would it be possible to do the 5K later on in the day then?

Yes. Just go to the bike rental kiosk and tell them you’re going to do it then stop back by when you’re done.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

What's the best way to get internet on the Cruise Line and Castaway Cay?

We have T-mobile and had 5GB of data and unlimited texts in the Bahamas on our plan.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Thank you everyone for the information!
I think I have a decent plan now for what I want to do. Anything else will be up to the whims of my relatives and the actual schedule which I assume I won't be able to see until much closer till the actual day.

 

[kiford]

2. Whether to do Palo or Remy is up to you. On a four-night cruise, for dinner you will have each restaurants main menu once, and the Pirate night menu. You would need to give up one of those to do a specialty dinner. Palo is a nice dinner, a cut above the main dining room. Remy is something else, a unique experience. Both are great, but on a first cruise, not necessary. Palo brunch would give you the chance to see Palo without missing a dinner, if you are interesting in a heavy brunch.

My suggestion is to give Palo and/or Remy a pass on your first cruise, especially for a short one. Our first cruise (Wonder) was a four-day one, and we gave up Triton's for Palo. We've never sailed on her since, and I never got to experience Triton's which I kind of regret. We do really like Palo and love Remy, but I think you really need to experience the MDR's in their entirety (and Pirate Night despite the fact that lots of people don't like that menu - I personally do) for the first time. As mentioned, if it's possible to do brunch instead, that's a nice option although it's changed from the original buffet + entree which we really liked. The best part about brunch though is that you can still see the ocean while dining which you often can't when doing evening dining.