5-Night Dream - Concierge, Cabanas, Remy & More, 3/27 to 4/1/2012

[Buckeye Princess]

Thank you for the report. Awesome pictures too. What kind of camera and lens did you use?

 

[Nat Tucker]

I am so glad that i found this discussion board. Just your post alone has been very helpful on so many levels. I am booking a Concierge 1 room suite on the Magic 6 night Western in Jan 2013 and was considering doing a cabana on the DVC Member cruise when we stop at CC twice. I'm so glad I did the Concierge, which I'm sure is a bit different from your Dream experience, but think it will be worth it. We are at sea for three days so what the heck. And my DH was reading your review over my shoulder and decided that we should do a cabana for one of our CC days.

We just got off the Dream from Spring break and we did Remy as well. It was nice, but i don't have to do it again. I actually prefer Palo for brunch and dinner and can't wait to do it again!

Thanks again!

 

[Shazzasmd]

Thanks, folks. Glad the review was helpful. We really did enjoy the Cababa and Palo. I agree the cabanas are expensive. But, had I not been able to reserve a Cabana, I would have done a few excursions - snorkeling, stingrays, parasailing?, so, in our case the cost was not TOO mich extra.

As for the camera info; I was using a brand new Canon 5D Mark III - so just learning to use it. Most of the shots were with the 24-105mm f/4 L lens, although I used the 50mm f/1.4 lens for many food shots (less obtrusive and better low light performance).

Most of these shots were jpegs straight from the camera, uploaded to my iPad. Apologies to those not interested in the photo details

 

[PizzieDuster]

Loved reading your report and loved the pics! Especially the ones of the Aquaduck! Great pics! Loved all the pics of the suite too! Jeez, that pic of the pancakes ---making me sooo wanting some pancakes

 

[Silver Cinderella]

The rooms are probably one of the reasons people end up on the Concierge Level - at least that was the case for us. We had adjoining rooms 11000 (cat V deluxe family verandah) and 11002 (cat T one-bedroom suite).

The verandah for the suite was huge, since it is on the bump-out. The verandah for 11000 is smaller, as only part of it is on the bump. Our cabin steward opened the door between the two balconies.

Here are a few snapshots of the rooms - I meant to take better pics later, but never got around to it.


First - the hallway door to the suite - there are one large closet and two smaller closets off the hallway, so storage is not an issue. The second bathroom is located off this hallway near the entrance, and is a good sized room with an enclosed shower. The "master" bedroom is off to the right, and can be fully closed in with pocket doors.

The main seating area includes a sofa (which makes into a bed)' 2 chairs, and a 42-inch TV:

And a dining table for 4:

I missed a photo of the master bathroom, but it was very large, with an over-sized tub as well as a separate shower.



Room 11000 turned out to be an Accessible room and is quite a bit wider than the regular rooms. The downside is there is only one bathroom, but this worked for us since we had adjoining rooms.

Even though Deck 11 is a hotbed of activity, our rooms were at the end of the hall, and well away from the elevators, so we never heard a thing from the hallway. It was very convenient for the kids to get soft drinks, and soft cones from Freezone (their favorite!). We also never saw any R- rated activities in the Couples Spa area located next to 11000.

A hint for those wanting to deliver FE gifts to the concierge rooms behind the gates - you can simply reach your hand through the grate and turn the latch on the inside of the gate handle.

The one-bedroom suite is great for 3 adults traveling together - would even work for 4 or 5 if all are family members. The kids - oldest daughter, husband, and 2 kids - enjoyed their room but readily said they would have been just as happy in any room if traveling by themselves since they spent little time in the room.

Thank you so much for the pics We just upgraded to this very suite for the Mother's Day B2B cruise in May. The balcony is huge!

 

[OurDogCisco]

Just curious, do you think only Conceirge guest got to reserve the cabanas and there were none available after that. I was kind of hoping to reserve them on our next trip but we aren't staying conceirge this time.

 

[SeaNana]

Thank you for your excellent narration and pictures. We shall be on the Fantasy this summer and since our other three cruises were on the Magic, your story gave us an insight into a different ship. We have tagged along with concierge twice with our daughter and her family and once without but in the same cabin, and both ways were fabulous experiences. This year we are paying for concierge, so we will see if it is really worth the extra money.

 

[Shell54]

Excellent trip report. We missed dinner at the Royal Palace on our cruise to dine at Remy(we were on a 4 nite)..sounds like you guys really enjoyed your dinners at RP..we ate lunch there, but dinner sounds so much better.

 

[Shazzasmd]

Thank you so much for the pics We just upgraded to this very suite for the Mother's Day B2B cruise in May. The balcony is huge!

I think you'll enjoy it - lots of room, for sure.

Just curious, do you think only Conceirge guest got to reserve the cabanas and there were none available after that. I was kind of hoping to reserve them on our next trip but we aren't staying conceirge this time.

All you can do is keep checking, and also see if there is a wait list when you get on board, as sometimes people cancel.

Thank you for your excellent narration and pictures. We shall be on the Fantasy this summer and since our other three cruises were on the Magic, your story gave us an insight into a different ship. We have tagged along with concierge twice with our daughter and her family and once without but in the same cabin, and both ways were fabulous experiences. This year we are paying for concierge, so we will see if it is really worth the extra money.

Hope you have a great trip - let us know how you like it.

Excellent trip report. We missed dinner at the Royal Palace on our cruise to dine at Remy(we were on a 4 nite)..sounds like you guys really enjoyed your dinners at RP..we ate lunch there, but dinner sounds so much better.

I guess we can't do it all on one cruise. Yes, we did enjoy the RP for dinner, especially our first night.

 

[Kav6970]

Your pictures are so beautiful! May I ask what kind of camera you have?

 

[Kav6970]

Your pictures are so beautiful! May I ask what kind of camera you have?

 

[Shazzasmd]

Was there a lot of drunkeness?

Not that we saw - it was very family friendly. Our kids don't drink, and they never made any comments about others. Of course,we were almost always back n our cabin after dinner.

Your pictures are so beautiful! May I ask what kind of camera you have?

Thank you - I used a brand new Canon 5D Mark III DSLR, still getting used to it.

 

[BuckeyeBarb]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. We're leaving next weekend, for a multi-generational trip, so I was delighted to read that everyone had fun, even Grumpy Bear.

 

[Shazzasmd]

Hope you have (or are having) a good trip, buckeyebarb!

Wanted to report back that Grumpy Bear said he would like to go on another Disney Cruise - even without the kids. Oh - and he insists on Concierge

 

[QuiQui]

I really enjoyed reading your trip report. Thanks for the pictures too.

 

[twinmom108]

Loved your trip report!! There were only 3 of us, me, dh, & ds who had turned 18 a month earlier. We did the AquaAdventure too, but we had the 9:15 departure. We love the Lazy River (or should we call it the NOT so lazy river) also. Very pricey for what it is, but, DS had never been there & wanted to do it & the trip was in celebration of his HS graduation this year.

We didn't do Remy because of the cost, but plan to do it in 2013 on the Fantasy when it's just DH & I. We did Palo Brunch with DS & even got questioned about DS's age, by a fellow guest in Palo. DS does have a baby face, & I keep telling him, he'll be thankful for it in about 25 years.

DS loved the brunch & especially liked Serenity Bay. We had a blast on this cruise & it sounds like your bunch did too!

 

[Shazzasmd]

Sounds like you had a great trip, Sharon (Sharon here too). I'm still getting emails from the kids saying how much they miss their Dream Time.

We came close to booking a Nov 2013 sailing on the Fantasy for just the two of us, but we're also considering buying into DVC, so I'm holding off for now.

 

[Quicklabs]

I read your report with great interest. THe concierge suite is beautiful. It sounds as if the menus in Remy on the Fantasy and on the Dream as very different. It makes me rethink whether we want to repeat Remy when we go on the Dream in January.
Love the HDR work on your photo of the Cabana. It makes for a lovely effect on that particular shot. Glad to see the even-handedness in the other HDR photos. What program are you using, if you don't mind my asking? Photomatix? Topaz Adjust?
And that is one fine looking Jack Sparrow! Looks the most like the "original" as I've seen.
Thanks for a great trip report.

 

[twinmom108]

Sounds like you had a great trip, Sharon (Sharon here too). I'm still getting emails from the kids saying how much they miss their Dream Time.

We came close to booking a Nov 2013 sailing on the Fantasy for just the two of us, but we're also considering buying into DVC, so I'm holding off for now.

Sharon - Nov. 2013 for the Fantasy? That's too funny. We booked B2B cruises for the Fantasy for the first 2 weeks in Nov. 2013 - just DH & I. We figure by the end of two weeks we should know the ship pretty well.

We are also DVC owners since 2001 so feel free to PM me to pick my brain if you'd like.

 

[Shazzasmd]

I read your report with great interest. THe concierge suite is beautiful. It sounds as if the menus in Remy on the Fantasy and on the Dream as very different. It makes me rethink whether we want to repeat Remy when we go on the Dream in January.
Love the HDR work on your photo of the Cabana. It makes for a lovely effect on that particular shot. Glad to see the even-handedness in the other HDR photos. What program are you using, if you don't mind my asking? Photomatix? Topaz Adjust?
And that is one fine looking Jack Sparrow! Looks the most like the "original" as I've seen.
Thanks for a great trip report.

Thanks for the kind words. I wouldn't discount Remy on the Dream based on our review - even Grumpy Bear said he would go again, just wouldn't do the wine pairing (he didn't care for the sommelier).

The Cabana pic is the only one I did much work on - the kids like a bit of "overdone, painterly look," and they each wanted a print of that one to take home since the Cabana was their favorite part of the trip. It was tonemapped with Photomatix, but with original exposures masked back in using layers in PS - NIK Color Pro EFex used for finishing.

Most of the photos were jpegs, processed on the iPad with Adobe PhotoTouch. A couple were in-camera HDR (not too impressed).

Sharon - Nov. 2013 for the Fantasy? That's too funny. We booked B2B cruises for the Fantasy for the first 2 weeks in Nov. 2013 - just DH & I. We figure by the end of two weeks we should know the ship pretty well.

We are also DVC owners since 2001 so feel free to PM me to pick my brain if you'd like.

Enjoy your B2B! Thanks for the offer of assistance.