8/7/11 Just back from the Dream!!

[jlawall]

Hey all, we just set sail. I wanted to let everyone know how it went in the terminal b/c I was very worried when we were planning our transportation to the port.

We arranged for our driver to pick us up at 9:45am at the HR hotel. It worked out perfectly....we had a brief stop at a liquor store and arrived right at 11:00am. We were in a brief line and then were dropped off. There was a brief wait in the security line and CC check-in. We had a 12:00 check in time but noone asked us for that info. By the time we were checked in around 11:30am, we were given a "16."

Our number was called at about 12:05pm. After pictures and our name being announced we were told to go to Cabanas. Instead we headed to Guest Services and booked our "tastings." Then we went to the Enchanted Garden and ate lunch. It was a buffet but very good and not too hectic.

Then we went to Deck 4 D lounge to book our Palo brunch at 1pm (this is when they said it was open for bookings.) We were successful and Ann Marie was there!!! Next, we booked our spa appointments at the same location. Dining changes could also be made there. There was no line.

Then we went to our stateroom which was ready right on time at 1:30pm. Our luggage had already arrived. Next we went to the Port Adventures desk to make some additional excursions ressies.

So far, everything has gone seamlessly despite the larger ship and worries about check in.

We have toured the ship, our FEs are delivered and so far THIS SHIP IS REALLY COOL!!!

 

[jjgarv]

Thanks for posting! I was wondering how arrival and check-in went today. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[JanDave]

Thanks for your live reporting. Tell Annie Marie that Dave and Jan said "hi". My DH is not happy she will not be his server on the Magic this October.....

Jan

 

[jlawall]

Sorry about the delay in continuing this thread during the cruise, we had difficulty with the slowness of the Internet on the ship so we decided to write this when we returned.........

After we had the drill, which we were happy to not have to bring the life preservers this year.......it was much easier without them!!

When it was time for dinner, we met our servers Putra and Lenin. They had great personalities and were fun to joke with each night. Our first night was in AP, and it was beautiful!!

After dinner we went to The District, which was a larger adult entertainment area. It was the first night and we were in Evolution. There was line dancing which led to regular dancing. We did have fun but the evening program seemed less programed and more informal than on other cruises.

The District was really cool, there were several lounges and we enjoyed many of them throughout our cruise.

I forgot to mention that we are a family of four adults for this cruise, DD21 & DD24, my husband and I.

 

[jlawall]

On our second day, we were docked at CC when we awoke. The weather was perfect, hot but not too hot. We were told it had been much warmer in recent weeks. There was a lot of humidity however.

After breakfast at Cabanas, we headed out to the island. Cabanas is the Deck 9 buffet and it is beautifully decorated. The food was excellent.

We decided to go to the beach and rented a raft for about an hour. Before long (after floating for a while), it was time for Cookies BBQ. We enjoyed lunch and then headed to Marge's Barges for our 1:15pm snorkeling trip. Overall, we enjoyed the snorkeling (even though it was a bit churned up) but we didn't feel the snorkel team were as well run as previous excursions at CC. It wasn't a bad trip but the staff were not as polished as we've come to expect.

We found out from a staff member that there is now a slide on CC just past the family beach but we didn't have time that day to check it out.

After the snorkeling, we headed back to the ship b/c we had facials planned for 4:30pm. We loved the Senses Spa, it was fantastic! My facial was with Millicent, and she was fabulous!! Next we went to Spa Bingo. We didn't win but we won a mini facial!! The girls worked out in the gym as well during this time.

For dinner we were in the Enchanted Garden. Once again it was beautiful. Our only concern is that we felt our dinner took forever to arrive. The servers were great in terms of personality but it seems like they're overworked and years ago I don't remember thinking this on previous cruises.

 

[lwilliam]

to hear the only thing you missed on your cruise are you OTHER friends who previously sailed with you.....waiting.....waiting.....waiting.....

keep up the TR Jo-Jo

 

[bbn1122]

How was your weather, especially at CC? And how warm was the water at CC?

Thanks for your help!

 

[jlawall]

How was your weather, especially at CC? And how warm was the water at CC?

Thanks for your help!

The weather was pretty good, not too hot. CC water was perfect, just right to go straight in!

 

[jlawall]

to hear the only thing you missed on your cruise are you OTHER friends who previously sailed with you.....waiting.....waiting.....waiting.....

keep up the TR Jo-Jo

Thx LuLu....we didn't do much with the DISers on this trip,just the FEs which were really great. It was a family trip this time!!

 

[jlawall]

Please let me know any questions you have!!

 

[jlawall]

Nassau Day.............

On this day, we decided to just book a brief harbor cruise, visit Starbucks and then head back to the ship. The harbor cruise was just right, entertaining and short!

We ate at Cabanas, hung out in the Quiet Cove and then two of us attended the champagne tasting in the Pink Lounge. It was really great and we met an English couple who we chatted with for a while after the presentation was over. Shout out to Julie and Martin....join DIS!!

Due to a tip from our good friend and fellow DISer, Lucy, we then went on the Aquaduck. It was a little wait but not as bad as other times. We enjoyed it, it wasn't too scary, then we headed back to the QC. We enjoyed reading books and relaxing.

On this evening we went to Remy. What a dinner! Worth every penny!! However, the first thing we were asked was if we wanted to do wine pairings or just a la carte. So after I put on my glasses and read the small print on the menu, I realized that the wine pairings were an additional $99 after the $75pp fee. Yikes! We chose not to take that route!!

The food was fantastic! Service was ridiculous with David (that is a major compliment.) He explained each item on the menu and then explained it in more detail when it was served. Small but outstanding portions. I liked that b/c it wasn't too much so that you couldn't eat everything.

In addition to the appetizer, fish and meat course; there was a cheese course and then the desserts! I have never had anything like this before....unbelievably good. I highly recommend this experience.

 

[jlawall]

Sea Day...............

On this day we were able to finally relax and enjoy the ship at more leisure. My only complaint was that the ship was so wonderful, five days wasn't enough to explore it enough!!

We worked out early b/c we had Palo Brunch ressies at 10am. We wish we didn't have two great meals back to back but it was hard to find time for everything! Palo Brunch was fantastic. The dining room is gorgeous and the food was as wonderful as usual.

After brunch it was time for more relaxing at QC. We also played mini-golf which we loved. This was the day to explore all the shops. As a Gold cruiser and DVC member, we were inundated with gifts in the early days, which we loved. The FEs from fellow DISers were also so outstanding and pleasant when we would return to the room.

To prepare for Formal Night, I went back to the spa to get my hair done. Alex was fantastic and our pictures turned out great. The photos are being done alittle differently and it was much easier to find all our pics.

Since we had the time, we completed one of the Adventurer tasks. We made it a competition and split into two groups. Aside from the fact that we were the only families who had 21+ year olds playing (instead of 5 year olds) it was really fun and my group won by a hair.

We also did a few more "tastings" during the sea day and the presenters were well-versed and interested. We bumped into our English friends and their son and made a few other new friends at the tequila tasting. Fernando was a great presenter, we learned a lot and he told us to look for him at the Outlook bar.

We also had time to play chess in the 687 Lounge and play a Sports Trivia game with Trevor. This lounge reminded me of the sports bar on the Magic.

We did go to the Ricky Holman ventriloquist show and it was quite over-crowded. It was hard to believe it was real but we didn't have good seats so we were sure!

There was some rain on this day, but we didn't mind b/c we were able to explore the ship more!

 

[jlawall]

CC Day 2.............

On our final day, we woke up to rain. As we were rushing out to make our 9am excursion at the Stingray experience, we heard that excursions were cancelled for the day. So we had a leisurely breakfast at the Royal Palace. Next we decided to "rough it" and headed out to CC with our rain ponchos on. There is an expanded game area so while it rained we played basketball, ping pong and fooshe ball. It was nice b/c it really wasn't crowded. Little kids and big kids like us all were there together and it was fun!

Next we rented bikes and went to the end of the island and the ob tower loop. We ate at Serenity Bay and then returned the bikes and went to the beach. We decided to try the new slide and were surprised when it was substantially faster than the Aquaduck. After we shook out our ears for about 20 minutes, it was back to the water with a raft. Even though, the wind picked up and a cloud cover formed, we missed this rain shower.

The temperature was really fantastic, definitely not too hot. We decided to play some volleyball and headed over to the courts behind the family beach. Fortunately our new Brit friends' son was there and soon we were playing with a nice group of young adults. Surprisingly, Ken and I held our own and we were successful in couple rounds of vball! This was so much fun!

Then our expanding group decided to play sand soccer and we joined a group of teens for a mad, hour long, intense game. This time we tied (I was really impressed that my DH and I were able to play with all these kids, it felt great!) By now, we were hot and tired so we took multiple outdoor showers as we headed back to the ship. We literally played until almost 4pm.

Next we chilled in our stateroom and prepared for our last dinner. This time, we went to Palo and it was another fantastic meal. We had Grissell, a very enthusiastic server who also served us brunch. We finished with barely enough time to buy our pics. Next we went to the second adult Holman show. Believe it or not, a few of our vball, soccer buddies were selected in the show. One guy, stayed under for quite a while and he was hysterical. Our skepticism was past, and this show was fantastic and entertaining.

 

[jlawall]

Last morning............

We ate at 8am and then headed off the ship. There was a bit of a line leaving the ship. It might be a good idea to grab a fast breakfast and try to leave between the seatings to avoid this line.

Suggestions....................
-Do FEs.........it's a great way to explore the ship and get to places you wouldn't normally visit. Our fellow DISers outdid themselves with their thoughtfulness!
-Sign up for the special meals.......Palo and Remy were fantastic
-Go to Senses spa...........the treatments were fabulous
-Explore all the lounges and decks........there's so much more to see and do
-Read your Navigator and try to attend special events that you are invited to.......there's always cool free stuff at these events.
-Book excursions.......they enhance the port experience tremendously!

The Dream exceeded my expectations, and my entire family loved it. Even though we are not traveling with children, it was a great vacation. DCL has paid attention to years of end of trip surveys and addressed many of the concerns that we've had in the entertainment area especially with our kids.

We didn't feel the ship was crowded and the crew seemed happier than ever.

 

[MrsJobba1]

Hey Joann

I've just found this trip report! Thanks for taking the time to write it. Dave and I board the dream tomorrow we have Palo & Remy dinner booked glad you enjoyed them. We plan on doing the mixology class.

Our town car is picking us up at 9.45 glad this is a good time.

As you can imagine I'm very excited

 

[lwilliam]

enjoyed the trip report! Did you book another cruise? See you soon

 

[jfis1020]

Great report Jo-Jo.. Sounds like it was a blast!

I haven't talked to you to tell you we are booked on the Dream for March! M&M don't know yet!

See you soon!!!

 

[jlawall]

Hey Joann

I've just found this trip report! Thanks for taking the time to write it. Dave and I board the dream tomorrow we have Palo & Remy dinner booked glad you enjoyed them. We plan on doing the mixology class.

Our town car is picking us up at 9.45 glad this is a good time.

As you can imagine I'm very excited

I guess I missed you Helen.......have a wonderful trip and let us know how it goes!!!

 

[jlawall]

Great report Jo-Jo.. Sounds like it was a blast!

I haven't talked to you to tell you we are booked on the Dream for March! M&M don't know yet!

See you soon!!!

Oh wow.........have a blast, you will love it....I noticed that the kids' programs seem more divided up by their age groups....I think the younger kids end around 10, your two should be together at the Edge? I think that's what it's called. It has a private elevator that only kids can take up (but someone showed me where the stairs are if you want to check it out.)

 

[jlawall]

Great report Jo-Jo.. Sounds like it was a blast!

I haven't talked to you to tell you we are booked on the Dream for March! M&M don't know yet!

See you soon!!!

enjoyed the trip report! Did you book another cruise? See you soon

We booked but it's pending Jess' school schedule so we have to see??