A Canadian Family’s First Disney Cruise!

[shoppgirl]

Disney Dream Cruise Day 1: Embarkation Day

Yippee!!!! It was finally the day of our long, long awaited cruise. We were so happy and felt very lucky to be going on the Dream cruise!

I woke at 7:30 and laid in bed a while to let the rest of the family sleep in a bit. We were in no hurry to leave as I knew there was no point in getting to the port too early. My online check in time said that we could arrive at the port between 11:00-11:30. Finally the rest of the family woke, and we did last minute packing and ate a quick breakfast in the room. We called bell services to help us with all our luggage and bags and they arrived promptly at 10:00. We took some final photos of the resort and were slightly sad to be saying good bye to a beautiful hotel:

We were packed and in the car by 10:07 and headed towards Port Canaveral. It was an easy drive, and we followed the directions from the DCL website.

At around 11:15, we saw signs saying we were approaching Port Canaveral

And then we all burst into excitement and "oohs" and "aahs" when we saw the Dream!

As we approached the port, DH thought he would park the car first and then we would drag our luggage to the ship, but I told him that he could drop me and girls along with the luggage off and then he could go park the car (I learned this through the DISboards of course!). We went to the first gate (DH had to show ID here) and asked about drop off and he directed us to another entry where both DH and I had to show ID and then we went to the luggage drop off area where there were porters waiting. When we pulled the luggage out of the trunk, the porter made a point to tell DH that he would be taking our luggage and we won't see them or him again for that matter (thus, this would be a good time to tip him!). DH took off with the car to the parking garage, and I walked into the terminal with the girls. After the security check, we went up the escalators into the terminal.

I was a bit lost as to what to do next and decided to wait until DH arrived. Once he did, I found the check in lines and at first all I saw was the extremely long line to check in. But then, I saw the NON US CITIZEN line!!!!! It was empty!!!! We walked right up, and showed our on line check in papers, signed the health forms, took our photos, and then got our KTTW cards!! I asked the CM to hole punch our' cards so that we could wear them directly on a lanyard. I personally do not like the pouches, it just adds to the weight that goes around the neck. I brought lanyards from home (just a trick I learned from our RCI cruise last year). Then I asked her what my boarding # was because I never got a card prior to entering the line up. This was an oversight on my part because later I noticed the CM handing out the boarding #s!!! But lucky for me, the CM opened a drawer, and pulled out a boarding card with a #29 on it, and then she scratched it out and wrote NUMBER FIVE!!!!! She said, "I think they're on 15 or something like that now, but there's no need to wait that long!!

I thanked her profusely because I know she just loaded us with a ton of pixie dust! As soon as we were done, they started boarding. We barely had time for a picture in the terminal when I heard them call numbers 1-5. I didn't even register the girls for the kids club (because I knew we could do that on board when we were ready to go to the club, thanks to the DISboards once again for this tip). I did manage to get one photo done, with Minnie in the background:

You can see from this photo that the terminal wasn't that crowded considering they just started boarding passengers. They have a roped off area near the entrance now, so people aren't crammed near the front and you have an orderly line into the boarding area. Here is a photo of the girls as we are going through the line:

Once through the Mickey ears, there was a bit of a line to get to the embarkation photo. There were several backdrops set up so the line moved quickly nevertheless. Once our photo was done, we walked the bridge onto the Dream.

When they announced our name and clapped for us as we entered, the girls were in awe!! They couldn't believe the welcome that we got! I never told them about this so they were pleasantly surprised. I thought I had my camera on video record to catch the whole thing, but I must have done something wrong because I can't find any record of our boarding.

Up next: First lunch on board and exploring the Dream

 

[dreams of disney]

I have been enjoying your trip report. I am also from Ontario and is planning our first cruise for next dec (me, dh and ds 4 at time of travel). We have never been to florida before and was wondering if I could ask a few questions.
1. do you use a TA or book everything yourself?

2. how expensive is renting a car? is it easy to get around orlando? we are flying in the day before and would like to look at weather we should use disney shuttle or rent a car.

3. where is the best place to book a hotel? would like to possibly do some shopping, at least get some snacks, and treats for ds before boarding?

4. do you have any tips to help us out? cut cost, must do, must see etc.

 

[shoppgirl]

I have been enjoying your trip report. I am also from Ontario and is planning our first cruise for next dec (me, dh and ds 4 at time of travel). We have never been to florida before and was wondering if I could ask a few questions.
1. do you use a TA or book everything yourself?

I always book my own trips.I booked the cruise first on the DCL website. Then I researched discount codes for rental cars and booked very early for a great rate. I also booked the hotel very early and checked frequently for rates that may have changed (and they did go down). I researched airfare and when I felt they were as low as I thought they would go, I booked it. We chose to fly out of Pearson which is typically more expensive than Buffalo, but I like the convenience.

2. how expensive is renting a car? is it easy to get around orlando? we are flying in the day before and would like to look at weather we should use disney shuttle or rent a car.

We got a great rate for the car through Dollar. It is very convenient to pick up the car at MCO. We had a GPS which helped us get around and it was an easy drive everywhere. We loved having the car, and made numerous trips to Outlet malls, Walmart, groceries, restaurants etc. I highly recommend renting a car. Depending on your rate,it may be cheaper to rent the car for the whole week and pay for port parking than to do two separate rentals to and from the port. Disney transport is not cheap.

3. where is the best place to book a hotel? would like to possibly do some shopping, at least get some snacks, and treats for ds before boarding?

We loved our hotel in the Bonnet Creek area. We booked the hotel through their website. There are many hotels all over the Orlando area, or you can drive yourself straight to the Port from the airport, stopping off for groceries. There are Walmarts and grocery stores everywhere.

4. do you have any tips to help us out? cut cost, must do, must see etc.

Book early,is my motto! Then keep checking to see if rates go down and rebook if it does. This is true for everything except air. Search the internet for coupons to restaurants/shops you want to go to, discount codes for rentals etc.

Thanks for reading along. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask!

 

[dreams of disney]

Thank you for all your help! I look forward to reading more about your trip!

 

[shoppgirl]

Dream day 1 continued:

As soon as we boarded we spoke with a CM who welcomed us and asked if we knew where we wanted to have our lunch and we mentioned that we planned to head to Cabanas to eat. We were so excited to be on board that we began exploring Deck 3 where we boarded first.

Then I realised that we should get ourselves up to Deck 11 and have lunch before it got really crowded, taking advantage of our early boarding time.

I took photos of deck 11 on our way to Cabanas of course!

Walking along deck 11:

You can see the stairs leading up to the Aquaduck in this photo:

The hot tub:

has a cool see through to the ocean below at the bottom of the hot tub:

Clear view of the Funnel vision and the shallow Mickey pool:

Nemo's Reef area:

We finally made it to Cabanas and looked for a perfect table right by the window:

Our first view from Cabanas: Port Canaveral"

DH and I took turns going with one DD to find something yummy to eat!

DD7 loaded her plate with carbs.....am I the only one with a child who will only eat carbs? At least she chose some cheese cubes.

Here's my plate: a little more interesting.

My second trip to the food stations:

Loved the peel and eat shrimp!!!!

My first of many, many desserts:

They have hard ice cream here....not just that frozen yogurt/soft serve ice thing:

Here are some random pics of Cabanas:

With lunch done, and our bellies full, it was time to explore this beautiful ship!!!

 

[dlf246]

Great, great TR. thank you so much for posting!

 

[lklasing]

I'm really enjoying your TR! We have booked a trip on the Dream next August and am loving reading about your trip!

And, for the record:

DD7 loaded her plate with carbs.....am I the only one with a child who will only eat carbs?

No, you're definitely not the only one. My DDs, when given the option, choose for their "vegetable plate" mac and cheese, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potato casserole and corn.

Looking forward to more!

 

[shoppgirl]

Great, great TR. thank you so much for posting!

Thanks so much for following along!

I'm really enjoying your TR! We have booked a trip on the Dream next August and am loving reading about your trip!

And, for the record:



No, you're definitely not the only one. My DDs, when given the option, choose for their "vegetable plate" mac and cheese, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potato casserole and corn.

Looking forward to more!

How wonderful that you are going on the Dream next August! You will absolutely love it. Thanks for reading and posting...I certainly have a lot more to write about!

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

Great trip report! Love the pictures. We are going on our first Disney cruise next year and I like to live vicariously through those who have already gone!

 

[shoppgirl]

Great trip report! Love the pictures. We are going on our first Disney cruise next year and I like to live vicariously through those who have already gone!

Welcome to my trip report! The next year will go by quickly I'm sure and you will be on your first cruise soon!

 

[shoppgirl]

Dream Day 1 continued:

After lunch we went straight to Guest Services so I could hand in our items to be signed by the characters. This was a great time to do it because it was still so early I didn't have to wait in line! The CM said I could have two items signed per cabin. Since we had two cabins, I got 4 items signed!! In one baggie, I had the fabric markers, two pillow cases, a letter from DD7 and a box of Canadian made Smarties! In the second baggie, I had two photo mats, colored Sharpies, a letter from DD9 and more Smarties. I requested that we get as many signatures as possible, including the Princesses!

Once that was done, we went to explore the ship. Here are some random photos of our exploration:

I love all the art work in the public spaces:

I took a peek into one of the verandah rooms (wondering what we gave up for 2 insides!)

We used the stairs pretty much most of the cruise...what a great workout!

I loved the enchanted art!

Moving through the adult only lounges (we never made it to any of these except to pass through during the daytime!)

This is the long walkway on deck 3 as you walk from the Animator's Palate restaurant, passing the Royal Palace to the main Atrium.

We ended up going to deck 5 and found the desk where you can check in for the Midship Detective Agency game. DD9's first priority on the ship was to play the game! So we decided to start one of the mystery games, and DD9 chose the Case of the Missising Puppies (there are two to choose from: the Missing Puppies or the Missing Paintings).

Up next: Checking out the Oceaner Club and Lab!

 

[tony64]

Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your report.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

I am loving your report so far. Your dds are so cute! This is a nice preview of the Dream until we go on our vacation in 2013. Thank you!!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Loving your report so far. Cant wait for more!!

 

[shoppgirl]

Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your report.

I am loving your report so far. Your dds are so cute! This is a nice preview of the Dream until we go on our vacation in 2013. Thank you!!

Loving your report so far. Cant wait for more!!

Thanks everyone for following my trip report. It's nice to know there are readers out there!

 

[shoppgirl]

Dream day 1 continued:

Since the Midship Detective Agency desk was on the same deck as the Oceaneer Club/lab, we decided to head over to register the girls as soon as we finished signing up to solve the Case of the Missing Puppies. DD9 was going to wait a bit before running all over the ship looking for the enchanted art that would reveal the clues to solve her mystery!

We checked the girls in at the club (you can do it at either the club, or further down at the lab...so if there are a lot of people hanging at the club entrance, it might be quicker to walk further down to the lab!). As we were checking them in, guess who comes to play in the club?

We were so excited to see our first characters!! And they happen to by DD7's favourite furry friends!!

Once the girls got their wristbands we decided to go in to check it out especially since we saw Chip and Dale! The girls had seen those cool hand washers on the internet and couldn't wait to try it out themselves:

We wanted to find Chip and Dale inside the club and found them exploring Andy's Room. They were open to hugs too:

It was interesting watching Chip climb up onto Rex!

Ah...he made it!

We left Andy's Room and explored all the other rooms:

I wanted to check out the kid sized washrooms!

This is the workshop/room where they do the large group activities (cooking/science etc)

This is the Animators room where you can draw and color:

DD7 loved it here and drew/colored many pictures

Here is the craft room:

The girls did their first little craft:

By this time, it was around 1:45 or so, and we still had our carryons/backpacks and wanted to get rid of them. The cabins were open now. So we told DD7, who was in the midst of drawing a picture, that we would come right back as soon as we checked out our home for the next 4 nights and put away the heavy bags. They were both pretty excited to see the cabin too, so it was pretty easy to get them out of there.

Walking to the elevators to go up to deck 8 (OK...so we did use elevators, but only when they weren't busy! )

Beautiful atrium/deck 4 view from deck 5

Up next: our cabins!!!

 

[Shell54]

Just started following along and really enjoying your TR Your lunch plate at Cabanas looked exactly like mine..I did a double take when I saw yours! We got the exact same things..wasn't the cole slaw good? I miss the Dream so much..looking forward to reading more.

 

[shoppgirl]

Just started following along and really enjoying your TR Your lunch plate at Cabanas looked exactly like mine..I did a double take when I saw yours! We got the exact same things..wasn't the cole slaw good? I miss the Dream so much..looking forward to reading more.

Thanks for reading. That cole slaw was AMAZING!!! How funny we got the same things! More food pics to come...wondering if we ordered the same in the dining rooms?! I miss the Dream too, that's why I'm writing this report. It's nice re-living the whole experience.

 

[Wadekind]

like the report so far.

 

[shoppgirl]

like the report so far.

Thanks for reading along!