Luckymommatoo
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2010
- Messages
- 318
Disney Dream four-night, July 13 - 17, 2014. Cabin 9504.
Our first cruise! It was me, Dh, DS (age 10), DD (age 8), and 10 other members of my extended family. We had stayed the night in the Hyatt at MCO. We tagged our bags and set them out to be collected in the morning (and, for the record, my parents decided to take all their bags with them, and then handed the checked ones to the Disney staff when we got to the buses, and we got our bags delivered to our stateroom HOURS before theirs. Not sure if this is the norm or not, though.), then headed down to the DCL buses at 9:15. We arrived at the Port Terminal shortly after 10:30.
We had a Port Arrival Time of 11:45, and were in boarding group ten. We were on the ship before noon. We went straight to the Aquaduck. The kids rode it once, but the line was already 30 minutes, so we headed to Cabana's for lunch.
Our server was Murat from Hungary, assistant was Abi from India, and our head waiter was Pogi. They were fine. Abi is brand new, so he was a little slow getting drinks, but it wasn't a huge problem. Our host was Suta from Indonesia. Loved him! He folds the most amazing towel animals, and made sure we had fresh glasses and ice all the time.
We did Atlantis Aquaventure and had a great time. All ten of us who went from my extended family agreed that the Rapid River is one of the best water attractions ever. Totally fun. The slides were good, too, and the grounds are really beautiful.
Castaway Cay was a blast! The kids loved the ropes and the slides (four kids ages 8 - 11). We snorkeled, too, and it was a challenge for some of them, but it was a nice, safe environment to try it out.
All the kids also loved the Midship Detective Agency game.
We really enjoyed the shows. Our favorite was Villians, followed by Scott Pepper (magician), Golden Mickeys, and then Believe (which my ten-year-old boy was not a fan of!). Also the Jack Sparrow/fireworks was a hit!
LOVED the free room service, especially because I have Celiac disease, and often have issues getting food. Disney is great about food allergies.
Oh, here's our pro tip -- we were happy to find out that Cabana's was open on disembarkation morning for a quick breakfast. We skipped our 6:45 sit-down breakfast and just ran up to Cabana's. I am not an early morning person, so I was very happy with this option!
Things that were eh for us: Didn't love the cast-off party. Was a little disappointed. The kids club was a bust for my ten-year-old boy. (It was fine because we didn't have a lot of time where he would have gone there anyway, but if we were on a longer cruise I would've pushed for him to go to the tween club.) My 8 y.o. liked, but didn't love, the club. We were disappointed in the kids' menu at dinner. Super repetitious and bland. The kids started ordering off the adult menu, and that was fine.
The adults also wished there were better, fresher cocktails that aren't so sweet. The Ooooh-la-la, which is served in one of the bars, was the best one I had (and yes, I ordered it at dinner every night, too!).
But, these are quibbles. The ship is so beautiful and well-maintained. The staff is so friendly and helpful. Even our stateroom was so much bigger than I was expecting, and we loved the porthole seat. (And seriously, why can't every hotel room have a curtain that separates the kids' sleeping area from the parents'??? It's brilliant.) I really hope that we can cruise Disney again soon!
Our first cruise! It was me, Dh, DS (age 10), DD (age 8), and 10 other members of my extended family. We had stayed the night in the Hyatt at MCO. We tagged our bags and set them out to be collected in the morning (and, for the record, my parents decided to take all their bags with them, and then handed the checked ones to the Disney staff when we got to the buses, and we got our bags delivered to our stateroom HOURS before theirs. Not sure if this is the norm or not, though.), then headed down to the DCL buses at 9:15. We arrived at the Port Terminal shortly after 10:30.
We had a Port Arrival Time of 11:45, and were in boarding group ten. We were on the ship before noon. We went straight to the Aquaduck. The kids rode it once, but the line was already 30 minutes, so we headed to Cabana's for lunch.
Our server was Murat from Hungary, assistant was Abi from India, and our head waiter was Pogi. They were fine. Abi is brand new, so he was a little slow getting drinks, but it wasn't a huge problem. Our host was Suta from Indonesia. Loved him! He folds the most amazing towel animals, and made sure we had fresh glasses and ice all the time.
We did Atlantis Aquaventure and had a great time. All ten of us who went from my extended family agreed that the Rapid River is one of the best water attractions ever. Totally fun. The slides were good, too, and the grounds are really beautiful.
Castaway Cay was a blast! The kids loved the ropes and the slides (four kids ages 8 - 11). We snorkeled, too, and it was a challenge for some of them, but it was a nice, safe environment to try it out.
All the kids also loved the Midship Detective Agency game.
We really enjoyed the shows. Our favorite was Villians, followed by Scott Pepper (magician), Golden Mickeys, and then Believe (which my ten-year-old boy was not a fan of!). Also the Jack Sparrow/fireworks was a hit!
LOVED the free room service, especially because I have Celiac disease, and often have issues getting food. Disney is great about food allergies.
Oh, here's our pro tip -- we were happy to find out that Cabana's was open on disembarkation morning for a quick breakfast. We skipped our 6:45 sit-down breakfast and just ran up to Cabana's. I am not an early morning person, so I was very happy with this option!
Things that were eh for us: Didn't love the cast-off party. Was a little disappointed. The kids club was a bust for my ten-year-old boy. (It was fine because we didn't have a lot of time where he would have gone there anyway, but if we were on a longer cruise I would've pushed for him to go to the tween club.) My 8 y.o. liked, but didn't love, the club. We were disappointed in the kids' menu at dinner. Super repetitious and bland. The kids started ordering off the adult menu, and that was fine.
The adults also wished there were better, fresher cocktails that aren't so sweet. The Ooooh-la-la, which is served in one of the bars, was the best one I had (and yes, I ordered it at dinner every night, too!).
But, these are quibbles. The ship is so beautiful and well-maintained. The staff is so friendly and helpful. Even our stateroom was so much bigger than I was expecting, and we loved the porthole seat. (And seriously, why can't every hotel room have a curtain that separates the kids' sleeping area from the parents'??? It's brilliant.) I really hope that we can cruise Disney again soon!
