April 17, 2011 on the Dream

[alenushka]

I did a search on Pirate night on all the threads and didn't come up with much. So I wanted to get some input on it. For us it is on the 20th correct?

I was at the Halloween store and there were tons of pirate costumes at least 10-15 for women and men and about 5 for girls. I got to thinking that it would be a good time to get ours because of the availability. I could wait until after Halloween but the selection and sizes will be sketchy. Having said that I could easily spend $100 for a costume and accessories. I wouldn't mind that if it is a costume party and lots of people dress up. If we are a handful of the only few then I don't think it is worth it. What do you think is the percentage of people who dress up? Who else from our cruise on this board is dressing up?

I also read about a suitcase weight limit and people not taking costumes because of it. I assume that is the airlines, correct? There is no suitcase weight limit on the boat is there? We are driving down in the Sienna and don't have any constraints on what we bring. Are their constraints to how
much you bring on board?

We usually don't dress up, but yesterday I found a " treasure" at a dollar store: they are also getting lots of supplies for Halloween and I got eye patches and " head wraps" for $5 total

 

[svcutler]

OK, another question to throw out.......

This is our plan - Get off boat, get rental car, drive to hotel (Wyndham at Bonnet Creek) so we are "on property" but just not with a Disney hotel , drop off luggage, and then haul it over to park of choice.

The buses do not run well at Bonnet Creek, hence, the rental.

That all being said, am I being unrealistic to expect we could be staring at Cindy's Castle by 11:00? Or is my head in the clouds?

 

[pershing]

OK, another question to throw out.......

This is our plan - Get off boat, get rental car, drive to hotel (Wyndham at Bonnet Creek) so we are "on property" but just not with a Disney hotel , drop off luggage, and then haul it over to park of choice.

The buses do not run well at Bonnet Creek, hence, the rental.

That all being said, am I being unrealistic to expect we could be staring at Cindy's Castle by 11:00? Or is my head in the clouds?

Yes, it's doable.

However, this is the week before Easter Sunday and that means crowds galore so you might make it to MK by 11:00 but not the castle until you navigate the swarms. Get some fastpasses right when you get there.

 

[svcutler]

Thanks Sue. I always build an itinerary so I never have too many "crowd" problems. We have that part down to a science.... almost (and with the help of Tour Guide Mike)!!


That is good to know though as I wasn't sure of the logistics with the boat, rental, drive to WDW, etc.

Thanks!!

 

[jilljill]

OK, another question to throw out.......

This is our plan - Get off boat, get rental car, drive to hotel (Wyndham at Bonnet Creek) so we are "on property" but just not with a Disney hotel , drop off luggage, and then haul it over to park of choice.

The buses do not run well at Bonnet Creek, hence, the rental.

That all being said, am I being unrealistic to expect we could be staring at Cindy's Castle by 11:00? Or is my head in the clouds?

In June DD and I were the last 2 paying guests to get kicked off the ship - they really did kick us off at 9:25 - we got our luggage, out to the car, drove to the grocery store and we were at our house right behind MK before 11:00.

Are you staying at the hotel or the timeshare resort at Bonnet Creek?

Don't forget that parking at the parks is $14/day unless you are staying onsite at a WDW property or have an annual pass.

 

[svcutler]

In June DD and I were the last 2 paying guests to get kicked off the ship - they really did kick us off at 9:25 - we got our luggage, out to the car, drove to the grocery store and we were at our house right behind MK before 11:00.

Are you staying at the hotel or the timeshare resort at Bonnet Creek?

Don't forget that parking at the parks is $14/day unless you are staying onsite at a WDW property or have an annual pass.

Ooh, that's really interesting also. So figure if we actually are one of the first to get off (instead of getting kicked off, which under normal circumstances sounds great ), we get the rental, we could be there by 11.

We are staying at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek which is a timeshare (we own Wyndham in the Berkshires) - and is a really nice resort. We stayed there when it first opened about 5-6 years ago and it's in a fantastic location right near Epcot and next to one of the moderate resorts (can't remember which).

We'll have to deal with the $14/parking because I hate waiting for any shuttle that is not a disney shuttle. They are not nearly as reliable and with only 4 days (we leave on Sunday Eve ), every second counts.

Thanks for the info!!

 

[alenushka]

Very productive day: first, we finalized the decision with our friends and we switched our dining/show times to what they were assigned for: 7pm show and 8:30 dinner. So now, we are on the same "page" with most of you who posted.
Then, we switched our pre-cruise US stay from PBH to HRH for a few reasons, but mostly bs its 100% non-smoking
I think, I can finally relax and just dream.....

 

[jilljill]

Ooh, that's really interesting also. So figure if we actually are one of the first to get off (instead of getting kicked off, which under normal circumstances sounds great ), we get the rental, we could be there by 11.

We are staying at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek which is a timeshare (we own Wyndham in the Berkshires) - and is a really nice resort. We stayed there when it first opened about 5-6 years ago and it's in a fantastic location right near Epcot and next to one of the moderate resorts (can't remember which).

We'll have to deal with the $14/parking because I hate waiting for any shuttle that is not a disney shuttle. They are not nearly as reliable and with only 4 days (we leave on Sunday Eve ), every second counts.

Thanks for the info!!

You're welcome.
We own at Bonnet Creek and San Fran. We stayed at the Berkshires resort and loved it up there.
We were at BC for Hurricane Charlie Aug. 2004 right after it opened. We had already checked out when we found out our flight was cancelled. I have to say that the staff worked with us once I told them that we didn't NEED to stay there - they wanted us to pay cash for the extra days and we wanted to use our points. Once they found out we had somewhere else to stay they came out to get us and said we could use our points to stay - the best thing was they never deducted the points from our account.
We've stayed there every year since they opened except for this year.

My brother has used their shuttle service and said it's great, very reliable. Many times they were the only ones on the bus and the driver would take them wherever they wanted to go even if it was not the usual stop. We haven't used them since we have the AP's and don't have to pay to park.

They are really slow with their housekeeping and find that very frustrating. I wouldn't expect to be able to drop your bags off before you head over to the parks. I'd plan on keeping the bags in the car.
We've had many problems with their housekeeping and find that the service gets worse year after year. Since we are platinum VIP we should be able to get into our room there at 2:00, one year our room still wasn't ready at 5:00 another year it wasn't ready until 4:30 and last year it was finally ready a little after 4:00 and they gave away the room I had reserved. I wasn't very happy with them last year and they knew about it but no one seemed to care.

Hope their housekeeping improves when you are there.

 

[svcutler]

You're welcome.
My brother has used their shuttle service and said it's great, very reliable. Many times they were the only ones on the bus and the driver would take them wherever they wanted to go even if it was not the usual stop. We haven't used them since we have the AP's and don't have to pay to park.

They are really slow with their housekeeping and find that very frustrating. I wouldn't expect to be able to drop your bags off before you head over to the parks. I'd plan on keeping the bags in the car.

Your brother had the magic touch. I've heard it depends on the season, etc and I'm such a control freak....

We already have our room assignment so that we can see the Epcot Fireworks. I hope they don't change it....

As long as the room is clean and we can do I'm happy!

Are you saying that if I drive over to the hotel first though, I won't be allowed to even store my bags with the front desk? As New Yorkers, the idea of keeping our bags in the trunk of the car while at the parks is so unnerving that I think my husband would stand with the car while we went into the park. (And I'm only half kidding.)

 

[jilljill]

I'm not sure if they will store bags or not since I've never asked about that option. But we go to the parks a lot with bags in the car with no problems.

Yes, there is a possibility that they may change your room. I've had that happen the last 2 times we've stayed there. I picked the rooms I wanted and both times when we checked in they gave us different rooms. I asked why they switched them and they could not give me a logical reason and they could tell I was very upset but they didn't care.

I'm not that picky either, but on more than 1 occassion we've had to have them come back in and reclean our room. We've had housekeeping leave their cleaning rags, the kitchen and bathrooms not stocked, no towels left...those are huge issues for me since they are basic things that shouldn't need to be called about.

 

[jeni37]

Does anyone know what the exercise facilities will be like on the ship? I have not cruised before and I usually exercise every morning - cardio and strength training. Thanks in advance!

 

[svcutler]

I'm not sure if they will store bags or not since I've never asked about that option. But we go to the parks a lot with bags in the car with no problems.

Yes, there is a possibility that they may change your room. I've had that happen the last 2 times we've stayed there. I picked the rooms I wanted and both times when we checked in they gave us different rooms. I asked why they switched them and they could not give me a logical reason and they could tell I was very upset but they didn't care.

I'm not that picky either, but on more than 1 occassion we've had to have them come back in and reclean our room. We've had housekeeping leave their cleaning rags, the kitchen and bathrooms not stocked, no towels left...those are huge issues for me since they are basic things that shouldn't need to be called about.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be on the lookout....

 

[Karen from VA]

Just checking to see that you also found in that thread that you do not pay for sodas/drinks at the 24 hour self serve drink station on the pool deck and in the dining rooms/buffet.
Now I'm curious where you read that you have to pay for sodas? You only pay for them from a bar or room service.



Pirate night....we find the number of people that dress up to me minimal, I'd say about 10-15% or a bit less. That's the ones that go full out in costume and such. Our family will usually wear a Pirate t-shirt or something along those lines.

On the sodas, I think I misread a post or confused it with the resorts

I figured as much on the costumes, my honey will only do it if everyone else is, we'll see.

 

[pershing]

Does anyone know what the exercise facilities will be like on the ship? I have not cruised before and I usually exercise every morning - cardio and strength training. Thanks in advance!

Hi!

Yes, if they are like the Wonder and the Magic they will have a great fitness center. Here is the link for the Dreams's Fitness Center:

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/fitness-spa/fitness-center/

They will probably have a deck where you can walk/run just like 4th deck on the Wonder/Magic.

I will be in the fitness center on whatever looks closest to a treadmill six o'clock in the morning. I plan on trying to undue whatever damage I've done the day before at the buffet!



If you're a runner or power walker, there is a 5K sign up for both the morning we arrive at Castaway Cay.

Hope this helps!

(I'm writing this as I'm muching on a pancake. The body is willing, but the mind is weak, and the stomach is hungry!)

 

[jeni37]

Hi!

Yes, if they are like the Wonder and the Magic they will have a great fitness center. Here is the link for the Dreams's Fitness Center:

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/fitness-spa/fitness-center/

They will probably have a deck where you can walk/run just like 4th deck on the Wonder/Magic.

I will be in the fitness center on whatever looks closest to a treadmill six o'clock in the morning. I plan on trying to undue whatever damage I've done the day before at the buffet!



If you're a runner or power walker, there is a 5K sign up for both the morning we arrive at Castaway Cay.

Hope this helps!

(I'm writing this as I'm muching on a pancake. The body is willing, but the mind is weak, and the stomach is hungry!)

Thanks so much for the info. I am not a runner, but I try to get in some exercise as soon as the kids leave for school everyday. I haven't been on a cruise ship in over 14 years, so I wasn't sure what would be available. (Back then I was young and thin and didn't exercise at all, oh well times have changed!)

Maybe I'll see you in the fitness center!

 

[svcutler]

Sue - back away slowly from the pancake..... you can do it!

Nah - just go for it! Are they shaped like Mickey?

 

[pershing]

Sue - back away slowly from the pancake..... you can do it!

Nah - just go for it! Are they shaped like Mickey?

No, but I have the pancake shaper for Mickey. I just always forget about it now that my kids are older.

We still have the mickey ice cube trays though. It's makes me smile when I'm trying to drink my 8 glasses a day.

btw our cruise is back offering 11A cat. and 8A cat. guarantees today. For 2 adults. Dunno about kids.

Tell your friends!

 

[jilljill]

The 8A's and 11A's must just be for 2 adults, I just tried for 2 adults and 1 teen and 5A is the lowest category. I really don't want the verandah for a 4 day cruise but looks like I'm going to be keeping it for now.

 

[Ness2289]

I just tried for 1A 1C(12) and was able to pull an inside room. I have a friend who was considering taking her son who is the same age my daughter will be, so I am going to text her right now. Maybe she can still try to come! They're still accepting 12 year olds.

 

[pershing]

The 8A's and 11A's must just be for 2 adults, I just tried for 2 adults and 1 teen and 5A is the lowest category. I really don't want the verandah for a 4 day cruise but looks like I'm going to be keeping it for now.

Too bad!

I really think that all the lower cat.s are sold out and they are just opening guarantees for them to get the rest of the cruise sold out.