August 16, 2011, Disney Dream - Part 2

[lovesDCL]

Wow! The 16 weeks reminder made me get to booking our pre and post cruise stay!

Booked the MCO Hyatt for Aug. 15 (using a stay certificate)
Booked 3 nights at WDW for post cruise fun


Now just have to book air...
And work on the FE gifts

Does anyone know how many families/cabins/people are participating?

Thanks for the count down BigDogHU75!!! I love seeing these each week!

 

[Maryrn11168]

Hi everyone!

We've never been to the Space center and hope to spend part of the day before the cruise there. Has anyone else visited there? Any recommendations?

TTYL!
Jude

We are planning to Visit Kennedy Space Center this trip too. I understand that if you contact your Congressman they can get you free tickets for this. I sent an Email, but have not recieved a response from him.

 

[Mjasp]

16 weeks

Is that private thread still active, that says where everyone is staying?

OK So I have airfare to Florida, but not home, I have 2 pre nights booked.
Using Sheraton Points, so we are in Orlando to visit our moms on Sunday at the Sheraton Four Points Universal hotel and Monday we are at the Four Points in Cocoa Beach, first time we are not staying at the radisson, I hope it's a decent hotel.

 

[Pudo]

I just can't rationalize the cost for a family of four at Atlantis. We may walk around a little bit and then come back to ride the AquaDuck all day!

Since Nassau isn't one of the more popular ports and the ship is brand new many are doing the same which means the pools and AquaDuck are still crowded.

We want to do the Atlantis Aquaventure, but it is way too pricey. I don't know of any other waterpark that charges $169 for a day pass.

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

I seem to remember that our friends COULD ACCESS TO THE ATLANTIS WATER PARK with their kids in this way : they booked a room at the nearby Comfort Suites Paradise Island

http://www.comfortsuites.com/hotel-paradise_island-bahamas-BS003

and could use FOR FREE the Atlantis facilities (pool , water slides , lazy river etc) for the 4 of them !!!

Just a thought , it might be cheaper ……
laura

Yes, it is a lot cheaper for my family of four to access the Atlantis waterpark and beach by "getting the wristband and booking the hotel across the street" way. Back around Christmas, I got online and booked the Comfort Suites Paradise Island at a nightly AAA rate of $225 (this doesn't include the tax which brings it to $290). We plan on checking in and checking out at the same time. I did the math and it seemed a lot cheaper than going through DCL.

What you don't get by booking privately is the lunch and DCL transportation to and from Atlantis. This didn't seem to be too big of a deal to me. What does give me pause, however, is the unplanned scenario of DCL deciding not to dock in Nassau (probably due to a weather issue). If that happened, our family would still be stuck paying for the hotel. So those are the key variables of booking privately instead of going through DCL port excursions to Atlantis. I weighed the pros and cons and decided to go for it! Also, from what I've read about this, going through the CS doesn't necessarily pan out if you need to book for a family larger than four -- then you are required to book two rooms and the savings aren't so great.

Beth

 

[Mjasp]

Yes, it is a lot cheaper for my family of four to access the Atlantis waterpark and beach by "getting the wristband and booking the hotel across the street" way. Back around Christmas, I got online and booked the Comfort Suites Paradise Island at a nightly AAA rate of $225 (this doesn't include the tax which brings it to $290). We plan on checking in and checking out at the same time. I did the math and it seemed a lot cheaper than going through DCL.

Beth

We booked the Comfort Suites when we went back in 2008, the only thing that annoyed me is they charged us extra for a 16 yr old, which didn't say that in the reservation. Definitely the way to go, like Jeff said $169 pp for a water park is crazy and for half the size of a regular water park I might ***

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

We booked the Comfort Suites when we went back in 2008, the only thing that annoyed me is they charged us extra for a 16 yr old, which didn't say that in the reservation. Definitely the way to go, like Jeff said $169 pp for a water park is crazy and for half the size of a regular water park I might ***

Since you've been there before, what did you think about the whole Atlantis thing -- the waterpark, beach, etc? Was it worth experiencing? Please advise!

 

[uncw89]

Since Nassau isn't one of the more popular ports and the ship is brand new many are doing the same which means the pools and AquaDuck are still crowded.

We want to do the Atlantis Aquaventure, but it is way too pricey. I don't know of any other waterpark that charges $169 for a day pass.

I agree about the Atlantis. I would like to do it too......but $169 is a bit steep! We will probably just walk around Nassau and then go hang out and explore the ship like everybody else!!!

Since you've been there before, what did you think about the whole Atlantis thing -- the waterpark, beach, etc? Was it worth experiencing? Please advise!

I'm curious as well.
Now I need to figure out what to do for the FE!!!

 

[eyes4mickey]

Since you've been there before, what did you think about the whole Atlantis thing -- the waterpark, beach, etc? Was it worth experiencing? Please advise!

We loved the Atlantis. I had booked the CIS in 11/2009, and we had a great time. My kids loved the slides, pools, just amazing. We had lunch by the pool. They have value meals and free drink refills. The taxi ride over was very easy.
The pool and Lazy river are unbelievable. The leap of Faith wasn't for me but, they loved it. It's a very quick walk over from CIS and you can pass through the aquarium on your way to the pools for a quick look, it's really beautiful.


The price has gone up since were there last. Now for the for of us it's $406.42, I didn't check with my AAA discount yet. They do hit you with a bunch of Surcharges when you check in and check out. When you arrive, they hand you the bracelets and you quickly check in and check out.
The extra fees are .. Energy surcharge: 12.95 per person per night. Housekeeping gratuities: 5.00 per person per night These are additional charges not included in nightly estimated total and must be paid directly at the hotel. So, for my family of 4, it's an extra $72. I don't think it's worth $500 this time around.

 

[Mjasp]

Since you've been there before, what did you think about the whole Atlantis thing -- the waterpark, beach, etc? Was it worth experiencing? Please advise!

In my opinion, it is worth renting the Comfort Suites and spending the day there, my daughter loved it, but it's a pool with a few slides and lazy river, just consider it something to do in Nassau. We never went to the beach because my daughter kept going on the water slide LOL

 

[hbg4]

We just came back from a 4 day cruise on the Dream and had a surprise double dip to Castaway Cay. Then spent 3 days in Disney's Old Key West resort. Weather was hot and sunny throughout. Our second day in CC happened because the Aquaduck broke down in the afternoon and they had to get replacement part shipped over to CC to fix it.
The 2nd day in CC was so much more relaxing and quiet. I think that half the passengers stayed on board ship. DD14 even got to try out a hammock on the family beach for the first time out of 7 visits to the island.
The Dream is a beautiful and elegant ship. Not sure about the iron gates they have on the concierge deck though, kinds of reminds me of the Titanic where they separated the classes.
Make sure you have comfortable shoes. It is not so easy to gain weight on this ship with all the walking up and down and along the decks.
Didn't get to try out Palo's or Remmy since I wanted to be able to experience all the restaurants. Animator's palate is not to be missed. It is a vast improvement compared to the Magic and Wonder.The Pirates party was not as fun as on the Magic or Wonder, but the stage show was very different and good.
Aquaduck is worth riding at least once. We waited for 30 minutes on the Nassau morning. This was at 9.30am. Not scary at all. If you've tried Slush n Gusher at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, then it's very tame.
We had a cat 8C, cabin and it was very big, the living floor space was more than that of the standard cat 5 cabins since it used the verandah floor space inside. Portholes are enormous and have a cushy window seat.
I did a cabin tour and I can say that anyone with an inside cabin will not be disappointed. The layout of the Dream's cabins make them feel more spacious than that of the Magic or Wonder.
Another tip, get to port early. We got there at 11.30am and got boarding #26 we did not board until 2.15pm. Almost missed my 2.30p disboard meeting. There's twice as many people on this ship so it takes longer to board.
Also gold and platinum castaway club members get $25 dollars on board credit each time they spend $100 or over on the ship.
One more tip pack early and recheck your packing list. I've cruised so many times and tend to pack at the last minute, but this time it cost me. I forgot the swim suits, PJs and beach bags. So it gave me an excuse to go buy Disney Logo replacements from the character store in the Orlando outlet and on board ship. The good thing was that I had packed the Fishextender gifts already in my checkin suitcase and refused to take it out while packing the the rest of our stuff, so that thank goodness came along with us.

 

[theholmesbunch]

I wrote my congressman in New York and received 3 tickets (2 adult, 1 child) to the Space Center within the past few weeks. I would email again and see what they say.

 

[theholmesbunch]

Does anyone have an idea of how many cabins are going to be participating? My sister and I were thinking of doing it. This is our second cruise and would be our first time doing the FE.

 

[acomasdiaz]

We just came back from a 4 day cruise on the Dream and had a surprise double dip to Castaway Cay. Then spent 3 days in Disney's Old Key West resort. Weather was hot and sunny throughout. Our second day in CC happened because the Aquaduck broke down in the afternoon and they had to get replacement part shipped over to CC to fix it.
The 2nd day in CC was so much more relaxing and quiet. I think that half the passengers stayed on board ship. DD14 even got to try out a hammock on the family beach for the first time out of 7 visits to the island.
The Dream is a beautiful and elegant ship. Not sure about the iron gates they have on the concierge deck though, kinds of reminds me of the Titanic where they separated the classes.
Make sure you have comfortable shoes. It is not so easy to gain weight on this ship with all the walking up and down and along the decks.
Didn't get to try out Palo's or Remmy since I wanted to be able to experience all the restaurants. Animator's palate is not to be missed. It is a vast improvement compared to the Magic and Wonder.The Pirates party was not as fun as on the Magic or Wonder, but the stage show was very different and good.
Aquaduck is worth riding at least once. We waited for 30 minutes on the Nassau morning. This was at 9.30am. Not scary at all. If you've tried Slush n Gusher at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, then it's very tame.
We had a cat 8C, cabin and it was very big, the living floor space was more than that of the standard cat 5 cabins since it used the verandah floor space inside. Portholes are enormous and have a cushy window seat.
I did a cabin tour and I can say that anyone with an inside cabin will not be disappointed. The layout of the Dream's cabins make them feel more spacious than that of the Magic or Wonder.
Another tip, get to port early. We got there at 11.30am and got boarding #26 we did not board until 2.15pm. Almost missed my 2.30p disboard meeting. There's twice as many people on this ship so it takes longer to board.
Also gold and platinum castaway club members get $25 dollars on board credit each time they spend $100 or over on the ship.
One more tip pack early and recheck your packing list. I've cruised so many times and tend to pack at the last minute, but this time it cost me. I forgot the swim suits, PJs and beach bags. So it gave me an excuse to go buy Disney Logo replacements from the character store in the Orlando outlet and on board ship. The good thing was that I had packed the Fishextender gifts already in my checkin suitcase and refused to take it out while packing the the rest of our stuff, so that thank goodness came along with us.

I definitely second rechecking the packing list...Last year, with all the craziness of moving the week of the cruise, we forgot the entire kid's suitcase. The whole thing!!! We stopped at Target before we got to the ship but guess what? At that time, we still had not noticed the missing suitcase. When did I notice? Right as we were going to do the drill. So, no time for shopping, just enough time for a nervous breakdown. The only good thing was that the kids outfits for our vow renewal were in the garment bag, so we at least had them. Although, we had no shoes, pjs, swim suits, socks, undies or anything else. Only the clothes on their backs...

When some crew members found out what happended, they gave us some t-shirts and shorts which at least worked for pjs and stuff. Needless, to say we had to buy a lot of things on the ship. That was definitely a bill we will never forget.

 

[Amanda132]

We just came back from a 4 day cruise on the Dream and had a surprise double dip to Castaway Cay. Then spent 3 days in Disney's Old Key West resort. Weather was hot and sunny throughout. Our second day in CC happened because the Aquaduck broke down in the afternoon and they had to get replacement part shipped over to CC to fix it.
The 2nd day in CC was so much more relaxing and quiet. I think that half the passengers stayed on board ship. DD14 even got to try out a hammock on the family beach for the first time out of 7 visits to the island.
The Dream is a beautiful and elegant ship. Not sure about the iron gates they have on the concierge deck though, kinds of reminds me of the Titanic where they separated the classes.
Make sure you have comfortable shoes. It is not so easy to gain weight on this ship with all the walking up and down and along the decks.
Didn't get to try out Palo's or Remmy since I wanted to be able to experience all the restaurants. Animator's palate is not to be missed. It is a vast improvement compared to the Magic and Wonder.The Pirates party was not as fun as on the Magic or Wonder, but the stage show was very different and good.
Aquaduck is worth riding at least once. We waited for 30 minutes on the Nassau morning. This was at 9.30am. Not scary at all. If you've tried Slush n Gusher at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, then it's very tame.
We had a cat 8C, cabin and it was very big, the living floor space was more than that of the standard cat 5 cabins since it used the verandah floor space inside. Portholes are enormous and have a cushy window seat.
I did a cabin tour and I can say that anyone with an inside cabin will not be disappointed. The layout of the Dream's cabins make them feel more spacious than that of the Magic or Wonder.
Another tip, get to port early. We got there at 11.30am and got boarding #26 we did not board until 2.15pm. Almost missed my 2.30p disboard meeting. There's twice as many people on this ship so it takes longer to board.
Also gold and platinum castaway club members get $25 dollars on board credit each time they spend $100 or over on the ship.
One more tip pack early and recheck your packing list. I've cruised so many times and tend to pack at the last minute, but this time it cost me. I forgot the swim suits, PJs and beach bags. So it gave me an excuse to go buy Disney Logo replacements from the character store in the Orlando outlet and on board ship. The good thing was that I had packed the Fishextender gifts already in my checkin suitcase and refused to take it out while packing the the rest of our stuff, so that thank goodness came along with us.

It's awesome that you got a surprise double dip! I also REALLY want to get to the port early. Hopefully your post will convince my mom that we need to.

 

[Maryrn11168]

Thankfully I never forgotten clothes for either of our cruises, but one 'winter' vacation I forgot my son's winter coat, and the next year I forgot to pack all his clothes!! My husband was getting him dressed in the morning to go skiing and nothing in the suitcase was his!! Oops! These now make for funny stories!

 

[elgerber]

When we were packing for our 2008 cruise, our bags were over 50 pounds, so we had to rip them open and leave some stuff at home. We get them back to 49 pounds, lug them downstairs to go in the car, get ready for bed. I open the closet to get something, and there is my entire pirate costume hanging in the closet, where I put it while we rearranged the bags!!! I would have been so upset if I had forgotten that!!!! PJs, swimsuits, t-shirts, eh, I would go shopping LOL, but my pirate costume?? You can bet I will triple check this time around!!!

 

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

Does anyone have an idea of how many cabins are going to be participating? My sister and I were thinking of doing it. This is our second cruise and would be our first time doing the FE.

Hi there !! Kristin said about 20 cabins ; we have now 40 or so families participating - which means they will be splitted into 2 groups !!!

I myself am hoping for NO MORE THAN 20 FAMILIES per group !!!!
Coming all the way from Italy we have to be conscious about our luggage weight !!!!

 

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

We just came back from a 4 day cruise on the Dream and had a surprise double dip to Castaway Cay. Then spent 3 days in Disney's Old Key West resort. Weather was hot and sunny throughout. Our second day in CC happened because the Aquaduck broke down in the afternoon and they had to get replacement part shipped over to CC to fix it.
The 2nd day in CC was so much more relaxing and quiet. I think that half the passengers stayed on board ship. DD14 even got to try out a hammock on the family beach for the first time out of 7 visits to the island.
The Dream is a beautiful and elegant ship. Not sure about the iron gates they have on the concierge deck though, kinds of reminds me of the Titanic where they separated the classes.
Make sure you have comfortable shoes. It is not so easy to gain weight on this ship with all the walking up and down and along the decks.
Didn't get to try out Palo's or Remmy since I wanted to be able to experience all the restaurants. Animator's palate is not to be missed. It is a vast improvement compared to the Magic and Wonder.The Pirates party was not as fun as on the Magic or Wonder, but the stage show was very different and good.
Aquaduck is worth riding at least once. We waited for 30 minutes on the Nassau morning. This was at 9.30am. Not scary at all. If you've tried Slush n Gusher at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, then it's very tame.
We had a cat 8C, cabin and it was very big, the living floor space was more than that of the standard cat 5 cabins since it used the verandah floor space inside. Portholes are enormous and have a cushy window seat.
I did a cabin tour and I can say that anyone with an inside cabin will not be disappointed. The layout of the Dream's cabins make them feel more spacious than that of the Magic or Wonder.
Another tip, get to port early. We got there at 11.30am and got boarding #26 we did not board until 2.15pm. Almost missed my 2.30p disboard meeting. There's twice as many people on this ship so it takes longer to board.
Also gold and platinum castaway club members get $25 dollars on board credit each time they spend $100 or over on the ship.
One more tip pack early and recheck your packing list. I've cruised so many times and tend to pack at the last minute, but this time it cost me. I forgot the swim suits, PJs and beach bags. So it gave me an excuse to go buy Disney Logo replacements from the character store in the Orlando outlet and on board ship. The good thing was that I had packed the Fishextender gifts already in my checkin suitcase and refused to take it out while packing the the rest of our stuff, so that thank goodness came along with us.

THANKYOU for all the info !!!!!
Can you tell us AT WHAT TIME DCL STARTED TO EMBARK PEOPLE ??

DGH is thinking of arriving to the port around 10.00 am ..........

 

[Woobie]

We just came back from a 4 day cruise on the Dream and had a surprise double dip to Castaway Cay. Then spent 3 days in Disney's Old Key West resort. Weather was hot and sunny throughout. Our second day in CC happened because the Aquaduck broke down in the afternoon and they had to get replacement part shipped over to CC to fix it.
The 2nd day in CC was so much more relaxing and quiet. I think that half the passengers stayed on board ship. DD14 even got to try out a hammock on the family beach for the first time out of 7 visits to the island.
The Dream is a beautiful and elegant ship. Not sure about the iron gates they have on the concierge deck though, kinds of reminds me of the Titanic where they separated the classes.
Make sure you have comfortable shoes. It is not so easy to gain weight on this ship with all the walking up and down and along the decks.
Didn't get to try out Palo's or Remmy since I wanted to be able to experience all the restaurants. Animator's palate is not to be missed. It is a vast improvement compared to the Magic and Wonder.The Pirates party was not as fun as on the Magic or Wonder, but the stage show was very different and good.
Aquaduck is worth riding at least once. We waited for 30 minutes on the Nassau morning. This was at 9.30am. Not scary at all. If you've tried Slush n Gusher at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, then it's very tame.
We had a cat 8C, cabin and it was very big, the living floor space was more than that of the standard cat 5 cabins since it used the verandah floor space inside. Portholes are enormous and have a cushy window seat.
I did a cabin tour and I can say that anyone with an inside cabin will not be disappointed. The layout of the Dream's cabins make them feel more spacious than that of the Magic or Wonder.
Another tip, get to port early. We got there at 11.30am and got boarding #26 we did not board until 2.15pm. Almost missed my 2.30p disboard meeting. There's twice as many people on this ship so it takes longer to board.
Also gold and platinum castaway club members get $25 dollars on board credit each time they spend $100 or over on the ship.
One more tip pack early and recheck your packing list. I've cruised so many times and tend to pack at the last minute, but this time it cost me. I forgot the swim suits, PJs and beach bags. So it gave me an excuse to go buy Disney Logo replacements from the character store in the Orlando outlet and on board ship. The good thing was that I had packed the Fishextender gifts already in my checkin suitcase and refused to take it out while packing the the rest of our stuff, so that thank goodness came along with us.

Thank you for all this info!!!

Thankfully I never forgotten clothes for either of our cruises, but one 'winter' vacation I forgot my son's winter coat, and the next year I forgot to pack all his clothes!! My husband was getting him dressed in the morning to go skiing and nothing in the suitcase was his!! Oops! These now make for funny stories!

You all need to please stop with the forgetting clothes talk. I have literally been having nightmares about this the past few weeks. I've dreamt I forgot my fancy dress, shoes, etc. I don't need anymore fuel to my own craziness thank you all very much.