August 16, 2011, Disney Dream - Part 2

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Aw Bella is precious!!!!


Thanks for the photos!

book air already? eek! We're not that far ahead....

We still have this reservation and this one made the "cut". (we originally had this cruise- as well as 12/29 Dream and couldn't decide if we'd do both or cut one LOL 12/29 didn't make the cut)

We decided 5nt isn't enough tho- so we're doing B2B with 8/21/11.

We still have 4/27 & 5/3 b2b to go before this cruise though..... I'm so excited for next year! Usually we have at least a year- mostly 2yrs- between cruises... but we just got off the TA recently and next year we have two b2b's booked. 2011 will be a very good year. hehe
(I can't believe we'll get off the Wonder 5/10 and get on Dream on 8/16! )

Anyone else doing b2b perhaps?

I'm still trying to decide on the "getting there and back" portion of our vacation for these cruises...

I thought we (me and kids) would drive there earlier, spend a few days at WDW and then DH would fly in a day or two before the cruise and spend 0-1 days at the parks with us before the cruise. (due to his amount of vacation days he has per year and he's not as fond of the parks as we are anyway. This worked for panama canal cruise in 2008 except we flew in too instead of driving)

Then he'd fly back to get to work faster- and we'd drive home.
But now when I check pricing-- we wouldn't really save anything after considering gas to get there, parking the vehicle at port during both cruises. Then if we all flew in (me and kids earlier than Jeff)- we'd need transportation to the port and then to airport afterwards.. but I'm not sure that one thing is enough for me to drive there and back. still trying to decide about that. haha

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

We're back from our 14nt WBTA cruise on the Magic, and can now start to focus more on this trip. I must say that we had an incredible trip, and the 400+ DISers that we had onboard made up 22% of the total cruise passengers and really created a community within a community since you couldn't move without seeing someone wearing the custom lanyards, pins, wristbands or shirts that we had made for that sailing.

I have a feeling that this cruise will be a start contrast from that one, since there were only 240ish kids on the WBTA cruise, (which was a big difference from our last cruise which was a kids sail free cruise with sold out kids programs.) On the WBTA, the adult pool and beach were much more crowded than the Mickey pool and family beach, which was very nice for us. Plus the lines were managable for characters, shows and other kid focused activities. The kids in the Club/Lab got very close attention from the counselors, and there were lots of empty tables on our Main dining rotation which was really odd. Given how quickly this cruise sold out at the lower levels, bodes for a very full cruise!



I'm also confused, but am currently leaning toward the 9pm show with early dining. As mentioned above, we just got off the Magic on Saturday. We had early dining, and our kids were 3 and 6. We (kids and adults) had a lot of activities at 2 or 3pm, which meant that we often weren't getting the kids down for naps until 4pm, then had to wake them up at 5 or 5:30 to get dressed for dinner. Unfortunately, to make it through the late show, the kids needed to nap (we sometimes napped too!) To make a 5pm show, we'd have to start dressing around 4pm, so you could head to the theatre at 4:30 or 4:45 to get a seat. That would cut out any afternoon activities, and wouldn't likely buy us much usable time since we may not partake of many of the late night activities in lieu of the show. Since I assume dinner would come right after the show, I doubt we'd have time to dress for dinner between the show and dinner.

Sometimes I think the late dining would make sense, then I see folks still at dinner at 10pm or later and know our kids would never make it that late, and I don't want to have to feed them early and have them spend dinner in the club/lab while we eat. I'll see what everyone's feedback is on the early cruises to see which time is working out best for everyone.

Aw, I wish I'd met you on the recent cruise!
Did I? And just not matching the real name with username? LOL

We're on late dining on our reservations. I've put in an email to our TA to narrow down the times and/or get us on waiting lists if need be.
I've asked for 7pm show/8:30 dining. I think that will work best for us.
We've always had issues with dining times and such a strict schedule for dining and shows.
I guess it's gonna be even harder with a set schedule for the show now! But I guess it's not much different than having a set dining where you can only go to one show opposite dining time. Atleast this way there is a bit of choice.
Our first cruise we had late dining thinking that would work best for us based on when we eat at home, most of us (all but Jeff) being nightowls, etc. It was rough because all the fun stuff was going on in the kids club/lab during that time and the kids were chomping at the bit to leave dinner and get to the kids fun stuff! (this was before the days of counselors taking the kids from the dining rooms.... and our kids were younger and our first cruise not allowed to go roaming by themselves. so I had to keep leaving one by one with the kids to take them. Didn't make for a very pleasant dining experience for me and Jeff- fortunately we had our own table so we weren't interrupting OTHER PEOPLE'S dining experience at the table. LOL)

we've tried early and late- it's rough either way for different reasons.
The last two cruises we had a suite and had listed main dining but upon entering the ship we immediately told them give that to someone waitlisted for it- we're dining in our room. (made for a lot less clothing packed too haha) And we had dinner in our room. Which was great- sometimes we ate early and watched later show- sometimes we saw the show and ate later. A perfect world.
Except we can't afford a suite every cruise obviously LOL

This cruise- at the moment, we have 2 cat 11B's (and then cat 6B's for the following 8/21 cruise)
I think we're gonna manage better with 7pm show/8:30 dining time and we just won't force the kids to come eat with us if they don't want to. Most likely the youngest will eat with us every night but the older two probably won't. (they only ate with us in the suite -last 2 cruises- on what they call "lobster" night. haha)

Is Dream gonna have another option for dinner (like Topsiders on Magic) for those that would prefer not to dress up on formal nights and skip the dining room those nights? Or do you think we should just come to dinner dressed appropriately for dinner even though not dressed formal?

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Happy Saturday Everyone !

Thank you for the info regarding showtimes

I have checked our reservation and have late seating with 7pm show.

Well our puppy is 3 weeks today (born Sept 11th) so we've got 4 more weeks till we can bring her home! Time is going slowly

Where does it show on the reservation what time dining/show is?
I went to the website- pulled my reservations- don't see this info anywhere on there?

 

[hmansure]

Where does it show on the reservation what time dining/show is?
I went to the website- pulled my reservations- don't see this info anywhere on there?

Our info didn't show on the DCL site either so we just called them and they provided the info over the phone...

 

[Mjasp]

Oh we have to book our show times in advance now?

 

[allardk46]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. Working on FE gifts today - at least the first part.

Enjoy your day.

Janeanne

 

[DisneyWhirled]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. Working on FE gifts today - at least the first part.

Enjoy your day.

Janeanne

Hi Janeanne!! I wish I could come up with something fabulous to hand out for the FE!! I'm still thinking, tho!!

Have a great day!!

 

[Mjasp]

How is everyone enjoying this beautiful Sunday in October 10/10/10

 

[Mjasp]

Oh to the person who asked about RCCL's dining. It is pretty much the same as Disney. Some people get very dressed up with gowns and tuxes, some with suits, some with dockers and the same goes for the ladies. I never have seen jeans in the dining room on formal night, not saying it's not there but that could be the area where I was sitting, no one dressed down

 

[allardk46]

Hi Janeanne!! I wish I could come up with something fabulous to hand out for the FE!! I'm still thinking, tho!!

Have a great day!!

I did not like what I gave out last time so I am really trying to think ahead here. It will also take me a while to complete.

 

[hmansure]

Oh we have to book our show times in advance now?

Not sure if new ressies get to book/request their show time or not (I would assume so), but it seems as if those with existing ressies were assigned a show time.

 

[Mjasp]

Not sure if new ressies get to book/request their show time or not (I would assume so), but it seems as if those with existing ressies were assigned a show time.

I just want to cruise, I don't want to put to much thought into it. I mean some planning is fun, but selecting show times, is a little much. I hear they pick their show times on the Oasis also

 

[hmansure]

I just want to cruise, I don't want to put to much thought into it. I mean some planning is fun, but selecting show times, is a little much. I hear they pick their show times on the Oasis also

I'm with you! I'm not a huge fan of following a schedule while on vacation.

 

[uncw89]

How is everyone enjoying this beautiful Sunday in October 10/10/10

It was a great day here too! It was mine and DH's 18th anniversary!

 

[Dizney73]

It was a great day here too! It was mine and DH's 18th anniversary!

Congrats... it was my parents 40th on10-10-10! I however was at the preshow of Ellen's energy adventure st the am 10-10-10 @ 10:10. Our school group gathered together and counted down for the pm 10 event

 

[Mjasp]

It was a great day here too! It was mine and DH's 18th anniversary!

Happy Anniversary!!!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

It was a great day here too! It was mine and DH's 18th anniversary!

Congratulations!
We celebrated our 20th anniversary this year.... hurray for long relationships and sticking in there for the long haul! haha

 

[jns]

It was a great day here too! It was mine and DH's 18th anniversary!

Congratulations

It was our 24th last week too

 

[BigDogHU75]

It was a great day here too! It was mine and DH's 18th anniversary!

Happy Anniversary!

 

[BigDogHU75]

Congratulations

It was our 24th last week too

Happy belated Anniversary!