August 16, 2011, Disney Dream - Part 2

[shmoogrrrl]

Dh and I talked about it but $75/per person is steep. Since this is our first DCL cruise we decided that we would be fine with all the other dinner offerings (still haven't decided about Palo) and do something else w/ the $150 ...either on the ship, or during our stay at WDW post-cruise!

Go to Palo! You'll thank me later.

I agree that $75 is pricey, although if the wine is included, it would make it a little more acceptable to me.

My problem is the sample menu that they posted. I found something that I would eat around course five, and as there were only six courses listed (including dessert) it seems like not such a great deal for me. Oddly, it seems a lot like Victoria and Alberts at the GF, which my husband and I have eaten at twice and LOVED, but this menu seemed much more limited and not really appealing to me. I am SOOOOO not a foodie.

Good news for everyone else, though! There will be one less family looking for reservations!

 

[MrsJobba1]

Hi all

I just wanted to introduce Bella to you - (sadly we lost Floss in June)

Bella is only 2 weeks and 1 day old - so we have an axious 5 weeks to wait until we can bring her home.
Dave and I really enjoyed visiting her today and getting lots of puppy cuddles

Bella with her Mum

Hope you enjoy

 

[elgerber]

OMG, Love the puppy pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to see more of them as she grows. Darling!

 

[Minniemouse07]

Go to Palo! You'll thank me later.

Good news for everyone else, though! There will be one less family looking for reservations!

LOL

I actually mentioned to dh that w/ Remy on the ship it might be easier to get a Palo reservation!

I should have mentioned that dh and I aren't wine drinkers ....so if it was included it would be a total waste of $$ for us!

 

[winnyis]

OMG your puppy is adorable.

 

[shmoogrrrl]

LOL

I actually mentioned to dh that w/ Remy on the ship it might be easier to get a Palo reservation!

I should have mentioned that dh and I aren't wine drinkers ....so if it was included it would be a total waste of $$ for us!

That is a very good reason why wine is probably extra. Not everyone is a drinker and having to pay the same price without the wine would be lame.

 

[hmansure]

Hi all.. I figured I would come straight to the experts! I want book our transfers to the port from wdw and then back t mco. Should I book through Disney @ 70 dollars a person or book a towncar service for $220 plus gratuity? What are the pros and cons of each? What are your experiences? What time do the buses puck you up? If we take a service should I be worried about getting to the port early... or beating the Disney buses?
Oh... there are 4 of us... our son will be 2... our daughter 5.
Thanks!

We have used a car service (we have 5 in our party) and have never had a problem. The last time we used a company that the DIS has banned so even if I typed their name it would get the "*****" With that said, I think most of the companies are comparable and offer relatively the same level of service. On our last cruise the car service (it was actually an Escalade if I recall) picked us up at MCO (flight was SUPER late - after 1AM) and took us to SSR. They promptly picked us up on the day of the cruise (we chose the time for pick-up) and also were waiting for us at the port upon our return. Pretty simple and convenient.

 

[Dizney73]

We have used a car service (we have 5 in our party) and have never had a problem. The last time we used a company that the DIS has banned so even if I typed their name it would get the "*****" With that said, I think most of the companies are comparable and offer relatively the same level of service. On our last cruise the car service (it was actually an Escalade if I recall) picked us up at MCO (flight was SUPER late - after 1AM) and took us to SSR. They promptly picked us up on the day of the cruise (we chose the time for pick-up) and also were waiting for us at the port upon our return. Pretty simple and convenient.

Thanks! It certainly do like using a car service because it dies allow us a bit more flexibility with times and even gives us a grocery store stop.
if I don't have to pay for my 2 year old then the sclerosis transfers would be less AND FROM what I an seeing I won't have to touch my bags! With 2 small kids THAT could be a luxury. But if I do have to pay for Anderson then the car service would be cheaper I just don't know what to do.
Can anyone else give me their experiences or suggestions?

 

[jns]

we have used Disney tranport first from the Animal Kingdom
landed at the port after 1pm so most of the people were already onboard so we had no waiting about
really enjoyed the video that they played on the trip to the port

after cruise we got the tranport to the airport
think we had 12 oclock flights we were there in plenty time
but be aware you have to wait until the bus fills up this happened us one time we had tranfars back to SSR waited in the bus for about 20 minutes at the port before the bus was filled up

another time we had a hired car and just dropped it off at the port
office was about 5 minutes from port first DH dropped me and kids and luggage and then went and left the car they have a bus to leave the driver back at the ship

 

[jns]

Whats happen to the question of the Week ????
OK so I'll post one

What are your plans for our Nassus Day ?


we might head over to the beach for a while again
This is the public beach , it was really windly but we had great fun in the waves

We were on the crise that joined the Wonder in Nassus due to a storm that wouldnt let us dock at CC

This is us leaving Nassus

 

[MrsJobba1]

Hi

When in the states dh and myself dont drive so we either get a towncar or the dcl transfers.

Our first 3 cruises we used the disney cruise bus transfers. They picked us up from our resort (DVC resort) around 12.30 ish and we got to the port sometime between 1.30 / 2pm. The terminal was pretty quiet and we got straight onto the ship. Our room was ready so we were able to dump our stuff in it straight away.

The last 2 times we got a towncar so that we could be at the port early.

Whilst some people went to wdw in the morning whilst waiting for the bus - we didn't we tended to spend the time hanging around the resort lobby and it killed us (ok me) to think that people were boarding the ship whilst we were waiting for the bus.

Another plus to the bus is that they will hold the ship if a DCL bus is stuck in traffic - they wont hold for a towncar.

With regards to luggage its pretty much the same as we have always found the porters at the terminal to be great and they have helped with the luggage when getting a town car.

For this trip we will be getting a towncar.
Hope that helps

 

[MrsJobba1]

Whats happen to the question of the Week ????
OK so I'll post one

What are your plans for our Nassus Day ?

we might head over to the beach for a while

We were on the crise that joined the Wonder in Nassus due to a storm that wouldnt let us dock at CC

[/IMG]

Easy AQUA DUCK
possible spa treatment but certainly we'll be staying on board

It must have been good to see the ships together

 

[jns]

It must have been good to see the ships together

There was a real Buzz about the ship the crew were over and back to the ships as most had friends on each ship

plus the 2 ships tried to out do each other with the horns
i'm sure the people in Nassus were fed up listening all day but everyone on board had a great time

love the photos of Belle , congratulations on the new member of your family

 

[jns]

theres a great report HERE on the Disney Dream

 

[MrsJobba1]

theres a great report HERE on the Disney Dream

Thankyou I enjoyed reading it - wow she looks huge

 

[shmoogrrrl]

Whats happen to the question of the Week ????
OK so I'll post one

What are your plans for our Nassus Day ?

I am not 100% sure what we will do. My daughter is currently really into dolphins and would love one of the dolphin excursions, but I have a fear of sea creatures (mainly sharks, although oddly I am also obsessed with sharks as a devoted Shark Week watcher), and I worry about freaking out at a dolphin touching me.

At the very least, we will get off the ship a while so that we can say the kids visited Nassau. Spending more time on the ship sounds like a great thing to do.

 

[Minniemouse07]

I have always said that I would NEVER drive to WDW. I fully believe if I am on vacation I don't want to spend four days of it in the car.

We typically utilize DME and on property transportation...and don't even rent a car.

Then we started trying to figure the logistics of getting to and from the airport and WDW. Dh also wants to go see KSC and we were toying w/ the idea of going to IoA (but have nixed that for next year's trip).

So it makes the most sense (for us...family of four that packs too much) to drive instead of dealing with either towncars, shuttles, or renting something large enough for us and our luggage.

I am glad that we made this decision early on, BEFORE booking, as it factored heavily into the timing of our cruise so we could leave and return on a Saturday, and still include everything we wanted to do (although i could always go for more days at WDW! ).

So now I've got additional things on my "to do" list that include researching where we should stop on the way down and the way back, picking up a book about cool things to see along I95, and packing WAY more things to do for the kids on this trip than ever before!!

To date our longest trip is only 10hrs so 18hrs will be a bit more of a challenge, but the kids are troopers and travel well (as long as dd pulls her head away from her DS once in a while and doesn't get car sick!) so it should be quite the adventure!

 

[MrsJobba1]

Ok we bit the bullet and have booked our flights! We used virgin miles plus money and they cost an arm and a leg but it will be worth it

 

[sdchickie]

OMG, the cutest puppy in the world! I love puppy pictures.
As for the Question of the week, we might do the sea lion swim or go to Atlantis. All the times we've been to Nassau and we've never been to Atlantis.

 

[BigDogHU75]

One of my DIS friends on my other cruise meet thread posted these pictures of the model of the Dream. Thought some of you might be interested in seeing them.

Here's a few pictures of the DREAM model I saw up in Chicago: