August 16, 2011, Disney Dream - Part 4

[TiggerAllie]

For the one on Deck 11, I gave it to a CM.....I hope it got there! The ones on Deck 12, I asked a CM if he would take it and he just let me in!! He didn't have a key so he stuck his hand between the gate and opened it!!
Sounds good too me!!! Let's go for an Eastern hopefully around the same date as this one!

That is brilliant! It makes perfect sense, but without seeing the other side of the gate (or seeing a CM do it), I wouldn't have thought of it on my own!

I had a few extra magnets that I was never able to get to decks 11 & 12... I almost just left them stuck to the gate!

Love the idea of an Eastern! That will definitely be our next Caribbean trip (with MR, Alaska, and possibly out of NYC planned next).

 

[jenanderson]

Jen, LOVED LOVED LOVED meeting you, Paul and the kids. It is a fervent hope of mine that we will all cruise again with you. I'm hoping some pixie dust will fall your way and we might be donning pilgrim hats at a long table top (one of Kristin's liking too) on the '12 turkey cruise. Or if not that, something else...

Many thanks from me to you for the website and all of the other great things you did for everyone on this cruise. Good luck with school this fall. All kids will luck out to go into Mrs. Anderson's class and come up with their own ipad window into their unique world. I just wish some day that Skye and Hope are taught by a teacher like you....

I'm adding another line here so that is why my editing button has come on: Steve just walked into our library and wanted to wish you and Paul and the kids all the best too. Next time we cruise he hopes to run on CC with the Andersons. Me, I'd rather stay with all of our stuff at the beach...

Beth

Beth - It was so great to meet your family as well! We enjoyed spending time with you all on the ship and then at WDW! Tell Steve that we expect to run with him one day soon.

Started work today and I am so excited about teaching my iPad class and all the projects that I have planned. Wishing great teachers for your girls this year!!!

Miss ya Jen!! Dinner is not quite the same now.

Turkey Day is too pricey for us too, hopefully sometime in 2013 will work.

Miss you guys too! Paul and I really enjoyed our dinners (and other times we were together).

I am sad that Turkey Day is so expensive but we will have to work at finding another date that works for people.

Sounds good too me!!! Let's go for an Eastern hopefully around the same date as this one!

Jeff, Thanks for posting the group pics. I bought the second one! Now, can anyone help identify everybody?

We would love to do an eastern in the summer of 2013. I think we all need to watch for this. Any clue as to when 2013 info will be released?

I'll let Missy know. Thanks.

08/25/12 is an eastern which we booked last November

Maybe we can tell Jen who we are and she can (sorry for volunteering you) PhotoShop in the names.

Jeff - I will get to work on this on the weekend! I will probably need people to send me PM with identification info for themselves and their families. I am pretty good with some of the groups but there are tons of people I don't recognize. We will see how many we can fill in!

 

[Pudo]

As an interesting aside to the cabana story, when the concierge team first introduced themselves on the first day at the end of the conversation they asked me if I wanted a cabana. I smiled, laughed inside and said, "thank you, no". I had a sneaking suspicion that they held back some and that they weren't all booked while many were trying to get them during the online booking process.

 

[jenanderson]

Going back to what Jen said about how she loved the Cabana made me smile. Beth listened to me one night at dinner on how I couldn't believe anyone would spend $500 on a Cabana and then tried to convince me why it was a great thing. It was enjoyable to listen to her enthusiasm but for us it would be a incredible waste of money.

We enjoy exploring the island and are rarely in the same place for more than 15 minutes. I can't imagine renting a Cabana for the day when we probably wouldn't spend anytime in it. I told her it would be as if we rented a shore house that we never visited. Nevertheless, we didn't see eye-to-eye on this subject.

We love to spend the day on CC just floating and so I was worried about spending the money on the cabana as well but I will say it was some of the best money I spent on the trip! I think it helped that the first day on CC we did our running, snorkeling and running around. It was great to spend the 2nd CC day just enjoying it all!

That is brilliant! It makes perfect sense, but without seeing the other side of the gate (or seeing a CM do it), I wouldn't have thought of it on my own!

I had a few extra magnets that I was never able to get to decks 11 & 12... I almost just left them stuck to the gate!

Love the idea of an Eastern! That will definitely be our next Caribbean trip (with MR, Alaska, and possibly out of NYC planned next).

My DH is really tall and just reached over the gate and turned the handle!

Sounds like there are a group of us that are interested in an Eastern for the summer of 2013! That would be so much fun if it works out!

 

[ICEMANPAD]

A few comments...

For those considering Thanksgiving, it is a great time to go and especially for many occupations, other than retail, since there is little to be accomplished at work, and kids miss very little, if anything at school...this will be our 8th straight year, though we are only doing 4 days this time....Also, the decorations and atmosphere, not to mention the weather usually, are just fantastic....and yes that 2005 cruise mentioned above had a dinner link comprising 28 cabins including a couple of the people posting in this thread I believe...

Mason and I did almost back to back cruises - skipping the 4 days in between - and thus I can compare service....second time on Deck 7 we had much better cabin service than earlier on Deck 8, but I think that was luck of the draw..

As to dining, we actually had the same servers both weeks, as I recognized that we were truly fortunate the first time and arranged with the Head Server to have the same pair the second time, and that in spite of the fact that we had 21 people in the group. Normally, each team of servers gets 18 guests.

Also, they even accommodated our request to have the 11 adults (my wife was not there due to business which is why we went a week earlier as well at the last minute) and 10 kids at two separate tables. True we over-tipped, but the service was well worth the extra few bucks, especially since much of our group ordered off the RP menu, at least in part, on the EG and AP main menu rotation nights. Truly, some polite conversation with the right people can go a long way on the Disney ships, and having excellent wait staff makes meals that much more pleasant....In fact, one day about 1/2 of us went to RP for lunch, and even though our dinner server was not assigned to our table, she came over and greatly improved the service....Suffice it to say that when we go back on Thanksgiving, we will be requesting the same service team.

I do agree with some of the posts that there are some kinks to be worked out on the ship and I understand that the Fantasy will have some improvements regarding some of the major complaint areas, though I got that response in general terms, not specifics...my biggest gripe is that the theater and evolution seating is not designed to seat anyone over 6 feet tall...and we had 6'8" (me), 6'7" and 6'3" in our group...

Overall, we loved the experience and will be returning on both the Dream and Fantasy.

Chuck

 

[Pudo]

We love to spend the day on CC just floating and so I was worried about spending the money on the cabana as well but I will say it was some of the best money I spent on the trip! I think it helped that the first day on CC we did our running, snorkeling and running around. It was great to spend the 2nd CC day just enjoying it all!

So did you get the cabana for both days for $500? I thought it was $500 a day.

 

[jenanderson]

So did you get the cabana for both days for $500? I thought it was $500 a day.

We just hung out on the family beach on the 1st day. Had the cabana only on the 2nd CC day. It was a great way to do it with the double dip.

 

[jenanderson]

Thinking of all of you who live on the east coast and hoping for safe days ahead! We keep watching the news and thinking of all our friends who will be impacted by this storm. Hoping to have people post when the storm passes them by and all is well. Please stay safe everyone!

 

[Pudo]

We just hung out on the family beach on the 1st day. Had the cabana only on the 2nd CC day. It was a great way to do it with the double dip.

Interestingly enough, we have been to CC about a dozen times and the first day at CC we didn't get off the boat at all. This was the first time we didn't visit CC when the ship was there. I think it was a combination of it not being a great beach day and that we were so infatuated with the new ship

 

[elgerber]

Thinking of all of you who live on the east coast and hoping for safe days ahead! We keep watching the news and thinking of all our friends who will be impacted by this storm. Hoping to have people post when the storm passes them by and all is well. Please stay safe everyone!

Yes, stay safe!!! I know Elena is probably getting it first, she is in NC.

An eastern in August of 2013 would be nice! Anything but Nassau again!!

 

[Maryrn11168]

We love to spend the day on CC just floating and so I was worried about spending the money on the cabana as well but I will say it was some of the best money I spent on the trip! I think it helped that the first day on CC we did our running, snorkeling and running around. It was great to spend the 2nd CC day just enjoying it all!



My DH is really tall and just reached over the gate and turned the handle!

Sounds like there are a group of us that are interested in an Eastern for the summer of 2013! That would be so much fun if it works out!

I could definately be in to an Eastern on 2013!! When do the dates come out???

 

[Pudo]

I could definately be in to an Eastern on 2013!! When do the dates come out???

Typically in October or November. Last year the rates for the first half of the year came out on October 19th.

 

[jenanderson]

Interestingly enough, we have been to CC about a dozen times and the first day at CC we didn't get off the boat at all. This was the first time we didn't visit CC when the ship was there. I think it was a combination of it not being a great beach day and that we were so infatuated with the new ship

CC is my favorite. On the 2nd CC day, we were some of the last people back on the ship.

We spent our Nassau day enjoying the ship. It is a wonderful ship and we enjoyed the extra time on the boat.

Yes, stay safe!!! I know Elena is probably getting it first, she is in NC.

An eastern in August of 2013 would be nice! Anything but Nassau again!!

I don't think we could do another short cruise with Nassau in the itinerary again (unless it was really cheap). August 2013 with an Eastern itinerary would be perfect!

I could definately be in to an Eastern on 2013!! When do the dates come out???

I would love to know when the dates come out. We will all have to come back here and post what we are thinking when we get to the point that the 2013 dates are released!

 

[kritter]

Hey Everyone,

We are still in Orlando..Hoping, to get out tomorrow morning. Been an interesting day!!

We loved the cabana hoping to get another one on the next cruise!!

Can't wait for the two day!! Mary, should we stay here and chat or is there a meet thread??

I miss the cruise soo much!!

 

[kritter]

CC is my favorite. On the 2nd CC day, we were some of the last people back on the ship.

We spent our Nassau day enjoying the ship. It is a wonderful ship and we enjoyed the extra time on the boat.



I don't think we could do another short cruise with Nassau in the itinerary again (unless it was really cheap). August 2013 with an Eastern itinerary would be perfect!



I would love to know when the dates come out. We will all have to come back here and post what we are thinking when we get to the point that the 2013 dates are released!

I think we will want to go to DVC Hawaii in 2013~~!!

 

[kritter]

I just love the fact that our cruise is over and we are still posting 5 or 6 pages/day!!

We only saw our cabin steward once or twice. Room was always neat and turned down every night. We brought our own shampoo, conditioner, and lotion so I was not looking for replacements.

Our assistant server was very good, He was new. He had been with DCL for 2 months. He joked with the kids, got to know their likes, dislikes, etc. Our Server was OK, and very pushy for her 'excellent' review. This was the first Disney cruise that I actually had to cut my son's food. On both our other cruises the waiter's would cut up their meat when they delivered their food.

I had so much fun meeting everyone! We are so looking forward to the 2night on the Magic! I know quite a few of us booked it, but not sure exactly who. Are we going to join that dis meet or just keep chatting on here???

We booked a dummy date too, but If we could agree on another date I would love to cruise with you all again!

Mary looking forward to the 2-Nighter!! Maybe, we can make it a three nighter and stay the night before all of us in the city!!

I think so far, You, Me, Jeff, Beth, and Janeanne are booked for the 2-Nighter anyone else??

Laurie are you and Rob in too??

 

[Shelebeen]

I think we will want to go to DVC Hawaii in 2013~~!!

We put a deposit down for DVC for AuLani last week

 

[kritter]

We put a deposit down for DVC for AuLani last week

YEAH,,!! CONGRATS!! When are you going??!!

 

[sherreis]

Trying to catch up with you guys. You've done a lot of posting today!

Deborah-- thanks for the update and I'm glad that DD will be ok.

I have a quick question, wondering if any of you know the answer....

We had a bottle of wine plus some mojito and margarita coolers left plus some pop which we just left in our stateroom, do the hosts get to keep it? We weren't sure how that works only that we knew we wouldn't drink it..hope someone else did!

I didn't want to leave my last bottle of wine in the cooler in our room (wasn't going to reward the cabin steward anything additional) so I took it to breakfast on the last morning to give to our server - Viktoria. She told me she had to get special permission from the head server because it was a whole bottle of wine so she wouldn't be "accused" of stealing something from the bar.

How quickly we start to miss our time on the Dream....we can't wait for our next one. In the meantime, I have to start working on the ADRs for our trip to WDW for Christmas.

Today, I also decided to become an Avon Representative. This is something completely new for me and I am very excited about it!

Congratulations and I hope you enjoy it. I keep thinking I should do something to help subsidize my Disney habit. One of my friends on the cruise sells Premiere Jewelry which I had never heard about before. She brought plenty of samples and catalog with her on the cruise and we had a little jewelry party outside of Enchanted Garden on our sea day. Nice stuff!

We had problems with our shampoo and conditioner not being replaced so I had to go hunting for those. I ended up taking showers up in the spa so I wouldn't have to go find my own shampoo again. Also the showers up there are nicer than my little one!

Terri - I kept hoping that I would run into you when coming in/out of your room. You were a few doors down from us. We were in 2016. You must have had the same steward we did. Not impressed at all. As DH and I decided, he just needs lots of training to learn how to anticipate customer needs, such as needing towels in the bathroom, clean glasses in the room, etc. BTW- loved your door.

My girls were soo upset and my mom did not get good news about her biopsy the day we boarded so this cruise was supposed to be quality time with their grand-daughters!! So upsetting..

The shampoo, etc. did you notice the bottles are even smaller sized now??!!

I'm sorry about your Mom. What's the plan going to be for her?

OK - time for bed. I'll read more tomorrow as long as we have power.

 

[kritter]

Trying to catch up with you guys. You've done a lot of posting today!

Deborah-- thanks for the update and I'm glad that DD will be ok.



I didn't want to leave my last bottle of wine in the cooler in our room (wasn't going to reward the cabin steward anything additional) so I took it to breakfast on the last morning to give to our server - Viktoria. She told me she had to get special permission from the head server because it was a whole bottle of wine so she wouldn't be "accused" of stealing something from the bar.



Congratulations and I hope you enjoy it. I keep thinking I should do something to help subsidize my Disney habit. One of my friends on the cruise sells Premiere Jewelry which I had never heard about before. She brought plenty of samples and catalog with her on the cruise and we had a little jewelry party outside of Enchanted Garden on our sea day. Nice stuff!



Terri - I kept hoping that I would run into you when coming in/out of your room. You were a few doors down from us. We were in 2016. You must have had the same steward we did. Not impressed at all. As DH and I decided, he just needs lots of training to learn how to anticipate customer needs, such as needing towels in the bathroom, clean glasses in the room, etc. BTW- loved your door.



I'm sorry about your Mom. What's the plan going to be for her?

OK - time for bed. I'll read more tomorrow as long as we have power.

Thanks, Sherri, not sure the plan yet. She meets with the surgeon when we get home!! If and when we can get home!!