Cruising the Dream on our 1st cruise ever!!! (5 Night Double Dip)

[Pinkocto]

Totally better late than never! Thanks for the heads up!

Absolutely! Thanks for coming over

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hi Pam! Followed your link over from Mary Ellen's TR - great start and love the pics of The Dream. It looks great!

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Pinkocto]

Hi Pam! Followed your link over from Mary Ellen's TR - great start and love the pics of The Dream. It looks great!

Looking forward to reading more.

Welcome! So good to see you again. Thanks for coming over

 

[MEK]

Caught up. Great pictures!

TMJ? Ugh! I have had that and it hurts like you know what.

Great arrival time. I guess nothing really prepares you for the splendor of the ship. Can't wait until 2013!

 

[Pinkocto]

Thank you everybody for joining. This is great fun

I realize that I didn't say anything about the plan of the day so I'll include that now and then get on with the show. During my pre-cruise research I came across some Daily Navigators of the 5 night 'Double Dip' so poured over those at length trying to get some sort of game plan for each day. On the first day I knew we'd begin with lunch at either Enchanted Garden or Cabanas. I really didn't want to have to choose where to go, since I had read that Cabanas had so many choices but Enchanted Garden is so beautiful that I knew we'd enjoy that too. Since we were some of the first onboard we were directed to Cabanas since it opened at 11:30 and Enchanted Garden didn't open until noon. After lunch we wanted to do a ship tour which started at 1:00. Well, I'll rephrase, mom wanted to do the tour, I thought I knew everthing there was to know and I could tell her at my own pace. More on that later. After the tour we'd go to the stateroom since they are open at 1:30, then we wanted to do the DVC members welcome meeting from 2:30-3:30 followed by the Lifeboat Drill at 3:45, then the Sail Away Deck Party from 4:15-5, the show at 6:15, followed by dinner at 8:15. The first day was jam packed!

 

[Pinkocto]

Caught up. Great pictures!

TMJ? Ugh! I have had that and it hurts like you know what.

Great arrival time. I guess nothing really prepares you for the splendor of the ship. Can't wait until 2013!

That had to be what it was. I was in such agony. I really have a high tolerance for pain, but this was so horrible. I am so glad it didn't last to the next day and inhibit my enjoyment of all the delicious food!

It was so early, but I'm so glad we took that flight since everything worked out perfectly and we really had most of the first day on the ship.

You are going to love it!

 

[franandaj]

I will do my best Do you have a Disney Visa? You can get the 6 months 0% financing and cancel it at any time if you change your mind.

I didn't know that! You can cancel at any time, without penalty?

 

[jedijill]

Welcome, thanks for joining. Which one are you doing in October?

I'm on the 10/6 Eastern!

Jill in CO

 

[Pinkocto]

So we headed towards Cabanas and of course I took pictures along the way.

This is looking back at the Quiet Cove area I showed earlier.

You have to pass a dividing wall which says something like '18 & Older Only', I might have a picture later on that I'll include if I find it. The only design flaw is that you have to pass through the Quiet Cove to get to the Forward Elevators, so kids could walk through but couldn't stay. The CMs stationed in that area are very diligent about keeping the kids out.

This is the port side, Cabanas is in the very aft of Deck 11.

They were setting up for the Sail Away Party. The round thing on the right is an outdoor shower for rinsing off.

They have bins everywhere for trash and seperate ones for dirty/wet towels. There were clean towel bins also. Everything was so organized and clean. Every time I saw even the tiniest bit of trash the first CM who saw it would pick it up. I was so impressed at the level of dedication every CM had.

The round thing on the right is a little shop called Quacks, which later in the cruise sold shirts that had our itinerary on them. They made an announcement about the shirts, they were only available to buy on our sea day, and of course we had to have them. I'm getting ahead of myself, I'll include a picture later.

Here's a close up. It pulls apart to form a shop.

This is Flounder's Reef, a shaded area for the little ones. Pretty much every age group had their own water area. Teens have their own dedicated pool in their club so I really didn't see any teenagers except in the hallways.

This slide was too cute!

They had tons of tables/chairs on both Port and Starboard since Flo's V-8 Cafe was situated around the pools. More on that wonderful place later.

 

[Pinkocto]

I didn't know that! You can cancel at any time, without penalty?

Up to a point, and it depends on the category you're in. I tried to copy and paste from my cruise documents but it wasn't working. Basically you have until 75 days before the cruise if it embarks or debarks in the U.S. to cancel before they start charging fees. If you book a category with 'restrictions' those are non-refundable and non-transferable, so only book those if you are cemented in your dates or you'll be out all your money.

 

[jdd]

I will do my best Do you have a Disney Visa? You can get the 6 months 0% financing and cancel it at any time if you change your mind.

I do have the Visa - I'll have to look into that. I'm actually planning on using rewards points to pay for a portion of the trip - I'm not sure if that affects the free financing deal...

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm on the 10/6 Eastern!

Jill in CO

That'll be lovely! Did I totally miss your ticker? Sorry if I asked the obvious.

 

[Pinkocto]

I do have the Visa - I'll have to look into that. I'm actually planning on using rewards points to pay for a portion of the trip - I'm not sure if that affects the free financing deal...

That shouldn't affect things at all. They'll probably have you put the down payment on the card and then you can use your reward card to make a payment. I think it's such a nice perk of the Disney Visa.

 

[Shell54]

Following along a little bit late. Your pics of the Dream are great..we cruised her last summer also as 2 adults..no kids. Such a beautiful ship! There were 1200 kids on our cruise as announced by our cruise director on the last nite..but we hung out in the adult areas mostly so it didn't matter to us.

 

[PixieMom712]

We are cruising the Magic so I haven't read many Dream TRs, but I peeked in and saw your gorgeous photos so now I am here to stay! Thank you for taking so much time to document, photograph and share!

 

[Pinkocto]

Following along a little bit late. Your pics of the Dream are great..we cruised her last summer also as 2 adults..no kids. Such a beautiful ship! There were 1200 kids on our cruise as announced by our cruise director on the last nite..but we hung out in the adult areas mostly so it didn't matter to us.

Not late at all, there's still tons to go. Thanks for joining. I really couldn't get over how beautiful the Dream was. No amount of pictures had me ready.

 

[Pinkocto]

We are cruising the Magic so I haven't read many Dream TRs, but I peeked in and saw your gorgeous photos so now I am here to stay! Thank you for taking so much time to document, photograph and share!

Welcome! Thanks so much. Lots more pictures to share Once I got started reading TRs it didn't matter which ship it was I just enjoy reading about everyones' adventures. We'll definitely be going on the Magic and Wonder in the future.

 

[Pinkocto]

Ok, so we've finally made it to Cabanas. They serve buffet breakfast and lunch, and then they make it into a sit-down for dinner if you want to skip your scheduled dinner in the main dining rooms. One thing I want to point is is that it is shaped in a horseshoe, or U, and there are two identical sides. Also, there are many different food stations so instead of waiting in one big line you can jump in to each station and get whatever you want. Each different station had plates so you never had to wait in line for plates either. Whenever we went it was find your own seating, we never encountered a CM who wanted to find us a table which is something I've read in other TRs. Also, each table had silverware wrapped in napkins ready for use. There were at least two different beverage stations if not more, I totally forgot to count them inside the restaurant. But there are two others outside by the pools on either side of the ship.

At the time we walked in there was only one side open which was fine because there were hardly any people. We first went in search of a table and glanced at all the food offerings spying things we'd like to come back for. There is outside seating at the very Aft of the ship so that's where we went. Of course I took a few pictures on the way.

The Disney touches make everything better in my opinion

Shrimp station, this was offered a few times, and there was also crab legs and oysters.

Just one display of the desserts offered, there were many more. Each was on the small side, so you could easily try many different things.

I failed getting any more pictures of the line. We were so starving I completely forgot to take any more pictures, I was so intent on eating. I don't think I had eaten anything all morning.

The beach theme was fabulously done in here

So we found a table outside and I left mom with the bags to go find a restroom. I was directed upstairs one flight to Remy and Palo's which was so beautiful I wish I had my camera with me. I thought for sure we'd be back so wasn't too worried, we did have reservations for Palo, the much raved about Italian restaurant. You do have to pay an upcharge of $20 pp for Palo, dinner or brunch, and $15 for tea. Brunch and tea are only available on sea days. Remy is $75 pp and is only available for dinner. I have read fabulous things about both Remy and Palo, they are both worth their upcharges in the opinion of everyone I've read that's gone. Well this was the first encounter with a ship's toilet, and I must say I was taken aback by the loudness of the flushing. Just a warning for future 1st timers.

Back down to the buffet and the side we came in on, the one with nobody there previously, was now packed. And the line I don't want anybody to stand in because I've now told you you can jump to the different stations, hoards were standing in. So I quickly thought, maybe the other side has been opened by now, and voila, it was, and I was one of the only ones over there. Please go against the flow, don't think the crowd must know what they're doing. So I come back and relieve mom of her bag guarding post so she can go grab some food. Direct her to the side I went to, and started taking food pictures! Oh, the doors to the outside dining area are automatic, which is so nice when you're carrying a plate of food and a drink.

Lots of wonderful carbs for sustenance There was a piece of swordfish under the fries, and that was the only thing that wasn't fabulous. It was a little dry, but I did eat most of it for the protein. The noodles were so fabulous.

Totally unnecessary close ups, but they do make the noodles look so delicious. This was some sort of creamy mushroom dish.

I don't think I got all the toppings that were supposed to come with the red noodles, but they were quite good too. You can see a little of the swordfish on the left.

Absolutely fabulous fries, had to have just come out of the frier.

And deliciously creamy mac and cheese.

I somehow failed to get a picture of mom's plate, but she found tons of vegetarian options and was a happy camper. This picture oversight will not be repeated I promised myself. Sadly I did miss a few other times, but mostly everything else from the trip was documented.

A lovely view from our table.

CMs were constantly taking people's dirty plates away. One even offered to refill my drink when he noticed it was empty. It was wonderful. I am usually the one taking care of others, so it was just so nice to sit back, relax, and be waited on. We didn't lounge too long because we had to be at the ship tour at 1:00. We finished eating around 12:15 and headed out. No surprise I didn't need a second plate, those carbs did the job We did stop to get mom one of the famous chocolate chip cookies which she enjoyed. Not quite to the extent I've heard since she makes some fabulous CCC cookies herself, but not bad.

We headed down the Aft stairwell to work off some calories and explore the ship some more. There was artwork at every landing and inbetween floors so I highly recommend taking the stairs just to see the art. I particularly enjoyed these Dumbo ones.

Going to stop for now, will be back soon. Thanks for following along

 

[dolphingirl47]

Cabanas looks fantastic. This is the one thing that I intensely dislike on the classic ships - the buffet. There you have to stand in one long line. Fortunately they offer a buffet most breakfasts and lunches at Parrot Cay , too, and this is where we tend to head when it is open.

DH would be overjoyed to hear that they were offering the peel and eat shrimp on multiple days. He loves them and usually only can get them on the first day. This has become a bit of a ritual. Once he had his peel and eat shrimp and I had my chilled strawberry soup, we know that we are really on the ship.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

Cabanas looks fantastic. This is the one thing that I intensely dislike on the classic ships - the buffet. There you have to stand in one long line. Fortunately they offer a buffet most breakfasts and lunches at Parrot Cay , too, and this is where we tend to head when it is open.

DH would be overjoyed to hear that they were offering the peel and eat shrimp on multiple days. He loves them and usually only can get them on the first day. This has become a bit of a ritual. Once he had his peel and eat shrimp and I had my chilled strawberry soup, we know that we are really on the ship.

Corinna

I was so impressed by the amount of choices. I had read they usually have the shrimp out only on the first day also, so when we went after that and they were also there I was glad because people enjoy them so much. I kept looking around and saying, 'I can't believe I'm actually here!' Everything was just so beautiful and the CMs so nice, and spotlessly clean.