Disney Dream 12502

[pdwimmer]

Hi All:

Just arrived home from the lovely Dream. We stayed in room 12502. All I can say is amazing! Oddly enough the worst thing I can say is they tried to cater to us so much it was uncomfortable. The 7 a.m. power washing of the deck the day of disembarking was horrible as well.

If there is anything specific anyone would like to know please PM me and I'll provide my experiences, for what they are worth.

Happy cruising,
Trish

 

[Kurukthemal]

Did you sail Presidents Week? Was it crowded?

 

[pdwimmer]

No. We sailed February 26 - March 1. Surprisingly enough no it was not at all crowded. The pools were definitely full. But there was plenty of space on deck for the sail away party, pirate party, shows, etc.

My only piece of advice is remember that Cabanas has the same station repeated a dozen times. People will give you a dirty look but just walk right past them as you walk in towards the back and you will find a completely empty station to get your food at. I did this every morning for the kids breakfast and took it back up to the room.

 

[poison ivy]

room 12502!!!!! Very Nice

What time did you arrive at the port? We're trying to get an idea of the process during embarkation for concierge guests.

also, could you be seen from deck 13?

 

[pdwimmer]

Hi there:
I believe we arrived by around 11:45ish. We had to wait several times for the Avis shuttle bus. You know how it goes, people get excited and cut in line. We weren't in the mood to argue so we just waited.

It took maybe 15 minutes total to get on the ship. The porters took the bags straight from the shuttle to ship. Short line to check our passports and birth certificates then right into the terminal. From there our longest wait was in the concierge line. Maybe 10 minutes behind other concierge guests.

From there a CM takes you directly to the front of every other line. Please be prepared for the dirty looks from the families that have been waiting in line for forever. It was apparent and made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

We walked directly to the concierge lounge. We met with the concierge staff and were taken directly to our room. We did not have to wait until 1:30. Everyone else in our group in concierge were also escorted directly to their rooms upon boarding.

If you stand at the railing you can be seen from deck 13. But if you stay back in the hot tub or on one of the lounge chairs no one can see you.

If you have a large party traveling with you this room is absolutely the best to have. Well aside from the Walt. But if you are a party of say 3 or 4 it's probably overkill. We had 21 total in our party and hosted a sail away party and a birthday party for several children. It was also our home base for all the kids when the parents wanted time alone. They'd drop them off and they'd go to the hot tub, check out movies from the concierge, drag me to the AuquaDuck etc. None of the kids cared for the kids clubs. Maybe because they are a little on the shy side??? I can't imagine why they wouldn't have liked them otherwise.

It was just fantastic. I had a minor melt down on Tuesday night of exhaustion from having so many people around ALL the time. Hubby let me sleep in on Wednesday morning and then I picked up hostess duties again with no problem.

 

[Johnny Quest]

Hi Trish,

sounds like you had a great time cruising with a group. My wife (poison ivy) and I are also "group cruising" on the Dream in Sept.2013, so we've booked 4 concierge cabins (12506 - 12512). We have 10 adults and 1 baby(1) so far.

We've been debating about upgrading one of our 1-bdrm suites to the Roy.

First problem was that we couldn't secure the cabins on either side(12000 & 12502) even for numerous cruise dates. For some odd reason these always came up as not available, both online and by phone.

Secondly, we've read that both the murphy beds have rock hard mattresses - being very uncomfortable for adults. I'd appreciate your opinion on this.

Third, does the extra square footage and sprawling deck with hot tub justify the price increase for our group? (my wife says yes! yes! yes!)

I love the idea of having a great central gathering place for everyone to enjoy. Did you have multiple concierge cabins in your group? How did you handle food for your sail away party? Did the staff assist?

That's enough for now! Sorry.

Thanks,
Jim

P.S. How many does that hot tub hold anyway?

 

[pdwimmer]

Hi Jim:

Let me see if I can tick off each question:

1) YES! The price increase justifies it in some many ways. Extra space, extra amenities, full refrigerator (for baby stuff )
2) The verandah is so amazing I can't even tell you. It does get windy the very first night. So do yourself a favor and move all the furniture as far back against the way as possible. Otherwise you'll loose some over the edge. The room steward will arrange it back in the morning if you don't want to. I was always up at the crack of dawn so I did it myself.
3) The murphy beds in the Roy are not at all hard. If you have ever been to a Marriott they are similar to those. One is a large single and the other a double. I slept in the single with one of mine one night with no worries.
4) You can have Palo delivered to your room without paying the extra 20 per person. You will of course have to pay for the tips You can also order from any menu on the ship basically whenever you want. We tried to ensure we let the concierge know ahead of time so they could arrange.
5) Pick up the phone and there is someone there. I usually just walked down the hall and spoke with the team. They will move heaven and earth for you. Literally.
6) We had several concierge rooms and 2 non-concierge. There were 21 of us total. We asked our entire group plus those from our FE group up to the room on the first day before the muster drill. I order food and soft drinks for the kids. I just expected them to drop it off in the room and head out. We had the food and beverage manager come in about 30 minutes before the party to ensure she understood what we needed. Then they came in and set it all up, linen, china, etc. We had a bar tender and a server stay for the hour long reception. The kids of course all jumped in the hot tub and the bar tender made them smoothies, fetched sparkling cider etc. I can't say enough how much it was worth it.
7) Regarding getting the connecting room. Not really a big deal. The connecting doors are such that if left open, 12502 can't open their main door. All the rooms are close together it really doesn't matter. Walking a few extra steps is nothing.
8) Plus when the ship just gets to be too much, you have a palace to retire too every evening instead of tripping over the pull out bed.

If this doesn't push your wife over the edge I don't know what will. I can also send you some pictures we took if you like.

Happy sailing,
Trish

 

[pdwimmer]

P.S. Oh sorry you asked about the hot tub. I have no idea how many adults. The kids had it the entire time. But it held 10 children with no problem. My husband and I got to get into it once. This was definitely a cruise for the kids. Next time, kids are staying home and we're taking our friends!

I also forgot to mention there are privacy curtains around each murphy bed so it becomes a private area for the evening, or day if you want a nap

 

[Big Pro]

Hey, thanks for the info. The Roy just opened up today on our cruise and we jumped on it. I was wondering what makes the Walt better then the Roy in your mind?

Did they charge you for the reception/bartender/etc?

Can you have them put an occasional beer in that fridge? Seems like so much empty space in there might just go to waste How was the wine in the wine fridge and could you request a certain kind (I understand you have to pay for it).

With the curtains pulled, were you guys still able to watch TV in the mainroom after the kids went to bed?

Thanks in advance for the info!

 

[poison ivy]

7) Regarding getting the connecting room. Not really a big deal. The connecting doors are such that if left open, 12502 can't open their main door. All the rooms are close together it really doesn't matter. Walking a few extra steps is nothing.

I'm trying to envision this situation and looked at a few videos to determine where the connecting doors are but to no avail. Is there a picture with the connecting door open or can you provide a more detailed description?

Thanks so much for all your replies on this!!!

 

[pdwimmer]

Hey, thanks for the info. The Roy just opened up today on our cruise and we jumped on it. I was wondering what makes the Walt better then the Roy in your mind?

Did they charge you for the reception/bartender/etc?

Can you have them put an occasional beer in that fridge? Seems like so much empty space in there might just go to waste How was the wine in the wine fridge and could you request a certain kind (I understand you have to pay for it).

With the curtains pulled, were you guys still able to watch TV in the mainroom after the kids went to bed?

Thanks in advance for the info!

Hi There:
I didn't see the Walt so I have absolutely no idea what makes them different. I think they are more or less the same with just different names. But I've heard rumors it is supposed to be better.

The food we bought for the reception included the price of the bartender and waiter. You can get a price list from onside concierge and they will arrange it for you (or I can send it to you). We didn't know they included the tip so we tipped on top of what they charged. But considering we took two hours of two staff members time, plus those that set up, I don't think it was unreasonable that we tipped on top of what they asked.

When you walk in you will have a refrigerator full of some milk, various sodas and water. You can call ahead as well and have beer placed in it as well. Or you can wait for the happy hour and grab a few extra bottles then and place them in the refrigerator.

The wine selection was your standard fare that was already placed in the wine refrigerator. But they have a wine list and you can order anything you want. Concierge will see to it that they get it immediately. NEVER call room service. Call concierge.


If you want to email me I can send you pictures: trish@wimmerclinical.com.

Have a great time, you won't regret the upgrade, truly!

 

[poison ivy]

Hi again!

Just a few more questions:

Were you able to see the fireworks from the Royal suite balcony?
Was the height of the plexiglass on the balcony to high to see over?
What about the height of the balcony rail on adjoining cabin 12504?

Did anyone have any motion problems given the cabin locations?

thanks

 

[pdwimmer]

Hi again!

Just a few more questions:

Were you able to see the fireworks from the Royal suite balcony?
Was the height of the plexiglass on the balcony to high to see over?
What about the height of the balcony rail on adjoining cabin 12504?

Did anyone have any motion problems given the cabin locations?

thanks

Hi there:

Fireworks: Unfortunately no. We were told by concierge Midship is the best view. But we chose to go directly outside the concierge doors on deck 12 and staked a spot out there. PERFECT view!

Plexiglass is about 5 feet. I was able to see over with no problem.

Room 12504 was just below my chest.

Nope, no motion sickness. The worst that happened was the land sickness once off the ship. UGH. Lastest a week for me.

Here are some pictures. Sorry, it's not a lot right now. My husband has them all on his digital and hasn't gotten them all sorted through just yet. There are pics of the Royal and room 12504 in this deck at least. We'll get something polished put together soon.

http://on.fb.me/AhDgIn

 

[disneyholic family]

sounds wonderful!!!!!

we sailed in the walt disney suite on the Wonder and loved every minute of it!!

i would have been happy just staying in there for the entire cruise..

one of the royal suites is available for our cruise on the Dream, but there are only 3 of us, so i just can't justify the upcharge of $3000 for a 4 day cruise.
(we're in a cat T - one bedroom).

a question - i see that you had 2 non-concierge rooms in your group.
Were they permitted to go into the concierge lounge with you?

 

[disneyholic family]

thanks for the picture link!!!

what an amazing room!!!! i want it!!!!

by the way, that place where you should watch out for alligators when you swim?
all i have to say about that is

 

[pdwimmer]

sounds wonderful!!!!!

we sailed in the walt disney suite on the Wonder and loved every minute of it!!

i would have been happy just staying in there for the entire cruise..

one of the royal suites is available for our cruise on the Dream, but there are only 3 of us, so i just can't justify the upcharge of $3000 for a 4 day cruise.
(we're in a cat T - one bedroom).

a question - i see that you had 2 non-concierge rooms in your group.
Were they permitted to go into the concierge lounge with you?

Hi Beth:
Yes, the non-concierge group was allowed to go into the concierge lounge with us. They were also allowed to board with us and their rooms were linked to ours. We tried not to abuse the extra privileges with the non-concierge guests traveling with us. They would go into the lounge to meet up for dinner and what not, but they typically did not have anything but water and iced tea. If we wanted cocktails for them I'd have them meet us in our room and order the drinks and tried to pay for their drinks. Concierge would never let me. I figured out if I ordered a bottle of wine they would at least charge me for that. So that's what I started doing.

All of the non-concierge kids would always hang out on our verandah in the late afternoon while their parents were getting ready for dinner. Concierge figured this out and would stop by with smoothies, apple juice and Mickie Bars.

One night we had a sleep over all the girls and the room steward made sure each of the girls had their own towel animal. We didn't tell them about the sleep over. He must have heard about it from concierge because we had asked for extra milk to be placed in the refrigerator and to have some cookies delivered at bed time.

On the day we were at Castaway Cay we had two cabanas. But there were not enough spots for everyone. Oddly enough when we went to check-in they gave us enough bands for everyone in our party. I guess they knew by then that we would not abuse the extra privileges.

Trish

P.S. I was bummed I couldn't go see the National State Park (sign where the caution swimming due to alligators). I had to work in the hotel that day. UGH!!!!

 

[poison ivy]

thanks so much for sharing the photos. They're great!! Keep them coming!

Really love the deck and hot tub pics! The kids seemed to be having a ball. We have half the size of your group but it looks like you had more than enough room for everyone.

That's too bad about the fireworks. If everything works out, we'll be booking this and the two connecting cabins.

I can't seem to find much info on cabin 12000. Really appreciate the photos of 12504.

Chris

 

[pdwimmer]

thanks so much for sharing the photos. They're great!! Keep them coming!

Really love the deck and hot tub pics! The kids seemed to be having a ball. We have half the size of your group but it looks like you had more than enough room for everyone.

That's too bad about the fireworks. If everything works out, we'll be booking this and the two connecting cabins.

I can't seem to find much info on cabin 12000. Really appreciate the photos of 12504.

Chris

I did see the 12000 room as the guest staying next to us was with the party in the Walt Suite. It was a gentlemen and his two young children. The door into their room is much larger and does not cause the huge wind blast when the doors are opened. It is just like all the other 1 bedroom suites, but also has the entry hallway that the Roy and Walt Suites have. Sorry I don't have any pictures. But it's very nice!

 

[Big Pro]

I still can't get over the idea that the Walt is somehow better. I had heard the Roy is better because of the nook and its starboard. Anyone else hear that?

 

[Big Pro]

Anyone have insight into this? From my research, the Roy is starboard (which is now the nonsmoking side of Fantasy), has the reading nook, the bedroom is nearer the glass and has the rising TV screen, has a more traditional bathroom set-up (with more functional mirror that two people can use at once), a "real" bathtub which will be nicer for bathing the kids, a nicer coffee maker (not that anyone uses it), and a better flow from the wet bar. I would assume the Walt would be nicer just based on its name, but I think the Roy actually sounds better.