DISNEY DREAM 3-night (Nov. 17-20, 2011) - CHRISTMAS PICS GALORE! - Completed 12/6!

[KevieKev05]

I really did love the Golden Mickey's show. My husband liked Believe better. We both agree that Villians Tonight is the worst of the three. They were all good though, so even the worst was not bad. Animator's Palate was my favorite of the three restaurants as well, for ambiance and food. You got some great shots. I am uploading our shots now (my husband took most of the pictures), and our shots pale in comparison to yours. He is better at manual mode than I am, but was not interested in bringing the camera to any of the shows. It turned out to be a bummer during the Golden Mickey's when my son was picked to be a Dwarf. He did get some lousy cell phone video, but that is all she wrote on that.

Were you on the 12-08-11 Dream cruise as well? That is the one we were on. Wasn't the weather lovely? Three days is just not enough time to explore the ship. There are a few places you took pictures of that we never even saw. Next time, we need to do the four or five day one. I enjoyed your trip report very much. Thank you.

Glad to hear you loved "The Golden Mickeys"! And I agree about Animator's Palate...great atmosphere AND food!

Yes, I was on the 12/8/11 Dream cruise. The weather was indeed wonderful...I was a little concerned as we were leaving Port Canaveral, but the weather ended up being excellent.

Three days is definitely too short and I prefer longer ones...although 3-night cruises make up the majority of the ones I've taken, haha.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thank you for your beautiful TR & pics!

 

[Pinkocto]

How did your parents compare the Dream to the Magic? I hope they had a great time

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

We were on the same cruise as you

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Kevin..

Thanks so much for your Nov review of the Dream!!

I'm looking to take my first cruise in April (3 nights on the Dream) and don't really know anything about DCL. I live in the Orlando area/teach in Celebration so we will likely drive to the port so the tip on the off-site place was great!!!

I worked as a CM at WDW (college program/PI/seasonal) but I'm looking to branch out to make DCL memories!!!!

I'll be going back to check out your other reviews, thanks again!!

My only question (so far) would be: Do you guys have passports and if not, what do you bring in place of them???

 

[KevieKev05]

Hi friends! Sorry for being MIA for so long! The holidays are winding down, all the family has left, the Christmas decorations are down, and now it's time to be depressed that it's all over and go back to a normal routine! Hahahaha! I hope everyone has had an enjoyable holiday! Now to respond to some replies:

Thank you for your beautiful TR & pics!

You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

How did your parents compare the Dream to the Magic? I hope they had a great time

My parents had a wonderful time. They were a bit overwhelmed with the size of the Dream and felt the cruise was too short. (I tried to convince them to do the 4-night when we booked this one...I guess they learned their lesson, haha). They really enjoyed all the Christmas decorations, though. Also, they loved our staterooms! We were able to get connecting deluxe family oceanview staterooms. The only downside? They kept thinking about how wonderful that stateroom would have been for our 14-night transatlantic cruise, haha! We had some dining server snafus, but for my parents coming off the phenomenal serving team from our transatlantic, they may have set their expectations a bit high (though their complaints were legitimate). They both agreed that the prefer the classic ships...they like the intimacy, smaller scale, and smaller amount of passengers on the Magic/Wonder.

We were on the same cruise as you

I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Kevin..

Thanks so much for your Nov review of the Dream!!

I'm looking to take my first cruise in April (3 nights on the Dream) and don't really know anything about DCL. I live in the Orlando area/teach in Celebration so we will likely drive to the port so the tip on the off-site place was great!!!

I worked as a CM at WDW (college program/PI/seasonal) but I'm looking to branch out to make DCL memories!!!!

I'll be going back to check out your other reviews, thanks again!!

My only question (so far) would be: Do you guys have passports and if not, what do you bring in place of them???

Yes, we do have passports. I've had mine since high school, so it's not like I went out and specifically got a passport for cruising. I'm not sure what the process is like for NOT having passports, though. I think you might need a birth certificate? Sorry for not being of more help. I hope you DO book a cruise...they are wonderful!

 

[jenseib]

My DD and I sailed without a passport last spring. And yes, you need birth certificates and for adults a picture ID as well. We had no problems, but I do want to go ahead and get a passport, it's just better to have it.

 

[ldeglian]

Your reports are great--and, like others, I love your pics. Every time, I VOW to take more photos and each time, I forget.

We were on the 12/4, 4-night Dream cruise. Given it was our 3rd cruise of 2011 (Dream maiden voyage and Alaska), we decided to book an oceanview cabin. At the port, we upgraded for about $500 to a concierge stateroom. The sundeck alone was worth the upgrade! We aren't fans of the adult pool for reasons you mention (no sun and it can get very crowded). We were virtually the ONLY people on the concierge sundeck each day so we had the place to ourselves and access to the concierge lounge when we wanted a snack/drink. They stock sunscreen and cool cloths and there is a shower as well so you can cool off every so often. On the Nassau day and the sea day we were there for 5+ hours. I don't think the concierge room on the Dream is worth the splurge at the time of booking for a 4-night cruise, but if you can swing it as an upgrade it's an amazing treat! Loved it!