Disney Dream 5-nights May 29 - June 3 w/ food allergies

[Wonder2008]

I see that there are already two trip reports from the May 29 cruise, but I thought this would help anyone with food allergies in their planning.

My allergies are wheat/gluten and lactose intollerance. Lactose intollerance means I can have dairy if I take a "Lactaid" pill with my meal. This doesn't work for everyone, though. As for wheat, I can only have substitutes (wheat-free pasta, bread, etc). Eating at Walt Disney World is pretty easy and safe for me - let me know if anyone wants details.

Before we left home, we submitted a special services form to DCL. You can download it when you start the online check-in process. Most of the form does not apply to me (wheelchair, sign language, etc) so I just hand-wrote my allergies on the back, sent in the form, then sent an email a week or so later to confirm that the form was received.

My travel party consisted of my parents on their first cruise, myself (Robert) and my sister, both of us on our 3rd Disney cruise (the most recent being two years ago on the Wonder 4-night).

Next post - arrival and first day

 

[Wonder2008]

Arrival

Our car trip to the terminal was uneventful, but we certainly misjudged our arrival time. We got our first glimpse of the Dream from the top of one of the bridges on the way there - that was 11:15. Once we were on the terminal grounds, it got confusing. Somehow we wound up in the drop off area, but we were parking and I didn't think we were in the right area. In my previous two cruises, I've never tipped these porters, nor was I asked to. We were "asked" by the porter and we said we didn't have anything (I've only tipped the porter leaving the terminal at the end). Anyway, we basically left the terminal, re-entered, and found our way to the garage - I think there should be better signage. I would recommend parking in the garage. Your car will be kept out of the sunlight (and cooler) and your time in security will be faster.

Terminal

Given our late arrival, we got boarding zone 21 - yikes! Being in the terminal waiting, and waiting, and waiting was one of the few times during the entire cruise that it felt "crowded". There's a nice outdoor area at the back of the terminal where you can get some good pictures of the Dream - in fact, Chip, Dale, Donald, and Daisy waved to us from the promenade deck! So, we didn't board until 1:30 or so.

Afternoon

Being in the atrium for the first time was overwhelming. The chandelier is huge and covered in crystal! Upon boarding we went straight to D Lounge to confirm that our allergies were noted. We asked about ordering each night for the following night (as we did on the Wonder), but they said that was optional. We made sure that they had soy milk for my sister (yes) and went to our room which was ready at 1:30. We were in 7178 - category 8C. The room was sufficient for 4 adults, the porthole was huge, and we got a AAA fruit basket and our Castaway Club gift.

 

[Wonder2008]

Afternoon continued

We went to Cabanas for our first lunch. It was crowded, but easy to find a table. To anyone who has been on the Wonder or Magic, Cabanas is huge compared to Beach Blanket Buffet. There were so many options - in fact, the Navigators use the term "food court". The details are amazing - the floor looks like sand, there's a huge mosaic, sand sculptures of the Disney castles around the world, and clocks on the wall that display the time at each Disney park. We got ahold of a chef who made our lunches special for us. I don't know if that was necessary (he brought out separate tomatoes and cucumber to prevent cross-contamination), but that's what he did. I thought the lunch was just OK - I ate there on the at-sea day again and enjoyed it more. After lunch I got ice cream from Mike Wazowski's "Eye Scream", again much larger than the Wonder's ice cream area. We explored the pool area, then went to our room to unpack. As we unpacked, we were already hearing the lifeboat drill announcements. The drill was at 4:00, and I was surprised that we didn't need to wear our life jackets. They also kept the mood lighthearted.

Sail-Away

The sail away party was a bit more crowded than I expected. I think the party was better on the Wonder, but it was still a good show. We left just a little after 5:00 and got a good send-off from the people on land - a police car even sounded its siren at us! We had the late dinner seating, ERRAE, so there was still some time before that night's show. The stores weren't open yet, but we got a better look at the atrium. Two of the mosaics from Cinderella Castle were replicated there, which I thought was wonderful. We saw the cruise director, Rachel, and introduced ourselves. Despite the fact that we last sailed with her in July 2008, she said we look familiar! We said hello or chatted briefly with her most evenings. Before that night's show Rachel introduced the captain, Tom, and some of the officers. Captain Tom was DCL's first cast member, and the Magic and Wonder's first captain. The variety show, ventriloquist Taylor Mason, was wonderful! I laughed a lot and I wish I remember more of it. After the show we did some shopping, took in the fantastic sunset, then went to dinner.

 

[Wonder2008]

Dinner

Our first dinner was at Enchanted Garden. We were at table 9, and our servers were: Mikey from the Philippines, Gokhan from Turkey, and head server Faisal from Indonesia. They already knew about our allergies, but since they didn't really know us yet our dinners were sort of simple. My sister and I had chicken (I don't remember what specifically) and I had a salad as well. I had ordered an appetizer that they told me they couldn't serve - I thought they could modify it but I guess not. That was a bit upsetting, but safety first. My dessert was great though. It was a gluten-free brownie that came with a scoop of a cream of some sort and a lemony-looking sauce - I can't get more specific than that, but I was really good! We took the rest of the night slowly, doing some exploring in areas we didn't see yet. I really enjoyed the "enchanted art" and I saw people playing the detective game. One of my favorite places was 687, especially during the day. I'm really interested in the construction process and the lounge has pictures from the Dream's construction (687 was her construction number assigned by the shipyard). During the ship's keel laying, a coin is placed under the keel for good luck. The coin is in 687, but I got conflicting answers as to whether or not it is the real thing or a replica.

Tip:

Even if you are not good with maps, study the deck plans as part of your planning before you leave. At least familiarize yourself with what is on each deck. It'll save you so much time once you arrive.

Next: Castaway Cay stop #1

 

[LuvEeyore]

Thanks for the report. Waiting to hear more.

 

[Wonder2008]

Thanks for the report. Waiting to hear more.

Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying!

Robert

 

[Wonder2008]

May 30 - Castaway Cay

I'm the only one in my family that really likes being in the water, and sand for that matter, so I was really excited about Castaway Cay. My sister was the first spot land from our very large porthole. We docked aft first, so we faced the dock since we were on the port side. I wanted to watch the docking, but I would rather get ready for the day! We had breakfast at Cabanas. I would say that breakfasts were just OK. Obviously there are a lot of pastries and things like that that I can't have (wheat) and probably can't be made special, so I just had fruit and bacon cooked with apples (or something like that - it was really good). We ate outside, but I think the outdoor eating area could be a bit larger. I got off the ship before the rest of my family (my sister was going to see "African Cats") but I headed straight for the beach. There have been other comments about larger crowds given the larger ship, but I didn't really notice that on the Castaway Family Beach (the original one). I just got my inner tube and floated lazily most of the morning. I met the rest of my family at the crab race gazebo (the race was just ending - it's funny to watch), then my sister and I rented bikes. The bike paths were a real treat. There's an observation tower on one of the paths, and you can see the entire island from the top. Another path leads to an ocean overlook, another wonderful view. The observation tower path seemed a little more crowded to me, but we were alone during most of our rental. After that we went to the original Cookie's BBQ for lunch.

 

[Wonder2008]

Castaway Cay - afternoon

I think we ate after the lunch "rush" because it was not crowded at all. We didn't have anything pre-ordered, so I just got the attention of one of the people behind the buffets, and asked what is gluten-free. There seemed to be many more options than I was interested in, which is great. I had cajun salmon and a really good rice mix (I'm not sure what exactly). My sister had ribs and chicken, so she did well also. I had ice cream for dessert, and there were more ice cream options than I remember from two years ago. Again, my sister wasn't interested in going into the water, so she went back to the Dream and would meet me later for the AquaDuck. I spent a little more time in the water, then went back to the Dream. Again, it wasn't too crowded re-boarding, but the AquaDuck line was very long. I noticed that the line got a little shorter as the cruise went on, which I guess makes sense. I have no idea how long we stood in line, but we were entertained with "101 Dalmatians" on the big screen. I really enjoyed it, and my sister did too, but she didn't go on it again so she wouldn't have to deal with changing and drying. We had to get ready for dinner after that (and I had sandy water all over me).

Villains Tonight and dinner

"Villains Tonight" was wonderful - I laughed a lot during the show. Hades (from Hercules) was the funniest. There were a lot of pop culture jokes, some funny, some not, but I really enjoyed this show. If you are familiar with Yzma from "The Emperor's New Groove", she and Kronk board a roller-coaster-type thing to get to their "secret lab". Well, after they sat down in their car an annoucement came: "Please stand clear of the doors..." from the Disney monorails - I burst out laughing! After the show we did some pictures in the atrium, and got our picture taken with cruise director Rachel and Captain Tom! Our dinner tonight was in Royal Palace. There is so much detail in this restaurant - murals, chandeliers, even the top of window curtains and chair backs, everything had a princess reference. My family all had beef tenderloins and I had salmon. I think my dinner was too "stripped down" because of my allergies, though. I tried to select entrees that seemed easy to be modified for me. I had vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce for dessert, and that was really good. My sister got Tofutti for dessert, which is a non-dairy ice cream. Our head server, Faisal, handled this for her. After dinner, my sister and I went to Evolution for the adult ventriloquist show. The show was really, really good. He was making fun of a guy in the audience, a steelworker from Pittsburgh. He said "Wow - you're a steelworker from Pittsburgh?!" sarcastically. Later one of his puppets "said" something inappropriate, and he yelled at his puppet saying "I would never say anything like that!" My favorite part was when he and two of his puppets performed "Grazing in the Grass" - that was amazing and I was hearing gasps coming from the audience during that - and this was the adult show! How he can keep track of all those voices is beyond me. After the show I went back to the AquaDuck twice. There's hardly a line at night, and for good reason - it's really cold and windy up there! If you don't mind that, that's the best time to ride. I spent the rest of the night looking over our next day's Navigator and onboard rebooking offer.

Next: Nassau and Atlantis???

 

[Wonder2008]

May 31 - Nassau

When we sailed two years ago, we spent our Nassau day at Atlantis. We were going to do the same this year, but I started second-guessing that the day before. As I read the Navigator for the day, I saw that some of the things I wanted to do the day before but missed (being at Castaway Cay) would be repeated today. So, we decided to stay onboard. Our breakfast that morning was at Royal Palace. It was pretty crowded and our meals took longer due to our allergies. We both got gluten-free pancakes. I think these are better at Walt Disney World. There were a bit pale and had a strange shape, but they tasted OK. After breakfast we did the enchanted art detective game. This was a lot of fun and it gave us a chance to go to some areas of the ship we probably would not have. Next we played Goofy's miniature golf. It wasn't the hardest mini golf course I've ever been to, but it was fun. I spent the rest of the morning on the "Art of the Theme Ship Tour". I did this on the Wonder so I was hoping it would be offered on the Dream as well. It started in Meridian, which is between Palo and Remy. The tour didn't take us to any off-limits areas, but I learned a lot of details that I would not have known without the tour. Next we got off the ship just so we could take some pictures and see the Dream's bow. I wanted to go to another presentation in the early afternoon, called "Making of the Dream" so I just had a simple pre-made salad from Flo's V8 Cafe. The "Making of the Dream" presentation took place in Evolution. Some of the information was repeated from the ship tour, but again I learned a lot that I would not have known by not attending (did you know the bow is made of wood?). I took the rest of the afternoon easy, enjoying the pools, AquaDuck and a little bit of relaxing.

Next: Pirate night

 

[MrsScooby]

Enjoying the details
Thanks for posting

 

[Wonder2008]

Enjoying the details
Thanks for posting

You're welcome!

Robert

 

[Wonder2008]

Pirate night

The Dream's horn sounded at 7:00 and we undocked a little bit later. We turned around in the channel which surprised me (and several others around me). We docked forward so I thought the Dream was too long to turn around in the channel. Anyway, next was the new Mickey pirate show at 7:45. Right before that, I saw someone I remember from the Disney Wonder two years ago (Melanie from the US, now in concierge), and she remembered me too! She also told me to make sure we could see the stage well after the night's fireworks. The show was OK, and it ended with just enough time to get to Royal Palace for dinner. All the servers were in their Pirate night costumes, but they didn't do the Limbo as they did on the Wonder. This was probably my favorite dinner because it was the least modified for my allergies. I had the short ribs on a bed of some sort of mashed potatoes - it tasted good and looked good too! I had some ice cream for dessert, then we went upstairs for the fireworks. We got a spot on the port side of Deck 12, so we had a good view. The fireworks were better than the Wonder's - all the music came from either the ride or the movies, and I really liked that. The group in front of us left right after the fireworks, so we took their spot and had an even better view of Captain Jack coming down the smokestack - that show was really good! The dance party started next, but I wasn't too interested in that. I did like the two pairs of searchlights coming from the ship's masts, though. I spent the rest of the night in the Walt Disney Theatre watching "Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides" in 3D. It went from 11:15 to 1:20, a bit late but that's OK. The 3D didn't really impress me that much, except during the opening and closing credits. I thought the movie was OK, didn't like parts of it, but it's still not as good as the first. Speaking of which, I went back upstairs after my movie to catch the end of "Curse of the Black Pearl" on the big screen. After that, it was definitely time for bed!

Next - At sea

 

[Wonder2008]

Nassau day - a few more things

During the "Making of the Dream" presentation, the host called other cruise ships "floating milk cartons" - I love the phrase! Also, here is a joke I heard during Pirate night - Why are pirates bad at spelling? They get lost at "sea"! Or, my answer, they only know one letter - arrrr! Anyway....

June 1, Day at sea - morning

This being the at-sea day, we took things a bit slower. Breakfast was at Cabanas, and as we ate we saw one of those "floating milk cartons" off in the distance. Fortunately, we didn't have to stare at it all day. Since the shops would be open all day, I got in some more shopping, including exchanging a shirt I bought on the first day for a different size and getting a rather pricey gold-plated Disney Dream Inaugural Voyages ornament. It was one of those things that I'd have regretted not getting later on. I also used this morning to do our re-booking. The lady at the re-booking desk, Leslie, remembered me from the Disney Wonder - amazing! I re-booked the Dream for next May, but I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I'm going to do with it. Meanwhile, my poor mom and sister waiting to meet the princesses in the atrium for over an hour! I spent the rest of the morning just wandering around the ship, looking at the water from the promenade deck, seeing the construction pictures at 687, and just enjoying the views. At noon, Captain Tom came over the loudspeaker to give us some details on our position (11 miles from Castaway Cay, sort of visible from the starboard side), weather (very nice), and other navigational facts. Cruise Director Rachel was next with some entertainment reminders. I remember from the Disney Wonder that the horn would be played at noon on the at-sea day, so I was wondering if the same would happen here. Well, sort of. The Captain played all seven horns!!! Whatever you are doing on the at-sea day, make sure you are outside at noon! My sister and I enjoyed the view from the top of deck 13 - very windy, but quiet and a great way to enjoy the blue waters. Also in this area is a plaque that the shipyard placed on the Dream with the shipyard name, hull number, etc. I remember this being more elaborate on the Wonder, however. We spent most of the remaining time before lunch playing ping-pong near the mini-golf. I'm happy to say that we ddin't lose any balls over the side of the ship, although they did wander into the netted basketball area a few times.

Next - afternoon and evening

 

[Wonder2008]

At sea - afternoon and evening

Everyone had lunch at different times today - I had mine at Cabanas. I saw Melanie again from the night before and thanked her for the fireworks viewing tip, then it was off to lunch. At one point all I had on my plate was grape tomatoes. So, I asked for a chef to walk me through the buffet, showing me what was gluten-free. The good thing about Cabanas as compared to the Wonder is that it is a lot easier for the chefs to walk through the buffet with me since there's a lot more walking room. I went to D Lounge for the adult animation class, but it wasn't what I expected. The family animation class was held here right before this class, so one sort of flowed into the other and the kids stayed. Anyway, we drew Goofy and Mike Wazowski. I can draw well, but I was hoping that a class labeled "adult" would be harder than a "family" one. Anyway, the rest of my afternoon was spent at the pools and AquaDuck. I went on 3 times this afternoon, making for a total of 10 for the trip. I also watched "Cars" on the big screen, and relaxed a little too. On the last AquaDuck trip, the person at the top who gives you the raft politely told me I was crazy for going on so much! This was formal night, so we needed a little extra time to get ready for dinner. Also, following the show, was the Captain's signing so we had to bring with us to the show what we wanted autographed. The night's show was "The Golden Mickeys", which is such an excellent show. It is very similar to what I remember from the Wonder, except there is a great part from "Tangled" now. Next was the Captain's signing - I had him autograph the Making of the Dream book I bought on the first day. On line we saw someone who appeared to be retired from the military - he was very, very, decorated (it was the Memorial Day cruise). We spent most of the time before dinner doing the professional pictures with the backdrop in the atrium, then it was off to Animator's Palate. As much as I liked the animator's studio and all the details at the table, I thought the Finding Nemo stuff didn't make any sense being there. Maybe it was because we've seen Turtle Talk at Walt Disney World, or maybe because Crush didn't talk to us - I don't know. My appetizer was better than the main course - it was a salad (I don't remember the details) but 5 slices of tomatoes were arranged on the plate to form what looked like the Epcot logo - coincidence?? I had a hard time choosing an entree but settled on chicken - it was OK. The rest of my family got chicken or steak. We weren't really into the "surfing" at the end - Mikey, our server, tried to get us up but backed off when he saw we wouldn't budge. He did pose for my video camera, though. My dessert was the gluten-free brownie from the first night, again very good but this time with a pool of chocolate syrup! My sister wanted the non-dairy Tofutti ice cream, but our head server couldn't find any. So, he suggested we pre-order it for Castaway Cay which we did. We didn't do much that night - we went to Evolution to see the ventriloquist's last show of the cruise. I think his other shows were better because only part of this show involved his puppets. We did some exploring that night, took a look at our pictures in Shutters so far, and I took a walk out on the upper decks. I passed the AquaDuck and the one who told me I was crazy said to me "Why haven't you ridden tonight?" With all the people they see day after day, the fact that they can remember individuals is amazing. After that, it was time for bed.

Next - Castaway Cay day two!

 

[Wonder2008]

Castaway Cay - day two

Everyone was up early today, and we thought it would be a good idea to start packing. I watched the debarkation video, and we filled out our gratuities form (if you deliver it to Guest Services by 4:00 they'll deliver the gratuity tickets/receipts to your room). Breakfast was again at Cabanas, and we ate outside to look at Castaway Cay as we ate. We left the ship around 10:00 or so and took a great picture with the Dream at the dock and a picture with Stitch at the post office. As we walked down the path, Captain Jack had an unusually short line - that's because he was leaving! A little further down, Minnie had a short line too, but she wasn't leaving! We got our beach chairs in the general area of the gazebo, I got my AAA complimentary inner tube, then it was off to the boat beach. My sister and I rented a pedal boat. It was a bit tough to control at first, but we got the hang of it. We started heading directly for the Dream, then traveling parallel to her, then travelled away near the sand bar. I wanted to re-trace our steps back to the beach, but that certainly didn't work. I don't know what happened, but we were pedalling really hard and getting no where! Occasionally a jet ski would pass in the distance and we'd get caught in its wake - that didn't help! After a good while of pedalling really hard, we were close to the boat beach. But then, another jet ski came by! We almost collided with a group on an aqua trike, and we saw a family in a kayak along the poles that separate the stingray area. They were using their oars on the poles to move - I think we were doing a little better than them! Finally, we were at the point where the lifeguard could pull us in, but we "docked" by ourselves - whew! We were out there about 45 minutes, most of the time just trying to get back to the shore. It felt very wobbly trying to walk after that, but we took a big cold drink, then hit the beach - that felt good. We weren't there very long because we wanted to go to the 11:45 crab races. We drank two cups of pink lemonade as we waited. It's really fun to watch those little guys race - some were quite fast, for crabs anyway. After that, we went to the game pavilion. This area is a lot of fun. We played some ping pong, foosball, basketball, billiards, and giant connect four. My sister and I pretty competitive in connect four - we each won a game, but I won mine by giving myself two ways to win! It was lunchtime, so we washed our hands really well and went to Cookie's BBQ. The person from the first day who told us what could and could not eat did the same today (and remembered us). We had a really good tomato salad, ribs, and mahi-mahi. We had pre-ordered the non-dairy Tofutti for my sister the night before - all I had to do was go to the buffet and tell someone my room number. I expected it to come in a bowl, but instead they gave her a whole carton! Too bad this was the last day of the trip - there was no way she could finish all of that! I had the vanilla/chocolate swirl for dessert, then my sister went back on the Dream. I went back to the beach to get in some more time in the water. I left the beach at 3:00 or so but believe me, I did not want to leave! If it weren't for packing, I'd have stayed until they drag me out! Anyway, I reluctantly left, and was back on the Dream around 4:00. I sort of wanted to go back to the AquaDuck, but I knew it was best to shower, pack, and get ready for the night (besides, 10 trips on the AquaDuck is a good, round number!). I was back on the upper decks at 5:00 to hear the "When You Wish upon a Star" horn as we left Castaway Cay. I'm already looking forward to returning, whenever that is.

Final evening

I met my sister in Shutters as we planned and went through our pictures. It was certainly crowded, but organized. I think the "photo albums" are a good idea - I can't imagine how much wall space they would need to line the pictures up on the walls as they did on the Wonder! We bought our pictures, then I went to the shops for some last-minute purchases. I also traded for a pin here. We went to the Walt Disney Theatre and were greeted by the same one who rented us the pedal boat. She said she took a boat out earlier as well and we both agreed that we pedalled hard and got no where fast! Cruise director Rachel took the stage before the show, as she always did, but gave us trip-wrap-up information. She said the current AquaDuck record was set on the 3-night cruise - I don't remember the number, but it made my 10 seem like nothing! She also said that an 85-year-old went on during this cruise, and I found out that she's related to someone on this board (sorry I don't know who - they were on the pre-trip discussion). She also said we consumed something like 8,000 eggs - amazing considering that there was only one chicken onboard! Finally, she told us that if we couldn't sleep that night to watch the debarkation video - that'll put us to sleep! The night's show was "Believe", similar in idea to "Disney Dreams". I had been warned twice earlier to have a hankie available during the show. I thought the Genie was great, especially with his 3D glasses on the balcony. I loved the "Mary Poppins" part, but the end of the show was definitely a tearjerker. I was upset enough about leaving the next day, but then "Baby Mine" from "Dumbo" was performed - I can not get through that song without getting really choked up. The only thing I expected during the show that didn't happen was for Tinker Bell to sprinkle the Dream's bow with pixie dust as she did on the Wonder. Next was officer pin trading. I really enjoyed this on the Wonder, but it was a little different here. It was really crowded, and even though the officers had lanyards there was also a corkboard full of pins - it was close to chaos! But, I did really well. I had to trade back some pins I traded for to trade for other pins (if that makes sense). Once I had enough, I told Rachel and Captain Tom how much I enjoyed everything, then I saw the food and beverage manager, Pierre from France, at the pin trading. I recognized him from the Wonder, but I never spoke to him there so he didn't remember me. We spoke a little about food allergies, and he said that 150 guests on our cruise had food allergies. We both agreed that the problem is that there were probably more who have allergies and didn't say anything to their servers or didn't know to fill out the form before arrival. Anyway, we were back in Enchanted Garden that night. My appetizer was the romaine salad which was OK, then the blackened chicken salad. It was good, but a bit spicy for my taste. My dessert was another gluten-free brownie. My parents had to leave the table before dessert to finish packing, and our servers felt bad about that. So, they brought us a Mickey ice cream bar for my Dad and baked Alaska for my Mom for us to bring to them - they really liked that. After dinner was "Sea Ya Real Soon" in the atrium. It's really a great way to see the characters one last time - they keep the lines moving fast, and we got pictures with Mickey, Donald, and Daisy in about 10 or 15 minutes! At the end we were showered with gold Mickey confetti. Almost everyone was on their knees picking them up! Whoever vacuumed the atrium that night didn't have much to do! My sister and I went up the Goofy's Sports Deck to get in some last-minute fun, then I took a walk around the ship taking everything in for the last time (for now, I hope). I also applied a gift card to our account at Guest Services. TIP: If you are going to apply a gift card to your account, do it before the last night. It appeared on our credit card bill separate a few days later since I applied it late. My night in our room was spent filling out the comment card and customs form. I finally went to bed at 2:00.

Next - debarkation

 

[Wonder2008]

June 3 - Disembarkation

I really hate debarkation. I guess it's just the whole "return to the real world" thing. Anyway, I hardly slept overnight and I was up as we rotated into place in Port Canaveral. A little afte we docked, we saw some dolphins outside our window - one last "show"! We've never seen anything like it. None of them came completely out of the water, but we kept seeing their fins jutting up. Anyway, we received our bill and saw some errors on it. After a few moments, we realized they were just mislabeled (our pedal boat rental was labeled as a snorkel rental, for some reason). I had visions of wasting our last morning standing on the Guest Services line, but we avoided that. Instead, I took a quick walk on the upper decks, just taking some last looks. I saw that Cabanas was open as well. I was surprised since no where said it would be. So, I got some fruit there and my parents skipped our Enchanted Garden breakfast and ate at Cabanas instead. My sister and I went to Enchanted Garden for breakfast at 7:45. By this time, the atrium was packed and the line to exit snaked everywhere the line could go. Down a level at the restaurant, we were on line to enter in front of the elevators with people trying to leave the elevators. It was a bit of a mess, but we were seated quickly. We both had pancakes that we ordered the night before, to speed things up. I also had half a grapefruit and two cups of orange juice. We took our pictures with our servers, and we asked about one of our previous head servers who is now the dining room manager on the Wonder. We were done eating around 9:00 - there was nothing to do but leave, unfortunately. By this time there wasn't much of a line to exit at all, but there was still a line in the terminal. Picking up our luggage and going through customs was a breeze, although the customs lines were long. Our porter brought our luggage to the garage for us, and we tipped him (he didn't ask for a tip). We stared at the Disney Dream for a while, then left.

Next - wrap-up and some tips

 

[FirstTimeDC]

Great review! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Wonder2008]

Great review! Thanks for sharing!!

Thank you! I will wrap up my report soon.

Robert

 

[Wonder2008]

Wrap up

Here are a few tips I'd like to share:

-You really should familiarize yourself with the ship before arrival. It'll save you time onboard by knowing where everything is.

-Take the time to admire all the art, details, chandeliers, carpet, everything!

-If you are like me and have food allergies or any sort of special diet, let DCL know 30 days in advance of your sail date. Confirm that they receive your information, then confirm again once onboard.

-Don't be afraid to ask for a chef for help at Cabanas or Cookies at Castaway Cay.

-Ask about pre-ordering specially-prepared meals for the following day.

-If you are on the three-night cruise, you might want to skip Nassau and enjoy the ship.

Well, that wraps it up. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions. Thank you for reading!

Robert