Disney Dream April 18-21, 2013

[gotdbltrbl]

If this is your first cruise you can book excursions on February 2 (75 days out). If you are Castaway Club Silver you can book at 90 days out. Gold level is 105 days out & Platinum is 120 days out. For all levels the cruise must be paid in full before you can book excursions.

Oh sorry TJDisneyMama! We are Silver, so I guess that is why we could. I didn't realize that, I just thought it was because I paid in full.

Thanks for the info!

 

[TJDisneymama]

Oh sorry TJDisneyMama! We are Silver, so I guess that is why we could. I didn't realize that, I just thought it was because I paid in full.

no problem, I can manage to wait 3 more days, lol

 

[TJDisneymama]

i ended up totally going against what I've had planned all along - and booked the Aquaventure instead of just the Discover Atlantis. The more I thought about, the more I thought - walking around the resort and NOT letting the kids go on the water slides seems kind of a cruel tease, lol. Like 'oh hey, look, kids! Look at the fabulous slides! No, sorry, can't go on them....." So I figured what the heck and just booked it.
then for CC I booked the parasailing first and the Stingray swim a couple hours later.

My kids have no idea we're going. I'm not telling them either. They'll figure it out when we pull up at the port.

 

[gotdbltrbl]

Looking for fish extender meets for cruise 4/18-21.
Anyone?
I'm new to this all and have heard about the FE!

Hi, and welcome! Sorry it has taken so long to reply. We are doing the FE, but I don't think there will be a meet. With the cruise only being three days, time is limited to try to do everything. I know we won't make it on the ship until later in the afternoon and by the time we unpack and get settled it's time for the deck party! I can add your information to the FE, we have a few of us signed up. It really is a lot of fun to do, so if you have any more questions regarding the FE, please ask!

 

[gotdbltrbl]

i ended up totally going against what I've had planned all along - and booked the Aquaventure instead of just the Discover Atlantis. The more I thought about, the more I thought - walking around the resort and NOT letting the kids go on the water slides seems kind of a cruel tease, lol. Like 'oh hey, look, kids! Look at the fabulous slides! No, sorry, can't go on them....." So I figured what the heck and just booked it.
then for CC I booked the parasailing first and the Stingray swim a couple hours later.

My kids have no idea we're going. I'm not telling them either. They'll figure it out when we pull up at the port.

You will be so happy you did. The Aquaventure is SO much fun! Our first time we went into the "lazy river" we realized it isn't lazy at all! It has some rapids, conveyer belts, etc. It was a lot of fun, but did take us by surprise. Your kids are going to be so thrilled and will have a blast!!

 

[TJDisneymama]

You will be so happy you did. The Aquaventure is SO much fun! Our first time we went into the "lazy river" we realized it isn't lazy at all! It has some rapids, conveyer belts, etc. It was a lot of fun, but did take us by surprise. Your kids are going to be so thrilled and will have a blast!!

I know, I'm super, super excited now! I was wanting to do a quick visit to Atlantis and get back on the ship asap since we have such little ship time, but what the heck. We may never get back to Atlantis so might as well take advantage of it.
I've been there a couple times and went on the slides but I think they added stuff since last time I went (2010). Or else I just didn't notice what they had b/c I only really went on the serpent slide (tunnel thru the sharks/lagoon) and the lazy river. I'm just now seeing the kiddie areas which I never noticed before (b/c I didn't have kids with me!) and YDD will LOOOVE those. She won't go on the slides I'm sure.

 

[MikeRx]

MikeRx Cabin Number: 9588
Adults in cabin and relationship to each other: Me & DW & DMIL
Children in cabin and also their relationship to you: DS (5)
Interested in participating in an FE: Not sure
Where are you from? Peoria, AZ (Phoenix)
Early or Late dining: Early (Palo for adults last night)
First cruise? First for DS, first DCL for all, adults all have done at least 2 cruises each
Excursions: Sea & See Nassau

Mike DW DS (5 ) DMIL

First visit 1976, Pre-2010 too many off sites to remember, WDW 2/2010 BC CL, Disneyland GC 12/2010, WDW 4/2012 POLY TPV, WDW 7/2012 (off site), WDW 12/12 POP and 4/2013 POLY with Disney Dream cruise!

 

[G'sMaman]

You will be so happy you did. The Aquaventure is SO much fun! Our first time we went into the "lazy river" we realized it isn't lazy at all! It has some rapids, conveyer belts, etc. It was a lot of fun, but did take us by surprise. Your kids are going to be so thrilled and will have a blast!!

Hello there everyone! We got a great rate at the Comfort Suites (less than $200 for up to 4 people) so that we could have admission for the Aquaventure, but now I am wondering if my DD who just turned 5 will be a little too young for the waterpark. My initial inclination was to pass on the waterpark, but when we got such a great deal on the room I changed my mind. Now, I'm wondering if I should just cancel the room after all. She loves the Oceaneer's Club so she won't even miss the water. Decisions, decisions!

Cabin Number: ?
Adults in cabin and relationship to each other: Me & DH, DMIL & DFIL are in another cabin
Children in cabin and also their relationship to you:1 DD (5)
Interested in participating in an FE: Not sure
Where are you from? San Francisco, CA
Early or Late dining: Early
First cruise? No, 4th on DCL. Went to the Mexican Riveria last year and Alaska the year before. First cruise was to the Caribbean.
Excursions: Not sure yet.

 

[gotdbltrbl]

Hello there everyone! We got a great rate at the Comfort Suites (less than $200 for up to 4 people) so that we could have admission for the Aquaventure, but now I am wondering if my DD who just turned 5 will be a little too young for the waterpark. My initial inclination was to pass on the waterpark, but when we got such a great deal on the room I changed my mind. Now, I'm wondering if I should just cancel the room after all. She loves the Oceaneer's Club so she won't even miss the water. Decisions, decisions!

Cabin Number: ?
Adults in cabin and relationship to each other: Me & DH, DMIL & DFIL are in another cabin
Children in cabin and also their relationship to you:1 DD (5)
Interested in participating in an FE: Not sure
Where are you from? San Francisco, CA
Early or Late dining: Early
First cruise? No, 4th on DCL. Went to the Mexican Riveria last year and Alaska the year before. First cruise was to the Caribbean.
Excursions: Not sure yet.

Hi and Welcome! You got a great deal on the room. Atlantis is a lot of fun and there are many different pools for all ages. This will be our second trip to Atlantis, we didn't know anything about it before going the first time. So we spent a lot of time wandering around. I didn't do any research and I think we missed a lot of the property. It is very big and spread out. I've downloaded a copy of the resort map and I am doing a lot more online exploring so I will know the area and can get around faster when we go in April. I think your DD/family would really enjoy walking around the aquariums, kids love that stuff, and it really is very cool. I looked on the Atlantis website, the kiddie pools look pretty neat. And I did see a beach lagoon that is protected, which we didnt see last time. I think I read you can snorkel there too! It is a toss up, but I don't think it would be a wasted trip, especially if your DD likes aquariums. I would spend some time really looking at their website to get more of an idea.

 

[G'sMaman]

Hi and Welcome! You got a great deal on the room. Atlantis is a lot of fun and there are many different pools for all ages. This will be our second trip to Atlantis, we didn't know anything about it before going the first time. So we spent a lot of time wandering around. I didn't do any research and I think we missed a lot of the property. It is very big and spread out. I've downloaded a copy of the resort map and I am doing a lot more online exploring so I will know the area and can get around faster when we go in April. I think your DD/family would really enjoy walking around the aquariums, kids love that stuff, and it really is very cool. I looked on the Atlantis website, the kiddie pools look pretty neat. And I did see a beach lagoon that is protected, which we didnt see last time. I think I read you can snorkel there too! It is a toss up, but I don't think it would be a wasted trip, especially if your DD likes aquariums. I would spend some time really looking at their website to get more of an idea.

Thanks gotdbltrbl! We actually did the aquarium tour on our last visit and it was pretty neat, but if we go back to Atlantis it would be to checkout the water park. I'm not sure why but neither my dh nor I remember seeing any of the water park when we did the Atlantis tour. It's pretty hard to miss!

 

[TJDisneymama]

I'm not sure why but neither my dh nor I remember seeing any of the water park when we did the Atlantis tour. It's pretty hard to miss!

how the heck did you miss it??

 

[G'sMaman]

how the heck did you miss it??

In reality, the "Atlantis tour" is probably overstating what it really was - it was a guided tour of The Dig aquarium (which is mostly underground) and the the casino (of course!). They don't actually take you around the entire property which is pretty huge.

 

[TJDisneymama]

In reality, the "Atlantis tour" is probably overstating what it really was - it was a guided tour of The Dig aquarium (which is mostly underground) and the the casino (of course!). They don't actually take you around the entire property which is pretty huge.

After the tour are you able to wander the property yourself?

60 days til i leave for wdw!

 

[Disneyholic]

After the tour are you able to wander the property yourself?

60 days til i leave for wdw!

We did the Dolphin Encounter at Atlantis the last time we were in Nassau. After the encounter we were free to wander the grounds. We went on the Dig Site tour (it's free) and walked around. Went into the casino also. We couldn't do the Water park since that wasn't included in our particular tour. It is a large area, but there are maps around to guide you.

 

[G'sMaman]

After the tour are you able to wander the property yourself?

60 days til i leave for wdw!

We signed up for the guided tour of the Dig and so we couldn't tour the rest of the property on our own.

 

[gotdbltrbl]

We went to Atlantis for the first time a few years ago. We did the Comfort Inn (?) thing, rented the room, checked in/out and then over to Atlantis. My DH didn't want to do that this year, he just wanted to book the excursion. Anywho....I am sure we missed 80% of the resort! When we first got there, we found a beach that was on the ocean. We did find it a little odd there were no lifeguards. My kids and I were in the water, DH ankle deep watching us (he is terrified of sharks). Well this big eel thing came by so we got out pretty quick! I never realized there was a protected cove that we could swim/snorkle at, which we will check out this time! I am looking forward to going again with having a better idea of the area so we can really enjoy it!

 

[TJDisneymama]

We signed up for the guided tour of the Dig and so we couldn't tour the rest of the property on our own.

i thought if you did the "Discover Atlantis" tour, you could go off on your own after the guided tour to explore...I could swear I read that.

Anyways, I''m super excited I changed my mind and booked the Aquaventure instead of just the tour. I don't know WTH I was thinking......the kids would have been so bummed not to go on the slides! I swear, sometimes my head's not screwed on right.
We saw a commercial for Atlantis the other day (has anyone noticed a lot of these lately???) and ODS was like "I want to go there!!!!" I had to bite my tongue so hard to keep it in.

 

[G'sMaman]

We went to Atlantis for the first time a few years ago. We did the Comfort Inn (?) thing, rented the room, checked in/out and then over to Atlantis. My DH didn't want to do that this year, he just wanted to book the excursion.

That is good to know that you wouldn't do it again! Any tips you can offer us? We are well within our cancellation window so any insights you can offer would be great.

i thought if you did the "Discover Atlantis" tour, you could go off on your own after the guided tour to explore...I could swear I read that.

You can go back to the Dig area to explore, but I don't think you can go to the beach, pools or waterpark. You can still see a lot of the property, but from a distance. If you buy the beach day or waterpark package, then you can explore the Dig on your own as well as the rest of the property. In any event, sounds like you are making the right decision!

One last question, we are on the fence about joining the FE group. When is the deadline? Thanks!

 

[gotdbltrbl]

That is good to know that you wouldn't do it again! Any tips you can offer us? We are well within our cancellation window so any insights you can offer would be great.


We are going to do the Atlantis excursion, just not going through the hotel next door. It is a lot cheaper to do it that way, but you still have to get a cab (not hard, they have them lined up right outside the port) then check in/out at the hotel. I didn't find it to be a big deal, but DH likes things really simple so he just wanted to have Disney take care of us. But it is way more expensive. We have the Disney Visa, so our points are covering the cost, so he feels like its free he wants to do it that way. I was totally prepared to do the hotel thing and was looking at rates, but DH wants to do it this way and I want to make life easy on him so he will want to go again! You have access to every part of Atlantis if you use the hotel next door, and they are very used to having the cruisers do this. We used our room key to get the bands from the towel center at Atlantis. So when we were done we had to walk back to the hotel and check out (drop the key in the key drop). I've read on the boards that some check in/out right there so how they get the bands without the room key, I don't know. I know your still on the fence, I would spent a little bit of time on their website and really explore the different areas. For the price, it might be worth it to you, just remember the food cost is high, as with any tourist place, so if you can, bring a cooler with snacks or something, that would help cut some additional cost.

One last question, we are on the fence about joining the FE group. When is the deadline? Thanks!

I was trying to decide that myself, I am not sure how far out most FE close, so how about we say March 25th? That is a little over 3 weeks before. Please let me know how that works for everyone, we can always adjust depending on how many more join. Thanks!

 

[Heather457]

I was trying to decide that myself, I am not sure how far out most FE close, so how about we say March 25th? That is a little over 3 weeks before. Please let me know how that works for everyone, we can always adjust depending on how many more join. Thanks!

March 25th is fine. Can't believe it is less then 2 months away!!!!!!!!11