Disney Dream January 8-12, 2012

[shrinkydinky]

Our family sailed on the Disney Dream January 8-12, 2012, to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay. This was my husband's and my first cruise, but my sister, who sponsored this vacation, has sailed many times before. We were in Room 8083, Category 11A, Standard Inside, with the magical porthole. i thought the room was very nice for two people, ample room under the bed for storage, and plenty of closet space. My sister said that the rooms were smaller than the other ships, and she preferred sliding doors on the closets. Not having anything to compare it to, i liked it very well. i do wish the disney characters would have floated across the virtual porthole more often, though.

We saw two of the shows, Villains and Disney's Believe. Both were very good. i am always impressed by the high quality of the shows that Disney presents, and these were both very entertaining with top notch actors, singers, dancers. Some of the singers were so good i got goosebumps! The woman who played Ursula, and also did a song from Lion King and then a New Orleans character was beyond incredible! i did find the sound level a bit loud, but i am sensitive to loud noises. i suspect they have the high sound level to drown out screaming kids. One night they had a comic, Jeff Civillico, and although we missed it, a couple in our party saw him and said he was very good.

Food - i am very fond of food, so had a great time on this cruise. We ate at Cabanas upon arrival, then for breakfast each day. They had a huge variety and very yummy selections. For breakfast my favorites were corned beef hash, sausages, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs (very soft), asparagus, fruit. Although, the sliced fruit was behind a domed glass case, and the server in charge was doling it out like diamonds. They also had several different kinds of salmon, but i'm not big on fish first thing in the morning.

Our embarkment lunch was delightful - tons of shrimp, along with sandwiches, citrus marinated mahi mahi, chicken tenders, pizza - you name it, it was there. Oh, a full carving station, but i didn't get any of the meats. There was so much food, and then the waiters were coming around constantly hocking the drink of the day, plus beer and water packages. We gratefully ordered several special drinks, plus you get to keep the plastic glass as a souvenir. BTW - towards the end of lunch, the $9.95 drinks went half price. Guess they would rather take a discount than toss out a bunch of fruity drinks.

Our first dinner was at The Enchanted Garden. It was very pretty and my favorite restaurant for ambiance (except for Palos). i had the Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower - YUM! Also had the Golden and Red Beet Carpaccio - very good, also. Several in our party ordered the Lobster Ravioli and weren't too impressed. For dinner i had the Caramelized Sea Scallops, but wasn't crazy about them. i ended up eating part of my brother-in-law's chicken and that was very good. A friend had the Pan-seared Sea Bass and said it melted in her mouth. i'm not a big dessert person but ordered the No Sugar Added Silky Dark Chocolate Mouse. It was good, but my husband ate most of it.

Next night was dress-up night at The Royale Palace. i started with the Iced Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp. It was okay. And let me just say, that my primary complaint with all the restaurant dinners is that they were very sparse on the sides and sauces. All the servings were very small and then any potatoes or greens in the dish were just a tiny sliver, the sauces were mere dots. My brother-in-law is a health nut, and kept requesting greens. He normally eats large dishes of leafy greens every day. First day he got a side dish of some cooked veggies. But by the last day, they were bringing him huge bowls of greens. So that was very considerate of them to do their best to accommodate his dietary requests.

And to interject here, our main server and assistant server were so kind and gracious. They honestly did their best to make sure we were super happy with our experience. If you don't like something, they will bring you a different dish. If you really like something, they will bring extra - anything you want. So i may have a couple of complaints about the food, but not one complaint about the service. They were always cheerful and worked so hard to make us happy and remember our preferences.

Okay, taking a break now and will post more later.

 

[jedijill]

You are off to a great start...can't wait to hear more!

Jill in CO

 

[LuvEeyore]

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[shrinkydinky]

Okay, i'm back!

i wanted to add some more comments about the room. Although our room could sleep 3, i think adding one more person would have made the space a bit unbearable, unless it was a small child. Our bed was super comfy with the most luxurious sheets i have ever slept upon - super soft. i slept like a baby most nights. However, my sister was sharing a room with someone and gave her friend the bed. She slept on the couch, that is supposed to convert to a bed. But it doesn't pull out, they just take the back cushions off and add sheets. She said it was very uncomfortable.

Back to food! Second night we ate at Royal Palace. i started with the Iced Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp with white and green asparagus, micro greens, and lemon-dill dressing with horseradish cream. It was okay, but with tons of shrimp available at Cabanas every day, i wasn't too impressed with my three little shrimp, and the lobster piece was small, too. It came with one spear of white asparagus and one spear of green asperagus, and the micro greens were just that. And again, the dressing consisted of a couple dots. i followed with The Comtesse du Barry's Soup - rich velvety cauliflower cream, topped with salmon caviar croutons, and it was okay but a little strange. It wasn't topped with caviar, or maybe it started that way, but the tiny bits were now inside the soup. Everyone else ordered the French Onion Soup and raved about it. i was starting to think i should let someone else do my ordering each night.

For my main course i had Oven-Baked Salmon Royale - Crowned with King Smoked Salmon and horseradish crust accompanied by sauteed swiss chard, truffle-infused cauliflower puree and white wine beurre blanc and it was fairly good. Although the chard was, again, just a teeny sliver of green. For dessert i had the Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee with Macaroon. Since i love creme brulee, i was in heaven.

Next night was Pirate's Night. It was fun because the characters, like Chip n' Dale, were dressed as pirates. There were many guests who really took it seriously and dressed up so well we thought they were staff entertainers. We ate at Animator's Palace. My husband and i shared two appetizers - Black Beard's Jumbo Crab Cake and Pirates Golden Pot Stickers. Both were very good. We then shared the Caribbean-style Conch Chowder, which was super yummy and Mr. Smee's Bibb Lettuce Salad, which was good, but consisted mainly of tomatoes. Since my husband doesn't like tomatoes, i had that mainly to myself.

i liked the bread service, which was Johnny Cake with a pigeon pea relish. The johnny cake was basically corn bread. The pigeon pea relish consisted of different kinds of marinated small beans. Trying to get it to stay on your bread was next to impossible. So you had to eat it with a fork, but it was interesting and yummy.

For my main course, i had the Captain Hook's Macadamia Nut-dusted Mahi Mahi - Jasmine rice and sautéed pineapple on a mild curry sauce. It was just okay, kinda dry. Several folks got the Jack Sparrow's Barbecue Marinated Beef Short Ribs. Everyone really liked it. i tried a bite and it was very tender and flavorful. For dessert i had Sweet Temptations - a trio of fruit cobbler, floating island and chocolate cake. All the desserts were small, which is good for me as i'm not big on sweets.

Since it was Pirate's night, they had fireworks and a show on deck 11. Everyone else in our party pooped out, so my husband and i made our way there. We didn't read our Navigator carefully enough to know that the fireworks were shot off the starboard side. So we ended up in chairs tucked a bit under deck 12, then had to stand and move to see them. Oh well, they were very pretty. The show they put on was a bit dorky, or maybe i was just tired by that time. It looked like the kids in the crowd enjoyed it. We left before the end of the show and made our way to our room via Cabanas. Sorry i was too tired and full, because they had lots of snacks, hot food, and desserts. i saw baked potatoes with all the fixings, tacos, burritos . . . and so much more i stopped looking.

Okay, taking another break and will post more later. Our next day we had brunch at Palo's. Wow!

 

[ambrow9]

We are going on the Dream at the end of Feb. and I am having a hard time trying to plan on what type of clothing to pack. I was hoping you could answer some questions for me? I am a cold natured person and plan on packing a sweater, but besides that...should I pack shorts or pants? Is the ship cold? Are the pools heated? Is the ocean water cold? Are the ship restuarants cold? Please help. Thanks. Look forward to reading more about your experience.

 

[Joanna71985]

Following along!

 

[jerseygirl74]

I am following along to

 

[pixiedust1125]

Im in!!!!!

 

[shrinkydinky]

We are going on the Dream at the end of Feb. and I am having a hard time trying to plan on what type of clothing to pack. I was hoping you could answer some questions for me? I am a cold natured person and plan on packing a sweater, but besides that...should I pack shorts or pants? Is the ship cold? Are the pools heated? Is the ocean water cold? Are the ship restuarants cold? Please help. Thanks. Look forward to reading more about your experience.

i'm so sorry to not have replied sooner. Most in our party came down with some kind of respiratory thing, and mine seems to have hung on an especially long time. But now, i think i'll live.

i was checking the weather non-stop before our vacation, as i didn't have any sense of what the weather might be like. i packed one pair of long pants, a couple capri pants, one pair of shorts, t-shirts, light wraps, and a couple Disney zip-up sweat shirts (along with some dressy stuff). During the day on the ship, it was nice and warm but not too hot, around 70. The pools were heated, and i found the hot tubs a little too warm for me. i usually wore capri pants and a short sleeve top during the day.

i did not find the restaurants too cold, or warm, which was a relief. i just hate it when restaurants freeze their patrons. The only time on the ship that it gets cold is if you are out on deck at night in an unprotected area. But the center part of the upper deck, where the main pool is located, and where they do the pirate show, is surrounded by enough walls and such to keep it very pleasant, even on cooler nights.

For Castaway Cay, i put on a swimsuit with shorts and shirt over it. Most people were running around in just a swim suit. Did not need any type of cover-up there. We didn't spend much time in Nassau, but the little walking we did, it was warm, like a mild summer.

i hope that kinda answers your question. i think you'll be fine with lighter shirts and a sweater, then a pair of shorts and maybe some capri pants. You just want to make sure to take something dressy for dress-up night, or if you plan on eating at Palo's or Remy.

 

[shrinkydinky]

Continuing with my trip report . . . in planning for this trip, we wanted to bring along some wine to help reduce costs and in order to enjoy the wine we liked. There was no problem bringing wine onboard in our carry-on luggage. And after buying several fruity drinks of the day, we got to keep the large plastic glasses. We would then use those glasses to take our wine to dinner. They hold about two glasses of wine, so perfect for a long dinner. No one blinked an eye when we did this.

Of course, we weren't shy about ordering wine or drinks on the ship, too. All the restaurants had a very good wine list. And i don't normally drink mixed drinks with hard alcohol in them. But i really enjoyed the drinks of the day, as they were yummy, didn't contain too much alcohol, plus you got to keep the cool plastic souvenir glass.

Small break, then back to our meals!

 

[shrinkydinky]

Not sure if i mentioned, but for Pirate's Night we ate at Animator's Palace, and our waiters wore pirately stuff. The last night we also ate there. i'm not sure what i was expecting. i thought i read that everything starts off in black and white then turns into color. There are screens all around the restaurant. On Pirate Night, they were displaying drawings and scenes from the Pirate's movies. Then the next night, it was a big aquarium with Nemo characters floating by, including Crush who went around the restaurant talking to people. It was very cute!

i started with the Sesame-flavored Rock Shrimp and Caramelized Onion Cheesecake. Blech! i'm sure it was just me, as others in our party seemed to enjoy theirs. i love cheesecake, i love shrimp, but my taste buds sure did not like this combination together. After rinsing the taste out of my mouth, i had the Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup. Thank goodness, that was delightful! Several in our party had the Creamy Butternut Squash Soup and said it was very good.

For dinner, i didn't want to be adventurous, so had the Lemon-Thyme Marinated Organic Chicken Breast with sour cream mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables and grain mustard jus. The chicken was tender and delicious. There was actually a fairly decent amount of mashed potatoes. The roasted root veggies were eight small cubes, less than the size of dice, but good.

For dessert i had Sweet Temptations - a trio of crunchy walnut cake, pineapple financier, and lemon mousse. Really liked the lemon mouse!

This was our last day, all spent at sea. Will talk about our Palo Brunch next.

 

[shrinkydinky]

When we were all planning this vacation, the issue of dining at Palo or Remy came up. My eldest sister, who sponsored this family vacation, has sailed many times. She and her husband had eaten at Palo. This was the very first cruise for my husband and i, and we were reluctant to schedule a Palo dinner then miss out on seeing one of the regular restaurants. Somewhere along the line, while hanging out on the Disney Cruise check-in site, i noticed Palo had a brunch on the last day. Unfortunately, by the time i noticed it, it was sold out.

i had read on this board that you can sometimes still get resos once you get onboard. So as soon as we were onboard, we sent our most charismatic member, my sister's husband, to try to finagle brunch resos - and he was successful!

The restaurant is located on Deck 12, Aft, with breathtaking views of the ocean. The atmosphere is quiet, peaceful, and gorgeous. They are quite strict about their dress policy, as one in our party arrived in shorts and was directed to come back in long pants. They start you off with Mimosas, or any other type of juice you want, or coffee. You are given a tour of the buffet and get to see examples of the meals you can order. Personally, i think the spread they had was more than enough, and ordering a meal was just too much food. Wish i would have taken pictures, as everything was wonderful. They had salads and fruit; antipasto types of items like olives, marinated artichoke hearts, cured meats. They had crab legs, several types of salmon, caviar, all kinds of breads and rolls. Personally, i was focused on the tuna sashimi, which were in huge squares. i also piled a toast point sky high with caviar. i can't even remember everything they had, but it was all delicious.

Since a meal was included, i ordered the Oysters Rockefeller, figuring it was small, and i hadn't had it in a long time. It was a huge disappointment. Not only did the waiter forget to bring it and had to be reminded, but it was not good at all. It was a bit funky, and first bite i found a chunk of shell in my mouth. Tried another bite and got a mouth full of grit. Decided to stop there and save my teeth. But other than that, the rest of the experience was lovely. Their dessert table had the prettiest and most delicious offerings i've ever seen. Again, i am not big on sweets, but thoroughly enjoyed everything i tried.

i strongly encourage anyone to try Palo on their cruise. The mere $20 per person extra is more than worth it.

 

[shrinkydinky]

One more comment about food - i certainly enjoy fine dining, but also have some guilty pleasures. i just love fried chicken, the super crunchy kind. First brunch onboard the ship, along with all the other yummy things offered, they had chicken tenders. i had one and it was super crunchy, not oily at all, and the chicken was very tender.

Next day, i searched the huge spread at Cabanas for those tenders. Could not find them. i think it was the next day, my husband grabbed a hamburger from Tow Mater's Grill and noticed they served them there. So he got me a plate, which included 3 chicken tenders and fries. i was in heaven! i also noticed that was a favorite offering in the restaurants at dinner for the little kids. There were a couple of nights i looked at those plates with envy!

i never tried Luigi's Pizzeria, but it looked good. My husband tried the Eye Scream several times. Aside from the regular vanilla and chocolate, they had fruity offerings like banana.

For anyone who likes food, you will be in heaven on a cruise. You will never go hungry, that's for sure.

 

[shrinkydinky]

There were some sad notes on our vacation. Late evening of the third day, our ship had to return to Nassau to drop off a crew member who had pneumonia. Then at breakfast the next morning, we noticed we were in close proximity to several other cruise ships, traveling back and forth in the ocean. The captain announced that we were participating in a search effort for a man overboard. Seems a crew member of the Monarch of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship was seen jumping overboard at 5:45 that morning. After several hours, the Coast Guard released our ship and continued their search efforts. i don't think that crew member was ever found.

After we got underway, our ship must have been really hustling, as the ride was quite bumpy from there on in. i was never bothered by the motion of the ship at any point, but some of my family were. This last day was especially rough for them as we were really rocking.

It was a day after our return when the Costa Concordia went aground. So scary to see a huge ship like ours, tipped on its side. So sad to hear the news of the poor souls who lost their lives when they should have been enjoying the time of their lives.

Several nights later, a local news station did a special report on that tragedy, and also on other terrible things that happen on cruise ships. They showed videos of drunken brawls, intoxicated guests, obnoxious crew. The most mentioned cruise line was Carnival. That show gave me nightmares. i just thought, none of that would happen on a Disney ship. They are so focused on clean, healthy, family fun. i have never, in any of the parks, or on this cruise ship, seen even one intoxicated or beligerant person. It must happen, so i assume Disney handles it quickly and quietly.

i don't think Disney would employ anyone, be it Captain of the Ship or bathroom attendant who was not top-notch. It is so nice to see smiling faces everywhere you go on the ship - it's contagious, as most of the guests were always in a good mood, also. For these reasons, and oh so many more, i don't think i will be sailing with any other cruise line in the future.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Thanks for the report!!

 

[wfgamble]

Great report! We are going on the 5 night in May. Would love to know how many bottles of wine you and your DH were allowed to bring onboard. One per person? My MIL is taking our family on this trip and she loves her Chardonnay

 

[shrinkydinky]

Great report! We are going on the 5 night in May. Would love to know how many bottles of wine you and your DH were allowed to bring onboard. One per person? My MIL is taking our family on this trip and she loves her Chardonnay

i love my Chardonnay, too! There is no limit, to my knowledge. Although i thought i read somewhere that they put a limit on alcohol, like the strong stuff, but not on wine. We brought a lot - too much, in fact. We ended up leaving quite a bit there.

One thing you want to make sure of, is to bring it in your carry-on luggage. It goes through a scanner when you board. We told them we had alcohol in our bags and they didn't blink an eye.

We brought several bottles of wine (six), a box of wine, some smaller soft side wine things that hold just a couple glasses, a bottle of vodka, and a bottle of Baileys - and that was between just me and one of my sisters. A couple others in our party brought about two bottles each. i don't think we even touched the vodka, and the Baileys was just used once to put a little in someone's coffee. i think if we had it to do over i would have just brought an airline size of the vodka and Baileys. And then, all the bars and restaurants had my favorite wine, Kendall Jackson, for about $10 a glass, which is reasonable. But i found myself buying several fruity drinks each day, mainly to get the glasses. They had big plastic glasses that look like parfait glasses, ones with light up bottoms, and Castaway Cay had coconut shaped ones in party colors.

 

[bluejasmine]

Lovely report!!