pls3399
Disney Fanatic
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2008
- Messages
- 167
Completed!
Please don't take my word on everything as this was a "Training" Cruise, and things are definitely subject to change.
Ah...the Disney Dream. Where do I begin? Let me start off by saying its HUGE! Anyone who has been on a Disney cruise knows its not common to be docked at Nassau and be bigger than another cruise ship, but we were the biggest ship docked.
When we came over the bridge to Port Canaveral and saw the two red signature DCL stacks, we were so excited! As we came closer we could make out the detail work of the ship and Sorcerer Mickey and his brooms on the back of the ship. We were pretty late arriving that day (Unplanned!) and were some of the last on the ship. Those first steps onto the Disney Dream felt great! The first thing you see is the enormous atrium and beautiful chandelier three floors up. It sparkled like crazy and is a completely different type of centerpiece from those on the Wonder and Magic. And let me just say there are chandelier-type light fixtures all over the Dream.
The statue of Admiral Donald is situated in the usual spot in the atrium in front of a beautiful, black grand piano and the The Royal Palace (More on dining later!). From here, and after tons of pictures, we went to the Dreams equivalent of the Wonders Beach Blanket, Cabanas. Very nice and beachy looking, with the seagulls from Finding Nemo situated all over the restaurant. There is a huge Finding Nemo mosaic that is amazing.
Seats were tightly packed because of the amount of people eating lunch. The food was buffet style of course, and seemed to have a wider selection of items available.
The Staterooms: After a good lunch we were able to go to our veranda state room on the 9th floor. The rooms were quite similar to those on the other ships, however there were added touches that made a difference. The first thing you notice before even going into your room is the method of entry into your stateroom. The insert-your-key-to-get-in method had been done away with in favor of a new piece of technology, scanners. You simply hold your card up to the little black box and your door unlocks for you. Very convenient.
Another thing that was pretty cool yet inconvenient at times was Disney Cruise Lines new way to be more eco-friendly. We thought the electricity in our stateroom wasn't working at first. In order to turn on you lights in your stateroom (Any lights at all, including the TV) you must insert your key to the world card into a card reader by the door.
When you remove the card, lights go off and wont come back on until the card is re-inserted. Only one card fits in here at a time. This method prevents lights from being on in the room when no one is there. The lights will stay on for about two minutes after you move your card but it can be annoying when you're in bed watching TV and your husband takes his card out to go get food and everything turns off.
There are a few more added touches that improved the stateroom.
The noisy sliding doors on the closets have been replaced by actual doors with handles that open outward. No more doors sliding to and fro on choppy nights. There is more drawer space too. The beds are open underneath, adding greatly to storage space. The bed were like sleeping on a cloud with super soft sheets and matching comforter. (Don't remember if there are peep-holes in the doors on the other ships, but there are on the Dream)
We were provided with two free "Wave Phones" to use on the ship. These are phones that you can use on the ship (not ship to shore phones) to call the other phone or your stateroom. This makes it easier for families to stay in touch on board, as well as on Castaway. There was no charge for the phones, and no charge to use the phones. Now, don't get too excited because we don't know much about this. Were not sure if it is something they will be continuing or if it was just for this preview cruise. But it was neat none the less.
The Pool Areas: Alright. The mystery of the missing hot tubs....
Good news, they do exist!
They are situated away from the pool near the windows on the side of the ship. The bad news, they don't make bubbles
The jets blow but no soothing, bubbling, foaming water. The good news, there is a see through bottom in them. When you look through, you can see the ocean below.
The pool is amazing. Im sure most of you have seen pictures of the adult pool, and it is equally as awesome as the picture. The bar in the pool is priceless. The pool is a tad on the small side, as there is only one "Circle" deep enough for actually swimming in. The part of the pool closest to the bar as you can see is only a few inches deep, the second circle is for swimming, and the third is for sitting in and relaxing.
The mickey pool looks to be the same size as the ones on the other ships. There is an area called Nemo's Reef for small children where water shoots out of the ground, and has a mini slide as well. Of course there is the traditional yellow slide near the mickey pool.
The Donald/Family Pool is basically egg shaped with a picture of Donald snorkeling at the bottom. It seems a little small considering the size of the ship. And of course the giant screened TV is situated above here.
The Aquaduck: We rode the Aquaduck for the first time when it was cold and windy (We found the hot tubs quickly after that!) You climb the few flights of stairs to the top and climb in your two person raft, and off you go! That first time all we could think about was how cold the water was! It is much faster than it has been shown on online documentaries, and lights up at night! It only adds to the overall atmosphere of the Disney Dream. We really didnt have any waiting times because there were so few people on the cruise. However, there were signs that said "25 minutes from this point", and "45 minutes from this point". So that is what they must expect.
The first show of the cruise was the Golden Mickeys! Which...has been changed. Some say for the better, some for worse. If you dont want to know the changes, dont read the next paragraph
Replacements:
- Roy Disney's "Live" video call has been replaced with one from Bob Iger
- Turk was replaced with Scuba Diving Goofy
- Ensign Benson's Dress at the end has been changed as well.
Cuts:
- The Trashing the camp scene Turk was removed
- The small piece with Princess Aurora was cut
Additions:
- A scene from Tangled was added
- A scene from beauty and the beast was added
- Small things from both Tangled and Princess and the Frog were added in the video portions
I think that's all, but some of these were pretty big changes. The staff was unsure if these changes will carry over to the Golden Mickey's shows on the Wonder and Magic.
The Walt Disney Theater was amazing. There is a balcony in addition to the copious space on the stage level. Of course there are touches of hidden Mickey's everywhere.
The Royal Palace: Following the show was cruise casual dinner night at The Royal Palace. This French Restaurant is a tribute to the classic Disney Princesses. The decorations scream Royalty. From the glass slipper chandelier to the carriage shaped bread baskets and the desert menus that look like royal invitations. There are beautiful wall paintings of the princesses, and the chairs are muted red and blue velvet. The food choices were wonderful and the taste was even better.
Animators Palate: The second night was dinner at Animators Palate. This Animators is extremely different from the ones on the Wonder and Magic. No walls change color, but crush, Nemo and Friends do swim around from screen to screen and interact with guests. There was supposed to be a show at the end of dinner, but I think because it was a preview cruise they chose not to do it The food choices were poor in my opinion, including the desert menu.
The Enchanted Garden: This was on the third and final night of our voyage. The Enchanted Garden was truly beautiful with its shades of green and pink, with vines and flowers everywhere. The restaurant changes from day to night, but again they did not do it on our cruise. The lights were pink flowers that open and close throughout dinner. The cuisine was considered "Continental Market Menu" with items such as NY Strip Steak, and Tuna. This restaurant had by far the best dessert menu with things like Chocolate mousse cake, strawberry cheesecake, and bananas foster sundae. Of course all restaurants had the sweet temptations.
Remy/Palo: Unfortunately we were unable to eat at either of these restaurants. Remy, at $75 a pop was just too expensive this time, and Palo was fully booked each night. Palo and Remy are located right across the hall from each other, separated by a common check-in/reservation station and a upper class bar called the Meridian. We did however sneak in to get pictures for you all!
Please don't take my word on everything as this was a "Training" Cruise, and things are definitely subject to change.
Ah...the Disney Dream. Where do I begin? Let me start off by saying its HUGE! Anyone who has been on a Disney cruise knows its not common to be docked at Nassau and be bigger than another cruise ship, but we were the biggest ship docked.
When we came over the bridge to Port Canaveral and saw the two red signature DCL stacks, we were so excited! As we came closer we could make out the detail work of the ship and Sorcerer Mickey and his brooms on the back of the ship. We were pretty late arriving that day (Unplanned!) and were some of the last on the ship. Those first steps onto the Disney Dream felt great! The first thing you see is the enormous atrium and beautiful chandelier three floors up. It sparkled like crazy and is a completely different type of centerpiece from those on the Wonder and Magic. And let me just say there are chandelier-type light fixtures all over the Dream.
The statue of Admiral Donald is situated in the usual spot in the atrium in front of a beautiful, black grand piano and the The Royal Palace (More on dining later!). From here, and after tons of pictures, we went to the Dreams equivalent of the Wonders Beach Blanket, Cabanas. Very nice and beachy looking, with the seagulls from Finding Nemo situated all over the restaurant. There is a huge Finding Nemo mosaic that is amazing.
Seats were tightly packed because of the amount of people eating lunch. The food was buffet style of course, and seemed to have a wider selection of items available.
The Staterooms: After a good lunch we were able to go to our veranda state room on the 9th floor. The rooms were quite similar to those on the other ships, however there were added touches that made a difference. The first thing you notice before even going into your room is the method of entry into your stateroom. The insert-your-key-to-get-in method had been done away with in favor of a new piece of technology, scanners. You simply hold your card up to the little black box and your door unlocks for you. Very convenient.
Another thing that was pretty cool yet inconvenient at times was Disney Cruise Lines new way to be more eco-friendly. We thought the electricity in our stateroom wasn't working at first. In order to turn on you lights in your stateroom (Any lights at all, including the TV) you must insert your key to the world card into a card reader by the door.
When you remove the card, lights go off and wont come back on until the card is re-inserted. Only one card fits in here at a time. This method prevents lights from being on in the room when no one is there. The lights will stay on for about two minutes after you move your card but it can be annoying when you're in bed watching TV and your husband takes his card out to go get food and everything turns off.
There are a few more added touches that improved the stateroom.
The noisy sliding doors on the closets have been replaced by actual doors with handles that open outward. No more doors sliding to and fro on choppy nights. There is more drawer space too. The beds are open underneath, adding greatly to storage space. The bed were like sleeping on a cloud with super soft sheets and matching comforter. (Don't remember if there are peep-holes in the doors on the other ships, but there are on the Dream)
We were provided with two free "Wave Phones" to use on the ship. These are phones that you can use on the ship (not ship to shore phones) to call the other phone or your stateroom. This makes it easier for families to stay in touch on board, as well as on Castaway. There was no charge for the phones, and no charge to use the phones. Now, don't get too excited because we don't know much about this. Were not sure if it is something they will be continuing or if it was just for this preview cruise. But it was neat none the less.
The Pool Areas: Alright. The mystery of the missing hot tubs....
Good news, they do exist!
They are situated away from the pool near the windows on the side of the ship. The bad news, they don't make bubbles
The jets blow but no soothing, bubbling, foaming water. The good news, there is a see through bottom in them. When you look through, you can see the ocean below.
The pool is amazing. Im sure most of you have seen pictures of the adult pool, and it is equally as awesome as the picture. The bar in the pool is priceless. The pool is a tad on the small side, as there is only one "Circle" deep enough for actually swimming in. The part of the pool closest to the bar as you can see is only a few inches deep, the second circle is for swimming, and the third is for sitting in and relaxing.
The mickey pool looks to be the same size as the ones on the other ships. There is an area called Nemo's Reef for small children where water shoots out of the ground, and has a mini slide as well. Of course there is the traditional yellow slide near the mickey pool.
The Donald/Family Pool is basically egg shaped with a picture of Donald snorkeling at the bottom. It seems a little small considering the size of the ship. And of course the giant screened TV is situated above here.
The Aquaduck: We rode the Aquaduck for the first time when it was cold and windy (We found the hot tubs quickly after that!) You climb the few flights of stairs to the top and climb in your two person raft, and off you go! That first time all we could think about was how cold the water was! It is much faster than it has been shown on online documentaries, and lights up at night! It only adds to the overall atmosphere of the Disney Dream. We really didnt have any waiting times because there were so few people on the cruise. However, there were signs that said "25 minutes from this point", and "45 minutes from this point". So that is what they must expect.
The first show of the cruise was the Golden Mickeys! Which...has been changed. Some say for the better, some for worse. If you dont want to know the changes, dont read the next paragraph
Replacements:
- Roy Disney's "Live" video call has been replaced with one from Bob Iger
- Turk was replaced with Scuba Diving Goofy
- Ensign Benson's Dress at the end has been changed as well.
Cuts:
- The Trashing the camp scene Turk was removed
- The small piece with Princess Aurora was cut
Additions:
- A scene from Tangled was added
- A scene from beauty and the beast was added
- Small things from both Tangled and Princess and the Frog were added in the video portions
I think that's all, but some of these were pretty big changes. The staff was unsure if these changes will carry over to the Golden Mickey's shows on the Wonder and Magic.
The Walt Disney Theater was amazing. There is a balcony in addition to the copious space on the stage level. Of course there are touches of hidden Mickey's everywhere.
The Royal Palace: Following the show was cruise casual dinner night at The Royal Palace. This French Restaurant is a tribute to the classic Disney Princesses. The decorations scream Royalty. From the glass slipper chandelier to the carriage shaped bread baskets and the desert menus that look like royal invitations. There are beautiful wall paintings of the princesses, and the chairs are muted red and blue velvet. The food choices were wonderful and the taste was even better.
Animators Palate: The second night was dinner at Animators Palate. This Animators is extremely different from the ones on the Wonder and Magic. No walls change color, but crush, Nemo and Friends do swim around from screen to screen and interact with guests. There was supposed to be a show at the end of dinner, but I think because it was a preview cruise they chose not to do it
The food choices were poor in my opinion, including the desert menu.The Enchanted Garden: This was on the third and final night of our voyage. The Enchanted Garden was truly beautiful with its shades of green and pink, with vines and flowers everywhere. The restaurant changes from day to night, but again they did not do it on our cruise. The lights were pink flowers that open and close throughout dinner. The cuisine was considered "Continental Market Menu" with items such as NY Strip Steak, and Tuna. This restaurant had by far the best dessert menu with things like Chocolate mousse cake, strawberry cheesecake, and bananas foster sundae. Of course all restaurants had the sweet temptations.
Remy/Palo: Unfortunately we were unable to eat at either of these restaurants. Remy, at $75 a pop was just too expensive this time, and Palo was fully booked each night. Palo and Remy are located right across the hall from each other, separated by a common check-in/reservation station and a upper class bar called the Meridian. We did however sneak in to get pictures for you all!
