Dream 3/13 through 3/17

[juliebug1997]

I'm going to be brief but this was our first cruise and it was so much fun!!!!

We were in stateroom 6620 and had a wonderful stateroom hostess. I think her name was Shemma. She was so nice and we were glad to have her looking after us.

Our dining rotation was: Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace (dress up night), Animator's Palate (pirate night), Animator's Palate (talking with Crush). My favorite place was AP. The chairs are great and the food was the best both nights. I enjoyed the second night even more because we got to sit right by one of the screens where the characters pass by. There is real interaction! Crush was asking names of kids at some of the tables and asking them questions. It was just so awesome. The food, overall, was pretty good. I was a little disappointed with some of Cabanas but we didn't go hungry. Tip: order the oatmeal raisin cookies from room service--they are the best!!! You can also get the Mickey bars.

The shows are great! I think our favorite was "Villains Tonight" since I especially like "Hercules" and Hades is the main focus of the show. We played bingo twice on the last day and had a great time. We were definitely not the youngest people in there. My husband took one of the tours--the artwork one and enjoyed it very much. We spent time in the quiet area on the day at sea and the day in Naussau. We really liked the fact that you really couldn't hear a whole lot from the other part of the deck where the family pools are. The pools are small though so that was a little disappointing. We didn't ride the Aquaduck but that's more because of the line than anything else. There were also tons of character meet and greets. On the first night, Mickey and the gang were in their cruise cast member outfits. On the dress up night, the male characters were in their tuxes and Minnie and Daisy had really cute evening dresses on. On Pirate Night, all the characters were in pirate gear. The only one missing was Donald. For some reason, Donald did not make an appearance that evening. The princesses were out on the morning in Naussau and the morning at sea. You can take a guess at which morning was the easier one for princesses. On the day at Castaway Cay, we met Capt. Hook, Mr. Smee, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and Capt. Jack Sparrow. The day at sea didn't provide a whole lot of character interaction but that's okay. We did get our picture made with Chip and Dale every time they were out. They began to recognize us.

Well, to sum it all up, we had a great time and were so impressed that we booked a five night cruise on the Dream for June 2012. It leaves either on the 29th or the 30th and returns on the 4th of July. We got a 10% discount, a discounted deposit and a $100 shipboard credit too since we signed before we got off the boat.

 

[juliebug1997]

We used the Cruise Line Express to get from WDW to the port. It was easy, it was quick. The only problem? Once we got to the port, the check in system went down. By the time we got there, they had been down for about two hours. We opted to wait on the bus with air and comfy chairs than waiting on the sidewalk in the sun. Once we got through security though, it wasn't too bad. Maybe 30 minutes. We ended up waiting on the bus for an hour or so. Was I a little sad that we couldn't get on the boat right when we arrived? Sure but it wasn't so bad for me since I decided to wait it out in the bus. We got some free adult drinks once we got on and on our last day (at sea).

 

[EmmasGrammy]

I enjoyed your report. I do have one question, if you don't mind me asking.

You said that you saw Capt. Jack Sparrow on Castaway Cay day. Was that on the ship or on the island? We cruise next week on the Dream and my little DDG is ga ga over Capt. Jack. We absolutely MUST meet him on this cruise! Any info you could supply would be fantactic. TIA

 

[UrbanDad]

I'm pretty sure we passed Captain Jack on Castaway Cay riding on the tram. If we had walked the path, we would have stopped for a pic. Capt Jack was also part of the show atop the ship on Pirates night.

 

[juliebug1997]

It said on our Navigator that he would make two appearances on the Island Pathway but we were out there at one of the times and never saw him. He also had two appearances on the boat. We went to the second appearance--the line was much shorter and we arrived about fifteen minutes before he did. We were the second or third people to see him and then we ran and got in Tinkerbell's line.

Also, a tip about the princesses: there was one meet and greet on the day at Naussau and another on the day at sea. Go to the first one. You'll be in line with everyone else and their brother if you do it on the day at sea. And it was all six of them at once: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Tiana, Ariel and Cinderella.

 

[EmmasGrammy]

I am thrilled to see we will have several opportunities to meet Capt. Jack.

One more question...please. On the princess meet and greet , do you have to stand in a separate line for each individual princess or do you sorta stand i one line and get to visit each princess one at a time? I am not sure I am asking this correctly... do you go down the line and visit with each princess with only standing in one que line? Hope you understand what I am asking and thanks for your quick reply. We will be on the Dream in just 1 week!!

 

[juliebug1997]

I am thrilled to see we will have several opportunities to meet Capt. Jack.

One more question...please. On the princess meet and greet , do you have to stand in a separate line for each individual princess or do you sorta stand i one line and get to visit each princess one at a time? I am not sure I am asking this correctly... do you go down the line and visit with each princess with only standing in one que line? Hope you understand what I am asking and thanks for your quick reply. We will be on the Dream in just 1 week!!

You stand in line once. It's like the Epcot Character Spot: you are in one line and you meet all at once and move from character to character.

I don't always come to the cruise board a lot so, if you want to ask me more questions, feel free to email me: juliebug1997@me.com. I'm more than willing to answer any questions you have!!!!

 

[lisa702]

Thanks for your trip report! We sail Thursday. I am curious about the discounted deposit. I am looking at dates for next year and was wondering how much they discount a deposit. That would make rebooking so much easier! Thank you!

 

[juliebug1997]

Thanks for your trip report! We sail Thursday. I am curious about the discounted deposit. I am looking at dates for next year and was wondering how much they discount a deposit. That would make rebooking so much easier! Thank you!

When we booked for this past cruise, the deposit was $800 ($400 for each of us). They told us that the deposit for this one would be half but it ended up being $375ish. We were surprised! If we had booked a Med. cruise for this summer, we would have gotten 20% off but the dates weren't going to work for us sadly.

 

[Tx<3sDisney]

We were on the same cruise, and absolultely loved it. Our servers were Sunil and Tommy and they were great! Eduardo was our stateroom host, and he was wonderful as well. Everything in our room worked and the new set up with the bed is the bomb!! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and booked another for June next year!! The sea day is the only day that the boat really seemed to show a crowd, but it did on the Wonder to me as well. I personally the think the lay out with the two pools back to back makes it seem more crowded, but I personally found it relative! We found plenty of chairs to lounge in, I found no real lack for any thing. The adult area that I had read so much about, seemed fine to me. Never saw it too crowded. Loved the Shutters with the photo albums. Food was good. Only thing I maybe would like to see is more adult things during the day. The only time my daughter (4) went into the kids club was during the day. Had the weather been great all 4 days, I probably wouldn't have even noticed that, but still all in all, it was a fabulous Disney Magic trip for my family! Can't wait for the next one!!

 

[juliebug1997]

We were on the same cruise, and absolultely loved it. Our servers were Sunil and Tommy and they were great! Eduardo was our stateroom host, and he was wonderful as well. Everything in our room worked and the new set up with the bed is the bomb!! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and booked another for June next year!! The sea day is the only day that the boat really seemed to show a crowd, but it did on the Wonder to me as well. I personally the think the lay out with the two pools back to back makes it seem more crowded, but I personally found it relative! We found plenty of chairs to lounge in, I found no real lack for any thing. The adult area that I had read so much about, seemed fine to me. Never saw it too crowded. Loved the Shutters with the photo albums. Food was good. Only thing I maybe would like to see is more adult things during the day. The only time my daughter (4) went into the kids club was during the day. Had the weather been great all 4 days, I probably wouldn't have even noticed that, but still all in all, it was a fabulous Disney Magic trip for my family! Can't wait for the next one!!

Which date next June? We leave for a five night on the 29th!
Yeah, it was crowded on the day at sea but we still found a seat to sun for a little bit and a place to be in the pool. It was our first cruise period and now I'm glad that we did Disney. A friend's husband went on another cruise for another company and they didn't get him off the boat in time for his flight home.

 

[Tx<3sDisney]

We booked the June 15th 5 dayer! We have only cruised on Disney, and everyone I have ever talked to told me to just stay put, lol! They didn't think we would like any other lines!!

 

[juliebug1997]

A friend's husband just got back from a Royal Caribbean cruise and had a terrible time. I'm glad we're staying put too.

 

[ejw]

Hi Juliebug,

how was animators palate for pirate night? I know all the restaurants have a special menu and give out the bandanas, but was wondering if this restaurant does more since they have the screens.

thanks, ellen

 

[juliebug1997]

Ellen,
All the restaurants had the same menu on Pirate Night. The Animator's Palate had art work from Peter Pan showing on their electron boards. And we did get cute little bandanas.

 

[ejw]

thanks Julie. i'm just trying to figure out which dining rotation to request.

ellen

 

[disneydreamer94]

Ellen,
All the restaurants had the same menu on Pirate Night. The Animator's Palate had art work from Peter Pan showing on their electron boards. And we did get cute little bandanas.

I am curious...if you have AP on Pirate Night, do you not get the Turtle Talk with Crush time ? We will be on a 3 Night cruise and I would prefer we get the "crush" experience from AP. How do you request a specific dining rotation?

 

[WAHMto5]

Glad to hear that you had a great time! Hope they offer the same booking options on our cruise for another one, sounds like a great deal!

 

[juliebug1997]

thanks Julie. i'm just trying to figure out which dining rotation to request.

ellen

Ellen,
We didn't get to request our dining rotation but I would call the cruise company to see about this. Almost everything that I read said to wait and talk to guest services on the cruise but you may be able to take care of that ahead of time.

I am curious...if you have AP on Pirate Night, do you not get the Turtle Talk with Crush time ? We will be on a 3 Night cruise and I would prefer we get the "crush" experience from AP. How do you request a specific dining rotation?

Again, call the cruise company first but they may advise you to wait until you get on the ship. Your key to the world card will actually have your dining rotation on it. A=Animator's Palate. E=Enchanted Garden. R or P=Royal Palace. When you call them, be sure to tell them your concerned about missing the show piece of AP. Also, if they tell you to wait until you get on the boat, then tell that to Guest Services. We found them to be very helpful.

Glad to hear that you had a great time! Hope they offer the same booking options on our cruise for another one, sounds like a great deal!

I can't imagine that they won't. Every Disney vacation I've been on has had a come back discount available to us. I really wish that we could have done the Mediterranean Cruise this summer. Saving 20% is awesome!

Guys,
I'll be away from the internet for the next two days, if you have any more questions, email me at my screen name @me.com I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have.