Dream - 6/20/12 - 4 nt - Great Start to the Summer of 2012!!! FE #217 DIS Meet #216

[JanDave]

Monique - will start a list.

Jan

 

[lostatdisney]

Jan, how wonderful that you're able to be there for your grandson and family! I hope he is feeling better.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone! I just dragged everyone to go see the movie "Soul Surfer" with me. It was so inspiring! Of course it made me wish I were booked for a Hawaiian cruise! Maybe next time . . .

 

[NickyDa]

Welcome NickDa and Family!!!! Wow, amazing - it's a short 4 day cruise and our cruise group is growing! Almost 13 months until we board the Dream.

Ok, NickDa, tell us all about the Dream!


Well, first let me start with...I hope your family's health improve and all are doing better now.

As for the Dream, not sure exactly where to start. Since this was our first cruise, I really do not have much to compare it to. I will say that even though this ship holds 4K passengers, we never felt crowded.

Some of the highlights were the 'Believe' show and the Aquaduck (of course). 'Believe' had appearances by all the Princesses and the one of the main characters was Genie. He was just as loud and amazing as the first Aladdin movie.

The Aquaduck was very busy so I only got a chance to ride it twice! The wait was usually about 30-40 minutes unless you are there as soon as it opens. Do expect to get soaked. As for other ways to cool off, we thought the family pools were a bit on the small side. The Mickey pool and the Donald pool are basically side-by-side and stay pretty crowded.

We spent a lot of time just walking around the ship and exploring together as a family. We enjoyed just hanging out together playing the miniature golf course or the sports in the Goofy Sports area.

I have lots of pics of the ship to share if anyone is interested. Just shot me an email and I can get you a link to our Flickr page.

 

[JanDave]

Jan sounds good to me.....Add me to the list if you start one

Monique, I added you and Hunter to the list. I created a Google docs spreadsheet and will email peroidically to those who are on the list. Monique, send me a PM with your email addess. Hard to believe that we are only almost 13 months from boarding the Dream!

Jan

 

[JanDave]

Welcome NickDa and Family!!!! Wow, amazing - it's a short 4 day cruise and our cruise group is growing! Almost 13 months until we board the Dream.

Ok, NickDa, tell us all about the Dream!


Well, first let me start with...I hope your family's health improve and all are doing better now.

As for the Dream, not sure exactly where to start. Since this was our first cruise, I really do not have much to compare it to. I will say that even though this ship holds 4K passengers, we never felt crowded.

Some of the highlights were the 'Believe' show and the Aquaduck (of course). 'Believe' had appearances by all the Princesses and the one of the main characters was Genie. He was just as loud and amazing as the first Aladdin movie.

The Aquaduck was very busy so I only got a chance to ride it twice! The wait was usually about 30-40 minutes unless you are there as soon as it opens. Do expect to get soaked. As for other ways to cool off, we thought the family pools were a bit on the small side. The Mickey pool and the Donald pool are basically side-by-side and stay pretty crowded.

We spent a lot of time just walking around the ship and exploring together as a family. We enjoyed just hanging out together playing the miniature golf course or the sports in the Goofy Sports area.

I have lots of pics of the ship to share if anyone is interested. Just shot me an email and I can get you a link to our Flickr page.

Sounds like you had a great cruise. I love reading reviews and trip reports of the Dream as I like to have plenty of knowledge of the ship before boarding. Unfortunately, the 3 and 4 day cruises go by too fast. Seven days go by fast, too. On the typical DCL eastern/western itineraries, I hate Fridays which is Castaway Cay day. I love CC, but I hate that it's Friday, meaning our last day of vacation, last dinner, play, etc. Also, it's such a reality shock when you are off the ship and back into the real world after seven wonderful days.

Nickyda - how did you and your family spend the day at CC?

Jan

 

[JanDave]

Sean is feeling much better and had his treatment yesterday. He's good for another month until his next clinical trial visit. This trial is for newly diagnosed juvenile diabetics. The assumption is that these kids are still producing some insulin and the treatment is to induce the pancreas' insulin production. At this point, half way into the program, it has not yet been determined whether Sean's pancreas is producing any insulin. He told me on Saturday (and I had to hold back tears as this terrific 7 year old was informing me) that even if his body doesn't produce insulin maybe he is helping another kid who gets juvenile diabetes.

But ... 10 minutes later, Sean was "bragging" that he'll be on the Dream before I do next year! They're on the 1/3/12 (5 day) Dream cruise.

My goddaughter, Alyssa, who will be cruising with us was in the hospital ER this weekend with bronchitis. Fortunately, she didn't get admitted but has bruises on her arms from IVs and blood draws. I consider Alyssa my 7th grandchild. She has Down syndrome and is such a neat kid! She doesn't know yet that she's cruising again. This will be her 3rd DCL cruise.

Ok, gotta get back to sleep before the 5am alarm goes off for the start of another day of work. Let's see, only 24 months, 26 days until my expected retirement date.

Jan

 

[NickyDa]

Sounds like you had a great cruise. I love reading reviews and trip reports of the Dream as I like to have plenty of knowledge of the ship before boarding. Unfortunately, the 3 and 4 day cruises go by too fast. Seven days go by fast, too. On the typical DCL eastern/western itineraries, I hate Fridays which is Castaway Cay day. I love CC, but I hate that it's Friday, meaning our last day of vacation, last dinner, play, etc. Also, it's such a reality shock when you are off the ship and back into the real world after seven wonderful days.

Nickyda - how did you and your family spend the day at CC?

Jan

For our day at CC, we spent most of our time just on the beach. Our kids love the water and sand and even though we live just outside Cocoa Beach, I guess they just cannot get enough of the ocean! We stayed there playing in the water, taking lots and lots of pics, resting in the hammock, and chasing fish. We also checked out the view for Pelican's Plunge. Having younger kids that enjoy playing in the water but not being in water above their heads, we just opted to watch.

Around 1230ish we headed over to Cookies Too for our BBQ lunch under the pavilion. I guess Cookies Too is a new addition to accommodate the number of passengers on the Dream. All you past cruisers correct me if I am wrong. We also checked out the view for Pelican's Plunge. While on our way to get food, I did get a chance to catch a crab race.

After lunch we walked...yes walked... to the observation tower. The weather was still very mild for March so the heat for us FL natives was not an issue. We opted to walk rather than rent bikes so we could get in a lot of pictures. The walk not that bad at all and we're hoping to take part in the 3K run next summer. We headed back to the ship about 300ish so we could get in another ride, or two, on Aquaduck before dinner.

I now my reviews are not that exciting, but we were truly just trying to relax. Even in Nassau, we got off the ship, walked around the shopping area for about 2 hours and got right back on the Dream. Now that we have had a chance to explore the ship, we're hoping to do more next time like Palo, an excursion in Nassau, a Cabana in CC, etc.

 

[JanDave]

Nicky - sounds like you and your family had a wonderful day at CC. Yes, Cookies Too is a new addition as well as Spring a Leak. There is also a second gift shop that is new as well. Last November, our grandkids had fun playing at Spring a Leak before lunch. I was surprised at how fast people went down the slides at Pelican Plunge and into the water.

My son participated in the 5k run on CC last November. He said it was a great way to see the island.

My DH's favorite spot on the island is at the adult beach and it's BBQ. That is after he has gone on the fishing excursion.

I have parasailed twice at CC!!!! What an experience!

Palo is a must on our DCL cruises. I think I enjoy brunch more than dinner.

When we're at CC, by 2 or 3 pm, I head back to the ship to cool down, do last minute packing, and get ready for the evening's activities. My DH usually stays at CC longer than I do.

Thanks for your ship/CC reports, Nicky!

Jan

 

[JanDave]

For our day at CC, we spent most of our time just on the beach. Our kids love the water and sand and even though we live just outside Cocoa Beach

Nicky, I'll be in your neighborhood in 2 weeks! We leave Detroit on May 24 and will be staying at DVC's Vero Beach resort from May 25 through May 28. On May 29, we head to AK Kidani for one night. We're going with one of our daughter's and s-i-l.

Dave and I love the Cocoa Beach area. We love exploring that area of Florida. His goal is to spend a few winter weeks there when we are retired.

Jan

 

[NickyDa]

Nicky, I'll be in your neighborhood in 2 weeks! We leave Detroit on May 24 and will be staying at DVC's Vero Beach resort from May 25 through May 28. On May 29, we head to AK Kidani for one night. We're going with one of our daughter's and s-i-l.

Dave and I love the Cocoa Beach area. We love exploring that area of Florida. His goal is to spend a few winter weeks there when we are retired.

Jan

Jan, I hope you guys have safe travels! And be prepared because we have already been reaching temps in the low 90s all this week. I love the warm weather, though.

Hope you have lots of fun in Vero and at AK. We might even cross paths before next June. LOL! If you end up with extra time, remember the NEW 3D Star Tours ride opens May 20 @ DHS.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Hello to you all! We booked the Disney Dream for June 20, 2012 several weeks ago and I've been meaning to stop by and say hi! That crazy work stuff has gotten in the way

We are so very excited to be on the Dream. My DH and I have cruised several times with Carnival before DS was born but not since. My DS (7) is so excited he talks about it every day! We are big Disney fans so this just feels right!

I also would love to join the FE club!

Take care,
Heather

 

[lostatdisney]

Welcome Heather and Family! Where are y'all from? (As you can tell by the "y'all", we are from Texas!)

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Welcome Heather and Family! Where are y'all from? (As you can tell by the "y'all", we are from Texas!)

Thanks!!

North Carolina - so we get the "y'all" just fine here

Heather

 

[JanDave]

Hello to you all! We booked the Disney Dream for June 20, 2012 several weeks ago and I've been meaning to stop by and say hi! That crazy work stuff has gotten in the way

We are so very excited to be on the Dream. My DH and I have cruised several times with Carnival before DS was born but not since. My DS (7) is so excited he talks about it every day! We are big Disney fans so this just feels right!

I also would love to join the FE club!

Take care,
Heather

Welcome Heather and Family!!!

I will mark your family as participating in FEs. I have started a spreadsheet and will update it this weekend. I was thinking of adding all cruisers to the list and having a column for FE participants. Is that ok with everyone? If not, please let me know.

Please send me a PM with your email address and I will forward the list vi email.

Jan

 

[moniqueelaine]

Jan that would be great.....You are a great person thank you for doing this for us

I am loving all this Southerness lol YEE HAW!!!!!! LOL

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Welcome Heather and Family!!!

I will mark your family as participating in FEs. I have started a spreadsheet and will update it this weekend. I was thinking of adding all cruisers to the list and having a column for FE participants. Is that ok with everyone? If not, please let me know.

Please send me a PM with your email address and I will forward the list vi email.

Jan

Thank you Jan!!

PM sent as well...

Heather

 

[NickyDa]

Thanks!!

North Carolina - so we get the "y'all" just fine here

Heather

Welcome aboard Heather and Fam! Looking forward to our trip next summer.

I'm a NC girl from Fayetteville!

 

[moniqueelaine]

Are any of yall going to do a excursion in Nassau?? Me and my son have been studying them and I think we are wanting to do the Atlantis Adventure minus the water park (we are going to WDW before the cruise and I added waterparks and more and my son isn't really into water parks so we will skip that part) he wants to go into the casino and check it out (not play just look LOL)...also on CC we were looking at the jet ski excursion..has any1 done this one?? I wouldn't normally do a excursion at CC if this trip were not such a special occasion otherwise we would just hang out on the beach.....

 

[lostatdisney]

Are any of yall going to do a excursion in Nassau?? Me and my son have been studying them and I think we are wanting to do the Atlantis Adventure minus the water park (we are going to WDW before the cruise and I added waterparks and more and my son isn't really into water parks so we will skip that part) he wants to go into the casino and check it out (not play just look LOL)...also on CC we were looking at the jet ski excursion..has any1 done this one?? I wouldn't normally do a excursion at CC if this trip were not such a special occasion otherwise we would just hang out on the beach.....

Just curious - what do you do at Atlantis if you don't do the waterpark?

Sorry, we didn't do any excursions on CC. We did try to do the scavenger hunt that they offer for free, but we were too busy relaxing - and eating! - to get very far with it!

 

[moniqueelaine]

They have the underwater habitat with all the fishies and stuff lol....It is called the Discover Atlantis excursion...I think it is $59 pp...the main thing we are doing it for is so my son can check out the casino, but I want to see the fish and stuff lol