Dream 9/14/15: Semi-live report from a DCL skeptic - Pics added 9/27

[Club Disney Chandler]

I'm so happy to be reading another of your reviews, I loved your review of BA. We too get bored on CC after our excursion is over, btw if you do get back there I highly recommend parasailing, it was awesome and really cool to see the top of the ship from on high.

 

[momof2n2]

What is your next cruise?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

On the never ending drive home from the Getaway.

Your stateroom view: same as ours. I've been on the port side but always prefer starboard on sailings that include Castaway to get the "pretty" view of the beaches. Watching the island come alive then slowly slip back into its peaceful state as guests leave appeals to us.

Good Lord, cannot agree more about the Rainforest Pass. There's $50-something I'll never see again. Gah! When we went there was so few tile loungers. Decided I wanted to try a hot tub to soak my foot and maybe let a jet massage the tender spot in the back of my arch. (Was heavenly a few nights previous at Stormalong Bay/Beach Club.) One tub the jets wouldn't work. The other the jets barely did anything at all. Went inside thinking I'd run thru all the different rain showers just to say I had....and in spite of every shower being completely empty, not another guest in sight...there was not 1 peg or hook empty to hang a towel or robe on. Not 1. I have no idea where all the phantoms those robes & towels belonged to were. We saw nobody. So, feeling over it, we left. And that's how I threw away 50-something perfectly good bucks. It'll never happen again, I promise. I was so disgusted over it I refused to even try the Thermal Suite on the GA which maybe wasn't entirely fair. It did look way much nicer & better equipped. Some new pals we made on the cruise told us there were some somewhat creepy characters in there a few times while they were there. I probly would never have noticed. LOL!

Oh! Remember your anxiety over being turned away from the concierge lounge on embarkation day due to being at capacity? Well, our limo transfer was delayed an hour and that's EXACTLY what happened to us. Eh, we took it in stride. Went to lunch with the group, came back later, and went thru the orientation meeting. It was all fine. Still a great day. Still a good time.

The waverunners. Yeah. To me it's like riding horses. You don't really "sit". You keep your weight on your feet so the waverunner bounces but your entire body does not. If that makes sense. Keeps you from jarring so much, easier to keep the throttle steady, too.

Enjoying your impressions/reflections.

 

[perditax]

What is your next cruise?

December 13 on Celebrity Eclipse (solo), unless I run into work problems. The only other mass market line I want to try sometime is Princess. BF definitely wants to cruise again (yay!) but I don't know when that will be. He likes the ship, not so much the ports (although that may be different if we weren't in the carrib). So I'm sort of leaning, next time we cruise together, towards maybe a 7-day on one of the new NCL ships. Since neither of us will care too much about port days, we would mostly enjoy the ship. It's also possible that after my Celeb cruise I'll end up liking them more, but I miss the Getaway.

@sweetpee_1993 -- did you end up liking the Getaway? If not, you can be honest, won't hurt my feelings, although I hope I didn't contribute to steering you TOO far off track.

LOVED the thermal suite on GA, myself, which is part of what made Rainforest Room look so bad.

 

[perditax]

Picture time!

Disney Dream Room 12508 -- Cat 00V with 'bump out' Veranda

VERANDAH WITHOUT LOUNGERS

VERANDAH WITH LOUNGERS

 

[perditax]

FOOD PICS

CONCIERGE LOUNGE GOODIES

THE MOUSSE PARFAIT IS FABULOUS, AS IS THE COOKIE ON A STICK

YOU SHOULD EAT ANY SANDWICH YOU SEE IN CONCIERGE LOUNGE

ICED TEA SADLY COMES PRE-LEMONED

THE OBLIGATORY DAY ONE BUFFET PLATE (ENCHANTED GARDEN)

COVE CAFE TREATS, CONCIERGE WAS MUCH BETTER. :\

 

[perditax]

MORE FOOD PICS

APPLE TARTE TATIN DESSERT AT ROYAL PALACE -- JUST LIKE THE ONE IN LE BISTRO ON GETAWAY

LOBSTER MASCARPONE RAVIOLO AT PALO, AS APPETIZER. TDF.

SHRIMP ARRIABATA, HALF PORTION LOBSTER PAPPARDELLE, FILET AT PALO

I guess this is all the food pics I really took. Overall we were happy with the food but the standouts were concierge lounge, Cabanas croissants in the morning, and Palo.

OUR VIEW FROM PALO TABLE

 

[perditax]

SOME PICS OF ADULTS-ONLY AREAS

COVE CAFE, I HAD NEVER SEEN PICTURES OF THIS AREA

(Sadly it was always occupied except this first afternoon)

ADULT POOL - IT WILL NEVER BE THIS EMPTY AGAIN, BUT IT WASN'T TERRIBLE

ADULT SUNDECK (I THINK)

MAYBE A GOOD PLACE TO FIND AN UNCLAIMED PADDED LOUNGER? ADULT SUNDECK (ONE DECK UP FROM ADULT POOL, STARBOARD)

NOOKS AND CRANNIES ON THE ADULT POOL DECK AREA

I THINK THIS IS ALSO PART OF THE UPPER ADULT DECK -- CORRECT IF WRONG

 

[TestingH2O]

I THINK THIS IS ALSO PART OF THE UPPER ADULT DECK -- CORRECT IF WRONG

That's bar seating right above the pool. We had a cocktail there one lovely evening.

 

[kaseyC]

We had Angeline, Ashley, and Danny.

Love Angeline. We had her while she was in training on the Fantasy and as a full Concierge on the Magic on our transatlantic cruises in 2013 and 2014. She absolutely spoiled me and my girls.

 

[kaseyC]

Your MDR experiences sounds terrible. At the risk of sounding like an elitist pig (although I probably am), I guess I figure that the more I pay, the more likely I am to be surrounded by other people who consider their vacation as precious family time during which you behave respectfully and considerably towards each other: within the family, to other guests, and to the crew. Fortunately, the vast majority of guests get that, but no amount of planning can prevent bad experiences completely. I am sorry that you had those problems.

Unfortunately, I think it's sometimes the opposite. Many feel since they paid more that they are entitled to do whatever they want.

 

[kaseyC]

December 13 on Celebrity Eclipse (solo), unless I run into work problems. The only other mass market line I want to try sometime is Princess. BF definitely wants to cruise again (yay!) but I don't know when that will be. He likes the ship, not so much the ports (although that may be different if we weren't in the carrib). So I'm sort of leaning, next time we cruise together, towards maybe a 7-day on one of the new NCL ships. Since neither of us will care too much about port days, we would mostly enjoy the ship. It's also possible that after my Celeb cruise I'll end up liking them more, but I miss the Getaway.

@sweetpee_1993 -- did you end up liking the Getaway? If not, you can be honest, won't hurt my feelings, although I hope I didn't contribute to steering you TOO far off track.

LOVED the thermal suite on GA, myself, which is part of what made Rainforest Room look so bad.

Because you enjoyed Concierge on the Dream, I suggest the next time you cruise NCL book a Haven suite. The NCL Haven product is fantastic... exclusive pool area, sundeck, restaurant, lounge/bar and even a mini gym. Concierge and butler service. There is also a special pool butler that services the pool area and sundeck... bringing drinks, meals, cold towels, fresh towels and snacks. Suites can order from any restaurant and it will be delivered in courses. Each suite also has its own fancy Lavazza coffee machine. All suites on the newer ships (Epic, BA, GA and Escape) have Haven access.

 

[DCLDVC1]

Thanks for the pics. I can't wait to try out the new coffee machine.

 

[DisneyDreams16]

Thanks for the info, we sail in 3 weeks.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I've been following along, but haven't commented yet. Im enjoying reading about your trip. It was so much different then ours! Seriously, I feel like you were on a different ship there's so much in your report that we never even saw! Can't wait for more. I'm going to try to start our TR soon. Haven't done anything with our pictures yet and hate to start without them

 

[perditax]

Hi guys--I guess I didn't do a very good of wrapping this up gracefully, so here's some final thoughts:

• After all my worry and complaining, really the only thing that was as bad as I was fearing was the MDR experience, and we might have just gotten unlucky (with non-parenting parents). At least we didn't have any two-hour nights and we did really like our server team. Late seating blows, though, at least for us.
• The BF loved the cruise. This is great, as it means we will go on more cruises. He loved the concierge setup, which is less great, because while I loved it too I am unlikely to pay for it going forward, unless my life circumstances change. He also really loved the veranda, which means that I have to pay close attention to balcony sizes when I pick our next cruise together (which will probably be next year).
• Overall I have to disagree with the assessment that DCL is great for adults-only, or at least this group of adults. Reasons: limited dining options (see: MDR experience, and yes we did Palo one night), limited adult entertainment besides drinking and trivia, limited quiet/comfortable indoor spaces on ship (e.g., a library, a lounge without weird seats, etc--the Outlook Lounge was set up as a toddler playroom). (That said, we quite enjoyed the British kid who was leading Trivia, we did one shot at 90s music trivia but lost to a very large team--seems like team numbers should be limited, blah blah.)
• That said, if I was wealthy I would do a 7-day western Concierge on Fantasy. (But I could get a Haven spa suite on Getaway for about a thousand dollars less and have way more dining options, a thermal suite, an unlimited Internet package, a library, etc... So, eh.) I honestly don't think I would ever do non-concierge DCL.
• Ship was very clean, staff was as attentive as they say (although we had Concierge staff blowing the curve for everyone)
• Did see costume characters frequently (and lines)
• We enjoyed shopping for the new Star Wars merch onboard (BF got some stuff). I was honestly quite tempted by the crossover SW/DCL merch (tshirts etc), but held out.
• I have only good things to say about Cabanas. EAT MOAR CROISSANTS
• Fireworks were very nice, and DCL rescheduled them promptly after they were canceled by an electrical storm, and sent the updated schedule to all rooms.
• Our DCL waverunner excursion was fun
• The cabana was everything you've seen or read about, but do consider whether you are going to want to sit there long enough for it to be worthwhile.
• Rainforest Room is a lie. I need a real thermal suite.
• Other than MDR experience and unhappy toddlers in muster drill, kid levels were manageable

Bottom line, it does seem like a great cruise for families, and for adults of a certain temperament. I'm personally looking for a slightly different set of amenities. However, I believe BF would be perfectly happy to go on another DCL cruise as long as 1) we had concierge and a big balcony; 2) we could somehow avoid MDRs.

Thanks for reading!

 

[TestingH2O]

My big question is: Will you do a review of your X cruise? While I have a small person and that makes DCL a good choice for us right now, your writing suggests that we have similar vacation styles and I would be very interested to hear what you think. (If you say you will write it on CC, that's cool too. I just need to know to keep an eye out for it.)

 

[perditax]

My big question is: Will you do a review of your X cruise? While I have a small person and that makes DCL a good choice for us right now, your writing suggests that we have similar vacation styles and I would be very interested to hear what you think. (If you say you will write it on CC, that's cool too. I just need to know to keep an eye out for it.)

I've been using my old PTR as a sort of blog, so I'll post any eventual TR there. I wrote some stuff today at the end.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/the-secret-cruise-blog-of-perdita-x-dream-09-14-2015.3388481/page-6

 

[UrsulaTime]

I've been considering taking an adults-only cruise on the Dream. This trip report was immensely informative. Thank you so much. Happy future travels. I want a croissant.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I really hope that you have a drink package (even a non-alcoholic one) on your Celebrity cruise. Based on your experiences here, I think you will love Café Al Bacio on Celebrity. With a drink package, all of the espressos, lattes, cappuccinos, Americanos, etc. are covered (along with bottles of water). And they have a great variety of desserts and pastries (with breakfast pastries - including mini almond and nutella croissants).