Dream b2b 7/29 - 8/7 Good Times & Lots of Pics!

[IFlossU]

Enjoying your report! I have young kids as well that will probably be needing naps. Did you have your stateroom host leave their beds made up during the day for their naps, or did they sleep on your bed?

 

[FirstTimeDC]

Once we were out of the stateroom (10:30am-ish) he came in and made the beds, cleaned, etc. Then we napped around 3:00pm-ish - we had late dining - so a late afternoon nap worked for us. Once we were up and out of the room for the evening around 6:00pm - he would come in and remake the beds, put out chocolate mints, etc.

We tipped him extra because he did have to remake our beds everyday. Plus he was a great host. My kids need naps or they'd never make it till 11:30pm every night.

 

[FLVacationGirl]

My daughters are going to LOVE colouring the Pluto pillowcases. Thanks for posting pics of that!

 

[IFlossU]

Thanks for your reply. The first time we cruised we were child free, so I wasn't sure if they just left the sofa and bunk "out" all day. Or if they folded everything up and put it away until evening turn down.

 

[FirstTimeDC]

My DD's loved all the activites in the children's club. They really have a lot of nice things for them to do.

They do put the sofa back so you have a sofa...but it folds down easily and the bed is already made. Nice!

 

[IFlossU]

Great! Thank you for the info. Very helpful! Can't wait to read the rest of your report.

 

[Cheryl726]

Nice TR and pics! We did the 7/24-7/29 5nt, so when we were sad to leave you were happy to be getting there! We miss it so much!

 

[joksten2000]

We were on the b2b with you. The picture of the prime rib lights me up, I couldn't believe the portion size and it was really tasty. I had my two kids and three grandkids, 16, 4 & 2. My DIL makes albums for us of the vacation and I can't wait to see it. Glad you had a great time

 

[bbn1122]

Wow....so exciting for your family. It looks like you had a wonderful time.

We will be on the Dream in 12 days....yeah!!!!

My DS 11 wants to know how warm was the water on CC?

Also, when did you find the AquaDuck the quietest?

Oh! we are in 2 inside staterooms, how did you like them? How many did you have in each room? And were your rooms near each other? We are on Deck 2 but the rooms are not near each other.

Thanks for your help!!

 

[FirstTimeDC]

The water at CC was fine. It was hot outside so it felt good to us.

Aqua Duck was the quietest first thing in the a.m when it opened and on Castaway Cay day (morning/early afternoon). Not too bad at night. About a 20 minute wait at 11:00pm.

Our inside staterooms had one cabin in between us. So, they were close together. We booked three people in each room. Sometimes we slept three people in each room and sometimes we slept four in one and two in one. The rooms were small, but we did fine. The only thing we didn't like was there wasn't much closet space for hang up clothes. Otherwise, we managed just fine. If you have clothes that can be folded you'll find space for them....but if you have a lot of hang up clothes there isn't much room. Otherwise, the room was fine.

Oh yeah, and the hairdryer was absolutely fine if you plug it in the right plug in. Do not mess with packing your own. My hair is average length and I had no problems drying my hair with it.

 

[wheelerkidz3]

i am getting anxious for our b2b next week!!! how did they handle that? what time did you have to get off the ship?

 

[wheelerkidz3]

edited-duplicate post

 

[FirstTimeDC]

Ok, here goes our last day (other than debarkation) on our first portion of our b2b.

Monday, Sea Day....We love sea days. However, this particular ship was pretty busy on the sea day. This was the only day we really noticed the crowds. We purposely stayed away from the water slides, pools, etc. on this day. Just walking by these areas was crazy busy.

First thing this morning was the princess gathering. DH got in line at
8:45am. We were up there not too long afterwards. At 9:15am the music starts and they announce the princesses, etc. They come out on Deck 4, wave to the crowd, etc. Cute! We are in line on Deck 3. They come down the staircase and line up in the Atrium. You get pictures, autographs and quite a while of one on one time with each princesses. The line was in this order...Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Tiana, Ariel, Snow White.

You can see the excitement on DD's faces as they talk with the princesses. Not sure how they do this but if you see them (the princesses) later in the cruise they try to remember your child's names. They do a great job. I can't fathom how they do this. What a nice Disney touch though.

After princesses gathering we head up to Cabanas for breakfast. The buffet was just ok. Although, I'm probably not the best judge...breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day.

After breakfast we took the girls to the Club for playtime. They stayed in there forever.

I don't have my notes with me, but I know we did the character dance party in the atrium. We have done this on the Magic .. so I knew it would be crowded. However, I didn't realize it would be this crowded. On the Magic they have more characters and less kids (at the dance party). On the Dream (at least the sea day) there were less characters at the dance party and way more children. Mickey, Goofy, Daisy and Donald came out for the dance party. It was crazy with children, parents, etc. But the girls had fun. Youngest DD had more fun than oldest DD.

We also had lunch at some point in Cabanas. Here is a picture. Since we had breakfast not long before we ate somewhat lite. The panini sandwiches are pretty good. I had the ham, cheese and tomato.

We also took naps today. We were in much need. Late nights and an early morning...the girls were getting cranky.

I can't remember if this was Believe show or the Magician show. The Believe show was great! I just can't remember which night we saw it. It's their new show. Definitely a must see. The Magician show was good...or so I hear. DH, DN and oldest DD went to the Magician/Illusionist show. DD loved it. Gma, youngest DD and myself went to Movie in Beuna Vista Theater. Mars Needs Moms. Oh my, it was a bit odd...by DD loved it. She was glued to the screen. Again, I don't have my notes...so I'm not sure if this was the night we did this.

I know we did a "Disney Friends" Gathering in D Lounge tonight. It's a character meet/greet but they don't specify which characters will be there. We did this on both cruises and it was the same characters. We saw Peter Pan, Belle, Snow White and Alladin. Good mix of characters!

After the characters we went to dinner in Enchanted Garden. Last dinner this cruise. So, we'll be having breakfast in this dining room tomorrow morning. You have breakfast on debarkation in the dining room you had dinner the night before.

I can't remember if I posted these pictures or not, but here are our servers...

Ali - Head Server (he went out of his way so many times, preparing meals that weren't even on the menu for us to sample) He was fabulous.

Savio - Server (he was great, as well) we kept this guy hopping. We order more than one entree' usually. He did a great job!

Modester - Assistant Server (she was wonderful. She kept up with keeping our soda refilled - which is next to impossible with my DH. He is a huge soda drinker.

This cruise has been so wonderful thanks to these servers! We are so pleased to have them on a b2b.

So, after dinner we were off to bed for an early morning.

Next up will be debarkation (b2b) day. I will provide as much detail as possible!

 

[FirstTimeDC]

Ok, the day you’ve been waiting for…b2b debarkation/embarkation day.

We were out of the room by 8:00am. I told you we aren’t morning people. The girls were not excited to be up yet.

We went to breakfast at Enchanted Garden. Here is my breakfast. Again, I didn’t order anything fancy…I’m not a morning or breakfast person.

After breakfast around 9:00am we went to the Atrium to watch people and wait to get off the ship. Around 9:30am we decided to disembark.

We scanned out KTTW cards. The gentleman said, “Only 37 more to go.” So, we must have been some of the last ones off the ship.

We proceeded down the escalator/elevator. The customs line was very long. You do need your customs form filled out for today. We waiting in line for 15-20 minutes.

After customs we went right back up the elevator/escalator. We filled out our health forms again. We did the online registration. They give you forms in your room the night before. You only need to fill these out if you haven’t done the online registration. It’s the credit card form, etc. It did take us 20 minutes or so to get checked back in. There were only a couple of families in front of us, but there are only a couple of CM working the registration at 10:00am. Plus, the gentleman was having trouble with his printer and our KTTW cards. No big deal. After checking in they had us wait in the glassed in concierge area. It was now around 10:30am. We made phone calls, restroom breaks, etc.

Around 10:50am guess who came out the door of the concierge area…..Mickey! He took my DD’s by the hand and led them thru the terminal to the ship/picture area where guests waiting to board take pictures with characters, etc. So cool!!! My DD’s were in heaven!
Too cute!

We got our photo with Mickey – first guests this cruise to do this! I know … who cares, right. I’m a dork…I think stuff like that is neat.

After the photo we went back to the concierge area. Right away (11:00am) they called us to board. The ship photographers were setting up the embarkation photo stuff. They weren’t set up yet so no embarkation photo this cruise. We went right on the ship in the Atrium…. No one to welcome us aboard this cruise. That’s ok! We felt like VIP’s getting to board before everyone else. It was a great feeling.

So, we were off at 9:30am and back on by 11:00am. Not bad.

We headed for our rooms. They weren’t cleaned yet, but Bart let us grab our swimwear. DH did laundry while I took DD’s swimming. DN went swimming with us girls. The pools were open but the Aqua Duck and Mickey Slide didn’t open until noon. We got in line for the Aqua Duck around 11:45am. We were the first ones to ride the Aqua Duck this cruise! See, I told you I was a dork. We thought it was cool to be the first ones to ride it (well, except the CM who rode before it was officially open - I guess technically they were the first). After swimming we headed to the room to change clothes for lunch. Sorry, I forgot to take my camera up to the pool. : (

We went to Cabanas for lunch. It was around 1:00pm and getting very crowded. It was so fun watching all the newbies figuring everything out for the first time. We felt like old pros. This was our first b2b and we loved it!

I need to run for now….I will try and get started on the second portion of our cruise (the five night) tomorrow. I don’t have my notes with me and I don’t want to forget anything.

 

[Cheryl726]

Wow a b2b sounds great! And now I know who the guests were in the glass area! I thought it was concierge, but I guess it's b2b guests too. I think being the first ones to have your pic with Mickey first to ride AD is great!

 

[FirstTimeDC]

Yes, a b2b was wonderful. I knew I'd like it. Gma (my mother) wasn't so sure she would...she's convinced. We got royal treatment. I don't know if we just lucked out with good service or what, but our service in the dining room was the best ever! Our room host was so sweet. He'd forget things once in a while...but if we asked for something he'd trip over himself to get it for us. He was soooo nice!

Mickey leading my girls by the hand almost brought tears to my eyes...it was so cute (magical).

 

[Deb in IA]

OK, here's a stupid question:

When you do a b2b, do they let you keep the same stateroom? If you paid for the same category, etc, of course.

And if so, can you keep your stuff there, or do you still have to pack everything up and then unpack it again?

 

[princesscate]

Subbing!
LOVE that photo of your DD and Snow White! That is precious!
Can't wait to hear more!

 

[mousetravel]

Subbing! Love your pics, especially the way you color-coordinate the outfits.

 

[dthogue]

OK, here's a stupid question:

When you do a b2b, do they let you keep the same stateroom? If you paid for the same category, etc, of course.

And if so, can you keep your stuff there, or do you still have to pack everything up and then unpack it again?

You have to book the same cabin number for both cruises - then you are allowed to keep your things in your cabin. If you both different cabins on each cruise, you will have to pack up and DCL will move your luggage to your new cabin on the 2nd part of the B2B.