We just got off the Dream a few days ago and had a great time even with the rainy weather. We are a family of 5 and were in Statewoom 9000, a Deluxe Oceanview (8B, I think). This was our 3rd cruise, but the first with DCL.
Boarding the ship was a breeze. We had a boarding time of 11:00 - 11:30. We arrived via shuttle from Budget Rental Car around 10:45, the porters immediately took our bags and we were off to security. There was no line at security and we went immediately up to the terminal. The terminal was clean, big, and practically empty. There were numerous check in desks and again we waited in no line. Within 5 minutes we were all checked in and given our KTTW cards. We were assigned boarding #6. I did try to upgrade to a different stateroom, but found out that the ship was sold out and there were no upgrades available. No biggie, it was worth a try. We walked around the terminal, took their kids to get their ID bracelets for the Oceaneers Club, and then Mickey showed up for pictures. About 11:20 they began calling boarding groups up and we maybe waited 10 minutes till our group was called and we were on the ship by 11:45.
The ship itself is beautiful and large. Everything was spottless, everything. There were castmembers always cleaning something, even the outside of the ship got a bath each day we were docked. We went up and had a great lunch at Cabanas. The buffet was plentiful and everything was hot. Our rooms were not ready until 1:30 so we went to the pull and sat under cover in a chair while I kids rode the Aqua Duck and swam in the pool. The pool area I thought was small, but I think that on all cruise ships. The Mickey pool was 2 feet deep and the Donald pool was about 5 foot deep. Besides the crowds at the pools the only other bad thing I can say about the pool deck was it was very very slippy since it was raining, but the CM were busy cleaning up the water. Poor guys were fighting a losing battle with that. Just take extra caution if it rains up on the main deck. Ride the Aqua Duck on off times or just as you board the ship. The day we boarded the ship we waited 10 minutes, the at sea day we waited 60. It was fun, but not worth a 60 minute wait. But you should definetly ride it at least once.
I was a little nervous that our stateroom was going to be too small to accomodate all five of us. I went back and fourth with booking 2 rooms, but the price of the family Oceanview stateroom was a lot less expensive than 2 rooms. To my surprise, the room was big enough for all of us, even when the murphy bed and bunk bed were set up. There were plenty of drawer and closet space for all of our clothes too. 5 suitcases and a garmet bag fit nicely under the bed too. The room had a round port whole window that was probably 6 feet in diameter and we loved it. What a great view. My kids fought over who was sitting in the window. Another great feature of this room was the bathroom, it was split. One side had a round tub, shower, and sink and the other a toilet and sink. The shower was much larger than other cruiseline showers I have been in. The tub was big enough for my 5 year old to take a bath in and it had a nice little seat area too. The beds were so extremely comfortable, so comfortable that I think I am going to try to purchase the sheets, pillows, and duvet. Our was located in the very front of the ship and I was also worried about feeling a lot of movement. The first night the water was pretty rough because of the storm and we did feel it move, but not to the point of it making us sick. It was like you would lose your balance a bit, nothing major. Then on the last night, the water was calm, but we felt the ship move a lot, even more than the stormy night, not sure why. We could hear our hangers in the hanger clanging, and clothes we had hanging on the wall hooks were swaying pretty good.
The restaurants were all good. We had the rotation of The Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, Animator's Palate, Animator's Palate, and The Enchanged Garden. All of our food was good, however it was a little more fancier than we were use too. I enjoyed eating something different. My husband is also a big eater and he thought the portions were too small. I told him to just order 2 and then he was happy. My favorite meal was probably at the Royale Palace, favorite atmosphere was definetly Animator's Palate, and least favorite was Enchanted Garden. Best 2 desserts of the cruise were the Chocolate Infused Peanut Butter dessert and the Royal Palace and the Almond Pineapple Cake at Animator's Palate. Our servers were great too.
We had 2 stops at Castaway Cay. The first one the weather was not so good. We went to the family beach area for a little bit, then ate lunch at the bbq buffet. They had burgers, hotdogs, chips, ribs, chicken, pasta salad, potato salad, cookies, and pineapple upside down cake. It was all really good too. The second day at Castaway Cay was perfect. Our kids actually went to the Oceaneers Club first thing in the morning so the hubby and I went to Serenity Bay, the adult beach area. It was beautiful, clear shallow water and a beautiful beach. There is separate dining area, bar, and restrooms. Totally worth it if you can be without the kids for a few hours. After we went bike riding with the kid. They have a great 4.5 mile bike trail that takes you to a lookout tower. Very nice. I also did some snorkeling in the snorkeling lagoon. Its a long swim to get out far enough to see any fish, but once you get out there it is worth it. If you don't see any fish at first, just keep swimming. You will. I seen some really big fish too and a sea urchin. Castaway Cay was our favorite part of the cruise and I wish I could of just stayed there for the week.
The shows aboard the Dream were fantastic. We saw Villians Tonight, Believe, and Mike Super's Magic Show. The 2 Disney shows were way better than any other cruise show I have seen. All 5 of us enjoyed them. We also were able to see Brave and the Avengers.
There were character everywhere and the lines were not long either. They post what characters will be out when and their location each day. I did not think we would see so many characters. We saw Captain Hook, Captain Jack Sparrow, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Ariel, Snow White and Dopey, Tiana, Cinderella, Belle, The Incredibles, and Woody and Jessie. I am sure there were more too. They have Disney photograhers to take pictures and then they put them in little books for you to view. One gripe I have is the prices of these photos. They are ridiculously priced. There were about 80 photos in my book and I really loved 15 of them. The price to purchase 15 photos was $200. I ended up purchasing the photo cd for $250. Then I asked if I could have the prints since I bought the cd and they told me it would be another $50 for the prints if I wanted them. I did not buy the prints, but thought since I dropped $250 they should include them. Just be prepared the photos are nice and they are EXPENSIVE!
I also did the Rainforest day in the Senses Spa and I loved it. The heated lounge chairs are to die for. Wish I could get one in my house. I definetly suggest giving the Rainforest a try.
My 2 younger kids (5 and 9) loved the Oceaneers Club and Lab. They wanted to go there a lot. They kept them busy and would even feed them dinner and lunch if you wanted too. The CM did a great job entertaining those kids.
The ship holds 4000 people I think and only one time did we ever feel crowded and that was on the pool deck on sea day. You couldn't really enjoy the pools, they were jam packed. The ship has so many things to do and different places to do them that everyone is so spread out. A few times my husband and I wondered where everyone was at. That was nice not being jammed in a crowded place with people all the time.
All in all it was a great cruise. My family had a wonderful experience and made many great memories. I was skeptical about the price I paid compared to other cruiselines, but in my opinion it was totally worth it. I may sound snobbish, but after experiencing Disney Cruise Line I don't think I will ever cruise another cruise line again. I would be happy to answer any questions.
Boarding the ship was a breeze. We had a boarding time of 11:00 - 11:30. We arrived via shuttle from Budget Rental Car around 10:45, the porters immediately took our bags and we were off to security. There was no line at security and we went immediately up to the terminal. The terminal was clean, big, and practically empty. There were numerous check in desks and again we waited in no line. Within 5 minutes we were all checked in and given our KTTW cards. We were assigned boarding #6. I did try to upgrade to a different stateroom, but found out that the ship was sold out and there were no upgrades available. No biggie, it was worth a try. We walked around the terminal, took their kids to get their ID bracelets for the Oceaneers Club, and then Mickey showed up for pictures. About 11:20 they began calling boarding groups up and we maybe waited 10 minutes till our group was called and we were on the ship by 11:45.
The ship itself is beautiful and large. Everything was spottless, everything. There were castmembers always cleaning something, even the outside of the ship got a bath each day we were docked. We went up and had a great lunch at Cabanas. The buffet was plentiful and everything was hot. Our rooms were not ready until 1:30 so we went to the pull and sat under cover in a chair while I kids rode the Aqua Duck and swam in the pool. The pool area I thought was small, but I think that on all cruise ships. The Mickey pool was 2 feet deep and the Donald pool was about 5 foot deep. Besides the crowds at the pools the only other bad thing I can say about the pool deck was it was very very slippy since it was raining, but the CM were busy cleaning up the water. Poor guys were fighting a losing battle with that. Just take extra caution if it rains up on the main deck. Ride the Aqua Duck on off times or just as you board the ship. The day we boarded the ship we waited 10 minutes, the at sea day we waited 60. It was fun, but not worth a 60 minute wait. But you should definetly ride it at least once.
I was a little nervous that our stateroom was going to be too small to accomodate all five of us. I went back and fourth with booking 2 rooms, but the price of the family Oceanview stateroom was a lot less expensive than 2 rooms. To my surprise, the room was big enough for all of us, even when the murphy bed and bunk bed were set up. There were plenty of drawer and closet space for all of our clothes too. 5 suitcases and a garmet bag fit nicely under the bed too. The room had a round port whole window that was probably 6 feet in diameter and we loved it. What a great view. My kids fought over who was sitting in the window. Another great feature of this room was the bathroom, it was split. One side had a round tub, shower, and sink and the other a toilet and sink. The shower was much larger than other cruiseline showers I have been in. The tub was big enough for my 5 year old to take a bath in and it had a nice little seat area too. The beds were so extremely comfortable, so comfortable that I think I am going to try to purchase the sheets, pillows, and duvet. Our was located in the very front of the ship and I was also worried about feeling a lot of movement. The first night the water was pretty rough because of the storm and we did feel it move, but not to the point of it making us sick. It was like you would lose your balance a bit, nothing major. Then on the last night, the water was calm, but we felt the ship move a lot, even more than the stormy night, not sure why. We could hear our hangers in the hanger clanging, and clothes we had hanging on the wall hooks were swaying pretty good.
The restaurants were all good. We had the rotation of The Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, Animator's Palate, Animator's Palate, and The Enchanged Garden. All of our food was good, however it was a little more fancier than we were use too. I enjoyed eating something different. My husband is also a big eater and he thought the portions were too small. I told him to just order 2 and then he was happy. My favorite meal was probably at the Royale Palace, favorite atmosphere was definetly Animator's Palate, and least favorite was Enchanted Garden. Best 2 desserts of the cruise were the Chocolate Infused Peanut Butter dessert and the Royal Palace and the Almond Pineapple Cake at Animator's Palate. Our servers were great too.
We had 2 stops at Castaway Cay. The first one the weather was not so good. We went to the family beach area for a little bit, then ate lunch at the bbq buffet. They had burgers, hotdogs, chips, ribs, chicken, pasta salad, potato salad, cookies, and pineapple upside down cake. It was all really good too. The second day at Castaway Cay was perfect. Our kids actually went to the Oceaneers Club first thing in the morning so the hubby and I went to Serenity Bay, the adult beach area. It was beautiful, clear shallow water and a beautiful beach. There is separate dining area, bar, and restrooms. Totally worth it if you can be without the kids for a few hours. After we went bike riding with the kid. They have a great 4.5 mile bike trail that takes you to a lookout tower. Very nice. I also did some snorkeling in the snorkeling lagoon. Its a long swim to get out far enough to see any fish, but once you get out there it is worth it. If you don't see any fish at first, just keep swimming. You will. I seen some really big fish too and a sea urchin. Castaway Cay was our favorite part of the cruise and I wish I could of just stayed there for the week.
The shows aboard the Dream were fantastic. We saw Villians Tonight, Believe, and Mike Super's Magic Show. The 2 Disney shows were way better than any other cruise show I have seen. All 5 of us enjoyed them. We also were able to see Brave and the Avengers.
There were character everywhere and the lines were not long either. They post what characters will be out when and their location each day. I did not think we would see so many characters. We saw Captain Hook, Captain Jack Sparrow, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Ariel, Snow White and Dopey, Tiana, Cinderella, Belle, The Incredibles, and Woody and Jessie. I am sure there were more too. They have Disney photograhers to take pictures and then they put them in little books for you to view. One gripe I have is the prices of these photos. They are ridiculously priced. There were about 80 photos in my book and I really loved 15 of them. The price to purchase 15 photos was $200. I ended up purchasing the photo cd for $250. Then I asked if I could have the prints since I bought the cd and they told me it would be another $50 for the prints if I wanted them. I did not buy the prints, but thought since I dropped $250 they should include them. Just be prepared the photos are nice and they are EXPENSIVE!
I also did the Rainforest day in the Senses Spa and I loved it. The heated lounge chairs are to die for. Wish I could get one in my house. I definetly suggest giving the Rainforest a try.
My 2 younger kids (5 and 9) loved the Oceaneers Club and Lab. They wanted to go there a lot. They kept them busy and would even feed them dinner and lunch if you wanted too. The CM did a great job entertaining those kids.
The ship holds 4000 people I think and only one time did we ever feel crowded and that was on the pool deck on sea day. You couldn't really enjoy the pools, they were jam packed. The ship has so many things to do and different places to do them that everyone is so spread out. A few times my husband and I wondered where everyone was at. That was nice not being jammed in a crowded place with people all the time.
All in all it was a great cruise. My family had a wonderful experience and made many great memories. I was skeptical about the price I paid compared to other cruiselines, but in my opinion it was totally worth it. I may sound snobbish, but after experiencing Disney Cruise Line I don't think I will ever cruise another cruise line again. I would be happy to answer any questions.
We will be aboard 7/22-7/27! Looking forward to a magical time!
