My family (Me, wife 2 daughters Julia 4 years old, Jenna 20months, and in-laws) sailed on the Dream March 30th – April 4th. We left Philly on March 29th just to be a day early in case anything happened. The girls traveled great, we landed in Orlando just as a hurricane warning came up so we had to sit on the plane for about 10mins with thunder, lighting and strong winds. After the storm cleared we jumped on the Disney bus to take us to our hotel (Port Orleans). We had dinner and did the pool thing.
Sunday, was cruise day, I was so excited I never did a cruise so I was more excited than anyone (adults only). Get on the bus for the 1hour ride, kids took naps which was perfect. Check in was a breeze, got on the boat, went to our room and then had lunch at the buffet (Cabanas) which was great. Julia wanted to go into the pool so we did the pool until about 30mins before the mandatory drill thing.
Had dinner at Animator’s Place where they do a Nemo type thing. Our servers were great, the food was great. After dinner we hooked up with Mickey for a picture and we saw the Golden Mickey’s show. The show (all shows) was great. After the show my father in law and I walked around the ship hitting a few bars and saw a 3 piece band preforming covers, I forget the name of the trio but they were amazing, I think they were in the District Lounge (or something like that)
Monday our port was Nassau, we decided not to get off the ship, so the pool wasn’t that crowded or the Aqua Duck. Julia was 1 inch to short so just couldn’t do the ride, but my wife is tall enough so we went on, and had a great ride. Dinner was in Enchanted Garden, again the food and the servers were amazing. That night they had a show called Villains, not as good as the previous night, but still enjoyable.
Tuesday our port was Castaway Cay. I woke early to run the 5k. I stayed on the island and saved a bunch of chairs for everyone. The island was great, we got off the 2nd tram stop, they had bathrooms, food and the waterslide are all near us. Food was BBQ and it was perfect, even had the ice cream station on the island. The best part of the island for us was when my in-laws decided to go back to the ship for a nap and took the baby with them. Paula and I could now spend time with Julia alone and really enjoy her together. We went into the water, went on the waterslide and even took turns with her giving the other just a few minutes to rest. Dinner was also in Enchanted Garden, but tonight was pirate night we had some outfits for the girls, but if you didn’t have anything, our room person left a few bandanas for us to use. All the staff at dinner were dressed at pirates and they looked terrific. After dinner there was a dance party in the lobby area before that nights show. Dance party was so much fun, girls had a blast. That night they had a magic show, I love magic, and this guy was good. He told a lot of jokes and had great tricks (illusions). All shows were very family friendly.
Wednesday was a day at sea. Weather was great (great for the whole trip). We spent the entire day in the pool with everyone else. If I have to give the ship one thumbs down it would be the pool area, just to small for all those kids, we made best of it, my daughter didn’t feel like it was to small so that is all that mattered to me. She bounced between the Mickey and the Donald pool. I didn’t see the other pools, but my wife and In-Laws spent some time in those pools and they said they were just as crowded. Maybe that is par for the course with any cruise. We had dinner in the Royal Palace which we so pretty, made you feel you were in a Palace with all the décor and paintings. Hate to sound like a broken record but the food was great along with the service. Later that night we did the last show which was also very enjoyable.
Now the worst part of the trip, we had to pack to go home!!
The customer service on this trip was amazing. I like to think my company gives great customer service but Disney puts us to shame. Everyone crew member was so so nice, and made you feel special or like the only person on the ship. My best example of this was our first night on the ship when we saw “The Golden Mickey’s” They have people walking around selling popcorn, drinks, beer. We asked the guy if he had wine, he said no but immediately put down his tray (from around his neck) and went to the bar and got us a bottle of wine and 4 glasses. He literally dropped what he was doing to service us.
The highlight of the trip for me was the princess gathering. I got down to the lobby about 30mins early (worth it) so we were 3rd-4th person in line. The gathering has 5-6 princesses all set up and you see each one, one after another. It’s the best bang for your buck, no need to chase them around the ship. So Julia sees each princess and they get down to her level ask her, her name along with other questions. The interaction between Julia and the princess was amazing as I was watching it, I felt like they were the only 2 people on the ship, each princess was so engaged with Julia and seem so sincere when talking with Julia, and this was repeated with each princess. I felt like that this same experience happened for each little girl, which why it’s my highlight.
Of course I could go on and on with my report but I have taken too much of your time already. Sorry for the poor writing, I am a bad speller and have poor grammar, but I hope you got the jest of my experience.
Sunday, was cruise day, I was so excited I never did a cruise so I was more excited than anyone (adults only). Get on the bus for the 1hour ride, kids took naps which was perfect. Check in was a breeze, got on the boat, went to our room and then had lunch at the buffet (Cabanas) which was great. Julia wanted to go into the pool so we did the pool until about 30mins before the mandatory drill thing.
Had dinner at Animator’s Place where they do a Nemo type thing. Our servers were great, the food was great. After dinner we hooked up with Mickey for a picture and we saw the Golden Mickey’s show. The show (all shows) was great. After the show my father in law and I walked around the ship hitting a few bars and saw a 3 piece band preforming covers, I forget the name of the trio but they were amazing, I think they were in the District Lounge (or something like that)
Monday our port was Nassau, we decided not to get off the ship, so the pool wasn’t that crowded or the Aqua Duck. Julia was 1 inch to short so just couldn’t do the ride, but my wife is tall enough so we went on, and had a great ride. Dinner was in Enchanted Garden, again the food and the servers were amazing. That night they had a show called Villains, not as good as the previous night, but still enjoyable.
Tuesday our port was Castaway Cay. I woke early to run the 5k. I stayed on the island and saved a bunch of chairs for everyone. The island was great, we got off the 2nd tram stop, they had bathrooms, food and the waterslide are all near us. Food was BBQ and it was perfect, even had the ice cream station on the island. The best part of the island for us was when my in-laws decided to go back to the ship for a nap and took the baby with them. Paula and I could now spend time with Julia alone and really enjoy her together. We went into the water, went on the waterslide and even took turns with her giving the other just a few minutes to rest. Dinner was also in Enchanted Garden, but tonight was pirate night we had some outfits for the girls, but if you didn’t have anything, our room person left a few bandanas for us to use. All the staff at dinner were dressed at pirates and they looked terrific. After dinner there was a dance party in the lobby area before that nights show. Dance party was so much fun, girls had a blast. That night they had a magic show, I love magic, and this guy was good. He told a lot of jokes and had great tricks (illusions). All shows were very family friendly.
Wednesday was a day at sea. Weather was great (great for the whole trip). We spent the entire day in the pool with everyone else. If I have to give the ship one thumbs down it would be the pool area, just to small for all those kids, we made best of it, my daughter didn’t feel like it was to small so that is all that mattered to me. She bounced between the Mickey and the Donald pool. I didn’t see the other pools, but my wife and In-Laws spent some time in those pools and they said they were just as crowded. Maybe that is par for the course with any cruise. We had dinner in the Royal Palace which we so pretty, made you feel you were in a Palace with all the décor and paintings. Hate to sound like a broken record but the food was great along with the service. Later that night we did the last show which was also very enjoyable.
Now the worst part of the trip, we had to pack to go home!!
The customer service on this trip was amazing. I like to think my company gives great customer service but Disney puts us to shame. Everyone crew member was so so nice, and made you feel special or like the only person on the ship. My best example of this was our first night on the ship when we saw “The Golden Mickey’s” They have people walking around selling popcorn, drinks, beer. We asked the guy if he had wine, he said no but immediately put down his tray (from around his neck) and went to the bar and got us a bottle of wine and 4 glasses. He literally dropped what he was doing to service us.
The highlight of the trip for me was the princess gathering. I got down to the lobby about 30mins early (worth it) so we were 3rd-4th person in line. The gathering has 5-6 princesses all set up and you see each one, one after another. It’s the best bang for your buck, no need to chase them around the ship. So Julia sees each princess and they get down to her level ask her, her name along with other questions. The interaction between Julia and the princess was amazing as I was watching it, I felt like they were the only 2 people on the ship, each princess was so engaged with Julia and seem so sincere when talking with Julia, and this was repeated with each princess. I felt like that this same experience happened for each little girl, which why it’s my highlight.
Of course I could go on and on with my report but I have taken too much of your time already. Sorry for the poor writing, I am a bad speller and have poor grammar, but I hope you got the jest of my experience.
