We are just back from a 3 night cruise on the Disney Dream. We had a fantastic time. It was everything I hoped for and more. Interestingly enough, there were quite a few things that were different than I had in my mind's eye. Instead of giving a timeline report, I thought I would talk about the things that surprised me. Of course everybody sees things differently, but I was genuinely surprised at the number of things that were different than I expected, with my expectations having largely been based on other people's descriptions and reports. Hopefully my perspective will be interesting and/or useful.
One of the things I read is that a first-timer shouldn't bother with the 3 night cruise. Instead, I thought this was the perfect way to break into cruising. Everyone in my party of 5 loved it, and yes it felt short, but I would have been a lot more nervous before-hand had it been longer. When 3 of us felt seasick with hours of leaving the dock (more on that later), I was wondering if this was going to be the longest 3 nights of my life. Everything turned out great, but we now have the experience we need to consider booking Alaska or a longer Caribbean cruise with confidence. I also enjoy the fact that we didn't get to do everything the ship offers - more to look forward to next time. If a cruise is a trip of a lifetime for you, I'd go longer than 3 nights. If this is hopefully the first of many, I wouldn't hesitate to book a 3 nighter.
I realize part of this might have to do with it being a 3 night cruise, but I was surprised about how loud and busy the cruise was. Music was everywhere, but it didn't seem to change like the music does at Disney World. At Disney World, one of the things I enjoy in the hotels for example is how the music tends to get more mellow as the evening gets later. On the cruise it seemed to be go, go, go all of the time. The pool desk was crowded and noisy from fairly early in the morning until past my bedtime. In the evening the dance parties and what not were ear-splitting. If you wanted a to find a quite nook outside of your stateroom it might take some doing. There were spots at times, but not many. The theater shows were like pep rallys, with the cruise director pumping up the crowd before every show. The main dining rooms were loud at every meal. Conversation wasn't too difficult but just barely. Any louder and it might have been near impossible. None of this bothered me too much (I have kids), but I see Disney Cruises recommended for kid-less couples quite a bit. If you love Disney and the kids that inevitably go with it, fine. If you are looking for romantic getaway with quiet time I'm not sure I would recommend this cruise. I never saw unreasonable behavior from any kids (with the possible exception of mine), but kids were ever-present. Even the adults-only areas had a lot of through-traffic and pumped in music and other noise. We sailed concierge so the concierge sun deck was one exception but even the concierge lounge had a lot of bustle most of the time we were there. The bottom line is that if you don't have kids and aren't a Disney super-fan I couldn't recommend a short Disney cruise. Since I've never been on another cruise line it is possible that other cruise lines are similar, but I doubt it.
Food was a pleasant surprise. I was really impressed. I would say that the main dining room food was about as good as you could reasonably expect from mass-produced food. I've heard others say that cruise line "X" is better. I do hope to try some other cruise lines in the future and I'm looking forward to the possibility that the food might be even better. I'll believe it when I see it, though. Not every dish was fantastic but I left every meal very happy. I will say that the sea bass wasn't as good for me as some of the reviews I read. It was fine but was the least favorite entree I had. The buffet was also really solid. I've usually been disappointed in Disney hotel/park buffets compared to a typical Las Vegas buffet (for a third the price). I thought the cruise buffet was better than any Disney resort buffet I have had, and equal or better than most of the non-gourmet Las Vegas buffets I've had. Don't get too carried away, it wasn't amazing food. I just thought there was a good selection, it was fresh, quite tasty and the carved meats and shrimp were very good quality I thought. The fast food options were a bit lacking though. The chicken fingers were good but the pizza was terrible. The brat I tried was edible but that is all I can say for it. Not much variety but the fast food did the job I guess. Extra price restaurants will have to wait for another trip so I can't comment on them. In short, my bar wasn't so high but the dining easily cleared what I was expecting. I wouldn't have any problem with that level of food for a longer cruise.
Nassau was the thing that inspired me to write this report. Based on what I had read I was expecting real third-world stuff. I thought it was charming. Yes, it is not without its problems. Sales people are somewhat aggressive and we had one very minor moment of discomfort when we pulled out a map to get our bearings. Multiple people suddenly appeared trying to "help" us. However I've had far worse issues in Philly, DC and NYC. Based on some descriptions I was expecting something more like a Mexico border town, with decrepit buildings and crumbling 4th rate infrastructure. Instead, the tourist area is generally well kept up with quite a few interesting buildings and picturesque views. There were five cruise ships in port, so looking at the harbor from shore was a really impressive view. We all went to the pirate museum which exceeded expectations. It walked the line between Disney-esque and providing some solid history. Not a world-class museum by any means but enjoyable. 3 of us went to the Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation. I didn't make it as I needed to take a child back to the ship. The report from the others was that there were few artifacts, but it was in a historic building full of good information. Well worth the very modest admission. In all I'd say visiting Nassau without walking around would be a real shame. Use common sense, stay in the tourist area and avoid the sketchy independent tours but go out and enjoy the atmosphere.
The last thing that surprised me was the motion of the ship. The weather wasn't great when we left Port Canaveral but the water didn't look at all rough to my eyes. Still, I was surprised how much I felt the ship rock. It is hard to compare with my 20 year old memories but I've been on large ferries in Europe and this felt very much like that to me. I would have thought that the Dream would have felt smoother. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like you couldn't walk without falling over but there were a few times my balance shifted when I didn't expect it and I grabbed a rail to steady myself. 3 out of 5 of us experienced seasickness but thankfully Bonine did the trick. All 3 who had the problem used it as soon as they felt a bit off-key and with a few hours were back to normal. All three continued to take throughout the cruise. I don't know how much rougher than average our trip was nor how sensitive my family is, but if you think you might be susceptible don't believe those who say that the short cruises are calm and the stabilizers will take care of everything. The Bonine worked fantastically well and no one actually got to the point of throwing up even before the Bonine kicked in, but be prepared.
Everything else was pretty much much like I expected. The shows were fun with talented performers, other entertainers around the ship were very good, Castaway Cay was everything I expected (although the scuba area was huge!) and the staff was extremely friendly. If I had any "complaint" about staff it was that there were a few times I was in a conversation that was interrupted by staff asking us questions. I can't really fault folks though for being friendly and wanting to help.
The only other thing that comes to mind was something that happened at a family game-show type thing we attended. The passengers on our cruise were very diverse, with lots of folks from all over the world. I am guessing the diversity was greater than usual due to many US kids already in school, but I don't know for sure. In any event, the crowd at the game show was probably 50/50 white and non-white. The host selected 4 families to play the game, and all 4 families were white. I don't want to turn this into some big debate on political correctness vs latent racism vs whatever, but it was striking enough to my eyes that I wanted to mention it. The host was from Argentina for whatever that is worth. She otherwise did a remarkable job in what was clearly not her first language in a situation that called for quite a bit of improvisation.
In all, a fantastic trip. I look forward to the next time I might be able to cruise with Disney again.
One of the things I read is that a first-timer shouldn't bother with the 3 night cruise. Instead, I thought this was the perfect way to break into cruising. Everyone in my party of 5 loved it, and yes it felt short, but I would have been a lot more nervous before-hand had it been longer. When 3 of us felt seasick with hours of leaving the dock (more on that later), I was wondering if this was going to be the longest 3 nights of my life. Everything turned out great, but we now have the experience we need to consider booking Alaska or a longer Caribbean cruise with confidence. I also enjoy the fact that we didn't get to do everything the ship offers - more to look forward to next time. If a cruise is a trip of a lifetime for you, I'd go longer than 3 nights. If this is hopefully the first of many, I wouldn't hesitate to book a 3 nighter.
I realize part of this might have to do with it being a 3 night cruise, but I was surprised about how loud and busy the cruise was. Music was everywhere, but it didn't seem to change like the music does at Disney World. At Disney World, one of the things I enjoy in the hotels for example is how the music tends to get more mellow as the evening gets later. On the cruise it seemed to be go, go, go all of the time. The pool desk was crowded and noisy from fairly early in the morning until past my bedtime. In the evening the dance parties and what not were ear-splitting. If you wanted a to find a quite nook outside of your stateroom it might take some doing. There were spots at times, but not many. The theater shows were like pep rallys, with the cruise director pumping up the crowd before every show. The main dining rooms were loud at every meal. Conversation wasn't too difficult but just barely. Any louder and it might have been near impossible. None of this bothered me too much (I have kids), but I see Disney Cruises recommended for kid-less couples quite a bit. If you love Disney and the kids that inevitably go with it, fine. If you are looking for romantic getaway with quiet time I'm not sure I would recommend this cruise. I never saw unreasonable behavior from any kids (with the possible exception of mine), but kids were ever-present. Even the adults-only areas had a lot of through-traffic and pumped in music and other noise. We sailed concierge so the concierge sun deck was one exception but even the concierge lounge had a lot of bustle most of the time we were there. The bottom line is that if you don't have kids and aren't a Disney super-fan I couldn't recommend a short Disney cruise. Since I've never been on another cruise line it is possible that other cruise lines are similar, but I doubt it.
Food was a pleasant surprise. I was really impressed. I would say that the main dining room food was about as good as you could reasonably expect from mass-produced food. I've heard others say that cruise line "X" is better. I do hope to try some other cruise lines in the future and I'm looking forward to the possibility that the food might be even better. I'll believe it when I see it, though. Not every dish was fantastic but I left every meal very happy. I will say that the sea bass wasn't as good for me as some of the reviews I read. It was fine but was the least favorite entree I had. The buffet was also really solid. I've usually been disappointed in Disney hotel/park buffets compared to a typical Las Vegas buffet (for a third the price). I thought the cruise buffet was better than any Disney resort buffet I have had, and equal or better than most of the non-gourmet Las Vegas buffets I've had. Don't get too carried away, it wasn't amazing food. I just thought there was a good selection, it was fresh, quite tasty and the carved meats and shrimp were very good quality I thought. The fast food options were a bit lacking though. The chicken fingers were good but the pizza was terrible. The brat I tried was edible but that is all I can say for it. Not much variety but the fast food did the job I guess. Extra price restaurants will have to wait for another trip so I can't comment on them. In short, my bar wasn't so high but the dining easily cleared what I was expecting. I wouldn't have any problem with that level of food for a longer cruise.
Nassau was the thing that inspired me to write this report. Based on what I had read I was expecting real third-world stuff. I thought it was charming. Yes, it is not without its problems. Sales people are somewhat aggressive and we had one very minor moment of discomfort when we pulled out a map to get our bearings. Multiple people suddenly appeared trying to "help" us. However I've had far worse issues in Philly, DC and NYC. Based on some descriptions I was expecting something more like a Mexico border town, with decrepit buildings and crumbling 4th rate infrastructure. Instead, the tourist area is generally well kept up with quite a few interesting buildings and picturesque views. There were five cruise ships in port, so looking at the harbor from shore was a really impressive view. We all went to the pirate museum which exceeded expectations. It walked the line between Disney-esque and providing some solid history. Not a world-class museum by any means but enjoyable. 3 of us went to the Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation. I didn't make it as I needed to take a child back to the ship. The report from the others was that there were few artifacts, but it was in a historic building full of good information. Well worth the very modest admission. In all I'd say visiting Nassau without walking around would be a real shame. Use common sense, stay in the tourist area and avoid the sketchy independent tours but go out and enjoy the atmosphere.
The last thing that surprised me was the motion of the ship. The weather wasn't great when we left Port Canaveral but the water didn't look at all rough to my eyes. Still, I was surprised how much I felt the ship rock. It is hard to compare with my 20 year old memories but I've been on large ferries in Europe and this felt very much like that to me. I would have thought that the Dream would have felt smoother. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like you couldn't walk without falling over but there were a few times my balance shifted when I didn't expect it and I grabbed a rail to steady myself. 3 out of 5 of us experienced seasickness but thankfully Bonine did the trick. All 3 who had the problem used it as soon as they felt a bit off-key and with a few hours were back to normal. All three continued to take throughout the cruise. I don't know how much rougher than average our trip was nor how sensitive my family is, but if you think you might be susceptible don't believe those who say that the short cruises are calm and the stabilizers will take care of everything. The Bonine worked fantastically well and no one actually got to the point of throwing up even before the Bonine kicked in, but be prepared.
Everything else was pretty much much like I expected. The shows were fun with talented performers, other entertainers around the ship were very good, Castaway Cay was everything I expected (although the scuba area was huge!) and the staff was extremely friendly. If I had any "complaint" about staff it was that there were a few times I was in a conversation that was interrupted by staff asking us questions. I can't really fault folks though for being friendly and wanting to help.
The only other thing that comes to mind was something that happened at a family game-show type thing we attended. The passengers on our cruise were very diverse, with lots of folks from all over the world. I am guessing the diversity was greater than usual due to many US kids already in school, but I don't know for sure. In any event, the crowd at the game show was probably 50/50 white and non-white. The host selected 4 families to play the game, and all 4 families were white. I don't want to turn this into some big debate on political correctness vs latent racism vs whatever, but it was striking enough to my eyes that I wanted to mention it. The host was from Argentina for whatever that is worth. She otherwise did a remarkable job in what was clearly not her first language in a situation that called for quite a bit of improvisation.
In all, a fantastic trip. I look forward to the next time I might be able to cruise with Disney again.
