First Cruise ever Disney Dream

Tigger1

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Aug 18, 1999
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We have talked about it for years (since Disney got cruises) and may go in October.
Last minute trip.

Wondering if we should pay extra $ for a Verandah. Are the pools and hot tub open all night or do they shut everything down at early hours like Do not want to pay for a Verandah if we are never in the room.

Can I bring my own wine and / or Beer?

What extras will I need $$ for. Assuming Liquear, souveniors, anything else?

What happens last day. I think ship arrives back to Port at 7:30 am. What time are we kicked off, can we sleep in? Do they serve a last meal?

Transportation. Might spend first night close to
Port Canaveral if I can get a hotel on ocean or stay at Disney. Will need to use Disney bus, rent a car or ??

Any other suggestions?
 
Save your money on a verendah and go on a longer cruise. The dream cruises is way too short especially for your first cruise. Yes they serve breakfast on the day you get off. No you can't sleep in you have to be out of your room at 0800. Nope hot tubs are not open all night.
 
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Congrats! We love The Dream. I agree with PP I wouldn't spend money on a verendah I would opt for the 4 night rather than the 3. You can bring wine and beer but there are limits per person I can't recall extact amount it's on DCL website I don't drink myself. You have to place it on carry on I believe. Make sure you book your Port Arrive time and get as early as possible it's nice being such a short cruise having lunch at Cabanas on the first day.

There are good characters on board if you would like to meet those book on day you get on the ship or conceirge can book before.

The cinema is great it's nice when there is a movie launch they show it at midnight!

We book through a TA to get more on board credit.

If you enjoy it think about booking a future cruise on the cruise you get 10% off and 24 months to book as well as OBC.
 
If you want to get on the ship early, don't stay at disney... or arrange private transportation. The disney transfers from the resorts won't get you to the port until well after noon.

We did the verandah in case anyone felt sea sick (first cruise for all)... didn't need it. With small kids and the furniture out there, the verandah made us nervous and we wouldn't let the kids use it without an adult out there with them.

Wine/beer limitations are posted on the website and all over this board. I think its 2 bottles of wine per person? You can pick more up at the ports.
 

You can add a shuttle to pick you up from the airport (or Disney Resort) and bring you back at the end of the trip but it's 35$/pp each way (70$ roundtrip) It's nice and confortable. Very similar to the Magical Express. We always use it. It brought us to port around 1:00-1:30 PM. There was no lines, we got on the cruiseship right away.

For such a short cruise, I suggest you save the money to book excursions in Nassau instead (cause it's not the most fantastic port if you don't book anything). Castaway Cay is great.

You'll need money for alcohol, souvenirs, excursions and adult only dining upgrades like Palo or Remy if you decide to go. Also, recommended gratuity (you can prepay) is 12$/per person/per day.

You are allowed a small amount of alcohol per person but it has to be in your carry-on.
 
We have talked about it for years (since Disney got cruises) and may go in October.
Last minute trip.

Wondering if we should pay extra $ for a Verandah. Are the pools and hot tub open all night or do they shut everything down at early hours like Do not want to pay for a Verandah if we are never in the room.

Can I bring my own wine and / or Beer?

What extras will I need $$ for. Assuming Liquear, souveniors, anything else?

What happens last day. I think ship arrives back to Port at 7:30 am. What time are we kicked off, can we sleep in? Do they serve a last meal?

Transportation. Might spend first night close to
Port Canaveral if I can get a hotel on ocean or stay at Disney. Will need to use Disney bus, rent a car or ??

Any other suggestions?

There are people who think the verandah is worth it and others who will say save your money. Check out the price difference because the cost to upgrade to a verandah is less on the Dream and Fantasy than on the classic ships because they have so many more verandah rooms than inside or oceanview rooms. I've done inside, oceanview, and verandah and definitely prefer the verandah. But on a short cruise, you may be fine with an inside room because you probably won't spend a lot of time in the room.

Pools and hot tubs do shut down at night. Closing time varies but I'd say 10:00 is a common closing time.

Each adult age 21+ can bring on 2 bottles of wine (no larger than 750ml) OR 6 beers (no larger than 12 ounces) at embarkation and at each port of call. The alcohol must be carried on in your carryon bag, not in your checked luggage.

Some of the things that cost extra, besides alcohol and souvenirs, are the adult specialty restaurants (Palo and Remy), specialty coffees and smoothies, adult tasting classes (Mixology, wine tasting, etc.), tips, spa treatments, Rainforest Room in the spa, and port excursions. The Dream has a new ice cream shop called Vanellopes which is extra. I know there are additional things. There's an extremely large list of paid extras floating around here, but you can cruise and pay very little extra if you wish. It's all in what you want to do.

You do have to be out of your stateroom by 8:00am on the last day and off the ship by 9:00am or a little after. You will be assigned a time to eat breakfast in one of the MDRs based upon your assigned dining time. Early dinner gets early breakfast, which is around 6:45-7:00am. Second seating dining gets a breakfast time of around 8:00am.

DCL provides transfers either from MCO or a WDW resort for $35 per person each way. Depending on how many are in your party, it may be less expensive to rent a car or use a car service. If you are coming in the day before and not visiting the parks, I'd recommend staying at the Hyatt in the Orlando airport if you are taking the DCL transfers. It's very convenient. If you want to stay near the port, rent a car or hire a private car service. If you stay at a WDW resort, the DCL transfers won't get you to the port until around 12:30-2:00. On a short cruise, it's nice to board the ship as early as possible to start taking advantage of the ship amenities.
 
All such good advice

We are not heavy wine/beer drinkers so 2 wines or 6 beers is plenty for our party.
Would love to purchase Frozen drinks in Souvenior glasses if they sold them.

Work schedule does not allow me to take 4 day cruise. Its not offered during my fall break.

May just rent a car to and from Port. Then we will have more time at Disney and Port, Can pick up Wine and Beer on way to port also rather than traveling with it from home.

Any sites offer discount cruises?
 
I've been told it's a bad idea to go verandah on your first cruise, because then you will have to go verandah on all subsequent cruises! :D

Not true. My first cruise was in a verendah and only been in a verendah one other time in 19 cruises.

2 verendah
2 port holes
15 inside

Next 4 cruises are inside also.
 
Everyone is different regarding the verandahs. On DCL I've only stayed in an inside room once and that was miserable (for ME). On other non DCL cruises I've been in port hole rooms, which were...fine.

What would you do on a verandah? I like to sit and read, DH likes to drink his coffee. We like to watch nature go by (especially in AK), and the ship arrive and depart from ports. While in port, I put wet clothes on the chairs to assist in their drying a bit faster. If I'm feeling queasy, the fresh air helps.

If you looked at this list and thought "nope, not for me," or "I can do the majority of that elsewhere" then okay. If it sounds good to you, then okay. Only you know what your budget comfort level is.

Either way, have a great cruise!!!
 
DH's first cruise was this past March. A three day Dream cruise with a verandah. I enjoyed being able to go and relax out on the verandah while DH slept in. I probably would have woken him if I'd had to get dressed and leave the room. We enjoyed watching the sunrises, docking, departures and especially the dock runners in Nassau. It was a good choice for us.

We did a walking tour in Nassau (from the unofficial guide) and the run on CC, so we didn't pay for shore excursions. Although we did buy a bottle of rum from the distillery in Nassau - turned in to security at port to p/u in atrium on disembarkation.
 
Not true. My first cruise was in a verendah and only been in a verendah one other time in 19 cruises.

2 verendah
2 port holes
15 inside

Next 4 cruises are inside also.
I thought about an inside in case of motion sickness. Should I worry about motion sickness on a cruise?
 
I thought about an inside in case of motion sickness. Should I worry about motion sickness on a cruise?

Nope I wouldn't worry about it. Just buy some Bonine just in case of bad weather. I get motion sick but never get sea sick on a ship you are on a floating city
 
I could never do an inside room, no way... I know they are popular but to me it isn't my thing. We love our verandah. Have fun! Book a placeholder, you'll become addicted.
 
What is a place Holder??
I think we might go for the 2 Ocean View rooms rather than 1 Verandah sleeping 4. Cost is almost the same.
 
Now what transportation to Disney?
We can rent a car for about $87 each way,
use a car service, anyone used a particular company for this?
or go with Disney transport. If we use Disney transport from Disney will they take care of our luggage to the ship from Disney or do we put it on bus and get of bus and take to ship?
 
What is a place Holder??
I think we might go for the 2 Ocean View rooms rather than 1 Verandah sleeping 4. Cost is almost the same.
the placeholder is a $250 deposit you book with the vacation planning desk, it's a piece of paper you fill out, just put "placeholder" on it and they will charge your account and you can use it towards another future cruise and so long as you book with in the 2 year window, you get 10% off the next cruise and an onboard credit (OBC).

ETA: Also they are refundable so if you change your mind you'll get your $250 back.
 
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Now what transportation to Disney?
We can rent a car for about $87 each way,
use a car service, anyone used a particular company for this?
or go with Disney transport. If we use Disney transport from Disney will they take care of our luggage to the ship from Disney or do we put it on bus and get of bus and take to ship?
If you use Disney transport they will take care of your luggage and you will see them again outside of the stateroom
If you rent a car, depending on how many in your party, you probably will save money by renting a car, you will just give your luggage to the porters at the port and then you will see it outside of your stateroom
 
Now what transportation to Disney?
We can rent a car for about $87 each way,
use a car service, anyone used a particular company for this?
or go with Disney transport. If we use Disney transport from Disney will they take care of our luggage to the ship from Disney or do we put it on bus and get of bus and take to ship?
DCL transfers from MCO to port are $35.00 per person. If you're flying in the day of the cruise, you'll receive luggage tags to put on your checked bags before checking them in for the flight. DCL will claim the bags and transport them to the ship. The next time you see them will at your room onboard.

If you are flying in prior to embarkation day, you will claim your bags at the airport and take them with you to where ever you are staying. You can take DCL transportation from MCO, or WDW resorts to port for the same cost. If you are not at a WDW resort, or the Hyatt MCO the night prior to the start of the cruise, and you wish to take DCL transfers from MCO, you must return to the airport (with your bags) and hand them in to the DCL transfer bus driver. At the port, you claim your bags from the bus driver and immediately hand them over to the porters that are there. The bags will be loaded onboard and show up at your room later.
 

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