pollyanna1022
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2011
- Messages
- 14
Four generations of girls in our family were on the March 17 through 20 Disney Dream cruise. We had been looking forward to this for months and we had a great time!! Since we got a lot of great tips from reading others' trip reports on this board, here's ours:
Arrival in Orlando: We flew in the morning of the cruise. Everything went fairly smoothly with check-in at the Orlando airport-- they had an issue with the KTTW printer, but they fixed it after several minutes. We got on the Disney Cruise Line shuttle to the port within 10 minutes of completing check-in. The bus ride to the port was really nice and the little ones really enjoyed the classic cartoons they show during the bus ride.
Arrival at the cruise terminal/Embarkation: It seemed like we were there all of a sudden! The Dream is such a beautiful ship, esp. compared to the Carnival Sensation that was docked across from her! We proceeded through the security checkpoint and up to the upper level within minutes of arrival. After checking the little ones into the Oceaneer Club, we proceeded through the ears... and found the line! It was a little congested waiting to get our pictures made before boarding the ship, but the line moved fairly well. We walked on board around 2:30. It was fun to have our family announced as we walked onboard! A cast member approached us and assured us we had plenty of time to put our luggage in our staterooms before going to lunch at Cabanas. So, we did just that-- and found out she was wrong. We got to Cabanas and found a circus. As some of us were getting our food, they lowered the awnings. So, we went to Flo's V8 and had to practically beg for food for 91-year great grandma. There was no time for her to eat since they had to get her to the muster station, so we wrapped up her sandwich for her to take with her. Fortunately, they excused her from the muster drill as soon as they checked her in and she headed back to Deck 11 for the Sail Away Party and to eat her (late) lunch.
Stateroom: We had 8164-- verandah stateroom-- which was very nice! Beautiful room and very comfortable. Others in our group had a family stateroom with verandah on deck 6 and it was even nicer-- more room, with a drop from the ceiling bed and a Murphy bed. They didn't use the Murphy bed. If they had, it would've been wall-to-wall beds in that room! We never saw our stateroom host. He was very good and brought us ice as requested. He made a wonderful towel monkey and used my niece's sunglasses!
Shows: We saw all of the shows-Golden Mickeys, Villains Tonight, and Believe-- and loved them all! They are so well done! I think Believe was my favorite, but Hades in Villains Tonight was hilarious! And the little dwarves with Snow White in the Golden Mickeys was adorable! The cast members were very accommodating and helpful finding a place for great-grandma to sit in her wheelchair for the shows. For the GOlden Mickeys, they took her thru a "secret passage" to the front of theater on Deck 3 as the cast member said Deck 4 was not a good place to view that particular show. We watched the other shows on Deck 4 (balcony) level with great-grandma parked next the the handicapped row. Excellent seats! We also saw the Sail Away party, early and late Pirate shows, and the fireworks show. All very well done, esp. the fireworks. We stood on Deck 12 above the stage (port side) and had a fantastic view! (Use the forward elevators to Deck 12, then work your way back to midship.)
Oceaneer Club/Lab: Took the girls (ages 11 and 3) there the first night-- what a zoo! We stayed maybe 45 min. There were just too many kids there! The 11 year old didn't go back-- stayed with the family in evenings. The 3 year old stayed on board with family who didn't take shore excursion in Nassau and she went to Oceaneer's for about 2 hours that day. The club was quiet and when her grandmother went to pick her up she was sitting with a counselor reading a book. Lovely!
Nassau: We did Discover Atlantis and it was an excellent experience!
Castaway Cay: We took tram to first stop. We traded great-grandma's wheelchair for one of those all-terrain wheelchairs they have available. What a work-out pushing that thing! But, it got her to the beach. We, also, used one of the wagons that are available to get the girls and our bags to the beach. We didn't get off the ship until about 10:45, and we found good seats available at the beach. The water was a bit chilly for us (we are spoiled by living near the warm Gulf of Mexico), but the girls had a blast! We ate lunch at Cookie's BBQ. It was very good-- the barbecue chicken and ribs were very good! Of course, the ice cream was excellent, as folks here said!
Aquaduck: We went when we returned from our Nassau excursion. We waited about 15-20 minutes. What a fun ride! Wish we could've done it again, but those 3 days went quick!
Dining: Our rotation was Animator's Palate, Enchanted Garden, and Royal Palace. We loved our servers, Leo and Erhan! I think best food was at Enchanted Garden. We loved Animator's Palate-- Crush is awesome dude! Flo's V8 Cafe was a great spot for paninis, pizzas, and salads. Loved the fresh fruit there, too.
Characters: They were everywhere! And they were great! The last night our 3 year old had a bit of a meltdown (not enough nap) and Daisy Duck appeared at just the right moment to brighten her mood.
Recommendations: breakfast buffet at Enchanted Garden; watch a movie in Buena Vista Theater (we saw Mars Needs Moms); people watching in atrium between dinner and shows; room service breakfast on the verandah; watch on demand movies on TV for kids during down times and getting ready for dinner times (we loved Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella); use forward and aft elevators whenever you can as midship ones are a nightmare!; do the Midship Detective Agency
Concerns:
*Shutters is a messy area! I know they've tried to make it easier to navigate by putting the pictures in "books" by stateroom, but getting our pictures there the last night was a nightmare!
*Nemo's Reef was a bit scary for our 3 year old. She enjoyed it, but we had to really watch things and intervene several times. Some of the kids in there appeared to be older than 8 and were quite aggressive. Perhaps a cast member should check kids as they attempt to enter Nemo's Reef to ensure it is for the little ones only.
Bottom Line: We had a wonderful time and would love to go on another Disney cruise!
Arrival in Orlando: We flew in the morning of the cruise. Everything went fairly smoothly with check-in at the Orlando airport-- they had an issue with the KTTW printer, but they fixed it after several minutes. We got on the Disney Cruise Line shuttle to the port within 10 minutes of completing check-in. The bus ride to the port was really nice and the little ones really enjoyed the classic cartoons they show during the bus ride.
Arrival at the cruise terminal/Embarkation: It seemed like we were there all of a sudden! The Dream is such a beautiful ship, esp. compared to the Carnival Sensation that was docked across from her! We proceeded through the security checkpoint and up to the upper level within minutes of arrival. After checking the little ones into the Oceaneer Club, we proceeded through the ears... and found the line! It was a little congested waiting to get our pictures made before boarding the ship, but the line moved fairly well. We walked on board around 2:30. It was fun to have our family announced as we walked onboard! A cast member approached us and assured us we had plenty of time to put our luggage in our staterooms before going to lunch at Cabanas. So, we did just that-- and found out she was wrong. We got to Cabanas and found a circus. As some of us were getting our food, they lowered the awnings. So, we went to Flo's V8 and had to practically beg for food for 91-year great grandma. There was no time for her to eat since they had to get her to the muster station, so we wrapped up her sandwich for her to take with her. Fortunately, they excused her from the muster drill as soon as they checked her in and she headed back to Deck 11 for the Sail Away Party and to eat her (late) lunch.
Stateroom: We had 8164-- verandah stateroom-- which was very nice! Beautiful room and very comfortable. Others in our group had a family stateroom with verandah on deck 6 and it was even nicer-- more room, with a drop from the ceiling bed and a Murphy bed. They didn't use the Murphy bed. If they had, it would've been wall-to-wall beds in that room! We never saw our stateroom host. He was very good and brought us ice as requested. He made a wonderful towel monkey and used my niece's sunglasses!
Shows: We saw all of the shows-Golden Mickeys, Villains Tonight, and Believe-- and loved them all! They are so well done! I think Believe was my favorite, but Hades in Villains Tonight was hilarious! And the little dwarves with Snow White in the Golden Mickeys was adorable! The cast members were very accommodating and helpful finding a place for great-grandma to sit in her wheelchair for the shows. For the GOlden Mickeys, they took her thru a "secret passage" to the front of theater on Deck 3 as the cast member said Deck 4 was not a good place to view that particular show. We watched the other shows on Deck 4 (balcony) level with great-grandma parked next the the handicapped row. Excellent seats! We also saw the Sail Away party, early and late Pirate shows, and the fireworks show. All very well done, esp. the fireworks. We stood on Deck 12 above the stage (port side) and had a fantastic view! (Use the forward elevators to Deck 12, then work your way back to midship.)
Oceaneer Club/Lab: Took the girls (ages 11 and 3) there the first night-- what a zoo! We stayed maybe 45 min. There were just too many kids there! The 11 year old didn't go back-- stayed with the family in evenings. The 3 year old stayed on board with family who didn't take shore excursion in Nassau and she went to Oceaneer's for about 2 hours that day. The club was quiet and when her grandmother went to pick her up she was sitting with a counselor reading a book. Lovely!
Nassau: We did Discover Atlantis and it was an excellent experience!
Castaway Cay: We took tram to first stop. We traded great-grandma's wheelchair for one of those all-terrain wheelchairs they have available. What a work-out pushing that thing! But, it got her to the beach. We, also, used one of the wagons that are available to get the girls and our bags to the beach. We didn't get off the ship until about 10:45, and we found good seats available at the beach. The water was a bit chilly for us (we are spoiled by living near the warm Gulf of Mexico), but the girls had a blast! We ate lunch at Cookie's BBQ. It was very good-- the barbecue chicken and ribs were very good! Of course, the ice cream was excellent, as folks here said!
Aquaduck: We went when we returned from our Nassau excursion. We waited about 15-20 minutes. What a fun ride! Wish we could've done it again, but those 3 days went quick!
Dining: Our rotation was Animator's Palate, Enchanted Garden, and Royal Palace. We loved our servers, Leo and Erhan! I think best food was at Enchanted Garden. We loved Animator's Palate-- Crush is awesome dude! Flo's V8 Cafe was a great spot for paninis, pizzas, and salads. Loved the fresh fruit there, too.
Characters: They were everywhere! And they were great! The last night our 3 year old had a bit of a meltdown (not enough nap) and Daisy Duck appeared at just the right moment to brighten her mood.
Recommendations: breakfast buffet at Enchanted Garden; watch a movie in Buena Vista Theater (we saw Mars Needs Moms); people watching in atrium between dinner and shows; room service breakfast on the verandah; watch on demand movies on TV for kids during down times and getting ready for dinner times (we loved Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella); use forward and aft elevators whenever you can as midship ones are a nightmare!; do the Midship Detective Agency
Concerns:
*Shutters is a messy area! I know they've tried to make it easier to navigate by putting the pictures in "books" by stateroom, but getting our pictures there the last night was a nightmare!
*Nemo's Reef was a bit scary for our 3 year old. She enjoyed it, but we had to really watch things and intervene several times. Some of the kids in there appeared to be older than 8 and were quite aggressive. Perhaps a cast member should check kids as they attempt to enter Nemo's Reef to ensure it is for the little ones only.
Bottom Line: We had a wonderful time and would love to go on another Disney cruise!
