Just back from Disney Dream 2/2-2/5

[my2disneyboys]

UGH I wish I could write a better review. It isn't all bad, but bottom line is that I will never cruise again with Disney. We did spend two amazing days at Disney beforehand, and the Dream just couldn't measure up to that.

We arrived and sailed right through the check in- and we were on the boat in 20 minutes I think! This was a great thing!!

Once on the boat, all of our carry on luggage with us and the kids we went up to deck 11 to have lunch at Cabanas. Lunch was good- but the people that come by asking if you want a cocktail got to be so annoying- We were only there for 15 minutes and I swear, atleast 12 people stopped by to see if we wanted the drink special or waters for our cabin. We tried to go to the pool - it was a scene I wish I never saw. It was INSANE. If there were 4,000 people on this boat, I would say 3,000 of them were kids and they were running, screaming, slipping on the wet decks, just totally crazy. The pools and jacuzzi were so jammed packed with people there was no chance of getting in them. We sat up on the deck above just trying to get away from the scene below. Our rooms would be ready soon. THANKFULLY!
TIP: Get on the boat later OR go have a nice lunch at Enchanted Garden until your room is ready!

At 1:30 our rooms were ready and they were BEAUTIFUL! I was SO glad we had a room with a verandah because we ended up spending most of our time out there. It was the only place besides the adult areas that we could sit and relax. I know this is a Disney Cruise - and I have kids but I had NO IDEA the public areas of the ship would be that crazy and packed!!

We headed up for the sailaway party- of course we couldnt get on an elevator (this happend the whole cruise. They were ALWAYS full! We ended up walking the stairs A LOT!) We tried to get a spot on the main deck but it was full, so once again headed up to deck 12 to watch below. It was really exciting when the boat started to move. I had thought they passed out champagne but maybe that was for just the first cruise. But the kids had a blast and it was fun!!

We headed down to the cabin after to get ready for our dinner. Met our servers, Katrina and Andre. They were great! Royal Palace was our first dinner and it was our favorite one from the whole trip. The next night was Animators which was cute with Crush, but the lighting was so bright and the place was SO loud. Enchanted Garden was ok. One thing I loved about the dining as that our servers had the kids drinks waiting for them each night. It was so cute.

The kids were SO excited about the kids club that they couldnt even finish dinner! They LOVED the kids club. Which worked out great. They spent atleast 3 hours each day after that in the kids club.

On our nassau day, most people stayed on the boat so the pools were still packed. We tried to go golfing with the kids or play shuffleboard but the people on the boat were just so rude. We had random kids with no parents around jumping in our games and kind of pushing us out... We ended up having the kids go to the club and we had a couple of hours in the adult pool area which was reallly nice. It just really bummed me out that i had to send my kids away in order to have fun in a pool and swim- i would rather have been able to enjoy that with them.

We also tried the spa. I had gotten rainforest room passes and we showed up and the girl at the desk was like ok, welcome. Have fun! I was like- where do I go?? What do we do?? It was weird. The water with the cucumbers were empty. The chairs were all taken and the showers were all cold! We sat in the jacuzzi for a few minutes and both decided to just leave.

The Pirate night was really fun and the fireworks were awesome and we went to D Lounge with the kids and we all danced and had some fun.

Castaway Cay was beautiful. It was overcast with showers and cool so we didnt get to enjoy it as much as we would have if it was hot and sunny though.
TIP: Make sure everyone has their cards when going to castaway! And wait until most people are off the boat to go.

We headed down when we heard the announcement that we were cleared to go onshore. We couldnt get an elevator (all packed) so walked down to the 1st floor. We were stopped on the 2nd floor because the people were all lined up- it was hot, and people were all complaining. There was SO many people jammed and waiting to get off. We were supposed to get off at 8:30 but it was 10:00 at this point. So after about 30-45 minutes in the hallway we finally start moving. We get to the guy to check out and he says he needs a card for everyone. Well my sons card was in the slot to keep the lights on in the cabin. My husband had to fight the crowds in the wrong direction to go back to the cabin and get the card!

That night after dinner, the kids went to the kids club and we checked out Pink, Skyline, and the 80's music trivia in revolution. It was lot's of fun.

We had a really fun vacation and the ship was SO beautiful but it just wasn't for us. I didnt like that I had to have my kids in the kids club to enjoy my time on the ship. We didn't make any special family memories together like we do at Disney World. Well that isnt totally true, we did have some fun like ordering room service at midnight and watching the fireworks on Pirate Night!

From now on, we know to stick to Disney World!! If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them!!

 

[chudson98]

So sorry to hear about your trip. I was wondering what was your impression of the kid's club? Were they really crowded? Also, did you make it to any shows or movies?

 

[mesaboy2]

So, there were lots of people and some rude people, therefore you're never cruising DCL again. Have you been on other cruises and were they any different?

 

[mimmi]

It must be frustrating to have such an experience after having paid quite a lot of money
We got off the Dream on 02/02 and thankfully had a totally different experience.

About the keycards: on our cruise there were several announcements in the mornings that reminded us to take our keycards with us when getting off the ship, but it was so loud in tge restaurants that the rest of my group couldn't hear properly, thankfully I was in the restrooms and heard everything. Maybe this happened to you, too?
The aircondition works without a card in the slot, does anybody know if you can charge ipads, phones etc. without a card?

 

[clten]

Sorry your trip didn't build as many family memories as you would have liked. Unfortunately, that is the nature of 3 night cruises -- jammed packed with people all trying to do the same thing at the same time. I'm not trying to sell you on cruising again (it isn't for everyone), just pointing out that longer cruises may be more to your liking as there are more ship activities that spread out the crowds a little bit and the classic ships have approximately the same amount of deck space (pool deck) with far less people. (Not that it isn't crowded on some days and the deck parties still have people having difficulty finding good viewing areas. But I find it to be far less of a problem on the Magic/Wonder than the Dream.)

I LOVE cruising but you couldn't pay me to go on a 3 night.
(Thanks for the CC info, I'm trying to keep track of it this year. So I appreciate it!)

 

[my2disneyboys]

What was your impression of the kid's club? Were they really crowded? Also, did you make it to any shows or movies?

The kids club was GREAT! My kids loved it. I was very comfortable leaving my kids there. before we went I was worried that they would be kind of all alone in there- but there were so many people in there working and all VERY involved with the kids. Everytime I picked them up they were doing an activity with one of the Counselors.

We saw Believe and LOVED it! My DH even teared up. We are BIG TIME Disney freaks!! With the early dining it was tought to make it to the shows because the kids wanted to go to the kids club after dinner each night. But on our last night there was a 4PM showing of Believe so that is why we could go to that one!

 

[my2disneyboys]

Sorry your trip didn't build as many family memories as you would have liked. Unfortunately, that is the nature of 3 night cruises -- jammed packed with people all trying to do the same thing at the same time. I'm not trying to sell you on cruising again (it isn't for everyone), just pointing out that longer cruises may be more to your liking as there are more ship activities that spread out the crowds a little bit and the classic ships have approximately the same amount of deck space (pool deck) with far less people. (Not that it isn't crowded on some days and the deck parties still have people having difficulty finding good viewing areas. But I find it to be far less of a problem on the Magic/Wonder than the Dream.)

I LOVE cruising but you couldn't pay me to go on a 3 night.
(Thanks for the CC info, I'm trying to keep track of it this year. So I appreciate it!)

We talked to lot's of other families and they all felt the same way about the crowds. One family had cruised with other cruise lines and DCL on the longer cruises and said the same thing about it not being as crowded. I am so glad we did it and we had a really fun vacation. It was just so beautiful waking up to the sunrise and going out on the verandah with my coffee. My DH and I both agreed that it just wasn't for us. Disney World has our hearts!

 

[my2disneyboys]

It must be frustrating to have such an experience after having paid quite a lot of money
We got off the Dream on 02/02 and thankfully had a totally different experience.

About the keycards: on our cruise there were several announcements in the mornings that reminded us to take our keycards with us when getting off the ship, but it was so loud in tge restaurants that the rest of my group couldn't hear properly, thankfully I was in the restrooms and heard everything. Maybe this happened to you, too?
The aircondition works without a card in the slot, does anybody know if you can charge ipads, phones etc. without a card?

I wondered if our cruise was extra busy!!?? I have been reading reviews on here for the last year so wasn't really expecting it to be so crazy! I think you are right- it was SO hard to hear what they were saying because it was SO loud everwhere!! I am sure they probably said it and we just didnt hear.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I've been on two sold-out 3-nights, and yes it is crowded, but with a little planning you can avoid the crowds and have a great time. A friend even asked how full the ship was because our pictures looked like we had the ship to ourselves!

The spa - I think they assume you have been there before or went to the tour on the first day, unless you ask for help. My first time in the rainforest room, I walked back to the front desk to ask how in the world do I get the door open! If I ever saw the water empty, I mentioned it to a cast member. The loungers do get full sometimes. The showers are all different. Some are cold, some start cold and get warm, etc. I froze trying all of them until I found my favorite and stuck with it!

The lights - any card will work to keep the lights on. I use an empty gift card.

Castaway Cay - it is announced several times you will need everyone's KTTW, and it is also in the Navigator. It is also not just at Castaway Cay - anytime you disembark the ship everyone is required to have their KTTW. We've found if you wait until after about 10:00 you can walk right off without waiting in a crowd.

 

[my2disneyboys]

I've been on two sold-out 3-nights, and yes it is crowded, but with a little planning you can avoid the crowds and have a great time. A friend even asked how full the ship was because our pictures looked like we had the ship to ourselves!

The spa - I think they assume you have been there before or went to the tour on the first day, unless you ask for help. My first time in the rainforest room, I walked back to the front desk to ask how in the world do I get the door open! If I ever saw the water empty, I mentioned it to a cast member. The loungers do get full sometimes. The showers are all different. Some are cold, some start cold and get warm, etc. I froze trying all of them until I found my favorite and stuck with it!

The lights - any card will work to keep the lights on. I use an empty gift card.

Castaway Cay - it is announced several times you will need everyone's KTTW, and it is also in the Navigator. It is also not just at Castaway Cay - anytime you disembark the ship everyone is required to have their KTTW. We've found if you wait until after about 10:00 you can walk right off without waiting in a crowd.

I did ask the girl for help at senses. She wasnt very helpful. I couldnt even get my locker open Oh well!

having gone to Disney so many times now, we KNOW how to do Disney! I am sure the cruise is the same way. I just didn't know the tricks of avoiding the crowds. I had read before about ordering room service for breakfast- we did this each day and it was a great relaxing way to start our day and avoid crowds!

 

[gretchnh]

Oh wow. We're getting ready to hit our first Disney Cruise with a 3 night on the Dream.
This really scares me. I pictured crowded, but not as ridiculously crowded as I now picture it in my mind!
Are ALL 3 night cruises on the Dream like this? Has everyone has similar experiences?
I've made a mental note to take ALL of our cards EVERYWHERE!
--Gretchen in Ks.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

I was on this same cruise. I was in Concierge, and we hated to leave that area because of the crowds. The ship seemed full beyond belief, and the kids on this cruise were especially unruly. The parents were definitely "on vacation" for this particular cruise. I think I could write volumes on that, but will just leave it at that statement.

Trying to get elevators was incredibly difficult. And yes, we tried to use either the Forward or Aft elevators, rather than the Mid ones.

Granted, there are some very nice things about the new ship. Although yes, I am going to cruise on the Fantasy, in many respects I prefer the smaller, classic ships. It may not bother some people - but the increased numbers of people was very noticeable.

 

[AmandaRG]

That's too bad. I, too, have heard about 3-nighters being "interesting" compared to some of the others. We have one booked in May.

I guess if you aren't taking your cruise next year, that's just more time at your most happy place!!!

 

[RedSox68]

Unless I'm reading your trip report wrong, it seems like 80% of your trip was great. Most of the things you talk about you liked. The biggest complaint seems to be the crowds and some items in the spa. Did you tell an attendant the water was empty and there were no seats? They would have checked it out and filled the water.

We've been on the Magic and Wonder where the decks were so packed for the deck party that we went up to the next deck. Whether there are 2500 or 4000 people onboard, and no matter how big the ship, if there is an event or a port, 90% of those people will be there trying to see it or get off.

On the Dream last May we got clogged on deck 2 trying to get down to get off at CC. We just turned around and went back up to the promenade deck, got a chair and enjoyed the view for an hour. When we went back down at 9:30 we were able to walk right off.

It appears this was your first Disney cruise. I wouldn't let it be your final opinion of Disney cruises. We have taken 9 so far -- we have had rude passengers to the point of shoving us and being vocal, we have encountered overwhelming crowds at the buffet and getting off and on the ship in ports, and we have experienced rude and over the top behavior in both the movie theater and the show theater, and had people smoking on balconies around us that prevented me from enjoying my verandah 100% (I have asthma). We even had a piece of furniture missing in one of our rooms. But none of those reasons would prevent me from sailing Disney again.

Was this your first ever cruise, or just your first Disney? We have been on one NCL cruise and our experience was so awful (think filth and attitude) that we kissed the deck of the Magic the next time we got on

Anyway, I'm sorry the crowds put a damper on your tip but I hope you all give DCL another chance. Maybe February is a high travel month?

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Oh wow. We're getting ready to hit our first Disney Cruise with a 3 night on the Dream.
This really scares me. I pictured crowded, but not as ridiculously crowded as I now picture it in my mind!
Are ALL 3 night cruises on the Dream like this? Has everyone has similar experiences?
I've made a mental note to take ALL of our cards EVERYWHERE!
--Gretchen in Ks.

Finding out all you can on this board really helps. We don't even try to get in the pool on the first day. We like to watch Sail Away and the fireworks from deck 12. We make a point to only see one show per cruise (because we know we're going to take another one!). We wait until about 10 to get off at Castaway Cay. My kids are 4 and 18 months, and I only took their keys out of the room to disembark the ship. Older kids might be different, but for the under 10 set, I think it's true that you don't need their keys except to embark/disembark (every single time you step on or off the ship).

 

[acourtwdw]

I was on that cruise and had a great time. Mind you, I don't have kids so I can't comment on the crowds where there were lots of kids. Never had a problem with elevators. The only time I really saw a lot of kids was during the last night at the party in the atruim. I was disappointed that I didn't get to ride the Aquaduck again. The first day-line was too long, 2nd day-wasn't sure it was a great idea 16 weeks after back surgery. 3rd day- it was too windy to ride solo.

 

[my2disneyboys]

Oh wow. We're getting ready to hit our first Disney Cruise with a 3 night on the Dream.
This really scares me. I pictured crowded, but not as ridiculously crowded as I now picture it in my mind!
Are ALL 3 night cruises on the Dream like this? Has everyone has similar experiences?
I've made a mental note to take ALL of our cards EVERYWHERE!
--Gretchen in Ks.

well it sounds like i am a minority here! AND even with the crowds we still had a great time. I took some pics of the crowds and i will post tonight when I am home to upload them. It was INSANE. But now having gone, I know not to go up to that main deck until after you put your stuff in your room- not boarding until your room is ready or going for a nice lunch would have been very helpful! Knowing about needing all of our cards to get off the ship would have helped us with that stressful time..... I guess I should have planned better. I tried to read and research a lot. There is just SO much going on. So many people. It was so loud. Just not relaxing to me at all. (Except for the adult areas which were quiet and lovely)

 

[sabrecmc]

We've been on 6 DCL cruises, and certainly love them, but I agree that a 3 night cruise is a different beast. And cruising certainly isn't for some people. But, if you are looking for quiet family fun times...then yeah, a 3 night is probably not going to meet your needs! Its sort of like going to the World at Christmas. It can be a wonderful experience, but it isn't the same experience as going in October when things are quieter and less crowded. Just different. Some love it, some hate it.

However, having done 3 3-night cruises, a 10-night Med cruise, 7-night Alaskan...well, they are just very different experiences. Our 10-night Med cruise was very light on crowds and kids, as it was in May and school wasn't out yet. Same with the Alaskan cruise. We did the Pacific Coast repo and then 1st Alaskan last year and those were not at all packed. On the other hand, we've really enjoyed our 3 night cruises for what they are. Chaotic, crowded, crazy fun! But they definitely aren't for everyone.

 

[my2disneyboys]

I was on this same cruise. I was in Concierge, and we hated to leave that area because of the crowds. The ship seemed full beyond belief, and the kids on this cruise were especially unruly. The parents were definitely "on vacation" for this particular cruise. I think I could write volumes on that, but will just leave it at that statement.

Trying to get elevators was incredibly difficult. And yes, we tried to use either the Forward or Aft elevators, rather than the Mid ones.

Granted, there are some very nice things about the new ship. Although yes, I am going to cruise on the Fantasy, in many respects I prefer the smaller, classic ships. It may not bother some people - but the increased numbers of people was very noticeable.

I am so glad to hear that you were on the same cruise and agree about the crowds. I LOVE disney! I am ok with crowds. It was HARD to avoid them on this ship unless i was in the adult area which was empty or my cabin. It just bummed me out because when we go on vacation, swimming in the pools in February is our highlight. We just couldn't do that as a family on this ship.

 

[keaster]

We have done only one 3-night cruise, it was just DH and I and we only did it because we got a $99 bounceback deal from our first cruise.

We definitely noticed the "vibe" of the crowd was different from the 7-night and 10-night cruises we've been on, everybody seemed so chaotic and rushed to fit everything in, and the crankiness just seemed to be amped up!

The shortest we will ever go on again is 5-nights, the cost to get there on top of the cost of the cruise itself is not worth it for us!