woody64
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Messages
- 619
We just returned from the 2/14 sailing of the Disney Dream out of Port Canaveral. This is not a full trip report but more a quick overview of my thoughts that I thought I would share. This is our 5th cruise on DCL and our first on this size ship. It is also the first time we have sailed out of Port Canaveral since 2004. Asking at check-in, it showed that we would have a max of 1,702 passengers on board. I never heard of anyone testing positive at port or later onboard but didn’t inquire either. It was just me, my DW, and our friends this trip, no kids. Kinda long and can be moved if the Mods think it should be.
Covid Testing – We rode with friends/traveling companions to PC and the covid testing (rapid PCR) was very fast and efficient. We first dropped bags at bag drop. We then followed the well-marked path to a parking spot on the lower level where techs were on hand to do the testing. While we stayed in the car, one at a time they scanned our boarding QR codes, handed each person a self test kit, watched us self-swab, put the sample in a vial, and loaded all the vials of your party into one bag for testing. We were then directed to park in any open spot in the parking garage. We could get out of the car and visit the restroom on the first floor if needed. We were told testing would take 40-60 minutes and we would be notified by email. We all received our all clear in about 20 minutes. Time to board!
Boarding – Boarding was very easy. We walked across the walkway and down to check-in. This was fast and just had to show reservation and passport. After a couple of minutes with the check-in cast member we were off to security. Put the bags through the x-ray machine, where they also checked the beer and wine we brought onboard, and we were off to wait for our group to be called. We were Group 18. We waited about an hour to board. We spent that time connecting all of us through the DCL app so we could use the chat function as a group.
Disney Dream – Our first time on this sized ship and it was beautiful. All the public spaces were beautiful and clean, as expected with our past DCL experiences. The size did not overwhelm us and it never seemed crowded anywhere, anytime (benefit to being less than half full). It was easy enough taking the stairs everywhere we needed. We enjoyed the walking deck 4 to try and work off some calories. Cabin was exactly as we expected and plenty big enough for the two of us (#6652, aft with a verandah). We enjoyed the adult pool areas during the day I even rode the Aquaduck and played a little mini-golf!
Entertainment – The entertainment was great as usual. We enjoyed Believe our first night and Beauty and the Beast our 2nd night. They had repeat performances of the shows the next 2 nights. People were well spaced out in the theatre (seated by cast members with 3 seats between parties and skipping every other row), and they did enforce people keeping their masks on. We also enjoyed a couple of nights of fireworks and deck parties. We finally won medals in one of the trivia contests in Pub 687 also! We didn’t visit any of the other clubs as we were happy hanging out and playing games in the pub. I did bring my old beer mug from past cruises to take advantage of the mug deal and worked like a charm.
Dining – Dining was wonderful as always with one exception, which I will write about separately. The wait staff, food selection, and food quality was great. We did have a weird rotation of AP, EG, EG, RP. We had booked Palo on the last night figuring we would be in the first restaurant again but that was not the case. No big deal. We ate breakfasts up at Cabanas, which was perfect for us. They had plenty of options, including numerous omelet/eggs your way stations. We ate lunches up on deck 11, which again was perfect for us to just grab something quick. We also enjoyed a few soft serve ice cream cones too!
Palo – This was our big disappointment. We had dined at Palo on each of our previous cruises and thought we knew what we would get. We do not like the new way they are doing the fixed price vs ale carte menu, especially for the extra cost and the great quality in the regular dining rooms. For us in the past, part of the fun of Palo was the servers bring out numerous appetizers, main courses to share or try. The fixed price menu had very limited selections. Choosing from the ale carte menu drove the price up significantly. The one bright spot was our server, as she was outstanding. Again, very disappointing given our most recent experience from our 2017 Alaskan cruise.
Medical Services – A first for me, as I had a flare up of some arthritis to where I had difficulty walking so decided to visit the Dr. onboard. They were fast, efficient, friendly, and very good. After a quick exam, an IV of steroids (no Olympics for me!), some additional pill steroids, and I was on my way and feeling better. Total cost of exam and meds was $257, which I will submit to insurance. It was very quiet down there (thankfully) and I thought they were very professional, and it was nice to see them in action. Even asking a cast member on deck if they had a bag I could fill with ice to use as an ice pack, they actually found me a chemical ice pack instead. They checked in via phone the next day too to make sure I was feeling better. Great service.
Cast Members – Great as expected. Everyone was so nice and helpful, no matter where you were. We enjoyed talking to the ladies at the DVC desk and getting our free swag (we are DVC members), all the hostesses and hosts around the pool deck, pool bars, restaurants, meal venues, were fantastic. We had a great experience with Guest Services when my wife lost her phone on Castaway Cay but received a call from GS after dinner that it had been found (she reported it lost as soon as we reboarded from CC). Our room steward was like Flash, we barely saw him but our room was always spotless. Our dining team was great as well, always efficient and bringing us additional servings when requested or sometimes even just mentioning we might want to try something different.
Itinerary – This was our first time doing a cruise of less that 7 nights. It was a great way to get back into cruising during pandemic times. Our expectation going into this cruise was to get off briefly in Nassau and to spend the whole day on CC, and that’s what we did. We do not care for Nassau and just walked the few blocks around the port and bought s few souvenirs. My buddy and I did find a nice brewery close to the port that I would highly recommend though. Castaway Cay was fantastic. We took the tram to Serenity Bay and spent the best weather day of the trip sitting on the beach reading or wading in the water. One note about SB, there is now a big sand hill where the loungers are down to the water. Nothing most people can’t handle but not a gentle slope either.
Debarkation – We chose not to put luggage out the night before and just do the self-debarkation. As soon as we heard we were cleared, we went to deck 3, walked right off with all our luggage, quickly through customs and out of the parking garage about 7:45 am. We did not want to eat before we left so we skipped breakfast.
Overall Experience – Overall, this was the great, relaxing trip we were looking forward to. We were so glad we did not cancel given the pandemic and felt very safe on the ship. People were very good about masking up where you needed to which was nice. It was nice also to cruise on a well below capacity ship, never having to wait on anything. Just wanted to share thoughts on the trip while still fresh. Let me know if you have any questions.
Covid Testing – We rode with friends/traveling companions to PC and the covid testing (rapid PCR) was very fast and efficient. We first dropped bags at bag drop. We then followed the well-marked path to a parking spot on the lower level where techs were on hand to do the testing. While we stayed in the car, one at a time they scanned our boarding QR codes, handed each person a self test kit, watched us self-swab, put the sample in a vial, and loaded all the vials of your party into one bag for testing. We were then directed to park in any open spot in the parking garage. We could get out of the car and visit the restroom on the first floor if needed. We were told testing would take 40-60 minutes and we would be notified by email. We all received our all clear in about 20 minutes. Time to board!
Boarding – Boarding was very easy. We walked across the walkway and down to check-in. This was fast and just had to show reservation and passport. After a couple of minutes with the check-in cast member we were off to security. Put the bags through the x-ray machine, where they also checked the beer and wine we brought onboard, and we were off to wait for our group to be called. We were Group 18. We waited about an hour to board. We spent that time connecting all of us through the DCL app so we could use the chat function as a group.
Disney Dream – Our first time on this sized ship and it was beautiful. All the public spaces were beautiful and clean, as expected with our past DCL experiences. The size did not overwhelm us and it never seemed crowded anywhere, anytime (benefit to being less than half full). It was easy enough taking the stairs everywhere we needed. We enjoyed the walking deck 4 to try and work off some calories. Cabin was exactly as we expected and plenty big enough for the two of us (#6652, aft with a verandah). We enjoyed the adult pool areas during the day I even rode the Aquaduck and played a little mini-golf!
Entertainment – The entertainment was great as usual. We enjoyed Believe our first night and Beauty and the Beast our 2nd night. They had repeat performances of the shows the next 2 nights. People were well spaced out in the theatre (seated by cast members with 3 seats between parties and skipping every other row), and they did enforce people keeping their masks on. We also enjoyed a couple of nights of fireworks and deck parties. We finally won medals in one of the trivia contests in Pub 687 also! We didn’t visit any of the other clubs as we were happy hanging out and playing games in the pub. I did bring my old beer mug from past cruises to take advantage of the mug deal and worked like a charm.
Dining – Dining was wonderful as always with one exception, which I will write about separately. The wait staff, food selection, and food quality was great. We did have a weird rotation of AP, EG, EG, RP. We had booked Palo on the last night figuring we would be in the first restaurant again but that was not the case. No big deal. We ate breakfasts up at Cabanas, which was perfect for us. They had plenty of options, including numerous omelet/eggs your way stations. We ate lunches up on deck 11, which again was perfect for us to just grab something quick. We also enjoyed a few soft serve ice cream cones too!
Palo – This was our big disappointment. We had dined at Palo on each of our previous cruises and thought we knew what we would get. We do not like the new way they are doing the fixed price vs ale carte menu, especially for the extra cost and the great quality in the regular dining rooms. For us in the past, part of the fun of Palo was the servers bring out numerous appetizers, main courses to share or try. The fixed price menu had very limited selections. Choosing from the ale carte menu drove the price up significantly. The one bright spot was our server, as she was outstanding. Again, very disappointing given our most recent experience from our 2017 Alaskan cruise.
Medical Services – A first for me, as I had a flare up of some arthritis to where I had difficulty walking so decided to visit the Dr. onboard. They were fast, efficient, friendly, and very good. After a quick exam, an IV of steroids (no Olympics for me!), some additional pill steroids, and I was on my way and feeling better. Total cost of exam and meds was $257, which I will submit to insurance. It was very quiet down there (thankfully) and I thought they were very professional, and it was nice to see them in action. Even asking a cast member on deck if they had a bag I could fill with ice to use as an ice pack, they actually found me a chemical ice pack instead. They checked in via phone the next day too to make sure I was feeling better. Great service.
Cast Members – Great as expected. Everyone was so nice and helpful, no matter where you were. We enjoyed talking to the ladies at the DVC desk and getting our free swag (we are DVC members), all the hostesses and hosts around the pool deck, pool bars, restaurants, meal venues, were fantastic. We had a great experience with Guest Services when my wife lost her phone on Castaway Cay but received a call from GS after dinner that it had been found (she reported it lost as soon as we reboarded from CC). Our room steward was like Flash, we barely saw him but our room was always spotless. Our dining team was great as well, always efficient and bringing us additional servings when requested or sometimes even just mentioning we might want to try something different.
Itinerary – This was our first time doing a cruise of less that 7 nights. It was a great way to get back into cruising during pandemic times. Our expectation going into this cruise was to get off briefly in Nassau and to spend the whole day on CC, and that’s what we did. We do not care for Nassau and just walked the few blocks around the port and bought s few souvenirs. My buddy and I did find a nice brewery close to the port that I would highly recommend though. Castaway Cay was fantastic. We took the tram to Serenity Bay and spent the best weather day of the trip sitting on the beach reading or wading in the water. One note about SB, there is now a big sand hill where the loungers are down to the water. Nothing most people can’t handle but not a gentle slope either.
Debarkation – We chose not to put luggage out the night before and just do the self-debarkation. As soon as we heard we were cleared, we went to deck 3, walked right off with all our luggage, quickly through customs and out of the parking garage about 7:45 am. We did not want to eat before we left so we skipped breakfast.
Overall Experience – Overall, this was the great, relaxing trip we were looking forward to. We were so glad we did not cancel given the pandemic and felt very safe on the ship. People were very good about masking up where you needed to which was nice. It was nice also to cruise on a well below capacity ship, never having to wait on anything. Just wanted to share thoughts on the trip while still fresh. Let me know if you have any questions.
