Just got off Dream 4/14...a few things plus any questions...

[shelleyr25]

A few random thoughts.......

Yes, boarding sucks, lots of people sitting and standing in a terminal that is too small
The boat is beautiful!!! Similar layout to Magic/Wonder on a bigger scale
The pools on boarding day, day at sea and Nassau day were no more crowded than I have experienced on the Wonder and Magic
No problem getting a chaise by the pool or on the decks, just look hard and if there is only a towel on the chair just take it off.
Kids clubs are awesome..traveled with ages 5,7,11,12...everyone had fun
Room phones are too complicated and come with no directions
Wave phones are cool and we used ours all the time
Food was great as always
Our server Sheree was amazing..totally up to Disney standards
Don't miss the Skyline lounge down in the adult club area through Evolution,had to find but worth it.
Not thrilled with the layout of the adult pool, like the Wonder and Magic's better
Missed seeing the old Mickey clips, they kept looping a Dream video in between the movies
Ride the Aquaduck at off hours, early morning and late in the day. Also, if they close it down for something keep your eye on the line up there and jump on, it never stayed closed for more than 20 minutes. My FIL lost his hat and I am embarrassed to say was the cause of one of the closures!! LOL!

All in all, we had an awesome time...Met some awesome families on board and would book again in a heartbeat if we didnt already have 2 of the NY cruises booked!

Feel free to bombard me with questions!!!

 

[Zandy595]

Can you give us any more info on how boarding numbers were assigned? Did it have anything to do with when you did your online check-in? Or was it just based on when you arrived in the terminal?

The usual questions:
What arrival time did you get when you did online check-in?
What time did you get to the port?
What boarding number did you get?
What time did you get on the ship?
Do they have Mickey waffles in Cabanas yet?

 

[shelleyr25]

The usual questions:
What arrival time did you get when you did online check-in?we had gotten 1:30 but arrived at about 12:30
What time did you get to the port?12:30
What boarding number did you get?apparently we were supposed to get a number when we got on the check in line but with all the chaos of traveling with a group of 12 we did not get one so the CM checking us in gave us #12, at that point they were boarding #9 so it worked out nicely
What time did you get on the ship?I would say it was by 1:30 give or take 5 minutes or so
Do they have Mickey waffles in Cabanas yet? did not notice, sorry, we were in the lunch mode

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Did you happen to catch Villains Tonight? How was it?

And were there any Rapunzel sightings that you know of? (In a show or photo op?)

Thanks!

 

[disappearingme]

I have similar age children. Did they make friends in the clubs? Did you do excursions on CC or Bahamas and were they kid-friendly?

Early dinner? Late dinner? Any suggestions for the kiddos?

Did you sit at a table for 12?

Did you go the gym/spa? Any reports?

Thanks!

 

[dlberney]

I would love to know more about the kids club. We will have an 11 yr old boy with us- will he have fun? Did your kids eat in the dining room with you or in the club? Did they make friends? I worry that he won't like it and will want to hand out by the (evidently) overcrowded pool. Info on the kids club from the parent of another 11 yr old would be so helpful!

 

[shelleyr25]

Did you happen to catch Villains Tonight? How was it?

And were there any Rapunzel sightings that you know of? (In a show or photo op?)

Thanks!

No Rapunzel that I saw..Yes, saw Villians...it was okay, not the greatest show I have seen..

 

[stamot]

Thanks for the review! I have some questions:
How the kids like the oceaneer club? did they wanted to spend their time there??
how was the food? what was your favorite restaurant??

 

[shelleyr25]

I have similar age children. Did they make friends in the clubs? yes, tons!!Did you do excursions on CC or Bahamas and were they kid-friendly? stayed on the boat in Nassau and just rented floats on CC

Early dinner? Late dinner?Late Any suggestions for the kiddos?Ride the aquaduck early or late and you dont have to wait long at all

Did you sit at a table for 12? yes, just our family

Did you go the gym/spa? yes, both!!! Used the gym 2 mornings, it is very up to date, clean and nice..plenty of treadmills and eliptical machines...Spa is beautiful, had a massage and then did a triple special that they offered with a mini facial, foot massage and neck massage...it was awesome! Any reports?

Thanks!

....

 

[shelleyr25]

Thanks for the review! I have some questions:
How the kids like the oceaneer club? My nephews ages 5 and almost 7 loved the clubs did they wanted to spend their time there??not all of their time but they had no problems going in when we needed them to.
how was the food? very good, no problems at all. We are not too picky and everyone was happy!!what was your favorite restaurant??AP!!! I am a HUGE Crush fan so I was just lovin' it. We were right next to a screen and he came and talked to a few of us at the table. My nephews were just amazed!! It was our best meal by far!!

...

 

[shelleyr25]

I would love to know more about the kids club. We will have an 11 yr old boy with us- will he have fun? YES!!!!! Did your kids eat in the dining room with you or in the club? Since we were with our extended family we made them come to dinner but let them leave a bit early to go back if they wanted to Did they make friends? Yes, both my son and daughter were in the Edge and made tons of friends from all over! I worry that he won't like it and will want to hand out by the (evidently) overcrowded pool. Make sure he goes there the first night for the meet and greet..my son is not the most outgoing when it comes to making new friends but he loved the Edge and had a group of 3 or 4 boys he hung out with the whole time Info on the kids club from the parent of another 11 yr old would be so helpful!

...

 

[KevieKev05]

Did you happen to catch Villains Tonight? How was it?

And were there any Rapunzel sightings that you know of? (In a show or photo op?)

Thanks!

No Rapunzel that I saw..Yes, saw Villians...it was okay, not the greatest show I have seen..

Just wanted to let you know that Rapunzel (and Flynn Rider) can be found in "The Golden Mickeys" show.

 

[rutgers1]

I would love to know more about the kids club. We will have an 11 yr old boy with us- will he have fun? Did your kids eat in the dining room with you or in the club? Did they make friends? I worry that he won't like it and will want to hand out by the (evidently) overcrowded pool. Info on the kids club from the parent of another 11 yr old would be so helpful!

My sons are ages 9 and 11, which put them in two different kids clubs - the Oceaneers Club/Lab (ages 3-10) and the Edge (ages 11-13). We checked out both when we got on the ship, and it seemed like not only was the Oceaneers Club/Lab much bigger (as in MUCH bigger), but it also seemed to have a lot more going on. My older son had little interest in the Edge after he saw the rows of computer systems hooked into the Pirates of the Caribbean game over in the Oceaneers Lab. We asked if he could go to the Lab instead of the Edge, and they said it wouldn't be a problem. Overall, they had a great time. Some of the activities were a bit "young" for them, but they mainly gravitated to the things that interested them. The Pirates of the Caribbean video game was one of the highlights of their entire trip. They took part in at least one tournament.

I'd be curious to hear from someone whose child went to the Edge. I'd like to know if it was better than it looked.

 

[mmouse37]

Moving to the trip reports board.

MJ

 

[KarBear]

We have never been on a cruise but thinking of doing Dream next year.
Did any of your younger kids have any sea sickness?
Are the pools so croweded that you can't really swim and elbows/legs flying everywhere?
Can you ask for something that is not on the current menu but something that you had the night before?

Thanks for the help!

 

[4kittymagic]

Just off the same cruise... some thoughts....

Boarding:
We arrived at 10:20am, were greeted by a Disney employee, told what we needed to have ready and given a health questionnaire to sign and a boarding number (#11). We were then taken to the Castaway Club members line (short line).

While in the line, I noticed a podium between the two lines (CC and 1st Time Cruisers). The girl at the podium was folding Navigators and placing them on the podium with Boarding numbers. At the time we were by the podium the number was 9. As I had just been handed 11 with no rhyme or reason, I reached over and grabbed a 9. We proceeded through checkin without a hitch and I asked when boarding usually began and was told approx. 12pm. Periodically over the next hour and a half I or one of my girls would check the podium and within a half hour of grabbing the 9 there was an 8 so I grabbed that also. By boarding time (12pm) they did not put any number lower than 8 on the podium much to my relief.

Boarding began fairly promptly at 12pm and took approx. 3-5min per boarding number before another was called (i timed it). So the difference between my #11 and my #8 would have been anywhere between 9-15 minutes of additional waiting.

There was no consistency in the process and it has been brought up here in soooo many threads. We all need to contact Disney and complain in order to change it.

I for one think that CC members should get to board prior to first timers but that is definitely not the case.

Food:
Very good as usual. We had the early seating 5:45pm (a must with kids as 8pm and later is just too tough to keep them occupied as they start to get tired) Our server was Charlie and his assistant was Nevelle (from the Wonder) Charlie actually was on the Magic when we sailed in the Med in July of 2007 but we did not get a chance to meet him there. They were a great team!
Mickey Ice Cream bars are on the kids menu in the restaurant and on two occasions I saw Grape Uncrustables being taken to kids upon request.

Our dining rotation was Animators, Enchanted Gardens and Royal Palace. We had Pirate night on the second night in EG. Dress up was in Royal Palace. I saw people in shorts and beach wear every night and no one said anything.

Cabanas was a nice stop with Peel and Eat Shrimp and Crab Claws for lunch, yummy! Didn't see the Mickey waffles.

Did not visit Palo or Remy on this trip.

Kids/Pools/Activities:
I'm in agreement with the OP in that the pools were no more crowded than on the Magic. The Aqua Duck was very busy but there were times when it was basically on/off with no line, you just had to time it right (like half way through Castaway Cay day). The adult pool is nice and was never too crowded and I really like the infinity spas that overlook the side of the ship with the clear glass viewing panels in the floor, definitely a nice touch.

The Shows were great and the new Believe show is very nice. The District area on the ship is great for adults in the evening with 687, Pink, Skyline, etc. Very nice.

Cabin:
We were in a Deluxe Family Oceanview on Deck 8 (8518). The large porthole is definitely very nice and the cabin was very large. (did not miss the verandah). Spa H2O was provided (Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Lotion) as well as a hair dryer. We had the round shower/tub combo with rain shower and it was great, even for me (i'm 6' 3"). The deck was very quiet as were our neighbors and our attendant was pleasant and polite and brought us our requests without hesitation (his name was Sibit).

That's it for now. Any questions, i'll do my best.

Jeff