mickeysgirl17
Wish I was at Disney
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2006
- Messages
- 5,687
Just got back yesterday from our first cruise with DD12 and DS6. It was a 4 night cruise on the Dream with stops at Nassau and Castaway Cay. Overall, everything was excellent and we had a memorable and relaxing vacation.
Our room: We were literally all the way forward at the very front of the ship. Our room number was 6004. Unlike most cabins, our porthole was on a wall that was tilted. It made it difficult to look out the window without knealing down. In addition, being at the very front of the ship was a little bothersome because it was a long way to a lot of the activities and we also felt the rocking quite a bit. Especially on the first night. I likely would not chose this room again and would probably try to stay in a room closer to the middle. The stateroom attendant was great though and she did an excellent job making sure our room was always clean and well stocked. We would go and come back n forth to our room a few times a day to change clothes and it was always in order.
Food: I definitely gained a few pounds! We were never hungry. Every morning, we had breakfast in Cabanas. Cabanas was fantastic. Huge buffet with so many options for breakfast and lunch. Lots of seating. Excellent quality and crew members were always walking around asking if we needed anything taking plates off our table, and constantly bringing more silverware and clean napkins to our table. Nice outdoor seating as well and pretty views. On deck 11 near the pool area, we found pizza, burgers, and sandwiches available for free if you got hungry. Also had unlimited ice cream and soft drinks. We loved that milk, coffee and juice was available too. My DS must have milk every night before bed so this was great! As far as the sit down dinners go, the restaurants were beautiful, and our server and assistant server were more like family! My kids had many conversations with them and they followed us every night no matter which restaurant we were in. Animators palate was probably my favorite restaurant as far as the setting itself. Royal palace didn't have the best food. On the plus side, you could order as many entrees or desserts as you wanted if you had trouble deciding. We ordered room service once and it was good. Pizza wasn't so great, but they do have mickey bars (not listed on the menu) if you ask. Took about 30 min to arrive and its free (but you are supposed to tip cash).
Entertainment: The live shows were great. Our favorite was the Golden Mickeys. This is not to be missed. Villans tonight was our least favorite but it wasn't terrible. Pirate night was great. After the fireworks, my kids and I danced on deck for quite a while and found it to be tons of fun!! I think that was my favorite thing out of the whole trip. On our 2nd day, after Golden Mickeys, we were able to go to a show in D Lounge which was a latin dance party with Donald Duck. We did the conga line, the limbo and learned how to dance the salsa and merengue. Great way to burn off some calories! Best part is that there were maybe 40 people in the whole place and only about 25 were on the dance floor with Donald so it wasn't super crowded. For those of you interested in characters, there were many but we really didn't encounter any "rare" ones. If you want to meet Captain Jack on pirate night, get there early. We waited 40 of our precious vacation minutes to see him. Also, if you have little girls who want to meet the princesses or Ana and Elsa, you need special tickets which you can pick up on your first day. The lines were smooth and quick and there were maybe 4 or 5 families total in line when we met Frozen characters. Disney did a great job with this. It was super easy to know what was going on with our navigators which was a little phamplet of all the activities for each day of your cruise that would be delivered to your stateroom every night.
Ports: We did not get off the ship in Nassau but we did in Castaway Cay. I found Castaway Cay a little difficult to find your way around even with a map but overall, a very beautiful island. The family beach was extremely crowded and loud. We spent the morning in the family beach so the kids could enjoy the water, and then after a BBQ lunch in a nice covered seating area, I put the kids at the kids club (away from the water) and took the tram to the adult beach, Serenity Bay. If you can imagine paradise, this was it. The water was crystal clear, calm, and the entire beach was very quiet and peaceful. I took a beach chair and sat in the ocean and it was heaven on earth. Wish I could of spent more time here. My only complaint about Castaway Cay is that there isn't enough time there. There is a lot to do and not enough time. Between excursions, relaxing on the family beach, time on the adult beach, shopping, and lunch, you really feel rushed and we got off the ship at 8:30 and back on at 4pm. Trams were great. Never waited more than 5 min, and we had some fantastic views of the ship from the beach. Again, crew members did a great job getting everyone off and back on the ship and they do a wonderful job keeping Castaway Cay beautiful and clean.
Weather: I was really worried that the weather was going to be too cold as it was still only about 65 degrees in Jacksonville where I live. Luckily, during the day in the sun, it was hot enough to go into the pools or the beach at Castaway Cay. The shade was a bit chilly especially when there was a breeze. But not bad. At night, you needed a sweater out on deck especially when we were at sea and the wind was strong. Also, bring a light sweater for dinner. We quickly found out on our first night that the dining rooms were chilly 10 min into our meal. Most days, there wasn't a cloud in the sky! It was beautiful.
Embarkation, Debarkation and getting to port: We drove ourselves and getting to Port Canaveral was fairly easy. There are many signs to help you. I used GPS but probably could of found my way without it. For our cruise, it was $75 to park for the 4 nights. Disney made Embarkation and Debarkation easy. The toughest part was carrying all our luggage from the terminal to our car when we got off the ship. I'm a single mom with 2 kids and my kids and I did struggle with our bags. Especially since we bought some souvenirs. Unlike arriving to port where the porters take your bags from your car, you have to carry everything back to the car yourself when you get off.
Kids clubs: My DS loved the kids clubs. He begged me to stay many times when we had to go to dinner or a show so I tried to put him in there as much as possible. I loved the activities, and how the characters would go there to play with the kids. Counselors were great and security was good. I was never worried about leaving my kid and they would call you if they needed to reach you. My DD12 was hesitant about the tween club at first because there weren't many kids in it and it is a much smaller space then the kids clubs for the little kids. After our 2nd day, she loved it and spent more time there. By our last day, she didn't want to leave. The older kids can come and go as they please into their club. At one point, my daughter left the tween club and I couldn't find her so make sure you are clear with your kids as to what you want them to do or you may be spending some of your time trying to track them down on this huge ship!
Service: Service was fantastic. Crew members were on top of everything. I had no complaints. Everyone from kids club counselors to dining servers to Castaway Cay crew were knowledgeable and helpful and you can really see the Disney difference. They went above and beyond to make sure our stay was memorable.
If anyone has any questions, ask away!!
Our room: We were literally all the way forward at the very front of the ship. Our room number was 6004. Unlike most cabins, our porthole was on a wall that was tilted. It made it difficult to look out the window without knealing down. In addition, being at the very front of the ship was a little bothersome because it was a long way to a lot of the activities and we also felt the rocking quite a bit. Especially on the first night. I likely would not chose this room again and would probably try to stay in a room closer to the middle. The stateroom attendant was great though and she did an excellent job making sure our room was always clean and well stocked. We would go and come back n forth to our room a few times a day to change clothes and it was always in order.
Food: I definitely gained a few pounds! We were never hungry. Every morning, we had breakfast in Cabanas. Cabanas was fantastic. Huge buffet with so many options for breakfast and lunch. Lots of seating. Excellent quality and crew members were always walking around asking if we needed anything taking plates off our table, and constantly bringing more silverware and clean napkins to our table. Nice outdoor seating as well and pretty views. On deck 11 near the pool area, we found pizza, burgers, and sandwiches available for free if you got hungry. Also had unlimited ice cream and soft drinks. We loved that milk, coffee and juice was available too. My DS must have milk every night before bed so this was great! As far as the sit down dinners go, the restaurants were beautiful, and our server and assistant server were more like family! My kids had many conversations with them and they followed us every night no matter which restaurant we were in. Animators palate was probably my favorite restaurant as far as the setting itself. Royal palace didn't have the best food. On the plus side, you could order as many entrees or desserts as you wanted if you had trouble deciding. We ordered room service once and it was good. Pizza wasn't so great, but they do have mickey bars (not listed on the menu) if you ask. Took about 30 min to arrive and its free (but you are supposed to tip cash).
Entertainment: The live shows were great. Our favorite was the Golden Mickeys. This is not to be missed. Villans tonight was our least favorite but it wasn't terrible. Pirate night was great. After the fireworks, my kids and I danced on deck for quite a while and found it to be tons of fun!! I think that was my favorite thing out of the whole trip. On our 2nd day, after Golden Mickeys, we were able to go to a show in D Lounge which was a latin dance party with Donald Duck. We did the conga line, the limbo and learned how to dance the salsa and merengue. Great way to burn off some calories! Best part is that there were maybe 40 people in the whole place and only about 25 were on the dance floor with Donald so it wasn't super crowded. For those of you interested in characters, there were many but we really didn't encounter any "rare" ones. If you want to meet Captain Jack on pirate night, get there early. We waited 40 of our precious vacation minutes to see him. Also, if you have little girls who want to meet the princesses or Ana and Elsa, you need special tickets which you can pick up on your first day. The lines were smooth and quick and there were maybe 4 or 5 families total in line when we met Frozen characters. Disney did a great job with this. It was super easy to know what was going on with our navigators which was a little phamplet of all the activities for each day of your cruise that would be delivered to your stateroom every night.
Ports: We did not get off the ship in Nassau but we did in Castaway Cay. I found Castaway Cay a little difficult to find your way around even with a map but overall, a very beautiful island. The family beach was extremely crowded and loud. We spent the morning in the family beach so the kids could enjoy the water, and then after a BBQ lunch in a nice covered seating area, I put the kids at the kids club (away from the water) and took the tram to the adult beach, Serenity Bay. If you can imagine paradise, this was it. The water was crystal clear, calm, and the entire beach was very quiet and peaceful. I took a beach chair and sat in the ocean and it was heaven on earth. Wish I could of spent more time here. My only complaint about Castaway Cay is that there isn't enough time there. There is a lot to do and not enough time. Between excursions, relaxing on the family beach, time on the adult beach, shopping, and lunch, you really feel rushed and we got off the ship at 8:30 and back on at 4pm. Trams were great. Never waited more than 5 min, and we had some fantastic views of the ship from the beach. Again, crew members did a great job getting everyone off and back on the ship and they do a wonderful job keeping Castaway Cay beautiful and clean.
Weather: I was really worried that the weather was going to be too cold as it was still only about 65 degrees in Jacksonville where I live. Luckily, during the day in the sun, it was hot enough to go into the pools or the beach at Castaway Cay. The shade was a bit chilly especially when there was a breeze. But not bad. At night, you needed a sweater out on deck especially when we were at sea and the wind was strong. Also, bring a light sweater for dinner. We quickly found out on our first night that the dining rooms were chilly 10 min into our meal. Most days, there wasn't a cloud in the sky! It was beautiful.
Embarkation, Debarkation and getting to port: We drove ourselves and getting to Port Canaveral was fairly easy. There are many signs to help you. I used GPS but probably could of found my way without it. For our cruise, it was $75 to park for the 4 nights. Disney made Embarkation and Debarkation easy. The toughest part was carrying all our luggage from the terminal to our car when we got off the ship. I'm a single mom with 2 kids and my kids and I did struggle with our bags. Especially since we bought some souvenirs. Unlike arriving to port where the porters take your bags from your car, you have to carry everything back to the car yourself when you get off.
Kids clubs: My DS loved the kids clubs. He begged me to stay many times when we had to go to dinner or a show so I tried to put him in there as much as possible. I loved the activities, and how the characters would go there to play with the kids. Counselors were great and security was good. I was never worried about leaving my kid and they would call you if they needed to reach you. My DD12 was hesitant about the tween club at first because there weren't many kids in it and it is a much smaller space then the kids clubs for the little kids. After our 2nd day, she loved it and spent more time there. By our last day, she didn't want to leave. The older kids can come and go as they please into their club. At one point, my daughter left the tween club and I couldn't find her so make sure you are clear with your kids as to what you want them to do or you may be spending some of your time trying to track them down on this huge ship!
Service: Service was fantastic. Crew members were on top of everything. I had no complaints. Everyone from kids club counselors to dining servers to Castaway Cay crew were knowledgeable and helpful and you can really see the Disney difference. They went above and beyond to make sure our stay was memorable.
If anyone has any questions, ask away!!
