Just off the 5/15-5/19 Dream Sailing!!

[Mouse4Sail]

We just got off the Dream today from the 5/15-5/19 sailing...it sure was sad to be on the other end of the trip... BUT....we had a great time! I will try to provide some information below! So, first of all it was me, my DH, and DS8 and DS5 sailing. My DH and I have been on 3 previous cruises with RCCL, but this was the first Disney cruise for us, and the first cruise ever for my 2 guys. We really enjoy Disney, but we are not die-hard Disney fans. I get excited and a bit teary when I think of the boys in the Magic Kingdom, and when the Dream blows the Dream horn...yep, I do. BUT...I don't love Disney enough to become a DVC member or anything like that, you get the drift.

I will try to break this down into sections, we'll see how it goes.

The day before: We flew down the evening before just to make sure that we made it onto the ship on time. We've never done that before, not sure why, but perhaps the thought of seeing my little guys faces so sad if we missed the ship had something to do with it. Before, we only had to worry about ourselves. Our flight leaving Virginia was delayed because of storms in Orlando, so we had to wait for an extra hour before leaving. Thank goodness I had the good common sense to bring the DSi's!! We landed in Orlando an hour late, and checked into the Hyatt MCO. I cannot say enough good things about that hotel...it was nice, clean, convenient, and the boys had an awesome time watching planes take off an land. We were given instructions to leave our bags in our room the next morning and they would get them to the Dream. I thought this was awesome..DH, the skeptic, doesn't trust others to get the bags where they need to go...oh well, he was overruled.

The day of: Much to DH's dismay, we left the bags in the room and made our way to the food court at the airport. We scarfed down some Krispy Kremes (YUMMY) and went to the DCL check-in at about 9am. Very few people were ahead of us and we got to the counter in less than 5 minutes. Check-in was easy, and we were then given boarding number 6 and went to wait for our bus to the port. Around 9:40am, the bus came, we boarded and we were off!!!!!

We got to the port around 10:30am, not too many people were there...quite a few, but it wasn't awful. We had done the online check-in (highly recommend that) and went ahead and got in line for the kid's club check in (yes, you have to do this even if you did the online registration). By this time, the line was all the way through the roped off part, but had not yet made it's way past that. Thank goodness we didn't arrive even 20 minutes later, because that line was AWFUL! And yes, I know you could check them in on the ship, but we knew that we had at least an hour and 15 minutes to wait...might as well make the most of our time. We waited in the line for about 30 minutes, 15 of which was waiting for their computers to come up so they could even start the process. The kids got their Mickey bands, and we were off to sit and wait. Only, crap...there were know chairs anywhere!! By now, this place was crazy!!

We all decided to go outside and have a look at the Dream and noticed some pesky bugs that seemed to be in the process of "ahem..." mating around. We also heard an announcment for those with a verandah not to open their balcony doors until after we set sail....all because of these bugs. I really didn't pay that much mind...more on that later!

Around 11:45pm, the family of the day was announced, and about 5 minutes after that, they started calling for boarding #1. Ok, so here's my first complaint: you could not hear anything that was on the announcement by this time!! We were sitting on the floor near the entrance to the Dream, so we could see the woman and that she was holding up 1 finger...but seriously??? No flashing number on the screens that were around??? Nobody could hear, and unless you could see the 1 poor woman that had to take the boarding passes, well...good luck! Oh well, boarding #6 was called at 12:10pm!!! We were on our way.....after, of course, the photo and all that stuff....

More to come.....

 

[Mouse4Sail]

After we were announced, we made our way up to Cabana's for lunch. We were a bit surprised, pleasently so though, when a CM handed each of us a hand sanitizing wipe. We had our pick of seats in Cabana's as it was not crowded at all. The food was good, not great, typical fare for a lunch buffet on any cruise ship. We then checked out the kids clubs (the boys were excited...we had to drag them out). Incredibly impressive!!! The best thing...the handwashers!!! OMG....I would LOVE to have those in my house!!! I forgot to take a pic of them too...they were awesome! Anyway, buy this time, it was 1:30pm and we could go to our room.

The Room: We had a Deluxe Family Oceanview room. It was beautiful! I loved the linens on the bed, loved the storage space, and the padded porthole was awesome! Of course, we didn't stay in the room long...we wanted to get a spot in the sun!! I will say a couple of things about the room though...there has been some confusion about the blowdryers. Ok...if you use the blowdryer in the bathroom, yes, it sucks...However, if you plug it into the area in the main seating area right in front of the mirror, it works great! I also heard someone on here saying that you couldn't use American appliances (flat irons, etc) on the Dream. This is not the case. However, the outlets are odd looking. So much so, I thought maybe this person was right. I had a moment of panic when I thought about my appearance if my hair did not meet a flat iron at night. Let's just say there was a huge feeling of relief when I tried to fit my flat iron plug into this odd plug on the Dream...first, I didn't get electrocuted (I was a bit worried..as it is not generally recommended to stick metal things into outlets without knowing if they will work) and secondly, it worked!!!!

After the fire drill was over, we quickly hurried up to the pool deck for the Sailing Away party. We actually scored the front row!! It was tons of fun with the streamers and the countdown to the famous horn!! It was magical! Oh, and I should add....we were in port with the Carnival Sensation and the RCCL Freedom of the Seas. The Carnival Sensation looked, well, sad compared to the Dream, and the Freedom of the Seas paled in comparison as well. In fact, many of the people on those ships were looking at the Dream and taking pictures! I have to admit, the Dream is stunning both on the inside and out. I love RCCL as well, but the Dream puts all other ships to shame in terms of beauty anyway!

We had 2nd seating, so our showtime was at 6:15pm. The first show was The Golden Mickeys, kids loved it, as did we. Very impressive.

Dinner: Ok. My 2nd complaint....our waiter was not impressive, at all. I think maybe there was a bit of a language barrier, but he was certainly the worst waiter we have had on a ship ever. Now, I really don't hold this against DCL, there is always one in the bunch, and I saw lots of other great waiters, but sadly, ours was not. It was kind of a shame for the boys, as I saw lots of other waiters going out of their way to entertain the kids. Oh well. The food was good, not great (and no, I am not a foodie) but good. The portions are not huge at all, but somehow, I still felt stuffed after each meal! Our first night was in the Royal Palace, it was pretty. Our second night was our favorite...Animator's Palate!! We had a table right next to where Crush came, it was fabulous! Our 3rd and 4th nights were in the Enchanted Garden, all very pretty.

More in a moment.....

 

[Mouse4Sail]

Lovebugs...I cannot believe I forgot about this...if you read my 1st post, I mentioned how there was an announcement about this that I kind of ignored...well I quickly figured out why they were concerned about these lovebugs. There were TONS, billions, yes, at least billions, and they were everywhere! Now, it did provide comic relief for my DS8 who thought it was hysterical that these bugs were "butt to butt." However, his amusement quickly turned into disgust as they were all over EVERYTHING that was outside! We went to ride the AquaDuck when we first got to the pool deck, and they were squishing and snapping underneath our feet and inbetween our toes. My DS ended up eating one, I almost drank a handful (they like moisture), and I had one fly up my nose I have to give credit to the Dream crews, they were powerwashing like crazy, but it was a losing battle. Luckily, the next day the numbers of lovebugs had greatly diminished, and by the following day, they were gone! However, I did notice today that when our bus dropped us off at the airport...it had a windshield full of lovebugs. Gross!

Nassau: Glad we went, glad we got off the ship, don't care to ever go back there. We did the Blue Lagoon Beach day. It was tons of fun, pretty, and the kids loved it. The food was ok, nothing spectacular. The people were not too pushy about buying things/hairbraiding, etc. The water slides and things that are there to play on were a huge hit with my boys. There were also tons of hammocks around and a nice bar. The staff serving the food were a bit rude, but I can ignore that. The biggest gripe was that the boat that took us from the ship to Blue Lagoon picked us up at the Dream. The boat on the way back didn't. Yep, they drop you off so that you have to walk through town a bit and through this mall-type building. Oh well, it wasn't bad, but the kids were tired and I wasn't expecting to have to do that. At least my kids are old enough where it wasn't a big issue. Some people had passed out toddlers, I felt really bad for them. Oh, and we were docked next to the Allure of the Seas in Nassau (RCCL's newest ship). It was big and beautiful, but the Dream was still more impressive!

More in a bit!

 

[mousetravel]

Would love to see some pics!!!

 

[CT1977]

OMG thanks for you TR we are doing alot of the same things which deck were you on.

 

[Mouse4Sail]

OMG thanks for you TR we are doing alot of the same things which deck were you on.

We were on deck 9, room 9656...I loved that room...miss it!!! You will have a blast!!

 

[Mouse4Sail]

Castaway Cay: Our day started off a bit rough, but quickly got better. My DS8 and I had a 9am ressie for parasailing. We got room service around 8am and began to get ready to get off the ship. At 8:30am, we noticed that we still were not docked. Apparently, there was a medical evacuation overnight which put us behind schedule. The Port Adventures staff called me and we rescheduled parasailing for 3:30pm. So, after a bit we go wait in the hall of deck 3 to get off at Castaway. That's when the tears (from DS8) came. They had to cancel the parasailing tours all together. Apparently, it was too windy out on the open waters. My kiddo was so sad, it was awful...as it was to be part of his birthday present. However, I reminded him of all the other things we were going to do, and the tears dried up pretty quickly.

We walked to the family beach and picked up our snorkeling gear. It worked out well for my DS8, but DS5 couldn't get the hang of it. No big deal, he and I got floats and went and enjoyed the water. Was it crowded?? Yep! Was it awful? Nope...and the further down the beach you go, the less crowded it gets.

Cookies was awesome! Best BBQ ribs I have had in quite a while...oh, yeah...and awesome cookies!

After lunch we made our way over to Pelican Plunge. All 4 of us did it, all 4 of us got way too much water up our noses, and nobody wanted to do it again! To be honest, there were very few people doing the plunge, wonder if that is why?

DH and DS8 then went on a bike ride....4.5 miles around Castaway Cay...they loved it. DS5 and I stayed and played in the water. We headed back to the ship around 4pm.

 

[policycobb]

Enjoying your trip report. Would love to hear of some of the kid's club activities.

 

[gfly]

thanks for the report...the lovebugs sounds gross.

 

[marhs]

Great trip report so far, can't wait to read more!!!

 

[Mouse4Sail]

Pirates in the Caribbean Party: the kids loved it! We brought costumes from home for the boys so they were all decked out. They did not go to dinner with us that night, instead opting for the kids club. After DH and I ate, we went and got them and were ready for the pirate party. The deck was crowded, but there was still plenty of room for many pirates to have sword fights. We stood on the pool deck and could see just fine. The fireworks were shot off of the back of the starboard (right) side of the ship. I think for the best views, you would want to be on the port side, of the ship. The boys loved them, and the party. The Johnny Depp character that came out was great, and the ensuing "fight" was wonderful. Some creepy characters also danced later on to "Thriller" we were amazed!

Day at Sea: DS5 got up at 9:15am, the earliest out of all of us. He and I went to Cabanas and then went to the pool around 10am. It was already packed! I had to get a chair on deck 12 right in front of the Mickey slide, which, worked out well since that is all he wanted to do for a while. I could sit in my chair and watch him the whole time! Guess what??? I even had a mimosa while relaxing and watching him ride! It was lovely DH and DS8 came about an hour or later. Yes, the pools were packed...but it didn't bother either of my kids. I am a bit surprised the pools are not bigger than they are...but oh well. I walked through (without the kids) the Quiet Cove area, and it was packed as well. There seemed to be plenty of chairs available if you were not dead set on having a chair on the pool deck. After lunch my DS5 was done, he was spent and exhausted. So, DH took him back to the room for a quiet movie, DS8 went to the kids club with a friend he met, and I took a nap by the pool!! Oh, and I did nab 2 chocolate covered strawberries at the Quiet Cove Cafe!!

Leaving the Dream: Oh, so sad. We got up at 7:15am so that we could be at the Enchanted Garden for breakfast at 7:45am. Our bags had been picked up the night before and we wouldn't see them until we got home. We just had one carry-on that we had to deal with. Breakfast was ok, nothing special, and then out the doors we went. We thankfully got to skip the seek and find your luggage scene and got in the customs line. That line was long, but only took about 5 minutes or so. We were then put on a DCL bus and pulled away from the port after about another 5-10 minutes. The bus ride from the port to the airport was dead silent...full of tired people and sadness that our vacay had come to an end! Oh, and when we got back to the airport...the bus windshield was covered with lovebugs! Nasty!

 

[Mouse4Sail]

So here is a quick run down of some topics that I think people may want to know about:

1. The kids clubs: the first night, my DS8 hated it. He said it was boring, etc. Well, we convinced him to give it one more try with the promise he wouldn't have to go anymore if he didn't like it. He complied and loved it. He didn't want to spend a ton of time there, but select activities he enjoyed. Both kids liked the "Super Sloppy Science," "Everyone Can Cook," as well as the movie time and pirate face painting on pirate night. My DS8 also liked the video games they had there. DS5 is not quite as outgoing as his brother and did not want to go as much as DS8, but he did go some and enjoyed the time he was there. I would suggest looking at the navigator every night and figuring out what the kids may enjoy and starting there.

2. The shows: We saw "The Golden Mickeys," "Villians Tonight," and "Believe." We skipped the show the 3rd night, as it was a woman who does a puppet routine, and I didn't think the kids would enjoy that as much. I loved all the shows but my favorite was "Believe" followed by "Villians Tonight." Incredible, well done shows that rival any show in the Magic Kingdom. Very much worth seeing!!

3. Movie Theatre: Awesome addition!!! DH and DS8 went and saw "Mars Needs Moms" in 3D and the whole family saw "African Cats" instead of the show on the 3rd night. Loved the theatre and it was great to see some 1st run movies. Wish POTC 4 had started the night before we left the ship instead of the night right after we got off! Oh well!

4. Dining: First off, I am not a foodie. I'm pretty content with anything that I don't have to plan, cook, and clean up. The food was good. It wasn't great, but it was good. Cabanas is pretty typical cruise buffet fair. They did have a nice selection, but it was not anything better (or worse either) than RCCL. The restraunts were good...Animators Palate was our favorite for the entertainment factor. I've had better food on RCCL, however, the last time we sailed RCCL, the food was not as good as previously, so I would say RCCL and Disney are about the same. As I stated previously, our waiter was not great, but I saw a ton that were.


5. Ambience: BEAUTIFUL!! STUNNING!! GORGEOUS!! The Dream out did every ship she was docked next to, even RCCL's newest: Allure of the Seas. She truly made Carnivals Sensation look awful! We loved the interactive pictures!!! Everything on the ship was gorgeous and well planned!!

6. The bed: Wow! I loved that bed....almost as much as my own bed. Actually, I loved the bedding on the bed in our stateroom more than my own bedding...wish I knew where they got it from! DS8 slept on the couch that converted into a bed and DS5 slept in the Murphey bed that pulled down right next to the porthole. With the light blocking curtains, our room was plenty dark when we were sleeping (even when we didn't get up until after 9am).

7. Detective Agency- Do this!!! The boys loved it, and it was imaginative and fun. You can get the initial badge and cards on Deck 5 near the kids club areas. Even better, it's free!

8. The drinks: and I'm not talking about the soda (though it was great that it was included!! Take a hint RCCL!) Anyway, the drinks were fabulous and not pricey at all! Sulksan at the Bon Voyage bar is great, go see him. Ask for the apple mojito...he made his first one as a test and I was the guinea pig. It was unbelieveable. I think the mojito prices were about $7.50. Considering here at our local Cheesecake factory they are $10, I was happy! I had a great mimosa for $3.75 as well!

 

[Mouse4Sail]

Oh yeah...another wonderful, really cool thing...the kid's club handwashing machines!!! Yes, I was (and still am) impressed. I forgot to get a pic. You may think I'm odd being excited over something like that, but if you have see them, you know why, and if you haven't sailed the Dream yet....check them out...you'll be impressed too!

One other thing...I was impressed that before every meal (at Cabana's and the other dining rooms) there was always someone handing out hand sanitizing wipes....very clean!!

 

[Toria]

Oh yeah...another wonderful, really cool thing...the kid's club handwashing machines!!! Yes, I was (and still am) impressed. I forgot to get a pic. You may think I'm odd being excited over something like that, but if you have see them, you know why, and if you haven't sailed the Dream yet....check them out...you'll be impressed too!

One other thing...I was impressed that before every meal (at Cabana's and the other dining rooms) there was always someone handing out hand sanitizing wipes....very clean!!

Great TR! Can't wait to see that ship in person.

 

[strega7]

I enjoyed your TR. Thank you for taking the time to write it. I was wondering what time your plane left to fly home, and what time you arrived at the airport after the cruise. We are planning to take the ME, but wanted to see if I could book the 11:15 flight home.

Marci

 

[In Luv with Disney]

We were on deck 9, room 9656...I loved that room...miss it!!! You will have a blast!!

I'm in cabin 9658 on my Dream cruise...right next door! What did you like about the cabin?

 

[shelbecat]

Great TR - we sail in 3 months and already your description makes the cruise seem way too short! Oh well, just have to book again on board!

 

[OurDogCisco]

Great trip report! Curious if you had assigned boarding time. I did online check-in and my boarding time is 12:30 pm but I want to get there early to each lunch and check out the pools. So, I was planning on arriving around 10 am. Wondering if you had a pre-set boarding time?