Our "Dreamy" anniversary cruise....with pics 5/30/13-6/02/13 UPDATED W/ALL NAVIGATORS

[tweis]

Your last two posts are awesome recaps! So informative for first time cruisers.

I have been sorta regretting that we are planning to park @ the port bc of the price for four days is expensive. But after reading about your express check out (don't think it's called that!) & being able to go straight to your car- not having to wait for a shuttle, or DCL transportation to take us back to WDW or stand in the rental car line the cost is now sounding totally worth it to me. Thanks for all your tips!!

I think I am most excited about Palo after your review.

I'm so glad my report and recap have been helpful to you. I am seriously not wanting to pay $120 for parking next year on our 7 night but it is so convenient. There are some hotels in the area that offer 40% off the price of parking at the port so we may look at those because I would much rather pay $72 versus the $120. But even if we have to pay full price, the convenience factor makes it totally worth it.

Palo was amazing and I can't wait to try it again. DH is still talking about the Tuscan White Bean Soup. It was wonderful. Don't be afraid to get different things. I was worried about that going in because I wanted to try a couple of different things, but our server made it so easy for us. She suggested that we get an additional appetizer to share and that we have a small pasta course and she of course brought out the additional dessert items without us asking for them. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Have a great cruise

 

[tweis]

Final Thoughts

We loved our 3 night cruise and would love to take another but with DCL changing the day of the week that the 3 nights leave in late 2014, I don't know if it will be possible. I think Disney is great for everyone and not just families with children. This was such a relaxing trip and we never felt rushed at all. I would love to do a 4 night with DH just so we could buy a pass for the rainforest room. In the past, I have not been a fan of sea days but I think that would be a lovely way to spend the day. We didn't feel like we would have been able to take advantage of the rainforest room on our 3 day so we decided to wait til next time to give it a try.

I don't think there is anything that I would change about our cruise except that we would start taking Bonine the day before we sail. We absolutely loved riding bikes on Castaway Cay even though we got hot. It was fun to be carefree and act like kids again when so often we are stressed from everyday life. I did miss my children but a week away was wonderful. We are thinking that a vacation without the kids may be something that we start doing every year. Of course we will still take our kids on vacation but every couple needs some time for just the two of you.

Happy cruising

I can't figure out how to post my navigators here so I emailed them to the webmaster to be published and when/if they are, I will post a link here. I have scanned them and they are in PDF form but I don't know how to post them. All suggestions are welcome.

 

[ALMinVA]

LOVE LOVE LOVE your finished report...and the PALO review is making me hungry right now - how am i to get through the next 10 months????
Thank you for all the info on Palo - Cant wait until our cruise next year.
YUM!!! Those pictures..and you are spot on - I completely agree with your assessment on taking a 3 day without the kiddos and the longer cruises with them

 

[tweis]

LOVE LOVE LOVE your finished report...and the PALO review is making me hungry right now - how am i to get through the next 10 months????
Thank you for all the info on Palo - Cant wait until our cruise next year.
YUM!!! Those pictures..and you are spot on - I completely agree with your assessment on taking a 3 day without the kiddos and the longer cruises with them

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I was really hoping to be able to post my navigators but I'm having trouble with that and the admins on the forum have not posted them yet.

I don't know how I'm going to make it 10 months without having Palo again!! It was a great meal and I can't wait to try brunch also.

 

[mnra]

would love to see your navigators to help us plan thanks

 

[tweis]

would love to see your navigators to help us plan thanks

I have scanned them and they are in PDF format but I can't seem to post them here for whatever reason. I have submitted them to the webmaster to be published on the boards and I will post a link as soon as they have been.

 

[tweis]

UPDATE

I have heard from the webmaster and he has received my navigators and will be posting them shortly. I will post a link as soon as they are posted.

 

[Jenntx]

UPDATE

I have heard from the webmaster and he has received my navigators and will be posting them shortly. I will post a link as soon as they are posted.

Awesome thanks!

 

[Pegasus928]

I have just sat and read through your entire report and enjoyed every second of it. I chose yours as a start point as we are planning an anniversary trip on the Dream in a couple of years time (never too early to plan right?), and I got some really good tips and advice so many thanks for that.
I admit there were a few of the acronyms that I didn't know but I am sure I will get used to them. I also have a few questions if thats OK?
You mentioned a particular motion sickness tablet. Do you know if this causes drowsiness. Both my wife and I suffer from motion sickness so would have to take something, we just don't want to spend our time sleeping as a trade off.
With regards to the rotation and PAT - what are these and how do they work please (or is that too much of a big question)
Thanks for the report - it will help us immensly

 

[tweis]

I have just sat and read through your entire report and enjoyed every second of it. I chose yours as a start point as we are planning an anniversary trip on the Dream in a couple of years time (never too early to plan right?), and I got some really good tips and advice so many thanks for that.
I admit there were a few of the acronyms that I didn't know but I am sure I will get used to them. I also have a few questions if thats OK?
You mentioned a particular motion sickness tablet. Do you know if this causes drowsiness. Both my wife and I suffer from motion sickness so would have to take something, we just don't want to spend our time sleeping as a trade off.
With regards to the rotation and PAT - what are these and how do they work please (or is that too much of a big question)
Thanks for the report - it will help us immensly

Thanks for reading!! I'm so glad I could help.

Ask anything you want and I will try my best to answer.

We took Bonine motion sickness pills with us and they did not make us drowsy. We didn't want to spend our cruise sleeping either and they did not make either of us drowsy even with alcohol.

When you check in at the port, you will receive your key to the world card (KTTW) and it will have your dining rotation on it. DCL has three main dining rooms (MDR) and you rotate through them. On the Dream there is Animator's Palate (AP), Enchanted Garden (EG) and Royal Palace (RP). We knew that we wanted to eat in one of the adults only upcharge restaurants so we requested a specific dining rotation because we chose to skip EG to eat in Palo. If you book through a travel agent (TA) you can have them request a specific rotation for you or call DCL if you booked direct. We did not request a specific rotation on our first cruise because we did not dine in Palo.

If you are a first time cruiser you will do your online checkin at 75 days out. At that time, you will select your PAT (port arrival time) and your excursions, adult dining, spa, nursery, etc. The earlier PAT that you have, the earlier you board the ship.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Pegasus928]

Wow. Thank you so much. You explained that all really well - even taking the time to sort out the acronyms too
I have heard about Palo in the past so think we would enjoy dining there, and now I know we need to request it I will put it in my 'to-do' list.
We also like the look of mixology so that's on there too

 

[tweis]

Wow. Thank you so much. You explained that all really well - even taking the time to sort out the acronyms too
I have heard about Palo in the past so think we would enjoy dining there, and now I know we need to request it I will put it in my 'to-do' list.
We also like the look of mixology so that's on there too

Your very welcome.

It would make it easier if DCL gave you your dining rotation ahead of time so that you could plan accordingly but unfortunately they do not. If you don't have a preference on which MDR you miss, then it isn't necessary to request a rotation. You can book Palo when you do your online checkin at 75 days out. There is a screen specifically for adult dining and you can choose your reservation time. We had a blast at mixology but I recommend going straight to guest services because I have heard of it selling out on other cruises.

I hope you all have a wonderful cruise and if you have any other questions between now and then, feel free to ask.

 

[randomiam79]

Really enjoyed your trip report my husband and I just booked the 3night cruise on the dream for our 10 year anniversary. We're leaving our 3 kids at home 5,7, and 8month old. We always cruise disney with them, and this time I know will be so different. We leave Oct. 3!!!

 

[tweis]

Really enjoyed your trip report my husband and I just booked the 3night cruise on the dream for our 10 year anniversary. We're leaving our 3 kids at home 5,7, and 8month old. We always cruise disney with them, and this time I know will be so different. We leave Oct. 3!!!

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Happy Anniversary! I'm sure you will have a wonderful time. Yes, it was so different for us also. We loved both cruises but they are so different and there were so many things that we did not get to experience on our first cruise but were able to enjoy on our second. Have a great cruise.

 

[arone]

Thank you for your report it was very well explained and I learned so much. Im sailing for the first time in May 2014 and your report helped me understand a lot.

 

[tweis]

Thank you for your report it was very well explained and I learned so much. Im sailing for the first time in May 2014 and your report helped me understand a lot.

Thanks for reading. I'm so glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful. If you have any questions, just let me know. Enjoy your cruise.

 

[disneydreamingmom]

Thanks so much for your time in sharing your trip with us! DH and I will be cruising for the first time without our daughter next month and looing forward to relaxing and exploring some of the adult areas of the ship. While we've always vacationed as a family, there's usually little time for enjoying the relaxing while keeping our daughter busy. lol Your tips are terrific! I appreciate them tremendously!
Just a note, DH also gets extreme motion sickness and on our first cruise took some of the medicine offered on the ship. While it did help the sickness, it made him very drowsy which was no fun. Before the next cruise someone told him about the seabands and he thought he'd give them a try and could always use the medicine if they didn't work. Surprisingly the seabands worked like a charm! He keeps them on the entire time he's on the ship and no sickness! Hopefully, they continue to work next month!
Thanks again!

 

[tweis]

Thanks so much for your time in sharing your trip with us! DH and I will be cruising for the first time without our daughter next month and looing forward to relaxing and exploring some of the adult areas of the ship. While we've always vacationed as a family, there's usually little time for enjoying the relaxing while keeping our daughter busy. lol Your tips are terrific! I appreciate them tremendously!
Just a note, DH also gets extreme motion sickness and on our first cruise took some of the medicine offered on the ship. While it did help the sickness, it made him very drowsy which was no fun. Before the next cruise someone told him about the seabands and he thought he'd give them a try and could always use the medicine if they didn't work. Surprisingly the seabands worked like a charm! He keeps them on the entire time he's on the ship and no sickness! Hopefully, they continue to work next month!
Thanks again!

Thanks for reading. I'm so glad you found it helpful I hope you and your DH have a wonderful cruise. My DH and I had no time to even think about exploring the adult area of the ship last year because our 2 DSs kept us so busy. I'm hoping that next year on the Fantasy, since it is 7 days, that we can find a happy medium and be able to have a wonderful family trip but also be able to spend atleast a short amount of time in some of the adult areas.

Thanks for the tip on seabands, we may have to get some of those before our next cruise.

 

[fambamaussie]

Thanks for joining in

Nice to read your dream story. Going on our first ever cruise with disney dream. Thanks for the tips. Fambamaussie

 

[tweis]

Nice to read your dream story. Going on our first ever cruise with disney dream. Thanks for the tips. Fambamaussie

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you have a wonderful first cruise.