Our Very Dream-y Vacation, Double Dippin' June 24-29, 2012

[lisareneepolk]

Hello...we are the Polk Family. My name is Lisa, my DH is Andy and we have a DD Shelby (14) and a DS Thomas (10). We will be on the Disney Dream departing Port Canaveral Sunday, June 24th - going to Nassau with (2) stops at Castaway Cay. We are leaving on Friday (in 2 days), and will be driving from Texas. I wanted to go ahead and start my trip report and will try to update as much as possible.

This is our first cruise EVER and we are so thrilled it will be on the Disney Dream. We have been planning and saving for this trip for about 2 years now.

 

[Brynnie]

I hope you have a wonderful trip! DH and I don't have any kids and we LOVE the Dream!!!

 

[lisareneepolk]

We left home on Friday, June 22nd around 6:45 that morning. We stopped in Tallahassee for the night. The next morning we had a few hours left and arrived at Cape Canavarel early afternoon. I was not too impressed with Cocoa Beach - the pier and restaurants are nothing like they appear to be on the internet…very run down and highly overpriced/not so good food.

We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites right next to the Port and I highly recommend this to everyone driving in. Very clean hotel, free breakfast and you can park your car there the entire time you are gone - also included was their shuttle service to and from the Port.

Embarkation - was a breeze! Our shuttle left the hotel at 10 a.m. and we arrive at the Port shortly thereafter. You immediately go up and wait on a balcony to get into the Disney Terminal. There are cast members who check all ID, passports, etc. and then send you to a waiting area. By this time it was 10:30 or so….soon after we saw Disney cast members and we were able to proceed through security to get inside the Disney terminal. **Even though it is not mandatory to have a passport, it is recommended and in my opinion made getting through customs before and after much easier. Once inside the terminal there was virtually no line to get our photos taken and pick up our Key to the World cards. This is Disney’s card you are given…each member of your family gets one…it is your key to your stateroom, you card to make any purchases on board (they use a cashless system), it has your dining rotation, your table number and your assembly station letter (in case of emergency) on it.

Captain Mickey showed up for photos, we looked around the terminal and enjoyed the mock display that was there - pretty impressive. By 11:30 they began the boarding process. We were in boarding group #6 and felt very fortunate. We would be boarding soon! Sure enough, we were on the ship by 12:00! They literally announce each and every family once you reach the main atrium…it made my heart swell to hear “Disney Dream, please welcome the Polk Family!!” followed by many cast members clapping and cheering.

We were then greeted by a cast member who told us we were welcome to have lunch on deck 11 at Cabanas, tour the ship, swim and ride the AquaDuck and that our stateroom would be ready at 1:30. He also gave us a Navigator with a schedule of the afternoon and evening events. You get a Navigator every evening on your bed (along with an awesome towel animal) that has the next day’s schedule as well as dress for dinner.

We had a fabulous lunch at Cabanas - pretty much anything you could think of to eat including shrimp and crab legs. Also on this deck are the pools, the self serve ice cream and soda fountains as well as 2 quick service places to get food such as burgers and pizza around the clock.

After lunch we went and toured the kids’ clubs and got them registered. Vibe, the teen club was VERY cool - including even their own pool and lounge area. Shelby however did not spend any time here so I can not give you any information. I was not too impressed with the Edge, but it was some place Thomas could go and hang out when Andy and I had adult-only time and we didn’t have to worry about him. He seemed to enjoy his time there - and usually wanted to go without me asking him to. In fact, he wanted to stay there on Nassau day rather than go with us.

We happened upon deck 5 shortly after 1:00 and saw that many were already accessing their rooms so we tried our key and sure enough we were able to see our room. We were so excited…I am really glad that I paid extra to have a room with a veranda - even though I was terrified and did not hardly step out there at all, it was still nice to see the sun shining through each morning and to watch as we were coming into Nassau or Castaway Cay.

The shows are absolutely AMAZING! Broadway style Disney shows. I LOVED the Golden Mickey’s and really enjoyed Believe. Villan’s tonight was my least favorite (and Shelby’s), however Thomas really liked that one. Everyone who has late dining (which we did) goes to the first show and those with early dining go to the late show.

I must tell you we were a little concerned to find out that our cruise was totally sold out - meaning we would be sharing with about 4,000 others. However, it NEVER felt like it. We never waited too long for photos with characters, there was always seats available at the shows, our waiters still gave us great service each and every night and the list goes on. So, do not worry if you will be on a full ship - there is plenty of room for everyone!!!

The “Cast Members” - which is what Disney calls their employees. Disney employs from 60 different countries all over the world - they all have an accent related to their country, but speak and understand English very well! You will meet the nicest, most interesting people who work for Disney. It is absolutely amazing how everyone is so nice and so happy ALL of the time. They greet you where ever you go, they constantly ask if you are enjoying yourself and if there is anything they can do for you. They work VERY hard all around the clock and the ship is absolutely clean and beautiful 24 hours a day! They are neat and well groomed…even the guys who spend the entire day on the pool deck with a squeegee cleaning up water have the cleanest, whitest, pressed uniforms I have ever seen.

Cleanliness of the ship: The restrooms on board are not only fancy and beautiful, but also so clean you could eat off of the floor. There is someone in there all day manning the restrooms…when you come out of a stall they literally go in behind you and clean the toilet! Before you even enter any of the restaurants or eating areas, there are cast members there handing everyone disinfectant wipes to clean your hands. EVERY time the ship stops at Port or Castaway Cay, there are crews who are hanging off the side cleaning windows and literally scrubbing the outside of the ship! I was so so impressed with the entire crew and the work ethic these people have!

Pool area: my kids really weren't that interested in swimming, although I did notice the pools were very crowded at times (really the ONLY time I noticed a crowd the entire cruise). They did love the Aquaduck...and be sure to ride it at NIGHT! It is really fun and virtually no lines!

The 3 main dining rooms - absolutely beautiful! Animators Pallet was our most favorite - it is animated with the Nemo characters and is absolutely amazing - I do not know how else to describe it, other than to say the obvious - Disney Imagineers are incredible and can do ANYTHING! We were all a little disappointed with the food in the 3 main dining rooms….although somewhat “fancy” it was mostly bland. That is the only complaint you will hear from any of us about the entire trip. That leads me to…….

PALO!!! O M G - you must do a brunch and dinner at this amazing adults-only restaurant! It costs $20 extra per person, but you get a meal worth probably several hundred dollars. I think the brunch was my favorite - but dinner is also not to be missed. Try to get a reservation for both as soon as you can!!!

Other adults activities: I must say the part of the ship I was the least impressed with is the adults only pool area. It just seemed “drab” and not warm and inviting. Andy spent a few hours there, but I never did. I think this has been a complaint from others also, because I have read that they completely redesigned the area for adults on the new Fantasy ship. Andy and I did the Mixology class - this was a blast! It was $15 each and we thought we were going to learn how to mix drinks - which we did - but as it turns out, we were able to drink 3 full cocktails!!! It started off with a B52 and ended with a long island ice tea (probably worth $100 in alcohol). Fun! We also did the tequila/margarita tasting class. I LOVED this one and learned so much too. Again, $15 and we had 3 shots of high dollar tequilas as well as 2 full margaritas! It was fun to be around other adults.

The spa: O M G!!!! Shelby went one day to the “Chill Spa” area for teens only and enjoyed a treatment that included full body exfoliation, a chocolate wrap and then a massage. She said she loved it - it did cost $141. BUT let me tell you what you can get for only $25!!! Something I read on DisBoards and I was very excited to try - they have this area at the Spa, called the rainforest room. You can purchase day or week passes. I purchased a day pass for $16 and then added a custom made scrub for $9. This area is AWESOME! You have 4 different saunas to choose from - all different levels of moisture and heat. As soon as you go in you get a robe and slippers from the dressing room….I left on my bathing suit as it is a co-ed area. Anyway, I sat in one of the saunas for a few minutes, then went to the “showers” area - these are amazing showers that you can choose from - I used my scrub in one of the showers. Then there is a hot tub looking out over the ocean and also heated marble loungers you can lay on. I am telling you - it was basically a “DIY” spa experience, but I was in HEAVEN…and it was only $25!!! After I was finished I went back to the dressing room and used one of the showers there which has complimentary shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors, and moisturizer (all actual spa products). I am telling you, you MUST do this!

Other costs once on board: I have read that it is possible to cruise and not spend a single cent the entire time (other that tips for your stateroom host, head, main and assistant servers - which Disney automatically charges you for at the end; for a 5-night cruise it is $60 per person). I budgeted for $600 and we ended up spending double that. Here is what we spent extra:

Tips $240, Laundry $16 ($2 each wash and dry - of which each deck has a laundry area…ours was right around the corner from our room!), Snacks and Special “drinks” for shows/movies $40.13, Arcade (for Thomas) $20, Adult Activities (mixology and tequilla tasting) $60, Adult dining (Palo) $80, Smoothies, Specialty coffees, adult beverages $106.09, Spa $166, Souvenirs $43.05, Castaway Cay $340 (boys’ fishing trip, snorkel gear, floats), photos from Shutters on board photographer $25.90 (that got us only 2 photos)

Our servers and stateroom host: AWESOME! They already knew us by name when we got on the ship….each night at dinner we were truly catered to, starting with them placing our napkins in our laps AND each and every family got the same treatment! **Side-note - I was very disappointed in the absolute disregard for Disney‘s dress code at dinner. We were excited to get to dress up each night (did I mention how fancy and BEAUTIFUL these dining rooms are??) and it took away from our experience to see others wearing shorts and flip flops (especially when you are told and told again BEFORE the cruise what the dress code for dinner will be)! I was proud of my family though - we looked great every evening and believe me, the cast and crew noticed us as well!

Stateroom: We LOVED where our room was. We were Deck 5 aft, next to the elevators. The laundry room was down the hall from us, and we could easily get to several places just by going up or down the elevator. The beds are the most comfortable I have EVER slept in…and the spa products they give you (shampoo, conditioner, body butter) are AWESOME! Shelby asked our stateroom host for extra one day and he brought us enough to take home!!!! I am so glad Shelby and I spent the time making magnets for our door. There were only a few others we saw who did the same, but is was so cute and we got lots of compliments - also made finding our room a breeze!

Castaway Cay: Gorgeous! Paradise for sure! Tip: be the first off of the ship @ 8:30. We did this both days and by noon we were getting back on the ship as most others were just getting off. We had a virtually empty beach, less damaging sun, and then a virtually empty ship when we got back on. I really enjoyed the food they served on Castaway Cay too - chicken and ribs that were so tender. Andy and Thomas totally LOVED their fishing trip. We did pay $250 for them to do this - but is was soooo worth it!

Nassau: Shelby enjoyed this experience. We walked to an area most tourists do not know about (I had read about this place on the internet) and had fresh conch salad (tomatoes, onions and conch marinated in lime) as well as conch fritters (sort of like hushpuppies, deep fried) and Kalik (Bahamian Beer). It was sooo good! The island may not look so good, but I am telling you, the people were clean, and the places we went inside (the Pirate Museum) and where we ate, were very clean. VERY nice people as well!

Overall Experience! INCREDIBLE - definitely a dream vacation! The ship is BEAUTIFUL! We definitely will be doing another - hopefully in 2 years and I would like to cruise the Fantasy. I could tell my kids were a little jealous of the large families who were cruising with cousins, and my hope is that maybe we can get some of our extended family to plan a trip with us next time! **We talked to MANY people on board - some who have cruised for 15 years (started on other cruise lines, then cruised Disney) and they swear that Disney is truly unique and they will never go back to another cruise line. I know we will never cruise another one either!

If you have any questions, please let meknow - I am sure I missed something

 

[fsugirl333]

So glad you had a great time!! We have only cruised Disney and love it so much we are not interested in any other lines at this point anyways!
Question: where oh where did you get the rainforest room pass? We have had trouble getting one our last 2 cruises?

thanks in advance

 

[lisareneepolk]

So glad you had a great time!! We have only cruised Disney and love it so much we are not interested in any other lines at this point anyways!
Question: where oh where did you get the rainforest room pass? We have had trouble getting one our last 2 cruises?

thanks in advance

Actually, I waited until the very last day to purchase a rainforest pass (I really wish I would have tried it out sooner)...You just go to the spa counter and tell them you would like a pass to the rainforest room - be sure and add the DIY scrub experience (for only $9 more)...it is sooo worth it. They will prepare a scrub for you (ingredients of your choice) and put it in a nice jar. You will have plenty to take home and a lovely souvenir. Go into the womens dressing room first and there you can get a robe and slippers (the sauna floors are very hot). Be sure to visit the dressing room after for a "clean-up" shower using complimentary spa products Best value on board for sure!