We Survived! 9 days of land & sea - with a 3 year old! -9/1- NEW PIC I HAD TO SHARE!

The Nemo splash area looks great.

I have been checking out the info about the DCL and the pools look so small. I think DH and Caitlin will be really disappointed with them. I'm thinking we'll have to do a Land/Sea trip to get in some good pool time.

The ice cream area looks so cute. Everything is so Disney, I just love it:love:
 
That looks like a fun morning on the ship. Reid probably enjoyed that a lot more than he would have enjoyed going ashore. The Nemo area looks like a lot of fun. I'm glad he found it and seemed to enjoy it so much.
 
The Nemo splash area looks great.

I have been checking out the info about the DCL and the pools look so small. I think DH and Caitlin will be really disappointed with them. I'm thinking we'll have to do a Land/Sea trip to get in some good pool time.

The ice cream area looks so cute. Everything is so Disney, I just love it:love:

I was really impressed by the Nemo splash area! The pools are really small. You definitely can't do any "real" swimming in them. I would definitely recommend a land/sea trip if pool time is a must for y'all. The ship is great because some areas are "in your face" Disney while others are more subtle.

That looks like a fun morning on the ship. Reid probably enjoyed that a lot more than he would have enjoyed going ashore. The Nemo area looks like a lot of fun. I'm glad he found it and seemed to enjoy it so much.

I figured Reid would much prefer to be on the boat than walking around Nassau, seeing stuff he could care less about. He may have been interested in the pirate museum. But, I remembered it being pretty dark, so I figured he would probably get freaked out! I was glad the Nemo splash area went beyond my expectations, there was so much in there that just thrilled him! :goodvibes
 
Love your TR! We are taking our then 27-month old on the Christmas Cruise and also doing a few days in the parks prior so this is super helpful!
 

What's the floor like in the splash area? It looks like tile which I would imagine would be super slippery when wet?
 
Love your TR! We are taking our then 27-month old on the Christmas Cruise and also doing a few days in the parks prior so this is super helpful!

Thank you! I'm so glad you're finding my TR helpful. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Y'all are going to have so much fun!

What's the floor like in the splash area? It looks like tile which I would imagine would be super slippery when wet?

The splash area floor is very slippery. Ed & I both wore our flip flops in. And I had Reid in water shoes. Reid did end up taking off his shoes & ran around. I was so afraid he would slip & fall but never did. But, I would definitely recommend water shoes for any little one going in there! :thumbsup2
 
I'm all caught up after my time off the boards! Great updates! I LOVE the picture of Reid and Peter! How CUTE!! That will be a keeper for many years.

Jane read your TR over my shoulder as I was catching up. She LOVED the Nemo Splash pad. That looks like so much fun! And now JANE is dying to go on a cruise! :rotfl:

Can't wait for more! popcorn::
 
That splash area looks awesome! I love the Peter picture. My kids would be in heaven to see characters roaming the hallways.
 
Thank you so much for taking all the time and effort to do this TR. I've been catching up and can't wait for your next installment. We're also doing a land/sea vacation and can't wait, especially after reading your TR!
 
I'm all caught up after my time off the boards! Great updates! I LOVE the picture of Reid and Peter! How CUTE!! That will be a keeper for many years.

Jane read your TR over my shoulder as I was catching up. She LOVED the Nemo Splash pad. That looks like so much fun! And now JANE is dying to go on a cruise! :rotfl:

Can't wait for more! popcorn::

Thank you! Reid just LOVES his picture with Peter Pan. I have it framed & on his bedroom dresser. He's so proud of it!

That is too cute about Jane reading the TR! Well, since she wants to go, you know you absolutely must take her on one! :laughing: Seriously though, I do think all 3 of your kids would LOVE it!

That splash area looks awesome! I love the Peter picture. My kids would be in heaven to see characters roaming the hallways.

It really is so much fun for the littler kids. And I loved that it was shaded! It was so cool to see characters every now & then just pop up in the halls. It was so surreal!

Thank you so much for taking all the time and effort to do this TR. I've been catching up and can't wait for your next installment. We're also doing a land/sea vacation and can't wait, especially after reading your TR!

Awww, thank you so much! Y'all are going to have so much fun! From your tickers, it looks like you're doing what we did: WDW then the Dream. I really liked doing it that way!
 
When we left off we had discovered the holy grail of ice cream bars on the pool deck of the Dream. We finished off our ice cream & decided to head to our room to get changed & decide what we wanted for lunch.

Once we were in the room & changed, Ed & I really just wanted to stay put for a moment. So, we decided to order room service for lunch. I forgot to write down what we ate but I did note that it was good.

Our bellies were satisfied but, of course, Reid wasn't. He wanted to run free & be wild. The room was too confining for him & was making him C-R-A-Z-Y, which was getting him in trouble with Mommy. After about the 32nd warning to put him in time out, Ed finally looked at me and said, "Let him go to the kids' club". He could tell by my expression that I was unsure about this. "He'll be fine, Amanda." I figured it was probably best for my sanity & Reid's if I just gave in & let him go run free & play & do whatever he wanted to do. So I did just that & we brought him to the kids' club. On our walk over there, we saw Captain Hook walking the halls. He was walking super fast, so we didn't even try to stop him. But, Reid was still elated to see him. We got to the kids' club & told them it would be our first time leaving him there but that I had registered him online. They pulled up our info quickly & had me verify the password I had entered online. With that done, they printed out a paper band, slipped an electronic device on it & attached it to Reid's wrist. I have to say that I really was happy with the level of security used at the kids' club. Reid had to tap his electronic device on a pad at the entry gate of the club in order for the gate to open. Even though he was only in the kids' club for 2 days, the counselors knew by that night who we were & who Reid was. But, they still required our password before we left with him. It helped to at least ease my fears of someone walking off with my child.

Anyway, we checked him in & he hardly even turned around to tell us bye. We had made him potty in the room before we went there, so I didn't have to go in with him. But, I kind of thought maybe he would want us to venture in & then leave once he was comfortable. Although this is pretty normal for Reid, I stood there in shock that he bolted the moment the gate opened. The counselor just smiled & laughed & told me it would be ok. She stopped Reid & made sure he washed his hands. And then he vanished so quickly that I barely saw where he had ran to.

Ed did finally manage to get me to move away from the club entrance. Once I was out of my shock, I was able to tell him that I just wanted to walk around & sight see. I have lots of pictures that I want to post for y'all so it'll probably take me this post & 1 more to get all of them up. I'm going to try & group them into categories for y'all.

First up: art work. All over the boat, there is tons of art work. I wanted to give y'all just a (very small) taste of it.









There are also interactive pictures scattered around the ship. You walk up to them & a sensor makes the pictures come to life with actions & sounds. They are really cool.

Next up: just some miscellaneous shots...haha...I didn't have particular categories for these to fit into.



This sitting area was outside on the promenade deck. I believe it was right outside of a entrance to one of the clubs. I want to say it was one of the teen clubs, but I could be completely wrong about that.



This is the walkway leading to all of the shops and the Walt Disney Theatre.







And we saw Dopey roaming the halls!



And we passed through the Atrium as the princesses were about to do a royal greeting again.



This is the coffee cafe. They have pastries that are free but the speciality coffees you do have to pay for. I had wanted to try a coffee but never got around to it.

Next up: the adult clubs. Since I knew Ed & I would never actually make it to any of these during the night, I wanted to go see them now. We did walk through the District but, honestly, I was unimpressed by it & didn't take any pictures.

Pink:





687 (the sports lounge):





We thought 687 was really nice inside & would've like to spend some time in there. If we go on a longer cruise at some point, I could definitely see us spending time in there. Ed is a huge sports fanatic. And I like sports as well, especially college football.

Skyline:







I really liked Skyline. Again, it's a place I could see Ed & I spending some time at. The "skyline" in the window changes periodically. It has cities such as Paris, Rome, etc. What was really cool was the details in the "skyline" view. When we were in there, it was Paris. At first sight, it was like, "That's a cool looking view of Paris". But, once we looked closer we could see that the cars in the view were actually moving! I love Disney details!

Okay, I'm going to post this & start another post with more of our sight-seeing tour. I'll see you in the next post!
 
We took a quick break from our tour of the ship & went to the club to check in on Reid. He was in the lab side (for older kids). He had found some computer game where you have to steer a ship. He had no earthly idea what he was doing but was having a fantastic time because it was an actual ship wheel you used to steer. Ed & I asked him if he wanted to leave with us, but he didn't. So, we took him on a potty break & then left to continue sightseeing.

Up next: the adults-only area on the pool deck. Let me go ahead & say that I forgot to take a picture of the pool & hot tubs in this area. The pool is really small but has a swim up bar.





Next: Cabanas. Now, we never got around to actually eating at the buffet in Cabanas. But, we walked through there several times to get to the pool.....and the ice cream bar, of course. And I really liked the theming of it, so I wanted to take y'all on a tour as well.















Next: The Sports Deck







The sports deck was neat. It had a few holes of mini golf, a foosball table, ping pong tables & a basketball court.

After all of our walking around, I was in need of a refreshment. Well, there's no better way to refresh one's self than with some soft-serve banana ice cream! :laughing: So, we headed to the ice cream bar & sat down to enjoy our cones. After that, we headed back to the kids' club to collect our child. He reluctantly (very reluctantly) left with us. It was about 4pm by now so we headed to our room to start showering & getting ready for dinner.

UP NEXT: Where will dinner be tonight?
 
Just finished and all caught up! You have some great pictures!!!! My kids are so excited about going to the Kid's Club...especially DS10. I plan on utilizing it each day;) DH and I want to do the spa one afternoon and hit the adult deck...so I feel sure the kid's area will come in handy. I'm absolutley going to walk around like you did and get some shots of the boat...minus children of course. Not sure that they would find that interesting. So they allow you to walk around inside of the kid's area??

Heather
 
just found your tr and loving every minute of it. Your son is such a cutie!
i would love to plan a disney cruise soon, and your pics are convincing me to grab my credit card right now. lol. cant wait for more
 
With every picture you post, I want to go on a Disney cruise more and more! The details in all the artwork and the murals is just amazing! Its like really being at the parks! One of the reasons I haven't taken a Disney cruise up til now is because I always thought that given the choice I'd rather be at WDW than on a cruise, but now I'm definitely thinking differently!

I think you made a good choice with putting Reid in the kids club, its really tough for little boys in small spaces, I know that Everett goes nutso after being in the house for too long, let alone a small cruise cabin. I'm sure he had a great time, and you and your DH got to have some fun as well.

Looking forward to the next update!
 
I really enjoyed the pictures of the ship. Kind of neat to see how it is decorated. I could see myself spending some time in a few of those clubs and on the basketball court.

I'm glad Reid seemed to enjoy the kid's club.
 
Why is it that every time I read one of your updates I find myself on the dcl website trying to fit in a cruise this year:confused3

I love that the characters are randomly on the ship. It is pretty cool that Cpt. Hook is just walking down the hall.

Your adult time looked very nice. I love that skyline lounge and all of the cabanas pictures.
 
Just finished and all caught up! You have some great pictures!!!! My kids are so excited about going to the Kid's Club...especially DS10. I plan on utilizing it each day;) DH and I want to do the spa one afternoon and hit the adult deck...so I feel sure the kid's area will come in handy. I'm absolutley going to walk around like you did and get some shots of the boat...minus children of course. Not sure that they would find that interesting. So they allow you to walk around inside of the kid's area??

Heather

Thank you! Your kids are going to LOVE the club & lab! I could've spent hours in there playing & having fun. It's definitely much easier to sight-see on the boat while the kids are in the club. I'm definitely glad I let Reid go play so I could see more of the boat. They definitely allow you in to the kids club & lab. When you go to pick them up, you can even ask if your children are in the lab or club part. They can look at the computer & tell you. They have counselors in each room monitoring what's going on & they also have counselors who are running organized activities & games.

just found your tr and loving every minute of it. Your son is such a cutie!
i would love to plan a disney cruise soon, and your pics are convincing me to grab my credit card right now. lol. cant wait for more

Awww, thank you! The cruise really went above & beyond our expectations. Go grab that credit card, it'll be worth the monthly payment! :rotfl:

With every picture you post, I want to go on a Disney cruise more and more! The details in all the artwork and the murals is just amazing! Its like really being at the parks! One of the reasons I haven't taken a Disney cruise up til now is because I always thought that given the choice I'd rather be at WDW than on a cruise, but now I'm definitely thinking differently!

The ship is just simply amazing! It's very elegant & beautiful. And then some parts are very much in-your-face Disney decorating. I loved it all! I loved walking around seeing all of the artwork & murals everywhere. They were all fantastic. I'll be honest, I still haven't completely made up my mind whether I like the parks or the cruise better. But, they are both fantastic & I definitely want to do a cruise again. If nothing else, you should definitely go on at least one cruise to try it out. They do have a nursery (it costs extra) for little ones who aren't potty trained & can't stay in the club.

I think you made a good choice with putting Reid in the kids club, its really tough for little boys in small spaces, I know that Everett goes nutso after being in the house for too long, let alone a small cruise cabin. I'm sure he had a great time, and you and your DH got to have some fun as well.

Looking forward to the next update!

Yeah, I was glad I listened to Ed & sent Reid to the club. He had a wonderful time. And I was able to relax as well.

I really enjoyed the pictures of the ship. Kind of neat to see how it is decorated. I could see myself spending some time in a few of those clubs and on the basketball court.

I'm glad Reid seemed to enjoy the kid's club.

Thanks! They really did a wonderful job with this ship. I wish we would've had more time to enjoy some of the adult clubs at night when people were actually in there. Oh well, maybe next time! I knew they had a basketball court on the sports deck & didn't want Reid to walk up there with us & see it. My son is OBSESSED with basketball! I knew he would throw a fit to go play but wouldn't be able to since it's a big-boy court. He would've gotten trampled out there! But it is really neat on the sports deck!

Reid loved playing in the club. I'm really glad I actually listened to Ed (for once) & let Reid go play!

Why is it that every time I read one of your updates I find myself on the dcl website trying to fit in a cruise this year:confused3

:rotfl2: Because you know it would be worth it! I think this would possibly be a very good alternative for y'all. DH could relax as much as he wanted. And Caitlin would have the clubs to play in. Or you & her could walk around & find tons of stuff to do on the boat. The only area that may be a problem: the pools are not big enough to do "real" swimming. But, y'all could definitely get in at least for a cool down.

I love that the characters are randomly on the ship. It is pretty cool that Cpt. Hook is just walking down the hall.

It was so cool seeing random characters all the time! I was honestly startled by Hook. We were just walking down a hall & then he rounded a corner & came into the hall right in front of us! I just wish I had had my camera ready.

Your adult time looked very nice. I love that skyline lounge and all of the cabanas pictures.

It really was a nice, relaxing walk. I thought Skyline was so cool. And I just loved the theme of Cabanas. Just wish we had had time to eat there at least once.
 
I'm glad Reid was able to have fun in the kid's club and run around a little. That's one thing that worries me about little kids on cruises- whether or not there will be enough room for them to run and play as much as they need to. Sounds like the kid's clubs are great for that.

Plus it's nice to have some grown-ups only time. :thumbsup2
 
Fun update! :thumbsup2 That's too funny about Reid being so excited about the kids' club! I'm glad you got to explore the ship- I love your pictures!! :goodvibes
 












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