Can't Miss

First-time Disney cruiser here (many other cruises under our belt)...

We're sailing on Disney Dream next month. Is there anything that is "can't miss" on this ship? What is your number one thing on this ship?

Thank you!!

Remy.

If you're into high class dining, Remy is great. Upcharge is $85 per person. Remy is very similar to Victoria and Albert at the Grand Flo.

One often missed treasure is "The Art of the Steamship" tour offered on embarkation day. They'll show you a lot of things that you'd probably miss otherwise. (including the crystal mouse at Remy's)

A lot depends on who you are and what you like....

AquaDuck

Character meet and greets

Main stage shows

etc.

If you're into high class dining' date=' Remy is great. Upcharge is $85 per person. Remy is very similar to Victoria and Albert at the Grand Flo.

 

One often missed treasure is "The Art of the Steamship" tour offered on embarkation day. They'll show you a lot of things that you'd probably miss otherwise. (including the crystal mouse at Remy's)

 

A lot depends on who you are and what you like....

AquaDuck

Character meet and greets

Main stage shows

etc.[/quote']

 

Just a little clarification - the tour on embarkation day is the "Walking Ship Tour". A sort of "get acquainted" where is everything located tour. Primarily on the Promenade and Pool Decks.

 

Later in the cruise there's a "Art of the Theme Ship Tour" A little more detailed into the choices that were made in the design of the ship.

 

Sometimes the same people do both tours, and some information spills from one tour to the other.

On our first cruise we did the walking tour, 4pm from the shopping area. It was quite useful as a first timer and the girl and guy CMs doing it were British so we had a bit of a laugh too as I came from the same home town as one of them.

So it's a 3-night for us. That means one night in each "regular" dining room. We thought it would be nice to experience each of those before we would try one of the specialty restaurants. Thoughts??

So it's a 3-night for us. That means one night in each "regular" dining room. We thought it would be nice to experience each of those before we would try one of the specialty restaurants. Thoughts??

If you think you will plan on doing another Disney cruise go for it in the 3 MDRs, but the two specialty restaurants are worth a visit at sometime in the future.

Remy as mentioned already and Palo which is maybe en par with something like Seasons 52 on land but Italian focused.

So it's a 3-night for us. That means one night in each "regular" dining room. We thought it would be nice to experience each of those before we would try one of the specialty restaurants. Thoughts??

This is exactly what I recommend to first timers. You will experience each of the signature menus. This puts you in a much better position to decide what you might opt to miss on your next cruise.

There is no way to do adult only dining without missing something in the MDRs. The question is what you are willing to miss. Yes, I know the trick of taking the kids to main seating and just having a beverage and then taking them to childcare while you go to Palo....but if you do that, you will miss the main stage show. We know which is our least favorite menu and that is the night we do Palo.

The other point is that the shows generally run for about 7 years, so that means you'll be in a "seen it" position if you do another cruise on the same ship. Guess I should note that the Magic is our favorite ship, so Remy is not an option there. Yes, we've done the other ships.

Thank you all for your input.

When do you find out the order that you'll be doing the restaurants?

I'm pretty sure that we're going to stick with our plan of just doing the three MDRs.

Also...how does the rainforest compare to thermal suite areas in other ships? Anyone been on Holland America to their thermal suite? Comparison?

Thank you all for your input.

 

When do you find out the order that you'll be doing the restaurants?

 

I'm pretty sure that we're going to stick with our plan of just doing the three MDRs.

You'll find out when you get your Key to the World card, it will have your dining rotation on it.

Good call on hitting all 3 MDR's, we've spent 21 total nights on DCL and have never felt the need to miss the MDR once. Be sure to order the "Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes" for your appetizer, when in Animators Palate, they are amazing! I usually order them for my main course as well.

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Correct--your dining rotation will be printed on your KTTW card and on tickets that are in your stateroom. And if you show up at the wrong place, the staff will re-orient you.

Every ship I've been on has something similar to the rainforest--whether it is called the "thermal suite" or the "Persian Garden" or whatever. The spa services on every ship have been run by Steiner, not by the cruise line, and I'm sure that Steiner had at least some input into the construction. That said, the rainforest area has been the most attractive I've seen on any ship. Particularly on the Dream and Fantasy, it is a little more elaborate than what I've seen on Celebrity and Princess. There are hot tubs with an oceanview on those two ships! It is also used more.

Some other lines give their suite guests a pass to their heated/steam area, and I still didn't see a lot of use. DCL does not include a rainforest pass with any category of booking, but I typically see more people in the Rainforest than in the similar area on other lines. And, as on other lines, it isn't unusual to have some parts of the set up not working. On the Magic and Wonder, this is often the specialty showers. Recently on Princess, it was the steam areas.

The sales pitches are also the same. THe whole "We only sell so many passes" thing gets a little old. I've never come in with my money (card) on any ship and been told I couldn't use the area other than on Celebrity when it was out of order. And, most recently, they all attach the automatic 18% spa gratuity to the purchase of a pass. That's when I quit using it. There is no "hands on" in the rainforest. There is a cleaning person in a standard DCL cleaning "uniform" who replaces the towel bins periodically. I don't like the concept of an automatic gratuity anyhow, but it idea of charging it when there is no service aspect to what is happening--nope, not from this girl. It is just an excuse to raise the price. If this is pooled and goes to spa workers...they didn't earn it for what they did when I was sitting in their steam area.

We already booked the Rainforest for the entire cruise.