shipmate13

I don't want to say for sure about Palo's but I did over hear other passengers say that they couldn't get a time for that restaurant but when I heard that, we had already been on the ship a couple of days. I hope you get to dine there.

Like so many other cruisers, you read alot of messages from the Disney board prior to your cruise to see what everyone else was saying about the Dream and their experiences. I will say, the Disney Dream is a really beautiful ship!!. I can't speak for anyone else however I will try to address some of the concerns that many cruise critic members stress upon.

Embarkation: From the time we arrived at the port around 11:30, it took about 30 minutes to be on the ship and most of that time was spent on checking in. The terminal was not crowded and everything ran smoothly. It was truely nice to see Disney cruise members greeting you as you arrive inside the atrium, I know some passengers think that it is cheesy, but I actually like it and it makes you feel a little more special.

It was nice to watch my grandchildren ages 7, 4, and 2 light up when they boarded the ship in total ahh. My daughter and her husband could not stop smiling. We walked around the ship for a few and sat at Cabana's to eat lunch. As always, the first few hours could be a little hectic with everyone coming aboard and heading to lunch but there was ample room for all of us to sit and just take it all in. I love how Disney's staff was standing there with santiwipes for everyone each and every day as you enter all the dining areas. The staff was picking up trays and plates as soon as someone left the tables. They were really on it.

Staterooms: We had adjoining rooms on deck 8 mid ship. Deluxe family with verandah. The rooms were very tastefully decorated and so much storage space we didn't use it all. The fact that they have two bathrooms is always a plus. The beds (queen size) were so comfortable. This is the first time we had adjoining rooms with someone and wasn't sure what to expect but we loved it and it made it so easy for our grandchildren to come into the room when ever they wanted. It was also nice having the verandah's open to give more room for us to sit and enjoy a glass of wine at night before dinner and later in the evening. Speaking of wine, we did bring six bottles on board in our carry bags. I noticed a sign as we were going through the scanners that it said no alcohol permitted to bring on board however i was told by an employee, not to worry about it and smiled as we watched our alcohol pass through the scanner without a problem.

Entertainment: What can I say, it's DISNEY!!! they had some of the best shows. I heard some previous passengers didn't like the Villians however we loved it and the other two shows also. My husband and son in law did go to the theatre and watch a movie "John Carter". We had early dining due to our grandchildren's ages and when we headed to the theatre after dinner for the shows, passengers were already lining up 40 minutes before the doors opened. For some reason, which I don't understand, when the doors open for the show, there is a mad dash from adults who practically trampled over kids to get to the front rows. We learned to carry our youngest grandchildren before they became knocked down. I also noticed that there was very little chair saving and didn't see a big problem. One night there was a discussion between passengers about saving chairs in the row in front of us and I wasn't sure how the outcome was going to be because it was getting ugly but the passengers decided it wasn't worth the argument and looked elsewhere to sit.

Chair hogs and smoking: I am going to get this out of the way. Yes I did observe chair hogs but believe it or not, it was only a very few. I always saw chairs available throughout the cruise and it was never an issue to us as we didn't sit by the pools our whole cruise like some people. We found ample places to sit where ever we wanted. OK, smoking, I actually only saw one person smoking the whole cruise and that was in a stateroom about six down from us on our deck. It was a lady who was smoking and when she saw anyone come out on their balcony, she immediately went inside. What a nice lady. I could not believe I didn't see anyone else!!!!

I witnessed a large family get into the mickey mouse pool and consumed the whole side of it which made it pretty hard for the little ones to play around. NO, they didn't have a small child in there they were watching, they just chose to sit there. One was an extremely large man who sprawled out all over the pool. Couldn't quite understand it, but to each his own, and as some of you would say, he paid for the cruise he can do what he wants right? Our grandchildren went into the Nemo's reef and played in the water there all the time. What a great place for all the little ones and the water was sooo warm. We did enjoy the Aqua Duck and went down it a few times with little waiting.

Dining: We loved all the dining rooms. The animator's palate was really nice for the kids and they were laughing throughout the whole mean. It really kept them amused. Enchanted Gardens was very beautifully decorated and the lights changing colors was a really nice touch throughout the dinner. The main dining room was just as nice as the others and we really had some of the best meals we have ever had on any cruiseline. I don't know how anyone could complain about the food. We even found ourselves ordering more than one thing on several occassions. Our waiter, Angel and waitress, Rachelle were truely outstanding!!!!! Anyone who gets them when they go on the ship are the luckiest passengers. They were amazing with not only the kids, but with all of us adults. I must say, the employees on that ship work so hard. They were moving so fast at dinner I couldn't believe how efficient they all were.

We didn't experience any of the adult bars as we were more involved with doing things with the children. We did however pass on through all of them in the day time when they weren't open for drinks. Unfortunately I cannot give my opinion about any of them.

Remy's: My daughter and son in law ate at Remy's one night and said it was one of the best dinners that they have ever experienced. They also did the wine pairing and commented on how incredible the wine tasted. There was plenty of times available for dinner at Remy's even after boarding. We booked Remy's when we did our on-line registering and when we boarded we went to Remy's the day after to see if we could change the day and they had so many other times to choose from.

Character greets: The children will have numerous opportunities to do character greets. They were all around the ship. The princesses were my grandaughter's favorite and we made sure we were in line for all of them. What I did like was that there wasn't alot of staff members with cameras pushing pictures on you. They gave you ample time to take as many pictures as you wanted with all the characters and princesses before they would take a picture and if you didn't want them to, they didn't. I like that. We dropped off three picture frames at guest services the first day in a ziplock bag with our name and stateroom on it along with three colored markers. They didn't say anything about having three frames in there. The picture frames were returned to our room the night before we disembarked and beautifully done.

Pirates Night and fireworks The fireworks was a really nice touch. The only negative thing I could even say about it was that it was really late for the young ones. You didn't want them to miss out on it since it is one of the highlights but by the time the fireworks started and the pirates show was done, it was very late. Alot of passengers dressed up in pirates clothing to make it more fun. My four year old grandson and I handed out luminated necklaces to alot of children that night. We brought them on board for that purpose. I was thanked several times by many parents for the kind jesture.

Castaway Cay: The private island is very beautiful and has really improved since I was there on our last Disney Cruise. There is an abundance of activities to do for the families and for just adults. You cannot get bored there. The island has plenty of loungers so finding one is not difficult at all no matter what time you get off the ship. There are plenty of umbrella's and the restrooms are conveniently located so you don't have to walk far. I cannot believe that they found a way to get the ice cream machines on the island also. The food was very good and a large variety. We had a snorkling adventure booked but it was cancelled by Disney due to the boat not in service. We didn't go near the adults only area as we had the children so I cannot speak as to how that was.

Nassau We have been to Nassau before and really didn't like it so this time we chose to stay on the ship. The ship was in port until 2am so passengers had plenty of time to get off and venture away to excursions and shops.

Disembarking: If you have early dining, you will be asked to leave your rooms by 6:45 and go to the dining room that you ate at on your first night for your final breakfast. Aftewards, you are asked to disembark the ship. My four year old grandson cried when he had to leave, that says alot right there. I think I would of cried too if I didn't think someone would laugh at me. We found our luggage within 30 seconds and through customs in a matter of minutes back outside the terminal. I would assume if you were in a suite, you could stay longer.

In closing, I want to say that the Disney Dream was an incredible ship. Beautifully decorated, immaculate, well run by all the staff. I could not find anything I didn't like about the Dream. All the children on the ship were some of the best behaved children I ever met. The adults were some of the best passengers I have ever met on a cruise line. Everyone was truely friendly and considerate of others. In all my cruises, this was by far the most memorable.

To those getting ready to board the ship for the first time, you will not be disappointed. Have a wonderful time.

Indychristine;

Thank you very much for those kind words. It is not often that you hear them anymore. It made my day!:D

OK, cash it is!! but not the two dollar bills. Glad to know that they are frowned upon in places.

I always leave a generous tip to all the staff when I cruise because I know that some others don't and they work so hard to please everyone. I just didn't know if a token from my state additional to the tip would be nice.

Has anyone brought a gift from their state or country to give to the cabin steward? I was thinking of bringing something for them but not knowing where they are from or what they would like makes it difficult. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :) I like to give out two dollar bills as tips sometimes also, would they think that as unsual?

Thanks for the information. I truely appreciate the information and help I get from my fellow cruisers. Maybe someone should recommend a sushi bar to Disney!

Can anyone tell me if they have a sushi bar on the Disney Dream? I have tried to find information on it but have not found anything. :confused: