Disney Dream

[rolloman]

Completed the Voyage a couple weeks ago. The ship is really layed out almost identical to the other two which is nice for those who have sailed before on Magic or Wonder. Yes it is a lot bigger. Food was the best I have eaten on a cruise, incredibly delicious. Adult lounges areas are really hidden, which is good. The adult pool area is just ok, smaller than before. Toddler pool area is huge, lots of space and very similar to EPIC. Very nice indeed. The kids club really is impressive and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I will say I have a problem with the Nursery room . It is bigger but they did away with the two way mirror. BIG MISTAKE. Each time I would pick up my daughter the other little kids could stand at the gate and scream bloody murder wanting their own parental pickup..not a fan of that. What happens when a couple kids start squawking?? Its like a domino falling.. soon it becomes chaos. They should fix this problem. The two way mirror was great, you could see your child and they could go about playing without interruption. I actually ran into the shipyard rep onboard and mentioned it to him. He seemed very receptive to the feedback. Other than that, the ship is absolutely terrific and it was a magical adventure for sure.....Ask away if anyone has any questions!! We have been on EPIC ,Oasis and Dream this year so I can give thoughts on comparisons as well....

 

P.S. The rooms are fantasic and without a doubt the best in the business for children. Split bathroom, upgraded shampoo and soap. Simply flip over couch for the childs bed. Loved it...

[oskarNZ]

Hi Rolloman,

Thanks for your review, it was very interesting. Because you're in a position to compare a variety of different ships and cruiselines, I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions.

 

I am thinking about doing 2 cruises as part of a 4-5 week long holiday in Florida and am quite daunted by the sheer number of options available.

The vacation is still a few years away and we will travel through the New Zealand summer break (late Dec - late January), so it looks likely that one of the cruises will be over Christmas and/or New Years.

 

What I'm interested in, is if you could travel on only 2 ships, which 2 would you choose and why? Flights to Florida costs a packet and this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I would really like to pick ships that are unique or stand out in someway. I have looked at a whole variety of ships from The Oasis to The Dream and am all a bit confused. I must admit though that the Disney Dream is one of the more tempting for me at present as the cabins look great and I love the idea of Rotational Dining.

 

My main considerations are as follows:

- The ship needs to leave from either Florida or L.A. Anywhere else and the trip will start getting too expensive

- The ship needs to be family friendly and have a good kids club.

- At least one of the ships needs a good range of adult activities and shows. We love things like trivia quizzes and broadway style shows.

- We would prefer a newer ship (i.e. Less than about 10 years old) Pretty much the only ships that get based down here in the South Pacific are old ones that have been sent here to die.

- Lastly, we need a choice of cabins that sleep 3 without using an upper

berth/bunk (e.g one with a sofa bed).

 

I haven't yet even begun to look at destinations, as I pretty much know nothing about the Carribean. However, the ship choice is more important to me at this stage than the ports.

 

Any advice you can give would be fantastic :)

[Essiesmom]

We need to know how old your child will be at the time you cruise, to get a better idea of what kind of facilities you want. Also, do you want the two cruises to be relatively back to back, or separated by a day or two? And do you want them to leave from the same port (Dream leaves from Port Canaveral and your choices there would be limited to disney, Carnival, older Royal Caribbean and possibly NCL). Any advice given now will be obsolete by the time you cruise...there will be more newer ships, and itineraries. You have picked a good time of year...this year, your options would have included Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria...Who knows what Cunard's schedule will be two ro three years from now. EM

[oskarNZ]

We need to know how old your child will be at the time you cruise, to get a better idea of what kind of facilities you want. Also, do you want the two cruises to be relatively back to back, or separated by a day or two? And do you want them to leave from the same port (Dream leaves from Port Canaveral and your choices there would be limited to disney, Carnival, older Royal Caribbean and possibly NCL). Any advice given now will be obsolete by the time you cruise...there will be more newer ships, and itineraries. You have picked a good time of year...this year, your options would have included Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria...Who knows what Cunard's schedule will be two ro three years from now. EM

 

Hi Essiemom. Thanks for taking an interest in my question. Any advice you can provide would be great.

 

My son will be 5, possibly 6.

 

I don't mind too much where in Florida the cruise departs. The main plan is to spend a few weeks in Orlando, so while I assume that Port Canaveral is the easiest and cheapest to get to, I wouldn't mind making the trip to Miami, Tampa etc. My first hope was to do a Panama Canal cruise between California and Florida, saving us another boring flight. However, based on what's available this Dec/Jan, I'm not sure that this is a viable option.

 

The cruises wouldn't need to be together. In fact, I would probably prefer to separate them. One at the start, so we aren't at Disney World during the very busy Xmas/New Year week, and another at the end as a wind down for all the time in theme parks.

 

You make a good point about there being new cruise ships by the time I've saved enough for this holiday. However, I'm still really keen to find out what present ships are worth doing a bit of research in to. Researching travel is my favourite hobby, besides travelling itself. However, I have to admit, for the first time ever, I am finding all the different options daunting :eek:

I am very jealous of the large number of options and competitive prices you have available to you on that side of the world :)

[rolloman]

This is an easy question. There are 3 options that fit your needs. Royal Caribbean Allure or Oasis of the Seas (same class ship), NCL EPIC, or Disney Dream or Fantasy (same class ship). Disney has the best room designs for familys period. Allure /Oasis has the best entertainment and NCL EPIC is the best value.

You can not go wrong by booking any of these options. One key thing to note, book a ship that sails during the first 2 and a half weeks of December and you will notice a tremendous savings. Any ship that sails on or through christmas day will be way way overpriced. Also pick a sailing date starting anytime in January for great savings.

[mymollysue]

We are going on the Dream in May and besides the issue with the 2-way mirror, how was the nursery? We already booked some time for my 19 month old DD. I am a little nervous about leaving her. Did the counselors seem to be attentive? Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Essiesmom]

You are going to be spending a bundle of money either way..So based on one experience in Orlando between Christmas and New Years, I would suggest you do a cruise over the holidays. There will always be crowds at Disney, but they will decrease markedly as soon as kids go back to school after New Years. It also might be a bit less expensive then. Follow that with another cruise. There are ships doing Panama canal transits from Florida to Calif. in Jan., which could decrease the length of your flight home...EM

[rolloman]

We are going on the Dream in May and besides the issue with the 2-way mirror, how was the nursery? We already booked some time for my 19 month old DD. I am a little nervous about leaving her. Did the counselors seem to be attentive? Any feedback would be appreciated.

The counselors do a great job and are the best at sea. I feel there is no need to be nervous using this service with Disney. We always use it for dinner time but to tell you the truth, the evening meal is set up for a family, lots of things going on for the little ones. It is the only cruiseline where I have had the thought "awww we should have brought the little one to dinner tonight". I honestly think the nursery would be best suited for nap time while you relax at the pool or take in one of the adult clubs in the evening.

[mymollysue]

Thanks for the reassurance. Right now we have the nursery booked one evening when DH and I dine at Palo. And then for a few hours during the day while we are in Nassau (DH and I plan to stay on the boat). We still have a few hours we can book but we'll wait until we are on board to see how she does.

[rolloman]

Thanks for the reassurance. Right now we have the nursery booked one evening when DH and I dine at Palo. And then for a few hours during the day while we are in Nassau (DH and I plan to stay on the boat). We still have a few hours we can book but we'll wait until we are on board to see how she does.

Enjoy Palo... order the chocolate desert, I love chocolate and it without a doubt is the best desert I have ever had onboard a ship.

[oskarNZ]

This is an easy question. There are 3 options that fit your needs. Royal Caribbean Allure or Oasis of the Seas (same class ship), NCL EPIC, or Disney Dream or Fantasy (same class ship). Disney has the best room designs for familys period. Allure /Oasis has the best entertainment and NCL EPIC is the best value.

You can not go wrong by booking any of these options. One key thing to note, book a ship that sails during the first 2 and a half weeks of December and you will notice a tremendous savings. Any ship that sails on or through christmas day will be way way overpriced. Also pick a sailing date starting anytime in January for great savings.

 

Thanks rolloman.

I just had a look into NCL and you are so very right about them being good value for money. They're already advertising cruises for Xmas 2012, so I was able to take a good look at their prices. Like you said, Xmas cruises are expensive when compared to other cruises during January and the start of December. However they're still extremely competitive when compared to what you'd pay for Xmas cruises down this side of the world.

At those prices I may even be able to consider a balcony cabin, which would be a real luxury for me. :) You have certainly provided me with heaps of food for thought.

 

When you say that Allure/Oasis have the best of entertainment, can I ask what sort of entertainment you are referring to? I can see, that with their wide range of sporting pursuits, they are great for really active people (flowrider, zipline, climbing wall, ice skating etc), however do they also cater well for people who like to keep their minds active? I'm a bit of a nerd who loves things such as trivia quizzes, cooking and art demonstrations, port lectures, boardgames, stage productions, etc).

Also, in line with that, could you please tell me what Disney, NCL and Royal Carribean call their onboard daily newsletters that list all the activities for each day. I'm hoping that if I google them, I might be able to find some examples to take a nosey at.

 

You are going to be spending a bundle of money either way..So based on one experience in Orlando between Christmas and New Years, I would suggest you do a cruise over the holidays.

 

Essiesmom, thanks for that advice. I had heard that Disney World can be chaotic at that time of the year and I would prefer to pay more for a cruise then tackle depressingly long queues in the parks. Also, I did do a quick price check of Disney World's resorts and you are correct, they do become less expensive (noticeably so) after New Year's.

[rolloman]

When you say that Allure/Oasis have the best of entertainment, can I ask what sort of entertainment you are referring to? I can see, that with their wide range of sporting pursuits, they are great for really active people (flowrider, zipline, climbing wall, ice skating etc), however do they also cater well for people who like to keep their minds active? I'm a bit of a nerd who loves things such as trivia quizzes, cooking and art demonstrations, port lectures, boardgames, stage productions, etc).

Also, in line with that, could you please tell me what Disney, NCL and Royal Carribean call their onboard daily newsletters that list all the activities for each day. I'm hoping that if I google them, I might be able to find some examples to take a nosey at.

 

They have an ice skating show, comedy club, parades down the boardwalk and or promenade deck, Aqua theater swim/diving show plus many other entertainment activities. The bottom line is Oasis class and EPIC offer way more entertainment options versus what any other cruiselines have to offer. They are floating resorts. No need to worry about not getting your fill of trivia quizzes, they have a schedule full of them just like any other cruiseline would offer.

 

In my opinion there is no reason to go to the park with a toddler when you can go on the Disney Dream and mingle with the characters at will. Food is incredible (park food horrible), Stateroom lavish and comfortable, (park hotels boring, cookie cutter and cheesy).

 

The name of the ships newsletters are Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass, Disney Personal Navigator, NCL Freestyle Daily. Use the search feature on this website and you will find many examples.

[oskarNZ]

They have an ice skating show, comedy club, parades down the boardwalk and or promenade deck, Aqua theater swim/diving show plus many other entertainment activities. The bottom line is Oasis class and EPIC offer way more entertainment options versus what any other cruiselines have to offer. They are floating resorts. No need to worry about not getting your fill of trivia quizzes, they have a schedule full of them just like any other cruiseline would offer.

 

In my opinion there is no reason to go to the park with a toddler when you can go on the Disney Dream and mingle with the characters at will. Food is incredible (park food horrible), Stateroom lavish and comfortable, (park hotels boring, cookie cutter and cheesy).

 

The name of the ships newsletters are Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass, Disney Personal Navigator, NCL Freestyle Daily. Use the search feature on this website and you will find many examples.

 

Thanks again rolloman. I'm going to try and google some of those newsletters now.

 

By the way, I don't think I could travel all that way without visiting the parks. They are (were?) my primary reason for wanting to head that way. However, I must admit, I am beginning to wonder if cutting back on a few days in Orlando would perhaps allow the time and money to try out all 3 cruise lines. Time for some serious saving.... :)

[rolloman]

Thanks again rolloman. I'm going to try and google some of those newsletters now.

 

By the way, I don't think I could travel all that way without visiting the parks. They are (were?) my primary reason for wanting to head that way. However, I must admit, I am beginning to wonder if cutting back on a few days in Orlando would perhaps allow the time and money to try out all 3 cruise lines. Time for some serious saving.... :)

 

If you get a chance while you are here, be sure and check out Universal Studios, we really enjoy going there a couple times a year.