Just off Dream 3/24 any questions?

[CookieBird]

Hi! Just off the Dream today! I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

I thought the pool area was poorly designed and SUPER crowded. I didn't really like the layout of the ship. That said, I thought the food was excellent, the kids clubs were great, the CMs very nice, and my kids (3,6) had a great time!

[Austingrl]

We are booked for July on the Dream. It's our first cruise and were super excited about it until I started reading all the posts about the crazy crowded pools and long waits for the aquaduck. I have 2 kids age 7 & 11 and they will be so disappointed if that part is horrible.

 

Do you have any suggestions on when are the best times of day to be at the pool? We have the late seating for dinner and thought about planning to go to the pools when the early seating is going on. Do you think that is a good plan?

 

Do you know how late the pools stay open and the aquaduck is running? Maybe we could just plan on sleeping in in the morning and swimming after our late dinner?

 

I guess my one last question is -- I hate crowds, does the ship feel crowded?

[dexddd]

Did you have any problems finding seating for shows?

[BASTHEFIRST]

I have a few I guess.

1. Did you go up to The Outlook Lounge? What was that like?
   
2. Did you go to the Meridian Lounge and Deck near Palo?
   
3. What theater show times did you go see and arrive for at?
   
4. Did your kids do scheduled activities in the Clubs or free play? What did they like best in the Clubs?
   
5. How long was your Life Boat Drill?
   
6. Did you take part in any tours, classes or demonstrations on-board?
   

Just off the top of my head for me and my 8 yr old sailing on Easter Sunday. Glad you had such a great time. We can't wait!

[bsddsc]

I see this was your first Disney cruise. All the reviews on the Dream were the pools were crowed. I have NEVER been on any ship where the pools weren't crowed. In fact, on the Big Red Boat and Carnival, we were never even able to sit at the pool or use the whirlpool during the entire cruise. RCL was OK, but their layout was the worst ship's pool deck I have ever seen, NO FOOD.

 

So, all in all, I can not complain about Disney's pool area. It will be interesting to see how the Dream compares to the other ships. Is it really worse or just the usual crowed.

 

I will be posting my review in mid April.

[Mrs. Chernabog]

I see this was your first Disney cruise. All the reviews on the Dream were the pools were crowed. I have NEVER been on any ship where the pools weren't crowed. In fact, on the Big Red Boat and Carnival, we were never even able to sit at the pool or use the whirlpool during the entire cruise. RCL was OK, but their layout was the worst ship's pool deck I have ever seen, NO FOOD.

 

So, all in all, I can not complain about Disney's pool area. It will be interesting to see how the Dream compares to the other ships. Is it really worse or just the usual crowed.

 

I will be posting my review in mid April.

 

We are on the same cruise as you!

[bsddsc]

Hey great! Is this your first Disney cruise too? Traveling with kids? We're "adult" cruisers, no kids, still love Disney cruises.

 

We usually book the balcony rooms on the other ships. So this time we decided to see what the Family balcony rooms on deck 7 are like.

[Mrs. Chernabog]

Hey great! Is this your first Disney cruise too? Traveling with kids? We're "adult" cruisers, no kids, still love Disney cruises.

 

We usually book the balcony rooms on the other ships. So this time we decided to see what the Family balcony rooms on deck 7 are like.

 

I went on the Big Red Boat in 1991. We are a family of five and my mom is joining us as well. We have two cabins on deck 7.

[chipmaster]

Very very close to booking it... but.

 

1) Is the pool really as you discribe. Every review to date says its a busted situation. I have no interest in waiting in line 30' for 60" or so ride, nor will my kids.

 

2) Ditto the other poster, how was seating for the shows. Must one get there very early to secure a decent seat and how is the seating if you come JIT. My memories of the Magic was that it was Magical all around.

 

Was it worth the mouse premium? At the moment will be in Florida for sure in June but could easily just do the parts versu a nightmare :D

 

Hi! Just off the Dream today! I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

I thought the pool area was poorly designed and SUPER crowded. I didn't really like the layout of the ship. That said, I thought the food was excellent, the kids clubs were great, the CMs very nice, and my kids (3,6) had a great time!

[my1girlsami]

We are going on our 1st Cruise in April of 2012. I have heard the Disney Cruise line is the best. I hope when a question arises that you veterans can all help me.

[Mrs. Chernabog]

DCL now assigns a show time to ensure seating for everyone.

[CookieBird]

Hi! I'm not sure I can answer all your questions but I'll do my best.

 

Yes this is my first Disney cruise but it is my 6th cruise so I believe I can speak somewhat intelligently regarding the pool situation. It was outrageously crowded, more than every other cruise I have been on. Granted I have never been on a cruise with this many kids but it really was nuts. The deck space is just too small. Did my kids mind? Nope, they had a great time. On Thr main deck around the pool it was almost difficult to walk. The pools were overcrowded, I called it kid soup, as were the hot tubs. Did my kids mind? No. I did not like it at all but I had the attitude that this was their cruise not mine. The Aquaduck had lines of 30-40 min during the main part of the day. The only time I went on it was about 9:30 in the morning and I waited about 15 min. The pool and deck areas do clear out late in the afternoon and early evening. But expect heavy crowds during the main part of the day. Again, poorly designed deck. There is another pool only for the teen set and another for adults.

 

In parts of the ship it felt very crowded like the elevators and the areas around the shops but others there was hardly anyone, adult areas. I'd say it was probably comparable with other cruise lines, just depends on the time of day and activity. I thought the lines for the characters was very reasonable.

 

Regarding shows, we generally found seats about 10 min before the start. I'd say no worries there unless you were dead set on sitting in front. There were no assigned show times. No one checking tickets or anything. You could go to whatever time you liked depending on when you ate dinner.

 

My kids pretty much did a mix of their own thing and the scheduled activities. My kids are pretty outgoing though and make friends easily. I can see if you have shy kids it would be a little overwhelming. We sat with another couple at dinner and their 4 yo daughter had a hard time at the clubs because she was shy. If you walk in there it looks somewhat like a free for all. Like a zoo. There are plenty of counselors though. My kids had a good time. They have really neat stuff in there. My kids also spend a little time at the club on CAstaway and liked it too.

 

The only adult bar I went to was Pink and it was nice so I can't really speak to the other places. They didn't really seem crowded though.

 

Lifeboat drill was not long...maybe 15 min? Make sure you go on deck for sail away. They do the horns as you leave :-)

 

I'm not sure how late the pools and duck are open. I know there were people on the duck at night. They have it lit up and it's pretty cool. On pirate night they cover over the pools with decking for the pirate party so obviously the pools are closed then. But the duck did open after the fireworks.

 

Character hint- we saw most of our characters in the evening just walking around. Aladdin, pinnochio, princesses, etc many times were just walking around with no one around. And they weren't on the official schedule either.

 

Hope that helps! Let me know if there are other questions! Like I said my kids loved it and I enjoyed that they were happy.

[Friend100]

Very good summary, and I like from your perspective being first time on DCL (and on DCL Dream) but have cruised more than a few times on other ships. And in general I agree with most of your comment.

 

Hi! I'm not sure I can answer all your questions but I'll do my best.

 

Yes this is my first Disney cruise but it is my 6th cruise so I believe I can speak somewhat intelligently regarding the pool situation. It was outrageously crowded, more than every other cruise I have been on. Granted I have never been on a cruise with this many kids but it really was nuts. The deck space is just too small. Did my kids mind? Nope, they had a great time. On Thr main deck around the pool it was almost difficult to walk. The pools were overcrowded, I called it kid soup, as were the hot tubs. Did my kids mind? No. I did not like it at all but I had the attitude that this was their cruise not mine. The Aquaduck had lines of 30-40 min during the main part of the day. The only time I went on it was about 9:30 in the morning and I waited about 15 min. The pool and deck areas do clear out late in the afternoon and early evening. But expect heavy crowds during the main part of the day. Again, poorly designed deck. There is another pool only for the teen set and another for adults.

 

Ditto! Ditto! Totally agree. I found that the more crowded and crazy the kids there were screaming, the more fun my DD and DS had. I didn't before anticipate b4 the cruise I would have a relaxed moment by the pool reading my books anyway, so basically everything went as expected. :p And in comparing to the pool deck on the Wonder, I like smaller ship's more. I found the atmosephere there during the sail away party and firework/pirate party was more itimate and the overall logistic was more functional than that on the Dream.

 

If anyone is doing a 4-nights itinerary, try to do the Aquaduck on the morning of the Nassau port day. You'll have better chance of riding it a few more times.

 

Anyway, we have done twice on DCL short cruises now, and ready to move on to the "real" cruise for us mom and dad!

[Mrs. Chernabog]

Kid soup! :D

 

We have an assigned show time of 9:00.

[moonlightgraham]

Just curious if you stayed on board during the Nassau day? We are cruising on 4/3 and have booked the beach excursion to Atlantis but have been thinking about just staying on board to enjoy the pool/Aqua Duck if it's so crowded during the other parts of the cruise itinerary. Thanks for the great insights, I've been tempering my expectations given the slew of recent comments so hopefully will be better adjusted to what we're likely to experience.

Tom

[poncho1973]

their layout was the worst ship's pool deck I have ever seen, NO FOOD.

 

Did you really just base your opinion on a pool deck on the proximity of food? Do you eat in the pool? There is food available 24 hours on the ships, not having it all 24 of those hours is probably a good thing.

[ducklite]

Did you really just base your opinion on a pool deck on the proximity of food? Do you eat in the pool? There is food available 24 hours on the ships, not having it all 24 of those hours is probably a good thing.

 

Lack of food options (other than having to pay extra or use room service) during much of the day was one of our complaints on RCCL as well.

 

I don't know why you think not having food 24 hours would be a good thing--not everyone is on whatever regimented eating schedule you feel they should be.

[CookieBird]

Just curious if you stayed on board during the Nassau day? We are cruising on 4/3 and have booked the beach excursion to Atlantis but have been thinking about just staying on board to enjoy the pool/Aqua Duck if it's so crowded during the other parts of the cruise itinerary. Thanks for the great insights, I've been tempering my expectations given the slew of recent comments so hopefully will be better adjusted to what we're likely to experience.

Tom

 

 

 

We went to Atlantis in Nassau. My kids were dying to go to the beach and I've heard sometimes CC is skipped due to winds so I didn't want them to miss out on the chance to do the beach. As it turns out we signed up for the beach day at atlanis but the beaches THERE were closed due to high winds. So, we went to the waterpark instead. The kids liked it.

[CookieBird]

Lack of food options (other than having to pay extra or use room service) during much of the day was one of our complaints on RCCL as well.

 

I don't know why you think not having food 24 hours would be a good thing--not everyone is on whatever regimented eating schedule you feel they should be.

 

 

 

I guess it depends on which class of ships you are on for RCI. I've done the Navigator and the Adventure and loved loved the layout of the ships and Thr pool area. Never had a problem with finding or getting food any time of the day. And yes, all pool decks on cruise ships are crowded during the middle of the day but nothing like I experienced on the Dream. Didn't ruin my vacation though.

[ducklite]

I guess it depends on which class of ships you are on for RCI. I've done the Navigator and the Adventure and loved loved the layout of the ships and Thr pool area. Never had a problem with finding or getting food any time of the day. And yes, all pool decks on cruise ships are crowded during the middle of the day but nothing like I experienced on the Dream. Didn't ruin my vacation though.

 

We were on the Mariner. We had a lot of complaints about that cruise, but the ship layout was fine, although not enough elevators--something which I think ALL cruiselines are guilty of. We took the stairs most of the time. We used the adult pool once, didn't have a problem finding loungers, although we didn't want/need one in the sun or right next to the pool. Our only complaint about the adult pool were the idiot adults who thought "adult pool" meant "it's OK to bring your infants/toddlers in to this area" although the staff quickly shooed them out. The drink server who hounded us incessantly (every 10 minutes--it was so comical we began timing him!) to buy whatever drink of the day he was pushing was very annoying.

 

Many of our complaints revolved around the lack of "free" food during non-dining room hours, the BAD food in the dining room (we cruised with major RCCL fans and even they thought it was bad on that cruise), and some very major service gaffes and maintenance issues with our stateroom. We had a similar stateroom on DCL with no problems, and overall the level of service was far superior on DCL.

[trezoc]

Thanks cookiebird for all the great info! We have our first cruise coming up and we're debating an excursion in Nassau. Did you go to Atlantis thru Disney? If so how much time do you actually have to enjoy it??? Thanks

[dexddd]

Will try to give brief update on pool wednesday after 4day on pool. Been on magic and wonder.

[poncho1973]

Lack of food options (other than having to pay extra or use room service) during much of the day was one of our complaints on RCCL as well.

 

I don't know why you think not having food 24 hours would be a good thing--not everyone is on whatever regimented eating schedule you feel they should be.

 

That wasn't my point at all. I like the fact that you CAN get food 24 hours a day.

 

It's just that some people think that not only should you be able to get food 24 hours a day, but that the food should be within arm's reach of you all 24 of those hours.

 

Have you seen WALL-E? There was this lady on my last cruise on the Wonder who was so big, she was confined to one of those hoveround things and she sat through an entire show complaining that they didn't serve food in the theater. She wanted food in every part of the ship. All the time.

 

I understand some folks focus on the dining more than others of us, but seriously... they don't have to serve food in the elevators, the theater, the hallways, the pool, the bathrooms, the lifeboats, the spa, the hot tub... you can go to a dining room or the buffet and eat there. Having food less than 6 inches from your hands at any given place on the ship isn't vital to a good cruise.

[Host Mick]

BTW, there IS food in the lifeboats but you won't like it. Just trust me on that.

[ducklite]

That wasn't my point at all. I like the fact that you CAN get food 24 hours a day.

 

It's just that some people think that not only should you be able to get food 24 hours a day, but that the food should be within arm's reach of you all 24 of those hours.

 

Have you seen WALL-E? There was this lady on my last cruise on the Wonder who was so big, she was confined to one of those hoveround things and she sat through an entire show complaining that they didn't serve food in the theater. She wanted food in every part of the ship. All the time.

 

I understand some folks focus on the dining more than others of us, but seriously... they don't have to serve food in the elevators, the theater, the hallways, the pool, the bathrooms, the lifeboats, the spa, the hot tub... you can go to a dining room or the buffet and eat there. Having food less than 6 inches from your hands at any given place on the ship isn't vital to a good cruise.

 

 

If you are inferring that I'm overweight--hardly. I wear a size 6 and am 5'7".

 

On RCCL we found two choices for dining outside the hours that the dining rooms and buffets were open. One was to pay for Johnny Rockets, the other was to go to our suite and wait for room service. Neither was acceptable to us.

 

I don't expect there to be food everywhere, I'm not saying that at all. But I do expect more options then RCCL was offering, that's for sure.

 

I also expect the food to be at least palatable, which we found wasn't the case outside the alternate dining (extra charge) restaurants on RCCL.