New to Disney... considering 3 nt on Dream with 6 and 4 year old

[rjm11]

Hello! I am new to Disney cruising... our family has cruised primarily NCL, but also RCCL and Princess. We are considering the 3 night on the Dream next year, and I had a couple of questions....

1) What types of activities are there for families to do together? I have one kid who isn't a fan of being "left" in a kids club, and one of my complaints on other lines is that they have wonderful kids club amenities, but you can never use them together. Does Disney have any opportunities for this? Or is it only the pool and the shows that we could do together (and meals of course)?

 

2) In your opinion, what justifies the cost increase? I am not opposed to paying more for a "better" experience... and curious as to what you think contributes to that... service? Quality? Other things?

 

3) We would be booking a balcony stateroom... any decks better/worse for this? Which areas have the "solid white wall" and which have the plexiglass? Any balconies bigger than others?

 

And of course anything else that you can think of that I might need to know.... I've started reading reviews, and am trying to get a sense for this.... the research is half the fun for me!

Thanks!

[Friend100]

Hello! I am new to Disney cruising... our family has cruised primarily NCL, but also RCCL and Princess. We are considering the 3 night on the Dream next year, and I had a couple of questions....

1) What types of activities are there for families to do together? I have one kid who isn't a fan of being "left" in a kids club, and one of my complaints on other lines is that they have wonderful kids club amenities, but you can never use them together. Does Disney have any opportunities for this? Or is it only the pool and the shows that we could do together (and meals of course)?

If you are doing a 3 nighter on Dream, you don't really have much time to think of the activities before the cruise ends. Assuming you will spend some time at Nassau and most of the day at Castaway Cay, for the rest of the time on the ship, there are the sail away party, characters, shows, firework, pirate party, more characters, pool deck, sports deck, gym, food, ...

 

2) In your opinion, what justifies the cost increase? I am not opposed to paying more for a "better" experience... and curious as to what you think contributes to that... service? Quality? Other things?

IMO, not necessarily "better", but more like a "different" experience. DCL keeps inflating the price on the Dream (the classic demand vs supply thing) but some of the prices I am seeing for the June/July sailing is beyond insane. They have a unique product, and they can charge a unique price in this industry. If you want that experience, you will have to pay the premium, and so far many people (including me) are willing to pay the premium for this intangible. But it is a matter of how much that premium you think you are willing to pay. Again, this is just my opinion.

 

3) We would be booking a balcony stateroom... any decks better/worse for this? Which areas have the "solid white wall" and which have the plexiglass? Any balconies bigger than others?

I think Cat 6 has a solid white wall. I think some of the balconies on deck 5 and some aft are bigger. There was an Aft Balcony thread or something like that a while ago which has pictures. Do a search.

 

And of course anything else that you can think of that I might need to know.... I've started reading reviews, and am trying to get a sense for this.... the research is half the fun for me!

Thanks!

 

My brain may tell me other cruiseline provides better value or have better ports or food or activities, but my heart tells me I'll always miss the magic/wonder/dream aspect and a Disney cruise is what I want to do.

[jaimereneech]

We were on the 4 nite cruise in February (our first Disney cruise) and have already booked the 5 niter for next Easter. My son absolutely loved the kids club..much better and different than the ones we saw on past RCCL cruises. We thought that there were alot of things to do as a family..many of which were stated in the above reply. We were also concerned in the higher price but we felt it was worth the extra money as they really catered to my son. We had a room with the "magical porthole" but my mom had a balcony room on deck 8 and it had clear plexiglass.

[cwtc]

We were on the Dream in February (did a B2B) with a just turned 7 year old and a almost 5 year old. They liked select activities in the clubs so only went when there was something happening that they wanted to take part in. They loved the Detective Game where you search for clues in the interactive art work. We did it 4 different times. There is also mini-golf which they really enjoyed. Three days goes by so fast that there wont be time to be bored! Highlights were Castaway Cay and the pirate party. We were also involved in a gift exchange with other families and the kids loved delivering things to the staterooms. If you have any questions please ask.