My First Disney Cruise! A PICTURE Review of Disney Dream!!

[jwalk03]

I thought the decor in Pink was pretty darn cool. I felt like I was in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where they drinking the lifting juice and float away or something. There were a few people in her, but still not many.

Let me also say that I am not a wine or champagne drinker at all. Maybe for a wedding toast, that is about the extent of my champagne drinking. The bartender in Pink was awesome!! She really really knew her products well and explained everything to the minute detail for non-champagne drinkers like us. It was fun hearing about all the differences.

The Disney Dream also has a custom label offering that is only available on board, you can purchase whole bottles to take home if you wish as well.

 

 

We had a few drinks at Pink, still very quiet, so one really talking except to their tablemates. But that’s ok, we still enjoyed ourselves. But now, it was Pirate Night after all, so it was almost time for the FIREWORKS!

 

We called It's a Small World to check on Allison, they said she was sleeping and they had room to let her keep staying. We originally told them we would pick her up by 10 so we could take her to see the fireworks, but since she was already sleeping we decided to just let her sleep. (She would NOT have been a happy person if we had waken her up!) At home she is in bed no later than 830, and almost never wakens up before 730, and gets cranky if she does! So we headed up to find a spot to watch the fireworks.

Edited May 6, 2014 by jwalk03

[jwalk03]

Let me just say about the District before I move on. I really really like the concept of the whole area, and the themes and decor in the bars are everything you would expect from a Disney Imaginer (of course geared toward adults though.) I really hope that on longer cruises this area of the ship sees more foot traffic, because it really does have tons of potential. One other area in the District that I did not take a picture of was the small buffet setup of snacks. This is an awesome idea! I don't remember exactly what was available but I know I saw some chicken wings, and chips, and pretzels. Perfect for a little bar snack without having to venture very far. EXCELLENT IDEA Disney!

 

I know Disney ships never have casinos, but maybe if they had a small area in the District with some slots, or a few table games, or a poker room or something they might get a little more foot traffic in the area? Just a thought. I am not a big gambler so the lack of casino onboard did not matter to me one way or the other, but I knew plenty of people who would never sail Disney just becuase of this I'm sure.

[jwalk03]

Fireworks on a cruise ship are a totally AWESOME IDEA! I loved everything about this! I was a little sad that Allison was sleeping and didn’t get to see them, but that’s ok. Last year for Independence Day we went to St. Louis for the fireworks under the Arch. (Very Cool, if you have never been to St. Louis for this add it to your bucket list.) Of course she slept through most of THOSE fireworks too. She needs her beauty rest I guess!? Anyway...

The fireworks were great. We were a little late getting up to deck for them so we didn’t see much of the "show" that goes with the fireworks. The part we did see looked pretty cool though. Very well done, just as you would expect.

 

 

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of fun. Don't skip the fireworks. I would say this was one of the highlights of the entire cruise for us.

[Sue Do'nym]

Enjoying your review! I leave on Thursday for the Dream. I saw a picture of Pink and knew that would be "my bar" I agree with you the bar scene varies ship to ship. I was on a Carnival cruise once and was surprised how quite it was-esp. considering the Carnival rep. No one was ever in the dance clubs or any of the other bars. Karaoke was the busiest:eek: and there were maybe 20 people per night...

[jwalk03]

After the fireworks there is a midnight buffet in Cabanas. We really were not very hungry, but wanted to check it out and maybe have a snack.

 

 

 

 

 

The midnight buffet had a hot baked potato bar, tacos, burritos, lots of fresh fruit, and the highlight of the thing, make your own crepes! with lots of topping choices. We tried a lot, ate a little too much and then headed back to the cabin for the evening, after getting Allison from It's a Small World of course.

[jwalk03]

Tonight's towel animal:

 

 

And that's the end of Day 2 on the Disney Dream. Next up, Castaway Cay!

[Tradman]

Enjoying your review very much. We've been on two cruises ourselves (my wife and I- RC Monarch and Carnival Fascination) and are looking to book a Dream cruise for our two little ones (2 and 5). This has been a great insight into book with such young ones.

[jwalk03]

Day 3- Castaway Cay

 

I have read a lot about the cruise line's private islands on here and in travel books, but until today I had not actually been to any of them. Half Moon Cay (HAL/Carnival) gets a lot of good reviews for being a gorgeous beach. Castaway Cay seems to get TONS of positive reviews for being the only private island in the Bahamas where ships dock instead of tendering. This isn't really a big deal to me either way. Sure docking is a little more convenient than tendering, but not a deal breaker for me either way.

 

Anyway I was pretty excited. We love going to the beach, so a port day with private beach sounds great!

 

Pics from our balcony:

 

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2014 by jwalk03

[jwalk03]

We had a quick breakfast in Cabanas and then it was off to Castaway Cay!

 

 

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

Right after were left the ship there was Daisy doing pictures, so we stopped to see her first.

 

 

 

I love that they have the characters available on Castaway Cay. We stopped to see several of them and got some wonderful pictures with them on the island. I liked almost all of these puctures with the characters better than the ones from the ship.

 

As you are leaving the ship there is a cast member there to pass out beach towels for your use, very handy so you don't have to remember to bring them from your room.

[jwalk03]

 

We hopped on the tram and headed to the first stop. I noticed in the schedule that there were several more characters coming up so we decided to hang out a visit a few of those before heading over to the beach.

 

 

Allison was not looking too thrilled in these ones! I think she was ready to cool off at the beach! It was HOT!

Mickey:

 

Edited May 8, 2014 by jwalk03

[jwalk03]

Minnie:

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

This might be my favorite picture of the whole cruise! The ship, a palm tree, a mouse, and my whole family, perfect pic. I have it framed hanging on my living room wall.

 

[jwalk03]

Goofy:

 

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

Alright enough characters! Its HOT and time to go to the beach!

 

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

The water was a little chilly, but it was so hot that it felt really good once you got past that initial cold water shock.

 

 

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

 

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

 

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

After playing in the water for a while we headed back to our loungers and got a couple of drinks from the bar waiter as he went by. It really was a perfect day to be at the beach.

 

After a while it was time for lunch. So we headed for Cookies. Let me just say that the lunch provided was FABULOUS! Hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, tons of freshly cut fruit, potato salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, and lots of other stuff I probably can't even remember. It was all delicious! I ate WAY TOO MUCH! There is free fountain soda available just like on the ship as well. There is also self serve soft serve ice cream! I had a banana/strawberry twist, that was wonderful!! I was very very impressed with lunch, not 4 star cuisine or anything, but absolutely perfect for an afternoon at the beach!

Edited May 8, 2014 by jwalk03

[jwalk03]

After lunch it was time for the character dance party which takes place right by Cookies, where we were sitting finishing up our lunches anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

 

 

After the dance party we decided to walk around and explore more of the island for a while.

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

 

 

The water slides were all closed during our visit for some reason. Too bad, I really would have liked to give them a try.

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

 

 

 

[jwalk03]

 

 

 

 

After exploring, we decided to change out of our wet swimsuits. We still had more time on the island if we wanted, but we knew Allison was getting sleepy so we decided to take the tram back to our chairs at the beach and collect our stuff and then walk the rest of the way back to the ship from there.