5 kids, 7 grandchildren, 50 years of marriage & One Amazing Cruise on the Dream!

Well folks, it's that time. We're headed to the lake early in the morning, not to return until after our cruise. So it's that time in the pre- trip. You know? The time I should be
A) Packing
B) Getting everything else ready (pet sitters, etc.)
C) Finishing my sewing

And what am I doing?
D) Starting my trip report!!! :lol:

Tomorrow, June 25, my Mother and Father in Law will celebrate 50 years of Marriage :sohappy::sohappy::sohappy: No small feat marked by no small celebration. I joke with my husband that when we've been married 50 years we'll be taking a trip alone - and possibly by then we'll be so sick of each other, we'll even take it separately. :lol:

But not my in laws! Noooooooooo. They want to take all 5 of their kids, their grandkids, etc. WITH them - which works out to one sweet deal for us! A 4 night cruise on the Disney Dream!!! Woot! :sohappy:

Now, I'm not sure how comfortable all of my husband's family will be with me posting pictures of them all over the internet, so you'll probably be getting a lot of 'back of the head' shots, etc. when it comes to them, but here's the Cast:

MIL & FIL - married 50 years, MIL born and raised in Northern Germany, coming from Chicago
BIL & SIL & 2 of my nieces - coming from Manilla, Philippines
BIL & SIL & 3 of my nieces - coming from Maryland
SIL - coming from California
SIL & SIL - coming from Texas
aaaaand us:

Taken during our December 2010 Grand Gathering of MY family. Trip report here. coming from Alabama. Good thing my In Laws like to travel, huh?

 

[erstwo]

I thought those teen clubs and tween clubs were soooooo awesome! As the cruise went on you could really see how the teenagers on board were bonding. They would be having lunch at Cabanas together or you'd see them at the elevators saying things like, "We're headed down to Edge, are you coming?" So, so awesome! Especially if you are the parent of a teen or tween.


I had been up on Deck 13 super early that morning right before my workout. It's a really neat place - it has that "I'm the King of the World!" feel to it and there is always a slight :lookaroun breeze when the boat is moving.

But they also have these really great loungers built under what must be a 'radar ball' (this is my displaying all of my technological know how! :lol

It was usually a pretty quiet place, as only one elevator went to that deck and while I really enjoyed being out there, my husband fell in love with that spot and would try every chance he got to entice our entire traveling party to hang out up there. "Come on guys, it's got to be one of the best places to watch the fireworks!" Ha!

It was pretty cool honestly.

We were trying to watch the sunset, but there were some loungers and some clouds in our way:

Never fear, for my daughter, all the world's a stage, so she put on quite a show for us, dancing all over the open space up there!

 

[erstwo]

And then she must have asked to go back to the Oceaneer's Club because I have this picture of dropping her off:

And then we must have needed to finish our Detective case because I have these photos:

And we stopped by Shutters. It was nice having one on one time with each of the kids.

We went back to our room to change for dinner and saw our departure from Nassau from our balcony.

I may or may not have been obsessed with taking pictures of this bridge thing:

It just looks so cool!

 

[erstwo]

Dinner tonight was at Enchanted Garden.

I didn't take any food pictures sadly. We did toast the in laws with a nice bottle of champagne.

In the main lobby/ atrium there was another fantastic singer:

And Goofy was finally out of his pajamas!

Upstairs I could see Minnie Mouse in her sparkly white dress. I was dying to get a picture with her, but my kids only wanted to go back to the Kids Clubs, so I sadly set off to check them in, hoping against hope that I might make it back in time to see Minnie.

Now, I know this is terrible, but when I got back to the 4th floor, it looked like Minnie's line might already be closed, BUT the character attendant was totally distracted helping another guest find his way around the ship. I slipped into the back of the line hoping against hope that he had either A) not yet closed the line or B) wouldn't say anything to me. It worked! (I know, I know, I'm terrible - I feel terrible........... until I look at Minnie in this dress!)

Then my husband and I headed to the D Lounge to join our older nieces for some trivia fun.

I have to give props to the Cast Members - they are always upbeat and on the ball - if you are bored on this ship, it is your own fault!

The D Lounge really lives up to the 'fun for the whole family' billing. I give it an A+.

Then my mother and father in law and one of my brothers in law invited us to join them in seeing this magician/ comedian/ amazing juggling guys show (I can't for the life of me remember his name. EDIT - OH, okay. There's his name in the picture - ummmm..... Right then - Jeff Civilico) He was funny.

By this time I was coming down with a bad head cold type thing. I noticed in Hollybelle's trip report that her husband had something similar, so it could be something hanging around the ship, but I had spent the previous 3 days at the Happiest AND germy-est place on Earth, so it could have easily been something I picked up at the parks.

Either way, at 11:00, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed, so we picked up the kids and headed to our room for some rest.

Up next: Day 3 - Castaway Cay. I'm going to run the race, but will I need to take the tram back?

 

[Teachr4Disney]

I just wanted to say hi :wave: and tell you how much I'm enjoying your trip report. I've never been on a cruise and I'm just dying to go and of course....only the Dream for me!

Your daughter is just simply adorable! I love how you dress her in dresses. My DD is 7 now and she's a girly girl too and would love to wear more dresses. You've inspired me to buy more dresses for her. She'll be :sohappy: I guess I need to do that while I still have a say over what she wears and before she grows into a grunge phase (teenage years, perhaps)! Lord, I really hope she doesn't have one of those! :lol:

Oh, just one other thing: I'm so jealous at how often you're able to go to WDW! Makes me want to move closer!

Looking forward to reading more of your TR!

 

[foreverbelle]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the picture of Belle and your daughter. Makes me want a little girl of my own..

So is the kids club really great? Everyone talks about how the kids just want to hang out there...wonder what they pipe in there. That is awesome to know.

And I think I would have snuck in the back of the line myself. I mean you have to try don't you? And look at that sparkly dress. Amazing.

I really love the fact that you guys give your kids time with you on their own. What a fabulous idea!


Hmm HollyBelle leaving her mark on the ship I see?? LOL She could have figured a much better way to do so I say. LOL:ROFLOL:
Can't wait to read about Castaway!

 

[HollyBelle]

Oh no... I hope you start feeling better! Especially for Castaway Cay!

I totally would have snuck in Minnie's line, too. So glad it worked! That ensemble is simply fabulous. And Goofy in his pjs?!? I'm green with envy. :lol: I'm so glad your husband got that picture with him.

You know I don't think we ever made it up to that area where the radar is. It looks so nice and peaceful.

 

[erstwo]

I just wanted to say hi :wave: and tell you how much I'm enjoying your trip report. I've never been on a cruise and I'm just dying to go and of course....only the Dream for me!

Your daughter is just simply adorable! I love how you dress her in dresses. My DD is 7 now and she's a girly girl too and would love to wear more dresses. You've inspired me to buy more dresses for her. She'll be :sohappy: I guess I need to do that while I still have a say over what she wears and before she grows into a grunge phase (teenage years, perhaps)! Lord, I really hope she doesn't have one of those!

Oh, just one other thing: I'm so jealous at how often you're able to go to WDW! Makes me want to move closer!

Looking forward to reading more of your TR!

As soon as you can get on the Dream (or really any of the Disney ships) you should do it! We are SO very blessed and lucky to be able to go as often as we do - it is not something we take for granted that's for sure, we are 100% thankful every time we step through the gates.

I do love a dress! That red and white flowered dress that my daughter loves so much (has appeared twice so far in the TR) I got at Marshall's for $14.99 AND it came with a matching dress for her doll - can't beat that! At least, not in her eyes.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the picture of Belle and your daughter. Makes me want a little girl of my own..

So is the kids club really great? Everyone talks about how the kids just want to hang out there...wonder what they pipe in there. That is awesome to know.

And I think I would have snuck in the back of the line myself. I mean you have to try don't you? And look at that sparkly dress. Amazing.

I really love the fact that you guys give your kids time with you on their own. What a fabulous idea!


Hmm HollyBelle leaving her mark on the ship I see?? LOL She could have figured a much better way to do so I say.
Can't wait to read about Castaway!

First I have to say that I feel so blessed just to have my two children - boys or girls - but having said that, I do love having one of each! You get to see both sides of the coin so to speak - the pirate swords and the princess dresses- it's all fun, but all very different!

I think that whatever they put in the water at WDW that has made me so addicted to going back, they must also pipe into the water at the Kids Clubs. :lookaroun Because if I had a dollar for every kid I heard say "I wish we could live on this ship!" on disembarkation day, I'd have had enough money to pay for my gas on the trip home. :lol: When I checked my son into the Oceaneers Club for the first time, I asked the guy checking him in, "You can call me on my Wave Phone if he wants to leave right?" And they guy said, "Yes. But he won't want to call you." Ha! He was totally right too.

I would love to claim that giving each child some time to themselves was planned out, but sadly, we aren't that good, I just think it had to do with timing/ kids being hungry at different times and/ or my son wanting to finish that Detective Agency game. But next time, we're going for the Parents of the Year award and we'll totally do that.

I'd bet that 'mark' was there waaaay before Hollybelle! Like I said, it could be something that's just living on the ship or it could be something that I picked up in the parks. Also, one of my sisters in law had a head cold when we met up with them on Tuesday. She was better by Wednesday and I didn't spend much time with her, but for all I know I got her cold? At this point in my motherhood, I'm just thankful for any virus that doesn't make someone upchuck. Ha!

Oh no... I hope you start feeling better! Especially for Castaway Cay!

I totally would have snuck in Minnie's line, too. So glad it worked! That ensemble is simply fabulous. And Goofy in his pjs?!? I'm green with envy. :lol: I'm so glad your husband got that picture with him.

You know I don't think we ever made it up to that area where the radar is. It looks so nice and peaceful.

Well, if you ever meet my husband on the boat, he'll be sure to tell you alllll about the radar area! But wait - didn't your TR have a photo of the Teen Club hot tub area? You know, looking down on the Teen Club? If so, then you were up there. Those blue seats would have been just behind the clear glass walls that would have been to your back. If that makes any sense at all? :veryconfu

I do love that Goofy pic. Talk about being in character, the way he was walking around lazily, as if he literally HAD just woken up, not posing for any pictures - you could almost believe that Goofy's 'friend' had put on Goofy's pajamas, slept in costume and had just woken up and was now taking a sleepy walk around the ship before getting dressed. It was awesome.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

I thought it was adorable how your son kept that dinosaur with him the whole time.

 

[DAKOTADISNEY]

I am loving your trip report so far! We are sailing on the Dream in January so your info and pictures of the check-in process is really helpful. Can't wait to read more! Your children are adorable, such cute faces. Having two daughters we know what it's like to experience the princess stage. Sadly they have grown out of it at ages 16 and 11.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I LOVE all the costume changes the characters have here... I swear they wear a different outfit everyday from what I've sene in yours and HollyBelle's pics!!!

Every little girl should own a Disney Princess dress.. And if I were a little girl, I'd probably choose Belle's dress as well!! I actually own a Cinderella dress that my aunt made for me about 7 years ago. It's gorgeous and I did a few little girls birthday parties in it back when I had blonde hair and could pass for Cinderella. And I may or may not still put on the dress from time to time and imagine Im a princess...... :lookaroun

 

[erstwo]

I thought it was adorable how your son kept that dinosaur with him the whole time.

Thank you! He loves that dinosaur. My mother in law bought it for him at TRex in Downtown Disney on a trip to S. Florida, that didn't include a stop in the parks. It was one of those build-a-bear things. At the time, I tried to discourage her from buying it, but now I can't imagine our lives without that dinosaur! He's been everywhere with us. He got on long bath after we got home, that's for sure!

I am loving your trip report so far! We are sailing on the Dream in January so your info and pictures of the check-in process is really helpful. Can't wait to read more! Your children are adorable, such cute faces. Having two daughters we know what it's like to experience the princess stage. Sadly they have grown out of it at ages 16 and 11.

Thank you! I'm so glad it is helpful to someone - I know that I felt so much more prepared by reading everyone else's trip reports. The Dream in January is going to be amazing! Perfect time of year to cruise, IMHO. I bet your girls are going to love it too!

I LOVE all the costume changes the characters have here... I swear they wear a different outfit everyday from what I've sene in yours and HollyBelle's pics!!!

Every little girl should own a Disney Princess dress.. And if I were a little girl, I'd probably choose Belle's dress as well!! I actually own a Cinderella dress that my aunt made for me about 7 years ago. It's gorgeous and I did a few little girls birthday parties in it back when I had blonde hair and could pass for Cinderella. And I may or may not still put on the dress from time to time and imagine Im a princess...... :lookaroun

They really do! In one day we saw Minnie in her tropical dress and then in her evening gown.

I think you are right, and if I could still squeeze into a Cinderella dress, I might do the same thing! :lookaroun:lol:

I think I've got time for at least one post this morning! If not, I should def. be back tonight with an update!

 

[erstwo]

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, we come to the part of this TR where I feel I don't really have enough pictures to go with the commentary, so please bear with me. Reasons for the lack of pictures to follow.

I think I might have forgotten to mention that the previous night, I headed into Mainsails (I think that's the name of the shop?) to buy something to treat my head cold. My options were pretty limited and I settled on Benadryl, the drowsy kind. I took one before I went to bed around midnight, and was out cold all night. For whatever reasons, that are totally beyond me now, I set my alarm before I went to bed for 7 am. I think I was worried I would miss the 9 am 5k if I didn't get up and get dressed, get off the boat, etc. Which was probably right, but looking back, I'd have rather have had the sleep!

So at 7 am, the alarm goes off, waking not only myself, but also my kids (my husband slept peacefully on........ :lol: I got up, got dressed and the kids and I went out on the balcony to inspect our surroundings. Soon we saw this:

Castaway Cay!

By this time my husband was up to join in the excitement and everyone else dressed while I packed our bag for the day and changed (again!) into my running clothes. In my drug/ early morning fog, I had completely forgotten about the 5K! :lol:

We decided to head to the Royal Palace for breakfast:

For breakfast, Royal Palace is different in than Enchanted Garden and Cabanas are buffets but Royal Palace is a la carte table service. I was in LOVE with their tea cups and saucers. So elegant!

More to come!

 

[disneygirl1]

I said it before and I will say it again!!!! You are getting me SO excited for my Dream cruise!!! :sohappy:

 

[erstwo]

I said it before and I will say it again!!!! You are getting me SO excited for my Dream cruise!!! :sohappy:

You are going to have the best time! :sohappy: Please write a trip report when you get home! By then, I'll really need some TR magic to relive my memories of the Dream.

 

[erstwo]

Okay, SO - we finished with a wonderful breakfast - that was served SUPER quickly by the way. We wanted to get in and get out and boy did our servers deliver!

Royal Palace is on Deck 3. On our way down to Deck 1 to disembark, my husband realizes he has left his sunglasses in our room. He comments that he will just have to pick up a pair somewhere on Castaway Cay. Now. I am fully aware that my husband says this because he is as excited as a 2 year old on Christmas morning about setting foot on Castaway Cay. So, I call his bluff and say, "Why don't you just go back up to the room and get them?"

Well, he can't admit that it's because he can't wait to get on the island and instead makes some lame comment about how it would be soooooo much trouble to take both of the kids back up to the room by himself - to which I give my smart - alec reply of, "I took the kids to WDW by myself for 3 days and you can't even take them back up to the room?" :lol: He relents and heads back up to the room for his sunglasses.

Looking back I REALLY, REALLY wish I would have A) gone back up with him or B) have waited for him at the gate, because he had our bag with him and the bag contained ........... of course....... the camera.

But of course, I was in an all fired hurry to get to the 5K start, worried I'd be late and here I was all dressed up for the party - didn't want to miss it! So I took off walking toward the bike rental place, no time for the tram. Along the way I met a nice couple from way northern Ohio who were traveling with their 3 teenagers. We had some nice conversation and located the 5K start together.

The 5K was fine. You arrive at the meeting spot, there was only one Cast Member in charge and he handed out bibs and safety pins. He went over the route and explained that it was a 'run at your own risk' type thing. He said he would try his best to be back at the start/ finish to give us our times, but couldn't guarantee anything and then he counted down and we were off!

The things I liked about it were - getting to see pretty much the entire 'guest accessible' island all at once and the whole idea of running in paradise. It was well laid out and planned at a good time, as we didn't have to dodge that many people on bikes/ trams/ exploring the island. There were several water stations along the route if you needed them. The Cast Member at the start explained very well the route we would be taking and showed us said route on the map located just behind him at the start.

The things I didn't like about it - Man alive! It was HOT! And I'm a Southern girl, used to heat and humidity. I do think it was a little late in the morning for me though. Obviously, this wouldn't apply if you were on an spring/ winter cruise. There was no 'sweeper' at the back of the race. I don't know why, but it really bothered me. Not that I was in any danger of falling out and maybe it's the race director in me, but it seems crazy that people of all fitness levels were participating in this 5K and there was no one making sure no one keeled over? Seemed weird to me. Finally, it really took up too much of my time. If I had gone with my family, I could have been on the beach for over an hour by the time we started, finished and then I located my family. I'm glad I did it - it was on my check list and I checked off that box, but I don't think I'll do it again.

Finally, I did find my family! They had secured some chairs right along the front of the beach with an umbrella! Score!

I sat there with my magazines for a little while watching the family snorkel

And finally, my husband decided he wanted to go further out, so the kids and I played in the sand for a while.

 

[joanna71985]

I agree with others, your TR has me so excited for my cruise in Feb!!

 

[Teachr4Disney]

As soon as you can get on the Dream (or really any of the Disney ships) you should do it!

I do love a dress! That red and white flowered dress that my daughter loves so much (has appeared twice so far in the TR) I got at Marshall's for $14.99 AND it came with a matching dress for her doll - can't beat that! At least, not in her eyes.

From your mouth to my bank account! :lol: I SO hope we can go next year!

Wow, what a great deal! My DD would love that and with a matching dress for her doll, she'd be ecstatic! I need to check Marshall's more often!

 

[erstwo]

At some point I returned to the ship and took a quick shower and grabbed our Wave Phones - because .......... Your Wave Phones Work on Castaway Cay!!! Somehow I missed this important info, but we quickly figured it out by all the conversations going on around us.

Now, I know there were only 4000 people on the boat, but there were about 1,000,000 on the beach! They were everywhere - all over the chairs, the hammocks, the water, the DJ booth, the shops, EVERYWHERE. It was sup-ah crowded on the family beach folks!

My in laws all found us and we piled all 17 people's stuff...... on our 2 hard earned loungers in the shade of our single umbrella while everyone went off to snorkel, swim with stingrays, etc. My 2 sisters in law, being the sane, intelligent women that they are had headed straight for the Adults Only beach. :lol:

Finally my son decided he wanted to check out Pelican Plunge, my husband emerged from the snorkeling area, and my daughter asked to be checked in to the Kids Club for a while. My husband and son took off in search of the Pelican Plunge and I headed to drop of my daughter. The Kids Club was at lunch, so I had to check her in there:

(See the hairbow?)

I was super impressed with the check in/ check out and security on Castaway Cay kids clubs. They were the same staff members from the ship and they followed the exact same procedures, only they had to do it via paper, not computer. They checked my daughter's Mickey band, checked my room key, asked for the password, etc.

The hubby called to say they had signed up for the Stingray adventure at 1:00 and were on their way to eat.

I thought the food on Castaway Cay went way above and beyond my expectations. I expected hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and that's about it. But there were chicken dishes, ribs, vegetable dishes, rice, potatoes, loads of fresh fruit and of course, ice cream! Yummmmmmy!

 

[Teachr4Disney]

I think you are right, and if I could still squeeze into a Cinderella dress, I might do the same thing! :lookaroun:lol:

I feel exactly the same! Oh, to dress up as a princess! We didn't have such things when I was a little girl.


I just have to say that I'm very impressed that you still ran the 5K with your head cold! I can't run because of a serious injury as a result of a car accident, but even if I could, I probably would've skipped it. But, then again, I'm a big baby when I'm sick! :lookaroun Hey, you can check it off your bucket list, right?

Still loving your TR! Looking forward to reading more. (Need to start working on mine! )

 

[erstwo]

The picture above reminds me: Is that banana ice cream not to die for???? If you've ever enjoyed a banana Laffy Taffy, then that banana ice cream is for you! It tastes exactly the same to me. Yummy again!

I did some shopping, hoping to find a hat

Didn't find anything I really loved, so I decided it was time for some Mommy R&R and I headed over to the tram stop for the Adults Only beach. There are 2 trams on the island - one that runs from the ship to the Kids Club area (Scuttle's cove? Maybe?) and the 'transfer stop.' The transfer stop has another tram that comes up and takes you to the Adults Only beach. (I took a picture of each tram with the names of the stops on them, so the stops should be listed on the photos below! I only point this out because as I exited the ship after my shower there was a really frustrated couple on the pathway to the family beach that was trying to find 'the other tram stop.' Evidently they thought the 'transfer stop' was just down from the first stop, which is NOT the case. If you don't want to walk, take the first tram to the transfer stop!