Trip Report A DREAM is a wish your heart makes

Hello all! I thought I would finally share our trip report from our very first DISNEY CRUISE
Our cruise dates were 2/23-2/28 on The Dream. This trip was just my husband and I- we were celebrating our 15 year anniversary. When we were discussing vacation options, it was actually my husband who suggested a cruise. Neither of us have cruised before.

Our anniversary was 12/20. December is a busy month for us with Christmas and also our daughter’s birthday so we initially decided on a January cruise. Unfortunately just a few days before we were set to leave, my grandmother passed away. Her services were scheduled for while we were gone. We of course wanted to attend her services but also, my parents were going to be watching our kids while we were gone and we didn’t want to burden them any further. So we chose to reschedule the cruise for February. I was actually shocked by how difficult this was. We weren’t asking to cancel and be refunded, simply reschedule, but it was a multi step process. But I suppose a good experience to have should I have a similar situation with a future client

Before I officially get going, I just want to say that the first few days were very rough for us. We had a quite a few things go wrong early on. So while it may seem like a negative trip report to start, I promise you, I absolutely LOVED our cruise and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I do want to mention the negatives however in case anyone has any advice or can relate to our experiences.

First a few pictures to introduce ourselves - a family picture from our last Disney trip in March 2023, myself (Jillian), husband Nick and our daughters Sage and Aria.
And also a picture of me and the kids on Mother’s Day last year with my sweet sweet Grandma. She was Polish and we called her Babcia.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Two more pics out on the kayak!

We then spent a little time on one of the family beaches. We did swim for a bit. Or at least we tried. The water was pretty chilly. If we were to ever cruise again, the one thing we said was that we wouldn’t go in the winter. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was in the 70’s, full sunshine and felt plenty hot. But the water was a bit cold for our liking.

We then walked around the main area with the shops.

And by about 3:45, started to make our way back towards the ship!

I feel like I can’t even put into words how amazing Castaway Cay is. It was everything we were hoping for. There is a ton to do on the island. You can rent bikes, scuba gear, swim with stingrays, they even had a yoga class on Serenity Bay. Much like a WDW theme park, it’s impossible to do everything in one day. But we felt like we got a perfect taste of the island. 10/10 no notes

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Continuing on, sorry for the delay! I should be able to wrap things up today

When we got back on the ship, before going back to our room, we made our way to the Aqua Duck. We hadn’t done it yet, and we were already in our bathing suits, so we figured it was now or never.

Now let me start by saying that I am not a big fan of water slides or even water parks in general. Partly because I can’t go underwater without holding my nose and partly because I wear contacts. So I can’t open my eyes underwater. So basically, the whole time, I am doing some combo of breath/nose holding and closing my eyes, anticipating any splashing or sliding into the pool and I really just find it incredibly uncomfortable and stressful

I wasn’t overly worried about the Aqua Duck, it was all enclosed in a tube so I figured how bad could it be.

I couldn’t have been more wrong

Nick sat in front to hopefully absorb the majority of the splashing but it was way more intense than we were anticipating. Not only were we continually splashed in the face, but big monsoons of water somehow came up from behind as well. I had my hair down and it was all in my face and I literally felt like someone was standing behind me, just dumping buckets and buckets of water on the back of my head. I honestly hated it One and done for me. Especially considering we waited about 30 minutes

No pictures of this experience so instead, enjoy this picture my 8 year old drew for us while we were gone. Captain Mickey & Minnie standing on the pool deck with the Aqua Duck behind them. She’s literally only seen the Dream in YouTube videos so pretty impressive

A few random pictures I took at some point that evening- Cabana’s has super cute sand looking artwork of the different Disney castles. And me in front of a ginormous picture.

The show that night was Believe. Nick came with me since he didn’t attend the other two. This show is similar to the Golden Mickey’s in the way that they both feature multiple characters from various movies. The storyline for this one was a little too cheesy for me. It was about a young girl who was trying to convince her dad to believe in magic. I found it way too distracting that the “young girl” was clearly a full grown adult The Genie was great though and it was definitely entertaining.


For dinner that night, we were finally in Animator’s Palate.

This restaurant was definitely the most unique of the three so it was a little sad to only have dinner there once and two times in the other two locations. Each section was filled with little figurines and artwork from various Pixar movies.

I had heard great things about the way Crush swims through the restaurant and talks with the guests. Unfortunately that ended up being a bit of a let down. He only spoke with one table in our section and while the kids were adorable, they weren’t particularly chatty. So it ended up being a short conversation. I was under the impression Crush would talk with multiple tables but Nick pointed out they probably only have microphones on one table per section.

 

[cgersic]

I've really been enjoying this report, even though I haven't commented much! I'll be sorry to see it end as it looks like you had a great time - other than the Aqua Duck!

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

I've really been enjoying this report, even though I haven't commented much! I'll be sorry to see it end as it looks like you had a great time - other than the Aqua Duck!

Thank you so much! We had an amazing time I’m glad I did the Aqua Duck once just to say I did it. But yeah, I’m good from now on

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Dinner that night was excellent but it was the first time I just wasn’t really hungry. I ate my appetizer and few bites of the entree and got my dessert to go.

One thing we didn’t really pay much attention to until that final day- each day, in the app, there was a drink of the day. We never really looked at the description since neither of us drink but on our last day, we just happened to notice that there was a non alcoholic drink as well. Both the alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks were really reasonably priced. So definitely check these out each day!

I got the non alcoholic version with my meal. I honestly don’t remember what it was but it was definitely fruity. And delish.

For my appetizer, I got the black truffle pasta and it was delicious. It tasted like super rich & cheesy tortellini.

Obsessed with these plates


For my entree, I had the lemon thyme chicken and Nick had the ginger teriyaki tenderloin. Both were excellent as well.

For dessert, I had the lemon ice box pie. No pic as I got it to go. I ate half that night and half in the morning. It was also very good!

That night, there was a “See Ya Real Soon” goodbye show in the atrium at 10:15. I knew that tiny area would fill up quick so I got a spot on the deck above pretty early and just hung out. The show itself was pretty short, they basically just introduced all the characters again (the main characters plus a few princesses), they waved and walked down the staircase. Then a little song played and Mickey confetti fell from the ceiling. It was cute and Nick was nice enough to go down a level and get some Mickey confetti off the floor for me to take home

I took a ridiculous amount of pictures and videos so here are just a few.

The night ended with our final towel creation, this adorable little mouse.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Wednesday 2/28

Not a whole lot to report on this day

Since we were in the later group for dinner, we were given a later breakfast on that final morning. I think we were given 8:15am. We packed up, said a final goodbye to our room and went back down to Animator’s Palate.

I took a few more pictures in the restaurant and only one food pic, a fruit plate that was supposed to look like a boat. I didn’t take a picture of my actual meal because they brought me the wrong breakfast. I knew they were in a hurry to get everyone out so I just ate it

Leaving the ship was definitely more organized and efficient than our arrival day. No real complaints other than the garage could definitely use more signage. We had a little trouble finding the bus but it was there waiting and left pretty soon after.

One last picture. When our plane was taking off, the little girl behind us suddenly started squealing “Look mom look! It’s the Disney Dream!” Then she whispered, “I love you Disney”. I couldn’t help but smile. Same girl, same.

So that’s it guys! The end of an incredible trip For those of you who have never been on a Disney cruise, the best way I can describe it is it’s like being at a Disney themed all inclusive resort. Everything you could possibly need or want is just a few steps away. Food, the pool, shows, characters, it’s all right there. So different from Disney World. Just to get to a Disney park, you have to walk from your hotel room to the transportation, wait for the transportation to arrive, take said transportation, walk to the entrance, wait to scan in, etc. On a cruise, maybe you have to walk down some stairs or take an elevator. That’s it.

The vibe on the cruise was so much different from a Disney vacation. Now don’t get me wrong, Disney World is literally my favorite place. I’ve been with just my husband, with my kids 4 times, I’ve even done a solo trip. But let’s be honest, it can be… a lot. It’s crowded, it’s loud, it’s hot and people are often cranky (myself included!) There was none of that on the cruise. Everyone was just so happy and polite and relaxed. I can honestly say I didn’t witness any kids whining or crying. Even though some aspects are similar, like waiting in a 20 or 30 minute line to meet a character, you are doing it indoors in a climate controlled environment. Not in the Florida heat and humidity

I would definitely recommend trying a Disney cruise if you’ve done WDW or DL before and are looking for something a little different. Or if you have small kids and find Disney World overwhelming. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

I honestly don’t know when we will cruise again. My husband enjoyed it but says he doesn’t feel the immediate need to do it again anytime soon. I think I would have to lure him with a unique destination like Alaska. After our last family trip to Disney World in March 2023, he said he was done with WDW. Since I am a Disney travel agent and Disney is quite literally my one true love, I told him there’s no way I can be done. I can’t take my kids by myself, they fight like actual feral cats, so I am taking just my older daughter this August. Then I will take just my younger daughter in 2025.

My plan for 2026 was to maybe do another solo trip. But now I’m actually thinking of maybe doing a few days in WDW and a 3 or 4 night cruise. I don’t even need to dock anywhere, just a few days at sea and a stop at Castaway would be perfection

Thanks so much for following along everyone!

Until next time….

 

[rshell68]

Thank you for sharing with us!!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Thank you for such an enjoyable and informative report. We have never done a Disney cruise so it was great to hear what it was like for just two adults experiencing it.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Thank you for such an enjoyable and informative report. We have never done a Disney cruise so it was great to hear what it was like for just two adults experiencing it.

It was so relaxing! I was worried I would be bored and wishing I was at Disney World instead but that wasn’t the case at all. It far exceeded my expectations.

 

[cgersic]

So sweet about the little girl on the plane Same girl, same. Thanks again for sharing this trip report and for the laugh out loud about your kids fighting like actual feral cats. I have some feral cats that I feed, and I know just what you speak of.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

So sweet about the little girl on the plane Same girl, same. Thanks again for sharing this trip report and for the laugh out loud about your kids fighting like actual feral cats. I have some feral cats that I feed, and I know just what you speak of.

I only speak the truth

Thanks for following along!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Thank you for taking the time to share your report. Your photos were great!

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Thank you for taking the time to share your report. Your photos were great!

Thanks so much! Appreciation you following along