Dream- Tips & Must Dos!

[blreinsel]

We are doing a 5 day cruise on the Dream for our honeymoon in July and I’m looking for any and all information you have to offer!

We have 1 stop in the Bahamas, 2 stops at Castaway Cay, and 1 day at sea.

We aren’t really looking to do any port excursions, but rather just exploring and enjoying the beach.

I’m considering doing Palo, but Remy is out for us. What do I need to know about Palo?

I love meeting characters.. what’s the best route for meeting them on the ship?

TIA!

 

[nol_dur]

Must Do's: The movie theater, the Muppet game (Do it right away to avoid everyone rushing to do it near the end), all of the shows, Aqua Duck at night (around the pre-show for the fireworks), Castaway Cay (if it's not rain out like mine), I didn't really meet the characters but just look at your app for times and arrive about ten to fifteen minutes before hand if you are planning to be there first. Do Aqua Duck right away once you get on the ship too. Most importantly have fun and try to not stick to a pl[an that much. Cruises are more fun when you just play it by ear.

 

[lostpro9het]

Really there are only 2 must dos:
1: Book a placeholder
2: Just go with the flow and have fun! I highly doubt this will be your last cruise, which is why #1 is important, so don't sweat not getting it all in.

Some optional dos:
Choose any beverage seminar and give it a go. Ya'll will probably like mixology.
Free mickey bars delivered to your room.
Order anything and everything. If two different entrees look good, order it! If they all look good, order it! Your service team will even encourage this.
If you do Palo, please dress for it. They've watered down the attire requirements for it and it has, IMO, cheapened it slightly when you see folks in jeans and a golf shirt.(just my opinion)
Keep doing what you're doing, ask questions!

 

[blreinsel]

Must Do's: The movie theater, the Muppet game (Do it right away to avoid everyone rushing to do it near the end), all of the shows, Aqua Duck at night (around the pre-show for the fireworks), Castaway Cay (if it's not rain out like mine), I didn't really meet the characters but just look at your app for times and arrive about ten to fifteen minutes before hand if you are planning to be there first. Do Aqua Duck right away once you get on the ship too. Most importantly have fun and try to not stick to a pl[an that much. Cruises are more fun when you just play it by ear.

I’m super excited for the Beauty and the Beast show! Aqua Duck at night sounds incredible! I’m definitely trying to avoid making too much of a plan.. I’ve gotten a lot better about that in the last couple of years. Thanks for the tips!

Really there are only 2 must dos:
1: Book a placeholder
2: Just go with the flow and have fun! I highly doubt this will be your last cruise, which is why #1 is important, so don't sweat not getting it all in.

Some optional dos:
Choose any beverage seminar and give it a go. Ya'll will probably like mixology.
Free mickey bars delivered to your room.
Order anything and everything. If two different entrees look good, order it! If they all look good, order it! Your service team will even encourage this.
If you do Palo, please dress for it. They've watered down the attire requirements for it and it has, IMO, cheapened it slightly when you see folks in jeans and a golf shirt.(just my opinion)
Keep doing what you're doing, ask questions!

I highly doubt that this will be our last as well, however we booked a CM rate thanks to Dylan! They’re released about a month ahead of the sale date, so though it’s somewhat stressful waiting for your dates to pop up, the cost savings makes it 100% worth it.

I’m so excited to be able to eat everything and try things I wouldn’t typically try for fear of not liking it. Dylan was blown away when I told him we can do that.

We ate at Yachtsman the other night and were surprised by some of the attire. Dylan said he felt overdressed and I told him that it was the exact opposite. We’ll be sure to dress accordingly at Palo as well.. we’re always looking for an excuse to get spiffed up.

 

[EOD K9]

We are doing a 5 day cruise on the Dream for our honeymoon in July and I’m looking for any and all information you have to offer!

We have 1 stop in the Bahamas, 2 stops at Castaway Cay, and 1 day at sea.

We aren’t really looking to do any port excursions, but rather just exploring and enjoying the beach.

I’m considering doing Palo, but Remy is out for us. What do I need to know about Palo?

I love meeting characters.. what’s the best route for meeting them on the ship?

TIA!

I'm taking a 5 nighter in July as well. Hmmmm.
I did..and you should, schedule Palo on Pirate Night. I agree with @lostpro9het regarding dress for Palo. I've either worn a suit or slacks with a dress shirt and tie. Every restaurant serves the same menu. In this way, you wont miss any of the MDR meals. I find the PN fare lacking. A place holder is a must as you can always get a refund if you decide to cancel. You cannot get it after you leave the ship.
I like meeting the characters, its fun to riff with the face characters to do some improv with them. Their times and locations will be in the daily schedule and also on digital boards in the lobby. There is so much knowledge that many of us have acquired. Just ask and we'll help.

 

[blreinsel]

I'm taking a 5 nighter in July as well. Hmmmm.
I did..and you should, schedule Palo on Pirate Night. I agree with @lostpro9het regarding dress for Palo. I've either worn a suit or slacks with a dress shirt and tie. Every restaurant serves the same menu. In this way, you wont miss any of the MDR meals. I find the PN fare lacking. A place holder is a must as you can always get a refund if you decide to cancel. You cannot get it after you leave the ship.
I like meeting the characters, its fun to riff with the face characters to do some improv with them. Their times and locations will be in the daily schedule and also on digital boards in the lobby. There is so much knowledge that many of us have acquired. Just ask and we'll help.

We sail on July 7! Pirate night was actually when I was considering scheduling Palo because I had read questionable reviews about the regular food served that night.. it didn’t really appeal to me. So that’s a definite possibility.

I read that it’s often easy to buzz through a few characters on the first day before the ship even leaves the port. Have you had any luck with that?

 

[belledream]

Take the time to really explore the ship! So much neat Disney artwork around the halls/stairwells that I want in my house sooo badly.

We also had some random character encounters while roaming around quiet areas of the ship. With no one else around, we felt like VIPs!

 

[EOD K9]

We sail on July 7! Pirate night was actually when I was considering scheduling Palo because I had read questionable reviews about the regular food served that night.. it didn’t really appeal to me. So that’s a definite possibility.

I read that it’s often easy to buzz through a few characters on the first day before the ship even leaves the port. Have you had any luck with that?

Alas, we will not be sailing together. You can meet many of the characters on day one easily. That being said, if we see the same ones again, we said hi when there was no line. The nice thing about face characters, there is only one friend of that character so they get to know you very well. It is really a wonderful experience when they say hi to you in passing or ask how your evening was when you see them again. Years ago, Tiana, whom we later saw as CM Devin, asked how we were doing. The family and I split up to get the characters we wanted and when she advised us the line changed, I told her too bad that my other daughter was one deck down and she would miss Minnie. Devin said she would bring the wife and daughter up. I asked her if she knew who she was looking for and she described them perfectly. I love the interactions on the cruise so much more than in the parks. You'll have a blast!

 

[blreinsel]

Take the time to really explore the ship! So much neat Disney artwork around the halls/stairwells that I want in my house sooo badly.

We also had some random character encounters while roaming around quiet areas of the ship. With no one else around, we felt like VIPs!

I’m sure I’ll be wanting to add all of the artwork to my collection! I was tempted to take the one out of our Beach Club room earlier this week.

“Hidden” meet and greets are the best to stumble upon!

Alas, we will not be sailing together. You can meet many of the characters on day one easily. That being said, if we see the same ones again, we said hi when there was no line. The nice thing about face characters, there is only one friend of that character so they get to know you very well. It is really a wonderful experience when they say hi to you in passing or ask how your evening was when you see them again. Years ago, Tiana, whom we later saw as CM Devin, asked how we were doing. The family and I split up to get the characters we wanted and when she advised us the line changed, I told her too bad that my other daughter was one deck down and she would miss Minnie. Devin said she would bring the wife and daughter up. I asked her if she knew who she was looking for and she described them perfectly. I love the interactions on the cruise so much more than in the parks. You'll have a blast!

That’s so cool! I hadn’t even considered that. I’m sure there’s some overlap with the fur characters too, so that will definitely make for some fun and memorable meet and greets all around!

 

[ChuckElias]

This isn't a "must" do, but I'd recommend taking the Art of the Theme Show ship tour. It's a great way to learn about the decor and theming all over the ship and gives you a general lay of the land so you start to learn your way around. It will be offered on Embarkation Day and (probably) on your Sea Day.

 

[blreinsel]

This isn't a "must" do, but I'd recommend taking the Art of the Theme Show ship tour. It's a great way to learn about the decor and theming all over the ship and gives you a general lay of the land so you start to learn your way around. It will be offered on Embarkation Day and (probably) on your Sea Day.

That sounds super cool! Where will information for things like this be advertised? And where do I go to sign up?

 

[Tiggerish]

That sounds super cool! Where will information for things like this be advertised? And where do I go to sign up?

Check your Navigator for times. You don’t need to sign up for the Art of the Theme Show, just show up. I also highly recommend that tour.

The Dream is one of my top 2 favorite ships. You will have such a great time.


If you like coffee drinks, hit up Vista Cafe. You’ll pay for the coffee (get a punch card!!), but the pastries are free.

We do Palo on our first night! It’s pretty empty so you get lots of attention from your server, and we find that the main dining room servers appreciate the break—although they usually give us the “where were you” routine, we had a few of them admit that being down a table made their first night a lot easier, getting to know their guests preferences. And then they seemed to make an extra effort to get to know us.

You’ll definitely spend time in The District. Skyline on the Dream is one of my favorite places on earth (together with Keys on the Magic, O’Gills on the Magic/Crown & Fin on the Wonder, and Ooh LaLa on the Fantasy)

I’m kind of jealous—and I’m going to be on the Dream next week!!

Oh, and just to reinforce the advice you’ve already gotten—book a placeholder!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I would suggest getting to the ship as early as you can so you can start having fun, I suppose that depends on your boarding group. We usually eat right away and then go to the adult area of Satellite Falls. We find that it is usually empty or almost empty, it feels like we are on our own private yacht!

I haven't eaten dinner at Palo but the brunch is fantastic, and a good time to do that is on your Nassau day if you aren't interested in the port. The dress for brunch was nice casual. I wore a sundress and my husband were a polo and khakis.

If either of you is a beer drinker and if you plan on buying beer on the ship get the beer mug. Then you get it filled with the big beer for the small size price after buying the mug. You also don't have to carry the mug around, when you are done drinking return it to a bar and exchange for a card. Then at the end of your cruise exchange for a clean mug to take home.

And I know you said it is your honeymoon but try to get up early on one of your Castaway Cay days to be one of the first ones to the adult beach, it is really cool being one of the first ones on that beach because it feels so private.

And as a previous post mentioned get Mickey bars delivered to your room, maybe even with a chocolate chip cookie to make an ice cream sandwich. Room service in the morning is nice, to have a little coffee and pre-breakfast in your room. There is a card in your door that you can hang outside to order the night before, the card has time ranges but we wrote the actual time we wanted it delivered next to the box and they would deliver at that time, they were actually very prompt and right on the dot.

But whatever you do it is going to be a blast!

 

[blreinsel]

Check your Navigator for times. You don’t need to sign up for the Art of the Theme Show, just show up. I also highly recommend that tour.

The Dream is one of my top 2 favorite ships. You will have such a great time.


If you like coffee drinks, hit up Vista Cafe. You’ll pay for the coffee (get a punch card!!), but the pastries are free.

We do Palo on our first night! It’s pretty empty so you get lots of attention from your server, and we find that the main dining room servers appreciate the break—although they usually give us the “where were you” routine, we had a few of them admit that being down a table made their first night a lot easier, getting to know their guests preferences. And then they seemed to make an extra effort to get to know us.

You’ll definitely spend time in The District. Skyline on the Dream is one of my favorite places on earth (together with Keys on the Magic, O’Gills on the Magic/Crown & Fin on the Wonder, and Ooh LaLa on the Fantasy)

I’m kind of jealous—and I’m going to be on the Dream next week!!

Oh, and just to reinforce the advice you’ve already gotten—book a placeholder!

We are both coffee drinkers so that sounds great! Thanks for all of the advice!

I would suggest getting to the ship as early as you can so you can start having fun, I suppose that depends on your boarding group. We usually eat right away and then go to the adult area of Satellite Falls. We find that it is usually empty or almost empty, it feels like we are on our own private yacht!

I haven't eaten dinner at Palo but the brunch is fantastic, and a good time to do that is on your Nassau day if you aren't interested in the port. The dress for brunch was nice casual. I wore a sundress and my husband were a polo and khakis.

If either of you is a beer drinker and if you plan on buying beer on the ship get the beer mug. Then you get it filled with the big beer for the small size price after buying the mug. You also don't have to carry the mug around, when you are done drinking return it to a bar and exchange for a card. Then at the end of your cruise exchange for a clean mug to take home.

And I know you said it is your honeymoon but try to get up early on one of your Castaway Cay days to be one of the first ones to the adult beach, it is really cool being one of the first ones on that beach because it feels so private.

And as a previous post mentioned get Mickey bars delivered to your room, maybe even with a chocolate chip cookie to make an ice cream sandwich. Room service in the morning is nice, to have a little coffee and pre-breakfast in your room. There is a card in your door that you can hang outside to order the night before, the card has time ranges but we wrote the actual time we wanted it delivered next to the box and they would deliver at that time, they were actually very prompt and right on the dot.

But whatever you do it is going to be a blast!

I definitely plan on getting there and on the ship as early as possible so we can take it all in and start to get oriented!

Dylan is a beer drinker so that’s a great tip! We definitely plan on taking advantage of room service.. I mean come on, Mickey bars delivered to your door!?

Thanks for all the great advice!

 

[nol_dur]

We are doing a 5 day cruise on the Dream for our honeymoon in July and I’m looking for any and all information you have to offer!

We have 1 stop in the Bahamas, 2 stops at Castaway Cay, and 1 day at sea.

We aren’t really looking to do any port excursions, but rather just exploring and enjoying the beach.

I’m considering doing Palo, but Remy is out for us. What do I need to know about Palo?

I love meeting characters.. what’s the best route for meeting them on the ship?

TIA!

I forgot to mention this earlier but you can ask for Mickey Bars for dessert even if its not listed. Some nights I would get this and the other dessert listed on the menu.
Also if you're going to watch a movie in the theater bring on some candies and bring a water bottle to fill up with soda so you have some snacks that you don't have to pay for on the ship.

 

[ChuckElias]

You don’t need to sign up for the Art of the Theme Show, just show up. I also highly recommend that tour.

If you do it on your Sea Day, they may ask you to get a free ticket from Guest Services, just so they have a head count. But again, that will be stated in the Navigator.

 

[blreinsel]

I forgot to mention this earlier but you can ask for Mickey Bars for dessert even if its not listed. Some nights I would get this and the other dessert listed on the menu.
Also if you're going to watch a movie in the theater bring on some candies and bring a water bottle to fill up with soda so you have some snacks that you don't have to pay for on the ship.

Just like going to the movies on land.

If you do it on your Sea Day, they may ask you to get a free ticket from Guest Services, just so they have a head count. But again, that will be stated in the Navigator.

Got it, thanks!

 

[Notes from Neverland]

If Tony from Spain is a cast member during your voyage (I think he's on the Dream currently), make a point to participate where he is! He's a blast. The late night entertainment with him is so much fun, such as the Newlywed Game, etc.

Drinks of the Day are a solid value.

Fireworks are from the right side of the ship if you're facing FunnelVision during Pirate night.

We personally didn't care for the stop in the Bahamas, so we're planning on enjoying an emptier ship that day instead.

Castaway Cay advice:
- If you're snorkeling, go first thing if you want to see a bunch of animals. They get scared and wander off / hide as more and more people enter the water. We went first thing and saw sea turtles, rays and a ton of fish.
- The adult side is super peaceful.

 

[joanna71985]

Seeing the characters is easy. Just arrive a little early (the exception will be the main princess gathering- that one gets very crowded)

 

[EOD K9]

Seeing the characters is easy. Just arrive a little early (the exception will be the main princess gathering- that one gets very crowded)

In regards to the princess gathering, you can get free tickets and the lines are reasonable.