Dreams Do Come True - An October Honeymoon Trip Report

Well, I’m back from my honeymoon! We had such an amazing time. We got back just two weeks ago. I wish the honeymoon could have lasted longer than a week but I guess we had to go back to reality at some point, right? Now that I am back and have gone through the wedding gifts, unpacked and more importantly, uploaded all of my pictures, I figured it was time to start my trip report.

A Little Introduction
This report includes Ashley (me) and my now husband, eek Wes. We got engaged at the Boardwalk Resort back on our December 2010 trip and I managed to work out a honeymoon trip on the Disney Dream and then a 3 night stay at the Beach Club Resort. I always said I either wanted to be engaged, married or honeymoon in Disney World and I was able to accomplish 2 out of 3. That ain't too bad, if I do say so myself.

Saturday October 22nd – Wedding Day
We got engaged back in December and it seemed like our wedding day was so far away. Well before we knew it, our wedding day was here and we were getting married! 10 months of talking to our venue coordinator, meetings with the florist, food tastings, trips to Michael's for wedding supplies, making seating charts and escort cards...It had all come to an end. Finally our wedding day was here and all the planning would pay off. And pay off it did. Our wedding was absolutely wonderful! I kept telling Wes that I wanted to spend the majority of the reception on the dance floor and I am happy to report that I was a dancing machine! :lol: I think I danced from about 9pm until midnight (with occasional trips back to my table to take a swig of my drink, of course). It was such a great night and everyone we talked to said that it was the best wedding they had ever been to! I would say that is a pretty successful party!

I don't have my professional pictures back yet but here is a couple that my cousin took from the reception.

Sunday October 23rd - Honeymoon Here We Come!
It was an early start to the honeymoon with the alarm going off around 7am the morning after our wedding. Our reception wasn't over until midnight the night before and then there were goodbyes to family and friends and we didn't get home until around 1:30am. So that 7am wake up time was a little harder than usual. I kept reminding myself that I could sleep on the plane and by the pool on the Disney Dream to make waking up a little easier. We left our house around 7:45am and were sitting at our gate in RDU by 8:10. I love being so close to the airport! Our flight was uneventful. We left and arrived on time thanks to the wonderful crew of Southwest airlines. We arrived at MCO and made our way to DME to check for our cruise.

This was our first cruise ever so we weren't exactly sure what to do. The cast members directed us to the DME counter to check in. I didn't realize that you checked in for the cruise at the airport but I thought that was a great idea. We received our room keys, our bus boarding pass and then got in line to board our bus. Luckily we didn't have to wait very long and we left the airport to make our way to Port Canaveral.

As you can tell, Wes was super excited

I was delighted that the bus ride was just under an hour. We pulled up to Port Canaveral and all I can say is Wow. The ship was huge! We made our way through the terminal and boarded the ship rather quickly, since we had already checked in at the airport. It was funny when we first boarded the ship and the cast member asked me for the family name. It was the first time I got to use my new last name! It sounded very weird but it was really exciting too. As soon as we walked into the main atrium of the ship I was blown away. That chandelier is amazing.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

I selected a much better option for my entrée tonight! I got the scallops with asparagus and couscous. It was delicious! :slurp: Wes got the prime rib which he said was also good.

Dessert this night was not so good. I got the Sweet Temptations and Wes got the strawberry cheesecake. Both were just okay.

After dinner we made our way up to Deck 11 to watch Lady and the Tramp on the big screen. We missed the beginning of the movie because of our dinner seating but I absolutely love this movie so I wanted to go see it anyway. (Side note: when is this movie going to be available on DVD?! I didn’t buy it when it last came out of the vault and I could kick myself now because it has been 6 years now since it has been on DVD.) We found some seats and then Wes went to get me a Bahama Mama. :slurp:

After watching Lady and the Tramp, we called it a night and went back to our room but not before catching some pictures of an empty Cabanas.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

When we got back to our room we found this on our bed.

That's the other poster that we got that I plan on framing. Isn't it cute?

It was a very sweet ending to a very good day.

Up next: Castaway Cay!

 

[kstella]

quick break from the trip report to post a sneak peak of some professional wedding photos from our photographer. we had a great photographer that Wes used to work with so he gave us a great deal. enjoy!

You and your girls look great! I really like the trend of not having bridesmaids in the same dress. I'm going with that, too, for my wedding.

 

[Goofygirl07]

That's the other poster that we got that I plan on framing. Isn't it cute?

That is a very good idea! I will keep that in mind when my FH and I honeymoon on the Dream in April!

 

[sam_disney]

really enjoying so far- looking forward to the next enstallment!

love the wedding piccies too!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

congrats on the wedding!! The pictures are beautiful

Looks like you guys are having a blast so far on the Dream. The Aquaduck looks fun but I don't think I could justify waiting in line for too long to ride it. I'm honestly surprised they don't have FastPasses for it yet lol

Can't wait to read more!!

 

[Kristia]

After dinner we made our way up to Deck 11 to watch Lady and the Tramp on the big screen. We missed the beginning of the movie because of our dinner seating but I absolutely love this movie so I wanted to go see it anyway. (Side note: when is this movie going to be available on DVD?! I didn’t buy it when it last came out of the vault and I could kick myself now because it has been 6 years now since it has been on DVD.)

I just got an email today from Disney Movie Club about pre-ordering Lady and the Tramp. It will be available Feb 7th. :sohappy: One of my favorites too!

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

You and your girls look great! I really like the trend of not having bridesmaids in the same dress. I'm going with that, too, for my wedding.

thanks!! i decided to let the bridesmaids pick from those three styles and it worked out that 2 girls picked each dress so it was even. i hope you are having fun planning your wedding!

That is a very good idea! I will keep that in mind when my FH and I honeymoon on the Dream in April!

i can never pass up free art! the posters are just so great that i decided that i needed to take them home. i don't have any place to put them in my house now but i will make sure to find a place in my next house.

really enjoying so far- looking forward to the next enstallment!

love the wedding piccies too!

thanks! i'm writing more now.

congrats on the wedding!! The pictures are beautiful

Looks like you guys are having a blast so far on the Dream. The Aquaduck looks fun but I don't think I could justify waiting in line for too long to ride it. I'm honestly surprised they don't have FastPasses for it yet lol

Can't wait to read more!!

thank you! i can't wait to see the rest of the pictures. we had a great time on the dream. i did like the aquaduck, but i just couldn't wait in a line for that long.

I just got an email today from Disney Movie Club about pre-ordering Lady and the Tramp. It will be available Feb 7th. :sohappy: One of my favorites too!

i know!! i got that email too and i was so excited! :sohappy: i already pre-ordered it so i wouldn't miss out this time!

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

Tuesday October 25th – Castaway Cay Day

Today was Castaway Cay day!! Woo hoo! We were up bright and early at 7:30 and made our way up to Cabanas for some breakfast.

View from our verandah

We finished our breakfast and were off the ship a little after 8:30.

Hello Castaway Cay!

We made our way to the family beach since we had prepaid for scuba gear rentals and we had an 11am appointment for parasailing. We didn’t want to be too far away since the parasailing area was pretty close to where we got off the ship so the family area would have to do. Luckily it wasn’t crowded yet since most people were a taking their time getting off the ship.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

We sat for a little bit and I read while Wes napped. Then we decided to go pick up our snorkel rental equipment before the area started to get crowded.

Lookin good :lol:

The snorkel area was really neat. At first, there wasn’t really much to see, but the further you get out, you find more interesting stuff. We did see a lot of fish that kept swimming really close to us. I loved finding the sunken ship with Mickey on the front of it. We had gone a little over halfway through the snorkel area when we decided to start making our way back. We had no concept of time out there so we were a little worried that we might be late to our parasailing time slot.

We ended up getting out of the water a little earlier than we needed to but we decided to make our way to the parasailing area anyway. They called our group and there were a total of 5 couples on our little boat. I was really worried about doing parasailing but Wes really wanted to do it so I said okay. There were two ladies in our group who were also really worried about going up and they ended up being the first ones to go. They were slightly bigger ladies and they were really funny about asking the captain of our little boat if he was sure that the ropes would hold both of them up there. :lol: They were really funny and they made the experience a little less scary. They were also nice enough to take some pictures while we were up there.

Overall it was a fun experience but I wouldn’t do it again. It was a nice once in a lifetime experience that I want to keep as once in a lifetime. :lol:

Once we got back on land, I was feeling a little nauseous. I knew that I needed some food so we made our way over to Cookies. I wasn’t a big fan of the food choices on the island. And don’t get me wrong…I love burgers and fries but I didn’t find anything good about the burgers and fries they had. Slightly bummed but I knew we would be eating good tonight at Palo. :slurp:

After lunch we decided it was time to do some exploring and make our way to Serenity Bay. Now that the island was crawling with children, we needed to get away.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

We made it the adult beach and there was instantly silence. Ahhh. The name Serenity Bay is so perfect.

The beach was a little crowded but we found seats and immediately took naps. And they were good naps too. Once we woke up, it was time for drinks.

It was getting close to when we should head back to the ship but I had my heart on finding a hammock.

It was time to head back to the ship. We didn’t want to have to rush to get ready for our dinner at Palo so we started our journey back to the ship around 3:45.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

Our room is on the 9th deck and the second from the end

When we got back to the room we decided that we were hungry and wanted some room service. Wes called room service while I showered and when I got out, he was still on hold. So then I took over while he showered and when he was done, I was still on hold. We decided to hang up and try again. So Wes called and I fell asleep. I took a nap and when I woke up he was still on hold! We had been on hold for over an hour! Finally, I said we needed to call guest services because something was not right. They patched us through to room service immediately and about an hour and a half after we first called, our food arrived.

We ate our pre-dinner snack and then went to see tonight’s show which was Lynn Trefzeger’s ventriloquist act. The show was really funny. I liked it how she brought up people from the audience and got them involved in the show. After the show we went back to our room to get ready for dinner at Palo!

I was going for “pirate chic” :lol:

Before our dinner, we went to catch some of the Pirates in the Caribbean party from Deck 12. As soon as we walked out there I realized that my outfit was not a good idea for being out on the Deck. The wind was immediately blowing my dress up and my hair was completely in my face. My heels also didn’t help the situation. We found a spot and I used Wes as a shield to block the wind. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the whole show because of our dinner reservations but from what I saw the party looked cute. I was really surprised at how many people dressed up for the party.

We made our way to Palo and checked in. We were seated about 5 minutes after we arrived.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

Our dinner tonight was sooo good. For appetizers, Wes got the mozzarella and tomatoes and I got the calamari. The calamari was delicious!

For dinner, Wes had the chicken and I had some pasta dish with shrimp. It was AMAZING!

For dessert, I ordered some apple pie type thing and Wes got the chocolate soufflé. When we ordered, I just ordered for both of us and the waiter took that to mean that I really wanted the chocolate soufflé so he brought us two. I really didn’t want it but oh well. I still ate it. When they brought out our dessert they also brought this.

It was a wonderful dinner that was very much worth the extra money.

After dinner we went back to the room so I could change before the fireworks. There was no way I was going to go back out on deck in my dress and heels. The fireworks were really cool. I really liked the music track they had playing, too. The only thing I didn’t like about the fireworks was that they were too short. But I guess I shouldn’t complain since they are shooting fireworks off a ship in the middle of the ocean. When the fireworks were over we decided to check out Evolution for their Krazy Karaoke. It was pretty funny to watch people get up and sing. It helped that we were drinking. Once the karaoke was over we went back to our room and watched Hercules from our OnDemand channel while we fell asleep.

Tomorrow was our last full day on the cruise.

 

[Goofygirl07]

Loving it!! Quick question about the parasailing: about how long were you up in the air? I am afraid of heights, but I am thinking about booking this excursion...

 

[sam_disney]

that choc souffle looks yummy great pics really want to do the disney cruise now !!!!!

 

[blackthidot]

Wow good stuff!

Was wondering why I did not run into you in WDW! Haha

Congrats on the wedding too!

 

[Crush Dude!]

Lovin this! Cant wait to see Castaway Cay :sohappy:

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

Loving it!! Quick question about the parasailing: about how long were you up in the air? I am afraid of heights, but I am thinking about booking this excursion...

thanks! we were up in the air for about 5 minutes for the parasailing. so you aren't up there too long. it is a little scary as high up as you are but my husband is also really afraid of heights and he was able to do it without any problems.

that choc souffle looks yummy great pics really want to do the disney cruise now !!!!!

it was very yummy! thanks! i want to go back on a disney cruise so bad. we had such a great time.

Wow good stuff!

Was wondering why I did not run into you in WDW! Haha

Congrats on the wedding too!

thanks john! yep, we were only at wdw for 4 days this trip. i was sad that we didn't get more time there but the cruise was amazing.

Lovin this! Cant wait to see Castaway Cay :sohappy:

thanks! i am glad you are enjoying it. castaway cay was great. i wish we could have spent more time there.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

Wednesday October 26th – Last Full Day on the Disney Dream

Today would be our last day on our cruise so we knew we needed to make it a good one. We slept in a little bit and then made our way up to Cabanas for breakfast around 10. I think breakfast at Cabanas was a lot better than their lunch options.

After a quick breakfast we made our way out to the adult only pool and found a nice pair of lounge chairs. The morning consisted of napping, reading, a final trip on the Aquaduck and some of these.

Once we finished our drinks we decided to hop in the pool. The pool was a little cold for my liking so I made my way over to the hot tub. I really wish that we would have used the pool and the hot tub more during our cruise. The view was so serene while in the hot tub or just an open ocean. I could have stayed in there for hours but then I probably would have passed out. So after a reasonable amount of time in the hot tub, we went back to our seats. I decided that I wanted to take a walk around the Deck to get some more pictures of the ship while Wes continued to lounge.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

I was feeling a little tipsy off of my Mai Tai so I decided it was time to get some food. I went back to our seats to get Wes and then it was off to Flo’s Café for some food. :slurp:

Mmmm…:slurp: It was a very good lunch. After lunch it was time for some ice cream.

We enjoyed our ice cream and then decided to go back to the room for a little bit. Well we ended up both falling asleep. Oops. So much for enjoying our last day on the cruise to the fullest. :lol: Once we woke up from our nap it was time to shower, get ready to see Disney’s Believe show in the Walt Disney Theater and sadly, to start packing. I hated having to start packing but I knew that I wouldn’t want to pack later that night so I figured now was the best time to get it over with.

On our way to see the show we decided to stop by Guest Services and check out the damage we had done with charging things to our room. Yikes! We weren’t expecting to have spent that much but it was our honeymoon so we splurged on the couple’s massage and parasailing. Luckily we had a good amount of money on our Disney Honeymoon registry gift card so we used about half of it.

After Guest Services, we walked by the theater and the doors weren’t open yet so we went up to Deck 11 to get some free soda. By the time we made it back down to the theater, the doors were open. We got some really good seats and waited for the show to begin. I really enjoyed this show. I liked the songs in this musical a lot. The only thing I didn’t like was the girl playing the daughter. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the actress. I thought she did a great job but there is just something about an adult woman playing a little girl that bothers me. I did really like the part where the scientist Dad sees his daughter all grown up and with her Prince. I actually got a little teary eyed at that part since it had only been 4 days since my wedding.

The show was a great finale to the cruise. After the show it was time for a little shopping. I ended up getting a couple of things; some scrapbooking kits, a t-shirt and pajama pants. It was so hard just not to get more stuff than I did. We also had to get a couple things for Wes’ parents since they were so nice to pay for the cruise portion of our honeymoon. We then took our items back to the room and finished getting ready for dinner. Tonight we were eating at the Royal Palace.