Finally reporting in.

[Kramerica]

So it's been awhile now (Over a month) Since I got back from my Disneyworld/ First Disney cruise trip. I've been too busy to do a trip report and quite frankly, I have no real desire to do a full blown trip report for one simple reason. The Disney cruise absolutely overshadowed the rest of the trip like it wasn't even fair. For anyone debating whether they should try a Disney cruise or not, DO IT DO IT DO IT. It was absolutely spectacular. I'm sold. Disney cruiser from now on, period. I'll upload some pictures this weekend when I get time, but I just wanted to give you guys my initial impressions, and while I'm at it, kill two birds with one stone by asking a question.

So, like I said, I'm sold. So I've already scheduled my next Disney cruise. This one for the beginning of September. Another Bahamas cruise on the Disney Dream. As I've heard, this is hurricane/ storm season. The seas were as smooth as they could be on my last trip, but I'm nervous about how it could be in September. I know it can be hit or miss, but what is your guys' personal experience with that time of year. Watching videos on Youtube of massive storms and cruise ships rocking back and forth like a thrill ride have my palms sweaty. Or are the chances of that slim?

Thanks in advance for your guys' info. Will add pictures soon.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

So glad you loved it, Kramerica!

We've been in September and am going again this September (girls' cruise!!), so it didn't scare me off. Odds are that it will be fine. Is it possible that we could hit a rough patch? Yes. But it's more likely that we won't, and if we do, the captain does everything he can to get through it quickly.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Welcome back! See??? Told ya! Sailing with Mickey is, to me, Disney at it's finest. It's amazing! So very glad you "got it" and fell in love.

Of the 4 cruises I've been on, 2 were in September on the Dream. Both were uneventful. As a gal who's lived along the Gulf coast in hurricane prone areas her whole life, I can tell you it's not all that terribly likely you'd be affected by a storm but it's possible. Even if a storm is coming the ships will try to sail around the worst of it. Personally, the wild rides you see on the YouTube videos doesn't scare me. In fact, I'd love to experience a storm that way. If they had hurricane season cruises you could sign up for to go chase the storms on the water (sorta like tornado chasers in the midwest) I'd probably book one. LOL! That's just me.

I wouldn't worry too much about going in September. Definitely get some travel insurance that lets you cancel for any reason if it's a concern for you but don't be too worried. A storm ruining your short cruise isn't that likely to happen.

 

[TDF]

We have cruised various cruise lines over various times of the year and every time we sailed we hit different things. I wouldn’t fret taking a cruise anytime of the month because obviously your safety is the number one concern on all cruise lines.

Off Topic: I seriously may go nuts and have no idea what to do when all you girls are on the girls cruise…

 

[Disneyfalcon]

We have cruised various cruise lines over various times of the year and every time we sailed we hit different things. I wouldn’t fret taking a cruise anytime of the month because obviously your safety is the number one concern on all cruise lines.

Off Topic: I seriously may go nuts and have no idea what to do when all you girls are on the girls cruise…

We will update when we can!!

 

[ChuckElias]

the wild rides you see on the YouTube videos doesn't scare me. In fact, I'd love to experience a storm that way.

In the immortal words of Minnie Driver from Grosse Point Blank: "WHACK-ooooo!"

 

[sweetpee_1993]

In the immortal words of Minnie Driver from Grosse Point Blank: "WHACK-ooooo!"

Nah. Have a loooong standin' relationship with the storms. They fascinate me. Love to experience them when it's doable (semi-safe). Fond memories waking the kids in the middle of the night to take them outside on our balcony to experience a lower cat-2. It was sooooo beautiful. The power Mother Nature holds is breathtaking. REally.

 

[ChuckElias]

Nah. Have a loooong standin' relationship with the storms. They fascinate me.

That's ok. I messed up the quote, anyway. She calls him "PSYCH-oooo!" Which I would call anybody on this forum, even as a joke. So in the immortal words of Emily Litella, "Never mind."

 

[PorterRedkey]

After my last carnival cruise (5 days in April), I am ready for real shows. Everything on carnival was so cheesy. I can't wait to book my next cruise, this time with Disney!!!

 

[Kramerica]

Welcome back! See??? Told ya! Sailing with Mickey is, to me, Disney at it's finest. It's amazing! So very glad you "got it" and fell in love.

You know, you just don't "get it" until you try it. I'm not here to say that Disneyworld or Disneyland is bad in any way shape or form. They're both amazing. But I feel like on the cruise line they hand pick the best cast members available and put them on the ship. The service. The attention to detail. Everything. From the cruise itself to the Nitty gritty details. It's absolutely unmatched and impeccable in every sense of the word. On this last vacation we decided to do several days in the parks and then finish with a cruise. Checking out of our resort I was so sad. Feeling as if my real Disney vacation was over. But little did I know, the best part was about to start..

Anyway, I'll stop. I could rant and rave about the cruise line for days..

 

[tink66]

So it's been awhile now (Over a month) Since I got back from my Disneyworld/ First Disney cruise trip. I've been too busy to do a trip report and quite frankly, I have no real desire to do a full blown trip report for one simple reason. The Disney cruise absolutely overshadowed the rest of the trip like it wasn't even fair. For anyone debating whether they should try a Disney cruise or not, DO IT DO IT DO IT. It was absolutely spectacular. I'm sold. Disney cruiser from now on, period. I'll upload some pictures this weekend when I get time, but I just wanted to give you guys my initial impressions, and while I'm at it, kill two birds with one stone by asking a question.

So, like I said, I'm sold. So I've already scheduled my next Disney cruise. This one for the beginning of September. Another Bahamas cruise on the Disney Dream. As I've heard, this is hurricane/ storm season. The seas were as smooth as they could be on my last trip, but I'm nervous about how it could be in September. I know it can be hit or miss, but what is your guys' personal experience with that time of year. Watching videos on Youtube of massive storms and cruise ships rocking back and forth like a thrill ride have my palms sweaty. Or are the chances of that slim?

Thanks in advance for your guys' info. Will add pictures soon.

you sound like me!! Soo fun!! I am also wondering about Sept. I dont want rough seas that is what makes me nervous

 

[ChuckElias]

Thanks in advance for your guys' info. Will add pictures soon.

Did I miss the pics? :-(

 

[5thGenTexan]

Just think of it this way... IF you do run into a storm and have a wild ride... DCL won't even charge you extra for that. It'll be like a perk. Ok... perhaps I'm a little nuts.

 

[Kramerica]

Did I miss the pics? :-(

Doing it right meow. Sorry for the month long delay. You know how things can get sometimes.. (Me being lazy)

 

[Kramerica]

Alright ladies and gents. I'll bite the bullet here and post an actual report to my cruise including pictures. So before our cruise we stayed in Disneyworld for several days. Of course, this was great and we had a great time checking out the new Fantasy Land, Test Track and Bowling alley downtown. I loved all of it. And when it came for my Disneyworld vacation to end and my cruise to begin, I'll admit. I was sad. I had never been on a cruise before, and in my mind, once you leave those arches, you're no longer truly engulfed in all that is Disney. I had a terrible feeling that my vacation was over and was going to fizzle out with a mediocre ending. Boy was I wrong. What was to come would overshadow my whole Disneyworld experience, and be the highlight of my entire vacationing career.

The bus arrived early in the morning. They make everything so easy for you. A Disney Cruise castmember is waiting for you in the hotel lobby and let you know exactly what's going on. Then your bus shows up.

How exciting and cool is this bus? You load your luggage underneath and load onto the bus with all the other excited guests. The bus is ultra comfortable. Big cushy seats with foot rests. A bathroom in the back. And monitors that play entertainment. The first part is an orientation video done Disney style hosted by the Disney characters. Actually very good and funny. The rest is America's Funniest Home Videos hosted on the Disney Dream. It makes your trip go by quickly. Not sure how long it took, but if I were to guess it would be around an hour. Before I knew it, our bus driver comes over the intercom to tell us to look to our left, and there it was. The Dream.

I have to admit. I'm not easily overwhelmed or speechless. But you really are in awe when you see this ship the first time. It's the ship that you've no doubt looked up on Youtube countless times. You've looked at a dozen pages of Google images on it. And seeing it in person with it's signature colors. It's pristine condition. It's really something you can't describe fully until you see it in person. Also, not to diss the other cruise lines, especially because I've never ridden them, but the Disney terminal and ships make the other cruise lines look ratty..

Checking in and boarding is just as quick and easy as you'd imagine. They have countless cast members helping you along every step of the way. And from the moment you walk through that Mickey head, you feel like an absolute super star. Be prepared. You walk through the line and right before you get onto the gangplank, you get your picture taken by a cast member. And then as you walk across the gangplank you get to see your first close view of the ship.

Look at it! the perfection! The size! again, beyond words. Also, I should mention the porthole to our room would probably be just out of frame on the second floor. And then you get to walk into the atrium, where, of course, they announce your name to applause.

It's weird. I wouldn't call the atrium "crowded" by any means. But I would call it buzzing with activity. Excited families exploring. People searching for their rooms. Others who are probably veterans, just relaxing and taking it all in. Everything is perfect. New. Polished. It feels like everything you touch is untouched. Spectacular. But you can't stand here forever. You have to go explore!

Walt Disney Theatre, which is spectacular and which hosts great shows. Even for a dude like me who isn't much into stage shows.

Next I of course had to go to the District. The adults play place of the ship.

This is "Skyline" A sleek metropolitan bar that has a changing scenery in the back. Come here if you want some expertly made drinks in a cool sophisticated atmosphere. The bartender here is fantastic. Tibor. Probably one of the best castmembers I've ever met. More on him later.

This place is cool. Right at the entrance to The District. Seemed to be one of the less busy hangouts. But the live music and atmosphere is very cool.

It's getting late. But I'm enjoying this so I'll try and do tomorrow when I have time. So let's go with a "to be continued"

 

[ChuckElias]

Alright ladies and gents. I'll bite the bullet here and post an actual report to my cruise including pictures.

YAY!!!

I have to admit. I'm not easily overwhelmed or speechless. But you really are in awe when you see this ship the first time. It's the ship that you've no doubt looked up on Youtube countless times. You've looked at a dozen pages of Google images on it.

It's so funny that you say that. Our first Disney cruise (on the Wonder) was in '01. And we didn't do any of that. We're so addicted now that we're always getting pictures and videos, but I honestly had no idea what the Wonder would look like before we approached the port!!

Golden Mickeys!!!! I love the Golden Mickeys. You got to see Ensign Benson, but she's not on the Fantasy You're so lucky.

Love the report so far!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Yay! Pictures! I love your panoramas!! And descriptions so far!

 

[DisneyJoe]

But I feel like on the cruise line they hand pick the best cast members available and put them on the ship.

99.9% are not US citizens. They are trained extremely well, work extreme hours, get paid little, and make most of their money from the tips - so it makes them want to give the tops in service. If they get poor reviews, they are fired.

 

[tink66]

Love the pics!!

 

[Kramerica]

Okay, back to it some more..

There are other various cool places in The District. A sports bar with the biggest tv I've ever seen, a nightclub that plays dance music until late, but sadly, there was nobody ever there. And a strange champagne bar that I honestly never spent any time in. There's a lot of variety and cool people in there. So, a little bit of exploration done and a little bit of alcohol in the blood, let's head up to the sale away party.

As you can see, during the sale away party, it's pretty crowded on the deck. But don't worry, this is the busiest it ever gets. Maybe apart from the fireworks. But it's a lot of fun. Very energetic and exciting.

Things start to calm down after leaving port, and it's time to really settle in. I head to our stateroom. Located on deck 2, right near the enchanted garden. I'm sure that you guys have seen a zillion different pictures of staterooms so I won't really post a ton. But I will say that our room was very quiet and nice. Even during meal times when the Enchanted Garden was full.

Anyway, what else is there to say about the first day? The food was great. The entertainment was even better. The whole situation was still sort of surreal. And you just can't beat a sunset like this, can you?

Anyway, the next day was the Bahamas. It's very exciting to wake up in a new country I'll admit. The Bahamas is a really different experience than you'd imagine. From the commercials it's a tropical paradise that is almost untouched by man. In reality, it's different. Not really in a bad way. But just different. It's endless shops and markets. There's people trying to sell you anything they can everywhere. The country is obviously very poor. Some people might be annoyed by this kind of environment. But I was absolutely loving it. It's so fun being out of your element. But keep in mind, if you're gonna wanna have a relaxing day at the beach, you're gonna wanna wait until Castaway Cay. Here's a beach in Nassau.

So I went back to the ship because I had signed up for a mixology class. And let me tell you guys. If you get the chance to do this. DO IT DO IT DO IT. I think it cost me 30 bucks or something along those lines. You get more than your money back in free drinks. And it's so much fun mixing drinks and learning from an expert.

Here's a couple random pictures from the ship after leaving the Bahamas. As you can see, even when we're not in port, the crowds aren't really an issue. That's something I really love about the Disney cruise. Disney World you really have to plan to avoid crowds. But here on a ship you really don't have to worry about it.

More random picture. Again. Showing the perfection of the ships. Always pristine. Always perfect. And once again. No crowds to be seen.

Before going to bed, like on the ship, I'll walk around and check out the deck which I have virtually to myself. I'll tell you, the deck and night is something else.

Alright, tomorrow I'll go over Castaway cay and the rest of the day. But I have to go to bed. It's three in the morning here and I've gotta be up early.