Just back from the DREAM!

[Atomicmickey]

Thought I'd check in here and let people know that I, and another 12 people in my family, just got back from 4 nights on the DREAM! It was absolutely fantastic, and none of us can think of a single complaint--beyond the fact that we had to leave!

Rooms were great, beds were incredibly comfy.
Staff was amazing! Best table service I've ever had!
Aquaduck was a ton of fun!
Weather was great, Castaway Cay great.
Food was excellent in every way, no complaints at all.
The District was cool--but hardly anyone there at night. Weird.
Kids loved Vibe, the teen club.
Pirate night was a blast, the fireworks--dueling "cannons" from the stacks, synchronized to POTC music, awesome.
Nassau was nothing special, as a lot of you know. We only got off to walk around for an hour and got back on.

I'll answer any questions you may have, still coming back to reality from a great cruise. This was my first cruise, ever.

 

[Dis4us]

Dream

We are going in May!! Can't wait so excited!!! This is my first cruise ever!! I was just wondering. Did you at anytime have a "oh, I wish I would have brought that...(fill in blank) moment? Or I wish we would have done that...

Trying to make sure I cover all my bases packing and planning. I've been reading up on everything. But, was looking for real life experiences also.

Thanks

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Yay! So glad you had fun! We need some more Dream trip reports, hint hint!

 

[ann0d]

Couple of questions,
Does Palo offer lunch? How much extra?

Can you scan the daily schedules so I can see what they look like.

DId you go on any excursions in the Bahamas, we are thinking about the Sea and See or the Sea Lion, but I can't find reviews.

How long was the wait on the Aquaduct?

I'm sure I'll have more

 

[joanna71985]

I hope to go on the Dream sometime. It sounds awesome!

 

[Atomicmickey]

I found daily navigators scanned already online somewhere. Let me see if I can find them--but Google is your friend.

We didn't miss anything in the packing--but it is critical to have a good "day bag". You will use this for the day you get on the ship, for shore excursions, and for getting off the ship, as you need to give them your luggage by 10PM on the night before you get off the ship. Need an overnight bag, basically.

We did not book any shore excursions at all and had a great time. On Castaway Cay, we rented bikes, rented tubes, we snorkled, we did the water slide, and enjoyed the beach. That was plenty. The day we were there--even though the winds were light and the water calm, the sun out, they canceled pretty much every shore excursion for some reason.

At Nassau, we just got off the boat for one hour, and that wasn't even really necessary. The ship is fine to hang out on, there. Didn't want to pay the big bucks for Atlantis. We were very happy to do not much of anything on that day.

One thing I loved--getting up really early on our Nassau day, going up to the top deck with some coffee, and watching the ship dock.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Shows

Golden Mickeys and Believe got top marks. Amazing, great shows!
Not a dry eye in the house for Believe, that’s a new classic! Villains Tonight! was not rated so highly by our group.
For my part, I didn’t like the actor’s portrayal of Hades—(he did a much, much better job the following night as the Genie
in Believe). He played Hades like an aging drag queen and it just grated on me—because it wasn’t true to
character--just wasn't Hades from the film. This one was a mixed bag in general, with a really inconsistent tone. For example, though I really
didn’t like a riff they did on Jerry Springer, I had to laugh in spite of myself when Jafar and Iago start to dance together. Weird, though.
Something’s not quite right with Villains Tonight!, they should probably retool it a bit.

OH—and from the ladies in our group, nothing topped Tarzan’s short appearance in the Golden Mickeys.
Holey moley was that guy ripped! The guys wanted to know where Jane was.

The third night they had a Hypnotist and this appealed to none of us, so we skipped it. I’ve seen lots of that
type of show, it felt like a lowbrow option next to the other offerings they had. We all thought we would have
seen a magician, but not a hypnotist.

Pirate show and fireworks on deck were fantastic. Looked like they were still working some kinks out on the
live portion of the show, but it was definitely enjoyable, and loved the battling fireworks display with the POTC
music accompaniment. We did see the earlier Pirates in the Caribbean show on deck before dinner and that’s
definitely for the little kids. Pleasant, but not a must-see. Great energy on deck.

 

[Phonedave]

We are going in May!! Can't wait so excited!!! This is my first cruise ever!! I was just wondering. Did you at anytime have a "oh, I wish I would have brought that...(fill in blank) moment? Or I wish we would have done that...

Trying to make sure I cover all my bases packing and planning. I've been reading up on everything. But, was looking for real life experiences also.

Thanks

Like Atomic said, packing a carry-on is key. Sunscreen, bathing suit, any meds you need, etc.

Other than that I have read many, many, many cruise packing lists. Spray bottles, shoe racks for over the door, clotheslines, and other stuff. I have never taken any of that stuff, nor have I ever wished I had it.

What I have taken and found useful are;

Dry bags - They are like ziploc bags, but are designed to be waterproof. Money, meds, anything you can think of can go in the bag and in a swimsuit pocket. At WDW I put my cell phone in it - but no need for that on the cruise. I use a brand called Alocsak but any camping / boating place should have them. In sizes from sandwich bag on up.

Cash in small bills - for tipping. In fact, plan your tips out ahead of time and pack the money, and then have some spare if you want to adjust. Yes, you can charge them, but cash is appreciated. Also for sky caps, cabs, etc.

A water bottle if you plan on shor excursions. Bottled water can be bought on the ship, or on shore, but with a bottle you can carry your own (and a goodly amount too)

Multiple sets of swimwear (at least two per person) - we were in the pool, at lunch, at the beach, at dinner, in the hot tub, etc etc. It is nice to be able to let one dry. Hate putting on a wet cold suit.

That's about it. OF course some people travel with a medicine chest. I don't, but if you or your family is prone to illness that may be something to take as well. They have stuff onboard, but maybe not what you are used to

-dave

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Golden Mickeys[/I].
Holey moley was that guy ripped! The guys wanted to know where Jane was.

Oh yes. Tarzan is the highlight of the show. The ladies in our group were saying, "Hellooooo Tarzan."

 

[Atomicmickey]

Oh yes. Tarzan is the highlight of the show. The ladies in our group were saying, "Hellooooo Tarzan."

Here's the thing about that--where was that guy in the other shows? As my wife said, "well, if they just hired him for that, they still got their money's worth":lol:.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Here's the thing about that--where was that guy in the other shows? As my wife said, "well, if they just hired him for that, they still got their money's worth":lol:.

Word.:lol:

 

[216bruce]

We just got back this past Sunday from The Dream. Other than crummy weather at Castaway Cay things were great. I agree with the OP on "Villains". It was flat for the most part. The boat itself is HUGE which is almost a detriment in getting from one place to another. Using steps to go up from dinner to your room is a heck of a workout. The elevators are overwhelmed and, unlike the Wonder and Magic, it's a long trek to an upper deck stateroom. Also wasn't a fan of the adult pool (too small) and sort of in eternal shade, except at midday. Too many bars in general.
Loved the Aquaduck and the restaurants and especially the Enchanted Art. Didn't eat at Palo or Remy. A hidden gem is the Cove Cafe. This was a great relaxing spot and we also loved Pink. The service was great, so good I wrote a letter to DCL praising our wait staff and room attendant. looking forward to 11 nights in the Med in July on the Magic.

 

[Atomicmickey]

I guess our cruise is the only one in the foreseeable future that for some reason was NOT sold out.

Our table service, the late seating, was less than half full. I was told there were 2900 passengers on board--and 1500 of them were children! That's about one cast member for every two cruisers!

Perhaps it is for that reason that I found the elevators almost always speedy. Rarely did I wait for an elevator, and I found them a great way to get around.

 

[eagles]

we were on the 3-6 dream sailing. and i have to admit. i did not fully enjoy villains either. loved 'believe' and we missed golden mickey's because we had the 5pm show time, did not know about stand-by. but for us, 5pm anything was just pushing us and we were trying to not go commando.

we used the elevators alot, and did find them to be slow, but i just chalk that up with the buses. for us, its just part of disney.

our wait staff was awesome. we had a moody child with us and our main server was terrific with him. even cut his meat each and every night. loved that. but it wasn't long after we would sit that our moody child was no longer moody. we were a party of 3 and had a table to ourselves. did not request that. but sure did like it.

the adult pool in our opinion was fine. we only ever seen 1 person lounging. i can't remember for sure if we ever saw anyone in the pool. but the elevators we used took us right to that pool and we would have to walk thru that adult area. i know we seen lots of others do this also, with kids. i guess i just thought that an adult area would not be the pathway for foot traffic from one end to the other.

the family pool was way too crowded for me. and the hottub was being used as if it was a pool by kids. i got in it long enough to get the glass bottom picture and got out.

did not get to ride aquaduck, other things took place during semi nice weather in the day time, and by night it was too cold for me.

i found storage to be plentiful. i could not imagine needing shoe bags to hang over doors. plenty of space in the 2 closets and for us there was plenty of drawer space also. we stashed the suitcases under the bed.

one word of caution to first timers, with these new key slots for turning on and off the power in the room, please remember your key is in the slot! do not go crazy searching every square inch of your room and belongings thinking you lost a key already! :ROFLOL: remember you put that key in the slot.

we loved embarkations lunch at cabana's. the lamb chops and mussels were delish!

bring plenty of ones, for tipping room service and shuttle service and anyone else that breaths in your air space. j/k you get the idea.

you also do not have to have your luggage out the last night on board, you can lug it off yourselves. just be careful if you use the escalators, a slipped bag might shut it down, in which case you have just caused the line of people leaving to grow longer, and you know folks don't like long lines. :lookaroun

 

[disneygirl1]

Oh how exciitng glad you see you and your family had such a wonderful time! We just booked are 5 night cruise on the Dream for next April, our DS's Spring break and are SO VERY excited! What category staterooms were you in? What are your thoughts on them? We booked a Deluxe Oceanview (9B). I'm hoping that was a good choice.

 

[love disney]

Glad you had a nice time! Can't wait for my honeymoon cruise in October! I know it is unfortunately a ways away, but a couple of quick questions...

Do they do fireworks every night or just one, and if just one, which night?

Is there a "formal" dinner night? (my fiance went on a non-Disney cruise a couple of years ago and one nights dinner was formal, not like tuxedo formal but rather suits for men, not sure if there is one on the Dream....though I am planning on us dressing up for either Palo or Remmy's one night).

Thanks!

 

[Atomicmickey]

There is only the one fireworks show, on Pirate night.

Yes, there is what they call "dressup optional" night. We wore suit coats and dresses. We felt that this was not enforced and everyone definitely did not do it. Made us wonder what the point was, even though it did feel good to be dressed up in nice surroundings. We did not do Remy or Palo, but of course these will require nicer dress. We did not see a single tuxedo.

 

[love disney]

There is only the one fireworks show, on Pirate night.

Was Pirate night on the last night of the cruise? Do you know if they always stick to the same schedule in terms of which night of the cruise they hold pirate night?

 

[Atomicmickey]

Hmm. I do not know. Here is/was our schedule:

Day 1: Embark, Sail Away party, The Golden Mickeys

Day 2: Nassau. Villians Tonight

Day 3: Castaway Cay. Pirate Night. (also a hypnotist in the main theatre, which we skipped, not interested)

Day 4: At Sea. Believe.

Day 5: Get up, eat, and get off the boat!

I am told that sometimes day 3 and 4 are swapped due to weather.

 

[ChuckElias]

April 14. Can NOT wait!

I agree with everybody about "Villains". We saw it on the Magic on the European Cruise. The humor was very mixed. I felt EXACTLY the same way about the Springer segment. It was completely unfunny until Iago starts singing. Then it was LOL. I did like Ursula's cabaret version of "Unfortunate Souls".

I'm really looking forward to seeing "Golden Mickeys" again, tho!! :sohappy: