You know your youth is long gone when...

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

WishIWasAtWDW said:
woo hoo! so excited you already started your trip report!! i saw your pictures on instagram and was super jealous! you guys are so good at getting those upgrades! you have it down to a science. can't wait to read the rest of your trip report.

Well, traveling in the "off" times helps with the port upgrades. During busier times they aren't available at all because the ships will totally sell out. Like right now, go search for a Christmas cruise on the Dream. You won't find one. Why? Because every sailing after 12/19 is sold out completely.

Yay! So glad you saw me on Instagram! I only wish I coulda sent pics during the cruise itself!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

Yo! Time out for a shout-out to my girls cruise chickas out there!!!! Woot! I thought of y'all on the trip and took tons of pics to show you stuff! Like, okay, look at the 2nd to last pic I posted above. See the verandah partition? It has a door in the middle of it. Anyone staying in my room, Tammy's room, or Holly's room will come to love the little partition doors on the verandah. Why? Because our rooms are all 3 right in a row. We'll be able to have these doors opened so we'll all be "connected". Just keep in mind...sloppy drunks shall be banished to the verandah. Just sayin.....

LindsayLoves · Oct 2, 2012

Love it so far! Glad to hear that someone had luck at upgrading at the pier for a cruise. Every cruise I have been on I've gotten the stock "we're sold out" message, but you got a phenomenal deal! And I love a good deal.

It kind of stinks they didn't put out full sized lay down loungers on your enormous balcony.

Did you have any issue with the water in the handicapped bathroom not draining through the drains and making it out where it didn't belong? We were once 'upgraded' into a HC room on another cruise line and the shower was always a mess because it wasn't engineered properly.

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

Back to the stateroom! Coming back in the verandah door this is what it looks like straight ahead:

But we'll hang a right and peek into the bedroom. The doorway we pass thru here has a sliding pocket door:

The placement of the tv in the bedroom is soooooo much better on the Dream than the Magic! No need to crane the tv out where you can sorta see it in here. You can't miss it! This is pretty much like being at home for us! Tracey has a 42" on our dresser at home which is right across from the foot of our king bed. I fussed a lot about having a tv in the bedroom at all much less such a big horkin' one. Buuuut, my poor hubby has terrible eyes. He likes to be able to lay in bed without his contacts and watch movies. So, kudos to the Dream for the perfect configuration and features for my poor, half blind, old man! Woot!

And on the other side of the bedroom...yet another larger sliding pocket door that can be closed off:

**edit**
Forgot to mention it and I didn't take a picture of it but there are dresser drawers on the bed base. There's your dresser storage! We didn't use these drawers because it was such a short cruise we just lived out of the suitcase but I thought they were a neat addition to the space.

Our Castaway Club gift for sailing again. Every time we sail we get the return gift. We now have 2 of these backpacks. I suppose when we go on the girls' cruise I'll let the gals in my room duke it out for the bag. Or, maybe I'll bring extras from home so everyone can have one. I have a little "sweet" in me, too! Also you see our Palo & Remy invitations, CC thank you card, and dinner "tickets":

So now we'll hang a left into the big bathroom. Big 3' door to accommodate the wheelchairs not pictured. Here's the potty and the double vanity. Note the cubbies and shelves. Lots of storage. Not so much counter space which is something I didn't really like...

Also, for all you ladies, I thought I'd note that the luggage police (aka Tracey!) didn't allow my hair dryer in for this trip. I wasn't happy because I have a lot of long hair. A crappy hair dryer can make that chore a lot longer. I used the hair dryer you see here on the left bottom shelf in the bag. The plug for it is marked underneath the shelf. It worked great! Better than mine at home! AND, there was a diffuser and another slot attachment in the bag. I. Love. THIS!

And as if you neeeeeed a tv in the mirror...

These are the toiletries you get in the room. H2O Spa products. Love the smell! It's like they captured the sea and put it in tubes! No more body butter, just regular lotion. Grrr!!! Butter is better even when you aren't in the kitchen!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

LindsayLoves said:
Love it so far! Glad to hear that someone had luck at upgrading at the pier for a cruise. Every cruise I have been on I've gotten the stock "we're sold out" message, but you got a phenomenal deal! And I love a good deal.

It kind of stinks they didn't put out full sized lay down loungers on your enormous balcony.

Did you have any issue with the water in the handicapped bathroom not draining through the drains and making it out where it didn't belong? We were once 'upgraded' into a HC room on another cruise line and the shower was always a mess because it wasn't engineered properly.

I know! I'm kinda a little addict when it comes to scoring good deals! Again, I think when you sail during the less-busy times it's more likely to happen. Like at the end of next May when we sail the Fantasy with my brother I don't expect any upgrades to be available.

I thought that about the loungers, too, but then they had these adjustable high-back sorta beachy-type chairs that I really liked. I pulled one over closer to the rail and propped my feet up. Was just as good without having the big lounger to take up all the deck space, right???

No water made it past the shower drains on the floor. The only water that got outside the little line of deliniation was splatter from the water hitting the floor. Whenever we'd get out of the shower we'd drag the bath mat around the floor with our feet to wipe it up. Took about 10 seconds to do. So, no real water flowing all over the bathroom...just a slight coat of splashy-sprinkles to wipe over so our feet didn't track water around. Plus, when you've been drinking you don't need the extra slip-factor. LOL!

Gojira ゴジラ · Oct 2, 2012

sweetpee_1993 said:
Yeah, I know you're all thinking, "Why didn't you go out to a WDW resort?" Cruising is a different animal, people. There's a method to my madness here. Plus, WDW so grossly overprices their rooms just so they can discount 'em. It's the principal. I can smile knowing this once I didn't wear the "sucker" cap.

I was contemplating between this and wdw resort but I finally booked SSR (deluxe $110ish) for a night. With a tax and all that Hyatt would cost me $160 + coupon. After reading your TR i begin to wonder if I made the correct decision. I know you've told me Hyatt would be the better option a while ago.. but do you have any tips on what time we should leave the resort or any tips in general that would make the embarkation process a bit more streamline?

Gojira ゴジラ · Oct 2, 2012

sweetpee_1993 said:
And as if you neeeeeed a tv in the mirror...

Is that a touch control TV?

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

EpicMickey said:
I was contemplating between this and wdw resort but I finally booked SSR (deluxe $110ish) for a night. With a tax and all that Hyatt would cost me $160 + coupon. After reading your TR i begin to wonder if I made the correct decision. I know you've told me Hyatt would be the better option a while ago.. but do you have any tips on what time we should leave the resort or any tips in general that would make the embarkation process a bit more streamline?

I need to get in touch with you via PM or email or something. The Hyatt was going to be a lot more than we paid, too. There's a "trick" to get it as cheap as we did and it's something you can use for any hotel anywhere. That may make the Hyatt something you rethink.

When we were checking-in at the port the CM manager behind the desk was talking to Lisa who was checking-in right next to us. Jack & Lisa had taken the ME from the All-Stars back to the airport early in the morning so they could do the airport check-in vs. doing it at the port. Anywhoo, the CM was telling her that starting this coming Saturday they were going to start a "test" of no longer doing the cruise check-in at the airport. It sounded like they were doing this because of the numbers of people coming from the WDW resorts back to the airport to take the buses from there. The buses that leave from WDW resorts directly to the port don't start running until a few hours later. I'm not sure why this is what DCL deems as a solution. Here's a thought: run the buses from the resorts out to the port a little earlier. Duh!

Honestly, no matter how you get from a hotel off-property, the airport, or the resorts whether you do your check-in for the cruise before you get to the port or once in the cruise terminal...it's all very, very easy. Don't worry about it. Especially once you get to the terminal, there's tons of CMs all over the place who are there to help direct guests. If you even look mildly confudled (like we were talking about something totally not related to the cruise and I had a surprised or confused expression as a reaction to something Tracey said...2 CMs ran over to ask if I needed anything!) you'll be assisted. Disney makes it all very easy and painless. I understand how you feel, tho. I was very intimidated by the process prior to my first cruise. Ask Tammy. And Holly! I begged them to give me the second-by-second play-book on everything to expect once I arrived at the port. LOL!

It's about a 50 minute drive from the WDW resorts to the port. We usually give ourselves an hour and a half (port is supposed to open at 11 but it's been opening at more like 10:30) so we can be early and have time in case we should need to stop for anything. Usually we do for one reason or another.

EpicMickey said:
Is that a touch control TV?

No. There's a remote. In the video Tracey asks me if there's a remote or where the remote is and I say "I dunno." It was hiding under the bottom shelf all the way to the right of the sinks.

Could you imagine the fingerprints on the mirror if it was touch control?! It'd be a Mousekeeping nightmare! I feel them. As the Mousekeeper of Casa Sutton, yeah, I'd run around here threatening to remove peoples' fingers. LOL!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

Did you notice the scale on the floor under the vanity in the master bath??? I thought that was an interesting concept. I'd think a scale in the bathroom on a cruise would be akin to clocks on walls in casinos. Why would you want people to know how much they're overeating on their cruise??? I loved our scale, tho! Why? It was very kind to me. See?

That number never changed over the entire cruise! Two desserts? Sure! Why not??? LOL! And I cannot believe I just posted a picture of my sasquatch feet for the whole world to see! Oy Vei!

Here's the other "front" bathroom. It's right inside the front door on the right. This would've been our boys' bathroom. It's small. I didn't take pics of the shower because it's in the video and it's hard to photograph in such a tight space. As far as cruise showers, tho, it's still a great size. Tracey and I could easily shower together in there and neither of us are small people.

And that concludes the stateroom tour of 11006!

One more thing to note about concierge level on the Dream that you won't find on the other 3 ships in Disney's fleet. The concierge rooms are all partitioned off with big art-deco metal gates that can only be opened using a concierge level key. It's RFID, touch the key card to the black pad next to the door and the unlocks. Anywhoo, these weren't added on the Dream's sister ship, the Fantasy, because of complaints. ((Or so I understand.)) Honestly, it's kinda akin to the Titanic movie where the "steerage" were gated off from the upper decks limiting access. I get why these would be here but then it makes people like me who wouldn't normally spend what it takes to be on the "good" side of the gate feel a little weird when people are walking up the forward steps or going into the spa or something and I'm over there closing a gate behind me as if to say, "You can't come in here." Every time we went thru the gate and another guest was present I wanted to invite them in. Is that pitiful??? I dunno. The times we stayed concierge at the WDW resorts and had to use our key cards to access the concierge level in the elevator while other guests were there I felt the same way. I know at least twice Tracey has taken non-concierge guests up at WDW resorts and showed them the spaces if they mentioned it or asked what it was like. I guess that's just us. We like to share the enjoyment.

Anywhoo.... On with the exploring!

Disneyfalcon · Oct 2, 2012

sweetpee_1993 said:
Well, Tammy, I didn't have a kick-@$$ Disneyland report to finish up before doing the cruise report! I'll trade ya and have your dilemna anyday! LOL!

I think we're just spoiled when it comes to beds. We have a (knock-off) Tempurpedic at home so we're used to that absolute comfort of the bed conforming to our bodies. The closest thing to the comfort of our bed is the Disney cruise beds. Seriously. Those beds are super plushy! So, yeah, I think with the Hyatt bed it's not so much that it was that awful because most of the world probably thinks the beds are great. It was more firm and not as giving. Not at all a pillow-top or anything. Still, for $100 I won't complain. The convenience was fantastic! Oh! Meant to tell you! We didn't use the Hyatt's luggage service so I have the info sheet they give you when you check-in untouched. I saved it to scan or send to you for your information database!

I know! The bus was killin' me! Jack & Lisa kept saying it was waaaaay late. Tracey was freaking out more than me. He kept saying (with a lot more profanity added for color), "Great. They're not going to have any upgrades left. We don't have a prayer." I kept shooshing him. I knew there was still at least 8 of the regular concierge staterooms and 8 of the 1-bedrooms available before we left home. While in line at the supervisor's desk the folks behind us had a platinum member amoung them. They had tracked the availability, too. They were telling us that prior to sailing only 3 of the 1-bedrooms had been booked prior to embarkation day. Hello! According to my calculations we were looking at 16 staterooms to shoot for. I truly felt the chances of all 16 being scooped up prior to our arrival in line weren't that great. Plus, it's intuition to a certain extent. I just knew it was okay. In the end, even without an upgrade I was going to be happy. In fact, part of me was almost a little sad because I think the intimate space and magic porthole from our original inside stateroom would've been sweet on this trip.

You didn't miss the verandah. I didn't walk out there in the video. Just uploaded pics. Man, that was a killer verandah. We didn't discover we were in a handicap access room before we got in there. The guy at the supervisor's desk didn't tell us that. When I got there I was sorta miffed because I wanted the bathtub! We started discussing looking for a room switch with Andreia but then we walked out on the verandah. Tracey said, "You still want to switch?" I said, "Nope. I'll take the verandah over the tub anyday!" LOL!

True, I can't really complain about having too many trip reports to write!

I don't know what it is about those cruise beds, but I always sleep like a baby! And yay, thank you for the luggage info sheet!

I would have been going as crazy as Tracey probably. How frustrating! So glad they still had some though so you can compare the two concierge stays!

I see the pics now! I was wondering if they told you about the accessible room because I would have been kind of hacked about the lack of a bathtub too. But the verandah? Wow! That view is amazing!!

And that is the best scale ever.

Gojira ゴジラ · Oct 2, 2012

sweetpee_1993 said:
I need to get in touch with you via PM or email or something. The Hyatt was going to be a lot more than we paid, too. There's a "trick" to get it as cheap as we did and it's something you can use for any hotel anywhere. That may make the Hyatt something you rethink.

That's super cool. Please PM me if you have a chance

-no rush-

sweetpee_1993 said:
Anywhoo, the CM was telling her that starting this coming Saturday they were going to start a "test" of no longer doing the cruise check-in at the airport.

Ah bummer, that was my plan of attack. Although now you mention it perhaps going straight to the port isn't really that bad either.

sweetpee_1993 said:
Ask Tammy. And Holly! I begged them to give me the second-by-second play-book on everything to expect once I arrived at the port. LOL!

Thanks so much!! I have this stupid anxiety disorder that always kicks-in whenever I'm going/travelling to new places. So I have a tendency to research as much as possible so I don't anxious too much

Looking forward to read more

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

Last September when we were on the Dream for our first cruise I was really overwhelmed. It was such a short voyage and such a huge ship. I felt so lost. Remember my meltdown because I didn't get to see or do hardly anything at all??? Well, I was a girl on a mission this time! I was going to see the stuff I hadn't if it killed me. In fact, originally we planned to go back to Atlantis for the Aquaventure on Nassau day on this cruise. I cancelled it because I wanted to place the priority on seeing the stuff I missed last go around. So, there was no procrastinating. I was on the MOVE today! First up, the night club district...appropriately named "The District"! This is by the elevators...

The nightclubs onboard are 18+ after 9 p.m. This is good stuff to know. Our 16 year old, Chandler, is interested in seeing the spaces even tho he knows he can't hang out. As long as he comes before 9 at night he's okay. So parents of teens who want to see what's there, you have options. Personally, we like the opportunity to be WITH our teens when they see the inside of night clubs for the first time. It gives us the chance to show them things, explain, and TEACH so that when they're older in these spaces alone they won't be dealing with lack of familiarity. Yes?

The entry way for Evolution. I like the use of the tv screens to tell you what events are coming up:

Moving to the left there's a hallway that has fiber optic lighting on the ceiling lighting the way:

And this is Evolution. It's a large night club with a good sized bar and a stage. This where we'd be returning tonight:

The night clubs are all arranged so you walk thru them one to the next. It's neat because it's like a progression of rich spaces you pass thru to get to the next one beyond. I'm a little fuzzy on what order they're situated (understandably...I wasn't so sober during the rest of my visits here...) so if I mess this up I hope the experts don't flame me too terribly much. Just know they're all right here together which is COOL!

When you enter The District area from the midship area there's a big sign then a wall that's decorated so you get this whole "red carpet" feel. Here's the entry red-carpet wall:

I want to say this is 687. It must be. It's the most pubby, sports-bar feeling of the clubs. See all the tv's??? It's nuts:

If you turn to the right from the last pic I took you'll see this:

Now THAT's a tv! We have a 50" in our living room and that tv is easily double the size of ours. I didn't even notice the multiple tv's flanking the giganto one in the center until I was reviewing the pics. LOL! Crazy! Also, 687 has their own brew label. I didn't get to try it this cruise so I'll be adding that to my list for the next voyage...

Who needs a yellow brick road to follow when you have a pixie dust path??? Created especially for Disney-phile drunkards, I imagine. LOL!

fractal · Oct 2, 2012

Wow! That Stateroom looks awesome!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

Disneyfalcon said:
True, I can't really complain about having too many trip reports to write!

I don't know what it is about those cruise beds, but I always sleep like a baby! And yay, thank you for the luggage info sheet!

I would have been going as crazy as Tracey probably. How frustrating! So glad they still had some though so you can compare the two concierge stays!

I see the pics now! I was wondering if they told you about the accessible room because I would have been kind of hacked about the lack of a bathtub too. But the verandah? Wow! That view is amazing!!

And that is the best scale ever.

One of my favorite bliss-features of the room came into play when cradled on my awesome Dream-y bed! I didn't take a pic of it and I meant to! So sad! When you lay in bed the ceiling above is a cove ceiling. There's a blue-ish light that glows ever so softly from within the recesses of the cove. It's like you're laying on a cloud and gazing up at heaven. In a dark room, late at night, it's like being in a Dream!!!!

Yeah, I can't tell you how hacked I was when I walked into the bathroom and there was no tub. I was fit to be tied! Tracey was ready to jump on the phone, call Andreia, and get us another room. But then I opened the curtain and saw the verandah! I was like, "NO! Wait! Look at THIS!!!!!" And the tub was nothing but a distant memory! LOL!

We both were eager to stand on the scale. I know! Nuts! I threw away our not-so-accurate scale when we moved and haven't gotten a new one. Neither of us have a clue how much weight we lost prior to the cruise. I know I lost because my cute clothes were fitting again. I know I gained in my 3 days of bliss because they're a little snug post-cruise. LOL!

EpicMickey said:
That's super cool. Please PM me if you have a chance -no rush-

Ah bummer, that was my plan of attack. Although now you mention it perhaps going straight to the port isn't really that bad either.

Thanks so much!! I have this stupid anxiety disorder that always kicks-in whenever I'm going/travelling to new places. So I have a tendency to research as much as possible so I don't anxious too much

Looking forward to read more

She did say the discontinuing of the airport check-in was going to be a "test". She actually was dreading it because a lot of people love that perk. When she said it Lisa & I turned to each other and both said, "Oooooh...there's gonna be some seriously PO'd cruisers next weekend..." The "test" may go over like a sack of bricks and they bring it back. We'll have to wait and see. Personally, from here on out, I intend to be the master of my own fate when it comes to getting to the port. I'm not leaving that up to Disney anymore. If I don't have my own car I'll hire a private towncar, rent a car, or something. And I think I'll feel like driving my own car will be more of a priority over flying and using any other mode of transportation from here on out.

I'm the same way! When it's something new I get really nervous. When Disney is involved I know there's going to be things I need to know to stay a step ahead so I fixate even more. I'll give you the full play-by-play maybe via PM or another thread so you have the info to soak in. I remember when I got to the port for the first time I was very relieved because nothing was really a surprise and I had the full mental checklist to keep me moving where I knew I needed to go. It all was like clockwork. I remember thinking, "Yep, this is just like Tammy said." Or, "That's just like Holly's pictures!"

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

fractal said:
Wow! That Stateroom looks awesome!

Ah, Chris, it WAS! I wish I could take you all there to show you! It was incredible!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

Back to the tour!

And then.... (pause for dramatic effect) ....there's PINK! Pink is a champagne bar. Yes, they serve wine and champagne, neither of which are things I like. However, they also mix cocktails using champagne which is more up my alley. In fact, at some point during the cruise I did have a cocktail here and I did enjoy it. I couldn't tell you when exactly that was. Is that a sign?? Nevermind. Anywhoo, Pink is many shades of...well...pink! How fitting! My favorite colors are pink and glitter, in that order!

I took this pic for the Dream girls out there. I see ourselves here, dontcha think???

This is the bar in the Skyline lounge. The backdrop is a changing city scape of different big cities around the world: Paris, Chicago, Sydney, Rio, etc. I forget which ones. I'm thinking the city names I saw in the menu later in the trip (yes, we will be back!) are respresentative of the city scapes they show. Not 100% sure so Dream experts feel free to make corrections. Like I said, the next visit(s) are a bit fuzzy now...

Okay. So get ready to laugh. On the Disney ships the bathrooms are gorgeous. They're themed to an extent for the locations they're in. It's wild! So outside the nightclubs near that pixie dust trail there's like 2 ladies rooms with 2-3 stalls each that are really interesting. The "stalls" are round! The "door" is a frosted glass door that slides around to close & latch. See?!

And just when you sit down to do your business thinking, "This is the coolest place I've ever pee'd", you look up and the ceiling is a mirror! No picture of that. I'm sure you're all thanking me. But seriously, a mirror over the potty??? Not to ask the obvious on this one but whyyyyy? I looked up and was startled! My brain immediately said, "Add another one to the list of things I never needed to see in my lifetime...but my look cool..." So for the next voyage on the Dream I think I'd like to add a bathroom tour to my list of to-dos. Call me crazy but it'd be really fun!

Continuing on...yes, there's still much more to see...we passed by Animator's Palate. We won't be eating here on this cruise even tho on our last Dream cruise it was easily my favorite of the 3 main dining rooms...

We made our way back out to the Guest Services desk to fetch some anniversary buttons. Here's the oober-famous chandelier on the Dream. Each of the Disney ships have a different chandelier in the atrium and they're spectacular. You have to admire them! Look closely to find the Mickeys:

Near the atrium there are 2 distinctive mosaic walls with plush throne-like chairs. The prince throne: ((I told Tracey to give me "regal". I think he gave me "I need a nap".))

The princess throne: ((I was going for "I don't belong in this seat"))

The wall behind the Guest Services desk. Note that the Magic is now positioned in the Gulf of Mexico because she's sailing out of Galveston...practically in my back yard now!

DisneyDebNJ · Oct 2, 2012

Honestly, Sweetpee, your cruise pics from your latest trip to your last, has me seriously considering booking a cruise next year!!! Awesome!!!!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

corey154 said:
Congrats you two kids! Can't wait for more!

Can't believe I missed this one, Corey! Thank you so much!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

DisneyDebNJ said:
Honestly, Sweetpee, your cruise pics from your latest trip to your last, has me seriously considering booking a cruise next year!!! Awesome!!!!

Ah! You should! It's incredible!!! We're so hooked on cruising! Tracey can't think of anything other than how to get us back onboard before May next year. In fact, it was mentioned to him when we got back home that he may be asked to take yet another level up into management vs. worker-bee. Normally this is incomprehensible for him. He would rather work his 40 or 50 & go home. Buuuut...if he takes the next level up at work that could entail more money which could fund more voyages.... See?! It's addictive!!!

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 2, 2012

Another spot we didn't see last cruise on the Dream was the Vista Gallery. This is the dedicated art gallery space. On the Magic the art that's for sale is displayed in a corridor, not necessarily a dedicated space. So we were itching to see the gallery. And see it we DID!

This is a showcased piece of scrap from the actual sheets of steel used in the construction of the Disney Fantasy, the Dream's sister ship:

For all you pin collectors/traders out there, this silhouette is entirely comprised of PINS!

I loved the Dream-like qualities in this piece. The characters in the clouds definitely take it to the next level:

Love the deco styling in this Buzz Lightyear piece. It's very cool.

Just like on the Magic, this is the piece I'd most want to have for home. I love this with my whole heart:

Okay. I couldn't resist this one. I'm not a particular Lilo & Stitch fan but the pirate-y Stitch with Scrump calls to my dolly-loving child within:

You know your youth is long gone when...

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