Disney Dream Review

4.0 / 5.0
783 reviews

Worth Every Penny!

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Disney Dream
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Luv2Travel_19438
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jul 2012
Cabin: Standard Inside Stateroom
Traveled with children

If anyone tells you that you work in a "Mickey Mouse organization" you should thank them: Disney does things right! My family recently enjoyed a lovely 6-day cruise on the Disney Dream which included 2 delightful days at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay (located in the Abacos island chain in the Bahamas), a fun day in Nassau, and a relaxing day at sea. In true Disney style, the cruise was Magical!

When I was researching and anticipating our trip, I enjoyed reading detailed reviews, so I am providing many details as well. I've tried to organize the info into categories so you can quickly scan through to find items of interest. I hope you find it helpful!

ABOUT US:

Cabin Review

Standard Inside Stateroom

Cabin 11A

We booked adjoining standard inside staterooms on the Disney Dream, Deck 8 Midship, cabin number 8083 and 8583. The following comments apply to both cabins:

The term "stateroom" seems a bit grand for the 169 sf of space that you get with a standard inside cabin, but they're pretty well designed, and between our 2 rooms the 4 of us are pretty comfortable. We loved the innovative "magical porthole" which is a porthole-shaped screen that displays real-time images of the view from the bow (and every few minutes different Disney animations breeze by). Very clever way to make an interior room not feel claustrophobic…

Closet space was ample, but drawer space in the cabins is surely lacking. Thankfully, suitcases fit under the beds, so that was a big help given the limited space.

The configuration of each of our standard inside staterooms was a rectangular room with a very comfortable queen-size bed (lovely linens too), magical porthole above the bed (with a wall switch to turn it on/off), privacy curtain, sofa (that could be converted to a single bed), desk with shelves, storage ottoman (handy for storage, but sort of a tripping hazard considering the narrow space), full bathroom, and closet area (including a mini frig and small safe). The rooms are decorated very tastefully, and it was a comfortable (though small) room for the week.

The stateroom "host" turns down the beds at night, makes the beds in the morning, and always ensures fresh towels are there when you need them. Each night they make a cute "towel animal" and leave a few chocolates. Very nice!

Before the trip we'd debated whether to book a single Verandah cabin or the 2 inside staterooms. Friends we were traveling with opted for a Verandah (mainly because one of them is a smoker), and we were able to check out their accommodations. It was very nice, but a little cozy for the 3 of them. While having a Verandah would be enjoyable, having the extra overall space (and privacy) worked well for us.

Tip: Be aware that if you book the "standard inside stateroom" they only have a single standard bathroom (not the "split bathroom" featured in most other cabin categories). This wasn't an issue since we had 2 cabins (and therefore 2 full bathrooms), but could be an inconvenience if you have more than 2 passengers in a single cabin of this type. I remember from our 1st cruise that those split bathrooms came in extremely handy at times.

ISSUE: If I could ask Disney to change one thing it would be how the lights operate in the Disney Dream cabins. They have an energy saving system in place (seems like a great idea), but it requires you to have the stateroom key card inserted into the slot by the front door to operate any of the lights. For a single cabin this wouldn't be an issue, but it was a problem for us because of our adjoining cabins. Many times one of us would enter a cabin and then need to access our other cabin, so that would mean we'd need to go through the connecting door and feel our way through the dark to find the other key slot to activate the lights (assuming we could borrow the needed key - without that, we couldn't turn those lights on at all). Seems like there should be a better/easier/safer way…

Personally I would say this cabin category is perfectly acceptable for 1-2 passengers, but for parties of 3+ passengers I would recommend either choosing multiple cabins or a larger stateroom type if your budget allows. Note that the Disney Dream includes numerous adjoining cabins, but you need to book early to get them because they do get booked up fast.

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