Disney Dream Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Embarkation Process:
Quick and easy if you check in online first. Overall process from the time that we arrived at the port to the time that our name was announced on the boat as we stepped on board was roughly 1 hour 15 minutes. We took the Disney Bus from WDW Port Orleans Riverside starting at 12pm and got to the port a little before 12:50pm. At this point, there was still a small wait to get into line and such...but it seems that a lot of people already boarded. Check in online to save time when processing paperwork. If you are in a Boarding Group that is waiting to get in, you can check-in at the Youth Activity desk and get your Kids Wrist bands for the clubs. Of course, you can do this onboard as well...but if you have time to do it....go ahead.
NOTE - Confirm with DCL, but since we are leaving a US Port and coming back to a US Port.....a Passport Book, Passport Card or Birth Certificate can be used as identification. Per my conversation with DCL beforehand, you can use any of those forms of identification...but recommend that you use a Passport Book. The only reason to do so IF ( and it's a big IF ) there is some Medical/Personal emergency and you need to fly back from Nassau itself. A Passport Card won't work as proper ID through Customs if you need to fly out of a foreign Nation ( I'm not sure if a Birth Certificate will allow you to go through US Customs if you need to fly out of Nassau ). If you don't anticipate such an emergency....then a Passport Card is sufficient for ID to simply board the Boat via the Embarkation Process. Whoever knows more can correct me if I am wrong...but for those that don't go on cruises that often and are planning now....this is useful info. Again, please confirm with DCL if you want to be sure. I only bring this up cuz I myself called beforehand just to confirm what would be needed and am sure that many will have the same questions.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah
We usually take an inside stateroom on Carnival ( mainly for cost ) while the last time we cruised on Carnival we booked an outside Stateroom but without a Balcony. This time, since it's unlikely we'd cruise on DCL again...I decided to splurge a little and booked a room with Balcony. My impression of the DCL rooms are the same as most. The room had plenty of space for a family of 4. I have to admit that the DCL Outside Balcony rooms are really nice and spacious...considering that we are on cruise. I loved just standing out on the balcony and looking out. The Kids LOVE the bunk beds where they had to swap beds each night so that they can have the right to sleep on the top bunk. Having space underneath the bed to put the luggage was very helpful given that we had 3 big pieces of luggage. Having the double Bathroom's are very convenient. No issues with the room itself. Ida was our Room Attendant and he kept everything clean. We stayed on Deck 6 midship. There was not as much noise as I thought there would be given the proximity to the elevators. If you can someohow get a room on the 4th/5th/6th floor midship....it's a great location. I loved the location since it just required us to walk 2 or 3 flight of stairs down ( instead of taking the elevator ) to get to most of the dining rooms.....it was 1 floor above the Oceaneer Lab, the Buena Vista and just 2 floor above the Walt Disney Theater. It was quite a walk to Deck 11 and Edge....but the majority of the time we were going to places located just 2 or 3 flights of stairs below us. This was really convenenient when you finish watching a late night movie and can just go up 2 close and quick flights of stairs to your room. The only thing that we didn't like was that we had to keep a room key in the slot by the door to keep the lights on. I get why they do this....but it became more of an annoyance than anything. More often than not....someone ended up leaving their Card in the room.
Port Reviews
Castaway Cay
I decided to sign up on the 1st day at Castaway Cay for the 5k run ( ran it in under 26 minutes :) ). It was humid and hot...but wasn't as bad as I thought it would be since it was around 9am that we ran. As a periodic runner....if you like to run....it's worth it to at least say that you ran a 5k on some Tropical island in the Bahamas. I snorkelled on the main family area. Be aware that this side of the island had a lot more seaweed and whatever else usually floats on the shore. Nothing bad...just that I was disappointed that the shoreline wasn't as clear as I hoped it would be. I couldn't get the kids to go snorkelling....but I swam out to look for the underwater Mickey and Minnie statue. I randomly found the Underwater Minnie but had to swim back to get back to the boat ( in the main snorkel area, look for the 1st Guard Tower on the right with the Ship Mast sticking out of the water...it's beyond that area ). On the 2nd day at Castaway Cay, I convinced my Wife to join me on the Serenity Island side. As I suggested before, go if you can and have lunch there. It's a minor upgrade over the lunch on the main side of the island....but it's nice. The water and shoreline was WAY CLEARER and warmer. I loved that we can walk out very far and still only be waist deep in water. We saw many fish ( as expected ) and even saw a Stingray swim underneath us ( while freaking out my Wife ). As expected, it's much quieter and much nicer than the other main part of the island.