Disney Dream Review

My family and I returned from a Disney Dream cruise on May 26th.  This was a four day cruise from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas.  


We have been on the Wonder a couple of times and really like that ship.  The first time in a balcony and the other an inside cabin.  This trip on the Dream we had a CAT 5A, deck 9, with a balcony.  

On the bright side.  The AquaDuck is really cool, and really fun at night.   Do this ride while the ship is in port at Nassau or Castaway Cay.   A majority of guest leave the ship, so the lines are very short.   Mid Ship Detective is fun for the kids.  They get a magic badge on Deck 5 and have two mysteries’ to solve with clues given by Mickey.  Sports deck is great with the mini golf, table tennis, golf simulators ($) and basketball court.  

The cabin we had was nice, but is was across from a service elevator, need I say more.  The "bath and a half" lay out is great.  Plenty of storage and suitcases went under the bed with ease.  Cabin was kept clean by a great steward and we loved the balcony views of Nassau and Castaway Cay. 

My son liked the "Edge" club, but he liked playing chess with me in the 687 club better.  He went to the edge a few times and seemed to like the large screen TV with the Play station and Wii game.  For my wife, the quite place to get sun was deck 13 forward.  The main pools, Donald and Mickey were packed up until nap time.  After 5 pm the crowds thinned out.  There were plenty of chairs, but the books, towels and diaper bags that held prime areas woke up early.


As for the food, the Cabana's buffet was just fine for breakfast and lunch.  Standard offering.  Sushi was good, roast beef, chicken were all fine.  Fish was dry and I never saw anyone the mussels.  Plenty of fruit and veggies but the dessert area was most popular.  People tended to go be everywhere and making their own lines here and there,  so we started at the back by the Cabana's Bar and worked our way forward.  Day 2 through 4 we ate forward at the "fast food" section by the Cove pool  (Note; I was surprised that Disney did not have "Purel" hand cleaning stands before you enter dinning venues or leaving public bathrooms.)  Dinner at the 3 main restaurants was good.  Not over the top, but good.  Selection was fine and the wait service was nice.  A couple of times, the help had trouble finding our table, but overall not bad.  Our assistant server is not cut out for life at sea and it showed in her attitude.  We all felt that food on the smaller Disney Wonder is better. 

Room service was fast and the order correct.  We did not eat at the adults only Palo or Remi.   We take our son (age 12) everywhere, so if he is not allowed to go, we opt out.  The Cove has a great coffee shop offering teas and coffee drinks ($) this is located on deck 11 forward.   As dumb as it is, I locate the coffee shop (espresso, latte etc.) and then find a cabin in the same section of the ship.  In this case, we, or I, the coffee runner, was just 2 decks below, which is nice in the A.M.


For the ports of call, Castaway Cay is still a great place to get beach time.  Lots of activities, which most will cost you a few bucks.  Bikes, floats, snorkel rentals are all there, but for a price.  These types of things should be at no cost in my opinion.  The better snorkeling is by taking the catamaran. ($$)  No reef fish in the general lagoon area, only a sunken Mickey to find.  The adult, teen and family sections are all nice.  The small shopping area is cool, but no deals to be had.  The bar-b-que lunch is good and enjoyable.  The big question we had and no one could answer, where did the "Flying Dutchman" go?  The ship from the old Pirates of  The Caribbean is no longer at Castaway Cay. 

Nassau is nice, Atlantis is the big attraction.  The Aquarium is one of the best I have ever been to. ($$)  For us, it was been there done that, twice.  So we stayed on ship and did the AquaDuck and played up on the sports deck. 

Now the not so good.  Embarkation!  This to me was painful.  I will sum this up; their process is flawed and needs to be addressed.  I was happy I did not have a couple of small children going ape %$#% about "where's Mickey"  or "when can we go mommy?"  like so many other parents had. 


Next was the Pirate Party.  Not at all what I thought it was going to be.  I can only hope it was "updated" because of the release of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  This production was strange and in my opinion, not for young children.  Unless we missed them, there was no Mickey, Minnie, Goofy or any other of the classic characters.  Not like the Pirate Party on the Wonder when we sailed in January 2009 where Mickey is the hero and saves us all from the evil Capitan' Hook.  This had strange costumes, choreography and the set was well just plain bad.


The last thing is the beer and wine prices.  Although you can take on bottles of wine or vodka for "consumption in your cabin,"  wink, wink, (take a adult sippy cup with you for the pool) the prices for beer, mixed beverage and wine are a little steep.  Be advised to watch the bar tab, it can add up quickly.


Over all,  not bad.  It is a nice ship, and the crew was great.  I rate it 7 out of 10.  Our family voted and we like the Wonder better and when or if we sail Disney again, we will take the Wonder over the Dream.