Thanks, Eeyore.
Yes, the cast/crew work their tails off for very minimal pay. I didn't encounter anyone from the captain to the guy cleaning the pool who didn't greet me with a smile and a "Hello" in English.
Stand by for day 5 when I actually find some chipped paint in plain sight.
Loving the trip report. Its bringing back fantastic memories of our cruise on the Dream in October!
Thanks, Kris. I plan on doing a post with links to some of the other DCL trip reports on the board. Even though we all see and experience essentially the same things on our trips, we all have different view points.
For example, I am sure there are folks who love the hot tubs near the big pools on the ship. While I look at a the same hot tubs full of kids and say there is no way I am going in that.
Love the report so far! It makes me REALLY want to do a Disney cruise sometime. It looks even more clean than the Princess Cruise I went on a few years ago (and I thought that they did an excellent job with cleanliness). Thank you for sharing and cannot wait to read the rest!
That monkey towel animal is fantastic! And you definitely sold me on Palo! I'm really wanting to do a Disney Cruise now!
January 2020 Trip Report - Riviera Resort
June 2019 Trip Report - Caribbean Beach & Saratoga Springs
October 2018 Trip Report - Contemporary Resort
July 2018 - All Star Movies
April 2018 Trip Report - Art of Animation
Jan 2018 Trip Report - Port Orleans Riverside and Animal Kingdom Lodge
Nov 2017 Trip Report - Boardwalk Villas
Feb 2017 Trip Report - Port Orleans French Quarter
Apr 2016 Trip Report - Pop Century
Dec 2015 Trip Report - All Star Sports & Saratoga Springs
Sept 2014 Trip Report - Coronado Springs
Oct 2012 Trip Report - Caribbean Beach Resort
A pleasure to read! I love all the pics interspersed with the report!
Thanks for the comments guys.
Yes, Palo is a must. There is an additional charge of $25 for dinner at Palo, but the difference in value over the restaurants that are in the dining rotation is way beyond the $25. I am sure that Remy is also a must.
One thing that had us scratching our heads was the "night club" area on the Dream. The clubs were empty every night. No one was there. It was like a ghost town all three nights. The TV commercials and promotional videos show happy people dancing the night away, but the reality was chirping crickets.
OK, gang, without further ado, here is the report on Day 4, Finding The Key to Castaway Cay.
Thanks, Kris. I plan on doing a post with links to some of the other DCL trip reports on the board. Even though we all see and experience essentially the same things on our trips, we all have different view points.For example, I am sure there are folks who love the hot tubs near the big pools on the ship. While I look at a the same hot tubs full of kids and say there is no way I am going in that.
Yea. We avoided that hot mess like the plaque. Too. Many. Germs.
Thanks for the comments guys.Yes, Palo is a must. There is an additional charge of $25 for dinner at Palo, but the difference in value over the restaurants that are in the dining rotation is way beyond the $25. I am sure that Remy is also a must.
One thing that had us scratching our heads was the "night club" area on the Dream. The clubs were empty every night. No one was there. It was like a ghost town all three nights. The TV commercials and promotional videos show happy people dancing the night away, but the reality was chirping crickets.
OK, gang, without further ado, here is the report on Day 4, Finding The Key to Castaway Cay.
Interesting. The nightclub area on the Fantasy was ALWAYS packed. Of course, The Tube was awesome, but I find this very interesting.
Here is another thought: Of those 90 people that "live" on the island...where do they live? Are there actually huts on the island somewhere or do they taxi over from the mainland Bahamas. When we did our snorkeling excursion there, the boat captain told us the main Bahama island is only 9 miles away so they just boat over when they are doing excursions.
There is accommodation on the island for the guys who live there 
I have friends who work on the DCL and that was something I asked
I am loving your TR bill, it almost makes me want to go on another cruise! Especially if the rumours are true and there's one leaving from the uk next year...
Our Very Merry 24 nighter Nov/Dec 15
Watson's go West May 15
The one with all the birthdays Oct 14 4 Big Birthdays and a Vow Renewal thrown in
The OMG trip June 14 30th Birthday present from the hubs
Girly trip March 14 A last min cheapy week
September 13 our first all DVC stay
TR May 2013 the last min bargain trip offsite
Oct 2012 TR with a cruise!big family trip featuring the beach club, AKL, the dream and a villa offsite
TR on a budget May - June 2011offsite condo
TR Sept - Oct 2010 big family trip in an offsite villa
Great report! I love reading about the cruises since I'm unable to go on one myself.
Great report. Interesting reading.
See my Disney Photography at...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rt_images/
DVC owner since 2002 BCV/BWV/BLT/VGC
Playing catch-up today...great report so far!! I'm enjoying it very much 
Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch
Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
Thank you so much for this report. You guys look like fun folks - hope to meet up some day.
Thought I'd add a couple of notes to this report.
This was my first trip to Serenity Bay even though it was my 6th Disney cruise - first cruise without kids. Serenity Bay beach is a lot rougher on the feet than the family beach. Lots of crushed shells both on the beach and in the water. Next trip I am packing water shoes. 
As you can see from the photos, the beach was virtually empty. We were enjoying the peace and quiet until a couple arrived and sat themselves next to us followed by the couple's adult son and daughter-in-law. How did we know so much about these folks you ask? You couldn't not hear every word coming out of the woman's mouth...and there were many of them. So much loud talking and calling out to each other that we had to move. 
I tried hard to ignore them but it was impossible to concentrate on my book with all that going on next to us.
The absolute best drink I had on this cruise was at the member celebration on embarkation day. They passed out lovely vanilla vodka drinks.......yumm.....would love the recipe! 
A 3 day cruise goes by so fast! One of the challenges is finding time to shop onboard. The shops can't open when the ship is in port. That leaves evenings which can be hectic and crowded. I learned long ago not to wait until the last night to shop because it's crazy busy.
I can't wait until we take our next cruise in October with 2 stops at Castaway Cay!
Mrs Colonel and I are doing the 3 day cruise in September, our first cruise. Like you I plan to stay on the boat on Nassau day. But I didn't plan on doing Palo or Remy. I want to experience the three dining rooms.
I chose the late seating for dinner with the thought that I would be with less children that way, but I'm not sure about that. What do you think?
Are the fireworks nice? I understand its going to be a more modest show firing off a ship, but they don't look impressive by Disney standards. Maybe they are harder to capture without something in the foreground or background for perspective.
Does every cruise have a formal night? Do people dress up for pirate night? I have so many questions.
See my Disney Photography at...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rt_images/
DVC owner since 2002 BCV/BWV/BLT/VGC
Mrs Colonel and I are doing the 3 day cruise in September, our first cruise. Like you I plan to stay on the boat on Nassau day. But I didn't plan on doing Palo or Remy. I want to experience the three dining rooms.I chose the late seating for dinner with the thought that I would be with less children that way, but I'm not sure about that. What do you think?
Are the fireworks nice? I understand its going to be a more modest show firing off a ship, but they don't look impressive by Disney standards. Maybe they are harder to capture without something in the foreground or background for perspective.
Does every cruise have a formal night? Do people dress up for pirate night? I have so many questions.
We chose late dining and found that there were mostly older children - 7 and up rather than the real little ones.
We did not have a "formal" night although they listed the last night as "Optional Dress Up". I found that on this cruise folks dressed up more than in the past. Not sure if this was because it was a holiday cruise. The last night we did see a family at dinner where one of the older kids had pajama pants and one other person had very ripped jeans and slippers on.
We found that many folks dressed for pirate night - although there were an equal number that didn't. The pirate "show" on deck was good and I enjoyed the fireworks. It's not an extravaganza like at MK, but it was very cool out in the middle of the ocean with darkness all around - plus the fireworks are closer than you'd experience at most parks.
Feel free to PM me or BuffaloBill if you have questions. I can also scan the daily Navigators for you if you'd like to see a sample of activities.
Thought I'd add a couple of notes to this report.This was my first trip to Serenity Bay even though it was my 6th Disney cruise - first cruise without kids. Serenity Bay beach is a lot rougher on the feet than the family beach. Lots of crushed shells both on the beach and in the water. Next trip I am packing water shoes.
As you can see from the photos, the beach was virtually empty. We were enjoying the peace and quiet until a couple arrived and sat themselves next to us followed by the couple's adult son and daughter-in-law. How did we know so much about these folks you ask? You couldn't not hear every word coming out of the woman's mouth...and there were many of them. So much loud talking and calling out to each other that we had to move.
Oh my gosh...we had the exact same thing happen to us. The beach was practically empty (especially because we had gotten up and off the ship early). We picked some great seats with no one around for rows and rows and this obnoxious group (about 4 couples traveling together) decided to plop right down next to us and proceed to be a rude as ever, shouting to each other, talking so loudly that 1/2 the beach could hear them. They acted like this was their own personal party and the rest of us trying to enjoy the "serenity" didn't even matter. I tried to block them out too, but I couldn't and we ended up having to move. It was so frustrating. I feel your pain!
Kris - thanks for sharing! I was feeling like I was being a diva..... It really was obnoxious.
This makes me want to try a Disney cruise. Then I remember the early comments about the motion of the ship...so probably not gonna happen for me. I am not risking that much money to potentially spend three days holed up in my cabin feeling miserable.
Regarding the "movement" of the ship. It's hard to describe it. It's different than the movement of an airplane, it's more subtle and I hope I didn't make it sound worse than it was.
There are ways to counteract the "movement". I saw lots of people with patches on behind their ears. Personally, I found that just maintaining contact with the ship by touching something with my hand that I knew wasn't moving (a wall, a door frame, the table) was enough. Motion sickness is really caused by your ears disagreeing with the information your eyes are giving your brain. That's why they tell you to focus on something and not move your head around too much on Mission Space.
NHShorty, who is an experienced cruiser, says that the "movement" we experienced was the most noticeable of any of the Disney cruises that she has been on, but it was not an issue.
So, don't let our mentioning of the "movement" stop you from enjoying what was really a great experience. 
Finally getting caught up on your trip report. Lovin it.
Can't wait to read more.
"In case you are wondering, the Dream does not make a beeping noise while backing up. "
OMG, you guys are too funny! I love reading your reports! And when we are on our cruise this October, I will tell everyone it's Newton's laws, not the Bahama Mamma's which are making me walk crooked! 
This makes me want to try a Disney cruise. Then I remember the early comments about the motion of the ship...so probably not gonna happen for me. I am not risking that much money to potentially spend three days holed up in my cabin feeling miserable.
Don't worry, it might just be the time of year or any given week, but when DH and I cruised in October we didn't feel even the slightest bit of movement until the very last day and even then it was only for a few minutes. We had a very flat sea most of the trip.
Regarding the "movement" of the ship. It's hard to describe it. It's different than the movement of an airplane, it's more subtle and I hope I didn't make it sound worse than it was.
There are ways to counteract the "movement". I saw lots of people with patches on behind their ears. Personally, I found that just maintaining contact with the ship by touching something with my hand that I knew wasn't moving (a wall, a door frame, the table) was enough. Motion sickness is really caused by your ears disagreeing with the information your eyes are giving your brain. That's why they tell you to focus on something and not move your head around too much on Mission Space.NHShorty, who is an experienced cruiser, says that the "movement" we experienced was the most noticeable of any of the Disney cruises that she has been on, but it was not an issue.
So, don't let our mentioning of the "movement" stop you from enjoying what was really a great experience.
I haven't got a problem with the movement. I've got a problem with the ship being on water
Still working on Day 5 of the report, so stand by. We start at 5 AM on the Dream, enter HS at 5 PM, over dose on the Osborne Lights and end the night late at FW looking at the guests' RV lights. Should be up before the weekend.
BuffaloBill wrote:Regarding the "movement" of the ship. It's hard to describe it. It's different than the movement of an airplane, it's more subtle and I hope I didn't make it sound worse than it was.
There are ways to counteract the "movement". I saw lots of people with patches on behind their ears. Personally, I found that just maintaining contact with the ship by touching something with my hand that I knew wasn't moving (a wall, a door frame, the table) was enough. Motion sickness is really caused by your ears disagreeing with the information your eyes are giving your brain. That's why they tell you to focus on something and not move your head around too much on Mission Space.NHShorty, who is an experienced cruiser, says that the "movement" we experienced was the most noticeable of any of the Disney cruises that she has been on, but it was not an issue.
So, don't let our mentioning of the "movement" stop you from enjoying what was really a great experience.
I haven't got a problem with the movement. I've got a problem with the ship being on water
That would be hubby's issue. He never learned to swim, and large bodies of water make him rather uncomfortable. So between my motion sickness problems and his water issues, a cruise might never happen for us. But thanks for the reassurance about the motion problems. You never know, maybe it will happen someday.
I scanned the daily Navigator for Day 1 for your reading pleasure....days 2 and 3 to follow.
Playing catch-up and loving it all!
P.S. Although we haven't done a Disney cruise (yet), we are avid cruisers. The first cruise we ever took, the waters were pretty rough that first night an I got a small case of nausea. Not sick, but felt queasy for hours. Now, I am not a motion sick kind of person at all, so it caught me off guard.
Our room steward noticed my staggering and asked me if I was feeling bad and said that this was not the normal, but a very rough sea today. I told him I was feeling it, not too awful, but it surprised me. He offered to go get me some meds from the infirmary, which I nicely declined as it makes me too sleepy. He then told me that the best thing to do before a cruise was to buy ginger pills and take them for two weeks prior to your cruise. You can also get the ginger candy and just start eating it the day before and the day of, but it's not that great tasting. He said the pills will work, but you have to get them in your system longer, trust me.
So I did the next cruise. The bottle was very inexpensive and I now take them before every cruise. I have never experienced another bout of queasy, even when we have encountered storms or rough water and the boat is moving pretty good. It did work!
Super report! - You two look absolutely great and appear to being having such fun.
I scanned the daily Navigator for Day 1 for your reading pleasure....days 2 and 3 to follow.
Reading this really makes me want to try a Disney cruise.