Trip Report: DISNEY DREAM - VILLAS AT GRAND FLORIDIAN - BEACH CLUB VILLAS AND DISNEYLAND

The intrepid sailors

Our cabin- Not bad for a ship but only the size of a DVC studio

Our room was over there somewhere. Above Palo I think. I took pictures from the verandah, but none of the verandah. It was pretty small. Two chairs and a little table.

We were the first ones on the ship, except for the green cards (people who are sailing again on the same ship). In fact we missed being announced as we boarded. So as a joke we boarded again later and they announced us.

I thought we had a decent room. Later in the cruise we met a couple that cruised on Disney 40 times. They had just done a double cruise. They explained that they saved $4K by doing a 3 day and a 4 day cruise as opposed to a seven day cruise. These people knew everyone on the ship. They showed us their room and it was twice the size of ours. It was in between the Roy suite and the Walt suite. It was pretty impressive. It had a separate living room, bedroom and a real bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. They gave us lots of info on the best rooms and how to get them and they swore us to secrecy and they weren't kidding. So my lips are sealed.

from the magnificent atrium lobby- decorated for halloween

Characters in the lobby- I couldn't be bothered to wait on line. I probably should have.

I think that couple enjoyed the luxury and being waited on. I think they've seen all the ports by now. They didn't bother to get off in Nassau either, but they did at Castaway Cay. They told me that the Disney Transatlantic Cruise was the best thing I could ever do. They also said the Disney Fantasy was even more luxurious than the Dream. They said repositioning cruises are often a bargain.

I'll discuss the cruise in some detail as I think a lot of people are going on Disney cruises or considering it. Two things I should get out of the way. As I said I have pretty bad motion sickness. The teacups could ruin a whole day for me. Simulators make me nauseous. I used the transdermal scoplamine (sp?) patch and I was fine. I felt the rocking of the boat (which I was told was greater than usual) but I did not feel ill.

Second, I have a pretty bad seafood allergy. So when considering my opinions of food it should be remembered that I don't eat fish and I'm a food snob from New York.

After getting on the boat and checking the room and lobby, we went to the concierge lounge ("CL"). I've been known to like a drink or four so I popped in there frequently as did others. It was common for people to show up, grab a drink for the road and leave with it. Conveniently, it was right near our room- 20 feet away. There was one couple that was in the CL every time I went in there. I think all they did the whole cruise was eat. And it showed.

Anyway the CL was very nice. A bartender served top shelf liquors from a limited selection. There was a limited selection of beer and wine as well. And they were constantly bringing out food all day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks. And you could mingle and chat with fellow concierge guests. That was where we met the frequent cruise couple. Kids were in there now and again, but they were extremely well-behaved.

There were three concierge hosts. They all helped everyone, but the one assigned to us was Andy and he was a blast. He was a young, tall, German with a thick accent. Think Martin Short as the wedding planner in Father of the Bride but only about twice the height. He was flaming, flamboyant and fabulous. He always made you smile. If I went in the CL and he wasn't there it was a let-down.

The three hosts were always doing something for you, chatting with you, advising you, etc. Some people used them to book things, but I was all set. And they did little gestures; one sent a tray of cookies to our cabin. Another gave us a limited edition DCL print to take home. They tried to please.

We had a CL meet and greet with a character. I was all excited that it would be Captain Mickey, but it was only Peter Pan. Not my favorite character.

The CL was very nice. I enjoyed it very much. In fact I was enjoying it when the ship started to move. I didn't even realize we were moving. It came up in conversation so I almost missed the sail off or whatever you call it and the party on the pool deck. That will be next I guess.

I found this online. It turns out I was above the spa. Palo is in the aft and I was in the fore. Nautical terms y'all. They gave me 150 mb free wifi that I burned through in 24 hrs. I think trying to upload one picture. I never used the wave phones they give you, but I could see how they would have value to a family. And I found out something; no irons on a cruise. My wife wanted to iron something and they do not allow them at all.

Taurino was our cabin host. More like cabin ghost. Every time we left the room he was in there tidying up. Turning down the bed, making towel animals, cleaning up after us, etc. Couldn't do enough for us. He was a lovely guy from Indonesia and he had three weeks left on his four month tour. I don't know how these guys do it.

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When sailing they have a party on the pool deck geared towards the kids mainly. But look at the size of the pool. It's a joke.

sailing away

Always ships around. The NCL Getaway looked pretty nice. The Carnival Victory did not.

I was right about the pools. They were small and very crowded. The main pool deck pools were lousy with kids. I estimate a foot of water and a foot of urine in there.

The adult pool was even smaller. It usually was a bunch of people sitting around the edge with drinks in their hands looking at each other. It was sad.

The concierge sundeck didn't even have a pool, but under the circumstances it had something better, a shower. So you could sun yourself in peace and then cool off in the shower as necessary without sharing bodily fluids with your shipmates.

The line for The Aquaduck was always at least 45 minutes. Even when we were docked in Nassau. I wasn't about to stand there for an hour so I never got on it. That sucked. I should have jumped on as soon as we boarded, but who thought? I was too busy looking at the ship and stuff.

The concierge sundeck- usually empty.

This woman came into the CL on Pirate Night. Pretty fine costume, huh?

There's one of me on the prow like DeCaprio in Titanic

There are three production shows on the Dream and they are all very good. They are almost Broadway quality. They all run at about one hour long, so they don't get a chance to bore you. Seating is on a first-come basis, but all seats are pretty good. The theater is very comfortable, and you can eat and drink in there. Absolutely no photography though. My favorite show was Villians. The lead playing Hades was very good.

I had chosen the early show and late dinner seating. My logic was that there would be fewer kids at the later dinner and also to give adequate time between lunch and dinner to build up an appetite. I think I was right about that choice.

There were also first run movies. A had a couple that I wanted to see but couldn't manage to squeeze them in. That's because there is just so much to do, you can't do it all. Even if you eliminate all the things just for kids and families, there is still too much. You get the Navigator, a newsletter that tells you everything going on. There is a lot. Always something to do if you want to.

One thing I absolutely had to do was the Nightmare Before Christmas Sing and Scream movie. I dragged my wife there at 10:30 at night and promptly fell asleep as soon as I sat down.

Kristen- the Golden Mickeys were my least favorite. Still very good. A cute show. The lead in that was also very talented. I preferred Villains over Believe. What did you think?

I think they were trying to show the productions from worst to best in a progression which makes sense, but I would have put Villains last.