A 4 night Dream... with a Toddler (lots of pics) Sept 2011

[jordgubben]

To set the scene: There’s me (32), DH (33), DS (14 months), and my mom and dad who were both first time cruisers. We’re all big fans of Disney vacations. I traveled to WDW with my family a few times growing up. DH’s first trip to WDW was our honeymoon almost 10 years ago and we’ve been fortunate to be back a number of times since. Prior to this sailing, we had done two 7 day Caribbean cruises on the Magic and a few short cruises on other lines.

This report will be skewed towards information about cruising with a toddler since that’s the information I was starving for prior to our trip. Along those lines, I’ll address DS’s socks now since someone is bound to notice (plenty of people seemed to ask my mom about on the cruise for some reason). Yes, he was walking for about a month by the time the cruise rolled around but he had just started wearing shoes (we started calling him Agador Spartacus because of how he walked in them). I had a pair of sandals for him but the little bit of time walking around the airport in NJ was enough to start some blisters. So instead of having him suffer in the sandals we just let him walk around in grippy socks when we weren’t carrying him.

Pre-cruise stay at Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport: This was the way to go! DH and I agree that we will stay at this hotel for all future pre-cruise stays. One thing I wish I had known, if you are staying with them be sure to call the night before (or I imagine, any point before) and give them your flight information. Their bell services will pick up your luggage from baggage claim and bring it directly to your room. While I believe there is a small fee ($10?) this means you can get off the plane and go directly to your room. This also means you don’t have to drag your luggage the entire length of the airport if you come into terminal B as we did. Lesson learned.

Luggage with Hyatt MCO and DCL Transfers: Again, this is really the way to go. Bell services begins collecting the bags at 8:30am. Since we headed out for breakfast prior to then, we just left the bags near the door inside the room, as instructed. We left the tip on the bags and I wrote a quick note of “Thanks” so the bellman would know the money was left on purpose. If you plan on using this service (and I highly suggest you do) you’ll need to let them know when you check in. Don’t worry, there’s a big sign in the reception area to remind you and person checking you in will also probably ask. You will be given a form to complete with your name, hotel room and the number of bags you’re leaving for bell services to pick up. Don’t worry, you can complete this form in the morning if you’re not sure on the number. You’ll then give this form to the DCL check-in folks at the airport when you check in for the cruise.

Breakfast at Hemispheres (Hyatt MCO): We enjoyed a lovely breakfast buffet at Hemispheres prior to our departure. In addition to the buffet they also have items available a la carte. While I was originally planning on picking up a bagel or something in the airport food court (conveniently located on the way from the hotel to the DCL check in), my parents suggested this restaurant and it was nice to have something substantial since we weren’t going to be having anything else until we boarded the ship and got lunch (which ended up being sooner than we expected but you never know).

DCL Check-in at MCO: After breakfast and a quick stop at the Kennedy Space Center shop, we headed down to level one to check in for the cruise (probably around 9:30 or so). The check in process went very smoothly and we were given a bus boarding card (Chip and Dale as it were) and asked to sit in the waiting area. Since it wasn't super crowded, we took this opportunity to let DS run around a bit. When our bus was called we lined up and a cast member checked our IDs against our spiral cruise docs book. We were then given a boarding number for the ship. I believe we were originally given #5 but the cast member switched it out for #2 which was very nice of her. It turns out it was a bit unnecessary (more on that later in the Embarkation section).

DCL Transfers: I know they are expensive but I really am a fan of DCL transfers because of the convenience. One good thing was that I did not have to pay for DS since he was essentially a lap infant. Making use of Disney transfers (DCL and ME) during the trip also meant we didn’t have to worry about packing a car seat or hoping the car service would have one. For those traveling with a stroller, it will go under the bus in the cargo area. We have a city mini single and the bus driver told us we didn’t have to fold it. Believe it or not that cargo area is tall enough for him to just wheel the stroller on (I’m sure it makes it a lot faster at the other end when they don’t have a bunch of people unfolding strollers, too.) When we got off the bus at the terminal we gathered our belongings, got our group back together and headed through security.

At the terminal: Since we had already checked-in at MCO the only thing we had to do at the terminal was go through security and wait. And since our bus arrived around 11 (I think… I didn’t really pay attention to the times as much as I should have for reporting purposes… sorry folks!), we didn’t have to do much waiting at all. We found seats near the back of the terminal more or less just as you get off the escalator. It was near the bathrooms which was important for those folks in our group waiting for water pills to wear off. Mickey was available for pictures for anyone who was willing to stand in the line. I was tempted to stand in line for DS but when Minnie replaced Mickey he walked right by DS and that was apparently a little TOO close. DS likes Mickey better from 10 feet away. At least that saved me from standing in line. Instead I took DS and my dad to check out the scale model of the Magic. Then, before we knew it they began calling boarding numbers.

 

[jordgubben]

Embarkation: We were given boarding #2. Woo hoo! Well, sort of. The first thing everyone should know is there is about two minutes between boarding numbers. At least there was the day we boarded. The second thing everyone should know is that the sheer volume of people congregating RIGHT outside the ropes of the boarding area makes it nearly impossible to actually get to the boarding area when your number is called unless you happened to be standing at the ropes for the last half hour. This is the one time on the cruise (heck, I wasn’t even on the cruise yet) when I was truly pissed off. There’s no reason for everyone to be standing at the entrance to the boarding area. Everyone is going to get on the ship. The reason everyone has been given a boarding number is to prevent everyone from having to stand in line to ensure their position to get on the ship. Everyone should just hang out in the terminal away from the boarding area until their number is called. It was nearly impossible for my husband to navigate the stroller through the mob. In fact, by the time he was able to they were calling group 5. I kind of wish they would keep people was forming a mob there. Then again, I’m sure these were all the same people who start lining up to get on the plane as it’s pulling up to the gate making it nearly impossible for those deplaning to make their way off the jetway. Getting off the soap box to continue my report now… So, picture taken, name announced and we were on the ship at 11:45am (that time I DID take notice of). Let the cruise begin.

Embarkation lunch: Upon boarding the ship a CM pulled us to the side to welcome us and see if we had any questions. We were then directed to deck 2 for lunch in Enchanted Garden since Cabanas didn’t open for another 15 minutes. We boarded an elevator to deck two, used the restrooms and then based on recommendations from here and the DCL person who greeted our bus, headed up to deck 11 for a quick tour and then to Cabanas (which at this point was about to open). They were still in the process of opening the port side so we moved around to the starboard side for seating so we would be closer to the action (food). Then we took turns getting our food and had a wonderful buffet lunch. It turns out this was both the first and last meal we would have in Cabanas but that’s more because of the limited time on a four day cruise than anything else. Plus, with a 14 month old, it’s simply much easier to have people bring the food to you.


Meals with the highchair set: It should be noted that we brought our Phil&Ted MeToo clip on chair with us because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a giant pain to have to get a high chair all the time. We find the clip on chair way more convenient than searching for a high chair when we are out and about at home. As I should have expected, high chairs were easy to come by on the Dream and servers were always prompt in getting one for you. We did not need the clip on chair after all and it stayed in the suitcase for the rest of the cruise. I was, however, glad that I brought a few of his spoons since he did much better with those than with the adult sized variety. I actually picked up a pack of toddler spoons at the dollar store and we had a small thing of dish soap in the room to wash those and his cups (which I was also glad I brought).

Ship Tour: After lunch we were able to hop on a ship tour. I was concerned about doing the tour with a stroller but it wasn’t a problem. In fact, we weren’t the only ones in our group elevator-bound. The tour is mainly of decks 4 and 5 so it wasn’t like we were all over the ship. In fact, we only needed to use the elevator once. We did hop off the tour at 1:30pm (to check out the stateroom) so I’m not sure where it went after the first half hour.

Stateroom Key (Key to the World Card): We were able to get into our staterooms promptly at 1:30pm. We were greeted by our stateroom host Jorge and he unlocked our door for us. Word to the wise, even if your stateroom host lets you in be sure to try your room key! We found out later in the day that my and DH’s room keys weren’t magnetized correctly and wouldn’t open our door. In fact, DS’s key was the only one that worked (at least we had one!). A quick trip to Guest Services and they printed new stateroom keys that worked. Problem solved.

Inside Stateroom (Cat 11) / Virtual Porthole: We were very impressed with the inside staterooms on the Dream. We always had inside staterooms on the Magic so I feel I’m comparing apples to apples. While the cabins on the Dream are slightly smaller than those on the Magic, I couldn’t tell. And I say this even though we had an additional 20lb person in the room with us along with all his stuff. We had plenty of room to store all our belongings (which included a stroller and multiple diaper bag-type things). We unpacked completely and stored the luggage (3 good-sized bags un-nested) under the bed. We also folded the stroller (Baby Jogger City Mini) and kept that under the bed when we weren’t using it (and frankly, we didn’t use it very much). The diaper/beach bag stored easily in the trunk/coffee table.

Instead of using a Pack N’ Play, upon arrival we asked our stateroom attendant for a bedrail and after he set up the couch bed we made a makeshift crib with that and pillows. For naps during the day we just put DS in the bed (and frankly, we often joined him). In our opinion it was much better than losing the space to the Pack N Play.

The virtual porthole was very cool and had a great picture. DS seemed to really enjoy it as well. I especially liked how the animation wasn’t completely random. For instance, one night was a bug writing “Sweet Dreams” on the window and the night of the Pirates party we got animated fireworks at the same time as the fireworks were scheduled to go off.

I should note that our cabin (7029) was on one of the interior cross-aisle corridors. The location itself was fine. We liked being close to the forward elevators as they seemed to be less busy than the other elevators. The only thing I would bring to the attention of someone planning to stay in one of these rooms is that it seems that hallway is used to store the housekeeping carts. As we all know, the stateroom attendants work seemingly around the clock and so it seems you are always walking by housekeeping carts when traveling the “residential” corridors. In order to keep some of the carts out of the way of the main flow of traffic it seemed that our stateroom attendant kept his cart in our little cross-aisle. The only time this was a problem was one time when we were out and about with the stroller and couldn’t get past the cart with it open. Again, this wasn’t the main corridor so it’s a little narrower. We didn’t have any problem getting the stroller around housekeeping carts in the main corridor.

We had to do two things to toddler-proof our stateroom... put the trash can in the bathroom and put the phone under a pillow so our phone obsessed son wouldn’t find it. We also brought a few toys (stacking cups from the dollar store, etc.) to keep him entertained while we got ready in the morning but otherwise, everything was fine.

Dealing with dirty diapers. Be sure to bring some of those diaper disposal bags that contain the smell. Also, since our trash can was in the bathroom and there always seems to be air circulating in there, it was fine. The stateroom attendants seem to empty the trash just about every time you leave the room so it really wasn't an issue.

 

[jordgubben]

It’s a Small World Nursery: I had read another DISer’s trip report about how they have pre-booked their little one every night during dinner. What an outstanding idea! Four nights of being able to actually enjoy dinner uninterrupted (especially since a cruise dinner is a bit longer than dinners at home). I followed their lead and did the same. We had main seating for dinner which began at 5:45. Unfortunately, the first night of the cruise the nursery didn’t open until 6pm. So I sent DH and my parents ahead while I dropped off DS. I’m not sure if it was the chaos of it being the first day or what but drop off took a bit longer than I expected. I managed to arrive at dinner after everyone had ordered but before they were eating so I figure I ultimately made decent time. The second night when we went to drop of DS he was upset. I tried to explain to DH that he’s at that age when he cries when I leave him at daycare and that he’s usually fine 3 minutes later. Perhaps that would have been the case if it was just me dropping him off instead of both me and DH. That would have been more like his regular daycare routine. Instead we were both leaving him and that apparently wasn’t cool with him. We went to dinner and DH was concerned so I told him to call the nursery. They said he had calmed down a little bit but was still sort of upset. I convinced DH to give him a bit more time. When we were having our entrée DH got a text from the nursery saying that he was still upset and they were trying to calm him down. At this point DH finished his entrée and went to get DS from the nursery and bring him to the dining room to join us for dessert. A little ice cream makes everyone feel better. We decided to cancel the reservations we had for the remaining nights. DS has already proved he was ok in the dining room for breakfasts and lunches and we figured dinner would probably be the same. Fortunately, we were correct.

Dining with a toddler: We are very fortunate in that DS is usually very good at restaurants (well, at least the diner since that’s generally the restaurant we go to these days). If he has something to eat, he’s happy. It also didn’t hurt that my dad won a bag of Cars bath toys at bingo. These quickly became (and still are) the restaurant toys. They are really perfect for DS because they are basically plastic squeeze toys (without noise) that he can play with and chew on without me worrying about him choking on a tire. They sell this little bag of toys in the gift shop in case you need something. Our tablemates had a 3yo son and they ended up buying him a set of the matchbox Disney buses to play with at dinner. Let’s face it, dinner is a long time for the little ones. I should also note that the children’s menus are paper and they provide crayons (washable thank goodness since at some point both boys were drawing on the tableclothes! Ack!)

In addition, the servers were always wonderful with DS. They did a fair amount of entertaining him actually. They would play peek-a-boo with him, make him napkin animals, and generally capture his attention. They were wonderful. This goes for both our regular dining team and the servers we had every breakfast and lunch in Royal Palace.

Why every breakfast and lunch in Royale Palace? Because it’s full service! And while it might seem counterintuitive that you want to bring your toddler to the “fancy” breakfast or lunch it was actually SO much easier than doing the buffet. FYI, Enchanted Garden breakfast is a buffet. It was lovely but again, full service was just much easier.
Full service also meant my husband could easily get a drink of the day to have with lunch which was a bit comical on one occasion.

 

[jordgubben]

Castaway Cay:
Ahhh… paradise. This was our third DCL cruise but only the second time we had been able to stop at Castaway Cay. That morning, DS woke us up just as we were pulling up to the island. It was great to be able to watch it come into view on our virtual porthole. We had breakfast at Royal Palace and then headed out to the island.

We decided to take the tram to the second stop which placed us a little further down on the family beach. We were very excited to take advantage of the strollers available to borrow (free!) on Castaway Cay. We found the strollers (and wagons) shortly after getting off the tram and quickly grabbed one. The stroller was a Baby Jogger City Elite which was great.

We then set out to find a good “spot”. We were very concerned with getting a spot with some shade. Also, since we had the stroller, we didn’t want to stray too far from the paved path. We found a spot pretty quickly. In hind sight, I wish we had moved a bit closer to the water since the sand was significantly softer there but DS didn’t seem to mind where we were and just enjoyed playing in the sand.

Though it was still early in the day (around 10am) it was already quite warm. We were glad we had brought a drink for DS but wish we had brought some for ourselves. Fortunately we found the cooler of cold water to hold us over until lunch and, of course, we could have purchased a bottle or two of water.

Since it was so warm, we quickly made our way down to the water. The great thing about Castaway Cay is the water is so calm and shallow that it was very easy to take DS in. He LOVED it! He was just happy to splash around. (As an aside, waterproof camera case… totally worth it!)

Taking the second tram stop also got us to the section of the beach that’s closer to Pelican Plunge. Maybe next time DS will be up for that…

This one tells you nothing but it’s one of my favorites… sorry.

After a bit of time in the water we played a bit more in the sand and then headed just across the road to Spring-a-Leak. Loved this! This is a great little splash zone with a bit of shade and cushioned ground. Perfect for a toddler!

We would have loved to spend the entire day on the island but it was quite warm. As a result, we found ourselves counting the minutes until Cookie’s Too opened for lunch. We wandered over that way a little bit before they opened and grabbed a seat in the shaded seating area. We also took that time to get some beverages and then before you know it they were opening the line for lunch!

After lunch we started to make our way back to the ship. We returned the stroller and got back on the tram. I have to tell you, the walk back to the ship from the tram feels about twice as long as the walk to the island, especially when you are carrying a toddler (no more stroller…). We actually took a quick break outside the post office before proceeding to the ship.

 

[jordgubben]

Entertaining a 14 month old: One of the concerns I had prior to setting sail was how am I going to keep my 14 month old entertained as I was concerned that most of the kids things were geared toward older children. Silly me…

Nemo’s Reef: We decided to stay on the ship while in port in Nassau. We had been before and didn’t really have a desire to go again. To us, it’s just a place for the ship to park for the day. Instead, we took advantage of the wonderful amenities on the ship one of which is Nemo’s Reef. This area is absolutely perfect for the pre-pool set. I love the fact that it’s in the shade since I’m always nervous about my pasty-white DS getting burned. It also has limited access points so I was able to let him roam free a bit without feeling like he was going to make a run for it and end up in passenger traffic on deck or that, vice versa, passenger traffic on deck was going to run him over while he was playing. He still hadn’t gotten the hang of slides (at least not that you’re supposed to sit up going down them) so the Mr. Ray slide was a little big for him. Frankly, his favorite thing was the blow fish which would squirt out a stream much like a water fountain. He thought it was a hoot.

Also, there’s an area of Nemo’s Reef that seems oddly dry. It seems devoid of the squirty fountains on the floor and the various spraying sea creatures. Right... that’s until your son gets you to wander into that area and you’re all of a sudden separated by a curtain of rain. A momentary panic (by me) meant I got soaked hopping through the curtain to be by him only to have the rain stop half a second later. My husband got a kick out of that.

Oceaneer Club: One of the great tips I received on these boards was that my 14 month old could play in the Oceaneer Club as long as we accompanied him. I’m happy to report DS LOVED Andy’s Room. Specifically, he loved that he was able to climb in and out of the car (and that said car had 8 buttons that played different horns).

He also enjoyed he tunnel/slinky dog, the giant piggy bank and the enormous Mr. Potatohead.

We took him to explore the rest of the club but Andy’s Room was definitely geared for the younger kids more so than the other areas. While most of the children playing in there were a number of years older than him (not to mention, much bigger), it didn’t seem to be a problem to keep him out of their way. It didn’t hurt that while we were there they started a dance time or something in the main area and a number of the kids left Andy’s Room to meet Lilo and Stitch. I’d also like to note that I was very comfortable staying with DS in the Oceaneer’s Club. My husband and I felt welcome and not really out of place. We were hardly the only parents in there as many parents seemed to be coming and going as they were picking up and dropping off their children.

Places to run. There were a couple of times (notably, the first day and when we docked in Nassau) when we would go up to deck 13 forward and basically be the only ones up there. It was great to let him run a little bit (keep in mind, he was only 14 months old and had be walking for about of month so he wasn’t that fast yet). There was also a great round seating area for those not currently in charge of chasing said toddler to sit and relax.

Additionally, on the pool deck (literally, the deck over the pool) after the pirate party was almost completely empty. There were just a handful of young kids burning off some energy. It was great.

(Alright, this isn’t the pool deck but… Pirate Night, woo hoo!)

Scheduled events for “little ones”: Keep an eye on the Personal Navigator for events specifically tailored for the toddler set. A four day cruise isn’t nearly enough time to make it to all the events but there were a couple we managed to get to.

Toddler Time in the it’s a small world Nursery. I admit to being a bit confused by this listing until I noticed it took place before the time when the nursery opened. Basically, the nursery is available for an hour before they open for parents to take their toddlers in there to play. We went after breakfast and only had about 15 minutes to play but hey, sometimes that’s all you need. DS was a bit upset when we first arrived probably because he thought we were going to leave him like we had the night before. Once DH got down on the floor and started playing with the blocks he calmed down though. DS enjoyed playing and we were the only ones in the nursery aside from the CMs. This is definitely an activity I would suggest for parents of toddlers.

Wake up with Disney Jr. This was yet another disboard suggestion. This short event featured a character (we had Pluto) and a CM dancing to the theme songs from Disney Jr. Shows as well as other songs. It was held in D Lounge and there were only three children there including my DS. He liked dancing a little bit and watching the other kids dance but most of all he liked running around the club and climbing up on the couches.

At the end, Pluto stuck around for a few pictures. Talk about a great opportunity for character pictures. No lines and plenty of time. Alas, DS was still a bit wary of our fuzzy friends. He didn’t cry, but he held on tight to me and was pretty much looking to get out of there.

Nightly stage shows with a toddler. One of the great questions is what to do with a toddler during the stage shows like Believe, Villians Tonight, etc. Answer: Put them in PJs and take them! While I had originally scheduled DS to be in the nursery during Villains Tonight that happened to be the night he was inconsolable being away from us and we had to pick him up early. So, we tried bringing him to the show. To minimize any potential disruption to other guests, we grabbed seats at the back of the balcony on the aisle (they were actually great seats). I was shocked when DS made it through the entire show. He loved the dancing. I think it’s also important to point out that I think he’s a bit too young to know what he’s supposed to be afraid of so I think that helped. About three-quarters of the way through the show he turned around, put his head down on my shoulder and went to sleep.

 

[jordgubben]

Other Random stuff...

Shutters: You may recall our stateroom keys were not magnetized correctly at the beginning of our cruise. We didn’t figure this out until after we had given our stateroom key to the photographer for the embarkation photo. Apparently, for that reason, we didn’t have any photos available to view from our stateroom tv or in a our book. We found out that they still display photos “the old fashioned way” if that happens. We were able to look through the orphan embarkation photos on the wall, find ours and add it to our portfolio.

AquaDuck: My parents loved this and went on this three times during the trip and highly suggest going on it on it night because “it’s cool”. After the pirate show my parents watched DS and we quickly went on it twice in a row. We must have picked the perfect time because there was NO LINE. In fact, we asked to make sure it was open because we hadn’t seen anyone float by.

For the record, my dad had no idea DH was taking pictures (and he certainly couldn’t see him without his glasses), he just felt compelled to wave to everyone as he went by.

Midship Detective Agency: We all (DS included) got a kick out of the enchanted artwork so we thought we’d try this just to see what it’s all about. I can definitely see this being a hit kids who are a bit older (and maybe adults, too).

Kitchen/Galley Tour: It wasn’t on the Personal Navigators but during our day at sea they did offer a kitchen tour (for adults only, I believe). Our servers happened to mention it during lunch and my parents went to Guest Relations to sign up. I believe it was at 2pm. We had been on a kitchen tour during one of our past DCL cruises so we knew my parents would love it. We were right. They found it amazing (serving that many meals a day truly is) and they kept commenting how everything looked like it had never been used and this was right after lunch. They were truly impressed and tell everyone about it.

Nap schedule: Originally when I was planning our trip I figured we would head back to the cabin to get DS to fall asleep and then plop him in the stroller and head out to do something. It turned out we needed the 1.5/2 hour nap just as much as he did. That’s what happens when DS makes sure you’re awake to see this every day.

We (or at least one of us) ended up just napping right along with him. On Castaway Cay I snuck back on the island to look through the gift shop and on another afternoon DH snuck off with my parents for bingo. We didn’t go traipsing around the ship with a sleeping toddler in tow but it worked out all the same.

Disembarkation: We actually scheduled a wake up call but DS made sure we were up in plenty of time to get ready, pack last minute items and make it to breakfast. Then we boarded the DCL transfer headed to Saratoga Springs for two nights in WDW. But that’s for another trip report...

P.S. We actually found the cruise much easier than the parks with a toddler though we really enjoyed both.

 

[HeyyCali]

This is great info for those of us with little ones. My DS would flip for Andy's Room! Thanks for those pics. I've never seen that area before.

 

[Lilbunnyk]

I love your trip report! I am due June 11, 2012 with my first baby and have already booked the 14 night Panama Canal cruise for May 2013. DH and I have been on 5 Disney cruised but this will be the first with a baby so it's nice to see everything in your trip report to get us ready. I hope our baby enjoys Disney Cruises ad much as we do!

 

[poison ivy]

We really enjoyed your trip report. Thank you for taking the time to post. It was very helpful as we are planning a trip which may include several little ones in tow.

You have a beautiful family.

Hoping you can answer a few quick questions -
What were the hours for the nursery during Sept? and what is the age limit?

 

[Joanna71985]

Love the TR! I have to say, your little guy is soooo cute!

 

[jordgubben]

HeyyCali - Definitely do an image search for Andy's Room. It's really adorable.

Lilbunnyk - Congratulations. I hope the rest of you pregnancy is uneventful. Cruising with a little one was different from cruising just the two of us but it was still a lot of fun.

poison ivy - the nursery hours for the four day cruise were:
Embarkation: 6pm-12 midnight
Nassau: 9am - 1am
Castaway Cay: 9am - 1am
Day at Sea: 9am to 12 midnight

The nursery is for children who are too young for Oceaneer Club (so 12 weeks up to 3 years). It's $6/hour with a one hour minimum. You can book up to 10 hours in advance of your cruise during the same window when you can book things like Palo, spa, excursions, etc.

I have a pamphlet that was left in our stateroom called "Tips for Cruising with Infants & Toddlers" which has info about the nursery, diaper changing station locations and other things. I'll scan is on Monday and add it to the report since folks might find it helpful.

Joanna71985 - Thanks. We're thankful every day that we have such a happy, healthy little boy.

 

[ramwitz]

Thanks so much for your trip report! We are considering a cruise on the Dream in December followed by a five night stay at WDW with our DD who will be 3 but the logistics of everything coming all the way from the West Coast with her stuff was driving me nuts, but your trip report has basically answered all my questions! I will definitely now be using the Hyatt and DCL transfers and didn't even know about those extra services they offered! I was also worried about the stroller since I know we will need it in WDW even if we don't during the cruise, but you helped me with that too. Will definitely be following in your footsteps so, thanks!

 

[dawne98]

love your TR! I have a 4 year old but your info was great did not know about the Disney JR thing so I'll look out for that my dd loves Disney JR....also love the info on dinning and the show I did not think of getting her in her PJ's to go (just now I'll have to get her that PJ that look like a real dress from the Disney store lol) also what time did you put your son down for a nap? At home we do a rest time about 1pm and my dd always ends up asleep...lol

 

[Kurukthemal]

Love the report! We have inside staterooms for our trip in Feb '13. You pictures make the virtual porthole very impressive. Thanks!

 

[jordgubben]

also love the info on dinning and the show I did not think of getting her in her PJ's to go (just now I'll have to get her that PJ that look like a real dress from the Disney store lol) also what time did you put your son down for a nap? At home we do a rest time about 1pm and my dd always ends up asleep...lol

The little plaid shorts/doggy shirt outfit my DS is wearing in the Andy's Room pictures above is actually his PJs (Carters rocks!). We had stopped there for a bit prior to the show.

A daycare DS ges down for a nap around noon. At home we're a bit more go with the flow. He was actually getting over a double ear infection when we were on the cruise (he was still on antibiotics) so his sleeping was all screwed up anyway. We'd usually keep an eye on him and the shedule and head back sometime in the early afternoon.

 

[MandyMommytoReaghan]

Great TR!! Loved all your pictures!! I too found it easy cruising with a 1 year old in tow We found that our stroller was a life saver at times especially when our sweet baby feel asleep. What kind of camera did you to capture your pictures? It took great shots!!

 

[ohsoblessed]

Thanks for posting your trip report and sharing your beautiful family. Your pictures are great. We leave in less than two months.

 

[MagicLovinMama]

Such a wonderful report! We are cruising in April with DS who will be 3 weeks short of a year old. He is a fair-skinned, blue-eyed baby boy like yours These tips are so great and I really enjoyed all of your pictures, too. Looks like everyone had a great time! I look forward to seeing the scanned "official tips" sheet as well.

 

[annetria]

The pictures are great (I agree the one of you and DS is adorable). My kiddos are older, but it's still great to see the things that you did. Can't wait for my first trip in July.

 

[jordgubben]

Someone asked what kind of camera we use. We have a couple of different Canons. The majority of the pictures in this report were taken with our Canon PowerShot Elph 300 HS which is an awesome point and shoot. We also have a Canon DSLR but that actually stayed in the bag most of the time on this trip.

Additionally, I use Picasa to edit my photos (adjusting crop, red eye, fill light) before sharing them.

One other thing I did on this trip in an effort to get better pictures was to try and coordinate our outfits a bit. These are pictures I took of DH and DS's outfits in when I was trying to figure out what to pack myself.

Fortunately we all wear similar colors. I packed DS's outfits in a ziplock and included a note which said what shirt DH and I were supposed to wear that day. As for things like the sippy cup matching DS's swim outfit perfectly, that was a happy accident.

I feel like the biggest thing to remember when taking pictures of toddlers and children is to get down to their level. I do a lot of squatting, kneeling and sitting on the floor when I'm taking pictures of DS. DH does a lot of just holding the camera lower and looking down at the LCD instead of having the camera up near his face.