A Dream (Cruise) Is a Wish Your Heart Made! *UPDATE 9/30 See Ya Real Soon

[ElsasMom]

Hello &
We got home from our first Disney Cruise as a family on Monday
Time to re-live the fun via trip report.

Here's the PTR in case you want more of the lead up A Dream (Cruise) is a Wish Your Heart Makes

THE CAST

Here's DH & I on our Disney Dream Honeymoon in 2012


DH is NOT a Disney person, he tolerates out of love for me, but he will only cruise DCL because it's the best. He's all about the balcony & the food!

One more of me from the Honeymoon



I AM a Disney person. Hardcore, lifelong Disney lover. Like got up extra early on my kid-less HM to get pretty so I could be 3rd in line for princesses level of Disney lover . My DH actually got me an AP to the parks for my birthday so check out the ongoing TR in my signature for those adventures (which started the weekend before our cruise). I was excited for EVERYTHING! I use a to get around the ship.

THE KIDS

DS 12

DS turned 12 at the end of the year. He's been on one other cruise (not Disney) when he was 6yrs, but doesn't remember much. He was super excited about being able to check himself in and out of the Edge.

DD aka RR 5

RR is as hardcore a Disney fan as her Mom & generally my little mini me. She was only 1yr old when went on the non-Disney Cruise she doesn't remember it at all. She was super excited for Pixie Hallow in the Oceaneers club.

As a family we were most excited for Pirate Night!!

THE TRIP

We sailed 2/13-2/16 on the Disney Dream to the Bahamas we had a 4A category room on Deck 10 (DH wanted to be close to the pool) with a private veranda. It was Mid ship near the elevator.

Dining

We did second seating for dinner. I originally thought early dining b/c my kids were 6 & 1 when we sailed w/family & we wanted to all eat together. 8pm dinner was misery for the kids.
This time we sail with a 5 & 12yr old & having to stop whatever we're doing at 4:30 to get to dinner may make our 3 days seem shorter. late dining won. Plus if we were dying we could always do the buffet or room service earlier.

Excursions

We didn't book any, we enjoy the boat too much!

Getting There

We're already in FL. The port isn't close, but it's drive-able. Don't worry, if you read the PTR for my AP, this time we were armed with some premium AAA, just in case. We'd leave very early Friday morning and hopefully make it to port a little early for our 12:30 boarding window. We explored other options, but decided to park at the port in the end. The wheelchair, luggage and kids complicate using shuttles & the savings weren't enough to justify the hassle.

Getting Home

Poor DH ended up having some work drama prior to us leaving so he needed to be working the day we get back. Luckily, he can work anywhere he has an internet connection & some quiet. We got a day rate for a hotel about 5mins from Port Canaveral, so he could use the wifi and the kids could watch tv & swim. We planned to head home around noon.

I wish I could find the picture I took of my DIY countdown on zero, but here's one just so you can see how excited I was.



I think that about sums up the "before stuff"
Up Next: The Journey

Index
Getting There
The Journey

Day One
Watch That First Step It's a Doozy
Let the Eating Begin
Sailing Away & Scaring Your Parents
Our First Dinner
Dinner is Served

Day Two
Good Morning, Bahamas!
Fairies & Princesses
More Princesses
Poolside & Solo at the Movies
Pirate Night
Captain Jack
Arr, that be Pirate Night, Matey!​

Day Three
Good Morning, Castaway Cay!
Castaway Part 2
Fun with the Fab Five
Picture Packages & One Last Playtime
Our Last Dinner​

Getting Home

​

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

joining in

 

[DnA2010]

Jumping on board, your kids are adorable, can't wait to hear about your adventure!

 

[ElsasMom]

joining in

Yay!

Jumping on board, your kids are adorable, can't wait to hear about your adventure!

Thanks! I'm glad you think so because I think I took a few hundred pictures of them during the trip

 

[lizzyb]

Joining in!

 

[TestingH2O]

Can't wait

 

[wendiloveswalt]

Subscribing!

 

[ElsasMom]

Joining in!

Thanks for joining us!

Can't wait

I'm excited to have you reading too.

Subscribing!

Woohoo!

 

[ElsasMom]

Let's Get this Show on the Road

First, I wanted to share the "letter" RR brought home from school the day before we left


She says the picture is of her swimming with Ariel & Flounder. Adorable, right? It says "Dear Mommy, I hope you love this picture. I hope we have a good time on the Disney Cruise Ship."

A few notes about packing. First, I thought it was funny that my suitcase still had the lugagge tag from our Honeymoon. Orange Goofy, ah...Memories!

I thought a family of 4, 3 days would necessitate one large suitcase. Wrong. Pirate costumes got their own & DH packed his clothes around them because he's Mr. Last Minute. So here's that.

Between RR's Zarina wings & DS's Davy Jones hat, coat & mask we needed a lot of space. We were super excited for Pirate Night!

When I packed RR shirt (I pre-washed & removed tags) for character autographs I went Sharpie hunting & found an unopened package of fine tips, but when I asked around everyone advised me NOT to use those. I went with these.

It wasn't until I was packing RR's shirt that I felt a pang of sadness that I hadn't planned on doing one for myself. I'd be alright with pictures, but how amazing is it to drop your shirt off & have it returned with all those autographs? So cool.

One other little note, I wanted to bring a couple necklaces & I knew there was a hack for packing necklaces so I will save you the Google search: straws!


Loading the Car

I did the mom thing & cleaned out every inch of my car pre-trip. (It's so funny how we feel the need to make it pristine for the kids to destroy.) When I got to the back of my station wagon DH had left me a not so magical surprise. It was covered in soil, sticks & mulch
I had to improvise & ended up just backing the car up to the house as close as I could, plugging in the regular vacuum & lifting it in. I couldn't stop laughing Nothing to see here folks, just a crazy lady vacuuming her tiny living room in the back of the car.


We were able to fit a large suitcase, small suitcase, wheelchair & a backpack neatly in the back. No picture because everyone had ants in their pants to get going, but I was impressed. I had a Disney bag up front with stuff we might need right away & a thermal bag of snacks for the car part of the trip.

Clothes!

I had everyone wear their bathing suits under their clothes on travel day so we could go right to the Aquaduck when we got on board. Later, I regretted that because RR had major frustration potty-ing during the drive in her one piece bathing suit, plus it was nice weather sun-wise but windy when we got on board & we never made it to the Aqua duck that first day.

The boys are boring t-shirts & bathing suits with flip flops. I know DS did his Phineas & Ferb shirt that day. As for us girls, I got an awesome dress on Etsy & when it was to long we used the extra fabric to make one for RR so we had matching Disney dresses!



As a bonus they totally reminded me of the glass elevator murals! Yeah, accidental Disney bound. (Intentional ones are forthcoming) I wore mine with my new Donald Duck bow & RR wore Minnie Ears.



Ready, Set...Uh Oh

I don't know about your family, but mine always has that moment where we all get buckled in & go down the check list before we leave on any trip unfortunately it is ALWAYS some time after that someone realizes what we forgot.

This time is was RR's floaties, which I told DH we didn't need since they have those vest thingies by the pool, but he was concerned about the hotel pool when we got back. So we had a false start.

Once we were actually on the road I gave the kids some "car breakfast" & they started in on their car activities. Much to DH's dismay I put in a CD of Disney music. "Because there won't be ANY Disney music on the ship?!?" was his reaction, but he kind of won because we couldn't figure out how to play a CD & have the GPS going at the same time.







We had some issues getting the GPS to find the port & I was glad I had kept this guy up front. It had the exact address in it.



Now, DH remembered from the Honeymoon that there are a TON of tolls on the drive from a few hours west of Port Canaveral on the Beachline Expressway. We added them all up this time it is $4.25 each way . This is the only cash you'll need on your trip. Be prepared. (I really want a Scar emoticon here)

The only other hiccup was our pet sitter. I asked our pet sitter to watch the pets for the weekend around Christmas & she agreed, then I checked in with her in Jan & gave her a key, then in Feb I couldn't reach her...

She had me type out all the instructions in a message so she'd have them written out, but I could not get this woman on the phone. Full grown woman, not a teenager or anything. Known her for years, my animals love her. When she finally responded via text the day before we left she admitted she had committed to watching her grandkids all weekend & was unsure about how to handle my animals. Sigh!

I made other arrangements that afternoon, but it was still playing out via text on the drive to the ship which was unpleasant, but everything/everyone got taken care of.

Arriving

We hit bad traffic for a while, but it cleared up as we got closer. DH was super grumpy about the traffic & having to stop for RR & I to potty. We just wanted to get there!

And then!









We followed the signs & I recall they asked which ship at the guard booth, but I don't remember if we showed id yet. We drove in, right past the ship! Then we pulled up to the curb & dropped our checked bags (I already had the luggage tags on them). We got directions to the parking garage. You pay when you arrive, you can use a card.

We parked on level 2, take my advice please write down where you park on something you'll have with you when you get off because after 3 days there were a lot of people wondering around looking for their cars.

The kids were thrilled to be out of the car! We got the wheelchair out, my carry on Jasmine bag & DH's backpack. We grabbed a spot by the elevator so it was a short walk & ride down. A CM helped us cross at a crosswalk & this time I'm sure they asked for ID at the guard booth.

Into the terminal building & through security next. That's when I noticed RR's strap had popped a stitch, darn it. I told her I'd pin it when we were reunited with our bags. Security was quick. Then we wandered into the the big open space of the terminal & took it all in for a moment.

Mickey was taking pictures in front of the model of the ship. I asked a CM which line. Having already done online check in didn't matter. We hopped in the massive line only about 20min late for our 12:30 window.

While we were standing there we heard a very angry lady tell her husband they were in the wrong line. So, DH ducked out to check & guess what? Castaway Club had a special line! Woohoo!! Yay, perks.

There was a poor guy in the much shorter line who realized he had left his bag/documents at security & went running off on the brink of tears. We never saw him again so I hope he made it on.

We were up in no time. I had all my paperwork and documents ready to go & we showed our ids one more time. The CM gave us two Castaway Club lanyards! Yay, swag! The lanyards the TA had sent were ok, but these had ziploc pouches on them so I let the kids wear those. Once she was done checking us in, getting a picture & giving us our KTW cards she said we could board immediately. She is also one of my favorite people because she gave me the first Navigator of the trip!

SWEET!!

Here's our official boarding picture

DH opted out & I totally get it hours in the car & all the ordeal of getting cleared to board no one really wants to stop for a picture, but I knew I wouldn't get a ton of opportunities to get a shot with my kids (I take all the pictures and I don't make it into many, plus DS is not into the characters at this point) plus MATCHING DRESSES!!

Up Next: First Impressions
​

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I am following along .
We are looking into booking a 2016 Disney cruise and it would be our first time cruising as a family. We are considering a cruise on either the Dream or Magic. I like your reasoning for selecting the second seating for dinner. This gives me something to think about during our research and planning process. Thank you for doing this TR and I can't wait to read more

 

[ElsasMom]

I am following along .
We are looking into booking a 2016 Disney cruise and it would be our first time cruising as a family. We are considering a cruise on either the Dream or Magic. I like your reasoning for selecting the second seating for dinner. This gives me something to think about during our research and planning process. Thank you for doing this TR and I can't wait to read more

It really depends on the age of your kids. We were glad we did second seating, but we never did take advantage of being able to check her into the Oceaneers club from the dining room and finish dinner like we had thought we might. Generally, RR was done if we ate dinner in our restaurant rotation. The night we ate early was the only night she played after dinner. Just some more food for thought.

 

[ElsasMom]

Watch That First Step It's a Doozy...

So, with our boarding photo taken we went down the gangway towards the ship. There was a CM at the end warning me about the steep incline & the next thing I knew the chair had flipped over. My feet were in the air, my back was on the ground. So embarrassing!

I hope Mickey didn't see that!

My goodness. DH pulled the chair upright quickly & they announced us. It was not the grand entrance I had hoped for.

I told DH to take me to Guest Services right away for shirt drop off & princess tickets. The line wasn't to terrible, but we only waited a few seconds before a concerned CM named Luis called me over. He wanted to know if I was hurt. Ugh, embarrassing. I thought about it for a minute now that the adrenaline was wearing off. I had a burning spot between my shoulder blades where I must have fallen on the buckle of my purse or something and I knew I'd have some back pain later. I told him I was fine. He offered me an ice pack, I declined.

Then he asked how he could help & I gave him RR's shirt. He filled out the little slip and asked if I wanted Mickey & friends to sign it or the princesses & I asked for both. He was very nice.


(when they delivered the shirt I noticed he miscounted my Sharpies no biggie I guess we were both flustered from the fall)

Then he asked if I wanted princess tickets. I'd almost forgotten.

I'd thought there wouldn't be an opportunity for Elsa & Anna on the Dream, but there was! I told him I wanted Princess Gathering & Elsa and Anna tickets. He said he would try to get one for today & one tomorrow. He disappeared for a bit.

I took pictures while he was gone.


Behind the Guest Services desk they have a map with all the Disney parks around the world marked by their castles. I meant to go back & get a better one when it was less busy and never did.

We're on the ship, stuck at Guest Services smile


Mickey, Mickey Everywhere (as he should be)


My mini-me went right to my favorite art on the ship! The Cinderella mural!


Then Luis returned. There was nothing left for today (already at 1pm). He got us 10:15am Princesses & 1:00pm Elsa & Anna tomorrow. Sounded good to me! Yay, RR would be thrilled.

RR hadn't been her usual excited self so far. I think she was tired & overwhelmed.

Next stop? Deck 5 to get RR checked in at the Oceaneers club. I'd registered online. We got each of the kids their magic bands. I hadn't expected DS to get one, but 12yr olds can participate in Oceaneers AND the Edge. They're blue Magic Bands that have Capt Mickey on them. They lock them on with a little plastic piece and they wear them the whole cruise.

Here's a picture I took later where you can see the band and the little clip that holds it on.






We opted not to go in & look around (which I regretted later since you're only allowed in long enough to grab your kid during the trip). The kids were all excited about the detective game kiosk we'd passed on the way to Oceaneers club so we headed there next.



So cute! The midship detective agency.



The kids both got their detective badges and maps. RR wanted to find the missing puppies. DS chose the missing art.

Then we were off to find The Edge so DS could get his sticker.

You go to deck 11 all the way forward to get to the stairway that leads to the Edge which is inside the big red thingy (aka funnel) behind the movie screen. The edge is on 13. By the time we found it I was starving & opted to wait at the bottom of the stairs rather than find the special elevator that goes up there.

Next we decided to head back to the room since we were only one deck up & drop our stuff off before lunch.

The bags were not there yet, but we were happy to set our stuff down & look around.







It goes without saying how much I LOVE this pillow





There was even a gift for us silver castaway club members!


Yay tote bag! The note with it said "Have a magical cruise"

Then everyone went out to the balcony!

There's the terminal


And my excited kids





They were already thrilled even though we had a view of a parking lot so far.

Up Next: Let the Eating Begin!​

 

[LLM]

Great review! Looking forward to reading more!

Lisa

 

[dcplanegirl]

Thanks for sharing. I'm enjoying the report and look forward to reading what the kids liked best.​

 

[ElsasMom]

Great review! Looking forward to reading more!

Lisa

Thanks! I'm glad your enjoying it, I'm just getting started. Your little peanut is adorable!

Thanks for sharing. I'm enjoying the report and look forward to reading what the kids liked best.​

Thanks for joining! No worries my kids can always be counted on to share there opinions! No idea where they get that

 

[LLM]

Thanks! I'm glad your enjoying it, I'm just getting started. Your little peanut is adorable!

Thanks! Those are my boy/girl twins! We will be going on the Dream on December 28th, along with DH and DS (6). It will be our first time cruising with the twins. When my DS was 11 months old we took him on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Really looking forward to our first Disney cruise!

Lisa

 

[sager1969]

Can't wait to hear more. Seems like you had a great time so far.

 

[ElsasMom]

Thanks! Those are my boy/girl twins! We will be going on the Dream on December 28th, along with DH and DS (6). It will be our first time cruising with the twins. When my DS was 11 months old we took him on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Really looking forward to our first Disney cruise!

Lisa

Oh, my! I thought it was a baby and a doll Double cute peanuts You'll love DCL. My DH cruised other cruise lines growing up & we did a Princess cruise when the kids were 1 & 7, but we'll ONLY do Disney now. It's worth every penny. How long is your cruise?

Can't wait to hear more. Seems like you had a great time so far.

I'm excited that you're enjoying it so far Except for the fall we got off to a great start.

 

[finny1981]

I will be following, DCL is a dream of mine we have never been on a cruise, but DH refuses to do a cruise (he is a Disney fanatic though) because he doesn't like the water so I will live vicariously through you guys

 

[New Cruise Gal]

Loving your trip report so far. I'm off to my first cruise ever in September so I'm learning as much as possible before then. Look forward to the rest of your updates.