Disney Dream - some quick questions from 1st timer

[SMN38]

What is open house times for kids clubs?

 

[gotomu212]

What is open house times for kids clubs?

It varies by day, BUT whenever there’s an open house the other side of the club is open for secured programming. So if you have Palo and the Club is in open house you’re kids just go to the lab side (they are actually connected by a hallway).

To your fine dining question- I would not consider it fine dine. They are nice meals in beautiful dining rooms and involve multiple courses BUT it’s a Disney Cruise so there are lots of kids, kid friendly food, and crayons.

 

[SMN38]

As for kids floaties for the pool. Do I need to carry it. Its very bulky.
And
I am sure they will have towels but do I need to carry my own when I go ashore or can I take the room towels?

Thanks

 

[TestingH2O]

As for kids floaties for the pool. Do I need to carry it. Its very bulky.
And
I am sure they will have towels but do I need to carry my own when I go ashore or can I take the room towels?

Thanks

The ship has life jackets by the pool and on castaway cay. You are free to use those. You may also bring your own coast guard approved floatation device it needs to have the seal/label. No floatation devices that aren't coast guard approved are allowed. This means no water wings, rafts, noodles, etc.

Yes, you may take towels ashore. Obviously you should take care to bring them back. I've heard DCL loses hundreds of towels each week that people leave ashore. In my experience, there are bins available to get them as you leave the ship. However, you can always grab them from the pool deck of you like

 

[Marc D]

I am sure they will have towels but do I need to carry my own when I go ashore or can I take the room towels?

Thanks

You do not bring the towels placed in your room ashore. They give out beach towels near the gangway and ask you to bring them back.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

You do not bring the towels placed in your room ashore. They give out beach towels near the gangway and ask you to bring them back.

 

[SMN38]

Hi All

Do I have to purchase “expensive” water on board or is it free? Do I need to carry my own bottles. I saw on some boards people carry crates of water. Thanks

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi All

Do I have to purchase “expensive” water on board or is it free? Do I need to carry my own bottles. I saw on some boards people carry crates of water. Thanks

You can purchase bottled water (for a cost), or bring your own bottled water (any beverages you bring onboard must be carried on, not in checked bags). Or you can bring a reusable water bottle and fill it from the tap in your room or from the drink stations. Tap water onboard the ships is processed the same as most bottled waters (reverse osmosis and filtered), and actually pretty good.

 

[MelSpees]

You can purchase bottled water (for a cost), or bring your own bottled water (any beverages you bring onboard must be carried on, not in checked bags). Or you can bring a reusable water bottle and fill it from the tap in your room or from the drink stations. Tap water onboard the ships is processed the same as most bottled waters (reverse osmosis and filtered), and actually pretty good.

We've always used the ship's water in our reusable bottles, or just use a glass. After recent reports of contaminants (plastic lately) in bottled water our opinions on buying bottled water seem justified, once more.

 

[SMN38]

Thanks

My check in time is 1:15pm. How early do I need to be at the cruise terminal.
Also do they have food courts at the terminal?

 

[Dug720]

Thanks

My check in time is 1:15pm. How early do I need to be at the cruise terminal.
Also do they have food courts at the terminal?

Your boarding group will be tied to your PAT (1:15), but it seems that usually around 12:30-12:45 they go to "Open Boarding" where anyone may board as the Boarding Group has reached the number they are calling.

No. No food court in the terminal. Eat before you get there and/or on the ship.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

We've always used the ship's water in our reusable bottles, or just use a glass. After recent reports of contaminants (plastic lately) in bottled water our opinions on buying bottled water seem justified, once more.

I always carry an insulated water bottle. I bring it with me when I run on Deck 4, just walking around the ship, to the pool and on excursions. It is also useful to have in the room in the evening (I always get thirsty at night, especially if I've eaten more than I should have. ) I just fill it at the drink station (use one of their cups for filling). For an excursion, I fill it full of ice, then top it off with water and it stays cold for hours.

 

[MomOTwins]

This is super helpful for me too! Going back to one of the original question, my two cents on the Nassau day is that we are staying in board because (1) we wanted to save money by skipping a port adventure; (2) I was a little spooked by the State Department travel advisories on violent crime in tourist areas in daytime, so didn't want to venture out on our own: https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...ladvisories/the-bahamas-travel-advisory.html; (3) we are on the 3-day cruise and wanted time to enjoy the ship activities. This is definitely one those "your mileage may vary" situations though - everyone has a different take on it.

 

[SMN38]

How easy is it to do laundry on the ship?

 

[Quellman]

How easy is it to do laundry on the ship?

There is a laundry facillity on just about every floor and it alternates from forward to aft. So if the laundry is on deck 6 forward, on deck 7 it will be aft. You can pay with your card. They also have detergent etc for purchase.

 

[piratepride]

We had the early seating and requested a table of only four and received it on the Fantasy for August 12-19, 2017. It never hurts to make the request. The family of four beside us did the same thing.

 

[Disney Cruiser!]

How many days is your Cruise?
We did our 1st cruise, the 3 night from Port Canaveral on the Dream in January 18,
We decided not to get off in Nassau and enjoy the ship (and a massage).
The kids (6&12) enjoyed kids club so much they begged us to stay in there. There is so much to see and do on the ship, we are so glad we stayed on!
We have just booked our 2nd cruise (7 nights) in September on the Fantasy - Halloween on the high seas - We will be getting off at all ports on this one as we have 2 at sea days.

Enjoy!!

 

[devbak150]

Our last cruise had a day at sea instead of Nassau. Thinking about getting off the ship and going to a close beach for a few hours and maybe looking around for some souvenirs and maybe some rum. Any advise on any of those things?? Directions to beach within walking distance? I don't want to do one of the Port excursions as I have heard you spend a lot of time traveling on a ferry back and forth. Thanks!

 

[NAB]

Thank you all. This helps. Few followups-
A. Are these club$ included in the cruise booking?
B. I see an option to pre-pay gratuity? Do I take it? For 4 people it is about 200-250. How does this work?

Thanks
SMN38

Gratuity for servers , room host and head server are automatically put on your bill , if you want to pay cash for each one you have to go to guest services and ask them not to do this. They will give you envelopes in your room the last night . We give cash , I think they give you a slip of paper to put in the envelopes from guest services to put in there saying how much they will get if you don't want to do cash.

There is automatic gratuity on bar bills too so read your slips , you may tip more if you like.

 

[NAB]

We have been to Nassau a few time and do get off. Mostly we go to the shops close to port . The straw market building people can be really pushy but just keep saying no thank you.

Also went over to Alantis hotel. Didn't do the water park but had a walking tour with a guide and saw the aquarium part that was cool for the kids. They let you walk around and there are shuttles back to the ship all the time. The shuttle ride was very informative too and you see a bit more of Nassau the down town.

Every Island you go to you need to be aware of your surroundings. They have had that warning for years.