Disney Dream — Local services in Cape Canaveral

Check in was fast from hotel to shuttle to Port to room... the coolest thing...spoiler alert.....(the announce each family over the intercom system as you enter the ship and walk through a clapping line....)

ROOM: spotless with no smell from the previous passagners or masked by air fresheners...The room is easy to navigate and a separate toilet room from the shower for balconies...the shower room has a round shallow tub to give a kid a bath... brilliant and the water is Hot and they have safety seal labels on the bath care items...smart...but the shampoo was like wasabee in the eye...body wash and conditioner was of good quality that did not dry out the body with daily use and they had body moisturizer that soaked into your skin with no greasy residu....I do like the hidden Mickey items throughout the room like in the bathroom mirror has a letter M in each corner, enjoy the hunt thought the ship and comment on your finds.

Royal Ball room...wow was this space Loud, maybe it was the first day of the cruise but you had to shot to have a conversation. The place was very Royal with gold and Crystal all over the place.

Disney Cruise line app.... download before getting on the ship and when on the ship put your phone in airplane mode. This app is updated everyday of hourly things to do and you can text others for free on the ship...awesome...I went through and made my favorite list and I would get live text notifications of the things on my list as a reminder.

Enchanted garden I was convinced that I was in a garden with every shade of green and flower ceiling lights that Bloom and change colors....so look up and a ceiling that changes colors. This dining area is much, much quieter then other dining halls. They pay attention to detail and our waitress said this was her favorite dining area as it is so pretty and the noise level is low.

Movie theater on deck 4 and 5....buy a bucket of popcorn and refills are 1.50...classic theater that have the curtains open at the openingbif the show with a concession stand on deck 4 for movie munchies to make the experience more rememberable....they also gave awesome popcorn movie theme containers and drink containers too.

Aquaduck 42 inches and taller to ride and the wait up the stairs us extreemy windy....if you wear your flip flops or hats they will make you take them off and sit on them during the ride.

Aqua Lab is a walk thru car wash for kids big and small and you control how much you want to get wet or clean  and is not heavy populated and located at the .back of the big screeen theater..they have a dry area on both sides to sit and watch. A great place to tire out your kids.

Mickey's Slide ages 4-14 with a lifeguard at the bottom and top...good clean sliding fun...again and again.

Wifi...if you want free WiFi on port days you have to just look to see where the staff gather in large groups should be a good indication they found a free WiFi hot spot.

Oceaneer Lab... A huge space for kids to be entertained through science, games and live character activities and the wash your hand machine is brilliant.

Pirate night...bring your pirate costume for some Arrrggh. Good time in deck 11 with the big screen that plays movies all day long is a drive in with 2 pools and alot if lawn chairs....

Jog/walking track--on deck 4 is a great 4 lane people track that in some parts it goes down to two people wide. If the water is on your right side then your walking in the correct direction. People tend to pass on the left side so stayingbto the right will keep a nice flow. Workers come out at 6am to squeegie the deck of water. The views are great and the air us fresh until you get to the back of the ship at M muster station is when you smell disel for a free steps and then food and back to fresh air. This was consistent day after day and why have a engine exhaust on the jogging/walking track and the letter M for Mickey....hmm

Exsersions desk.. On deck 5 and tucked away in a quiet area....nice...but...they had only one activity for under age 5...hmmm... Disney in island....the...

On our first day we walked into the tunnel where we were greeted by a pleasant face and treated like royalty as we boarded the ship. We went up to Cabanas where a buffet was being served with GORGEOUS food as we set sail on our paradise sails. So much to do. All the newest Disney additions to their wide range of Disney films were ready to watch at your own leisure in the Buena Vista Theatre. We then headed to our rooms where there was gorgeous towel animals crafted by the hands of Jesus (yes our room guy was called Jesus and yes he turned water into wine). We got ready to go to dinner at the Royal Palace where we were greeted by our two WONDERFUL servers, David and Sabina. Who were an excellent serving duo. David's calm soothing Jamaican accent which provided the table with tranquility and Sabina's excellent on the ball serving made these two THE duo to remember. The steak was absolutely GORGEOUS which kicked off our trip with a flair, and so we headed back to our rooms happy and with a stomach full of Sirloin steak. Where our beds were already laid out for us by my main man Jesus.

We woke up the next morning well rested and ready to take on Nassau. We headed down to breakfast in the Enchanted Garden where a stunning breakfast buffet awaited. We filled our stomachs with pancakes, full English breakfast, OJ, pastries and so much MORE!!! After breakfast we left the ship and made our way to the tropical city of Nassau. We got a ferry to Paradise Island and had a look around both the Atlantis and the local area. We then headed back to the ship where we were greeted by smiling Disney cast members who presented us with cold towels and a selection of refreshing, fruity drinks which was just what I needed to cool right down after a hot August day in Nassau. We then went to our room and prepared to hit the pool but before we entered the pool we hit up the Ice Cream machine where there were 6 flavours awaiting our approval. After devouring 5 ice creams we got on the Aquaduck as we were leaving Nassau where the views from the glass slide were GORGEOUS. Truly a ride to remember. We then were greeted by an Elephant made of towels as we entered our room. And got ready for dinner in the Animators Palate. Once again we were greeted by the warm friendly face of Sabina and taken to our ready made table. David soon joined in and set the tranquil mood that continued for the duration of the night. Our seats were perfect for the crush interaction. So much fun. Crush brought the comedic side of things which we needed over our chicken dinner. As we left we were made aware of a midnight buffet where it has to be said the Crêpes left a lot to be desired. However the other food compensated for it especially the baked potatoes. The firework show was lit 🔥. We then went to our room to get a good night sleep and of course ever reliable Jesus had already made the beds and a towel Penguin. And we fell asleep on our comfy beds ready to take on Castaway Cay.

AHOY SHIPMATES!!!!! Castaway Cay is right out the window providing a GORGEOUS view from our cabin. Breakfast was the same as yesterday. No complaints. Got of the ship and got the tram to the 2nd stop where we set up camp on the beach (was very busy recommend getting there early). The crystal clear water was REMARKABLE and the slides were epic and the the football (yes the real football [we invented it so its called football]🇬🇧) and volleyball courts for you sporty lads and lasses were very nice. Buffet splendid, lunch sorted. We then headed back to the ship after a GORGEOUS day at Castaway Cay. The Buena Vista Theatre was showing You Story 4 just before dinner so we headed there and cried alot as we said goodbye to woody #wemissyouwoody #woodyisntbisexual. DINNER TIME!!!!! Enchanted Garden, the place to be (wherever David and Sabina are is the real place to be) and the GORGEOUS meal commenced. The food.... GORGEOUS as per usual. The serving, splendid. A tearful goodbye as we left David and Sabina for the last time (if you're reading this we miss you). All in...

I really wanted to love this cruise and I was immensely excited to go; however, I feel that this three star rating is still being too generous. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our family vacation very much; yet I feel this "fun" could have occurred on any cruise line, not because it was a Disney cruise.

The pros: It's Disney, and what child (or even adult) does not love Disney? We were on the Disney Dream and their kids club section was amazing. There was a Star Wars area, video gaming section, an enchanted forest area, cooking area, drama/theater area, bathrooms cute with amenities at the children's level, dance floors, the total works. The bracelet put on them from the second you check in is a GPS so the ship crew know where they are at all times. The crew remember your name and interact with each of your children. They pay attention to your likes, and any detail, personalizing the service to you. The phone provided are great to keep in touch with the family if you ever decide to do separate activities. You rotate each night for dinner, giving you the opportunity to try all their restaurants (excluding those that require a reservation). There is a pin trading night with the crew members which was really cool as they had some pretty awesome pins. Pirate night was fun and it was so cute to see everyone (kids and adults)go all out on their costumes.

The cons: The food at their restaurants wasn't to par. I expected some really good tasting food from Disney - especially since each restaurant raved about a different ambiance and menu that correlated with it. The steaks were ok which was disappointing cause I could get the same flavor from Outback or Longhorn. My husband was looking forward to the lobster tail night but it never came. The only lobster available was on a shrimp appetizer; and it's sad to say the shrimp was bigger than the lobster piece he got (it was a regular shrimp piece too not a jumbo one). The characters are NOT as accessible as people make it seem. Yes you see them out and about, but they are protected with bodyguards so you can't just run up to them and interact. For the shows, the first row is blocked off and once the show is over, the characters run back inside with no further interaction. There are my opportunities to get pictures; however some princesses require a reservation for them to grace you with their presence. Said reservations very limited and always booked full in less then half an hour. The more common princesses do more regular appearances; however the lines to get to them are worse than those at the Disney parks. The activities are the same as in any of the cruise. My family and I have cruised with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, etc.; and the sme activities are also available there. The only difference is that there's a Disney twist - TV show tunes becomes Disney show tunes, Guess that movie song becomes Guess that Disney movie song, karaoke becomes Disney karaoke, and the corny nightly dance show becomes a corny Disney dance show. Really not as creative as I was expecting. Finally what bothered me the most, and almost led me to give a two star rating, was that there was no difference whatsoever when it came to this cruise compared to others; however it was WAY more expensive. This irks me so much because if I'm paying an arm and a leg on something, I want to be blown away, amazed, and be able to see clearly what sets you apart from your competitors. I mean this cruise alone costed our family $300 MORE PER PERSON than what we paid for all of us to go to London and Paris last year for a week and a half. Keep in mind that said trip to these two European cities included round trip flights, hotel at each city, and bullet train tickets from London to Paris for everyone in the family. The cruise was only a four day cruise and there was nothing that made it worth the price we paid. Therefore, beware before doing this cruise, cause unless you're a total Disney fanatic, you can get the same experience in any other cruise line for a fraction...