our first DREAM cruise....does this mean we're pirates?

[STLMickeyMom]

AHOY, MATEYS!!!
Thanks for joining me on my FIRST cruise ptr, for our FIRST Disney cruise, not to mention our FIRST cruise ever! I'll be needing any tips and advice you can give!

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so, let's dive right in, shall we? (see what I did there? oh, the comedy begins already!)

On this trip, will be my crazy family and awesome friends of ours, who've decided they are brave enough to take a cruise with us! I haven't asked yet if I can post pictures of them, so for now, I'll just introduce us....

this is my DH, rich....

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he likes Disney but wasn't too sure about a cruise. luckily, his boss loves Disney, has cruised and talked it up, plus having our friends go meant he had another guy to hang with, so he's agreed, even if it was somewhat reluctantly...

this is our oldest, Hannah.

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she'll have just turned 8 when we cruise. she's most excited about the "kid's area" of the ship. she likes to remind me that no grown-ups are allowed there. I don't think she realizes that i'm more then fine with that information!

our youngest is Madison...

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Maddie will be almost 6 when we leave. i'm not sure what she's most excited about. probably everything! she loves watching the planning dvd we got and seems to like it all.

and, your entertainment director (is that a thing on the ship? clearly I haven't watched enough episodes of love boat!) for this ptr, will be me, Lori...

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i've wanted to try a cruise for awhile, and what better way to get our feet wet then to do a cruise and get some Disney too? i think i'm most excited about castaway cay....or maybe the pirate party....or maybe the Halloween party...or maybe the adult pool....

the family we're traveling with is awesome! we've been friends for quite a few years. i'm not actually sure how I convinced them that vacationing with us would be a good idea, but they've paid their deposit so now they're stuck with us! they are a family of 5.....Mrs. X, mom, is one of my best friends and a wonderful person! Mr. X, dad, and my DH get along so well! we have so much fun hanging out with them. their oldest, Z, is 17. their middle child, also known as "Hannah's future husband" but we'll call him C, will be almost 8, and their youngest, L, will be about 5 1/2 and is Madison's BFF--they'll be getting into some mischief together, i'm sure!

actually, Mrs. X and I are taking all the girls to see Cinderella, so I guess i'm going to need to jump ship (look, I warned you about the awesome comedy....) for now and add some more details later. Thanks for reading so far!

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[Jackiemarie21]

I'm here...and I'm first yay!
I can't wait to hear all about your planning! It will be awesome!

 

[kaoden39]

I'm onboard. Well, for the trip report!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I'm here...and I'm first yay!
I can't wait to hear all about your planning! It will be awesome!

YAY!! i'm so glad you're in to follow along!!

I'm onboard. Well, for the trip report!

onboard! more cruise humor! I just warned Mr and Mrs X that I plan on making lots of poop deck jokes. and thanks for joining in!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

i guess i'll start with the cruise basics....

today we are 6 short months and 1 agonizingly long week from our cruise! (you know how that week before Disney tends to last an eternity!) look at this super cool app you can put on your phone to count down the days for you! also, once you're onboard, there's a map and a list of character meets and event times. so fun!

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we are sailing on the Dream, doing a 4 night Bahama cruise, Sept. 21-25.

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we have an inside cabin with a magic porthole.

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i'm super excited to see things like this!

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our girls already have bunk beds, so i think they'll be ok with having the bunk beds on the ship.

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we are leaving from Port Canaveral. i can't wait to walk through those ears!

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we're going to Nassau, Castaway Cay, then having a day at sea. the plan, for our family, is to fly into Orlando the day before our cruise. i'm not quite sure where we'll stay that night. i know there is the hotel at the airport, but i don't really know anything about it. I've also started looking at the nickelodeon hotel. it looks fun!

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i think we might try to hire a van to take us and the X's to Port Canaveral. i'd love to take the awesome ME cruise bus, but i'm not that excited to pay $70 a person for that. if anyone has any tips on good places to hire a van/towncar/whatever, that'd be great!

of course, once we get to Port Canaveral, i have no idea what happens. can anyone tell me if there's anything special i should know about?

(all images from google images)

 

[anniebabymu]

I'm here!!! Soooooo excited for you and sounds like you guys are going to have a fabulous time! How awesome is that little porthole?! And sorry to break it to you Hannah... I think your mom may be more excited to ditch you than you ditching her! Ha ha!

 

[DMGeurts]

Oooh - I am excited to be here and to be following along! This is going to be a great trip! Some day I dream of doing a Disney cruise - but I have a feeling that will be a "Me n' DH" thing once the girls leave home... I hope anyways.

D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

Hey there!
This sounds DREAMY! <-- See That? I can do corny jokes too!
GAH I am DREAMING of a disney cruise... ONE DAY! For now i will read and learn everything from you!!!!

 

[Tinker326]

Yhea!! You started your cruise PTR!!! So excited to follow along!!! And can't wait to see what wonderful, beautiful crafty items you create for your sweet girls!

Two things- don't bother with the Disney Cruise Line transport. For about the same price or cheaper you can get transport for JUST your family. I highly, HIGHLY, recommend Happy Limo. I think you will find a lot of positive reviews here on the DIS as well for them (that's where I originally got the name). We have used them 3 times now & have never been disappointed!

And we have stayed at the Nick Suites before as well. The cartoons are bit dates that they represent (like as in my kids didn't even know half of them when we were there 3 years ago) but it's still fun- especially the water play area/green slime. For one night, it would be fun for the kids I think........... (and who knows, maybe they upgraded since we were there).

 

[Tinker326]

Oh, and don't forget to LOOK UP in those bunk beds on the cruise. One of my FAVORITE additions on the new ships- is the constellations above the bunk beds!

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in! Excited for you guys, sounds like it will be a great cruise. And even better to be travelling with friends!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Thank you for the Batsignal Lori! This is very exciting!

she likes to remind me that no grown-ups are allowed there. I don't think she realizes that i'm more then fine with that information!

... haha I think the age restriction on that is one of the big things keeping us from doing a cruise yet ... so we are more counting down to the day when our youngest is olde enough for the kids club

That magic porthole is really cool and certainly makes it easier to have an inside room. Must say that the though of being out on a veranda with a glass of wine would tempt me to upgrade though

 

[Chicago Mo]

 

[TheLittleKatie]

I'm here!!! I've never done a cruise before, so I'm excited to hear about your trip!

 

[RGirl]

Hi Lori! I'm here … finally!

I'm so excited for you to experience DCL for the first time. You will love it!

Willow will be SO jealous of the bunkbeds. On the Fantasy, we don’t get them, because there are just two of us. Her first cruise was on the Wonder, and the regular family stateroom had a pull-down-from-the-ceiling bed as well as the sofa bed - she was all over that thing!

We have stayed at the Hyatt at MCO - did it the night we disembarked the Fantasy last time. I have it booked for us again this year for the post-cruise night before our flight home (at least I think I do - maybe I should double-check it). The convenience cannot be beat, and it is a very decent hotel.

Transportation: We use the DCL transportation, because there are only two of us. With a group any larger, it is more economical to hire a car. I know I have seen Happy Limo (I think that’s what it is called get good reviews on the cruise boards - you may want to poke around there for ideas).

At the port, you will just check in and get a boarding number. Mickey and Minnie usually make appearances, and it is fun to meet them in the terminal if you can. You can check into the kids' clubs here, but I don't recommend it. Check in on-line and then get your wrist bands at the club when you board - the lines are insane at the port. Don’t freak out about your boarding time. People make a big deal about getting an early boarding time. We had a pretty early one on our first cruise (Alaska), and it just meant having to carry our luggage to eat lunch and everywhere else. Last time (Florida), we took DCL transportation so got the port much later. There was much less waiting to board, and when we did, our stateroom was already ready for us, we took our bags straight there, ordered room service, chilled for a bit before exploring some. I actually preferred it. So, if you don't get there super-early or get an early boarding time, don’t let it worry you.

Woo - that was a lot. Sorry! I'm really excited for you!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I'm here!!! Soooooo excited for you and sounds like you guys are going to have a fabulous time! How awesome is that little porthole?! And sorry to break it to you Hannah... I think your mom may be more excited to ditch you than you ditching her! Ha ha!

oh, I'm sure I'd never want to ditch my children....cough, cough, wink, wink.....

Oooh - I am excited to be here and to be following along! This is going to be a great trip! Some day I dream of doing a Disney cruise - but I have a feeling that will be a "Me n' DH" thing once the girls leave home... I hope anyways.

D~

yay! I'm so glad you're here! hopefully I'll find out good info to share with you for your future trip!

Hey there!
This sounds DREAMY! <-- See That? I can do corny jokes too!
GAH I am DREAMING of a disney cruise... ONE DAY! For now i will read and learn everything from you!!!!

more goofy jokes! something about going on this cruise is making me giddy! watch out--I plan to use poop deck sometime! fair warning....

Yhea!! You started your cruise PTR!!! So excited to follow along!!! And can't wait to see what wonderful, beautiful crafty items you create for your sweet girls!

Two things- don't bother with the Disney Cruise Line transport. For about the same price or cheaper you can get transport for JUST your family. I highly, HIGHLY, recommend Happy Limo. I think you will find a lot of positive reviews here on the DIS as well for them (that's where I originally got the name). We have used them 3 times now & have never been disappointed!

And we have stayed at the Nick Suites before as well. The cartoons are bit dates that they represent (like as in my kids didn't even know half of them when we were there 3 years ago) but it's still fun- especially the water play area/green slime. For one night, it would be fun for the kids I think........... (and who knows, maybe they upgraded since we were there).

Oh, and don't forget to LOOK UP in those bunk beds on the cruise. One of my FAVORITE additions on the new ships- is the constellations above the bunk beds!

oh yes, watch for a sewing/iron ons post for sure! there are so many cute ideas on that dang pinterest!

happy limo....I'm making notes. thanks!

also noting to look up above the bunks and every where else! I keep seeing all the pretty chandelier pics! I can't remember--have you all been on the dream before?

Joining in! Excited for you guys, sounds like it will be a great cruise. And even better to be travelling with friends!

thanks for following over!

Thank you for the Batsignal Lori! This is very exciting!

... haha I think the age restriction on that is one of the big things keeping us from doing a cruise yet ... so we are more counting down to the day when our youngest is olde enough for the kids club

That magic porthole is really cool and certainly makes it easier to have an inside room. Must say that the though of being out on a veranda with a glass of wine would tempt me to upgrade though

kids club--definitely a selling point! I'm so excited just thinking about having free time where I don't have to worry about what the girls are doing.

I agree--the porthole is cool, but the veranda does tempt me. lucky for us, the X's are a family of five and had to get a bigger cabin. I think they have a veranda. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I snuck in to try it out, right?

I'm here!!! I've never done a cruise before, so I'm excited to hear about your trip!

yay! I'm so excited you're here!

Hi Lori! I'm here … finally!

I'm so excited for you to experience DCL for the first time. You will love it!

Willow will be SO jealous of the bunkbeds. On the Fantasy, we don’t get them, because there are just two of us. Her first cruise was on the Wonder, and the regular family stateroom had a pull-down-from-the-ceiling bed as well as the sofa bed - she was all over that thing!

We have stayed at the Hyatt at MCO - did it the night we disembarked the Fantasy last time. I have it booked for us again this year for the post-cruise night before our flight home (at least I think I do - maybe I should double-check it). The convenience cannot be beat, and it is a very decent hotel.

Transportation: We use the DCL transportation, because there are only two of us. With a group any larger, it is more economical to hire a car. I know I have seen Happy Limo (I think that’s what it is called get good reviews on the cruise boards - you may want to poke around there for ideas).

At the port, you will just check in and get a boarding number. Mickey and Minnie usually make appearances, and it is fun to meet them in the terminal if you can. You can check into the kids' clubs here, but I don't recommend it. Check in on-line and then get your wrist bands at the club when you board - the lines are insane at the port. Don’t freak out about your boarding time. People make a big deal about getting an early boarding time. We had a pretty early one on our first cruise (Alaska), and it just meant having to carry our luggage to eat lunch and everywhere else. Last time (Florida), we took DCL transportation so got the port much later. There was much less waiting to board, and when we did, our stateroom was already ready for us, we took our bags straight there, ordered room service, chilled for a bit before exploring some. I actually preferred it. So, if you don't get there super-early or get an early boarding time, don’t let it worry you.

Woo - that was a lot. Sorry! I'm really excited for you!

don't ever worry about writing too much! i can't have too much info. I feel like I'm floundering (there's no flounder or ariel so this will have to do) here. this cruise planning is all new!

I've heard the hyatt is a little pricey. what do you think? I'm thinking the convenience might just make it worth it when I factor in the cost of a cab to another hotel (if we don't stay in a Disney resort) and the time involved. I've also been thinking about checking out the dark side and going a day early, staying at universal and doing a day with the girls there. I'd love them to see the dr suess area and the minions while they're still little enough to find that fun.

what all do we have to do when we get on the boat? get bands from kids club, do the safety muster thing....do I need to do meal planning or anything like fastpasses like when we go to the parks? do I sound totally stupid? feel like I should stamp CRUISE NEWBIE all over this ptr!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

just sneaking a quick post while I have a minute at work. I know that they have updated the Magic to have the avenger's academy. does anyone know if there is something like that on the dream? I gotta tell ya, the girls would love seeing things like this...

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here's another quick question.....since this is our first cruise, we'd sort of like to enjoy the boat as much as possible. we're not planning to do any excursions on our Nassau day. instead, we'll enjoy the boat, any shows, do some pool and aquaduck time. maybe we'll do the detective game with the kids or maybe we'll do a girls against boys scavenger hunt i found online. will we be missing anything fantastic in Nassau? I did a little research and didn't really see anything I felt we HAD to do. thoughts on that? thanks!

all images from google

 

[Sisa]

I'm here! Looking forward to learning all about the cruise experience. Those magic portholes are amazing!!!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

We got off the boat at Nassau and got right back on! We didn't really see anything worth doing there that didn't cost a small fortune and we really wanted to enjoy all the ship had to offer. The upside to staying on the ship in port is that the pools etc are not as crowded and it is so relaxing.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I'm here! Looking forward to learning all about the cruise experience. Those magic portholes are amazing!!!

Thanks for joining me! I'm so excited about this!

We got off the boat at Nassau and got right back on! We didn't really see anything worth doing there that didn't cost a small fortune and we really wanted to enjoy all the ship had to offer. The upside to staying on the ship in port is that the pools etc are not as crowded and it is so relaxing.

I'm glad to hear you didn't feel like you were missing anything by not getting off in Nassau. I'm really excited to experience the boat with fewer people around.