When planning our holiday, the Disney Dream Cruise was a bit of a last minute decision. We rented a villa in Emerald Resort in Kissimmee which is only 2 miles from the Disney parks and it’s also an hour from Port Canaveral, which is where your board the Disney Dream Cruise ship. We chose a three night package to the Bahamas which also included a day in Nassau and a day at Castaway Cay; Disney’s very own private island.
Check in ran smoothly, we pulled up and off loaded our suitcases, parked up and then we had two stages of check in. It took an hour to actually get onto the boat. As you step onto the ship, your family name is read out and there is a line of staff waiting to welcome you, they also applaud as you step onboard, which is a nice touch.
Everything about the ship is amazing; the decor is luxurious without being pretentious, the staff are all so friendly and very accommodating. There are so many wonderful restaurants to choose from and I like the fact that you are rotated each evening to give everyone a chance to try each restaurant. When you book you are given a dining time, it’s either the earlier sitting which was between 5:45pm to 6:15pm or the second sitting which was around 8pm-8:30pm.
You are automatically put on a dining time, so if you’re travelling with young children make sure you double check what slot you’ve been given. You can actually change the time when you log into the Disney Cruise Line website. Our first day on board was very relaxed, we were all shattered from the daily rush of the Disney parks, so we were more than happy to chill.
We had lunch before checking into our room at 1:30pm and then we had an explore. We brought some sweeties from the amazing Vanellope’s Sweets & Treats. Disney’s Oceaneer Club & Disney’s Oceaneer Lab was an open house, so we checked out the kids club facilities. The staff are brilliant, very energetic and fun, Max Goofys son (Bella called him Baby Goofy) was throwing shapes on the lit up dance floor and all the kids had the opportunity to dance and engage with him.
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The girls really enjoyed exploring the different themed rooms which included Andy’s Room from Toy Story, Star Wars and there’s also an Enchanted tree where kids can colour and do arts and crafts. There are also iPads where little ones can play Disney themed games and there’s also a games room with PlayStations for gamers. We also checked out It’s a Small World Nursery. You can check in your little ones for $9 for a maximum of two hours at a time.
We then checked out the top deck and enjoyed a drink in the sunshine whilst we waited for the sailing away party to start. We managed to get a seat right at the front of the stage, which was great, but way too tempting for Flo, who kept sneaking behind the rope in an attempt to join the characters on stage, standard Flo behaviour. The girls absolutely loved the sailing away party, they were both dancing, clapping and wild horses couldn’t keep them away from the stage, when the entertainment team invited the kids to join them.
We headed back to our cabin to get ready for dinner. We ate in the Animators Palate on the first night and it was brilliant. All around the restaurant there are screens and you can see characters from Finding Nemo swimming fast and they occasionally stop and wave. The best part of this restaurant is that Crush the totally awesome Turtle interacts with you. He asks you questions and responds to your answers. He couldn’t understand my accent and thought I was called Dandy from Dandon!
We had a buffet breakfast every morning, there is so much variety and lots of delicious food to choose from including; cooked breakfast, fresh fruit, yoghurts and cereals, Mickey Mouse waffles, pancakes, poached eggs, smoked salmon and a whole section dedicated to pastries, doughnuts and cookies. We only discovered that section on our last day, damn! Bella inhaled a doughnut in seconds, to be fair they were pretty amazing so I don’t blame her.
After breakfast the girls met one of their favourite TV characters, Fancy Nancy and then we got off the ship to jump on the bus to Atlantis Water Park, it’s only a ten minute drive away. It’s definitely worth visiting, the hotel itself is very impressive and grand. The water park is set within the hotel and it’s absolutely massive, it took twenty minutes to walk from one side to the other. If you have young children, I would definitely recommend that you take a stroller, as it’s hard work having to carry little ones, when you have to walk for miles in the hot sunshine.
There was an impressive kids pool with a pirate ship that had four different sized water slides, fountains, buckets, water canons and lots more. Every 10 minutes, a huge bucket of water would tip and soak everyone on the ship. Bella absolutely loved whizzing down the water sides, but Flo didn’t manage to muster up the courage to try. The girls were too small to take part in most of water slides and lazy/rapid river, but they enjoyed splashing around in the kids pool.
When then got back on the ship, for a quick turnaround before dinner at the Enchanted Garden restaurant and we embraced our inner Captain Jack Sparrow for the Pirate night. After dinner we went to the Walt Disney Theatre to watch Beauty and the Beast. Everything about the show was amazing; the singing, dancing and acting was out of this world, the staging and lighting was cleverly done and it was just a magical experience, at one point it was snowing in the theatre.
Make sure you get to the theatre, 30 minutes before the show so that you can get a decent seat. You can buy popcorn and a soda for $5 at the food stall next to the theatre. The show didn’t start until 8:30pm and the girls were so shattered from our day trip to Atlantis, so Flo unfortunately slept through the whole show, which was gutting because I know she would of loved it.
Bella literally couldn’t peel her eyes off the stage. At one point she turned to me and said “I’m so tired” but the show was just so entertaining she stayed awake for the whole show. The main pirate party with disco and fireworks on deck didn’t start until 10:30pm, by then the girls were loosing the plot and kicking right off, so we went back to our room to put them to bed.
Once the girls were settled we made our way out onto our balcony with the hope that we would be able to see the fireworks. We were in room 9082, which had lifeboats just above our balcony, so all we could hear was the bangs of the fireworks and we only saw a flash of light in the sky, talk about torture. The next morning my Hubby woke up feeling really poorly and Flo was still passed out asleep, so Bella and I went for breakfast and we brought back some pastries and fruit for them to have for breakfast.
The girls then got ready to meet their favourite Queen & Princess Elsa and Anna. They were both so excited and their faces lit up when they got a cuddle. Flo still talks about it now, she says “I met Anna & Elsa and I got a cuddle”. It was the last day of the cruise and the ship had moored at Castaway Cay, Disney’s very own private paradise.
It was really was pure paradise; Turquoise sea, soft sand, 25 degrees heat, unlimited ice cream, tunes playing in the background plus an unlimited BBQ to feast on. Our visit to Castaway Cay was one of our favourite memories of the holiday, the atmosphere was brilliant and the girls loved playing on the beach. My Hubby put on a brave face, even though he was feeling rubbish and we really had a great day.
Mermaid Bella was straight in the ocean and Flo eventually plucked up the courage to join her. They loved burying their toys in the sand and building and destroying each other’s castles. We took full advantage of the free ice cream station and Flo really become one with hers, there was ice cream everywhere! I had to take them to the ocean several times for a bath.
We met and had a photo taken with Goofy and a few Disney characters including Mickey Mouse and Goofy led the dance party. Bella absolutely loved the dance parties and she threw herself right into the middle to join in and dance. She threw all sorts of shapes on the dance floor. Flo was teething so she wasn’t her usual happy self, but she enjoyed a dance with Mummy.
The BBQ was so yummy! There was a great variety of food to choose from and lots of options for younger children too. We stayed on the island for a couple of hours before heading back on the ship for one last play on the Finding Nemo splash pad on deck. The girls loved it and would stay for hours if they could.
We had to pack and leave our large suitcases outside our rooms between 8:30pm-10pm. It’s definitely worth bringing a small carry on bag with you, as you can’t access your room until 1:30pm when you first board and you will need somewhere to store your last belongings when you disembark. My Hubby wasn’t feeling great, so I braved dinner alone with both girls. Each night we took it in turns to sit next to Flo, because she’s a bloody nightmare at meal times.
You have to have eyes in the back of your head. She is so destructive and messy! She kept drawing on the table cloth, eating the butter from the dish, tipping her drink over herself, wearing her food and trying to smear it on you too! It’s not a very relaxing experience so I ordered myself a Strawberry Mojito and hoped for the best. My Hubby joined us later on and after dinner we went down to the lobby to enjoy the live music.
Flo’s dreams came true when she got to spend a couple of minutes with one of her favourite Princesses Belle. It was so lovely to watch, Flo was star struck and she just had a smile plastered on her face the whole time Belle was talking to her. She was too shy to speak and she just kept nodding when Belle asked her questions. At one point she showed Belle her manky “Duck Duck” (she had been chewing on it).
We enjoyed every minute of the Disney Dream Cruise and we would definitely consider going on a cruise again. It’s perfect for families with young children and it’s worth every penny. There is so much to do on board and all ages are catered for. The facilities are brilliant, the food is well varied and great quality and the staff are very welcoming.
Im slowly catching up with my Disney blogs. My NASA and Hollywood Studios blogs are coming soon! I’m also going to have some cool videos to share soon on Instagram and eventually YouTube so watch this space!
