We just returned from a three night sailing on board the Disney
Dream. For this trip it was me, my
husband, our 11 year old son and 5 year old daughter. This was our fourth cruise on board the
Disney Dream, so we felt like regulars … except this time we chose to book into
a Concierge Balcony Stateroom. What a
mistake that was! I don’t think I can
ever sail outside of concierge again! It
was fantastic, and we hardly used the services.
Being concierge virgins (as my husband put it) we were not so sure of
our benefits other than what was visible.
So here is a review of our cruise, and I am including our concierge
services that we took advantage of.
Now, if you have ever sailed Disney before, you know about the typical
Disney lines. You get in a long line to
check in, you get in a line to register your kids for the children’s programming, you wait again for your boarding group to be called … we were
dreading this part! Well, upon arriving
at the pier when our documents were scanned we were informed to go right past
the regular check in lines and head to the back of the cruise terminal. There we would find a separate check in for
Concierge and Platinum Castaway Club members.
We waited for about three minutes, and we were called up to start the
process. We were checked in, our kids
were checked in and given their bands that allow them to participate in the children’s programs, we were then escorted past the guests waiting to board by a Concierge
team member and we were on board just like that. I was very impressed … I mean that alone made
the extra few dollars spent worth it. As
we were walking to board, we were informed that in the Concierge Lounge we
would find some snacks, small sandwiches and drinks. What!
You mean I don’t have to go up to Cabanas (the casual dining option, AKA
the buffet) and battle 3,000 guests that obviously have not eaten in a week and
think that the ship might just run out of food?
At this point, I figured I had just died and gone to heaven. Day one of any cruise is my absolute least
favorite for some of these reasons mentioned and the Disney Concierge team just
made day one a pleasure for me. I was as
happy as my five year old daughter meeting Minnie Mouse. We made our way up to Deck 12, dropped off
our things in our room and headed over to the Concierge Lounge. WOW!
What a great place to be. A nice
quiet area, some food, drinks, coloring pages and crayons for the kids. Then a Concierge member comes over to
introduce herself and tell us about all of the things we had access to on our
cruise. She had a folder with her, with
our agenda printed out (we didn't plan anything because we really just wanted
to enjoy the ship). She told us about
happy hour each evening, told us about making any reservations for us, free on demand movies in our room, access to board games, told us
about a private character greeting just for concierge level staterooms. At this point all I heard was beautiful harp
music in my head (again, I was just in heaven), so I’m not so sure I caught all of our
benefits. After that, we went back to
the room to check it out before roaming around the ship. The room was beautiful. Disney really does a fantastic job with their
staterooms. We were in a standard balcony
room. Plenty of room for all four of
us. The concierge rooms have some
different decor to them, really nice!
So, off we go to walk around the ship.
This was a Merrytime Cruise, being close to Christmas. The ship was decorated with trees, garland, and
lights. There was even a huge
gingerbread house in the Atrium Lobby.
Smelled quite tasty! This was a
nice treat. When I booked this cruise a
year and a half ago I had not even given the slightest thought to a Christmas
themed cruise. It was an added bonus for
sure. After snapping some photos and
wandering around, it was time to get ourselves together for our early dinner
seating. Tonight’s dinner was in
Animators Palate, which is my favorite of the three rotational dining
options. I love the big screens with the
Crush from Nemo swimming around conversing with guests. We happened to also have friends on board,
and we had dinner with them each evening.
Made an already great cruise even better! In the evening there was a special appearance
by Santa himself along with the Disney characters. What an amazing night for kids and
adults. The Disney characters are so
accessible on these cruises. Mickey
Mouse came over to my daughter, held her hands and danced to the music. What a dream come true for her! It is now late, it’s been a long day … off to
bed.
Day two, we stopped in Nassau, Bahamas.
We chose to stay on the ship, as we have been to Nassau multiple
times. My husband made a surprise spa
appointment for me, so after lunch and a game of mini golf with the kids, I headed off for my massage and facial, he
took the kids to the Buena Vista Theater to watch Big Hero 6 in 3D. My massage was absolutely amazing! My therapist, Arlene, was fantastic. It amazes me the strength that some of these
petite therapists have! After my spa
appointment I met up with the family to catch the end of the movie, then headed
to the pool so the little one could splash around a bit. She loves the Mickey shaped pool and the
waterslide next to it. This was a nice,
relaxing day. Time to get cleaned up and
ready for dinner in Enchanted Garden. Tonight
was Pirate Night, and it was off to the deck party to watch the pirate themed
show with the characters. Later this
evening it was fireworks, which we could see from the privacy of our
balcony. What a great way to end the
evening! (Also, I have to say we visited
the Concierge Lounge a few times today, just because we could!).
Day three, we were in Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. We did get off the ship for a bit and walk
around, but not for long. We figured we would
take advantage of no crowds on the ship and take our daughter on the AquaDuck
(Disney’s water coaster on board the Dream and Fantasy). Last time we sailed the Dream, she was not
quite tall enough to go. This time,
there was no stopping her. First ride,
Daddy took her and I rode with my son.
Then I took her. She loved it and
claimed “this is my new favorite thing.”
Then it was back to the pool, then another ride on the AquaDuck. It was a very nice day. The kids wore themselves out. We got cleaned up, headed to the D Lounge for
some Bingo, then off to dinner in Royal Palace.
All of our meals were outstanding, not a complaint there at all. Knowing
that this was the last night, it was a little sad. Yes, it was back to reality the next
day. We had to get the kids to bed
early, as they were going to school right when we got off the ship. That was part of the deal … I picked them up
from school early Friday, but they had to go to school on Monday. We live so close to Port Canaveral, so it is
easy to do.
Monday morning, time to disembark.
We had a reservation to meet in the Concierge Lounge with our luggage at
7:20 am to be escorted off the ship. This
was such an easy process. We were
through customs and in our car by 7:41, which was fantastic!
We loved sailing this way so much that we booked again while on
board. We are trying Concierge Class
again next year and I cannot wait!
Interested in any information on a Disney cruise (or any other
cruise)? Let me know! You can visit my
website or send me an
email or give me a call anytime, 888-882-5793.
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