Ian
01-28-2011, 06:40 PM
I know quite a few folks were interested in hearing about my and John's experience on the Disney Dream. We're planning on dedicating about half of our next podcast (taping Monday) to a very detailed review, but I did want to just give a high level review of the experience for people who just can't wait.
Our preview cruise left port around 5PM on Sunday the 23rd. John and I arrived on board around 12:30PM and quickly headed up to Flo's V8 Cafe to grab a bite to eat while we waited for our cabins to be ready. Flo's is the poolside counter service restaurant and serves up sandwiches, burgers, pizza, salads and other goodies. I had a basic burger while John opted for a brie and tomato panini. The burger was good. About what you'd get at a typical counter service in WDW. John also liked his sandwich.
After we finished up we checked out our cabins. I was in 8660, which was a verandah room. I was impressed by the size of the cabin and the appointments. It was a sizeable cabin, with separate toilet and shower facilities, a full desk, flat screen TV, and a nice large verandah. 8660 is a category 05B cabin.
John was in 5548, which was on deck 5 and had a HUGE verandah. At least double the size of mine. The rest of the room was the same. 5548 ia category 05E cabin. Overall, John's location was one of the best on the boat. Centrally located (my cabin was a bit far astern for me) with the extra verandah space. I'd recommend it if you can get it. It's literally steps away from the movie theater and the main lobby.
As far as dining goes, we ate in all the restaurants with the exception of Remy. Palo was exceptional and our service there was amazing. I opted to just go with whatever our waiter suggested (he was Italian ;) ) and I wasn't disappointed. The menu is Northern Italian and is essentially a prie fixe menu.
It's a $20 upcharge (well worth it!) and you get to choose one appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. There's also the typical Antipasto Freddo, which is served first and consists of a selection of very delicious Italian meats, cheeses, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes.
I honestly don't remember what we both ate for our appetizers and meals (but I do remember that they were delicious and John's looked better than mine), but we both finished with the chocolate soufflé for dessert, which was just out of this world. :yummy:
There are three main dining rooms ... Royal Palace, Enchanted Garden, and Animator's Palate. All three were beautifully themed with an attentive waitstaff and sophisticated menu. Of the three, Animator's Palate was my favorite food wise, but for theming I think Enchanted Garden was amazing. Check out pictures of all the dining areas at http://intercot.com/news/disneydream/
The ports of call for our cruise were Nassau and Castaway Cay. Nassau was ... well ... Nassau. John and I did a shore excursion and Graycliff Cigar Factory and were able to actually learn to roll our own cigars, all under the instruction of highly skilled Cuban cigar makers. I came away with a new appreciation for their craft, I can say that. Oh and the wine cellar at Graycliff is unparalleled. Third largest in the country, with a collection of some 260,000 bottles valued in excess of $20 million! :eek:
Castaway Cay ... WOW! This really is the crown jewel of Disney cruising. The island is just unbelieveable. Gorgeous blue, crystal clear water and something for everyone. Snorkeling, jet skiing, parasailing, swimming, playgrounds, spa services, quiet beaches, restaurants, bars ... you name it it's all here and in one of the most picturesque settings you can imagine. Without a doubt this port of call is, by itself,worth the price of admission! :thumbsup:
We took in one of the shows on board the ship ... Villains Tonight. Both of us found it highly entertaining, clever, and funny. I can tell you that both John and I spent a good portion of the show belly-laughing out loud. It was that good and had some fairly amazing special effects, too.
Disney Dream has some 11 nightclubs and lounges on board and we made it a point to check them all out. The favorites were Evolution, the dance club, 687 which is a sports bar, and Skyline. Skyline is very unique in that the entire back wall behind the bar is made up, via 7 huge LCD monitors, to look like windows looking out over a cityscape. But what's really clever is that once every 20-30 minutes the skyline view shifts to a new city. As if that isn't enough, the posters on the wall change as well to showcase content relevant to the new city. I believe the cities represented were New York, LA, Paris, Hong Kong, Chicago, and Rio. Very cool atmosphere!
A hit with some of the female guests was Pink which is a bar that's ... well ... really, really pink! I can't explain it except to say that John and I felt decidedly out of place there and quickly retreated to 687 to regroup and secrete some new testosterone. ;)
Hmmm ... what did I miss? Food, bars, ports, cabins, shows. I think that's about it! Like I said, we'll be going into much greater detail on podcast 9 so make sure to check us out!
Our preview cruise left port around 5PM on Sunday the 23rd. John and I arrived on board around 12:30PM and quickly headed up to Flo's V8 Cafe to grab a bite to eat while we waited for our cabins to be ready. Flo's is the poolside counter service restaurant and serves up sandwiches, burgers, pizza, salads and other goodies. I had a basic burger while John opted for a brie and tomato panini. The burger was good. About what you'd get at a typical counter service in WDW. John also liked his sandwich.
After we finished up we checked out our cabins. I was in 8660, which was a verandah room. I was impressed by the size of the cabin and the appointments. It was a sizeable cabin, with separate toilet and shower facilities, a full desk, flat screen TV, and a nice large verandah. 8660 is a category 05B cabin.
John was in 5548, which was on deck 5 and had a HUGE verandah. At least double the size of mine. The rest of the room was the same. 5548 ia category 05E cabin. Overall, John's location was one of the best on the boat. Centrally located (my cabin was a bit far astern for me) with the extra verandah space. I'd recommend it if you can get it. It's literally steps away from the movie theater and the main lobby.
As far as dining goes, we ate in all the restaurants with the exception of Remy. Palo was exceptional and our service there was amazing. I opted to just go with whatever our waiter suggested (he was Italian ;) ) and I wasn't disappointed. The menu is Northern Italian and is essentially a prie fixe menu.
It's a $20 upcharge (well worth it!) and you get to choose one appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. There's also the typical Antipasto Freddo, which is served first and consists of a selection of very delicious Italian meats, cheeses, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes.
I honestly don't remember what we both ate for our appetizers and meals (but I do remember that they were delicious and John's looked better than mine), but we both finished with the chocolate soufflé for dessert, which was just out of this world. :yummy:
There are three main dining rooms ... Royal Palace, Enchanted Garden, and Animator's Palate. All three were beautifully themed with an attentive waitstaff and sophisticated menu. Of the three, Animator's Palate was my favorite food wise, but for theming I think Enchanted Garden was amazing. Check out pictures of all the dining areas at http://intercot.com/news/disneydream/
The ports of call for our cruise were Nassau and Castaway Cay. Nassau was ... well ... Nassau. John and I did a shore excursion and Graycliff Cigar Factory and were able to actually learn to roll our own cigars, all under the instruction of highly skilled Cuban cigar makers. I came away with a new appreciation for their craft, I can say that. Oh and the wine cellar at Graycliff is unparalleled. Third largest in the country, with a collection of some 260,000 bottles valued in excess of $20 million! :eek:
Castaway Cay ... WOW! This really is the crown jewel of Disney cruising. The island is just unbelieveable. Gorgeous blue, crystal clear water and something for everyone. Snorkeling, jet skiing, parasailing, swimming, playgrounds, spa services, quiet beaches, restaurants, bars ... you name it it's all here and in one of the most picturesque settings you can imagine. Without a doubt this port of call is, by itself,worth the price of admission! :thumbsup:
We took in one of the shows on board the ship ... Villains Tonight. Both of us found it highly entertaining, clever, and funny. I can tell you that both John and I spent a good portion of the show belly-laughing out loud. It was that good and had some fairly amazing special effects, too.
Disney Dream has some 11 nightclubs and lounges on board and we made it a point to check them all out. The favorites were Evolution, the dance club, 687 which is a sports bar, and Skyline. Skyline is very unique in that the entire back wall behind the bar is made up, via 7 huge LCD monitors, to look like windows looking out over a cityscape. But what's really clever is that once every 20-30 minutes the skyline view shifts to a new city. As if that isn't enough, the posters on the wall change as well to showcase content relevant to the new city. I believe the cities represented were New York, LA, Paris, Hong Kong, Chicago, and Rio. Very cool atmosphere!
A hit with some of the female guests was Pink which is a bar that's ... well ... really, really pink! I can't explain it except to say that John and I felt decidedly out of place there and quickly retreated to 687 to regroup and secrete some new testosterone. ;)
Hmmm ... what did I miss? Food, bars, ports, cabins, shows. I think that's about it! Like I said, we'll be going into much greater detail on podcast 9 so make sure to check us out!