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Disney Dream Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 23

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Disney Dream

Sail date: July 04, 2016

Ship: Disney Dream

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9030

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This was my families seventh cruise, first Disney Cruise; 4 day Bahamas, Castaway Cay cruise on the Dream.  Very nice ship, for holding over 4,000 people it didn't seem that crowded, except for when re-boarding at the ports.  Great evening shows, loved the magic show the first night and the Golden Mickey's show the other two were good as well.  Really enjoyed the rotation of the dinner restaurants, always had the same wait staff, which as expected did an amazing job.  Children's club was unbelievable!  Occupies the space of where most ships have the casino....so it was HUGE!  Tons of activities, organized events and art projects and of course every Disney game or simulation game imaginable. If your a Disney movie fan then you will love the cruise, the movie theater showed movies still in the theater, the pool screen always had a movie playing and the TV in the rooms had all of the cartoons and movies on demand at no extra cost.  The family pool area was always crowded, but not as bad as most ships we've been on.  Adult area which occupies the forward 1/3 of the ship was never full, it was a nice oasis from the busy family zone. AquaDuck water slide was awesome!  Go when it opens or after 6pm to avoid long lines, there was always a minimum of a 20 minute wait, in the afternoon it was over 45+ minutes.  The Port of Nassau is just like any port in the Caribbean, lots of shopping and bars.....if you haven't been to Atlantis, you have to see it, it's a bit pricey but it's the best thing to do on the island, great waterslides and a very cool aquarium.  Castaway Cay is worth the cruise alone.  Picturesque private island, the snorkeling was unbelievable....underwater sunken ships, submarines and statues.  The floating waterslide/island is a lot of fun.  This also was the easiest place to see the Disney characters.  They have an organized 5K run upon arrival in the morning, great way to see the island and start the day with a little exercise. Pirate night is so much fun, everyone dresses up in pirate attire, they have two pirate shows on the pool deck....one in-between the two dinner seatings and the grand finale show and fireworks display at around 10:30pm...get there early to get a good place as it's extremely crowded.  After the fireworks the Cabana's restaurant has food and a desert bar open for an hour or so.

 

The negatives to the trip are very limited, lines to see the characters seemed to take forever unless you signed up for them prior to boarding with a scheduled appointment, sign up for the princess meeting ASAP.  Re-boarding the ship in Nassau was a joke, no fault of Disney, but prior to getting back on the ship you had to go through a security check-point at the entrance to the dock with the cruise passengers from the other ships.  The day we were there we had three other ships, so the check point took over an hour to get through especially around the 2pm-4:30pm time frame.  Castaway Cay re-boarding was very easy since we were the only ship.   

 

Having been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, Disney knows customer service and what children enjoy....it's great for a family vacation with children 17 and under, primarily for the activities and entertainment.  See you again soon Disney!!!

               

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Great cabin for a family of four, couch turns into a bed and additional bed comes out from the ceiling. Split bathroom is great, one with a toilet and sink, the other with a tub/shower and sink...great concept. The room had ample space, was on the port side, starboard had better views while in port and for the fireworks show on Pirate night.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Castaway Cay (Disney Private Island)

5 out of 5
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5 Comments

jojodmd    7 years ago

There are no actual wrecks to snorkel on Castaway Cay itself. Disney has created the snorkeling courses. Not sure whether there are any wrecks on the snorkel excursion, though. You are free to bring your own gear.

teacherhawk    8 years ago

On Castaway Cay to snorkel the wrecks, can you bring your own snorkel equipment or do you have to rent theirs?

jennjerlee    8 years ago

Your post was very helpful.cant wait to go in 112 days lol.and we are boarding on my daughter's birthday so she's super excited!

kaitland12    8 years ago

Sound amazing!!!! Thanks for the review... We are still up in the air about what to do in Nassau.... Can't wait for our first cruise ever.. Only 293 days to go!! 🌴😁

hh4    8 years ago

Disney was my first, and so far best cruise. I also liked the artist palate dining room, and the Villain play was amazing. Also the ice cream selection was awesome. I agree with you, it's a great ship.

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