Different experience,still awesome to go home
Disney Dream Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 6
Helpful Votes: 108
4 Night Halloween On The High Sea Bahamas (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 11, 2021
Ship: Disney Dream
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 8510
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 3 years ago
Review summary
Disney has gone through alot of changes to be able to set sail and it will get better from here on out. Don't get made or upset at some of Disney requests and requirements and remember your on vacation. It will only get better from here and my oldest daughter had a good point" If all passengers from 12yr to 100yrs have the vaccine and kids 3-12yrs old test negative and all crew is vaccinated then why do we need to wear mask onboard? She had a good point and I explained we can still carry the virus and it's to be safe. It's a change and no matter how you feel about the changes be glad they are sailing!Embarkation
Be prepared to wait in 1 of 5 air condition tents for your covid test results. Good news is if you had covid 90 days before you sail you don't need to take the test,you will need your postive test result and a Doctor not saying your safe to travel. ***The online documents through aspire(safepassage) can be a bit tricky, take a clear pictures with a white background and bright light to get them done correct. The process at the port is smooth and print off the page that has all cruise passengers with the qrc code as it will be scanned several time.Once test are done you will wait in a air condition tent for your results to show on the TV or an email. It takes up to 45 min but ours came back in 35min, if it takes longer than 45min then it's not looking good and they will escort you to a health tent.Once you go into the main terminal thats where the bottle neck starts. They have 6 check-in desk and 1 security line and xray,good news it moves fast and once your through then you go up stairs and straight onto the ship if your boarding number has been called. You will wait in the new air condition gangway then they will bring in 10 families and Mickey and Minnie will do a 2min dance/welcome show then you will be asked to stay on your circle until your escorted out of your circle for physical distance. *****Once your done put your phone in airplane mode and connect to the wifi and head to your muster station, only 1 person needs to check in and only takes about 5min then your free to go**** Your room keys will be in a envelope beside your door( Tip- if you see the door with no sticker saying it's been cleaned then its empty, also Disney is letting cast members stay in guest cabins to help out with physical distance ****
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Cabanas has scaled back the selection of food to about 50%. Lunch is about the same and no more of getting your own food as a service person will pick up your plate and ask you what you would like, only little quirk is there will be about 3-5 servers behind the food and only 1 person helping as they go down the food line. The head server took note of that and now it runs smooth. Aaahhhh breakfast at Cabanas has the famous scramble eggs that can be eaten through a straw, 4 complaints 1 for each day and no change. It'd best to go to the restaurants for special eggs or dishes. You will need your Disney app to tell you what table number,what seating and what restaurant your going to. Once you sit down they bring bread and your drinks(Ask for the cherry Coke,Its AWESOME). You will need to scan th qrc code at the table for the menu or you can ask for a paper menu. The servers Willett any of your request, I requested 2 aha tuna started each night and I was in heaven. Food was awesome and no problems in any restaurant. In animators palet they changed the pirate show to a buccaneer take over and it was different.
Onboard Activities
There is alot you can do on the ship****AT THIS TIME IF YOU ARE ON THE OPEN DECK,CABIN OR CASTAWAY YOU CAN REMOVE YOUR MASK UNLESS YOUR IN A LINE****
The kid and main pool has a time limit then all people are required to get out and get back in line.......
*****Any show or movie has every other row blocked off so they are running about 30% capacity for all shows and movies,GET THERE EARLY ABOUT 30-45MIN BEFORE THE SHOW STARTS ***ALL OF YOUR PARTY NEEDS TO BE THERE AND NO SEAT SAVING,they will seat you then have 3 empty seats then the next parties,sad part is no popcorn but they have drinks. Once the show/movie is done then they will dismiss each row starting from the back to front. The meet and greet for any characters is physical distance and you need to have your mask on with pictures.
Entertainment
The show Disney believe and Beauty and the beast are beyond awesome!!! Disney has decided to do 2 fireworks shows called Disney ever after and it last about 5min so no fireworks for pirate night, also they have circles on the deck and you will need to stay close to it so no more hanging out elbow to elbow at the side of the ship. They shoot the fireworks off the stern of the ship on the starboard side. You can tell this darn little virus has taken some of the shine away from Disney,the good news is Disney is moving forward.
Children's Programs
This cruise was about 30% capacity and the teen clubs had low attendance count less than 8 and at times it wasn't worth it but the good part they could come and go at anytime. For the kids club and lab you need to select block of times for your kids to go so no more walk in.
Service and Staff
The complete Disney staff is beyond happy to have guest onboard,they are running almost 100% of the staff so your dining servers aren't rushed and you can have a 5-10min conversation and they get to connect with you better. Disney always has the best staff with a smile on there face and love for there position.
Ship Quality
She still looks new as the staff is always cleaning, the main bathrooms on deck 3 by the theater has a limit of 2-4 people. The staff is cleaning and sanitizing to make it safer for guest, when your at castaway you can see she has some good sized rub marks on her hull from the dock bumpers, also there are 3 new dolphins installed for the new ships.
Cabin / Stateroom
This cabin was the same size as a balcony, This cabin has the normal queen size bed,couch bed,drop down ceiling bed and a wall fold down bed, this cabin had zero noise from clubs,pools,or staff but anyone knows you will have the noise and vibration when they are docking with the bow thrusters. The cabin is an easy walk to the elevators.
Ship tip
If you have been on a Disney cruise before this little nasty covid-19 virus decided to mess up the whole world then its going to be a different cruise. If you look at it that Disney is doing this for the guest safety and are used to mask and distancing from other people you'll be fine.
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Ports of call
They have done a massive amount of work for the piers and have finally gotten ride of the bottle neck of hair braiding,cab rides,and other sales people so it's a smooth walk and easy to get a cab.*** This was the 1st time Disney has returned to Nassau since the cruise industry was shut down, only about 40% of shops were open and the straw market was closed, there are street vendors and plenty of things to buy.
Castaway Cay (Disney Private Island)
Castaway is always clean and in great order... the snorkel area was closed due to jetski maintenance......??? That's what the lifeguards told us. I did know me and my 2 daughters got stung by something, felt like a piss ant(fireant bite) I think it was sealice but after 3min it was gone, still fun to ride the bikes on the island.
Disembarkation
This was a smooth process, you are to disembark when your colored luggage tag is called( Tip - wait 20-30min after they are cleared to disembark then check the TV screens around on the walls and they have all the color tags free to disembark, no Mickey or Minnie...
Traveler Photos
