Review of the Disney Dream

An extract of my review: The Disney Dream is a dream come true

written by BenMontgomery95 posted on 04/06/11

Embarking on a Dream, The Disney Dream to be exact?

As we stepped into the stunning atrium of the Disney Dream, over the PA system we heard, ?Ladies & Gentlemen, please welcome the Montgomery family onboard the beautiful Disney Dream!? It was a magical moment, even though my father hated it! The atrium onboard the Dream is three decks high and the main focal point is a huge stained glass chandelier which has Mickey?s silhouette on alternate sides. On the walls, you have all the Disney Characters painted in gold waving to the guests embarking the ship.

We were greeted by a crew member, funnily enough from the UK who showed us to the elevators and escorted us up to Deck 11, which is where the swimming pools, fast food outlets and the self service buffet are located as staterooms would not be ready for occupancy until 1pm. As we walked outside, your immediate instinct was to find a table with chairs where you could sit down for a while and grab a bite to eat. Luckily we managed to find a space just by the outdoor fast food outlets, which is just located near the pools. I decided to rush off and look at the swimming pools and they were already full of children and the adults were lounging around on the many loungers on decks 11 and 12. There are two pools for children, Donald?s pool and Mickey?s Pool. For the younger teens, there?s a yellow water slide which is held up by Mickey?s hand. Beyond the water slide, there is a little area known as ?Nemo?s Reef? which is for the very young children and features water jet?s, misters and a cute little slide where children can play with all their favourite characters from Disney/Pixar?s Finding Nemo. As you look up to Deck 12, you can see the AquaDuck, suspended 20 feet above the top deck, which is the first water coaster at sea.. It looks fun and also is a great way to be nosy and look at what is going on down below. The AquaDuck starts at the very top of the Aft Funnel; from there you glide down through a transparent tube and swoop 12 feet over the edge of the ship with nothing below you but the open sea. You then swing back onto the ship where you encounter a short drop followed by a huge blast of water which sends you up a short hill before you encounter a gentle journey along the deck which gives you time to snoop on what is going on by the pools. You then glide through the forward funnel and have the chance to wave to kids in one the clubs onboard before you finally end your journey with a big splash down two decks!

A jumbo LED screen known as Funnelvision is situated just above the pools on the forward funnel. This is where you can watch all your favourite Disney movies as well as live sporting events and live entertainment on deck. We had lunch at Flo?s Cafe, which is the fast food outlet located onboard. There is a wide selection of Fast Food being served from Breaded Chicken and Chips, to Burgers, Pizzas and freshly made sandwiches and ciabattas. Amazingly, a Salad Bar is located opposite the fast food counters; this is the first I have seen located within close proximity to the counters onboard a cruise ship! Two beverage stations are located each side of the pools on deck 11. These offer free Sodas, Hot Drinks and Water all day long. There is also neat little Ice Cream bar offering free soft serve ice cream with an array of toppings. I also took a walk towards the back on the ship to visit Cabana?s which the ships main buffet venue, where a variety of fresh meats, sushi, fish, pasta, salads, curries and other dishes are available. The buffet also has a yummy dessert counter full of tasty desserts such as Chocolate Cake, Tiramisu, Fruit Tarts, Jello and more Ice Cream!

Our Second Full Day Onboard in the Port of Castaway Cay, Disney?s Private Island

Today we were in the port of Castaway Cay, which is Disney?s very own private island which features white sand beaches, water sport activities and a general slow pace of life where you can relax and let go of your worries. The island is located near the Abaco islands and mainly features beaches, as well as a few shops. Most of the crew onboard the ship transfer for the day to work on the island. The chefs create two huge barbecues for lunch at Cookie?s BBQ and Cookie?s Too where Burgers, Barbecued Chicken and salads were served. The sea surrounding Castaway Cay is crystal clear and is a great place to enjoy snorkelling and other activities. Overall, Castaway Cay is the place to relax whilst on your cruise vacation.

This evening was the Pirate themed party night, with various activities on around the ship from Mickey?s Pirates In The Caribbean show on the pool deck, to the Buccaneer Blast fireworks extravaganza. Disney are still the only cruise line to offer fireworks at sea and it is all set to music! This evening we dined in the Enchanted Garden Restaurant and all restaurants onboard this evening serve a Pirate themed menu with dishes such as Chicken and Rice or Ribs and Rum! Dinner was quite tasty, again it was different tonight and there didn?t seem to be many complaints about the food tonight. The portions for this evening seemed to have increased dramatically; sadly this was not the case the following night?

After dinner, I headed up to Deck 11, ready for the fireworks, where I was chatting to Rachel Quinn, the Cruise Director of the Disney Dream from Doncaster, UK. She said that she loves working onboard the Dream it is a magnificent ship and one of the most technologically advanced in the world, featuring moving artwork, where as you walk up to a picture of Mickey Mouse, it will suddenly come alive and Mickey will turn into Sorcerer Mickey and the Fantasia theme will start playing. And the best thing is that you will never get the same animation twice. (Well, unless you stand in front of each picture around 50 times!)

Rachel told me that her job can be very stressful, but she has been at sea for 22 years and loves it!

She said that is a wonderful opportunity to work at sea and she encourages anyone with a dream to follow it! That is exactly what I am hoping to do and who knows, in a couple of years time, I could be working onboard the beautiful Disney Dream!