We travelled on Disney’s ‘Dream’ cruise ship with our 8-year-old Kidsetter departing from Disney Cruise Port Canaveral in Florida, USA over Christmas.
We have been fortunate enough to travel on many cruise lines with our Kidsetter and travelling on a Disney Cruise was a Dream come true (pardon the pun !) After immediately boarding the ship we could instantly see why this cruise line had been on our bucket list.
Every decoration and detail had been attended to, leaving nothing to chance. The ambiance was fun, friendly and truly magical.
I normally attempt to keep my posts to 400 words or so, but there is so much to write about ! This once in a lifetime experience was mind blowing.
After boarding the ship, locating our cabin, attending the safety induction, it was time to explore the ship !
I wanted to know why the service was above and beyond on a Disney Cruise Line. Apparently, all staff must attend a 5-day course prior to stepping foot onboard to ensure they have mastered the art of exceptional customer service.
First things first, our Kidsetter wanted to ride on the infamous ‘Aqua Duck’ slide. Developed by Disney Imagineers, this elevated “water coaster” is the first of its kind at sea – the AquaDuck boldly goes… everywhere !
An exhilarating waterslide that takes riders on a wet and wild journey up, down, around and off the side of the ship, through the Forward Funnel on a daredevil 4-deck drop.
Our Kidsetter was ecstatic as he whizzed through 765 feet of snaking transparent water-gushing tubes, that took him all over the ship ! Powerful water jets propelled us on a 2-person raft through uphill climbs, and then we splashed into a lazy river at the end of the plunge.
Our Kidsetter was beyond excited to investigate the Oceania Lab Kids Club. Kidsetters are issued an Oceaneer Band which is attached and secured to their wrist. The bands are then scanned to check the child into and out of the secured spaces. The bracelets allow Youth Activities Cast Member to keep an accurate count and a general location of each child within the secured Youth Activities spaces aboard the ship.
Interestingly, although the Disney’s Kids Club had all the ‘bells and whistles’ our Kidsetter preferred Royal Caribbean’s plain, almost empty Kids Club as the RC staff are more interactive and therefore engage the kids in group activities and they all become friends.
Having said this our Kidsetter thoroughly enjoyed the Oceania Lab’s Star Wars: Millennium Falcon where he could join the Rebel Alliance in this intergalactic arena ! In addition to arts and crafts, Kidsetters alike can design a starship, train like a Jedi or climb into Han Solo’s cockpit and send the “fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy” soaring through the Star Wars universe !
The restaurants and dining facilities are world class. Various options are available; Animator’s Palate, Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, Palo, Cabana’s, Luigi’s Pizza and Tow Mater’s Grill.
We relished a luxurious Champagne Brunch at Remy’s French Restaurant. Our chef, from a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Reims delivered a culinary delight, accompanied with fine wine and impeccable service. What a treat !
We were very excited to attend Mickey’s Pirates In the Caribbean Party. Admittedly, I was probably a little too excited hence the over the top pirate costume. 😊 After some mandatory pics taken with Captain Mickey it was party time.
A pantomime between Captain Hook and Captain Mickey situated on mid ship, where we played, danced and acquired all the pirate skills needed to become an official member of Mickey’s Pirate Crew ! It was a blast and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing our Kidsetter up the front partaking in all the action in the Kid’s only section.
A finishing touch to the Pirate party was a spectacular demonstration of fireworks brightly glowing against the vast dark sky. Wow !
Our Kidsetter enjoyed having his photo taken with various Disney Characters who all added a touch of sparkle to his day. Especially his favourite character ‘Pluto’.
We love taking our Kidsetter to live theatre and find cruise shows a fabulous way to expose him to the artform. They are included in the cost of your cruise fare, usually short in duration and easily accessible making it ideal for Kidsetters. Anytime our Kidsetter is becoming tired we can leave and not feel like we have been cheated of our tickets. We watched Disney Dreams productions of “Disney’s Believe” and “Beauty and the Beast”. Admittedly, we had just been to DisneyWorld and watched the production of “Beauty and the Beast” in the Park (which was stunning), so I assumed it would be the same. Wow – did we get a surprise. We have never seen a set like this one ! World class standard onboard a cruise ship. Quite phenomenal.
Disney know how to add the extra sparkle to any celebration, ‘Mickey’s Tree Lighting Magic’, ‘Santa’s Winter Wonderland Ball’ and ‘Storytime with Mrs. Claus’ are just a few examples. We thoroughly enjoyed the magic of Disney’s ‘Dream’, especially charming at Christmas time. Lifelong memories made as a family that will be forever cherished.
