Cruising with Disney- Part 1

To celebrate Oliver's 3rd birthday, we recently went on our 3rd Disney Cruise; it was a short 3-day cruise out of Port Canaveral on the Disney Dream ship and everyone had such an amazing time. 

It's not secret that I am a huge Disney fan and I thoroughly enjoy everything they make and this cruise wasn't the exception but in an effort to be an objective reviewer I will point out details about different categories of our trip. 

* The Ship: As I already stated this time we sailed on the Disney Dream (we had previously been on the Disney Wonder, which is smaller). The ship is very well maintained and very easy to navigate. It features several bars and lounges, an adult area with a pool and adult only bar, two family pools with a clear water tube/slide, a splash pad for younger children, a sports area with mini golf and a fenced in basketball court, a movie theater, a stage theater and three major restaurants besides a large buffet area and quick food service area.  It also has several shops, ice cream stations, a nursery and several kids' clubs for all ages. There are plenty of restrooms around the ship and every detail is well thought out.  The ship is usually decorated depending on the season and cruises have themes; this time a year is "Halloween on the High Seas" so there's Halloween decor all around and it's all as cute as ever! The kids got to dress up and they chose an "Inside Out" ensemble, which they totally rocked (pictured below)

* The Food: During the day, there is a huge buffet area that opens until 3pm as well as several quick food service areas that remain open all day. The food variety is great and the quality is mostly good.  For dinner, there is a restaurant rotation assigned to each guest and noted on the "Key to the World" card; it consists of a combination of letters where each one represents the first letter of the name of the restaurant you are scheduled to have dinner each night. You are to follow that rotation throughout the cruise to ensure you're dining at the right place.  There are two seating times (6:15pm and 8:15pm), which you get to choose when making your reservation. Dinner is always the best part of the day because the food is incredible; with endless options and a very tasty menu you are bound to find your favorite meal. I enjoyed incredible steaks, fish and a variety of my favorite foods and dessert. Yum!

* Entertainment: Disney is in the business of entertainment and they sure know how to do it well. On this cruise there were several featured shows ("Beauty and the Beast" and "Believe" were the main ones) as well as endless character greetings, dance parties and random music acts throughout. 

There are also tons of activities each day, all of which can be easily found on your daily "Cruise Navigator" page or even on the Disney Cruise app (will talk more about the app later). 

"Pirates in the Caribbean" night is a big one on the cruise; everyone gets Mickey pirate bandanas and dresses up as pirates (this is totally optional). Then there is a pirate show on the main pool deck and fireworks at sea, which make for great experience for everyone on board. There is never a dull moment on a Disney Cruise. 

...this post is to be continued.....