For this year's vacation, we decided to do another cruise. This time on the Disney Dream to the Bahamas.
We originally booked a verandah cabin for 7 nights on the Disney Fantasy to the eastern Caribbean. However, a couple weeks later, I decided to switch us to a 3 night/4 night Back to Back on the Dream.
Why? Who knows. Maybe I like making stuff difficult? We did save about $600 doing this. Our room did change to an extended Aft verandah. So we got a larger verandah.
What we will do is embark from Port Canaveral on a Friday, spend Saturday in Nassau, Sunday at Disney's private island Castaway Cay, then return to Florida on Monday. We'll leave our luggage in our stateroom, have breakfast, disembark with a day bag with our documents and a few things for the day and then go through US Customs and Immigration, go back upstairs and check in again. We'll have to wait for a little bit, but then we'll be some of the first back on the ship.
We'll repeat the same course this time adding in a day at sea before disembarking on Friday.
It seems complicated and it is a bit. But there are a few reasons we chose to do this.
I love Disney Cruise Line. We experienced the Fantasy and want to try all of the ships. This is a way for us to experience the Disney Fantasy's sister ship. It also gives us 2 days at Castaway Cay. Which is a lovely island with loads to do and incredible Disney theming.
Photo Credit: Disney Cruise Line
It also lets us see how we like shorter cruises. Disney occasionally sails from Southern California which is a bit easier of a drive at 5 hours. So if we do like 3 or 4 night cruises we could possibly make the trip to California for a short cruise. Immensely cheaper as we don't have to fly and they tend to be the smaller Classic ships.
Disney cruises are expensive. I won't lie. Our cruise price is probably twice what we could get on a different line. Is it worth it? I think thats a hard question to really answer. Disney service has always been superb. The theming is well thought out, stylish and doesn't feel cheap.
There are also no casinos on Disney Cruise Line ships. We're not big gamblers. I don't see the point in casinos. I'm not sure what the draw is to casinos on cruises.
We also like the kids programming. The Oceaneer's Lab and Club for children 3-12 is amazing and full of things and activities to keep Sami happy and she has a blast. It's hard to drag her away from them at times.
We love the adult exclusive areas. Grabbing a book and stretching out by Quiet Cove without a huge group of screaming children fighting over pool space.
Remy's is by far our favourite Disney restaurant. The service is amazing and the food is delectable. While it's not included in the cruise fare, it's well worth the up charge.
Photo Credit: Disney Cruise Line
The ships are extremely clean. There was never a time I saw a mess that wasn't cleaned up right away. I was always a bit wary of cruising because of the chance of illness. But given the amount of cleaning and sanitation I saw, I don't think I'm worried about that anymore.
One of Nate's biggest thing was environmental rating. Disney has consistently received high marks on their environmental initiatives. You can find out more here: http://bit.ly/1RLLBEF
So now it has snuck on us. We're just a little over 2 months left. So there will be lots of planning left to do!!
Have you ever taken a Disney Cruise? Have you ever wanted to?
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