Our family just returned from our second cruise on the Disney Dream and it was juast as amazing as our first! This was the first Very Merrytime Cruise and the ship was near capacity. We had an 11:45am arrival time, but actually made it there by 10:45am. The line to get through the initial ID check was short and the security line was not bad (maybe 10-15 minute wait). Once we went upstairs, the terminal was packed. We were lucky to get boarding group 12. They started boarding around 11:30am and we were on before noon. Going on the ship was easy and the atrium was beautifully decorated. We were sad to see the gingerbread house was not yet finished, but they worked on it during the cruise. Lunch was at Cabana’s and the only issue I had was with the rock crab. It had an odd, musty taste and I stopped eating it. I should have mentioned it to the crew, but we were wanting to get finished up. It was very packed since the rooms were not yet ready. The time we were done, rooms were ready and we headed downstairs. We went with a deluxe verandah room and we did notice the smaller size compared with the deluxe family oceanview room on our past cruise. We were on the starboard side of the ship and got to watch the crew loading the ship. We walked around the ship and headed up to the Sail Away party and it was fun for the kids. We went down for dinner in the Enchanted Garden shortly after the show ended (first seating). Tip – if you are not able to book the first dining online, call Disney and they will put you on a wait list. We were very lucky and were assigned to first dining when we received our cards. There is also a time on the ship you can ask to change. As for dinner itself, our wait staff was wonderful and the food was excellent as usual. I had the tomato bisque and sea bass and I would say it is one of the best meals of my life, if not the best. Everyone else really enjoyed their meals as well. That evening, they had some fun Christmas shows in the atrium. The Golden Mickey’s was very good and the kids enjoyed it.

For the day at Nassau, we arrived in port around 9am and we ashore before lunch. My in-laws were traveling with us and wanted to see Nassau. We were off the ship for about an hour and that was enough. Unless you have a shore excursion, just stay on the ship! It is just too crazy with all of the people pushing you to take rides or trying to sell you things. Back on the ship, we had some lunch at the quick-service restaurants on the pool deck and it was pretty tasty. Nothing mind-blowing, but hit the spot. We enjoyed the pools and my wife and 7yo son rode the Aquaduck while I took my 3yo to the Nemo splash area. We all had a good time there. We then took our older son down to the kid’s club and we had our younger son get a much-needed nap. My wife and I enjoyed some time on the balcony watching the ships parked next to ours. It was scheduled to be a very slow port day in Nassau, but there were a total of five ships that docked, so the pier was crazier than usual. Dinner was at the Royal Palace and the food was once again very good. The wait staff even brought me out an extra dessert (soufflé night!) since I mentioned how much I love them. The show that night was Beauty and the Beast and it was out of this world! The effects are simply amazing and we were glad the seas were calm so they could perform. The last cruise was pretty rocky and they had to cancel it, which broke our hearts! It was also pirate night and the shows on the top deck were a blast. The fireworks are on the shorter side (about 3 minutes or so), but totally worth staying up for.

The next day was our stop at Castaway Cay. We docked around 8am and we headed off the ship around 9:30am. We saw the grand Christmas tree and there was a character meeting when we got off. The tram ride was short and a nice way to travel to our beach. The weather was perfect, but we under-estimated how strong the sun was. We were all on the verge of nasty sunburns, even with sunscreen. The water was a bit on the cooler side (maybe upper-70s), but did not take long to adjust to. My older son enjoyed the water slide and we also swam around the snorkeling area a bit. We did not actually snorkel, but just wore our life vests out and enjoyed the view. Lunch is a basic bbq with hot dogs and burgers with a variety of sides and fruit. It tasted pretty good since we were all hungry. We did some shopping and then went back to the ship. My younger son took a nap again and my older son went back to the kid’s area. My wife and I took turns relaxing in the room while the other explored the ship. We left the island around 4:45pm and it was sad to see it sail into the sunset. Dinner was in Animator’s Palate. I was still full from lunch, so I went with a lighter chicken dish (very good!). The potato soup was amazing, but a part of me wished I would have asked for the tomato bisque and sea bass from the first night again. The show in the restaurant was tons of fun and the kids loved it. We then went to watch Believe and the cast was brilliant! We saw the show back in January and it was updated from what we remembered. The genie was hilarious and the one actress singing a song from Princess and the Frog brought the house down! I would put it up with any show on Broadway right now. Both of our kids sat for all three shows, even though it was past their usual bedtimes. When the show was over, we went back to the room to get our suitcases outside for pickup and then we relaxed a bit. I caught some Sunday Night Football on Funnel Vision on the top deck and walked around some. It was a great ending to the day. The only downside for the day in general was trying to book our next cruise. I was 5th in line, but two people ahead of me were booking six rooms and four rooms. With only two crew members assisting, the people in line were very frustrated as well and I ended up just putting a placeholder card in the box. I wasted 45 minutes standing there when I could have been enjoying the ship. I know for the next time! Read more