Our Trip on the Disney Dream Cruise Ship

We are so grateful that the Disney Cruise Line invited us aboard the Disney Dream for the most magical experience! All text and opinions below are 100% mine. Thank you for reading and for supporting the brands we love!

Two weeks ago, Isla and I flew home from Orlando, Florida after having a dream trip (pun intended!) on our first Disney Cruise Line adventure. We took a friend’s trip with our besties, Destiny and Truman (whom I haven’t seen since he moved last year!). I can’t quite describe how much fun we had at Magic Kingdom and then on the cruise for four incredible days, but I will do my best to share details from our week onboard below. It was impossible to capture the joy and amazement in the kid’s eyes when they met their favorite characters face-to-face, as they ate they third ice cream cone of the day, as they snuggled (both) in the top bunk at night, free to watch Disney movies as they drifted to sleep. I loved every minute of my time with Destiny – she is the most sweet, genuine and thoughtful friend. I’m so grateful for her friendship. I talked her ear off every single night and would only stop when I could tell she was actually borderline asleep, ha! It would be hard to top this friends trip!

Below, you’ll find a recap of each day of our vacation. Also, I asked people to submit questions on Instagram this week, and I got some great ones, which I’ve answered below in the Q&A section! If you have any additional questions, please feel free to comment, and I will definitely get back to you. Finally, I’ve included some tips for those who are going on the Disney Dream in the future (or who want to plan a trip). We were only onboard for four days, and I feel like we learned so much in a short period of time.

In short: It was a trip I will never forget – and I’m fairly convinced that even at age 4, Isla won’t either (thank goodness her paparazzi mom documented everything to help with that, ha!). It was exhausting at times, because there is so much to do, and we wanted to do it all, but we headed to the room early most nights and rested for the next day. Play hard, crash hard! That was our motto.

Vacation Recap

Sunday: Isla and I took an early flight from Houston to Orlando, where we were met by a Disney driver and taken to the Grand Floridian Hotel. The hotel is gorgeous – truly out of a movie. We took a boat across to Magic Kingdom (I’d recommend the monorail though!), where we spent a few hours – mainly on the tea cup ride – before heading back to meet Truman and Destiny, who arrived a few hours after us. We returned to the park together, ate dinner, then did the tea cup and race track rides before calling it a night.

Monday: We took a bus to Port Canaveral, where we checked-in and then boarded the ship. The process from security bag scanning to getting onto the boat took about 45 minutes (a line for security, a line for check-in, two shorter lines to get on the boat). Our bags weren’t in the room until 1:30, so we ate lunch on deck and walked around briefly. At 1:30, we went to the room and got swimsuits on because the kids were ready to swim! We played in the pool and splash pad, then went to our rooms to get ready for dinner. There is a mandatory safety drill at 4pm in one of the theaters, which didn’t take long at all. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Animator’s Palace. I still do not understand how it happened – but Crush from Finding Nemo appeared on the screen next to our table and we had a conversation with him. He asked the kids names, then would reply using their names. And ask questions about their day! The technology on board was incredible.

Tuesday: We ate breakfast at Royal Palace (every morning!). The kids loved pancakes or oatmeal with bacon (and of course, spoiled by a donut from the patisserie tray that would float by). Then we had a Frozen Meet & Greet, followed by a Princess Meet & Greet. These were both ticketed events, so the lines went really quickly. This was probably Isla’s favorite part of the whole cruise! She loved it. Truman preferred the Mickey characters, which makes sense! Afterwards, we took the kids to the kids club, then had coffee with some of the wonderful ladies on the Disney team that we were working with. We made time for the pool and another tasty lunch at Flo’s Cafe before getting our nails done at the spa. You look out at the ocean during the nail treatments, and gosh, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy a pedicure as much as I did the one onboard! We had more pool and splash pad time after (pretty sure we snuck in some ice cream!), then went to the room for rest time. We went to Deck 3 around 5pm for a Halloween Party. Truman and Isla trick or treated, then danced with Minnie, Mickey, Donald, etc. as they made their way through the crowds. Isla has told everyone about how she “danced with Minnie!” This was definitely a highlight for them. The kids ate dinner at Flo’s Cafe, then went to the Oceaneer’s Club for a dance party while Destiny and I enjoyed a romantic (ha!) meal for two at Palo – one of the adult’s only restaurants on board. Just the appetizer cheese plate alone was enough for a five star review. The food at Palo was unbelievable. A true experience!

Wednesday: Again, the day started with an early breakfast at Royal Palace since we were eager to get off the boat at Castaway Cay. We spent almost all day on the beach – splashing around in the water, digging for shells in the sand. Take me back! The island is unbelievable! We had lunch at the BBQ restaurant on the cay (again, veggie burger on request, plus vegetarian chili!). Around 3:30/4pm, we went back on the boat, showered, then got ready for the most exciting night yet (definitely in Truman’s eyes!): Mickey’s Pirate in the Caribbean, which took place after a tasty dinner at Enchanted Forest. The lattice decor in this restaurant is unreal! Not a single missed detail, I’m telling you!

Thursday: Our final day on the boat, and I felt like the first three had flown by! After breakfast at Royal Palace, we were fortunate enough to have a ‘coffee talk’ discussion with the Cruise Director and Hotel Director, both of whom were so entertaining and genuinely very personable. They have such dream jobs! We snuck in a quick run at the gym (overlooking the ocean – spoiled!). We got the kids and swam afterwards, spent time in the splashed, ate, rested, then showered before going to play miniature golf on the deck. I wish we had done this earlier! The kids loved it. We had a celebratory farewell toast with some of the wonderful women we had met onboard, then finished with dinner at Royal Palace. This was my favorite meal – a delicious tofu dish that I’ve been dreaming about ever since.

Friday: We were up early to get off the boat (early breakfast at 7:15!), then once our group went through customs, we took a bus to Disney Springs, where we ate and bowled until everyone was ready to head to the airport for their flights. Getting off the boat took about 45 minutes – getting luggage, then lining up and going through customs. It wasn’t bad at all!

Q&A

I received the following questions as a response to a poll I did on Instagram. Some people asked similar questions, so if this was the case, I combined and rephrased to work for both!

What boat were y’all on and where did y’all go? How long were you gone for? And where are the different ports you can sail from? We were on the Disney Dream, and we left from Port Canaveral in Florida and made two stops – one in Nassau and one in Castaway Cay, Disney’s very own island in the Bahamas. We left on a Monday morning and got back to the port early on Friday morning. We ended up only getting off at Castaway Cay on Wednesday, so we had three full days on the boat (Tuesday and Thursday). It felt like the perfect length of cruise! You can see the different port and boat options here.
What was your favorite part of the cruise? Well, in all honesty, it was the fun memories made with Destiny, Truman and Isla – eating ice cream (multiple times a day), splashing in the pool, watching magic tricks from our waiter at dinner and even just watching endless Disney movies in the room at night. Specific to cruise activities, I loved getting off the boat at Castaway Cay. The island is so beautiful! We collected sea shells, and I got mega-burned doing so, but we still had the best day ever. Another thing I really loved about the cruise was the diversity of the cruise team members – they are from all over the world, and their nationality is written on their name badges. It makes for easy conversation – either, “I’ve always wanted to go to Thailand!” or “I absolutely love Cape Town” We loved all of the cruise staff members so much.
Were there good vegetarian options on the boat? Yes, I was pleasantly surprised with how many options there were. We ate lunch every day at Flo’s Cafe on the deck, and at first, I thought my options were between a garden salad and cheese pizza, but then I asked the burger stand if they had a vegetarian option, and they said yes! I had to wait for 5 minutes to get it, but it was so delicious. Worth the wait. There is a huge buffet on the deck level as well (called Cabanas) that had a lot of veggie choices. We ate at Palo, Animator’s Palate, Enchanted Garden, and Royal Palace. Each of these restaurants had multiple vegetarian options, and they were very accommodating to any specific dietary needs. There was also a juice bar which we never got to try, but it looked so good. There was so much to do and not enough time!
Would you do another Disney Cruise again? Yes, I genuinely hope I’m able to go on another Disney Cruise. I cannot quite express in words the amount of excitement and joy that Truman and Isla experienced. I would love to do that all over again, and hopefully with Emilia and Sasha too! It’s definitely a fun friend trip, as the more kids, the merrier! In all honesty, I would probably only do one that left from Galveston port though, as it’s only an hour drive to get there, which makes the vacation seem much easier. I also think that Truman and Isla were as young as I’d want my littlest child to be (they’re 4!). This is just a personal preference though! Some young kids stay up late, so 7:15pm show times wouldn’t phase them, but Emi wouldn’t manage at 18 months, so I think for us, a little older is better. Was the experience magical? YES. Do I highly recommend it? I can’t even tell you enough – yes, yes, yes.
Did Truman and Isla enjoy the Kid’s Club? They did! There were lots of activities for them to do inside the club. Kids ages 3-12 are invited in. You can read more about the activities offered here. Truman and Isla loved going to the club when they were tired of being in the sun, but they definitely still preferred the pool deck over all the other activities available.
Did you do any of the adult activities? Is this a cruise that would be good for couples or just families? (This was the most asked question) Yes, we ate at Palo, went to the spa and gym, and enjoyed some of the adults only coffee lounges. A significantly sized portion of the boat is for adults-only, and let me tell you: that’s the pool you want to be in! Ha. It’s so calm and relaxing on the adults only side! There are a lot of adult activities offered. For example, during our cruise, there were ‘Match Your Mate’ and ‘Halloween Isn’t Just for Kids’ evening games/shows. In addition to exclusive adults only pools on deck, there is the Serenity Bay Beach on Castaway Cay for adults only – and a kids club on the island, which looked amazing. If you are a Disney-loving couple, then yes! I think the cruise would be great for couples. I have many friends who go to the park without kids, so I think it would be fantastic for those friends. I love Disney, but I get most of my enjoyment from it via my kids’ love for the movies and characters, so we personally would only go as a family. But there were tons of couples on board who seemed to be very relaxed and enjoying themselves thoroughly!
Were there anythings about the cruise that you didn’t like? Gosh, that is hard. The major thing that comes to mind is that there are movies constantly being played on a massive TV on the pool deck. I prefer to limit screen time, and I feel like pool time doesn’t need to involve movies. But, it is a Disney cruise, so it’s not terribly surprising. And we just kept reminding the kids to play and not get distracted by the movie that was playing. The only other thing I can think of is that the data packages are expensive. It cost $89 per 1 gb of data, which went quickly. But it was good because it made you put away your phone and enjoy the time you had on the boat (then get on at night and fly through data posting all of the fun things you’d done that day, ha!).
Would you bring a baby on the cruise? Do you wish you had brought Emi? I sort of answered that in question #4, but I think it depends on the baby and how old they are. Bringing a six month old that sleeps well through activities would probably do well, as they could sleep through evening shows and sneak in naps on-the-go, but a toddler who has more strict sleep times would be a bit more difficult. There are cute baby activities, like Jack Jack’s Incredible Diaper Dash, and a great nursery facility, so you do have options for things to do with and without baby! Also, the splash pad and Mickey shaped pool (it’s very shallow!) are both perfect for little ones. So even on deck, there are things for young kids to do.
What are your suggestions for outfit packing? First, the luggage storage in the rooms is great! You can get your large luggage underneath your bed, which is really convenient. There are two separate closets with a good number of hangers, which is also nice. As for outfits, I packed a swimsuit, coverup/sarong, and then a dress for each evening. I also packed 3 workout outfits, but only used one! Whoops. I pretty much only packed sandals (nicer shoes required for Palo!) – ones that translated from poolside to maxi-dress was best. I’m sharing some outfit details below as well for the outfits that I packed with me! As for Isla, I brought her a few princess dresses, a few swimsuits, some shorts/t-shirts, and then a few beachy dresses. We got some amazing Disney gear at Target, Gap, H&M and Zara.
Do you get any package perks with the park? Or are they completely separate? No, the cruise packages don’t include park passes. You can see what is included in the cruise package here.
Were there good snacks for the kids on-board? Yes, there was food galore! There was fruit available in the Cabanas buffet, as well as salads, veggies, pizza, burgers, etc. available on the 11th floor deck. In addition, the room service was incredibly fast and had a wide menu.
Were there a lot of lines to meet the characters on board? Reference #4 and #9 on my ‘Tips’ below for detailed answers on this!

Tips if You’re Going on the Disney Dream

Check out evening activities in advance so you know what costumes to bring! I didn’t think to do this and then read Meg O’s post on her Disney Cruise experience and saw that there was a Pirate Night! Good thing we checked or else the kiddos would have been so sad to miss halloween and pirate costume opportunities!
Plan an adults-only dinner at Palo. As I mentioned above, Destiny and I ate dinner one night at Palo. The attire is more fancy and the atmosphere is definitely fine-dining (the service was that at all of the restaurants!). The kids went to the kids club so that we could eat in peace and quiet – they didn’t complain because at night, the dance floor is all lit up and they were dancing machines!
Get your sweet tooth fix at Vanellope’s and Frozone. I will be explaining to my ob-gyn next week that the reason for the weight spike since the last appointment was the endless soft serve on the cruise. I’m craving the strawberry flavor right now! There is also a magical candy store called Vanellope’s that is on the pool deck level – the kids got lollipops as big as their heads! They were in sugar heaven.
Book the Princess Meet & Greets in advance. The lines for Mickey and his friends were super long, because you can’t get tickets in advance. But you can book tickets for the princess meet and greets. You are then assigned a time to show up (the enforce it!), and it makes things go really smoothly. As I mentioned above, this was one of the highlights of the trip in Isla’s eyes.
Check out the Kid’s Club on the first day during open house. We went and toured the Oceaneer’s Club together on the first day, and I think that made the kids more comfortable going since we had done it so casually together early on. They danced, watched movies, played games, traced/did arts and crafts, etc. during their time in the kid’s club.
Bring laundry sheets to use the laundry facilities ($4 charge for washing and drying one load) if you want to clean any clothes on board! Yup, I’m crazy and hate traveling with dirty laundry! Ha. For $4, you can load your room key with a washing and drying load. You get a text to your room phone saying when it’s time to move the load from the washer to dryer and when the clothes are dry. Fancy technology!
Book a spa treatment! I couldn’t do the highly recommended the rainforest massage due to pregnancy, but everyone raved about it. We got pedicures and loved the relaxing experience. Also, book a spa treatment for your little princess! We ran out of time, but Isla would have freaked out about the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Download the Navigator app. The Disney Cruise app doesn’t do anything until you’re onboard, then all of sudden, it’s your go-to for everything. There are time tables for events, movies, shows, and character meetings. It’s unbelievably helpful!
Get to the character meet ups early. As I mentioned above in #4, the line gets crazy during the first few days. If you don’t want to get there early to wait in line, plan the character meetings during the last day when the lines have dwindled down significantly. On the Navigator app, you can see when Mickey, Minnie, etc. will be doing appearances, so you can plan ahead.
Talk to the Connect Desk about data management! This was a game changer for us! Since we were on board to show our Disney Cruise experience, we found we were using a lot of data to post photos and videos. The helpful staff member at the Connect desk showed us how to better manage our data and it made a big difference. Also, Destiny and I both use AT&T as our service provider, so we turned off our phones and went to International Day Passes during the Bahamas days, since it was only $10 for unlimited data.
If you want to get off at Nassau, book an excursion in advance. We ended up staying on the boat – I have already been to Nassau, so wasn’t super motivated to get off. Plus, the activities on the boat really were enticing and we had such a limited number of days on the ship. We heard from other people onboard
Find the put-put golf at the front of the boat! This activity took about 20 minutes for the kids to complete, and they loved it! There is also a basketball court next to the putting greens as well as foosball tables.
Great spots for photos: On the deck in front of the TV screen, with the funnels behind you. The 4th floor deck is gorgeous! I loved using the round windows to frame photos. The 12th deck is also gorgeous for photos – but also very windy! If you are without kids, the adults only pools were both really pretty as well. Vanellope’s is a candy heaven. Frozone’s ice cream had pretty awnings which were photographable. Everything on Castaway Cay was a dream!