Disney+Dream = a great adventure awaits! Part II

     Good Sunday to our readers, and member alike.  Last week as you will remember, we began talking about the cruise portion of our magical journey.  We covered the sections on planning, passports, transportation to the cruise line terminal, and the check-in process.  This week, we will be covering the boarding process, grabbing something to eat and the mandatory safety drill.

     We begin this week with boarding.  Can't go anyplace on a ship without getting on.  That you should leave to Goofy, who I saw in the cruise ship cartoon about missing the boat.  After you go through the entry portal, you will enter into a fairly subdued hallway.  humm....subdued?  Does Disney really do anything in a subdued manor?  This will be interesting.  This is the location to have your "per-cruise" family photo taken.  It is suggested that you make yourself look as tired and stressed as possible, so when you have your "post-cruise" photo taken, you will look all happy and refreshed.  I don't know about that.........I will look "sadder" at the end, as I know I am not going to want to come home!

     After this is done, we will come to a doorway leading to a covered, air conditioned gangway.  After crossing this, we will find ourselves right in the middle of the grand lobby of the Disney Dream!  We should be ready and waiting to board when our time comes.  We should be arriving at the terminal by 1:30pm as we are planning on leaving our resort on the DCL bus right at check out time, or shortly after.  I know there is only one pick-up so hopefully it is a time that will work out for the best.

      After boarding, and if it's around 1:30pm our stateroom should be ready.  We will go find that, and then find a place to eat for lunch.  We have chosen second dinner seating, so we will need to get something to eat to tide us over.  The lunch location I would love to go to first, is Enchanted Garden.  The pictures I have seen are just beautiful, and I love the idea that it changes from a daytime motif, to night for dinner.......

     After dining, a visit to our stateroom is imperative, as the mandatory safety drill takes place promptly at 3:45pm. So, before making the decision to rest in a lounge chair, or jump in the pool, we shall have an important job to do.  Attendance is mandatory.  Skip the event?  Not a chance.....we would be breaking the law if we tried.  We will be attending the "Assembly Drill" that maritime law requires of us.  All passengers must attend before leaving the home port.  The drill will prepare us for the unlikely event that we would have to board the lifeboat.  Once you get to our stateroom, we will try on our life jackets, and prepare a good fit.  Then, they can go back on the shelf where they are stored as you do not have to wear them to the drill.   I remember my last cruise 30 years ago, you had to wear the life jacket to the drill.  (Not a great fashion statement!)


     We will listen for the ships general alarm 7 short blasts and one long.  This will give the signal to make our way to our assigned assembly area that will be marked on the back of our stateroom door.  We will be taking our "Key to the World" card with us, as this will be used to check us in for the mandatory roll call.  Once the drill is over, we will have completed our job, and we can really start to relax we can head back to our stateroom and pour a glass of wine, or have a beer  We can get ready for the 5pm deck celebration known on board the Dream as "Sailing Away". ( Just an FYI here,  The Disney Cruise Line has been rated #1 by the U.S. Power Squadrons, a non-profit group dedicated to making cruising as safe as possible.  Just another reason to pick DCL!  )

     As I said last week, you can actually watch us sail away if you are interested.  Just go to http://portcanaveralwebcam.com/, and watch the ship pull our of the harbor. Our stateroom is on the port side, which you will be able to see and we might be there on our verandah, or up on deck with the masses.  But, the web-cam does zoom onto the ship, so ya just might see is wavin!



     This ship seems to be ready to satisfy well seasoned cruisers and even newbies to DCL like us, with all the great Disney touches and details.  The ship exterior recalls the majesty of early ocean going vessels.  Guests enter  a three-story atrium, where tradition and elegance expand into bronze Disney character statues and subtle cutout silhouettes along the grand staircase.    Recreation areas are designed for families with kids, and also areas for us "kid-free" adults in different parts of the ship.  There are fun in the sun activities, touring, lunches and even bingo!  Evening give way to sunset sailaway celebrations, themed dining and theatrical extravaganzas.

     Next week, we will cover accommodations, shops and pools!  See you then!