Hello fellow cruise enthusiasts. Once again, I have the honor of making a guest appearance on Scott’s Cruises. This week, my family and I are embarking on a 4-night voyage aboard the beautiful Disney Dream out of Port Everglades. I welcome you to follow along on this adventure, with a stop in Nassau, Bahamas (I’ll try to contain my excitement), along with a visit to Disney’s newest exclusive destination — Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. We’ll end the journey with a relaxing day at sea before returning to Port Everglades on Monday. I look forward to sharing the magic as we set sail!
Floridian Ports
As Floridians, we are blessed with some of the best departure port options around, including Port Canaveral, PortMiami, Port of Tampa, and this week’s visit to Port Everglades. The numerous cruise lines that call Florida home offer a multitude of itineraries and destinations throughout the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Mexico. Choosing a preferred destination or ship can be a daunting—yet very first-world—problem. As avid Disney fans, we inevitably stay true to the brand and patronize Disney Cruise Line. I’d say it’s because of our 11-year-old daughter, but who are we kidding—she was born to Disney adults!
Disney Dream and Port Everglades
Before we head out, let’s talk about the Disney Dream and its new home port. The Dream first set sail in 2011 and originally handled the 3- and 4-night itineraries that now belong to the Disney Wish out of Port Canaveral. Upon the Wish’s arrival, the Dream spent around two years using PortMiami as its base while her permanent home—Terminal 4 in Port Everglades—was being renovated into a Disney-exclusive experience. Featuring Finding Nemo decor, the terminal officially opened for the Disney Dream in the fall of 2023.
A few facts and features of the Disney Dream:
- Maiden Voyage January 26, 2011
- 1250 Staterooms
- 4000 Passenger Compacity
- 1400 Crew Members
- 129,690 Gross tons
- 1115′ in length
- 14 floors
- Sister ship to The Disney Fantasy
The Disney Dream will always hold a special place in our cruise lives. My wife and I embarked on our first-ever cruise on her second sailing in 2011. We were so new to cruise life, we didn’t even realize until we were onboard that we’d missed the inaugural sailing by just four days! We didn’t sail again until 2019, when we took our daughter on her first cruise—again on the Dream. That turned into an even bigger adventure, as what was booked as a 3-night itinerary turned into a 6-night “Evacation” due to Hurricane Dorian hitting the Florida coast. We’ll save that story for another day!
Disney’s Vero Beach Resort
We began our journey with a stop at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort for a few nights, as it’s a nice halfway point between our home and Port Everglades—a little pre-cruise warmup that cuts down on the 4+ hour drive on embarkation day. The resort is an extension of Disney’s Vacation Club and is located along Florida’s “Treasure Coast.” It’s the perfect combination of Disney flair and beachside resort vibes, without the fast pace of being in Walt Disney World.
Embarkation Day
With a port arrival time of 11:30, we departed from Vero Beach at 7:30 to allow for a quick stop for coffee and breakfast at Dunkin’, then an approximate two-and-a-half-hour drive down I-95 to Fort Lauderdale. Since we had the earliest arrival time slot and boarding group outside of Concierge guests, our goal was to have our bags dropped with the porters and be parked by 10:45 so we could be among the first group to enter the cruise terminal for final check-in. Our hope was to get to the customer service desk quickly to inquire about any potential upgrades to a Concierge-level room. Since this is a spring break week, we knew the chances were slim—but as Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”
You may be wondering why we’d look to upgrade at the port instead of booking it outright. Unlike most cruise lines, DCL doesn’t offer much in the way of discounts on cruise fare or “casino promos” (because there aren’t any casinos on Disney Cruise Line ships!). For this sailing, we applied a “placeholder” discount and also qualified for a Disney+ offer, which gave us 50% off a child’s fare. A placeholder is good for 10% off a future cruise and is obtained by submitting a $250 deposit during a current sailing. That $250 is then credited toward your next booking along with the discount. Placeholders must be applied to a departure within 24 months or they’re refunded to you. We make sure to purchase a placeholder during each cruise for future use.
If the sailing still has open staterooms on embarkation day, there’s sometimes an opportunity to upgrade at the port for a reduced rate compared to the original cost. There are the occasional pixie dust (free) upgrades, but more commonly, you’ll pay about half the difference between the stateroom category you booked and the one you’re moving into. Obviously, this depends on availability at check-in and is never guaranteed. Since we booked a verandah stateroom we’re already more than happy with, the potential upgrade is purely value-based.
And the verdict is…
Well, I can say I have a very happy (and spoiled) daughter—the upgrade was a success! There were just a few Concierge Family Oceanview with Verandah staterooms remaining, and we snagged one. As expected, it cost about 50% of the difference between what we originally paid and the posted fare. I’ll be including some of the added perks that come along with sailing Concierge as the week goes on.
Welcome Aboard!
After completing our stop at Guest Services, we made our way up to the Concierge waiting area for our boarding group—now #1, to be clear—to be called to board. Upon being welcomed aboard, we were directed to the Royal Palace for an exclusive sit-down embarkation lunch. During lunch, the Concierge team made their way from table to table, introducing themselves and giving an overview of the services they’re there to provide.
Lunch was a pretty easy choice: Potato Leek Soup followed by the Roasted Beef Tenderloin (minus the mushrooms). The tenderloin was a perfect medium rare and, true to its name—tender! It was accompanied by a parsnip purée, adding a slightly sweet sidekick to the savory meat. A great way to start the week!
But first… here’s a peek at some of the snacks and finger foods available in the Concierge Lounge onboard:
Stateroom 10584 on Disney Dream
For this cruise, we’re in stateroom 10584 (thanks to that upgrade!)—a Concierge Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah, located mid-ship on Deck 10. These staterooms were added during the Dream’s dry dock last fall. They feature refinished woodwork, split bathrooms with marble countertops, a flat-screen TV, fridge, safe, robes and slippers, a sitting area with a pull-out sofa in addition to the bed, a privacy curtain, and a balcony with two chairs and a small table.
These staterooms can accommodate four to five people with a queen-size bed, the double sleeper sofa, and an upper berth.
The bathroom includes a tub/shower combo, with a separate room for the toilet.
Check out the video below for a walk-through of this stateroom.
Muster Drill
This is one area where Disney has fallen behind the times—in-person muster drills. Most cruise lines have transitioned to virtual muster drills since the COVID relaunch. Essentially, all you’re required to do is report to your designated station and scan in, confirming you know where it is. You can then watch the safety video in your stateroom, on the Funnel Vision, or on basically any screen in the public areas of the ship. This was a huge improvement over cramming into designated areas—and at times, standing outside along the promenade deck.
Unfortunately, Disney has returned to the archaic method of mass grouping and often waiting for that one stateroom that doesn’t know where to go or doesn’t think everyone includes them to check in before it can begin. Ugh. Now that we’ve got that taken care of—let the fun begin!
Sail Away
Off to the sail away party on the pool deck! All cruises start off with a sail away celebration. Carnival, in particular, is infamous for a raucous time—we’re not about that noise and debauchery here. Give me a dancing Mouse and Duck any day!
Dinner in the Enchanted Garden on Disney Dream
For dinner this evening, we made our way to Enchanted Garden down on Deck 2 midship. It’s always one of my favorite locations—and definitely one of the best menus of the cruise.
The Lobster Ravioli appetizer is always a good starter, but this evening I decided to go a little off-menu and requested the Fried Brie along with an order of Iced Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp from the Royal Palace menu.
With too many delicious entrée options to choose just one, I went with a smorgasbord of Slow-Roasted Prime Rib, Caramelized Sea Scallops, and Pan-Seared Sea Bass. What can I say—I like a challenge!
You couldn’t ask for a better combination. The prime rib was juicy, the scallops were little pillows of ocean delight, and the flaky, smooth taste of the sea bass was worth every bite. While I’ll admit I didn’t eat all the extras on the plates, the asparagus and double-baked potato were nice complements to check off the veggie and starch food groups.
Believe it or not, I still had enough room for dessert. I went with the Chocolate Garden Torte to appease my sweet craving, and it was a great finale to the meal.
The Golden Mickey’s
This evening’s featured entertainment in the Walt Disney Theatre is The Golden Mickeys. This stage show is styled like an award show, featuring golden Mickey statues and a beautiful montage of song and dance, with appearances from classic Disney characters such as Cruella de Vil, Quasimodo, Tarzan, Snow White, and many others.
It’s been a few years since we’ve seen this show, as it’s exclusive to the Disney Dream, and we noticed it has gone through a much-needed rewrite—some parts had definitely become a bit dated. (Like the introduction by then-CEO Michael Eisner… how long ago did he retire?!)
Snow White
Speaking of Snow White, there was a special Premiere at Sea of the live-action retelling of the Disney classic. Where else but Disney Cruise Line can you see featured films as they’re released in theaters? As one of our previous cruise directors once said about how they pull off these special premieres—“It’s Disney, they own EVERYTHING!” There will be a few more showings over the next few days for anyone who didn’t want to stay up for the 11 p.m. premiere.
I’m also planning to check out the recently released Captain America: Brave New World at some point this week.
Overall, it’s been an exciting first day aboard. Time to turn in—tomorrow we make our first port visit to Nassau, Bahamas. Thanks for taking the time to follow along!