Disney Dream 4-Day Bahamas Cruise Review – Debarkation & Recap | Scott's Cruises

I can’t believe it’s almost over. Since disembarkation really begins the night before returning to port, that’s where we’ll start this final review.

Preparing for the trip back to reality always begins with receiving your luggage tags in your stateroom, along with a reminder of your disembarkation options. As with pretty much every cruise line, there are two main choices: express walk-off or standard departure. For express, you simply keep all your luggage with you and carry it off as part of the first wave of guests once the ship is cleared by port authority. This is a popular option for those determined to make early flight reservations and race to the airport.

To be fair, I don’t understand why anyone else would choose this—it’s a hassle to round up all your belongings and your travel companions just to hustle off the ship. Personally, I’d rather enjoy one last breakfast while the crew assembles my luggage and stages it neatly in the terminal for pickup. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m never in that big of a hurry to leave.

To have your luggage taken off for you, you’ll need to pack everything you won’t need overnight or in the morning and place it outside your stateroom by the designated time—usually around 10 p.m.—for your stateroom host to collect. We always bring a backpack or duffel bag to hold essentials and, let’s be honest, account for the extra space needed when leaving… thanks to all those souvenirs you had to have!

Since we had spent the afternoon grabbing snacks from the lounge—and our final dining rotation was at Animator’s Palate, our least favorite of the three MDRs—we decided to skip the main dining room and grab a light dinner from Flo’s Diner, along with a little room service while we packed up. That also allowed us to catch the earlier showing of Believe in the Walt Disney Theater.

Girl Dad Kryptonite

Easily my favorite show on all of Disney Cruise Line is Believe. Written exclusively for DCL and appearing only on the Dream and Fantasy, this whimsical tale hits all the notes and pulls all the strings. The story follows an analytical botanist, Dr. Greenaway, as he strives to perfect his award-winning Filiola Fabulae while overlooking his daughter Sophia’s birthday. Sophia’s attempt to convince him to put down the data and instead focus on pixie magic leads her to make a birthday wish—that he could believe as she does.

In a Dickensian twist, our favorite blue wish-granter appears to guide Dr. Greenaway on a journey, encountering some of the most magical Disney characters and spirit guides of the ages. Song and dance ensue as we get visits from Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Rafiki, Merlin, and many more—all helping show Dr. Greenaway that there is “more to see… than can ever be seen.”

Culminating in his epiphany that he does, in fact, believe, we get the touching finale of “What Makes the Garden Grow.” And of course, at the end, there’s a surprise appearance from Yensid to top it all off.

Every parent, at times, can lose focus on being in the moment while daily life moves on—and this show is the perfect reminder of that. It gets me every time. (Having my daughter snuggled up next to me during the show didn’t suck either.)

Disney's Believe on the Disney Dream — Disney’s Believe on the Disney Dream

And now on with the show…

With the show over, we made our way back to finish pulling our suitcases together. Once we completed packing, we set them outside our stateroom for collection. Our daughter wanted to spend the last night hanging out with her new friends and riding the AquaDuck—so off she went!

Pro tip: This is the best time to ride the AquaDuck. On the final night, most people are busy packing and getting things organized, so there’s usually no line. As fast as you can get off the ride and walk back up the stairs, it’s time to go again!

Morning Walk of Shame

As the dreaded time had arrived, we had the option of either going to breakfast in a main dining room or heading to Cabanas buffet. We decided on Cabanas so we could be sure to make it up to the Concierge Lounge for escorted debarkation. A quick breakfast of mushy eggs and some pancakes (no Mickey Waffles are served on debarkation day—rude) and off to the lounge we went.

We waited approximately ten minutes for the express walk-offs to be cleared, then were taken down the elevator in small groups to the lobby atrium. From there, it was about two minutes to get scanned out—compared to the massive line that had already formed, likely taking 45 minutes or more. We quickly located our luggage in the Chip ‘n Dale section and walked over to the customs checkpoint.

Let me tell you—the update to facial recognition at the ports is a game changer. No longer required to fumble with passports, it’s as simple as walking up, looking into an iPad, and you’re good to go. We barely had to break stride, as opposed to the old snail-paced lines that could stretch on for a half hour or more.

Once out of the terminal, we used a kiosk to pay our $80 parking fee. Pretty straightforward: insert parking slip, insert credit card, take the receipt to scan at the exit gate. There was a fair amount of traffic congestion leaving the port area—it took about four lights to finally get through onto the main road leading back to the interstate. From there, it was a pretty uneventful four-and-a-half-hour drive home, where we were greeted by our very excited furbabies.

Quick Recap & Ratings: 4-Night Bahamian Cruise on the Disney Dream

Let’s do a quick recap and rating of the different aspects of the week during our 4-Night Bahama’s Cruise. I’ll use a 1-5 rating scale and briefly explain how I came to that rating.

Arrival and Embarkation: 5.0 – Having planned ahead with the goal of attempting an on-site upgrade, everything went smoothly. We arrived early and were among the first in line, allowing us to breeze through check-in and security. I believe I was actually the first in line at the Guest Services counter, and by the time we completed our room swap, there was a line of about 20 people behind us. Thanks to the Concierge upgrade, it was smooth sailing into the waiting lounge and then off to lunch.
Room: 4.0 – While I’ve been largely favorable toward the Concierge level, this rating reflects a few drawbacks. We stayed in one of the newly converted Concierge staterooms on Deck 10—located directly below the pool deck. We knew going in that this might mean extra noise during deck parties, Pirate Night festivities, and nightly maintenance, but we took the risk to see how bad it really was.Overall, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either. There was definitely some vibration and thumping during events, but otherwise, the room was peaceful throughout the day. That said, our daughter—who loves sleeping in the pull-down bunk—found that the overhead foot traffic caused the bed to shake. After the first night, she opted for the sofa sleeper instead.
A minor yet annoying issue was the lack of charging outlets. There were two USB ports on the desk, two standard outlets, and the special plug-in for a hair dryer. One side of the bed had a nightstand with an outlet, but the other had only a phone jack—and a bulky phone that took up half the space. Since Disney removed alarm clocks from staterooms a few years ago, there’s no docking station or even a place to charge your phone overnight while keeping it nearby. For a room that was just revamped less than six months ago, you’d expect a few more modern conveniences—especially for keeping MagicBands charged!

Another issue we hadn’t considered was the disconnected feeling from the rest of the Concierge experience. These new rooms on Deck 10 midship are located between the mid and aft elevators, while the Concierge Lounge and sun deck are up forward on Decks 11 and 12. That meant a bit of a hike every time we wanted to visit the lounge or sun deck, unlike the convenience of the standard Concierge cabins just steps away.

The aesthetic difference didn’t help either. Concierge decks (11 and 12) feature darker wood-paneled doors and richly detailed hallways that match the rooms themselves. Deck 10 still looks like a standard corridor—with white doors and traditional theming—so these 12 “special” rooms don’t quite feel like they belong. It creates a subtle disconnect in the overall Concierge vibe. We mentioned this to the Head Concierge Hostess and gave feedback, especially since similar changes are planned for Disney Fantasy during its upcoming dry dock. Hopefully, they consider converting rooms on Deck 10 forward instead and include the matching hallway décor to create a more cohesive experience.
Concierge Lounge & Sundeck: 5.0 – As I spent the majority of my time up on the sundeck, I’d say it’s hard to find any fault here. It seemed many of the other Concierge guests were families with smaller children who stuck to the main pool areas, so there was hardly ever more than a dozen people up there at any given time. Talk about tranquility! With more than enough seating options between sun and shade—and deep cushioned loungers—it was as nice as you could Dream of.
Cabanas Buffet: 4.5 – This one comes in with a stipulation of expectation: it’s a buffet. There was always a decent assortment of options—nothing spectacular, but consistently good. It gets a slight penalty for the audacity of replacing the king crab legs with stone crab claws (I jest, as both are delicious), but also earns a bonus for the Churro Mickey Waffles offered on our sea day. Priorities.
Main Dining Rooms (MDRs): 4.0 – Overall, I really enjoy the main dining rooms, but nothing’s perfect. The few negatives I have are admittedly first-world problems. Our dining team was good—not great. More specifically, our server felt a bit “meh.” Maybe it was because it was a fairly full cruise and he had a lot of tables to juggle, but he often seemed rushed and like he was going through the motions, rather than getting to know the table’s preferences or offering thoughtful suggestions.As someone who’s very familiar with the menus (more on that in a minute), I like to mix and match a bit—especially since I’ve tried 90% of what’s offered and know what works for me. I’ll often ask for something like “I’d like the steak, but with the sides from the chicken entrée.” In the past, servers have happily accommodated these requests—or even recommended great combos. This time, not so much. In fairness, I may just be comparing him to past servers who were truly exceptional.
On the flip side, our assistant server was fantastic. He made a real effort to interact with us throughout the meal and provided great service.

As for the menus themselves, I still enjoy them overall—but they’re definitely getting a little stale. They haven’t changed in over five years, and when you’ve been on multiple cruises, seeing the same selections every time starts to feel repetitive. (Gasp! What a first-world problem!)

That said, we’re excited to sail on the Disney Treasure, where the MDR menus are completely different. But it’s definitely time for the Dream and Fantasy to get a refresh.
Palo: 5.0 – I think my Palo Brunch review speaks for itself—top notch all around. We chose not to do Palo dinner this trip, but brunch alone earns the full score
Destinations: 3.75 – If you read my thoughts on Nassau, you already know how I feel about that stop. I’d rate Nassau about a 2.0 on its own. However, in all fairness, it’s not like we didn’t know what we were signing up for—we selected the itinerary, and it clearly wasn’t enough of a deterrent to book something else. Lighthouse Point was the key draw for us on this sailing, and it absolutely delivered.Honestly, I’m more than happy to turn Nassau into a bonus sea day. There’s an old saying (looks around to see if there are kids in the room…) “Sex is like pizza—even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.” I think that analogy applies perfectly to cruising too. That’s why ships have onboard entertainment and activities on port days—to give guests the choice to stay onboard if a particular port isn’t their cup of tea.
Shows & Entertainment: 5.0 – It’s almost impossible to top Disney when it comes to entertainment. The Golden Mickeys had some much-needed rewrites, Beauty and the Beast remains a spectacular production, and Believe… well, see above. That show gets me every time.
Nightlife & Lounges: N/A – We didn’t really experience the nightlife on this sailing. On longer cruises, there are usually variety acts—musicians, comedians, etc.—performing in the main theater or adult clubs. But with this being a shorter itinerary, the lineup was limited to a few lounge singers that didn’t particularly appeal to me.
Overall Experience: 4.5 – From embarkation to entertainment, Concierge service to sunrise serenity on the sundeck, this cruise delivered on so many levels. A few minor misses, a touch of hallway separation from the Concierge vibe, and a meh port or two keep it just shy of perfect—but not by much.It was definitely too short—we usually prefer 7-day itineraries—but this is what fit into our schedule for the week, and hey, it’s still better than nothing. The Concierge experience and our visit to Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point made it an overall great way to spend our spring break weekend. The verdict on whether we’ll do Concierge again? Yes—but not on Deck 10.Below are some photos of the Disney Dream and its many offerings.