Anyone with kids or grand kids, thinking about taking a
Disney cruise, this post is for you! I figured I would provide some last
comments about our Disney Dream experience. Thought I would get them on paper before
the ole memory gives out!
When my wife and I dropped off our daughter Madie at the
kids club for the first time last Thursday, it kind of reminded me of sending
her off to school for the first time, except this time she ran towards the play
area like a teenager going to a rock concert!
After signing her in and handing over my drivers licence and
stateroom card (used to register or pay for everything on board, and generally
distract from the cause and effect that parting with cash sometimes has), she
then donned her little swipe bracelet and ran off towards the other kids, without
even a look back to get the go ahead! If your name wasn’t Mickey, Minnie,
Donald or Goofy, your words would now travel with about the same impact as a
dental floss salesman standing in front of a chocolate cake!
As Betsy and I let it sit in for a minute that we were now
yesterday’s news, and being the sceptical over protective dad that I sometimes resemble,
I was now questioning one of the club counsellors (who are amazing by the way) on
drills and procedures! She politely laughed at my “I’ll check on her in an hour
spiel”, as any hardened gate keeper there already knew, you were likely not
getting them back until closing time. Not without super nanny or at least a
good bribe anyway! Another reassuring feature that Disney now offers on the Dream
is the new portable wave phones. Great for texting or calling back and fourth
with each other, but you can also provide your number to the counsellors, who
will call you if your child gets tired or wants to go back to their room (don’t
hold your breath for that call though).
What were we to possibly do now? I had absolutely no plan in
hand at the time, but with their kid’s program being so reassuring, I was
willing to give it a try. For two parents who have spent most of Madie’s childhood
without being close to either of our families for support, we would now have
more time together than we had in years!
Another great
surprise for us too I think, was that the ship was not just put together with
kids in mind, there were tons of places that parents could go onboard, and with
hardly a hint of Disney in the background. We visited the duty free store and
some of the other shops on board for a bit, before stumbling upon what seemed
to be a cigar bar type venue where we sat out on the dimly lit outside patio
deck, with Spanish guitar type music playing in the back ground. I literally sat
under the moon having that odd cigar I on occasion have, with the captain’s
best in hand, this for me was worth the cost of the trip in itself, amazing! We
had added the exact right amount of cheese before that as well, by visiting another
pub on board and playing “name that TV theme song”. The next night Betsy signed
us up for a cognac tasting event ($20 each) which was incredible, and we
actually got to interact with other adults, without worrying how much the cab
back or babysitter would cost. The last night we went to the specialty Italian restaurant
on board and then picked Madie up to take her to the Broadway style Disney show
“Believe”. In the end I will just say “Take your first cruise”! I don’t care
who sells it to you or which cruise line you may prefer over another, you need
to go for it and give it a try! The best time ever!
Cheers, Robbie
