Godiva5

Hey Ex Techie, thanks for the link.

I booked our trip through our TA. We're 95 days out and, just got confirmation from Disney today that, our trip is paid in full. :D

I see on the confirmation that, Mom's address is listed but, to make sure, guess I'd better reach out to our TA and specify that, Mom needs to get her own info & luggage tags sent directly to her.

Thanks everyone SOOOOO much for your helpful suggestions and feedback. I'll update when I get mail.

Mom and I will be roomies. I'll be traveling from IL however, Mom will be coming from CA. I've paid for our trip. Will Mom also get her own booklet?

Our family of 10 will also be sailing the Dream on Dec 1st and have the same question about the weather:confused:. Coming from Chicago, I certainly hope we'll have decent weather but, we'll definitely come prepared with sweaters, hoodies and jeans jackets. REALLY hope Castaway Cay is warm!

Got it. Thanks folks. So, just as with the doors, I'll be creative with adhearing the decorations with magnets. I have a magnet roll so, hopefully that will suffice. Let the prototype creativity begin!:p

This will be our first Disney cruise therefore, I don't have first-hand knowledge of the staterooms. I understand that, the walls and door are metal. What about the ceiling? I'd like to hang swirly birthday decorations from the ceiling. I did it on Carnival without any problems but, need to know if I can on Disney.

I know Disney sells birthday packages but, I'm NOT looking to go that route because I'll be personalizing the decorations for Mom. ;)

There definitely is a fair amount of walking I would suggest staying mid ship if its at all possible then you can easily take the elevator and will be pretty close to most areas on the ship :)

 

I would suggest NOT getting off the ship in Nassau! Its a lot of walking and IMO Nassau is a dump... Stay on the ship and head to the adults only pool or grab lunch in Royal Palace :D (Nassau has turned into my Spa day whenever I sail here now! Generally they offer specials and its not very busy in the Rainforest room!

Mom's been to Nassau YEARS ago and, her comments are in line with yours. She'll probably forgo that adventure and stay onboard and hit the spa or take a nap. My goal is to be as accommodating as possible without making her feel like she's slowing anybody down or, dragging her to an activity she's just not interested in (Nassau)!!!

82!! What a blessing to still have your mom. I lost my mom 2 yrs ago, but a yr before she passed, we took her on a cruise. It was hard because mom had Alzheimer's, but she loved it and we enjoyed every second.

 

We bought a traveling wheelchair that it's easy to fold up and put away. My husband pushed her around the ship. Very hard to do this on the carpet. Since some people are so uncaring, it was very hard to get on the elevator. People would even get ahead of us, but we couldn't get mom to stand up so we had to deal with it.

 

Since your mom can walk, get the wheelchair and take it with you just in case she needs it. Enjoy your travels and cherish the wonderful memory this trip will create for your family.

Thanks everyone for the invaluable information you've shared. I think the moderation route will do for Mom. We'll allow for additional "transit" time to get from point A to point B. Maybe find a spot to sit a few minutes en-route before continuing. I'm also thinking, room service will be a Godsend for breakfast and/or in between meals.

I'm certainly not opposed to making a special request food run for Mom if, it's not on the room service menu. ;) I've read somewhere on the forum that, we're close to the Aft elevators so, that should definitely help. Any more suggestions....keep them coming!

I need some advise. Our family will be setting sail on the Dream on Dec. 1st. which is Mom's 82nd birthday. We have an aft stateroom on deck 9 and now, I'm starting to get concerned about a lot of walking for Mom. Thank God, Mom is in good health and, doesn't use a wheel chair, cane or walker but, she's not up for a lot of continuous walking either.

This is our first Disney cruise therefore, we've never been to Castaway Cay. What is it like to access the island. Is there a long walk to get to the trams? What about getting off the ship in Nassau?

I want to make our family trip as easy going as possible for Mom. Thanks in advance for your feedback and suggestions.

Simply loving your review! I'm really looking forward to your last installments. I have one question though. Did you and the family use your wave phones to stay in touch while onboard?

Thanks for the detailed review. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading the commentary. We are taking our five grandchildren (ages four to nine) on the Dream in December.

Which sailing will you your family be on. My extended family will set sail Dec. 1st. My nine year old granddaughter will be the only kid in the bunch.

As an FYI in case you haven't seen it yet, target discontinued the pharmacy reward 5% disc on top of the red card discount. Just tried a purchase and only got 5%. Mgr showed no remorse even though the change went in effect 3/27 and their website still shows it applies over a month and a half later. First my info was compromised in their breach and now they change the policies without any notice. Topping it off a store manager who responds by saying "not my problem". I've lost all confidence in target. They're becoming the new walmart...

 

 

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Bummer! Just got my Target Pharmacy Rewards card last week and, my daughter and I were both looking to use it on our next Disney gift card purchase! Hmmmm, new strategy?:(

If anyone is still following along? Sorry for the delay. Ill wrap up the rest of the review by the end of the week. I have lots more pics to come from Castaway Cay, and out final day on the ship.

Really enjoying your review my dear! Our family group of 10 will be sailing out on the Dream on Dec. 1st (Mom's B-day). :D My soon to be 9 year old granddaughter will be the only child in our group. This will also be our first Disney cruise and, I'm most interested in your pics and review of Castaway Cay.

Maybe I missed it but, what is the cost of the Palo brunch?

So far, I've made three payments just using Disney giift cards. That form of payment is saving me 10% each time by using my Target Red Card (and) Target pharmacy rewards one-day use card.;)

Really enjoyed seeing your cruise pics from days one and two. Eagerly awaiting day three!:D

My daughter and son-in-law will be taking their 9 yr. old daughter out of school for one week to go on our December 1-5, 2014 Disney family cruise. Son-in-law works for the local city colleges and has a lot of black-out days where, he can't take vacation due to registration activities. In these instances, they coordinate with my granddaughter's private school to get a homework packet. Believe me, it's a LOT of homework. Her parents set aside time each morning for homework, before getting involved in the days activities. They also keep in touch via email when necessary.

She's an honor roll student so, we're not concerned.:) I just hope my granddaughter has plenty of kids her age to socialize with cause, she's an only child.

Great suggestion on getting a HB buttom from guest services and, having the announcement made at boarding. Our family sets sail on my Mom's 83rd BD and she'll be wearing her tiara for sure! I bought her one for her 80th.

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We did this for our August cruise and saved about $200 via the red card. I have already bought 20 ($1,000) for our cruise in 2015. Even though you have to provide the number for each card individually to DCL or your TA, I think it is very worth it. I can only pray that I get into a financial position where saving $200-500 isn't worth scratching off a code from some gift cards.

Until I'm independently wealthy, I'll continue to look for ways to maximize my on hard earned money.

Last night, I bought Disney gift cards to pay down on our cruise. Bought $300 in value (6 cards at $50 each) but, only paid $270 for them, thanks to my Target Red card AND my Pharmacy Rewards 5% ony-day discount combined. I'll do similar purchases until our cruise fare is paid in full and, also for OBC. :D

I called Disney cruise Tues. They advised me to check back in a few months.

One more thing..........please give review of your travel and experience with your pre-cruise accomodations. Thanks! ;)

Thanks for the great intro and tips for up-front planning. Looking forward to the review itself this evening but first........off to work I go:D

I do enjoy the Steakhouse, but they let folks go in there without dressing up too.....

 

How about MDR - level one Elegant, level two Casual. Same food, no extra charge, everyone dresses the way they want. Yay! How's that for an idea?

Joan Rivers and the fashion police will be maning the door! :rolleyes:

This our first cruise and we will me married while on it! We are decorating our door because it seems fun and we are just fun people! Both his and my parents are cruising with us so we made a sign for both of their doors as well. :D We used www.makesigns.com it was fast and affordable.

I went on their website. Which of the size categories did you use?