(Photos Added) Semi-Solo on the Disney Dream - Aug. 19th- 24th, 2012

[MoxyV]

Let me say, right off the bat, that as recently as June 2012 I never thought I would take a Disney Cruise. I didn’t consider myself to be a “cruise person”, and even if I were, I don’t have any children. I do, however, have an extremely persuasive friend who, having previously done two Disney cruises spent years wearing down my resistance to experiencing one for myself. In early July she and her husband invited me to join them and their two children for a 4 or 5 night sailing, possibly in November. My last bit of skepticism was erased when I discovered the DIS board trip reports and decided that I MUST do a Disney Cruise! By the time I finally said “yes” we were all too excited to wait until November and on July 19th we booked the August 19th-24th double dip on the Dream. The month of waiting for the cruise felt like it took forever – I don’t know how those of you who book further in advance can stand it!

In my trip report I’ll be going over two glorious days at Castaway Cay, Nassau as a solo traveler, a day at sea that was primarily spent reading and lazing about to my heart’s content, and the tumultuous relationship between me and my self-proclaimed “best friend”, Becca the three-year-old.

The cast:

Me: Single, no kids, grad student, cruise skeptic
Shannon: Two kids, Disney fanatic, cruise enabler
Jake: Shannon's husband, also a cruise enabler
Becca (3): Princess, tyrant, my "best friend"
Alan (2): Special needs baby, cuddly, adorable

 

[MoxyV]

After a month of serious researching, planning, and fretting over every little thing that could possibly go wrong, the day was finally here! Some of the things I was concerned about included (but were not limited to):

What if my flight was delayed?
What if my baggage was lost?
What if TSA didn’t accept my perfectly valid passport (hey – it could happen)?
What if I got bus sick on the way to the ship?
What if my friends, who I was meeting at the port, didn’t make it?
What if there was a sudden freak hurricane?
What if a kraken ate the ship?

Okay, I might be exaggerating about one or two of those, but suffice to say I have an active imagination and if something could possibly go wrong chances are I’ve fussed over it. Of course it turned out all my fussing was for naught. I slapped my transfer tag on my suitcase, flew down from DCA the morning of the 19th (an easy 2 hour flight), and practically strolled right onto the transfer bus. I do have a tendency towards motion sickness but I’d taken some Bonnie in the morning and didn’t have any trouble. In fact, I wouldn’t experience any motion issues for the entire sailing. I did continue to take the Bonnie I brought every day just in case but I never touched my Dramamine.

As I approached the port I texted with my friend Shannon, whose family I’d be sailing with. They were driving into the port and about half an hour into my bus ride she sent a message saying that she could see the ship, then, suddenly, I could see the ship! Just as my bus was pulling into the port she texted that they were pulling into the parking lot. A few minutes I got off the bus they got off their transfer shuttle. It was pretty amazing synchronicity considering we’d only vaguely planned when we’d meet at the port (sometime between 11 and 12:30).

I don’t know how full the ship was but the terminal didn’t feel crowded at all. Check in was easy (I’d already checked in at the airport but I waited with Shannon’s family while they checked in), we waited a few minutes for their number to be called, snapping some pictures of the ship while we did, and in less than half an hour we were onboard.

I’ve always loved in old movies when, at a fancy affair, someone is introduced as “Ambassador so-and-so and Guest”, so I insisted that I be the “and guest”, to my friends family name for the boarding announcement. The cast members greeting us seemed to think it was funny, or maybe they’re just very good at maintaining enthusiasm for everyone who comes aboard.

 

[MoxyV]

On boarding we decided to delay lunch and instead headed up to deck four where Donald was holding court. While waiting I snapped a couple pictures of the nearly empty atrium. I wondered if the ship was really empty of guests or if they were all hiding out somewhere else.

After meeting Donald we took Becca (3) to the kids club to register.

Shannon stopped by the nursery to see if they would be able to accommodate her two year old, Alan. Alan eats through a feeding tube and doesn’t have fully developed muscle control so Shannon was unsure if they would take him. She and Jake really wanted to eat at Palo for dinner one night and their plan was to put Alan in the nursery if possible (and take me to dinner too), if not I would watch him while they went. As it turned out nursery was more than happy to take him so after Becca was registered Jake rushed upstairs and booked the three of us a Palo dinner for Tuesday night. He was also able to switch our late dining to early and put in a request that we’d have our own table. None of us have anything against other people but Sharron gets tired of answering questions about Alan’s feeding tube so preferred that we eat alone and skip having to explain why Alan can’t eat.

After getting our dining sorted we went down to Enchanted Garden for lunch. I hadn’t been that impressed with what I’d seen of the photos of EG’s decor but as it turned out I found it quite lovely. I think it just doesn’t photograph well as much of its charm is in its lighting. It wasn’t too crowded and we were seated in one of the round booths off the main walkway. Lunch was buffet style and very good, I had the first of many deserts of the trip (a square, very rich, chocolate cake and some mint chip ice cream). There was nothing Becca wanted in the buffet line so we asked the server for options and he offered to bring her some mac and cheese and French fries.

Following lunch we went to check out our state rooms. I had 5532 and Shannon and family had the adjoining 5530. Dis user Pinkocto has already documented the state room better than I ever could, all I’ll add is that it was as nice as she’s made it appear - if not nicer.

(Becca enjoys the Classic Cartoon Channel)

The veranda was huge and wonderful, especially after our stateroom host opened the divider between my room and the next. I never saw the people next to me on the right side (the other curved balcony), and never felt exposed to the people above me. There was enough of an overhang to offer privacy when I wanted it and the rest of the time the view was so spectacular that I didn’t care who saw me. It was an extremely decadent room to have mostly to myself (Becca slept in there at night but wasn’t usually around during the day), and I felt very lucky to have gotten a good last minute deal on it. I’d recommend it to anyone!

 

[MoxyV]

After settling in our staterooms we took off to explore the ship. Becca and her Dad played in Nimo’s Reed while Shannon, Alan and I checked out Palo and some of the nightclubs. There wasn’t much to see of the clubs as the lights in Evolution and Pink weren’t on but Palo was empty and beautiful. It definitely got us excited to eat dinner there Tuesday night and Bruch the next day.

Our exploration continued until the muster drill. Our station was in the Walt Disney Theatre so we were nice and cool for the presentation. I did notice that I was probably the palest person in attendance, with the exception of a very blonde new born baby – it was a good reminder to wear plenty of sun block to Castaway Cay the next day!

After the drill it was time for the Sailing Away party. We watched a bit of the show but Becca was a little too young to enjoy it and the adults were a little too old. We walked up to the bow of the ship to watch it pull out but were soon chased away by a swarm of insects that showed up just as we started to move. There was a storm coming in behind us and while it was pretty neat to see the rain on the water in the distance and the bolts of lightning coming down we decided that the top deck might not be the place to be. We headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner.

Sailing Away Party

Pulling out to Sea

Stormy Skies

I did some unpacking (my bag didn’t show up until about 4:45), got changed, and realized I’d forgotten to bring deodorant – oops! I resolved to get some from the shop after dinner before I completely offended my friends. Our first dinner was at the Royal Palace. We had a table just under the Aurora and Prince Phillip plates.

I wasn’t very diligent about taking food pictures – I think every dish has been documented by better cameras than mine anyway – but the food I had was generally quite good. I started with the duck (and a bit of escargot snatched from Jake, both were good, then the avocado citrus salad which I also enjoyed. I had the boar entrée which was overcooked for my taste. Jake had the lamb and the beef tenderloin, he preferred the lamb. I had the soufflé for desert which I quite liked. We all shared a sweet trio, none of us liked the peanut butter part of it.

After dinner we did some shopping (I got my deodorant – hooray!), and went to see Villains Tonight. I’m a big fan of the show’s writers Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen (I’m a major theatre nerd), and was looking forward to seeing it. Overall I enjoyed it although, like all Disney cruise shows, it felt a bit truncated, some of the jokes were outdated, and had a lot of “trot out the next character!” moments. I did like the arrangements, loved Ursula’s costume, and thought the performers all did a fine job. It was fun seeing a show at sea and checking out some of the lighting and equipment they used for the effects (told you I was a nerd!). It was Becca’s first show and she did a great job keeping quiet. She sat in her mom’s lap and hid her face during some of it, but ended up watching quite a bit. I was proud of her – a future theatre nerd in the making!

First night turn down

After the show we put the kids to bed and sat out on our giant veranda with a bottle of wine. We watched the storms in the distance; Captain Guus did a great job keeping us clear of them. There were several spectacular bolts of lightning in the distance but the waters we sailed were calm. With the wine drunk I went to bed and conked out quite quickly. A fantastic first day!

 

[MoxyV]

I was awoken by the thrusters as we pulled into Castaway Cay and pulled back my curtains to the view of a perfect day.

We popped up for a quick breakfast at Cabanas and checked out the empty pool deck before hitting the island.

What can I say about Castaway Cay? Beautiful, serene, peaceful, perfect, sunny Castaway Cay? I think I better let my pictures do the talking. I spent the morning playing with Becca and Alan at the family beach, had lunch at Cookies, and then spent the afternoon at Serenity Bay with my first Conk Cooler (and maybe a mudslide. Or two.)

 

[MoxyV]

Around three thirty I was feeling pretty toasted from being in the warm Bahaman air all day so I headed back to the ship while Shannon went to find her kids and husband on the family beach. After a quick shower I took the opportunity to explore the ship on my own and check out some of the art work. I loved the concept sketches from various Disney films, especially the ones from Alice in Wonderland.

Hallway outside Enchanted Garden

Vase outside Enchanted Garden

View of CC from Deck 12

Deck 12 Starboard

Detail in Cove Café
I also took the opportunity to participate in the Fish Extender exchange – sort of. I didn’t want to receive any gifts as I didn’t have room in my luggage and I couldn’t really afford to give any myself, but I love secret giving so I couldn’t resist giving something. I’m not crafty but I can draw so I made some sketches of Disney characters and left them at some FE participants’ doors. Drawing them helped keep me occupied while I waited for my cruise, they were flat and easy to pack, and they’re easy to dispose of if the recipients hated them (totally possible – some came out better than others!). I think these two were my favorites:

Afterwards I met up with my friends for dinner at Animator’s Palate. I really enjoyed the food there as well as the décor. I loved the reference books on the shelves for different Pixar films.

After dinner we went to The Golden Mickeys. I didn’t enjoy it as much as Villain’s Tonight but it was pretty cute. Turndown that night came with a towel dog wearing my sunglasses.

 

[MoxyV]

Nassau would be my first real day on my own. I let myself sleep in then walked down one deck to the Vista Café for a light breakfast and some real coffee. The princess gathering was going on in the Atrium and I saw Shannon and Becca waiting in line to meet them. I went down to say good morning and borrowed Becca for a few minutes to take her to meet Princess Minnie while Shannon stayed in the main princess line. After swapping her back I headed to Nassau – at least I tried to! I couldn’t get my safe, which housed my money and my ID to open. It was a problem easily solved with a quick call to guest services; the cast member they sent up gave me the impression that it was a pretty common occurrence. I gathered my things, filled up my water bottle, and headed out.

I put a lot of thought into whether or not I wanted to try Nassau on my own (my friends were staying on the ship), and after experiencing it I can say with certainty that I made the right decision for me. These are only my experiences, however, and I’d advise anyone considering Nassau to gage for themselves how comfortable they are traveling alone in an urban environment. I have a lot of experience being on my own in large cities and would equate Nassau to New Orleans in the states. It’s a place where you should stick to busy tourist areas, be aware of your surroundings, and have a solid idea of where you’re going and how to get there. That said, I had absolutely no problems, was never solicited, and was never made to feel uncomfortable. I had four places I wanted to see:

The National Gallery of Art of the Bahamas. They have a great collection of art, both “outsider” and sophisticated pieces housed in a beautiful colonial mansion. The museum is geared more towards the Bahaman population than tourists and was practically empty when I went. The staff was friendly, both in the gift shop and in the museum’s library (where I stopped to read a few pages from a book about Bahaman architecture, including the museum), and the museum was easy to navigate. Well worth the $5. There’s no photography allowed in the galleries but I took some pictures of the statues outside and the veranda that wraps around the second story.

My next destination was the Governor’s Mansion. I took a few pictures of the sites along the way, including a great entrance to a restaurant I found along the way – it looked like something right out of Adventureland!

The Governor’s Mansion:

Next on my list was the Nassau Library, which I had seen on a list of the Top Ten Libraries in Converted Buildings in the world. The Library is housed in a former jail, each cell serving as a section of the collection. You can’t take pictures inside but I took some on the way there as well as some from the veranda on the library’s top floor.

The famous sign:

Finally I headed up the hill to Ft. Fincastle and Queen’s Staircase. It costs $1 to enter the fort and is well worth it for the views, especially of the ship in the distance!

After hiking up to the Fort I was definitely ready to get back to the air conditioned ship. My walking tour took about two and a half hours and cost as follows: $5 gallery admission, $1 Fort Admission, $1 bottle of water, $2 tip for the fort guide, and $15 for a souvenir book from the gallery. Not bad compared to the cost of a Disney excursion.

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

Hi MoxyV! Thanks for writing! I was intriuged to see how "semi-solo" was going to work out - sounds like you found a great balance of time alone with time with the friends and kids! I've never been to Nassau and had heard so much about the straw market, the bars, and Atlantis - I was happy to read about some real sites of interest, too! Keep writing please!

 

[DisneyMomto3Boys]

MoxyV - I am really enjoying your TR! Keep it coming! =) The pics are great too!

 

[iloverags2]

Wonderful report! We absolutely love Fort Fincastle and Queen's Staircase...very beautiful views and scenery. I'm going to have to check out the library next time we are there...sounds very cool

 

[SerendipityDoDa]

Loving this so far!! Excited for more posts! I like your pics of CC...I have not seen many pics of it on the trip reports.

 

[3Goofy's]

Great trip report so far! Your pictures are beautiful and some of it totally cracks me up! Can't wait to see how you and your "best friend" get along.

 

[3Goofy's]

Oh, and your cartoon drawings are amazing!

 

[Bonniec]

#1 I am really loving your trip report and pictures. I hope you post a ton more.

#1 I am in awe of your drawings! I'm not into FEs but wow, I would have killed for one of those. You are super good at it!

 

[MoxyV]

I've never been to Nassau and had heard so much about the straw market, the bars, and Atlantis - I was happy to read about some real sites of interest, too! Keep writing please!

I was the same way. I'm not that interested in shopping or drinking and Atlantis seemed like Las Vegas goes Bahamas to me. I figured that if I'm going all the way to a foreign country I’m obligated to get a couple hours of real culture in between my eating and lazing around on the beach. If you like art I’d definitely recommend the Gallery.

 

[MoxyV]

MoxyV - I am really enjoying your TR! Keep it coming! =) The pics are great too!

Thank you so much! I'm definitely going to finish it up - might take a couple days, though. I'm still adjusting to being back in the "real" world.

 

[MoxyV]

Wonderful report! We absolutely love Fort Fincastle and Queen's Staircase...very beautiful views and scenery. I'm going to have to check out the library next time we are there...sounds very cool

Thank you! The library was great; just a few blocks from the main street and practically empty. The girl at the front desk was happy to let me look around. They even have a little museum in it although when I was there it looked like they were changing their displays. There's a nice little park in front of it as well.

 

[MoxyV]

Loving this so far!! Excited for more posts! I like your pics of CC...I have not seen many pics of it on the trip reports.

Thank you! CC was beautiful, I hadn't seen many pictures of it either. I think the vetran cruisers assume everyone has been there and done that attitude - if I'm lucky I'll be able to go enough to feel the same some day.

 

[MoxyV]

Great trip report so far! Your pictures are beautiful and some of it totally cracks me up! Can't wait to see how you and your "best friend" get along.

Thank you! I think that I'm around Becca rarely enough that I just find it funny when she demands that I not look at her and refuses to speak to me. Her mom had more of a problem with it than I did.

 

[MoxyV]

Oh, and your cartoon drawings are amazing!

Thank you!