Mayhugh Family Cruises with Disney Cruise Line

Thursday, October 20
I see the ship, I see the ship! Yes I was extremely excited when I saw the ship as we are coming off the freeway! I really did not expect our ship to be the first one we saw as we pulled into Port Canaveral on October 20, 2011.

My husband and I were celebrating our 10 year anniversary on October 20. Ten years ago we boarded Disney Wonder for our honeymoon and made a promise to each other that that we would come back for our 10 year anniversary. It's hard to believe we made that promise 10 years ago! Of course, this time it wasn't just two of us as we had two little stow-a-ways with us, two little princesses ages 4 and 6.

Seeing the ship really excited me! I felt like a little kid. Disney does a great job at making adults feel this way, besides kids!


We sailed 3 nights on Disney Dream to the Bahamas. This cruise included a stop to Nassau on Friday and Castaway Cay, the island owned by Disney, on Saturday.

The one thing I noticed as we pulled up to the terminal and the ship got closer was how BIG it looked. "I really do not remember it looking that big 10 years ago", I told my husband as we drove closer to the terminal. Well as I said that I was looking in my notes I printed from Disney Cruise Website and read The Disney Dream is approximately 40% larger than the Disney Magic or the Disney Wonder.The total number of beds on the Disney Dream is 5007—over 1,900 more than the Disney Magic or the Disney Wonder. The Disney Dream is 2 decks taller than sister ships, the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. That explains why it looked so much bigger! While at Nassau, I was able to get a photo of Dream between two other ships- notice the comparison in size:

Checking in was pretty easy. I set our check-in time as noon and we arrived at 11. The cast members were wonderful at directing us to the luggage drop off, then off to the parking lot.We walked onto the terminal, showed our passports then off we went to check in. Of course as soon as you get to the check-in area, who do you think we saw- why Captain Mickey of course! We went to get our room keys, checked the kids in for the Oceanneer Club (got their wristbands that they were to wear to check in and out of the club with) then went to get a photo with the Captain. 

My oldest was a little shy at her first meeting of Mickey, but soon figured out it was fun. And that was the beginning of photo taking for us for the next week and a half. Eventually hubby was getting a little tired of taking photos with characters. It does take time, as you stand in line to take your turn to meet the character, but in the end it is so worth the wait! It's so fun to look back at all the photos later and remember all the magical experiences!  

Next to go through the giant ears and onto the ship, but you do stop for a family photos first. 

Then you stand in line to board the ship because as you are boarding they welcome everyone individually. 

 So it was our turn and we hear over the intercom "Welcome the Mayhugh Family". It was just like in the movies when you are at the red carpet event! How cool! Daisy duck was right there to meet us!

What a beautiful staircase! The ship was gorgeous!

Once upon the ship we headed to the 11th deck. A buffet lunch was waiting both at Cabanas on the 11th deck and at Enchanted Garden on Deck 2. I decided to head up to Cabanas so we could go to the top of the ship. It was fabulous! The food was pretty good, and of course it would not be complete without ice cream!

Next was time to look around on the ship- as I went from side to side checking out the top deck thoroughly and taking lots of photos. The aqua duck was neat. This water coaster that you ride by raft is 765 feet in length and swings out 12 feet over the side of the ship. You can see the ocean from inside the tube, which is 150 feet below. Don't worry, it's not scary- but it is fun! My husband and oldest daughter rode it after we finished lunch. I rode it with her on the last day we were at sea and only wish I would have rode it sooner and more often as it was very FUN! The only negative part of this ride is you have to be 42 inches to ride, so little sis didn't get the chance to ride. However, there is a little Mickey Mouse water slide that the little ones will enjoy!

We spent the afternoon and evening exploring the ship and visiting with characters. We went to a show that evening, The Golden Mickeys, and dinner at Enchanted Garden. Later the girls had fun playing in the Oceaneer Club and Lab while Mommy and Daddy had a relaxing evening enjoying each others' company on our anniversary evening.

The Oceaneer Club and Lab is a play area for children and open from 9 am to midnight. Each day you receive a Navigator in your room that tells the ship's daily activities, and they also include the various activities for these clubs. There are also clubs for Tweens and Teens on Disney Dream. Our kids loved their time spent there and would have liked to have spent more time there. Next cruise will definitely be longer.


Friday, October 21
Our first destination was on Nassau where Mommy and Daddy went off the ship and did a dolphin interaction on Blue Lagoon Island, where I got a dolphin hug, dance and 2 kisses from a beautiful male dolphin! I think Daddy was a little jealous (he he). We went back to the ship to get the kiddos and spend the afternoon with them and found out that Mickey and Gang visited them in the club. They even bragged that Pluto came to play (Mommy's favorite Disney character- notice "Regina's Favorite Dog and Mouse).

The afternoon and evening time was pretty busy. The girls changed into their Tinkerbell outfits and we even caught up with her after we came back downstairs.Watching my youngest chat with Tinkerbell (Tink and Tigger are her favorites) was a wonderful experience! We watched Peter Pan tease Captain Hook while we were in line and Daddy told our youngest that Peter Pan was Tinkerbell's boyfriend so when she meets Tink, she tells her that she saw her boyfriend. That created a giggle from everyone listening!

We continued to take some photos with other Disney Characters then it was time to change clothes for dinner. 

 

Later that evening before dinner we took family photos. Shutters does a wonderful job of taking photos and we were able to buy all our photos on cd. (One piece of advice though- if you order a cd on the kiosk make sure you check your photos. When we looked at the actual prints we found some that were not ours and gave them back, but didn't realize they would also appear on our cd as I did not think to check that. They did correct the cd and burnt me a new one, but it made us the last ones to get off the ship when we docked back at Canaveral which gave us a later start than we wanted on our way to WDW. Just double check and make sure you have the photos you want.) The family photos turned out beautiful! I only wish Sean and I would have thought to get one done with just the two of us.

We then did an activity as a family called the Midship Detective Agency. This was like a scavenger hunt. We had to look for clues to see who stole the puppies from 101 Dalmatians. We figured out who the villain was  but unfortunately never did get to complete the game by catching the villain. The show that night was Villains Tonight  but we didn't watch it as we were busy playing the game.

Dinner was at Royal Palace where the waiters had a special anniversary surprise for Sean and I after dinner, well even after dessert. They made us kiss and  presented us with a piece of chocolate cake with mousse layers. Yeah, I forgot to take a photo- what was I thinking!

After dinner it was off for another clothing change as we got ready for pirates night! Earlier in the evening we watched Mickey's Pirates and later in the evening would be Buccaneer Blast and Club Pirate which started out with a wonderful firework display. Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise that does fireworks at sea. It was a great show. Captain Jack Sparrow was at the Club Pirate show. We stayed for the show and a couple dancing songs, but the kids were beat so we headed back to our cabin.

Saturday, October 22

We spent the next day on Disney's Island Castaway Cay. Beautiful water and beaches made this stop wonderful! I even had the opportunity to dance with Mickey, Minnie & Daisy (I actually danced with Donald on the ship the first night). The water was warm and gorgeous. A little sun was all we needed to make this stop perfect, but at least it did not rain!

Oh, and for the record there are fish in the water. Of course you knew that, it's the ocean after all. It was funny as I was out playing in the water and saw a school of fish swimming. Now one or two fish did not bother me, but I wasn't too fond of swimming with the whole school so I moved away from where they were. Our youngest must not have understood what I said when I mentioned the fish swimming in the area. Later she noticed them and I don't know when I ever saw that girl move so fast. She screamed loudly and ran back to the beach as fast as she could! It was quite a site! Then Sean came out to see these scary fish. For those of you who know about freshwater fish, these were shaped like large bluegills but were clear with a blue dot. The blue dot is what made them noticeable. They were pretty fish.

We ate lunch on the island and later found a group of hammocks where we laid down and rested. Sean had a hard time getting into it though. When he first got in he flipped right out- that was worth a good laugh. The girls did the same thing, but they did it intentionally. We did get a nice little relaxation in during this time. The only thing missing was a cold piña colada. (I actually did not have any alcohol during the trip- kept meaning to but just didn't get to it- add that to the next cruise must dos- ha ha).

We did make our beach time at Castaway a little shorter than we would have liked to because we knew the Disney Princesses would be out on the ship to visit with all the little Princesses and wanted to let our princesses meet them.

So we headed back to the ship- threw on the girls' princess attire and off we went to meet the royal ladies- Aurora, Tiana, Belle, Ariel, Snow White and Cinderella. That event was priceless watching the ladies meet their favorite ladies. Princess Jasmine was the one we were missing, our youngest daughter's favorite princess, but we caught up with her later in the week at Epcot!

Goofy even made an appearance. He visited with the Disney Princesses and later when we went to visit with him he taught our princesses how to wave from the balcony and curtsy. Following the royal event was a nap time for the Mayhugh Princesses and Daddy. Mommy relaxed a bit, straightening the cabin and flipping through the photos taken so far.

That evening there was a final Character Meet & Greet, we watched the show Disney's Believe and had dinner at Animation Palate. Following dinner we went shopping. It was sad to know that this was our final night on the ship.

The next day was to be a big day as we were to come back to Florida and start Part 2 of our adventure- Off to Walt Disney World Resorts!

Of course this was the girls' first cruise and they LOVED IT! We enjoyed Aqua Duck (would have liked to rode it more if it would have been warmer weather), meeting with the characters, exploring the ship, playing dress up, eating, coming to our room when the beds were made up, breathing in the sea, watching the shows, exploring the islands and so much more! Of course the best part of the cruise was the time we spent with one another.

I have to admit, I am ready to go back either on this cruise or try out one of the other Disney Cruise Line Itineraries. Time to start saving my pennies so I can book us on our next Disney Cruise Line adventure, as I am not waiting 10 years this time! This was definitely the BEST anniversary gift any girl could ask for!