Our Disney Sea & Land Trip 2018 – Days 1 & 2
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Our trip this time encompassed our very first cruise ever (and we chose Disney
) and a 4-night trip to Walt Disney World! A quick shout out to @chelle for booking the Disney Cruise for us and getting us set up with everything we needed/wanted for the trip! She did a great job! 
We left home around 11pm Wednesday, Aug 1st and drove through the night and much of the day Thursday, Aug 2nd to a hotel in Daytona Beach. When we drive (especially on a weekday), we have to leave at abnormal hours to get through Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond before all the work day traffic starts rolling through. We switched off at the wheel roughly every 2 hours at rest areas, gas stations, and restaurants along the way.
PLANNING TIP: When driving I-95 South through Virginia and the Carolinas, VA Exit 4 has some of the best gas prices for a top off. VA Exit 11 overcharges you, and the NC gas tax raises their gas prices all the way down comparatively. You can find some less expensive gas in SC too. Topping off on one side of NC or the other should provide enough gas to get through NC without paying a higher price.
We stopped for Breakfast around 7:30am at a Cracker Barrel in NC, then Lunch at a Firehouse Subs in Georgia on the way down. These places tend to be tried and true meal spots for us
We had smooth traffic all the way down to Daytona and arrived at our hotel, a Quality Inn right across from the Speedway, at about 4:00pm. I name the hotel because it was a very nice hotel at a reasonable rate and it’s just an hour away from Port Canaveral or Walt Disney World.
Sometime after we checked in and rested a bit, we walked about 0.8 miles to the local Miller’s Ale House for dinner (another tried and true restaurant chain for us). Afterward we walked back and crashed for the night.
Friday, Aug 3rd we had a decent hot hotel breakfast, got our picture taken (attached), and left for Port Canaveral at 9:15am. To our shock, they shut down a small section of I-95 South for construction and we had to find a way around which added a good 15 minutes to our travel to the Port. As we approached the port, we saw the Disney Dream waiting for us off in the distance (photo). We arrived at the port at 10:30am. Port personnel got us parked relatively quickly. We ended up parking in the premium lot for an extra $20 more than the regular garage because we missed the baggage drop off, couldn’t easily go back around, and it was a short walk with our luggage to the terminal from there.
We got through security easily enough, checked in at the terminal desk quickly and got assigned to boarding group 3. The terminal was crowded (photo). Of course it didn’t take long to spot where we would board with those big Mickey ears! (photo)
At 11:30ish they began boarding group 1, then a minute later group 2, then a minute later, group 3. We were stunned at how fast it went. To be continued in next post…
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We got our boarding photo taken and stepped onto the gangway where we saw a lifeboat being maintained (photo), and then we took our first steps onto the ship (photo). This was officially the largest ship we ever stepped foot on (previously it was the USS Yorktown air craft carrier in Charleston, SC or USS Massachusetts battleship in Fall River, MA).
After being welcomed aboard with great fanfare, we marveled at the atrium and $300,000 chandelier (photo). Following Michelle’s advice, we then made an immediate right turn to the Guest Services desk (photo), and with little wait saw a cast member who registered us for the Castaway Cay 5K.
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After registering for the 5K, Christy had to get her picture taken in the chair by the mosaic (photo).
We boarded an elevator (blurry photo) and loved how the floor was indicated by a Mickey hand.
We went straight to Cabanas for our first meal on the ship while it wasn’t too busy and enjoyed the view (photo) and found our car in the parking lot below (photo).
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At Cabanas we started with just some shrimp cocktail (photo), but finished with chicken tenders, mac ‘n’ cheese, green beans, steak, cheesy broccoli, fresh fruit, etc. All was very delicious!
From there we went exploring. We saw that all the kids’ spaces were having open house/registration, so we decided to check them out and some other places along the way. First we went to the fake forward funnel to see Edge (for ages 11-14) (photo). This space ended up being the least impressive to us, with it being a smaller space with games and such, but at least it had a nice view!
Then we went up one floor in the funnel to Outlook, a cocktail lounge that is used for special private events where Christy got her picture taken with the view from the highest point on the ship (photo).
After that we headed back down to look for the other kids’ spaces on the lower decks, stopping to take a picture of the atrium from Deck 5 (photo).
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We went to check out the Oceaneer Lab & Club (ages 3-12) next and quickly determined that these were the coolest kids’ spaces by far! They were so cool we wanted to hang out in them too! Disney did an excellent job with Andy’s room (photo) and the Millennium Falcon (photos).
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Further checking out the Oceaneer space, Christy got her picture taken with Slink (photo), and then we found the ship simulators (photo) which were incredibly challenging! Not just anyone can maneuver the Dream!
We then headed out to the track on Deck 4 (photo) and walked around until we found the entrance to Vibe (ages 14-17). We looked out the window to the exterior space on the deck and saw it was being touched up by a work crew (photo). In fact, throughout the cruise, especially at ports, Disney was hard at work maintaining some part of the ship to keep it…ship…shape
Anyway Vibe was a neat space with games, booths for video gaming and smart phone gaming, and a smoothy bar! It was a pretty neat space, but both of us figured we would have much rather been anywhere else on the ship when we were that age.
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Then we went down to the District Lounge area (Deck 4) to check out the lounges before business hours. We thought Skyline (photo) with the changing and moving cities out the “windows” was the coolest by far. Pink (photo) wine & champagne bar was also intriguing with the blown glass to look like bubbles behind the bar. Pub 687 sports bar (photo) had pictures of the Dream under construction all around it. And the District Lounge itself was kind of a hub for the whole thing and had a starry pattern on the walls (photo). Unfortunately we did not get to fully experience Pink or Skyline on our short cruise. We really wanted to.
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After all that exploring it was only 1:30pm! But that meant our stateroom was ready, so we went to check it out! We dropped off our carry-on luggage and took a few pictures (photos). The room was everything we could hope for! And even our checked luggage had arrived!
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As you can see the views from our private verandah/sundeck on Deck 9 Aft & slightly Starboard were terribly wonderful!
Another credit to @chelle for recommending and reserving this wonderful stateroom! We loved it and it was well worth the extra $$ in comparison to an inside or ocean view room.
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We hung around the room until the muster drill took place which was quick and orderly. Then at 4:30pm, we were sailing away! The deck party played YMCA and some cast members down at the terminal were dancing along with it! (photo).
After enjoying the view from Deck 12 for a while, we went back down to the room to get ready for dinner and enjoy the view from there (photo).
We had the main seating (5:45pm) for the rotational dinners and our first dinner was at the Enchanted Garden on Deck 2 (photo). The Enchanted Garden is supposed to look like a garden area in France. The room starts with daylight lighting and slowly dims down to dusk in the dining room and on the mural on the wall behind me in the photo.
The other two photos were from Cabanas that I forgot to post earlier…part of a mosaic with Finding Nemo characters and sand pictures of all of Disney’s castles around the world.
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Overall at the rotational restaurants, we figured the entrees were excellent, but the appetizers were spectacular! We ordered many appetizers on the cruise. At Enchanted Garden, Christy got the Cream of Asparagus soup which she said was very good. I took her word for it since I don’t like asapargus
We both tried the Lobster Ravioli with roasted garlic and sweet basil in a tomato broth. Excellent combination of flavors!
We also tried the Ahi Tuna & Avocado tower with wasabi dressing. Sushi lovers (which we are), as good as all the appetizers throughout the cruise were, this was the best by far!
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For entrees, we had some trouble choosing, but when our server offered to bring us the sea scallops without the sides, it made things easier on us. The actual sea scallop entree came with 5 scallops, but he brought us a bowl of 8 (we ate 2 before I took the picture). They were delicious!
We also got the Pan Seared Sea Bass with fava bean and pea risotto, sliced fennel, and a dill-chive riesling wine sauce. Our server recommended this dish and it did not disappoint. Neither did our other entree, the Slow Roasted Prime Rib (medium rare) with thyme roasted vegetables and a double baked potato. This was a top 3 Prime Rib for me!
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For dessert we ordered the Southern Style Pecan Tart with Bourbon Caramel Sauce and the Warm Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch sauce and Vanilla ice cream.
Both deserts were a perfect ending to a perfect meal. For those who have not cruised with Disney, the rotational restaurants are a couple steps up from dining at a Walt Disney World signature restaurant (Jiko, Artist Point, Citricos, etc). You get team service (Head server who generally stops by once or twice per meal to see how things are going, Server, the main person who takes and delivers your food orders, pulls out your chair for you, and drapes your napkin across your lap (no matter who you are), and an assistant server who takes care of your drinks).
Also you get seated with another party typically. We expected to be seated with another young couple, but by the end of our first meal with them, all 4 of us decided that Disney has agents gathering extra info you don’t provide with your reservation
Not only was the other couple the same age as us, but they were teachers like Christy, the gentleman was a bass player for his church like me, and they lived the next county over from us in Maryland! WOW! So we hit it off pretty well and enjoyed all our meals with them 
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