Tip Tuesday: Drink of the Day Glass (DCL)

When boarding a Disney Cruise, especially if you get an early port arrival time, you'll have plenty of time to hit the deck and lounge around, or grab a bite to eat. You'll be greeted as you come out on deck by many cheerful cast members offering several beverage options for purchase.

They'll be offering beer packages (delivered to your room), wine packages for dinner, adult beverages to drink now, and the "Drink of the Day" or beer mug. All of these options are, of course, an additional charge which will be added to your stateroom bill. Soda machines will also be found on deck and are included in your cruise fare. Feel free to bring those Yetis and fill 'em up!

Our favorite is the "Drink of the Day" (DotD) cup which we find to be a pretty good value. Each day a new Drink of the Day will be listed on your Personal Navigator. The DotD is a 12oz serving of yummy beverages like a Bahama Mama or Yellow Bird for only $4.75 (plus tax and 15% gratuity).

For around $12 you can purchase this cup (filled with the current DotD), and the cup is yours to keep. The perk or value, you ask? For the remainder of the cruise, when purchasing the drink of the day you get a larger 16oz refill (only when using this cup) for the same low price of $4.75!

When lounging around the pool, servers will take your cup and bring you a fresh new glass each time you order. Though, I will say, we've found the better beverages are from the real bars throughout the ship. Most of them don't have the DotD made in large batches like they do around the pools, so you may get a heavier pour there. We did on several occasions.

Enjoy!

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Disney Cruise Line Stateroom Review

Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah

Room 8540

on the Disney Dream

Back in April, my family of four went on a 4 night Bahamian cruise with Disney Cruise Line. My husband and I had been before, but this was our kiddos first cruise. We sailed on the Disney Dream and opted for a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah. The 4 night itinerary has a day at sea, and we figured it would be nice to have the verandah to enjoy the view.

Here's a review of our room with some photos.

This was a category 05B stateroom located on the Starboard side of Deck 8, toward the front.

• This room is 246 sq. ft, including the verandah
• Sleeps 4 people max
• Queen bed, single convertible sofa, upper berth pull-down bed
• Split bath with tub and shower

We were located very near the elevators, which I'd often heard could be disruptive, but we never had any problems. As you can see here we decorated our door (that'll be another post). In addition to the fun, this also makes it easy for the kids (and adults) to spot your room.

Coming in the door the split bath is on the right (sink and toilet first and then the sink and tub next). There was ample shelving in the units for everyone's toiletries. The split really worked nicely for us. One could shower then move into the next bathroom to get ready while someone else showered.

To the left behind the door were two very nice sized closets with shelves. We were able to put our shoes on the shelves and hang dresses, shirts, and slacks. There was also some additional storage space at the end of the closet.

Next you walk in to see the bed and then the desk and sofa before the sliding glass door to the balcony. Let me just say, this bed was so comfortable. Like, I should have asked what kind of mattress and pillows these were!

The bed has a lamp and night stands on both sides which was nice, and the privacy curtain hangs nicely between the bed and sofa area.

The desk area had plenty of storage in the form of drawers and shelves. It also hid the mini fridge nicely. The tv was on the end and could be swiveled toward the bed or the sofa. In addition to the stateroom phone on the nightstand, you'll also find two wave phones per room, which can be taken anywhere on the ship and Castaway Cay. DCL also provides you with some postcards and other typical hotel stationery.

In front of the sofa is a nice chest, which provided some extra storage. We used it to put our beach bag and swim stuff in.

On to the verandah. Oh, the verandah. I was so glad to have chosen a verandah room. While it was so, so dark out on the ocean at night, it was wonderful to hear the waves lapping as we surged through the water. It was a beautiful sight to see the vast open waters as we sailed through the day. Seeing the ports as we pulled in to turnabout... so cool. While I'd gladly take an inside room again just to be able to cruise, I would definitely choose to upgrade to a verandah anytime I'm able. It was worth it. There were two chairs and a small table. It made it nice to sit outside with a little snack from room service while getting ready.

Our stateroom host took care of setting up the upper berth pull-down bed each night while we were out for dinner and put it back up while we were out for breakfast. He would also draw the privacy curtain at night. The kids took turns sleeping on the top bunk. This worked out quite nicely.

Overall, we were quite pleased with this room. It fit our family of 4 just fine. We were out checking things out most of the day, but when we were in the room, we still had plenty of room to spread out. The split bath was really nice when getting ready. There was plenty of storage (I forgot to take a photo of our suitcases under the bed). I'd say there was even more storage than in a hotel room. We liked the location being near the elevators and never had any problem with that. We would certainly book this category, and even this specific room again. The furnishing were modern and very nice, and everything was very clean. We were thoroughly impressed.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'd be glad to go over anything I missed or just discuss our cruise in general. We had a blast and can't wait to do it again!

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Magical Moment Monday: Lost a Tooth!

I thought I'd share a little magical moment we had while on our Spring Break ("DreamBreak2016") cruise a couple weeks ago.

My son lost his first tooth while having lunch at Castaway Cay in the Bahamas! 

He's 7 years old, so he was due.

I found this little gem on my phone when we returned home and I was looking through photos.

Later that evening Colten had the opportunity to talk to our awesome Cruise Director, Trent. He was excited to tell him all about his big day. The next afternoon he found a surprise in his Fish Extender pocket- a magical moments certificate and button!

Colten won't soon forget this awesome moment, that's for sure. I wonder how many others can say they lost their first tooth on a magical island in the Bahamas?!

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