Unfortunately for us, we were ONLY going on a tour and not to be a negative Nancy, but it is just cruel to put ME on a DCL bus, take me to Port Canaveral, parade me around The Disney Dream cruise ship, then make me get off said ship without so much as even a 3 hour tour of the coast of Florida. But I digress. I did bring my passport just in case they reconsidered. Alas, they did not.
There is just nothing better after an hour long bus ride from the most magical place on Earth, than to look out your window and see a Disney cruise ship anchored, awaiting your arrival. I was just as excited to see it for the tour as I was when I actually was going on my own cruise. (Well almost) And I may be biased, but I think Disney ships are the most beautiful ships and the others pale in comparison next to her.
We headed straight to the Disney Cruise Line exclusive terminal at Port Canaveral. Though not owned by Disney, it is completely created for Disney so that guests can begin to feel the Disney magic the moment they clear security and ride that escalator to begin their check-in process. There are Disney friendly cast members waving at and greeting guests and directing them where to go to begin their magical journey.
We arrived close to 10:00AM and the terminal was virtually empty, but that didn't last long as guests started to trickle in. Once guests check-in, they will be assigned a boarding group number. Once they start allowing boarding, the numbers are called fairly quickly. As a perk, Platinum Castaway Club members get to enjoy priority check-in in the concierge area of the cruise terminal. Then receive priority boarding following Concierge Guests, which board at 11:30 vs regular boarding which begins at 1:30.
On the tour we literally went from top to bottom and forward to aft and both port and starboard sides of the ship. We saw a wide variety of categories of staterooms offered. Unfortunately, because the rooms were not guest ready, and were in the process of being prepared for sailing, we were not allowed to take photos within the rooms.
Suffice to say that I have a thorough understanding and can now say I have seen just about all there is to see regarding every category available on the ship, from inside staterooms with a magical porthole to ocean view with a porthole so late you can comfortable sit in it, to the top of the line Walt Disney Suite with it's own huge private sundeck and hot tub. There are rooms to accommodate those with disabilities, both inside staterooms and those with verandahs. There are staterooms that can sleep up to 5 or only accommodate 3. Adjoining rooms and shared balconies are available for larger groups/families.
We were allowed to take photos of other areas of the ship as they were guest ready, seeing as guests were boarding by this point. The pictures below will be a glimpse at the beauty of the Disney Magic. It is quite difficult to determine the best way to share what I learned and/or saw on this tour or on my personal cruise. I have previous blogs detailing some of the previous cruise, but I apparently did not want to bog you all down with every detail of my trip and didn't.
I will do another post regarding adulting on a Disney Cruise. Here I will share the SPA experiences and the other Adult areas. I will also briefly discuss the kid's areas of the ship and how that works.
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