I love to travel and one of my favorite places to go is Disney! I am a travel consultant for Off to Neverland and love to help people plan magical vacations!
Due to the success of a pilot program on Disney Magic® and positive feedback from Guests, Disney Cruise Line® is introducing the auto-application of gratuities on all Disney ships.
The
process will create a more seamless experience for you by
automatically charging folios on embarkation day with the suggested
gratuity amounts for the Server, Assistant Server, Head Server and
Stateroom Host/Hostess. This should eliminate long lines at the Guest Services Desk to apply these charges during the cruise!
Below are the effective dates:
• Disney Dream - Date to be announced
• Disney Fantasy - April 21, 2012
• Disney Magic - Already in place
• Disney Wonder® - April 22, 2012
You
can add pre-paid gratuities at the time of booking or when processing
final payment. If the pre-paid gratuities have not been added prior to
boarding, you will receive a letter upon check-in explaining
the automatic charge to their onboard account. You still have
the option to modify or add additional gratuity amounts, or pay in cash,
by stopping by the Guest Services Desk onboard.
With this new option, you are able to see all the additional charges that may occur during your cruise. Disney already has complimentary sodas. With the wonderful dining and entertainment offered by Disney, you can easily enjoy your cruise without spending anything extra while on the ship - of course, if you want to add on excursions, Spa services, souvenirs, alcoholic drinks, etc. there is an additional charge. Disney also offers an upscale adults only dining experience for a slight fee.
As a reminder, a 15% gratuity is automatically added to any bar, beverage, wine and deck-service receipt.
Thinking about a cruise in Europe? Royal Caribbean International announces today free airfare on it's 12 Night Long Med cruises starting and ending in Barcelona. This promotion is capacity controlled and can close without notice...so jump on it. Although DFW is not included, Houston is, so it might be worth the drive or cheap Southwest flight to get there for the flight to Barcelona.
It applies ONLY to the Serenade of the Seas sailing on the following dates when buying a BALCONY or SUITE and using airfare from: ATL, CMH, BOS, BWI, EWR, IAD, IAH, IND, JFK, LAS, MCO, MIA, ORD, PHL, PIT, RIC, TPA, YUL & YYZ
July 4th, July 16th, July 28th, Aug. 9th, Aug. 21st, Sept. 2nd and Sept. 14th
Balcony prices start at $3,199pp. This is one FANTASTIC offer for folk's that are undecided for a Europe 12 night Med cruise.
Day one of our cruise. We get to the port a little before 11 AM and go quickly through check-in. Most of our paperwork was done online at home before we left.
I would advise you to wait to get a bracelet for your children for the clubs after you get on board. The lines are normally much shorter.
When you arrive at the terminal you are given a boarding group number. When your group number is called you can board the ship. One of the fun things about boarding the Disney ships is they announce your family to everyone as you get on the ship.
The cabins are not available until around 1:30 PM. When you get on the ship you can go to the buffet by the pool, grab a burger, pizza or sandwich, or go down to the Enchanted Garden on Deck 2. We opted for the Enchanted Garden since we had such a big group and had no problem finding seating for all 20 of us together. The buffet was nice and the Enchanted Garden is away from the chaos of everyone eating at once.
This is the ticket in your cabin that will tell you about your dining rotation.
After a nice lunch it was time to go to our cabin and get unpacked. Since we parked on level 3 of the garage and didn't check our bags we had everything with us. It didn't take that long to get everything ready for the four night cruise - a much different experience from our eleven night cruise last Christmas.
In our stateroom we had a ticket with our dining information on it and a Personal Navigator for the day. As you can see, there is more to do than there is time, so pick out a few 'must do's' and make sure you plan a bit of relaxation too!
The ship was decorated for Christmas. There was a large, great smelling gingerbread house in the main lobby.
The lifeboat drill was the nicest we have ever had. On the Dream you do not need to take/wear your life jacket. Our group met in the Walt Disney Theatre and it was quite comfortable to go through what to do in case of emergency.
After the drill it was time for the sail away party. This is another way Disney sets the mood for a great cruise. There are streamers, dancing, and a family friendly party atmosphere. The characters make their appearance in the show and a good time is had by all. We ran into the characters in the hallway on the way to the party - I love starting out the cruise with character encounters!
We enjoyed exploring the ship. The children's areas were amazing! I have included videos of the hand washing stations. I need these at home! There was a mini golf area, ping pong, shuffle board, a video interactive sports simulator, and all kinds of other fun things to do. By the way, all of those things are free!
We had late seating for dinner, which means we get to see the shows earlier. My kids LOVE the shows on the Disney ships so it is nice for them to still be awake during our show time. The other great thing about late seating is Dine and Play where the youth workers come and get your kids halfway through dinner so they can go play while you have a nice adult dinner after a bit of family time.
I was really looking forward to the new Animator's Palate. Although I enjoy the one on the Magic, the Dream has an interactive show with Nemo and friends. It was a lot of fun to watch and incredible technology. During your meal different characters swim by and the school of fish have a guess the formation game going periodically. Crush was very cute and funny.
We really enjoyed the experience and had a great wait staff! I really enjoyed my first day and night on the Dream. It was as wonderful as I anticipated it to be!
Parking is only $5.95/dayDay of arrival through day of departure at the Radisson Hotel. I would recommend this option if you are going for a longer cruise or are in an RV. The Radisson does not charge more for RVs and all Credit Cards Accepted.
Parking at the port has gotten a whole lot better with the new parking garage. This is a great option for the shorter cruises! Whether you park in the terminal lots or parking garages, the rate* for the following cruises are: 3-day, $60; 4-day, $75; 5-day, $90, and 7-day, $120 for vehicles up to 20 feet in length. For vehicles longer than 20 feet, the rates are $104, $130, $156 and $208 respectively.
Preferred Parking is offered at Cruise Terminal 8 and is located right next to the terminal, the rate is $20.00 more than the standard parking rates, regardless of cruise length.
*Rates are subject to change without notice. Contact the Canaveral Port Authority at 321-783-7831 for the latest information.
DISABLED PARKING spaces are available and the fee is waived for vehicles that have special equipment, such as ramps, lifts, foot or hand controls; or display the Florida Toll Exemption permit. Call 800-983-2435, extension 2 to apply for an exemption form.
I would also recommend that you drop off your luggage before parking or park on the 1st level if you have luggage you want to have brought to your cabin. We parked on the 3rd level and had a very easy time with checking in and security, but had to keep up with all our bags until our cabin was ready.
I was very happy with the ease of parking at the port. It is a great time saver and worth the extra money for the shorter voyages. For longer voyages or for RV parking the Radisson is the better way to go.
You can also save money by booking a cruise room package at the Radisson. They have two packages:
Park, Cruise & Breakfast includes
Breakfast for two
Shuttle service for up to two people per room to and from your cruise terminal
Parking for one car during your cruise - complimentary
Park & Cruise includes
Shuttle service for up to two people per room to and from your cruise terminal
Parking for one car during your cruise - complimentary
Additional people for shuttles:$4.00 per person one way
$8.00 per person round trip
Non Package Rates
If you didn’t know that the Radisson Resort at the Port offers Park and Cruise packages and you have booked a different rate, don’t worry. You can add parking and shuttle to your reservation at check-in.
Three-Day Cruises: $25.00 (plus tax) includes parking for one car and shuttle for four people.
Four-Day/Five-Day Cruises: $30.00 (plus tax) includes parking for one car and shuttle for four people.
Seven-Day Cruises: $35.00 (plus tax) includes parking for one car and shuttle for four people.
Due to the success of a pilot program on Disney Magic® and positive feedback from Guests, Disney Cruise Line® is introducing the auto-application of gratuities on all Disney ships. 
