In late September, my husband and I sailed aboard the Disney DREAM on a four night Halloween on the High Seas cruise. This adventure was not only relaxing, it was an informative look into the level of detail Disney has put into their return to sailing and guest satisfaction. This cruise included a double-dip (Aka two days) on Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.

Sailing Away…..

We arrived the day prior to our embarkation and stayed at Disney’s Old Key West resort. From there, we arranged a transfer to the terminal with Disney Cruise Line. This was very simple: we let them know our airline arrival and departure information and our hotel reservation and Disney took care of the rest. There are transfer fees but knowing Disney is handling logistics for me, makes getting to and from the terminal quite stress free.

Upon arriving at the Port Canaveral Terminal, we were escorted to health screening tents where we self-administered PCR Covid-19 Tests (with the watchful eye of a healthcare team member). Next, we were escorted to a waiting area tent where we were told to login and check the Safe Passage website for our clearance to board the ship. Once the PCR test was uploaded to the website and we were clear to embark, we went inside the terminal building and went through the check-in/verification process. (**At the time of this sailing and at the time of this post, proof of vaccination is required for those 12 years or older and those younger must perform a series of COVID-19 testing before arriving to the terminal in addition to the testing. This has recently changed, see below.**)

Shortly after we were checked in, we were boarded by our determined boarding groups in our Navigator App. They welcomed each family aboard as they have done traditionally but in smaller groups at a time. From there, we performed our muster drill digitally via the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app. There were crew members at each muster station there to assist anyone that had difficulty with the app or were lost.

After guests finished their muster drill, we were allowed to go grab lunch at either rotational dining location or up at Cabana’s (the buffet style restaurant that is located on the pool deck. Guests were allowed into their staterooms around 2:30pm. This is important to note as you have to carry any and all carry-ons you have with you until your staterooms are available for occupancy.

Overall Trip Highlights

I am not going to spend a whole lot of time going day-by-day and rehashing every detail but I will point out some key things I feel are takeaways from this trip.

During our time on the boat we took part in all our rotational dining opportunities except for our Princess night in the Enchanted Garden. In lieu of rotational dining, we booked Palo, the Italian fine dining experience. We definitely took advantage of trying new and different things at our rotational dining experiences and definitely ordered desserts! (See below!)

Our waiter, David, was fantastic and the meal was an experience, both delicious and not rushed! A must do if you can sneak in a date night! (If French cuisine is something you are up for, I would recommend trying Remy’s.)

We did miss out on being able to book any spa treatments (which were available but sold-out.) Booking a spa experience as well as doing some additional experiences with my children are a must-do on our next cruise! Just like the parks, there is so much on and off the ship to do, you can’t do it all in one vacation! It’s completely true!

While on board, we attended Beauty and the Beast and Disney’s Believe stage shows. These are must do’s, at least once, in my opinion. We enjoyed watching movies on the pool deck, took many, many slides down the the AquaDuck, attended Mickey’s Mouse-querade Party, character meet and greets.

We spent both days disembarked on Castaway Cay; riding bikes, going down the slide at Pelican Pointe, Tubing and even completed our own “Unofficial” Castaway 5k both mornings. It was important to us to spend time enjoying the natural environment on the island. The weather was amazing, too! We felt that with the low capacity on the ship, we were able to do much of what we wanted on-board on our day at sea and in the evenings ; therefore, this gave us plenty of reasons to disembark and enjoy island time without feeling like we were missing out on the ship.

Just like every other Disney property, Castaway Cay is pristine: clean, well maintained, beautiful and peaceful. Even though my children were not with me, I would feel very safe having my kids swim and play on the family beaches and enjoying the slide.

I have already booked my family on our next cruise and am always looking and considering more. Disney Cruise Line is truly top notch and cares about guests and their on and off ship experience.

**In our current global health emergency, things with the cruise lines are changing rapidly, almost daily. Currently, as of this post, Disney Cruise Line announced that they would be requiring vaccination for all guests ages 5 and up effective for all sailings on and after January 13, 2022. This is inline with other cruise lines. Masking policies and testing procedures also can change from time to time, for things such as fitness centers, spas, etc. Be sure to visit Disney Cruise Line’s website for up to the minute announcements on any changes in their policies and procedures.

*(This trip was taken as part of a Educational Training opportunity.)