Summary
In May 2023, I had the opportunity to experience the first ever sailing of the Disney Dream out of Barcelona and it was an experience that I will never forget and I hope to experience it again in the future! From start to finish, I was in awe of all of the incredible sites I was seeing, especially with how much ease I was doing so! I’d highly recommend this trip to anyone of any age whether you’re looking for a relaxing get away with beautiful scenery, or an adventurous vacation full of exciting excursions!
About the Ports
Select sailings visit different ports, but on this particular sailing, we ported in Toulan (France), Livorno (Italy) which provided close access to Florence and Pisa (Italy), Civitavecchia (Italy) with close access to Rome (Italy), Naples (Italy) with Pompeii nearby, and Palma de Mallorca (Spain). It also featured a sea day for the chance to experience all that the Disney Dream has to offer on board! We spent our days visiting popular monuments such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, the Pompeii ruins, Vatican City, and more, with the comfort of returning back on board each night for the fun to continue with dining, entertainment, and activities! We had excursions planned for every port day and they offered us the chance to see so many incredible things. With each tour, we had educated and experienced tour guides to guide us, teach us, and talk about everything that we were seeing, which was extremely informative! Since these are popular tourist destinations, the queues we saw were quite lengthy, but with our tour guide, we were able to go right inside all of these destinations without waiting in any lines, which is one of the benefits of booking these experiences through Disney Cruise Line!
Let's Talk Dining
Like all Disney cruises, rotational dining is included for the opportunity to experience each of the three restaurants. On the Disney Dream, these include Royal Palace, Animator’s Palate, and Enchanted Garden. Each dining room has its own unique theme with exceptional menus every night. The serving team you have on your first night will be your servers every night for the entire duration of your cruise, which is something that makes the experience that little bit more magical as you get to really know the excellent staff Disney Cruise Line has on board! Our servers were always excited to hear about our day and quickly learned our taste preferences as they recommended to each of us our perfect meal! For quicker dining options, Cabanas is a buffet open for breakfast and lunch, and Flo’s V8 Cafe is a counter service open for early lunch, and dinner, both of which offer a large assortment of gourmet foods and are also included! For a quieter meal, there are also specialty dining options, such as Palo and Remy, which adults (ages 18+) can dine at for an additional fee. We dined at Palo for dinner on one night of this sailing, which is an Italian style restaurant that has exceptional food and an elegant atmosphere set in Venice. The food and service was excellent and was a perfect fit as we were sailing right along the coast of Italy! No matter where you choose to eat, you are sure to be pleased with every meal you have throughout your sailing!
Entertainment
The Sailing Away party was the perfect way to start our vacation as the cast sang and danced in celebration of sailing out of the port of Barcelona to start our Mediterranean adventure! On select nights, Broadway-quality shows were performed in the Walt Disney Theater! On this sailing there were three full productions: the Golden Mickeys, Beauty and the Beast and Disney’s Believe, which were each composed of exquisite talent from the singers, dancers, and actors! Along with these, some other performances included a juggling show, a ventriloquist comedian, and a magician! We also enjoyed listening to other live vocalists and musicians performing in various locations around the ship! In celebration of Disney Cruise Lines 25th anniversary there were two nights of fireworks with the first being the Shimmering Seas Light the Sky firework show to light the night sky as we watched from the upper deck! On pirate night, the Buccaneer Blast show was performed with fireworks going along with the popular tunes from Pirates of the Caribbean! Following the show, guests stayed on deck for the Club Pirate Dance Party to dance the night away while sailing through the Mediterranean sea!
What is there to do while on board?
Each day, check the Disney Cruise Line app for a complete schedule of everything that is going on throughout the ship so you can pick what you’d like to participate in! From family game shows, karaoke, trivia, art classes and more, there is always something exciting to do around the ship. You can even take a stroll through the numerous shops for Disney Cruise Line souvenirs and all of your Disney shopping needs! We were always entertained while we were on board! For the kids and teens on board, the kids clubs are always a great place to find something exciting to take part in! With Disney’s Oceaneer Club (3-12 years), Edge (11-14 years), and Vibe (14-17 years), kids and teens of all ages have the chance to meet new friends from around the world while participating in activities designed to fit their particular age groups interests!
From the gourmet dining, Broadway-style entertainment, and the beautiful ports so rich in art and history with exclusive, no-wait access, anyone of any age is sure to enjoy a Disney Cruise Line Mediterranean sailing on the Disney Dream!
Contact a Dream Maker for a no obligations quote and for help planning your experience on this magical adventure!
Thank you for reading!
If you have any questions or would like me to help you plan your dream vacation, feel free to send me a message.
May all your journeys be magical,
