3-Night Very Merrytime Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral

Let's do this!

Five stars. This is our new go-to pre-cruise hotel. The Disney-recommended accommodations at the airport are triple the price and do not include breakfast. This hotel has a great morning spread included in the price. Free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and back again. They were prompt in picking us up at midnight and it is a 3-minute ride. The beds are so comfortable and the property is very well-maintained. We are taking the hotel transportation to the airport this morning to meet our GoPort shuttle. Disney's Magical Express is great but $70/person roundtrip. GoPort is $30/person roundtrip and we've used them in the past. We are off to a great start!

The clipboard is ready and so are the Rennhacks

All checked in and ready to board.

We are having a great time

Watch us sail away in a few minutes on the Port Canaveral webcam.

Dinner was fabulous last night. Escargot, French onion soup, salmon and a strawberry shortcake sundae.

By Michael

Once aboard, the kids found Disney's Oceaneer Club, where Lisa climbed up onto a giant toy dinosaur next to a stack of toy blocks. Later, up on deck, we had a photo taken with the terminal building still visible behind us. In our stateroom, Lisa and Thomas sat by the porthole with another cruise ship docked outside.

In the afternoon a crew member on deck announced sailing away as the Dream pulled out of Port Canaveral. That evening we had a family photo taken by the gingerbread house display, then sat down to dinner, starting with escargot.

Later I ran into Mickey Mouse in the atrium, still in my red JOY shirt and Santa hat. By the end of the night Lisa and Thomas were winding down in bed, Lisa still wearing her Santa hat.

Good morning from sunny and windy Castaway Cay. Kudos to Captain Andy and the bridge team for successfully docking the ship. Side thrusters at 7:00 a.m. are a nice wakeup call.

Castaway Cay is the place to be

The current view from my beach chair. A blue sky and palm tree between two umbrellas. Hooray for traveling with big kids. This is their 7th and 6th trips to Castaway Cay. They are here somewhere. Probably giving tours to the newbies.

This girl makes me so proud. She can walk into any situation with hearing people, immediately make friends and teach them to sign. I went down to the beach and watched her interact with a hearing family. She was teaching them to sign their names and helping them find shells. We have received harsh criticism over the years for not immersing Lisa in deaf culture. The culture of "her people." Days like this assure me that we did OK. The hearing world is not cold, cruel and bad. It is full of good people. She is not the poor little deaf girl. She is strong and independent. The world is amazing and she was born to rock it.

The view from our stateroom port hole.

The weather held and we had another gorgeous island experience. We will be back again in 45 days. There's no such thing as too many trips to Castaway Cay.

Fun is measured by the number of wet towels on the bathroom floor. Beach + pool + showers = a good time was had by all

My baby has grown up on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas.. This island is her happy place. We'll see it again in 6 weeks.

By Michael

That evening's attire was pirate or cruise casual, so we changed into black Pirates of the Caribbean shirts. Before dinner the kids had their photo taken with pirate Mickey, and later with Captain Jack Sparrow. Dinner was at Animator's Palate, all four of us at the table in our red bandanas. After dinner we went up to the pool deck for the pirate show, the big screen lit up red with a ship scene while the characters worked the crowd below. Lisa was still up near the Christmas tree in the atrium close to eleven before we called it a night.

Welcome back to very rainy Port Canaveral. Flying home this evening after a nice Disney Cruise. I definitely prefer the Magic and Wonder but variety helps me appreciate those ships even more The Dream has some great features and we enjoyed our experience.

The kids were interviewed for the Golden Mickeys show. The interpreters were already in the Walt Disney Theater so Thomas helped Lisa.

We enjoyed some fabulous and not-so-fabulous dishes on the Dream. The ravioli tasted like paste soaked in Spaghetti Os. The remaining dishes were excellent.

Vanellope's Sweets & Treats has been added to the Dream since our last cruise on this ship in 2013. We enjoyed going into the shop and admiring the assortment of treats. The cupcakes were GORGEOUS.

An activity I would definitely do again is the Midship Detective Agency. Lisa and I solved two cases and it was so much fun. My legs are like Jello today. You pick up a case file and go around the ship looking for clues in the interactive artwork. This was my favorite "not found on the classic ships" activity. An enthusiastic two thumbs up.

We have met some pretty incredible people throughout our travels. Lisa's American Sign Language interpreters are always among my favorites. For this cruise we had the fabulous Andrew and Kelly. So many people stopped me around the ship to say how mesmerizing it was to watch them interpret the shows and events.