Our Cruise on the Disney Dream + Full Review and Ship Guide
I won’t lie. It is one of my life goals to sail on every Disney Cruise ship. And with Disney debuting new ships left and right, this dream might seem a little far fetched. But I want this post to be a good reminder that you don’t always have to go with the shiny and new to have a great vacation. Because we LOVED our sailing on the older Disney Dream!
The Disney Dream has the classic ocean-liner vibes of the older Disney ships, great dining experiences, and fantastic service. And while everything wasn’t perfect, it was pretty darn close!
So here’s my full Disney Dream review, plus guides to what you can expect on board if you book a cruise on this ship!
Booking the Disney Dream
So, why did we decide to book a cruise on the Disney Dream specifically?
Well, we had been on the Magic and sailed on the Wish. But we hadn’t yet tried a Dream-class ship yet. And, spoiler alert, but I thought it was a great combination of the classic charm and more intuitive layout of the Magic but closer to the size and amenities of the Wish.
Another reason we booked the Dream? The itinerary and dates worked well with our schedule. And sometimes a decision about what cruise to book is as simple as that.
Disney Dream Stats
Ok let’s look at the some stats about the Disney Dream. Because as I mentioned, it’s kind of an in-between of the Magic-class ships and the Triton-class ships (like the Wish).
- Ship class: Dream-class. This was the first of the Dream-class ships, of which there are two: the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy.
- Passenger Capacity: 4,000 (this is the same as the Wish and Treasure, but thanks to a better layout, the ship felt much less crowded)
- Number of cabins: 1,250 (just a few less than the Wish, but it’s 375 more than the Magic and Wonder)
Layout and Deck Plans
Let’s talk about the layout of the Disney Dream and what you can find on each deck!
First of all, the Disney Dream is a MUCH better deck plan than the Disney Wish. We have three sets of elevators (including mid-ship elevators, which are my favorite!), hallways that make sense, and doors leading outside with windows so you can see where you are going.
Here’s a basic overview of what you’ll find on each deck of the Dream:
- Deck 1 — Tender lobby (where you’ll exit the ship at ports) and health center
- Deck 2 — Staterooms and Enchanted Garden restaurant
- Deck 3 — Atrium main floor, Animator’s Palate restaurant, Royal Palace restaurant, shops, and Walt Disney Theater
- Deck 4 — Buena Vista Theater (for movies), D Lounge, The District (family-friendly during the day, adults only at night), and entrance stairs to Edge and Vibe (tween and teen clubs)
- Deck 5 — Staterooms, Kids Clubs, Nursery, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
- Decks 6 – 10 — Staterooms
- Deck 11 — Cabanas (buffet dining), Pool deck, Concierge staterooms, Senses Salon & Spa
- Deck 12 — Concierge staterooms, more pool deck, and adults-only dining (Remy and Palo)
- Deck 13 — Goofy’s Sports Deck, Adults Only sun deck and pool
- Deck 14 — Dream Tower Suite
Generally, I found it pretty easy to get around the ship, and after the first day or so I always knew the right way to turn.
It also helps that there are plenty of signs around the ship, and you can access a Deck Plan in the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app.
Pro Tip: When you step out of your stateroom, the carpet in the hallway can help you know which way to turn! The points of the tops of the stars in the carpet point toward the front of the ship!
Disney Dream Staterooms
I really love the staterooms on the Disney Dream. They are classic, old-school Disney Cruise Line style, with nautical blues and golds. Sure, they may not be as “updated” as the rooms on the Wish and the Treasure, but they really make me feel like I’m on a cruise and not just in a nice (but small) hotel room.
We stayed in a verandah stateroom, which is always my preference.
But people actually love the interior rooms on the Disney Dream too because they have video portholes that show what is looks like outside in real time, plus some surprise character animations that pop in. I’m still not sure I could do a whole cruise in an inside room, but it’s something to consider if you want to save money and think you could!
So let’s talk about some more specifics about what I loved and what I didn’t in our stateroom.
What I Loved
- Double bathrooms. Like on all Disney Cruise ships, you’ll have two bathrooms: one room with a toilet and sink, and another with a sink and shower. This is such an amazing layout and helps us so much when we’re getting ready for the day or getting ready for bed at night.
- The traditional design. Sure I love the rooms on the Wish, but these staterooms really put me more in the cruising mood!
What I Didn’t Love
- The closet doors didn’t slide. Which meant having bathroom doors and closet doors open at the same time was pretty much impossible and kind of annoying.
- Our outlets didn’t work well. I actually had to plug my phone in across the room at night because cords would not stay plugged in to the outlet next to the bed. And Gerrit’s side of the bed didn’t even have any outlets!
Dining and Restaurants on the Disney Dream
Dinner on Disney Cruise Line works a little different than most other cruise lines. On DCL, you are assigned a restaurant each night and rotate around to each one. The cool thing is that your servers also rotate with you, so you really get to know them throughout your cruise!
As far as my dining experience goes, I thought the food on the Dream was fine. It didn’t blow me away, but it was perfectly good. The service on the other hand was absolutely amazing!
Rotational Dining
There are three rotational dining restaurants on the Dream: Animator’s Palate, Royal Palace, and The Enchanted Garden. All of the rotational dining restaurants are included in the price of your cruise.
Animator’s Palate
Animator’s Palate is a Disney Cruise Line classic. This one is themed more toward Pixar though (as opposed to the Black and White Disney animation theming it has on on the Magic and Wonder), and the show is a fun Crush-themed interactive show (at least for the people sitting near the screens, which we were not).
We were here for three nights on our sailing: the standard Animator’s Palate Night, Pirate Night, and Marvel Day at Sea Night.
The standard Animator’s Palate night had really good food I thought! I got the classic Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes, which were really tasty although the actual pasta on mine was a little underdone in thicker parts.
For my main course I had the Beef Tenderloin with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes, which was really good! And it was an actually tenderloin, as opposed to the giant slabs of prime rib they often serve as steaks.
I especially enjoyed my dessert though, which was the Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Sundae!
Enchanted Garden
Enchanted Garden is a really beautiful restaurant, and one of those spaces that looks so much nicer in real life than the pictures make it out to be.
In the restaurant you’re sitting in kind of a garden greenhouse, and throughout your dinner the lighting slowly changes to take you through sunset.
The food here is lighter, with more seafood and vegetable options. I got the Caramelized Sea Scallops and thought they were perfect! And I also liked my appetizer, the Bacon and Wild Mushroom Tart.
I went with a sundae again for dessert: the Chocolate Brownie Sunday which was chocolate ice cream with PEANUT BUTTER brownies, aka my favorite combination.
Royal Palace
Royal Palace is the restaurant on the Dream that is right off the Atrium. It has French-inspired cuisine with Princess decor.
And I have to tell you a little about our seating here. On your rotational dining, you are assigned a table number for your whole cruise. So I was a little disappointed to see that our table, 112, was tucked in a back room with just a handful of other tables.
However, I actually ended up LOVING this because it was much quieter than the main dining room. And so it was probably one of the most peaceful feeling meals we had during our cruise.
The food here was really good, and it was probably my favorite meal of the trip!
I got the Deep-Fried Brie, a Disney Cruise staple on most of the ships in at least one restaurant (I also had it when we dined on the Magic at Lumiere’s).
I had the lamb chops for my main course and they were so good! And I especially loved the creamy Dauphinoise potatoes!
On a Disney cruise, you can get as many dishes as you want technically, so I ordered two desserts since I couldn’t decide: the Grand Marnier Souffle and the Duo Chocolate Slice. And while they were both delicious, I wish I had just gotten the Chocolate Cake because it was probably my favorite dessert of the trip!
Pro Tip: Royal Palace is usually the sit down restaurant that is also open for breakfast and lunch during the day. You can choose to eat here instead of Cabanas, and it’s still included in your cruise price.
Buffet Dining
Cabanas
Cabanas is the buffet restaurant on the Dream that is open for breakfast and lunch during the day. And you can also choose to have dinner here, but I would definitely not recommend skipping out on your rotational dining for this.
There are TONS of options at Cabanas. In the mornings they have everything from pancakes and Mickey waffles to made-to-order omelets and overnight oats.
Plus, usually on your last full day of the cruise (or your last day at sea…so just check each morning) you’ll find Mickey Churro Waffles, which are the BEST!
For lunch, Cabanas has everything from chicken tenders and fries to baked fish and a prime rib carving station.
Pool Deck Restaurants
When we’re out enjoying the pool around lunch time, we usually get food from the counter service kiosks on the pool deck. On the dream this spot is Cars themed and named Flo’s Cafe. Here’s what you’ll find:
- Luigi’s Pizza — Pizza, obviously
- Tow Mater’s Grill — Burgers and chicken tenders
- Fillmore’s Favorites — Salads and sandwiches
- Ramone’s Cantina — Tacos and bowls
If you need a late-night snack, Luigi’s Pizza is usually open until 11 p.m.
On the opposite side of the ship from Flo’s Cafe, you’ll also find Eye Scream Treats where you can get soft serve ice cream.
And on the other end of the pool deck, there are self-serve beverage stations on each side of the ship.
Adults-Only Dining
There are two adults-only dining restaurants on the Disney Dream. These require a separate reservation and are an additional cost.
The first on is Palo, which is on every Disney ship. It’s an Italian restaurant themed after the canals of Venice. And while I haven’t dined at Palo on the Dream, I have eaten at Palo on other ships and it is SO GOOD.
We’ve done Palo dinner and it was fantastic (the Dover Sole was the best fish we’ve ever had!). But Palo bunch is also super popular and is on my bucket list to try sometime.
The second adults-only dining restaurant is Remy’s, which is a French-inspired restaurant. They have brunch and dinner, as well as fancy dessert experience. Remy’s is on my bucket list to try too!
Room Service
Room Service is included in the price of your cruise! This is great for late night dining, mornings where you want to take it easy, and the best: Mickey Premium Bars!
Aside from ordering one for dessert at dinner, Room Service is the only place to get Mickey Premium Bars on a Disney Cruise!
Pro Tip: If you’re a coffee drinker, you can order coffee the night before to show up at your room in the morning!
More Dining & Drinks on the Dream
In addition to all the restaurants listed above, there are lots of other bars and lounges scattered throughout the ship where you can get specialty drinks, treats, and sometimes a bit to eat. These are all going to be an additional cost to your cruise.
- Preludes — This is where you can get popcorn, treats, and drinks outside the Walt Disney Theater for your show.
- Bon Voyage — A bar in the Atrium that serves both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
- Evolution — A lounge and entertainment venue that also has a bar.
- Skyline — An adults-only bar in the The District with “views” of skylines around the world
- Pink — A wine and champagne bar, and it’s super cute inside!
- District Lounge — Another entertainment venue that also has a bar.
- Pub 687 — A pub that also claims to be the spot for sports games, although every time I went in to check if basketball was on, it never was.
- D Lounge — An entertainment venue where a lot of your family-friendly trivias and games shows will take place. But there is also a bar where you can get drinks and smoothies.
- Vista Cafe — A small bar on the 4th floor in the Atrium that serves drinks and you can also get coffee and pastries.
- Vanellope’s Sweets & Treats — An ice cream and candy shop right next to Cabanas.
- Cove Cafe — An adults-lounge that’s the spot to get specialty coffee. They also serve cocktails. And there are small treats and pastries (these are included in your cruise, but the drinks aren’t).
- Cove Bar — A small bar next to the Quiet Cove Pool in one of the adults-only sections.
- Waves Bar — Another bar on the pool deck.
- Meridian — This is the bar and lounge outside of the Palo and Remy, and is where you can wait when you arrive for to be seated in the restaurants.
- Currents Bar — A bar in the main adults-only pool deck area at the front of the ship on Deck 13.
Pool Deck & Water Slides
There are two main pools on the Disney Dream, with a couple of other smaller dipping pools. To be honest, most of the time we spent on the pool deck was spent with the water slides. But here are the pools you can find:
- Mickey’s Pool — A family pool that’s on the shallow side, great for younger kids.
- Donald’s Pool — A family pool that’s a little deeper.
- Funnel Puddle Pool — A shallow lounge pool on Deck 12 (one level up from the main pool deck) behind Funnel Vision. This area is a little quieter and I wish we had discovered it earlier in our cruise!
- Quiet Cove Pool — An adults-only pool in the quiet area before you get to the spa entrance.
- Satellite Falls — An small adults-only dipping pool in the adults-only area at the front of the ship on Deck 13 (another area I wish I had discovered earlier in the cruise!)
On the main part of the pool deck (which is Deck 11 by the way), you’ll also find Nemo’s Reef, a small splash pad area for the youngest kids. While my kiddo was too old for this area, if we had been on this cruise when she was younger she would have loved it! And as a parent I would have loved that it was all enclosed.
There are two water slides on the Dream: Mickey’s Slide and the Aquaduck.
Mickey’s Slide is an open yellow slide meant for elementary age kids. It’s short and looks fun, but unfortunately it’s not for adults. It’s just for ages 4-14 and heights between 38 and 64 inches.
The AquaDuck is the main attraction slide though! And I LOVED this one! I honestly thought it was so much more fun than the AquaMouse on the Wish because you spend more time actually sliding. I love that you get to go through the clear tunnel on both sides of the ship for lots of great views!
To ride the AquaDuck, kids must be at least 42 inches tall.
Pro Tip: For shorter lines on the AquaDuck, trying riding it when the ship is in port. We came back slightly early from both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay for some slightly shorter lines!
Activities and Entertainment
There are so many great entertainment options on the Disney Dream!
Characters
One thing about Disney Cruises is that characters are everywhere all the time! So if you have a kids who is intent on meeting characters, a cruise may be the way to go.
If you check your Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, it will tell you what characters will be out when. We saw all kinds of characters on our cruise, from Mickey Mouse to Mulan to Marvel characters.
And be sure to look for characters in special costumes on special days like Pirate Night.
Daytime Activities
Disney Cruise Line provides great entertainment all throughout your cruise during the day. There are activities like Disney Parks trivia, Family Karaoke, and Game Show competitions.
My favorites are also the Tunes Trivia, especially the Disney Tunes Trivia. Unfortunately on our Disney Dream sailing, Disney Tunes Trivia was only offered once and it was during a pretty inconvenient time. But we did enjoy an adults-only 2000s tunes trivia one night (which Gerrit was surprisingly way better at than I was!).
Another event to always watch out for is the Diaper Dash, where they race crawling babies. It’s also so funny and adorable and a crowd favorite. On the Disney Dream is takes place in the Atrium.
Broadway Style Shows
On our sailing, there were three Broadway Style Shows. And they were all so good!
- The Golden Mickeys — I don’t always love the revue-style shows where they try to smush in as many Disney classics as possible, but I thought this one was super fun! It’s an awards-style show where the stage manager gets stuck presenting the awards to categories like best villian and best friendship.
- Beauty and the Beast — This one was SO GOOD! It very much feels like a stage production of the live-action remake, including the song “Days in the Sun.”
- Disney’s Believe — Another revue-style show, this one about a scientist father who doesn’t believe in magic. While I didn’t love it as much as The Golden Mickeys, I still thought it was cute.
Pirate Night
As always with Disney Cruises sailing in the Bahamas and Caribbean, we had a Pirate Night on the Disney Dream. Here’s what we experienced:
- Pirate Night Dinner — All three restaurants serve the same pirate menu tonight. I felt lucky that we were in Animator’s Palate though especially, because there is pirate themed artwork from movies like Peter Pan and Pirates of the Caribbean projected on the screens. (The other two restaurants don’t have screens.)
- Pirate Characters — On Pirate Night (and often throughout the day) you’ll find unique characters out like Captain Hook and Jack Sparrow. You’ll also get your favorite characters dressed in their pirate outfits.
- Mickey’s Pirates In The Caribbean — This is an evening pirate show on the pool deck meant for kids with Mickey and friends. It’s cute, but we’ve seen it before on the Wish, so we didn’t stay for the whole show this time.
- Buccaneer Blast — Later in the night there was another pirate show on the pool deck with fireworks. This one is aimed at the older crowd, with characters like Jack Sparrow, but younger kids will enjoy it too. I’ll be honest though, we really tried to stay up for this one but just couldn’t make it after a long day.
Day Time Entertainment
Disney Cruise ships always have SO much daytime entertainment! There is always something going on.
Your Disney Cruise Line navigator app will show you everything going on, from trivia contests to family game shows to special events in the kids clubs.
I’ll be honest though, I wasn’t as impressed with the onboard offerings for our Dream sailing as I have been with previous cruises. I think a lot of this had to do with our day at sea being a Marvel Day at Sea, so the activities were different.
But one of my favorite trivias, Disney Tunes Trivia, was only offered once on the cruise and it was at the same time as our showing of Beauty and the Beast. And other activities I was interested in tended to happen at inconvenient times.
Lots of people had plenty of fun with the activities on board though! I think it was probably just me and my interests that didn’t align on this particular cruise.
Live Music
The Disney Dream also has some great live music! You’ll live music in the Atrium most nights, and in the evenings most of the lounges have different live music ranging from reggae to piano to cover bands.
My favorite though is the Disney Victrophonics that performed in the Atrium one evening. They play swing versions of Disney songs and were seriously so fantastic!
Marvel Day at Sea
Not all Disney cruises have special days at sea, but our cruise on the Dream happened to include a Marvel Day at Sea.
And here is where two things are true at the same time: I am not a giant Marvel fan so many of the activities weren’t that exciting to me AND Disney did an excellent job with the day.
On a Marvel Day at Sea EVERY activity is Marvel-themed. You’ll find Marvel trivia, Marvel character meet and greets (which people stood in VERY long lines for!), and even the Diaper Dash was renamed the Little Heroes Dash.
We also had a Marvel-themed menu for our dining that night (it was pretty good!)
It was all so well done and the Marvel fans on our cruise seemed to be LOVING it.
But while I like Marvel movies fine, not being a big fan of them made me wish there had been some more general Disney Cruise activities offered that day as well.
Kids Clubs & Activities
As with the other Disney Cruise ships, there are four dedicated kids spaces on the ship:
- It’s a Small World Nursery — This is the babysitting for kids ages 6-months to 3 years. But unlike the other kids clubs, this one was is an extra cost and does require a reservation.
- Oceaneer Club & Oceaneer Lab — For kids ages 3-10. The Oceaneer Club has several different themed areas: Marvel, Tinkerbell, Star Wars, and Toy Story. The Oceaneer Lab is a spot with lots of tables for arts and crafts and activities. And while these are technically two different spaces that sometimes have different hours, they are also joined and are often open so gets can go between the two freely.
- Edge — This is the tween club for ages 11-14 However, you can also sign a waiver for a younger kid to be allowed in if they are close to the age cut off (this is what we did for our 10-year-old). It’s a pretty small space, but it has video games and card and board games. Plus the counselors there often have activities going on. It also shares a pool deck with the Vibe (they take turns using it).
- Vibe — This is the teen club for ages 14-17. It’s larger than the Edge and has a big screen for video games, some really cool seating, and is just overall a great place for teens to hang.
Pro Tip: Lines to check kids in and our of the Oceaneer’s Club can get LONG, especially around dinner time. So plan accordingly, and maybe make sure you pick your kid up extra early before dinner. Kids in the Edge and Vibe can check themselves in and out.
Senses Spa & Salon
The Senses Spa & Salon on the Disney Dream offers salon services, spa treatments, and a workout room (which is open free of charge to all guests).
While I didn’t have the best spa experience when we sailed on the Magic, for our time on the Dream I decided to get a pass to the Rainforest Room.
And let me tell you! What a magical experience!
The Rainforest Room is a relaxation space for adults that offers saunas, hot tubs, special themed showers (like a shower that imitates a tropical storm), and heated stone loungers.
I LOVED this space so much. And while I intended to get a day pass, I ended up getting a cruise-long pass and am so glad I did!
I especially loved that the hot tubs looked out over the ocean. And one of my favorite things was going to sit in the sauna, cool off in the shower, and then soak in the hot tub after dinner one night. It made me feel so extra relaxed going to bed!
Service on the Disney Dream
The level of service on Disney Cruises is one of the things Disney Cruise Line is best known for. And the service on the Dream did NOT disappoint!
I’ll be honest: When we cruised on the Disney Wish I was not as impressed with the service as I was on the Magic. But the Dream brought the standards back up again. Our stateroom host and dining room servers took such good care of us and were so friendly!
Disney Dream Itineraries
The Disney Dream offers a variety of itineraries. The most common itineraries are three, four, and five-night Bahamian Cruises.
But in 2026, the Disney Dream is returning to Europe with sailings in Spain, Italy, Greece, Norway, and England.
Would I Sail on the Dream Again?
Honestly, I would 100% sail on the Dream again! I enjoyed everything about the ship itself, from the dining to the shows to the actual physical spaces.
And I would especially be inclined to sail on the Dream if it was on a different itinerary than what I’ve done before! (Europe anyone???)
Really I liked this ship so much more than our sailing on the Wish, because to me there is just something about the classic feel of the earlier Disney Cruise ships.
What’s Next?
- Learn How to Plan a Disney Cruise
- Get Your Disney Cruise Packing List
- Compare Disney Cruises to Disney World
- Read About Our Time on the Disney Magic
- Read Our Review of the Disney Wish
- Decide if You Would Like Castaway Cay or Lookout Cay Better
Like this post? Save it for your Disney Cruise!
