By Sam Bleecker

What’s an old-guy-with-hat (read geezer) doing sailing solo with 300 kids on the Disney Dream, the line’s newest ship laden with pixie dust?
Having a heck of an unexpectedly good time!

Fun goes viral on the Dream.  In fact, cruising aboard the animation-rich Dream is like floating in a 130,000-ton, 14-deck-high toon.

Besides running into Minnie or Mickey, where else would you find teenagers talking to framed cartoon pictures … and getting answers.  Or have a turtle swim up to you on the wall in the Animator’s Palate restaurant and ask: “Hey Dude, where you from?”

The Animator’s Palate is one of Dream’s more innovative dining rooms and the vessel’s artistic showpiece, where the walls spring to digital life with Disney characters. In all, the 4,000-passenger Dream is an elaborate fantasyscape mixing the real and imagined.

Here, even faux portholes come alive and, while inside an inside cabin, you not only see the sea around you, but also on occasion an animated Disney creation from “Finding Nemo” or even Dumbo, the elephant, floating by.

Fifty-plus Myona Link from Colleyville, TX, confides that “Disney is the happiest place on earth.”  After 19 Disney cruises, she and hubby David know of what they speak.  As Mr. Link admits, “Disney brings out the kid in me.”

On the Dream (as elsewhere in the line’s three-ship fleet), passengers, too, seem to have been sprinkled with pixie dust.  Whole families ply the decks decked out like pirates from the Caribbean, replete with eye patches, black beards and rattling sabers.   Even adults wear two-foot-high Mad Hatter hats or sprout mouse ears.

For the Dream, Disney’s Imagineers worked overtime for four years to make you dizzy with delight.  One night, they’ll dazzle you with fireworks; on other nights, with SRO poolside shows or signature films for the whole family; and, for the kids, a playroom floor that detects motion and comes alive with thrilling animations.

Cleverly, the Imagineers divided the Dream essentially into three sections – for the young, the family, and adults-only – so that everyone can escape into his or her unique Disneyscape.

Each offers something special.

Kids and teens scurry to the “Small World Nursery” and the “Oceaneer’s Club.”  For adults, a sybaritic poolside oasis overflows with hot tubs; and, several decks below, the District — a night-time playground of bars, lounges and clubs — is chock-a-block with live entertainments such as bands, singers, and a piano bar.

For the family and everyone else, there are pools — Donald’s family pool, Mickey’s children’s pool, and Nemo’s Reef for toddlers, as well as a Goofy’s Sports deck and an Arr-cade bloated with video games.

Perhaps the most imaginative of the water diversions is the 4 ½-deck high AquaDuck, a 765-foot water coaster with 10,000-gallons-per-minute of white-water rapids that courses 12-feet over the vessel’s sides, some 150-feet above the ocean.

Among all the magic dished out, Imagineers have not ignored cuisine, either.  Besides several casual dining venues and the Animator’s Palate — where diners sup within ever-changing walls — the Dream also offers two themed main restaurants, including the Versailles-inspired Enchanted Garden and the Cinderella-inspired Royal Palace.  Passengers sample each of these on a rotating basis throughout the vessel’s three-, four-, and five-night Bahamian cruises.

For special dining experiences, the Dream also boasts two exceptional adults’-only restaurants (with a surcharge).  One, Palo – named after the colorful poles that line the canals of Venice – offers Italian specialties and seating for 152 inside and 24 al fresco.  The other, the posh and intimately designed Remy, with seating for 96, indulges the palate with sublime French cuisine and a price tag equally rarefied; here each of seven tasting plates is paired with a fine wine at a surcharge of $175 per person (including the wines).

With such attention to detail and to passenger whimsy, it’s hard to imagine what the Imagineers left out.  Maybe those surprises will come with Disney’s next ship, the Fantasy, in 2012.

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Holy Cow! Not much surprises me but this does.   For the first time ever, Disney Cruise Line will set sail from three new ports in 2012 – New York, Seattle and Galveston, Texas – making the Disney family cruise vacation more accessible to guests around the country.  Additionally, the cruise line will offer more choices than ever before with several new itineraries planned.

2012 New York Schedule

Beginning May 25, 2012, the Disney Magic will sail a total of 20 cruises from New York – including eight-night cruises to the Bahamas and five-night cruises up the New England coast to Canada plus two-night cruises that will give a sampling of the Disney Cruise Line experience over a weekend.

2012 Galveston Schedule

Beginning Sept. 22, 2012, the Disney Magic will sail 12 seven-night cruises from the Port of Galveston to the Western Caribbean. Ports of call include Grand Cayman and Mexico’s Costa Maya and Cozumel.

2012 Seattle Schedule

Beginning May 28, 2012, the Disney Wonder will sail a total of 14 seven-night cruises from the Port of Seattle to Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, Alaska, as well as Victoria, British Columbia.

2012 Los Angeles Schedule

The Disney Wonder is scheduled to continue sailing seven-night Mexican Riviera cruises from the Port of Los Angeles for the majority of the year – throughout winter, spring and fall. Additionally, the Disney Wonder will sail four seven-night Pacific Coast cruises from Los Angeles (on Sept. 16, Sept. 23, Sept. 30 and Oct. 7), calling on San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico. For the first time, the Disney Wonder will offer a special 15-night voyage to Hawaii from Los Angeles, calling on Hilo; Kahului, Maui; Honolulu, Oahu; Nawiliwili, Kauai and Ensenada, Mexico.

2012 Port Canaveral Schedule

The Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream will continue to sail a variety of Caribbean and Bahamian itineraries departing from Port Canaveral. The Disney Fantasy will depart on her maiden voyage March 31, 2012, and will sail out of Port Canaveral on seven-night Caribbean itineraries – alternating eastern (St. Maarten and St. Thomas) and western (Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel).  Special Eastern Caribbean sailings in November and December 2012 stop at St. Thomas and San Juan, Puerto Rico. All Disney Fantasy itineraries include a stop at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. The Disney Dream will sail three-, four- and five-night cruises from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.  Five-night itineraries include two stops at Castaway Cay.

NOTE: As a New Yorker I can proudly say that our city warmly welcomes everyone including animals, birds, reptiles and rodents.  However he may want to avoid our latest non-human celebrities:  Bronx Zoo Snake and several falcons.

To learn more about Disney Cruise Line or to book a vacation, guests can visit disneycruise.com, call Disney Cruise Line at 888/DCL-2500 or contact their travel agent.

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Seasickness does exist and is probably the primary reason people avoid cruises. The best definition of what mal de mer is comes from the U.S. Coast Guard: “Motion sickness occurs when the brain receives conflicting signals from the areas of the body that detect motion. This conflict typically results in motion sickness.”

It’s important to keep in mind that you’re less likely to get sick in some areas of the world than others. The Caribbean is frequently calm as a lake because the islands act as a barrier to the Atlantic Ocean. Rivers and canals guarantee smooth sailing. If you’re prone to motion sickness, I recommend avoiding the oceans of the world, especially the Atlantic.

Here are some steps you can take to decrease – or eliminate – seasickness.

1) The position of your cabin. One of the big ironies of shipbuilding is that the higher the cabin, the higher the price will be. However, the higher you are on a ship the more acutely you’ll feel the rocking and rolling of the ship. Cabins with the least motion will be found mid-ship on the lowest passenger deck. On his honeymoon cruise in Europe, my brother asked for access to crew quarters so he and his wife could wait out a major storm. They sat on the floor mid-ship and weren’t seasick in the least.

2) Prescription Medication. The Transderm Scopolamine Patch is the primary prescription medication. The patch is placed behind your ear before boarding the ship. The common side effects are blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and dry mouth. Be sure to consult your physician before trying this drug.

3) Over the Counter Medication. Most people have excellent results with Bonine, which is found in pharmacies. The medication only works if you take it prior to rocky seas and some people start taking the medication the day before the cruise departs.

4) Ginger. I used to think this was an old wives remedy but it isn’t: even the U.S. Coast Guard recommends ginger as a motion sickness remedy. You can buy it in the supermarket or in tablet form. Many cruisers take a bag of candied ginger.

3) Sea-Band is a non-medicated wristbands which relieve motion sickness by acting on acupressure points. Tested by the Australian Yacht Club, many cruisers swear by these bands. They are available in pharmacies and aboard most ships.

4) The ship’s doctor. If all else fails, you can head for the ship’s doctor who will administer a very expensive but highly effective antihistamine injection. You’ll probably sleep for a day or so but it sure beats seasickness.

5) Aboard ship. An officer gave me invaluable advice when I felt queasy aboard ship. Eat crackers and apples (to absorb the acid in your stomach), avoid fluids and do not lie down. Go outside on deck and stare at the horizon (not the waves!) and avoid enclosed areas such as elevators.

Have you been seasick? Which remedies worked best for you?

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Disney leaps to the front of the cruise industry’s competition of who can build the world’s most exciting cruise ship: In New York yesterday, Disney Cruise Line execs announced that its newest ship, the 2500-passenger Disney Dream, will boast a 765-foot water coaster, “AquaDuck!,” a ride spanning four decks of the ship.

When she enters service in December, 2011, Disney Dream will feature additional innovative features such as inside staterooms with “virtual portholes” (images from cameras outside the ship are broadcast on the “window”) plus “Enchanted Art” that comes alive when passengers admire pieces and life-like interaction of Disney characters on a 103-inch plasma screen.

*** The “AquaDuck water coaster, which starts on Deck 16 includes 333 of river rapids and a track extending over the edge of the ship about 150 feet above the water. Boarding floatation devices, passengers are propelled through the attraction by high-powered water jets at a speed of 20 feet per second.

*** A separate adult “district” with a pub, piano bar, a champagne bar and the “sky bar”, with changing views of famous cities such as New York, London and Paris.

*** Disney is adding two new restaurants, the Royal Palace and Enchanted Garden, to the ship’s roster of themed dining rooms. Inspired by the gardens of Versailles, the Enchanted Garden has the atmosphere of a conservatory with a nighttime sky lit by sunsets and twinkling stars.

*** The new Cabanas restaurant with boasting casual fare will feature 16 specialized food stations including sushi, pizza, pasta, stir-fry, grilled specialties and desserts. During the day the restaurant is a self-service buffet; in the evenings, the space transforms into a table-service casual dining experience with entrees cooked to order.

STATEROOMS

Some 90% of Disney Dream’s staterooms will have private balconies and 500 cabins will have connecting doors adjoining staterooms for families who wish to stay connected. Standard inside and outside cabins will be 220 square feet and all will have a bath and a half, 22-inch LCD flat screen TV and iPod docking stations. The 22 suites will have two bathrooms, 42-inch high-definition LCD television and Blu-ray disc player.

ITINERARY

Disney Dream’s inaugural voyage is scheduled January 26, 2011 when the ship will commence three and four-night cruises from Port Canaveral. During the summer the ship will move to four and five-night voyages. Sister-ship Disney Fantasy will commence service in mid-2012 also sailing from Disney’s Florida port. All itineraries include a day at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private Bahamian island, which is being enlarged with expanded family beach, water platform and beach cabanas.

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