After another good night’s sleep onboard the Disney Dream, I woke up just after 7:00am feeling great knowing that we had very little plans for our day at sea ahead. I absolutely love longer cruises with lots of sea days just like this (we have now done three long cruises of ten nights or more over the years) and it felt wonderful to know that we had a day of nothing but relaxation as my legs were still hurting after two days of walking around exploring both Vigo and Lisbon. Thankfully since we had left Lisbon the evening before, the seas had been calm as we sailed out into the Atlantic towards Ponta Delgada in the Azores.

Once we got dressed, we walked down to Vista Cafe on Deck 4 to get a coffee to start off the day before heading over to the hallway of the Lobby Atrium on Deck 3 to meet Princess Minnie Mouse at 9:00am and Princess Daisy Duck at 9:30am as well as Rapunzel who was hanging out on the Deck 4 balcony during that time too.

After getting some photos with the characters to begin our day, we made our way up to Cabanas for a light breakfast of Bircher Muesli with fruit and a Raspberry Danish Pastry which very quickly became my go-to breakfast during this cruise – those pastries are addictive! We sat outside to eat as there was barely a ripple in the sea and the sun was just starting to break through the clouds when Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet which we only ever hear when we’re on a Disney Cruise started playing – it felt like a perfect cruise day at sea already!

After we had finished our late breakfast, we headed down to the Walt Disney Theatre ready for the Gold, Platinum and Pearl Castaway Club Reception which was due to start at 11:00am. This was only the second time that we had been invited (the previous time was on our Hawaiian cruise onboard the Disney Wonder) as it is only offered on cruises that are eight nights or longer. Before we entered the theatre, drinks were being offered – I had a Mimosa – and you could also meet with all of the officers of the Disney Dream at the same time.

Once the theatre was open we managed to get two seats close to the stage and our Cruise Director Anthony started proceedings by telling us there was 550 Gold Castaway Club members onboard, 502 Platinum and 131 Pearl and there was also someone onboard who had sailed with Disney Cruise Line 114 times.

Anthony then introduced Captain Zvonimir who talked about the three new ships – the Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure – that would be joining the Disney Cruise Line fleet in the next year and that the Disney Treasure would be closely following our path across the Atlantic a few days later as she would be leaving Europe and heading over to her new homeport of Port Canaveral. He spoke about the Disney Wonder in Australia and how there would be fourteen Disney ships by 2032. He finished by talking about the brand new Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point that opened in June 2024 where the Disney Dream was due to dock for the very first time the following week on our cruise before arriving into Florida and that he was also excited to get there as it would be his first visit too!

At these receptions they usually show you a behind the scenes look at one of the shows onboard but Anthony said that they decided to mix things up on this cruise so instead we had an exclusive presentation from Don “Ducky” Williams – the famous Disney illustrator whose drawings you will see everywhere throughout the different Disney parks, resorts and cruise ships – who drew his favourite character of Donald Duck whilst being interviewed by Anthony. I loved listening to his story of when he wrote to Walt Disney when he was ten years old to ask for a job and actually received a reply from the man himself saying that they didn’t have any jobs at that time but to make sure to keep practicing his drawing.

We were all given Mickey Rice Krispie treats as we left the Walt Disney Theatre and I was really looking forward to going back a few days later as Don “Ducky” Williams was also doing several more longer presentations throughout the rest of the cruise.

We decided to walk a few laps of Deck 4 to get some fresh air and as we strolling back through the Lobby Atrium we met Ariel who was out for an unscheduled meet and greet.

On our way up to Cabanas for lunch, Captain Zvonimir made his midday announcement to let us know that since leaving Lisbon we had sailed 187 nautical miles and still had 604 nautical miles to go to reach Ponta Delgada two days later and that the sea depth was currently 3500 metres and we were sailing at a speed of 13 knots. He also told us to expect similar weather for the next day at sea and that there was currently no rain forecast for our time in the Azores which was great news to hear.

The roasted sweet potatoes at lunch in Cabanas were amazing but the highlight was definitely the Caramel Panna Cotta as well as the Strawberry Cupcake for dessert which were both incredible – I could have easily eaten a few more!

After a lazy morning onboard, an even lazier afternoon followed so we each got a cup of tea and went and sat outside on Deck 4 with our iPads to watch the world go by. Even though it was sunny with blue skies, it was a little chilly out so I was glad I had my hoody with me. It really was the perfect quiet spot to sit down and sort out (as well as backup) all of the photos that I had taken since leaving Southampton a few days previously.

One top tip that I have discovered over the years is that if the Quiet Cove pool is busy, just head up there late in the afternoon as it is usually a lot quieter especially if Mega Jackpot Bingo is on which it was that day just after 4:00pm. It got even more quieter when nearly everyone else went back inside to start getting ready as it was formal night that evening and the Golden Mickeys was also showing in the Walt Disney Theatre.

After relaxing by the pool and a freezing cold ride on the Aquaduck, we headed back to our stateroom for a hot shower to warm up and get ready for our evening onboard. The lobby atrium was very busy as it was the Captain’s Welcome Reception and complimentary alcoholic drinks including wine and cocktails were on offer. Even though there was a long line to meet Mickey in his formal Captain’s outfit, we decided to join it and once we had met him, we rejoined the line once again to meet Minnie.

After meeting Minnie we walked straight to Animator’s Palate for our dinner and every restaurant on this evening was serving the Freezing the Night Away Menu. I ordered the Arendelle Gravlax and the delicious Sven’s Carrot Soup to start followed by the Lobster Ravioli for my main course. There was no show that night in Animator’s Palate but all of the screens around the restaurant showed different Disney artwork instead.

We skipped dessert as we were both feeling full and after going back to our stateroom to get changed, we made our way to the Oceaneer’s Lab on Deck 5 where there was an Adult Exclusive Open House at 10:00pm for two hours – though that did not stop one family from screaming at the Cast Members at the entrance that they were “going to make her daughter cry” as no one under eighteen was allowed in during this time.

One of my favourite things to do whether onboard a Disney Cruise ship or exploring any of the parks around the world is to look for any references to the Society of Explorers and Adventurers and I found two mentions at the Oceaneer’s Lab onboard the Disney Dream.

After spending way too much time messing around on the amazing Magic Dancefloor, we then played on the navigation simulators in the “Explorer’s Room” where you can attempt to dock and undock the ship at various ports such as Castaway Cay and Nassau. Also at this time Stitch made a quick appearance as many of the adults were learning how to make Space Goo in another area of the Lab.

To finish the night we decided to walk another few laps of a very quiet Deck 4 to help work off our dinner before making our way back to the top decks to get a cup of camomile tea to drink before going to bed.

A frog blanket animal was waiting for us on our bed and before we fell asleep, we remembered to once again turn our clocks back another hour. It had definitely been the relaxing day at sea that we wanted after two busy port days and the best thing was we had another chilled day planned for the following day where we had brunch at Remy to look forward to as well as Pirate Night which is always great fun!

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