In January one of Iglu's cruise experts Fanos Xenophontos was lucky enough to be onboard the inaugural sailing of Disney Cruise Line's latest ship, the Disney Dream, and it sounds like he had a ball...

I missed out on Disney holidays as a kid; growing up, my annual summer holiday consisted of three weeks of being dragged around Cyprus visiting ‘The Family’. Resistance was futile. So being invited onto the inaugural cruise of the latest addition to the Disney fleet, the Disney Dream, I finally had my chance to live the, er, Dream.

Day One

Taking the Disney Magical Express is the easiest way to get from the airport to the cruise terminal and takes around 40 minutes. This being Disney, it was no ordinary cruise terminal but one designed specifically for Disney cruise passengers only, at a cost of a whopping $27 million. The building has hints of art deco which is mirrored in the design of the ship. During the check-in, we had what seemed to be look-alikes from the cast of Glee belting out Disney showtunes.

Even boarding a Disney ship is made into a special occasion because waiting to greet you are around eight crew members, one of whom has a microphone and announces the name of the arriving guests — although it took her a few attempts at my name, and I had to eventually give her a hand! The entrance is decidedly grand, being two stories high and garnished with a huge chandelier. The area also plays host to photo opportunities with Disney characters during the day and live music in the evening.

We had a balcony cabin deck nine, which was near to the lift but still very quiet nonetheless and spacious at 246 sq ft. After a quick look around, we had just enough time to get changed and join the Welcome Aboard Celebration on deck 11 where the cruise staff put on a welcome show with all the popular Disney characters. Deck 11 is also home to the pizzeria and sandwich bar, the pools and the ‘adults only area’ bar and Jacuzzi, which is where we decided to enjoy some champagne as we set sail for the Bahamas.

The evening's theatre show was the Golden Mickeys &nemash; an hour long spectacular featuring popular Disney tunes and characters. On the Disney Dream, you get to dine in each of their restaurants on a rotational basis — our first night was spent in the Animator's Palate. What’s unique about this restaurant is that it's more of an ‘interactive experience’ than the other restaurants. In other words, you’ll be paid a visit by Crush, the turtle from Finding Nemo, on one of the many interactive screens on the walls and have a live conversation with him — you have been warned. After dinner, we paid a visit to the ship's nightclub Evolution where the Disney dancers put on a decidedly less Disney show this time around!

Day Two - Nassau

With only two ports of call for the cruise it’s essential to plan ahead and decide what you want to do. Disney offers an extensive range of shore excursions offering something for everyone, however for us it had to be an unforgettable afternoon of swimming with dolphins. Today was the day to also try the brand new Aquaduck, which is best described as a water-coaster and the first of its kind at sea. You enter the ride on Deck 12 and travel 765 feet above, around and off the side of the ship with an exciting four deck drop, and it also gives you a fantastic view of the ship and the deck below. It was over pretty quick so naturally I had to try it twice. Oh alright, three times...

Entertainment on the second night came in the form of the Villains Tonight show, followed by dinner at the Enchanted Garden restaurant, where the décor is inspired by Gardens of Versailles. Later on there was a fireworks party on deck 11 followed by the Club Pirate Deck party, but we decided to take it easy and went to the Buena Vista Theatre and watched Tron in 3D.

Day Three - Castaway Cay

This is Disney's privately owned island where you’re within five minute's walk of white sandy beaches and clear water! The weather was also the best it had been so far with the temperature in the late 20°s and not a cloud in the sky. The intention was to go kayaking around the island but instead I had a lazy day on the beach (top tip: don’t fall asleep in the sun!).

Back on the ship, we had a quick tour of the other staterooms, which were very impressive, especially the inside cabins which look bright and airy, and provide a spacious 169sq ft. A nice touch is the TV screen above the headboard in the shape of a porthole which displays alternating views.

We decided to give the show a miss and went to the Senses Spa & Salon instead on Deck 11. Another adults only area where you can relax with a sauna and take in the magnificent view of the island whilst relaxing in the jacuzzi. Dinner was at the Royal Palace restaurant, inspired by Disney classic films such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Beauty & The Beast and serves French inspired cuisine. Now for some reason, my friendly waiting staff thought it’d be a really good idea for me to expand my culinary palat and try the snails in garlic sauce. Not my first choice of starter I must admit, but to save further poultry related abuse from my friend, I thought ‘how bad can it be?’. Well to my surprise it tasted a lot like chicken, although I have to say it tasted better than it looked. In fact, I felt like I was doing a jungle challenge with Ant & Dec. The experience was excruciating! As it was our last night onboard we decided to try the champagne bar Pink, which is a really funky and intimate bar, followed by a final visit to the Evolution disco, where dancing wasn’t made easy as we were sailing through a raging thunderstorm (or maybe that was the champagne?).

Throughout the cruise all the staff on board were extremely friendly and always had a smile on their face. Our waiting staff were fantastic, and they also told us they had been in training since December, which just goes to show the amount of effort that goes in to providing the Disney experience. From the cabin, to the food, to the entertainment — everything was five star so it’s not just the kids who will have an amazing experience. It’s certainly something I won’t forget. Even the snails.