Welcome aboard, Carolyn! It sounds like you've got a dreamy cruise with Disney coming up soon! It's a great idea to familiarize yourself with the layout of the ship before you board so that when you arrive you're ahead of the game.
Disney Cruise Line's website has the
deck plans available for all four of their pixie-dusted ships. There you can choose the Dream and view deck by deck, all of the venues, as well as your own stateroom location to get a sense of how things are laid out. One thing I learned early on is that when you're in the long stateroom hallway, there is a secret in the carpet to guide you. You'll see maps in the carpet of the globe with the Disney ships on it. If you walk toward the North of the map, you'll be headed Forward. If you walk toward the South of the globe, you'll be headed Aft. I use this every time we sail because even after so many cruises with Captain Mickey, I still get turned around in those stateroom hallways!
Another helper you'll want to have is the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App. Download this free app to your mobile devices before you set sail and you'll have the listing of activities and events, ship maps, menus, Character Greetings, and so much more, right at your fingertips. You may also be interested in two of the ship tours that will really help acquaint you with the Dream. On the first day, check your Navigator for the Walking Ship Tour. This is a basic tour that will show you how to navigate the ship. But, my favorite is the Art of the Theme Show Tour, which takes guests around the ship but also fills you in on the Imagineering behind the spaces and how they were designed to flow from one to another. It's so interesting! I've taken it on all four ships and love learning about how they were all planned and designed.
Have a great cruise, Carolyn!
Marcy