The Best Dream Yet

 Disney Dream receives her bow section - the major piece

of the hull to be welded to the ship.

Photo courtesy of Disney Cruise Line

The more we learn about Disney Cruise Line's newest ship, Disney Dream, the more convinced we are that it will be one of the hottest ships afloat with cruisers young and old.  Being Disney, the line takes obvious pains to cater to the young ones, but it's the amount of jaw-dropping features on this ship, coupled with imaginative and elegant design, that are really starting to turn heads.

 Back in March, we told you about some of the most imaginative public spaces aboard the 128,000-ton vessel.  Due to set sail on her maiden voyage from Port Canaveral, Florida on January 26, 2011, Disney Dream will be 1,115 feet long and have a width of 125 feet - making her just 17 feet shorter in length and 10 feet shorter in width than Cunard's greyhound of the seas, RMS Queen Mary 2.

Now we can tell you about another unique feature that is available aboard this exciting ship: an inside cabin you can see out of.

An "inside" cabin aboard Disney Dream.

Photo-illustration courtesy of Disney Cruise Line

Starting at 169 square feet, these comfortable cabins include all the expected amenities like comfortable Sealy® beds, Frette bath towels, ample closet space, a minibar, and a 22-inch flat panel TV, and even an iPod docking station.

The most unexpected revelation?  A "Virtual Porthole" located above the bed.

So what is a virtual porthole?  Well, it allows you to "see" outside the ship.  Many cruise lines would have gone for a 3D-rendered looping ocean effect, or stock footage of seas and waves, but not Disney.  Instead, the virtual porthole is exactly like it sounds: a virtual porthole that allows you to see outside the ship courtesy of cameras mounted on her exterior.  They even take it one step further: if your cabin is mounted, say, forward on the starboard side, you will see the view from the forward, starboard-side cabins.   If your cabin is located amidships port, you will see the view from cameras that are located -surprise - midships, port.  

Why is this such an exciting invention?  With it, Disney has provided inside stateroom passengers with a unique answer to something they already do.  In an inside cabin, of course, with the lights off, it's always midnight.  So how do you dress in the morning?  You turn your stateroom TV to the bridge camera channel to see what the weather is like.  Now, with the Virtual Porthole, it's as easy as looking out your own private window.

Will these cabins be more popular than actual ocean-view cabins?  Perhaps not at first - but once the word gets out, expect them to be some of the most sought-after inside cabins since Royal Caribbean introduced the "Promenade Stateroom" inside cabins on their highly successful Voyager-class ships.

Excited about the Disney Dream as much as we are?  Hop on over to the Disney Cruise Line site and start planning your trip to meet Captain Mickey in 2011.