Disney Wonder - Galveston to San Jaun - January 20, 2017

[alaskanabbott]

In Texas we have a saying, "if you don't like the weather, stick around a bit and it'll change ". We had snow one day in January a few years back, and the next day it was 75 degrees, sunny and beautiful. I am going to get in trouble for saying that. I am always telling everyone how great Texas is, and I get blamed for the influx of ouslanders migrating in drones down here.
I'm glad you're giving us another chance though.
I am sorry to hear that you're not doing well. I have been doing a bit of recovery myself. I hope it isn't anything to serious. I will be praying for you.
Are y'all wanting to be added to the Harbor House Meet?


My boys started training years ago before my health side tracked everyones plans. What level is Mike?

Yes, add us to the meet! He has been training about a year, but he works on an oil platform week and week, so he is really only home half the time. He has missed every promotion, lol. So he says he is a 3 or 4 stripe....but still stripeless.

 

[pixiehallow]

Thanks for the information. What time is the Harbor House meet? Our flight get's into Houston at 3:54.

We haven't set a time yet. We will need to get everyone's thoughts on that so we can start planning. I am sure you will have a chance to meet up with us if you want to. I can put you on the list so you can be included in the discussion on when, where, etc.....
So did you get to talk to Dee when you booked? She is my favorite. Funny story. I always make mud pie as a long drive snack (more like a guilty pleasure), and I have never had a problem with the boys leaving any left overs. Well, for our last Disney cruise, our oldest did not ride down with us, so we had one less teenager in the car gobbling up chocolate. As a result, we actually had some left over when we were leaving for the boat. I did not want it to go to waste, so I asked Dee if she wanted it. Her first response was that she did not like sweets, but she would take some to share with the staff. Come to find out, she took a taste, and then hid the rest from the staff because she didn't want to share. I have promised to bring her more this time around.

~Tink~

 

[Bbrown]

Has anyone started booking thier shore excursions, I am so overwhelmed. I have been looking at stingray city. (Maybe the turtle farm). I want to book a dolphin encounter any tips or suggestions on where to book would be appreciated. Has anyone done dolphin cove in Ocho Rios?

 

[pixiehallow]

Has anyone started booking thier shore excursions, I am so overwhelmed. I have been looking at stingray city. (Maybe the turtle farm). I want to book a dolphin encounter any tips or suggestions on where to book would be appreciated. Has anyone done dolphin cove in Ocho Rios?

You have 2 options when booking your excursions. They both have pros and cons.

1st: You can book through Disney. Disney excursions are not going to be available to book until your online check in window opens (I listed those dates by groups in post 766).
Pros:
-You will have a guarantee that the ship will not leave with out you.
-You will get a refund if we can not dock, or the excursion is cancelled due to weather or any other situation
that prevents the excursion from being completed.
- Disney works with trusted providers.
- All transportation is included
Cons:
- Disney's price may tend to be higher.
- You may have a more limited selection on what to do.

2nd: You can book with a private vendor (these are usually found through web searches, or referrals). Private vendors can be booked as early as you find them. When we have looked before, the prices do not seem to change depending on the time of booking. The only thing I would say (and this goes for Disney as well), when you find something that you definitely want to do, book it then. Some tours can fill up fast (especially when more than one boat is in port).
Pros:
- Better chance to get a good deal.
- Broader selection of activities.
- Maybe get to see the location from a locals view instead of a tourist view.
- You can do what you want when you want.
Cons:
- They do not always guarantee you will make it back to the ship on time (this is where many of the funny
videos of dock runners come from).
- If the boat does not dock, you will not be guaranteed a refund (most vendors require 24 - 48 hr cancellation
notice).
- If the vendor is not someone that is being recommend to you by someone you trust, you don't know what
you are really going to end up with.
- Many excursions (especially in Cozumel) require you to get to their location on your own (transportation is
not included).

As for dolphin encounters, I have heard great things about the dolphin swim at Chankanaab. I haven't personally talked with anyone who has done Dolphin Cove in the Grand Caymans, but the reviews on Trip Advisor say that it is not an open swim like you are led to believe, and that it is not family friendly. However the Trip Advisor for Ochos Rios sounds much better except for the photo sales.

If anyone has been to either of these ports, and tried these excursions, I would love to hear the reviews. We were interested in finding out others opinions on Stingray City in the Grand Caymans. We did the stingray encounter at Castaway, and loved it.
One excursion in Jamaica, that I have recommend to several friends is Dunn's River Falls. We did this excursion when both boys were younger (youngest was about 3.5) and had a blast climbing the falls. We were not so pleased with all of the pushy souvenir sales people between the top of the falls, and the tour bus. But all in all, the excursion checked all of our boxes (family friendly, fun, exciting, and water play). I have not checked yet to see if Disney is offering this excursion for our sailing. If not, you would need to get an early time for this one to make sure you get back to the boat on time, because the falls are on the other side of the island!

By the way, Happy early Monday!!!! As of tomorrow, we will have only 20 Mondays until our cruise.
I will most likely not be posting tomorrow as I am on a count down to our quick Florida (Disney.....well kind of) trip. Our oldest is graduating college this week , and we get to take a trip out to Florida (Disney!!!!...his college in in Winter Park, but we are staying at Disney) for all of the pomp and circumstance. But before we go, we have a boy scout Court of Honor to attend, a 90 mile trip (180 round trip) for work on a soon to be complete Eagle project, and another 230 mile trip (460 round trip) to pick up a member of our traveling party.
Busy, busy week!

~Tink~

 

[Bbrown]

I

You have 2 options when booking your excursions. They both have pros and cons.

1st: You can book through Disney. Disney excursions are not going to be available to book until your online check in window opens (I listed those dates by groups in post 766).
Pros:
-You will have a guarantee that the ship will not leave with out you.
-You will get a refund if we can not dock, or the excursion is cancelled due to weather or any other situation
that prevents the excursion from being completed.
- Disney works with trusted providers.
- All transportation is included
Cons:
- Disney's price may tend to be higher.
- You may have a more limited selection on what to do.

2nd: You can book with a private vendor (these are usually found through web searches, or referrals). Private vendors can be booked as early as you find them. When we have looked before, the prices do not seem to change depending on the time of booking. The only thing I would say (and this goes for Disney as well), when you find something that you definitely want to do, book it then. Some tours can fill up fast (especially when more than one boat is in port).
Pros:
- Better chance to get a good deal.
- Broader selection of activities.
- Maybe get to see the location from a locals view instead of a tourist view.
- You can do what you want when you want.
Cons:
- They do not always guarantee you will make it back to the ship on time (this is where many of the funny
videos of dock runners come from).
- If the boat does not dock, you will not be guaranteed a refund (most vendors require 24 - 48 hr cancellation
notice).
- If the vendor is not someone that is being recommend to you by someone you trust, you don't know what
you are really going to end up with.
- Many excursions (especially in Cozumel) require you to get to their location on your own (transportation is
not included).

As for dolphin encounters, I have heard great things about the dolphin swim at Chankanaab. I haven't personally talked with anyone who has done Dolphin Cove in the Grand Caymans, but the reviews on Trip Advisor say that it is not an open swim like you are led to believe, and that it is not family friendly. However the Trip Advisor for Ochos Rios sounds much better except for the photo sales.

If anyone has been to either of these ports, and tried these excursions, I would love to hear the reviews. We were interested in finding out others opinions on Stingray City in the Grand Caymans. We did the stingray encounter at Castaway, and loved it.
One excursion in Jamaica, that I have recommend to several friends is Dunn's River Falls. We did this excursion when both boys were younger (youngest was about 3.5) and had a blast climbing the falls. We were not so pleased with all of the pushy souvenir sales people between the top of the falls, and the tour bus. But all in all, the excursion checked all of our boxes (family friendly, fun, exciting, and water play). I have not checked yet to see if Disney is offering this excursion for our sailing. If not, you would need to get an early time for this one to make sure you get back to the boat on time, because the falls are on the other side of the island!

By the way, Happy early Monday!!!! As of tomorrow, we will have only 20 Mondays until our cruise.
I will most likely not be posting tomorrow as I am on a count down to our quick Florida (Disney.....well kind of) trip. Our oldest is graduating college this week , and we get to take a trip out to Florida (Disney!!!!...his college in in Winter Park, but we are staying at Disney) for all of the pomp and circumstance. But before we go, we have a boy scout Court of Honor to attend, a 90 mile trip (180 round trip) for work on a soon to be complete Eagle project, and another 230 mile trip (460 round trip) to pick up a member of our traveling party.
Busy, busy week!

~Tink~

Thanks Tink for all the great info, congratulations on your son graduating, very exciting!
I had already looked up all the options for excursions, I was looking/hoping for more personal experiences.

 

[pixiehallow]

I

Thanks Tink for all the great info, congratulations on your son graduating, very exciting!
I had already looked up all the options for excursions, I was looking/hoping for more personal experiences.

We were originally scheduled to sail out this coming weekend as a graduation trip for him, but his fiance can not miss that much school. So we switched to this cruise to match her schedule, and now our happy graduate doesn't think he will be able to make it if he gets a job in the industry.
We promised to have enough fun for him!!!!
As for personal experience, I think it is alaskanabbot that has been to the Grand Caymans. She could give us some help in that area. In Cozumel, the one time we went to Chankanaab, the boys were to young to swim with the dolphins, but we did get to watch. It was in a lagoon, not a large open area as I have seen for others, but still looked fun. As a side note, their beach is absolutely wonderful. The excursion that we loved there is not being offered by Disney, and is not beach related, so I am not sure how interested you are in an off road (mudding style) buggy adventure. We have only been to Jamaica once, and that was when we did the falls. I don't recall if anyone else has said they have been there or not. I would have to read back through the post to find who you could connect with for that port. Something for me to do while waiting at the airport (I mean aside from teaching a trigonometry lesson .....I think I will choose rereading our thread!!!!). A good group member for insider information on San Juan is Want to Wreck-it. She used to live there.

~Tink~

 

[adamki]

Has anyone taken this cruise in January before? Wondering about the weather. In February we took the Magic on a Bahamas cruise and it was a little chilly.

The cool high temperatures that were reported previously had me a little concerned. It looks like the historical averages are somewhat warmer (thankfully). Fingers crossed for average temps (or better).

Here are the averages for our dates with links to wunderground.com weather history, if you want more detail. The water temperatures are from seatemperature.org, except Cozumel which is from cozumelinsider.com:

​

San Miguel de Cozumel (Airport), January 22

Averg, Record​

Max Temperature 80°F, 87°F(1999)
Min Temperature 68°F, 57°F(2014)
H2O Temperature 81°F ​

Georgetown, Grand Cayman (Airport), January 23

Averg, Record​

Max Temperature 81°F, 86°F(1998)
Min Temperature 73°F, 66°F(2005)
H2O Temperature 79°F​

Falmouth, Jamaica (Montego Bay), January 24

Averg, Record​

Max Temperature 81°F, 87°F (2015)
Min Temperature 72°F, 71°F (2000)
H2O Temperature 80°F​

San Juan, PR (Airport), January 26

Averg, Record​

Max Temperature 83°F, 91°F (1981)
Min Temperature 72°F, 63°F (1956)
H2O Temperature 79°F​

 

[pixiehallow]

I will keep everyone posted on Texas fall (which already seems to be setting in) and winter temps. From previous experience cruising to Cozumel in January, when we have a cold winter, they have cooler than average temps during winter.

 

[pixiehallow]

Now THAT's cute

And practical!

 

[pixiehallow]

Happy be-lated Monday to you all. We officially have only 19 Mondays until our cruise.
I am still in recovery mode from our quick Disney (Florida) trip. Talk about crazy...The airline broke my wheelchair on the flight to Orlando. So, now I get to work with their insurance to get a replacement. And, we learned that my husbands new Note 7 is not water resistant (contrary to advertisement). The loss of the phone's functionality did however, lead us to discover all Note 7s are being recalled. On the plus side, I did get reminded of something to pack, which is where today's Forget Me Not comes from.

Today's Forget Me not is clothes pins. I know this sounds silly (when I received them in my first FE, I was puzzled as to why someone would gift clothes pins), but they have several good uses. The top of my list is to hold curtains closed. If you have and ocean view, or a verandah, you will discover on the first morning, that no matter how hard you work at over lapping the curtains, they will still sway apart in the ocean waves, and let piercing light in at 5 AM. Another helpful use is holding wet swim suits (or any other article of clothing that needs to be rinsed out) to the laundry line in the bath room. The inventor of the retractable bathroom clothes line had a good idea, but because you can not lock the length to the exact amount of line that you need to reach the other side, the cord continues to gain length with the weight of each item added to the line. As a result, the wet clothes tend to all slide to the middle and pile up on each other, preventing them from drying (as I am writing this, I am imagining the bird on the wire short at the beginning of some of Pixar's movies). When you attach a clothes pin to each item on the line, they stay put. You can also use the clothes pins to organize loose items, hold something to an FE that otherwise would end up on the floor (he he, then they get a clothes pin as an FE also! ), and you can even use them to hold blankets to bunk beds, or passies to a blanky. I am sure the list goes on, but you get the idea.

Have a great week.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Calling all mixology participants (those who have already said they want to take part, and those who just had that spark of interest flicker). We are getting closer to cruise time, and I need to get a request in for a day and time for our mixology class. If you have a preference, please let me know. I will also try to get a PM going for the group, so we can start a chat for planning.
If you are interested, but have not let me know yet, please shoot me a message, or post a reply. I want to include everyone interested in the discussion.
By the way, we still need 3 people to reach our minimum.

Also, Harbor House group, look for a PM conversation start up soon as well!!!!

 

[MNnice]

I was just sitting down and reviewing numbers for this trip and couldn't remember for sure what I booked our night at the Harbor House for so I called to verify that it was in fact what I had written down and surprise, surprise they had no reservation for me… Back in March I had followed a link on the website and made a reservation but when I looked at my confirmation email it was booked at the hotel Galvez so I called back and they canceled that reservation and supposedly made a reservation at the Harbor House. Assuming that everything was correct after the phone call I never verified an email or wrote down the confirmation number. I mean, how could they really get it wrong the second time? So I thankfully was able to book another room that is a one bedroom suite, slightly more per night than what I thought I had booked but I guess I'm not going to complain since I could still get a room.

 

[pixiehallow]

I was just sitting down and reviewing numbers for this trip and couldn't remember for sure what I booked our night at the Harbor House for so I called to verify that it was in fact what I had written down and surprise, surprise they had no reservation for me… Back in March I had followed a link on the website and made a reservation but when I looked at my confirmation email it was booked at the hotel Galvez so I called back and they canceled that reservation and supposedly made a reservation at the Harbor House. Assuming that everything was correct after the phone call I never verified an email or wrote down the confirmation number. I mean, how could they really get it wrong the second time? So I thankfully was able to book another room that is a one bedroom suite, slightly more per night than what I thought I had booked but I guess I'm not going to complain since I could still get a room.

Oh my goodness. On the up side, that room is the one we had the first time we stayed there (and the one we booked for this time as well), and it is very nice. You will be able to see the boat pull into port from your living room window (that is if you want to get up at 5 AM). With that said, I am thinking that all of the suites are on the channel side of the hotel (I hope I am correct and didn't just set you up for a let down). When you get there, ask to talk to Dee, and explain the whole situation to see if there is anything she can do to help. There is no guarantee that she will be able to make any changes, but if there is anything that can be done, she would be the person to ask.
~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

I was just sitting down and reviewing numbers for this trip and couldn't remember for sure what I booked our night at the Harbor House for so I called to verify that it was in fact what I had written down and surprise, surprise they had no reservation for me… Back in March I had followed a link on the website and made a reservation but when I looked at my confirmation email it was booked at the hotel Galvez so I called back and they canceled that reservation and supposedly made a reservation at the Harbor House. Assuming that everything was correct after the phone call I never verified an email or wrote down the confirmation number. I mean, how could they really get it wrong the second time? So I thankfully was able to book another room that is a one bedroom suite, slightly more per night than what I thought I had booked but I guess I'm not going to complain since I could still get a room.

I just thought of this, did you call the Galvez to make sure your reservation was cancelled at that location?

 

[MNnice]

I just thought of this, did you call the Galvez to make sure your reservation was cancelled at that location?

When I spoke to the harbor house and they tried looking up a reservation using my name they saw the canceled reservation for hotel Galvez just no additional reservation that would've met been made that same day for the Harbor House ...

 

[MNnice]

Oh my goodness. On the up side, that room is the one we had the first time we stayed there (and the one we booked for this time as well), and it is very nice. You will be able to see the boat pull into port from your living room window (that is if you want to get up at 5 AM). With that said, I am thinking that all of the suites are on the channel side of the hotel (I hope I am correct and didn't just set you up for a let down). When you get there, ask to talk to Dee, and explain the whole situation to see if there is anything she can do to help. There is no guarantee that she will be able to make any changes, but if there is anything that can be done, she would be the person to ask.
~Tink~

I'm not too upset because it's only $20-$30 more than what I thought we were paying for the night but my biggest concern is what if I hadn't called to confirm and we got all the way to Texas and realized we had no hotel reservation especially at the place that I had picked out back in March and was excited to meet so many fellow cruisers!!!

 

[pixiehallow]

I'm not too upset because it's only $20-$30 more than what I thought we were paying for the night but my biggest concern is what if I hadn't called to confirm and we got all the way to Texas and realized we had no hotel reservation especially at the place that I had picked out back in March and was excited to meet so many fellow cruisers!!!

It is good to know you are not double booked!

 

[pixiehallow]

Happy Monday!!!! Only 18 Mondays until we set sail!

This weeks Forget Me Not is your Smart Phone, and your tablet (and there chargers). I know, you are on vacation, and you intended to take a break from the real world, and I am on board with that. Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting you go on vacation to work. Quite the contrary. Disney has an app, called the Disney Cruise app (which I recommend you download before you leave home to assure that you have it). The app is free and full of great tools (tools that unfortunately can only be used on board). While on board, through this app, you will be able to access Disney cruises intranet (not to be mistaken with the internet), which will unlock tools that will make life at sea (and port) easier. You will have access to deck plans (so you don't get lost), menus for that nights dinners (this is great for those of us who have members of their family who can never seem to make up their minds about what to eat), and you will be able to view the daily Navigator (you will also get this in print in your room every day, but who wants to keep track of a mini booklet when we already have so many other things to keep track of). The Navigator, for those of you who have never sailed with Disney before, is your guide to everything for that day. It tells you when and where you can find your next meal (be it early mid morning snack, or late second, second lunch), what each age group of the kiddos will be doing at any given time, what movies are playing and when, where to find the character that you just must have an autograph for, when yoga begins, where you need to be for the Dance Party, when the Galley tour starts, ......I could go on, but then this post would be four pages long like the Navigator. Plus a new feature that has recently just been added to the app is messaging. You will be able to send messages to your traveling companions (as long as they have the app on their device as well) through out the trip. This is a nice addition. Disney does offer the 2 wave phones in your room for keeping in touch, but they are not very user friendly, and they have a hefty price tag on them if you loose or damage them. Instead of fighting with those, you can just bring your device (covered in a water proof pouch or cover) and never loose touch.
Charging can be a challenge with several devices being used, and limited electrical outlets in your room. If you have one of the device chargers that you can plug several device into at once, I would recommend bringing that along. You are not allowed to use extension cords, or surge protectors, and I would not recommend leaving a device plugged in while out of your room (just as a security measure).
I am planning to get everyone in our family the water proof cell phone/ tablet cases as a hundred mile gift (gifts given during our drive to our destination...topic for another post). That way, they will not only be able to stay connected and know what is going on when and where, but they will be able to capture their entire trip on the camera on their device. That way, they can pull up pics of their vacation and have a Disney moment at any time with out having to download or print their pictures.
***A side note**** If you do bring your device, make sure you put it on airplane mode as soon as you board. If you forget, you could come home to a HUGE cell phone bill. I have talked with someone who forgot until about day 3, and since his phone was in roaming for all that time, he racked up a $700 bill for those 2 days.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

I received an email when I was in Florida and have been meaning to share it, but I keep forgetting. Galveston.com (the site that many of us looked for information on hotels, shuttles, and island activities) just launched the all-new Galveston.com TV apps.

According to the email I got:

"The travel channel, streaming in almost 3,000 Galveston Island hotel rooms since 2013, is now available as an app...


Galveston.com TV provides current and future Island visitors with comprehensive event and insider information for one of Texas's most historic and enchanting destinations. Broadcasting 24 hours a day with nightlife, restaurant, and attraction reporting, Galveston.com TV is the premier source for local insights on this Island destination only an hour from downtown Houston - all in glorious high definition.

Galveston.com TV Features:

• Includes official travelogues from The Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Upcoming event and festival information
• Dining & nightlife information
• Nature, outdoor, and attraction information

Current Weather Galveston.com TV content providers include The Grand 1894 Opera House, Pier 21, Mitchell Historic Properties, GetMe, The Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum, Olympia Grill at Pier 21, The Kitchen Chick, Moody Gardens, Artist Boat, Waterman's Restaurant, Bayside at Waterman's, and many more."

I am going to download the app today to see if it has anything useful for our trip.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Mngirl80 - I just started a conversation with everyone that said they wanted to take part in the Harbor House meet. The system would not allow me to send an invitation to you to be part of the group. This usually happens when you have less than 10 posts. I am not sure how far you are away from 10. If you make a post, it will say how many post you have under your identity picture and name on the left side of the screen. Once you reach 10, I can send you an invitation so that you can take part in planning the meet.

~Tink~