10/19/13 Wonder. Galveston to W Caribbean.

[Piper23]

I started looking last night at some 2014 sailings. Haven't even been on this one, my first cruise, and I'm already ready to book another!

 

[F&A]

Couldn't pass up the price. We just booked this cruise too. It will be me, my wife Ashley and our son who will be a few week short of turning 1.

We all cruised out of Galveston on the Magic back in April/May. So convenient we couldn't pass it up. We have a soft spot for the Wonder since we got married on her back in 2009.

Frank

 

[61maris61]

.....or maybe just on life support!

I'm surprised there's not more posts on here, but I guess the Facebook page is receiving most of the info. Dis Boards are a very useful forum for info, but this thread is quite inactive compared to other cruises we've done.

 

[1025cruise]

Yeah, I keep hearing crickets here. I guess everyone is talking on Facebook. Too bad for those of us that choose not to use Facebook.

 

[cisobe]

I've been checking both fb and here. Ive also been checking cruise critic. I got my room assignment this morning. Booked a 7A gty and got assigned a 5A!

 

[Hakele]

Yeah. We are over on facebook, though it isn't overly active over there either.

 

[Piper23]

Excursions-
What port adventures are you signed up for?

We are doing:
Jamaica - Chukka Jungle River Tubing Safari
Grand Cayman - Tiki Beach
Cozumel - Salsa & Salsa

 

[1025cruise]

For us, in Jamaica we are doing a horse and buggy ride. We are undecided on Grand Cayman. We've been before, so we've done the tourist thing (Hell, Turtle Farm). We might just stay on the ship that day. For Cozumel, we are doing the Tequila tasting.

 

[browneyes3]

Hey all

We are excited to be cruising to Mexico & Jamaica. We just found this board tonight. Not sure what fe is but no thank you to facebook. I tried to post earlier today but it didn't go to post.

Did I say we are newbies to DLC? This is our first......wish they were not leaving Galveston.

Ttyl

 

[61maris61]

Hey all

We are excited to be cruising to Mexico & Jamaica. We just found this board tonight. Not sure what fe is but no thank you to facebook. I tried to post earlier today but it didn't go to post.

Did I say we are newbies to DLC? This is our first......wish they were not leaving Galveston.

Ttyl

Welcome to the thread for our cruise! FE's are Fish Extenders - you can do a search on here or on Google to find a full explanation. It's a nice idea, but a lot of work which, thankfully, my DW is doing.

 

[Justacruiser]

Howdy everyone. Booked today for the 10/19 cruise. Third cruise out of Galveston since they started cruising here. I see a lot of folks are new cruisers, if any of you have any quesitons, let us now. Only 52 days till we sail!

 

[61maris61]

Howdy everyone. Booked today for the 10/19 cruise. Third cruise out of Galveston since they started cruising here. I see a lot of folks are new cruisers, if any of you have any quesitons, let us now. Only 52 days till we sail!

First of all, thanks for your service to our country. Please know it's appreciated.

Do you spend time in Galveston before/after cruises? We're cruising with our 4 yr old DGD, staying the night at Hotel Galvez. Spent some time on Cruise Critic and got lots of advice - looking at dinner Friday at either Rainforest Cafe or Bubba Gumps, unless you might have a favorite Galveston spot a 4 yr old would enjoy.

 

[browneyes3]

Thanks for the welcome, sure I will Google fish extender to find out what that means. Funny we thought maybe family exchange b/c of gifts? (·;

 

[Hakele]

That's essentially what it is.

 

[Justacruiser]

First of all, thanks for your service to our country. Please know it's appreciated.

Do you spend time in Galveston before/after cruises? We're cruising with our 4 yr old DGD, staying the night at Hotel Galvez. Spent some time on Cruise Critic and got lots of advice - looking at dinner Friday at either Rainforest Cafe or Bubba Gumps, unless you might have a favorite Galveston spot a 4 yr old would enjoy.

I haven't spent any time in Galveston. Howver, I don't think you can go wrong with either place as far as food quality goes. The Rainforest Cafe will have the noise and lights, so you might want to consider that with a 4 yr old. Some love it, some cry. Bubba Gumps won't do anything for your child except provide nurishment. Bucket of Trash is good!

The other 2 times I departed Galveston, I drove down in the middle of the night and arrived at port an 11am. Driving down from Oklahoma is about an 9-10 hour drive. Might have to stay overnight this time.

You should be able to get into the port at 1100. Boarding started around 11:45 for both of our cruises. The Beach Blanket Buffet should be open at 1200. We always do that and then hang around deck until 1:30 when the rooms are open.

 

[F&A]

You should be able to get into the port at 1100. Boarding started around 11:45 for both of our cruises. The Beach Blanket Buffet should be open at 1200. We always do that and then hang around deck until 1:30 when the rooms are open.

We are driving from Dallas, so about half your drive it sounds. Took less time to get there when we sailed on the Magic in May. Check in was very quick and we basically walked on the ship at noon. This cruise, we are going to leave a little later and try to walk on closer to the 1:30 time so we can head to the room. Our kid will be two weeks short of 1 year then and he will have probably hit the wall by them. He handled the drive well last time but he didn't nap well and we paid for it the first night.

 

[61maris61]

Having done cruises where we often had 20 or more posts each day, I find this thread to be quite laid back. DW is keeping up with the Facebook page and preparing FE gifts. Seems very few, however, are commenting on excursions and activities. We haven't settled on any definite excursions ourselves yet; Cozumel might be meeting up with a relative staying at a nearby All-Inclusive. Grand cayman (with our 4 yr old DGD), might be the turtle farm.

Side question: Disney seems to cut its port times shorter than other cruise lines we've sailed ( reduced time in port reduces excursion possibilities). Anyone else notice this?

 

[1025cruise]

I didn't notice, but I didn't look either. As I've said before, we've been to two out of the three ports previously, and decided on this cruise mainly based on the fact that it was the only Saturday to Saturday out of Galveston to fit a family function in Houston when we get back.

 

[61maris61]

Excursions-
What port adventures are you signed up for?

We are doing:
Jamaica - Chukka Jungle River Tubing Safari
Grand Cayman - Tiki Beach
Cozumel - Salsa & Salsa

Starting to narrow down our excursion possibilities. Tiki Beach in Grand Cayman sounds like a possible, although I think our 4 yr old DGD would enjoy the Turtle Farm more. I would book either of those through Disney because, from what I've read, cruisers who book excursions through Dis get the first tenders, while others have to wait.

Falmouth: looking at a beach excursion there through a private company; If we do a beach there, it makes us lean more towards the Turtle Farm in Grand Cayman. Cozumel: my dear BIL & SIL are spending a week at an All-Inclusive near Cozumel while we're there, so we might meet up with them, or book an All-Inclusive beach trip with a water park for our DGD.

Having a 4 yr old with us greatly cuts down options for two reasons: 1). many excursions are adult only or ages 6 & up; 2). can't take a 4 yr old on a Zip Line or river rafting for 2 examples.

 

[61maris61]

By the way, I've always found that the time waiting for a cruise drags by slowly and helps create stress. Here's some ideas on how to relieve stress until its cruise time:

When someone says, "Have a nice day!", tell them you have other plans.

Drive to work in reverse.

Call up your local pizza place, ask for toppings they won't possibly have (elephant ears, chocolate covered grasshoppers, zebra stripes). See how many you can ask for before they hang up on you.

Buy one of those horsey things on a stick and run around your neighborhood shouting, THE BRITISH ARE COMING! THE BRITISH ARE COMING!

Buy an inflatable boat, have dinner in it on your front lawn, tell neighbors you're practicing for your cruise.