Countdown Cruisers - Ringing in the New Year on the Disney Wonder - 12/31/2013

[ultimate_ed]

Hi, everyone! I'm Lisa and we're new/super-green/know-very-little first-time cruisers. My husband and I will be on the NYE cruise with my daughter (28) and our 2 sons (8 & 4). The cruise is a Christmas surprise for our boys and I can't wait to see their faces when they find out on Christmas morning!

....

Welcome aboard! I'm not doing the FE group either, so don't worry - there's already plenty enough to do.

This is our second cruise and we're also taking advantage of this being a sailing out of Galveston to make a drive down from Houston. Sadly, as was noted, Disney isn't likely to return to Galveston, though it's their own fault for trying to operate mostly while the kids are in school.

You'll find plenty of good info here to help prepare - though, being "local" there's a whole lot less to worry about.

Make sure you've got your birth certificates for the kids, unless you happen to already have passports.

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

I don't have my navigators for previous cruises, but when we were on the Wonder in September on a 7 night cruise, Friends of Bill W met at 8:30 am every morning in the Outlook Café, which is on deck 10 forward. You can also get to it by going into Cove Café on deck 9 and then taking the stairs.

These boards have more information about how to enjoy a Disney cruise than you will ever be able to go through before we sail! My advice is to find something that you can pack easily so that the boys can wear pirate costumes of some description on pirate night. It's a fairly big deal, and once they see others dressed up they will want to be in on the fun. Some adults also dress up, but we tend to stick to just using the bandanas that they hand out in the dining rooms that night. Every day in the evening you will get a navigator delivered to your stateroom that lists all of the activities for the next day - it's your go-to guide for what is going on, and so make sure you read it to see what will interest you. If you need another copy and can't find your stateroom host, they also have them to pick up right at Guest Services. Just plan on having a great time, do whatever strikes you as fun! Room service is complimentary (the few things that are not are soda, chips, candy etc and they are listed separately), and that's always fun for the kids to do at least once. You can order ice cream Mickey bars free from room service, even though they aren't on the menu.

Thank you for the warm welcome and the info on meetings! I've read a couple of stories about no one showing up at the meetings, but even if that happens, I'll be okay. Just wanted to let any other fellow recovering folks know that they won't be the only ones if they are looking for this particular support while they're on board. I'll be there, even if it's just me!

I'm so sad to hear about Disney not sailing out of Galveston in the future. I was looking at flights to other ports last night (for a possible future cruise) and, yikes, this may be our only Disney cruise for a long time. I wish I'd been paying attention all along. I did talk with a DCL rep about some other items a while back and he said they're not sailing out of Galveston in 2014 (except January). I didn't realize that it may be permanent.

Thank you for the info on the Pirate Night also. Good to know that not all adults dress up. I was about to buy costumes for everyone and it would be nice to only do it for our boys, and save the money I would have spent on the adults to spend on some other things. The kids will definitely want to be a part of it! Oh my gosh, I can't wait to see them and experience all of this with them, my husband, and my daughter. It will be the BEST!

Thanks again to everyone for all the information!

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

Welcome aboard! I'm not doing the FE group either, so don't worry - there's already plenty enough to do.

This is our second cruise and we're also taking advantage of this being a sailing out of Galveston to make a drive down from Houston. Sadly, as was noted, Disney isn't likely to return to Galveston, though it's their own fault for trying to operate mostly while the kids are in school.

You'll find plenty of good info here to help prepare - though, being "local" there's a whole lot less to worry about.

Make sure you've got your birth certificates for the kids, unless you happen to already have passports.

Thank you for the info! Everyone has a passport/birth certificate, except me. I'm in the process of straightening it all out. Nothing like the last minute!

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

I think that (sadly) there is little hope that DCL will come back to Galveston.

I had heard (and I can't remember where) that the passenger cruise ships' port was going to move a little north into Galveston Bay so that it can be on the mainland and not on the island. I thought the problem was that this tiny island can't support the volume of travellers needing accommodation and transportation from the Houston airports to the Galveston port (with only 1 rental car company on the island). I guess I heard wrong.

I have so many questions and haven't had time to read all of this very informative thread, but I look so forward to our first cruise, especially because it is a Disney cruise!

Lisa, the one piece of advice that I was so grateful I was given on our first cruise was even if you don't know when you might cruise again, and even if it's not even on your radar, if you can afford to tie up a little $$$ on a credit card, it is worth every penny to book your next cruise while onboard (unless of course you don't like it ). The savings are substantial and the deposit is fully refundable, so it's a win-win. You will see people on the DISboards talking about bookmark cruises...they pick a random future date to book their next cruise so that they can lock in the discount. It costs nothing to change the date and still have the discount apply.

That being said, my travel agent sent me an email yesterday to say that DCL has introduced a new policy that bookmarked cruises have to be sailed within 18 months of the initial booking. I guess people kept pushing their bookmark reservation further and further into the future. Don't quote me on the new policy, it's just on my mind because we got the email yesterday.

Thank you for the info on the Pirate Night also.

As I mentioned in a previous post, definitely buy a little something for the boys for pirate night. It doesn't have to be pricey. I just picked up an eye-patch/sword combo from Party City for maybe $5. On our second DCL cruise, I accidentally left it at home, and ended buying the cheapest pirate thing I could find on board...the same eye-patch/sword combo for $15.

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

That being said, my travel agent sent me an email yesterday to say that DCL has introduced a new policy that bookmarked cruises have to be sailed within 18 months of the initial booking. I guess people kept pushing their bookmark reservation further and further into the future.

Here is a link I found about the policy change. I didn't realize it also stipulates that you can only modify it once...


www. examiner. com / article/disney-cruise-line-changes-onboard-booking-policy

 

[ukintheus]

I had heard (and I can't remember where) that the passenger cruise ships' port was going to move a little north into Galveston Bay so that it can be on the mainland and not on the island. I thought the problem was that this tiny island can't support the volume of travellers needing accommodation and transportation from the Houston airports to the Galveston port (with only 1 rental car company on the island). I guess I heard wrong.

You are right that the Port of Houston has opened the Bayport Cruise Terminal which is north of Galveston. It is now in competition with Galveston for cruise traffic and Princess have already started sailing from it. Once DCL leave Galveston Carnival will be the only line sailing from there, with Princess and Norwegian using the Bayport terminal.

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

Lisa, the one piece of advice that I was so grateful I was given on our first cruise was even if you don't know when you might cruise again, and even if it's not even on your radar, if you can afford to tie up a little $$$ on a credit card, it is worth every penny to book your next cruise while onboard (unless of course you don't like it ). The savings are substantial and the deposit is fully refundable, so it's a win-win. You will see people on the DISboards talking about bookmark cruises...they pick a random future date to book their next cruise so that they can lock in the discount. It costs nothing to change the date and still have the discount apply.

That being said, my travel agent sent me an email yesterday to say that DCL has introduced a new policy that bookmarked cruises have to be sailed within 18 months of the initial booking. I guess people kept pushing their bookmark reservation further and further into the future. Don't quote me on the new policy, it's just on my mind because we got the email yesterday.

As I mentioned in a previous post, definitely buy a little something for the boys for pirate night. It doesn't have to be pricey. I just picked up an eye-patch/sword combo from Party City for maybe $5. On our second DCL cruise, I accidentally left it at home, and ended buying the cheapest pirate thing I could find on board...the same eye-patch/sword combo for $15.

Thank you! I would definitely like to take advantage of that discount and was hoping to see about booking a future cruise for next year or spring break of 2015. I'm thinking we'd have to fly to Port Canaveral if we want to do another DCL cruise. I'm still in mourning that they are leaving Galveston. We saved all year just do this upcoming cruise and adding airfare, transfers, and hotel to the mix just seems so daunting. :/

Still, we are going to make the best of the cruise we ARE able to go on and enjoy, enjoy, ENJOY it!

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

Thank you! I would definitely like to take advantage of that discount and was hoping to see about booking a future cruise for next year or spring break of 2015. I'm thinking we'd have to fly to Port Canaveral if we want to do another DCL cruise. I'm still in mourning that they are leaving Galveston. We saved all year just do this upcoming cruise and adding airfare, transfers, and hotel to the mix just seems so daunting. :/

Still, we are going to make the best of the cruise we ARE able to go on and enjoy, enjoy, ENJOY it!

I hear you whole heartedly. It gets very expensive. Luckily because DH flies so often for work, we usually have enough flight points to get 2 or 3 of us to our destination, but yes, it is a daunting cost. Food for thought, we always fly home the day we dock, so we never pay for a hotel after the cruise. Even when docking in Canaveral, you can get from the port to Orlando airport in about an hour, so catching a flight anytime after noon is easy. Also, we never use Disney airport transfers, they are much more expensive than renting a car for the day. We pick up at Orlando airport and drop off near the dock, and all cruise lines offer a free shuttle to the ship. I think DCL also sails out of the west coast (San Diego perhaps). We're from Toronto, so east coast is always a better option for us, but this year we wanted to see a bit of Texas.

 

[SerenityNowGirl]

I hear you whole heartedly. It gets very expensive. Luckily because DH flies so often for work, we usually have enough flight points to get 2 or 3 of us to our destination, but yes, it is a daunting cost. Food for thought, we always fly home the day we dock, so we never pay for a hotel after the cruise. Even when docking in Canaveral, you can get from the port to Orlando airport in about an hour, so catching a flight anytime after noon is easy. Also, we never use Disney airport transfers, they are much more expensive than renting a car for the day. We pick up at Orlando airport and drop off near the dock, and all cruise lines offer a free shuttle to the ship. I think DCL also sails out of the west coast (San Diego perhaps). We're from Toronto, so east coast is always a better option for us, but this year we wanted to see a bit of Texas.

SO good to know! I have much to learn about all this cruise business. I'm just so excited, if we love it, I want to be able to start planning for the next one. My boys are growing so fast and I want to make this short time in their lives magical. I raised my daughter as a single mother and we just weren't able to do very much when she was growing up. So I'm bringing her too! Better late than never and she is THRILLED! She lives in NYC, but will be down here visiting us for Christmas.

 

[BraveCruiser]

Well, we are getting close now! Less than three weeks to go. I think I gave up on trying to lose weight and will just buy some new clothes for the cruise!

We are on B2B cruises so I'm interested to see what happens the day in between the 12/27 cruise and this one. We are in the same cabin so we're hoping not to have to pack and unpack. People have told me that's how it goes.

We're so excited for NYE onboard!! Are people planning on any special hats or anything? I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have to be creative between now and then (especially with Christmas in between).

Is there anything set up yet for a meet and greet? We are really looking forward to our vacation on the Wonder!

 

[ksloane]

Is it too late to sign up for a fish extender group? Thanks!

Sorry. You did miss the FE group signups.

Hi, everyone! I'm Lisa and we're new/super-green/know-very-little first-time cruisers. My husband and I will be on the NYE cruise with my daughter (28) and our 2 sons (8 & 4). The cruise is a Christmas surprise for our boys and I can't wait to see their faces when they find out on Christmas morning!

I have so many questions and haven't had time to read all of this very informative thread, but I look so forward to our first cruise, especially because it is a Disney cruise! It will be magical for our family, especially our shorties.

I've seen some mention of Disney not docking in Galveston in the future. I know they won't be there in 2014, but is this a permanent thing or does anyone know? I will be crushed if so. We live in Houston and being able to drive to the port is a huge part of how we were able to swing this financially.

One more question, and this is a bit awkward. I'll be looking for "Friends of Bill W." meetings while we're on board. I'm in long-term recovery and just wanted to put that out there in case there are others, so that perhaps I won't be the only one at a meeting. I've tried searching the Disney Cruise Line forum for more info on meetings, but the feedback is hard to come by.

I'm intrigued by the Fish Extender thing. Just not sure how to swing that many gifts and need to read up on it more. I'm more interested in it for my boys. They would flip over something like that.

We are looking so forward to this adventure for our family! We've never done anything like this before, so it will be an amazing experience for everyone. Thank you for all the tips and for being so generous with the info for us newcomers.

ETA: I just read backwards and saw that the FE sign-up is closed. I knew I should have read up on things sooner! Life's been wild the past few months. Maybe next time.

Welcome to the group. I'm sad that I wasn't able to take advantage of more DCL out of Galveston, but being here during school time limited us to vacations and that time period is sooo expensive.

Well, we are getting close now! Less than three weeks to go. I think I gave up on trying to lose weight and will just buy some new clothes for the cruise!

We are on B2B cruises so I'm interested to see what happens the day in between the 12/27 cruise and this one. We are in the same cabin so we're hoping not to have to pack and unpack. People have told me that's how it goes.

We're so excited for NYE onboard!! Are people planning on any special hats or anything? I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have to be creative between now and then (especially with Christmas in between).

Is there anything set up yet for a meet and greet? We are really looking forward to our vacation on the Wonder!

I have given up on losing weight as well.

We're also doing the B2B. We did a back to back summer before last. You shouldn't have to unpack. We LOVED it. I won't be doing anything creative for NYE but thought about running by a party store for just a couple little things, but then I read that Disney gives out a lot of stuff so I don't know. I will probably forget with everything that still needs to be done for work, Christmas, and the cruise.

 

[WomanRN]

Is there anything set up yet for a meet and greet? We are really looking forward to our vacation on the Wonder![/QUOTE]

Bravecruiser, we did decide on a meet and greet awhile back. It will be in the Atrium at 3pm in the Promenade Lounge.

 

[ksloane]

Bravecruiser, we did decide on a meet and greet awhile back. It will be in the Atrium at 3pm in the Promenade Lounge.

Added this to the first post for future reference. Can you believe it's almost here!?!?!

 

[WomanRN]

Called earlier today to request a certain dining rotation and seating arrangement and also found out which movies will be showing during the cruise:

1. Saving Mr. Banks!!
2. Frozen
3. Thor (there was more to this title but I couldn't write fast enough!)
4. Planes
5. Monsters University

there are usually 5 or 6 others that play periodically throughout the cruise as well she said, they are just older movies such as Finding Nemo, Brave, Avengers, etc.

 

[ksloane]

Called earlier today to request a certain dining rotation and seating arrangement and also found out which movies will be showing during the cruise:

1. Saving Mr. Banks!!
2. Frozen
3. Thor (there was more to this title but I couldn't write fast enough!)
4. Planes
5. Monsters University

there are usually 5 or 6 others that play periodically throughout the cruise as well she said, they are just older movies such as Finding Nemo, Brave, Avengers, etc.

Thanks for calling. It was on my list for today.

We've deliberately not watched Thor or Frozen and I was hoping for Saving Mr. Banks! WOOHOO!

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

Thanks for calling. It was on my list for today.

We've deliberately not watched Thor or Frozen and I was hoping for Saving Mr. Banks! WOOHOO!

Saving Mr. Banks is the first item of business for me. Nobody in my family is willing to see it with me, so I am thrilled to be watching it on-board.

 

[ksloane]

Saving Mr. Banks is the first item of business for me. Nobody in my family is willing to see it with me, so I am thrilled to be watching it on-board.

I'll watch it with you!

 

[ukintheus]

Good to know about the movies. Hopefully we can catch at least one, although the time seems to go by so fast, we often have every good intention of going and then run out of time.

The holidays are approaching wayyyy too quickly! I feel like I'll never catch up with getting Christmas done and over with before it's time to pack and head out on our cruise!

 

[ksloane]

Good to know about the movies. Hopefully we can catch at least one, although the time seems to go by so fast, we often have every good intention of going and then run out of time.

The holidays are approaching wayyyy too quickly! I feel like I'll never catch up with getting Christmas done and over with before it's time to pack and head out on our cruise!

I feel the same way.

 

[WomanRN]

Good to know about the movies. Hopefully we can catch at least one, although the time seems to go by so fast, we often have every good intention of going and then run out of time.

The holidays are approaching wayyyy too quickly! I feel like I'll never catch up with getting Christmas done and over with before it's time to pack and head out on our cruise!

I will third that!!! I'm ashamed to say I'm not even finished Christmas shopping yet And I've usually started packing at this point.....NOT!!!