December 7, 2018, 7-Night Bahamian Cruise from Galveston

[MrsMork1]

First cruise with the kids and first time on here. We are excited and can’t wait for the amazing memories. I know nothing about fish extenders? Should I?

Fish Extenders can be fun. We have participated, but the last few cruises we did not because luggage space became a problem with flying. How to get all that stuff home?? We wound up leaving some of it the last time we participated and thought what a waste that was. The kids do love to see what is in their FE when they return to the room though.

 

[Dumbo625]

This will be my family's first cruise. We are all very excited! I'm new to Disboards, where can I learn more about the fish extenders? I think my 4 yr old would love to partake. Thanks!

 

[Dumbo625]

First cruise with the kids and first time on here. We are excited and can’t wait for the amazing memories. I know nothing about fish extenders? Should I?

I'm hoping to find out about them too!

 

[chinarider]

Hi, all, this thread seems to be very quiet.. Is there another one for this cruise that I am missing. We are fully committed, airfare check, hotel in Galveston check, transportation check....trying to decide which excursions to do...

 

[Sweetpeabass]

Hi, all, this thread seems to be very quiet.. Is there another one for this cruise that I am missing. We are fully committed, airfare check, hotel in Galveston check, transportation check....trying to decide which excursions to do...

Wow, sorry. This is the first notification I received that anyone posted on here. This is the only Disboards for this cruise. People do not seem to use this platform much anymore, which is sad. It used to be so fun to get to know so many others before the cruise and meet I person.

People are using another platform more these days, but I did not care for it and you do not get to chat and get to know each as you do here.

So far, no one here has done the FE, and we are not doing it this cruise. Anyone is welcome to get one going through here, though. It is a lot of fun, especially if you have kids.

We also have cruise paid, airfare done, hotels reserved, and waiting to book reservations on ship. Only a couple months out now or so.

 

[Sweetpeabass]

This will be my family's first cruise. We are all very excited! I'm new to Disboards, where can I learn more about the fish extenders? I think my 4 yr old would love to partake. Thanks!

Yes, the kids love the FE fun. So far, no one has joined this group that has said they would organize the FE. There are FE groups being organized on other platforms, but they seemed a bit stressful in my opinion. When we did them it was so simple.

People join and commit to bringing at least one FE gift for everyone signed up. Sometimes, if a lot of people, they would split into two or three groups. You choose to bring whatever gift for, say, 100 people, and one day you go around the ship to people's st as stories room and drop your gift into their fish extender.

When you get to your stateroom, there always seems to be something new and fun in your fish extender. You can put anything in there. Stickers, candy, key chains, whatever. Many people would bring either Disney related things or things that related to where they were from, which was fun to see, too.

Hopefully someone will volunteer to organize an FE group on this cruise through this platform, that would be great.

 

[MrsMork1]

I've been missing in action here, but busy DCL planning. I was able to book Palo brunch and snag a cabana on Serenity Bay. Two in our group have a tough time walking and need to stay out of the sun. The rest of us love the sun and water, so a cabana is perfect for us. Glad we were able to get it. Brunch is on Sweetpeabass' birthday, so we will get to celebrate her!

 

[chinarider]

Hi, we got Palo Brunch as well. Looking forward to it. Booked excursion for Nassau but plan to do Key West on our own. Vacation is well needed... had neck surgery in May and Hip Replacement last week. Doctor says I should be all healed and good to go by cruise time

 

[MrsMork1]

Hi, we got Palo Brunch as well. Looking forward to it. Booked excursion for Nassau but plan to do Key West on our own. Vacation is well needed... had neck surgery in May and Hip Replacement last week. Doctor says I should be all healed and good to go by cruise time

Hope your healing goes well. Sounds like you can use some pampering and a cruise is just the way to get that!

 

[NOLATRIO]

Hi everyone!!! This will be our 1st cruise and we are really excited and would also like to participate in the FE. I think it will be much fun. Kiddos are ages 8 and 2.

 

[Sweetpeabass]

Hi everyone!!! This will be our 1st cruise and we are really excited and would also like to participate in the FE. I think it will be much fun. Kiddos are ages 8 and 2.

Hi Nolatrio,

This group was never active, not many use DISBoards any more, unfortunately. No one set up FE through here. Another platform is where most people go now, and I know they closed the FE grouos already, unfortunately. I thought it was way too early to close them.

You can still make a hanger for your fish extender and decorate your door with magnets. It is fun and festive.

 

[Munchkin_Mom]

Hello fellow cruisers. This does seem to be a quiet group although it’s likely due to the move to another social media platform that I will go to search for. We just booked this morning - my family and my parents. We’ve been on numerous NCL cruises and this will be our first on DCL. We’ll have three kids in tow - 13, 11 and 9 and if Disney kids club is anything like NCL (and I suspect it is equal or greater to) we won’t even see the kids most of the days. I did get a reservation for Palo to celebrate an anniversary and I think my parents will enjoy an evening with the kids to themselves. Next I will be looking for hotels as we arrive rather late the night before. Most articles I’ve read suggest Ubers to the port and with a group of 7 that does seem more economical than the Disney transfers. We will likely rent a car in Galveston and then drive to San Antonio post cruise to visit some relatives.
Anyway we’re looking forward to (rush) planning this new adventure. If you have any suggestions or tips, please feel free to share.

 

[MrsMork1]

Welcome. Your assumption as to the reasons for this group being quiet is correct. I will say, if your kids like NCL kids club, they are going to be blown away by Disney!! Enjoy Palo, it is amazing! We and a few others are staying at Harbor House, which is right by the port the night before cruise.

 

[DisneyRams]

Well this seems quiet! We just booked today! First Disney cruise ever, which is shocking since I've been to Disney World 30+ times. What do we need to know? Hard to find a ton of info on websites about Disney cruises. We have been on 7 Carnival cruises and those are pretty easy to research. We unfortunately are late to the party here so nothing was available to reserve on the ship. Is that something I can get tickets for once onboard? We have our youngest daughter turning 1 right before the cruise and our oldest daughter turning 3 right after so we are hopeful to get early dining so they can stay awake. We are staying in the Holiday Inn Resort about 7 miles from the port but they have transportation to the port. I am going to check in on the Harbor House as well.

 

[MrsMork1]

Well this seems quiet! We just booked today! First Disney cruise ever, which is shocking since I've been to Disney World 30+ times. What do we need to know? Hard to find a ton of info on websites about Disney cruises. We have been on 7 Carnival cruises and those are pretty easy to research. We unfortunately are late to the party here so nothing was available to reserve on the ship. Is that something I can get tickets for once onboard? We have our youngest daughter turning 1 right before the cruise and our oldest daughter turning 3 right after so we are hopeful to get early dining so they can stay awake. We are staying in the Holiday Inn Resort about 7 miles from the port but they have transportation to the port. I am going to check in on the Harbor House as well.

If you need to switch to early dining, as soon as you board go to the designated spot to make dining changes and Palo brunch or dinner reservations. This has on recent cruises been at Studio Sea which is deck 4 midship right at the top of the stairs from where you enter the ship. But, look at the Navigator that you can get when you check in to be sure where the location is. Check with Guest services for tickets to Princess Gathering and Character Breakfast. Do that first day also. If there are not tickets available, do not stress as there are lots of opportunities for character interactions, just check your Navigator which you will get daily, or you can get it on the DCL app. You will also need to go to the nursery and schedule time there to match your Palo time. There is an excursion desk also if you are wanting to book excursions. You are going to have a wonderful time!! We did our first and we thought only DCL cruise in 1999 and here we are getting ready to sail with them on number 23! We are staying at the Harbor House. It is quiet here, but I would be happy to try to help with anything else you might need.

 

[DisneyRams]

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Thank you so much for the assistance! One think I was wondering about is my port arrival time. I got the 1:30-2 slot however my hotel shuttle is at 11. Will they make us wait until 1:30 or will they check us in and let us on earlier? I know with Carnival it is just a free for all around 11 to get in the ship.

 

[MrsMork1]

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Thank you so much for the assistance! One think I was wondering about is my port arrival time. I got the 1:30-2 slot however my hotel shuttle is at 11. Will they make us wait until 1:30 or will they check us in and let us on earlier? I know with Carnival it is just a free for all around 11 to get in the ship.

Take the 11 am shuttle. They will be letting people board around 11:45-12. By the time you get there on the shuttle, give your luggage to the porters and get through security you should be fine to check in. They board pretty quickly. I think you are going to be blown away by DCL!!