Galveston cruises?

[MeridaMerida]

We have a 4 and 6 year old. We aren't big cruisers and we did Disney with the kids twice. We live in Texas and I was thinking of doing a cruise from Galveston at some point. Has anyone liked the cruises from this port? I'm assuming the boat isn't as nice as the ones in some of the more popular ports.

 

[MichelleCanada]

We have only done 4 cruises (2 on the Wonder and 2 on the Fantasy). The Winder was great out of Galveston! The route we took was very choppy and not smooth. But the ship was great!

 

[daedelus]

We sailed on Wonder out of Galveston, repositioning to San Juan, PR. Had a great time!

The biggest pain with Galveston is actually getting to the port. All of the rental car companies charge a $150 "fee" if you drop off on the island that the port is on. I ended up dropping off my family at the port then going 10 miles up the highway to return the car at a non-fee location then getting an Uber to the port.

 

[BrokeMack]

All of Disney's boats are nice. It's not like Carnival who keeps their crappy old boats in the smaller ports. (I sailed the Carnival Fascination right before she got decommissioned. Her age was showing. That isn't the case with Disney)

 

[BStieers]

We did a group cruise for Christmas this last year, 14 folks ages 7 to 72, everyone enjoyed their time on the ship and the staff was stellar.

 

[Cheburashka]

All Disney ships are beautiful and very well-maintained. Galveston as a port has its issues because it can be rocky sailing out of the Gulf of Mexico, and fog can sometimes delay embarkation and/or debarkation, and it is a bit cooler in winter than coastal Florida. The biggest issue imo is that Galveston cruises rarely go to Castaway Cay these days, and that's DCL's private island which you don't want to miss. If you can find a 7 nighter from Galveston that does go to Castaway Cay, nab it.

The Wonder and Magic are the ships that have or will have itineraries sailing from Galveston, and they are called the "classic" or "Magic class" ships. The Dream and Fantasy are the "Dream class" ships. The Magic and Wonder are mirror images in terms of their staterooms, so if you read stateroom reviews, whatever goes for the Magic will be true for the Wonder and vice versa (the portholes in Navigator Verandah staterooms have a different shape, but that's the only real difference). The same is true for the Dream and Fantasy.

The Dream class ships have some bells and whistles that the classic ships don't have, such as the AquaDuck water coaster (but your kids are probably too young for that, and the classics do have waterslides your kids can use), the Midship Detective Agency virtual scavenger hunt (the classics offer a paper-based scavenger hunt), miniature golf (it's a small course, anyway), an upcharge ice cream/sweets shop (there is still soft serve available 24/7 on the classics for free), and there are virtual portholes in inside staterooms on the Dream class, etc. So there are some extras on the Dream class that you could appreciate after sailing the classics, but it's nothing that makes or breaks a cruise.

There are advantages to the classic ships, too. The adult pool is better on the classics, and there are more hot tubs on the classics. On the Dream class, the family pool deck has no hot tubs, but on the classics, there are two hot tubs on the family pool deck, so you can relax in the hot tub while your kids play in the kids' pool. The staterooms are a bit bigger on the classics. Animator's Palate has a better design on the classics. There are fewer guests on the classics, so Castaway Cay is a bit less crowded when you sail there via a classic ship (although crowding is never really a problem). Both the classic and Dream class ships have the same quality of Disney entertainment. Imo the two best theater shows playing on DCL are Beauty and the Beast on the Dream, and Tangled on the Magic.

The Wish is DCL's brand new ship and it's getting raked over the coals by experienced DCL cruisers, fyi. I recommend getting acquainted with DCL via one of its four original ships. Sailing out of Galveston is a good place to start- no flights is a nice perk.

 

[tinkattitude!]

We've only done the Wonder and Magic so far, and we love them. We took the Wonder on a Christmas Cruise out of Galveston in 2017. Unlike what others have said we've never had choppy/swelly waters out of Galveston (have also taken Royal Caribbean from there) - I'm not sure whether we were lucky or we're just acclimated to cruising at this point (we've done 7 - have our 8th and 9th booked for later this year).
As for the Ships - we like them because they are smaller and easier to navigate than larger ones. Sometimes before a dry dock you can see that there are little things here and there that may need refurbishing, but for the most part they are well maintained and are fun to sail on.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

We have a 4 and 6 year old. We aren't big cruisers and we did Disney with the kids twice. We live in Texas and I was thinking of doing a cruise from Galveston at some point. Has anyone liked the cruises from this port? I'm assuming the boat isn't as nice as the ones in some of the more popular ports.

The Magic and Wonder will be the ships that will likely (continue to) sail to/from Galveston. We've been on both ships out of Galveston and have sailed on the Fantasy and the Dream from Florida. Disney really does keep their ships maintained so although the Magic and Wonder are older, and smaller, they're still just as nice!!

We also live in Texas and I highly recommend you trying out the Galveston Port since you're local! It's nice to drive a couple of hours to the port, park my own car, take my trip and then get home and hop back into my car and be home in 2 hours! No flights, no hotels... bascially door-to-door for us!

What I will say about Galveston is that there can be fog and there can be choppy waters. Also, the staff at the port of Galveston, unfortunately, is not up to Disney standards. I've been disappointed by this every time, but it is what it is.

I took my youngest on her first Disney cruise when she was 6. She barely remembers it now, but she really did enjoy it. It was a great age for her to experience her first Disney cruise. I highly recommend crusing Disney with that age! Grab yourself some Disney princess costumes (if you have girls) and enjoy!

 

[BrokeMack]

What I will say about Galveston is that there can be fog and there can be choppy waters. Also, the staff at the port of Galveston, unfortunately, is not up to Disney standards. I've been disappointed by this every time, but it is what it is.

Do other lines sail out of Galveston year round? I wonder (no pun intended) if it's one of those situations where the port is usually for cargo and the staff don't do passenger experience full-time. Or maybe Disney just has a lock on PC since they've been there for so long and everything else pales in comparison. I've never sailed Galveston, so I'm genuinely curious.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Do other lines sail out of Galveston year round? I wonder (no pun intended) if it's one of those situations where the port is usually for cargo and the staff don't do passenger experience full-time. Or maybe Disney just has a lock on PC since they've been there for so long and everything else pales in comparison. I've never sailed Galveston, so I'm genuinely curious.

Yep, other cruise lines sail out of Galveston year-round. And yes, for sure, that the entire port is for cargo! But DCL has a terminal that they use while they're there (I think that they borrow it from Royal or Carnival, etc.) and the employees are just not what you'd expect from a Disney standard.

I recommend sailing out of Galveston if you're local, despite the experience in the terminal which is a small period of time in the grand scheme of things. Nothing like driving to the port and parking your car - and vice versa on the way back.

 

[BrokeMack]

Yep, other cruise lines sail out of Galveston year-round. And yes, for sure, that the entire port is for cargo! But DCL has a terminal that they use while they're there (I think that they borrow it from Royal or Carnival, etc.) and the employees are just not what you'd expect from a Disney standard.

I recommend sailing out of Galveston if you're local, despite the experience in the terminal which is a small period of time in the grand scheme of things. Nothing like driving to the port and parking your car - and vice versa on the way back.

I was looking at Galveston because we can get a direct flight to Houston. It looks like getting from Houston to the port is a bigger hassle than getting from MCO to PC. Thanks for the info.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

I was looking at Galveston because we can get a direct flight to Houston. It looks like getting from Houston to the port is a bigger hassle than getting from MCO to PC. Thanks for the info.

It's not hassle-less to get around Houston, that's for sure, but it can be done!! If I HAD to fly to get a cruise it would certainly be to PC -- getting to the port of Galveston is time consuming and expensive. Which airport can you get to non-stop? IAH is further away while HOU is about an hour'ish closer to the port.

 

[dcassetta]

Do other lines sail out of Galveston year round? I wonder (no pun intended) if it's one of those situations where the port is usually for cargo and the staff don't do passenger experience full-time. Or maybe Disney just has a lock on PC since they've been there for so long and everything else pales in comparison. I've never sailed Galveston, so I'm genuinely curious.

Carnival and Royal sail year-round from Galveston and Royal is building a new terminal. Disney uses the current Royal terminal.

I was looking at Galveston because we can get a direct flight to Houston. It looks like getting from Houston to the port is a bigger hassle than getting from MCO to PC. Thanks for the info.

If you fly into Houston Bush, Disney does due transfers, but they do not currently offer them from Houston Hobby

 

[BrokeMack]

It's not hassle-less to get around Houston, that's for sure, but it can be done!! If I HAD to fly to get a cruise it would certainly be to PC -- getting to the port of Galveston is time consuming and expensive. Which airport can you get to non-stop? IAH is further away while HOU is about an hour'ish closer to the port.

We can get to either non-stop but prefer SWA for domestic travel, so HOU.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

HOU is so much better (time wise) for cruises out of Galveston. And Southwest is ideal for taking as much luggage as possible!! lol

 

[BrokeMack]

HOU is so much better (time wise) for cruises out of Galveston. And Southwest is ideal for taking as much luggage as possible!! lol

I'm going to attempt a 7-night from a carryon and a backpack next month, but it's nice to know I can check a bag for free if I have to. Suffice to say I will not be participating in the optional formal night.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

I'm going to attempt a 7-night from a carryon and a backpack next month, but it's nice to know I can check a bag for free if I have to. Suffice to say I will not be participating in the optional formal night.

You are one brave individual!

 

[BrokeMack]

You are one brave individual!

And it's HOTHS so I have to bring boots and an Indy fedora.

 

[Gina]

Just a note on the cruise terminal employees thing... It's very possible that the employees staffing the terminal aren't Disney employees, which is why they might not be up to Disney-cast-member-quality. I know for sure for the Royal Caribbean sailings from Galveston, the staff doing the check-ins and whatnot work for a third party company called Intercruises. The two cruise terminals themselves are owned by the city of Galveston and operated by the Galveston Wharves, not the cruise lines. The exception to this is the new Royal Caribbean terminal being built right now, which is a collaboration between Galveston and RCI.

Galveston is a much more bustling cruise port than a lot of people realize! It's the 4th busiest in the U.S., behind only Miami, Port Canaveral, and Port Everglades. I know a lot of people are intimidated by the thought of getting from the Houston airports to Galveston, but it doesn't have to be a hassle. There are shuttles from both airports, and private services such as Galveston Saltwater Moms to easily get folks there and back.

And if you come in a day or two beforehand, or can stay after your cruise, it is a beautiful, enchanting island full of fascinating history, incredible architecture, tons to do, and some of the best food you'll ever eat.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We go at least once a year out of Galveston since it's such an easy drive from Houston. The smaller ships are my favorite (haven't been on the Wish yet). They are very well-maintained and have a very traditional cruiseship feel.

At those ages, my kids were in the kids clubs as long as I would let them stay! They loved it.

We can get to either non-stop but prefer SWA for domestic travel, so HOU.

Not sure where you're coming from, but SWA has added some flights at IAH recently.