November 24, 2012 Magic

[JanDave]

Just browsing and found two Galveston port webcams. Next Saturday, the 22nd, we will be able to see the Magic from one or both of these cams.


http://www.galveston.com/pier23cam/

http://www.galveston.com/cruisecam/

Jan

 

[Juliemomma]

A week ago a cruise wasn't even on my radar, but 24 hrs after seeing the awesome military rate for this cruise, we are on board! We will be traveling with hubby, DS (3), dd (6) and my mom and dad. We are super excited! Our first cruise ever!

 

[dmzhrice]

What a great way for you, your dad and family to get through the holidays this year. It's a great way to celebrate your mom's life, as well.

Jan

So true!

 

[dmzhrice]

Janet,
My 14 yr old daughter is very much into musical theater. I would love for her to be able chat with your daughter on the cruise! Let's see if we can hook that up!

 

[bafore]

Just browsing and found two Galveston port webcams. Next Saturday, the 22nd, we will be able to see the Magic from one or both of these cams.


Jan

I am interested to hear how things work out of Galveston and what people think of that cruise.

Can someone explain the Fish thing for me a little more? Thanks

 

[JanDave]

Fish Extenders - a gift exchange among a group of cruisers. FE gift exchanges are 1 per cabin or 1 per person and delivered on a specific day or throughout the cruise. Participants are given a list of participating FE staterooms.Examples of gifts are something from one's home state, pirate themed, cruise themed, Disney/DCL themed, CDs with Disney/DCL music, home made, etc. Here is a photo of a fish extender on the fish hook outside each stateroom.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/embarkationday-3/p52184-day3-photos-embarkatio.html

Here's a link to some FE gift ideas:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2473209


Jan

 

[wickedpixie13]

A week ago a cruise wasn't even on my radar, but 24 hrs after seeing the awesome military rate for this cruise, we are on board! We will be traveling with hubby, DS (3), dd (6) and my mom and dad. We are super excited! Our first cruise ever!

Hi Julie! I'm a Julie too and have a 5 yr DD going on the cruise, as well as 1 yr old DD. And my dad and stepmom (and hubby too). DCL is an awesome line to start cruising with. We loved it last year.

 

[kmcford]

I will go ahead and start the FE list but if someone else really wants to I will be glad to hand it over.


If you would like to participate in the FE please PM the following info:

First name of all who want to participate (please also specify gender)
Age of all participating
Stateroom Number
Favorite Disney Charater

 

[JanDave]

Welcome Julie and Family! Glad you're cruising with us.

Jan

 

[allisophie]

need some help from the locals since we are driving down and not familiar with the area
,
it's been decades since we were in TX and that was the Dallas area....

i am going to start searching for hotels for our pre arrival on Friday the 23rd, I can read trip advisor reports until i am glassy eyed, so here I am asking the locals on this trip.. HELP !

 

[txncrzn]

need some help from the locals since we are driving down and not familiar with the area
,
it's been decades since we were in TX and that was the Dallas area....

i am going to start searching for hotels for our pre arrival on Friday the 23rd, I can read trip advisor reports until i am glassy eyed, so here I am asking the locals on this trip.. HELP !

I'm a Houstonian but don't know how much I can help i can be unless you plan on staying in Houston. If you plan on staying in Galveston I found a thread called "all things Galveston updated 9/8" which has lots of good information. I would include the link but I'm using the iPad app and dont know how to do that. Not sure how long you plan to stay for per-cruise but Galveston is a nice little place to check out for a couple of days. HTH a little at least.

 

[dleighb]

My husband and I and our friends and their two daughters (ages 3 and 6) will be on this cruise. My husband and I sailed on the Disney Magic in 1998 for our first cruise. We've only been on two other cruises since then (HAL and NCL), and we are excited to be returning to our maiden voyage cruise ship. Sadly, we couldn't get the same room as we wanted a connecting room with our friends.

I am patiently (okay, not really) waiting for the first cruise from Galveston to return. I would like to see if we could find out the restaurant rotation to know what nights are "show" nights in the restaurants since I've heard that Animator's Palette only runs one night that you are assigned to it.

We have a shore excursion booked with Captain Marvin's to go to see the stingrays since the cruise excursions don't allow children under 8. We're going to the ruins in Costa Maya, and then my husband and I have the Secret River booked in Cozumel although the jury is still out on that one as to whether or not will do that one.

I'm so glad to be returning to DCL. I've heard rumors that the ship is "dated" but honestly, I always felt it was dated being that it was modeled after the old cruise liners. That's what I loved about it. The other cruises were nice, but I never felt their style matched the whimsical elegance of Disney.

 

[LynneH]

need some help from the locals since we are driving down and not familiar with the area
,
it's been decades since we were in TX and that was the Dallas area....

i am going to start searching for hotels for our pre arrival on Friday the 23rd, I can read trip advisor reports until i am glassy eyed, so here I am asking the locals on this trip.. HELP !

I also live in Houston, but have never stayed in Galveston. I know the cruise has pre-cruise arrangements with Hotel Galvez. Nice hotel and well rated on tripadvisor. Another option, depending on your arrival plans is to look at Clear Lake. This is a town (suburb of Houston) north of Galveston. NASA is located there. It may be cheaper and offer something different. I'll be glad to field any questions, but I've not been to Galveston recently.

 

[JanDave]

My husband and I and our friends and their two daughters (ages 3 and 6) will be on this cruise. My husband and I sailed on the Disney Magic in 1998 for our first cruise. We've only been on two other cruises since then (HAL and NCL), and we are excited to be returning to our maiden voyage cruise ship. Sadly, we couldn't get the same room as we wanted a connecting room with our friends.

I am patiently (okay, not really) waiting for the first cruise from Galveston to return. I would like to see if we could find out the restaurant rotation to know what nights are "show" nights in the restaurants since I've heard that Animator's Palette only runs one night that you are assigned to it.

We have a shore excursion booked with Captain Marvin's to go to see the stingrays since the cruise excursions don't allow children under 8. We're going to the ruins in Costa Maya, and then my husband and I have the Secret River booked in Cozumel although the jury is still out on that one as to whether or not will do that one.

I'm so glad to be returning to DCL. I've heard rumors that the ship is "dated" but honestly, I always felt it was dated being that it was modeled after the old cruise liners. That's what I loved about it. The other cruises were nice, but I never felt their style matched the whimsical elegance of Disney.

Welcome!!!

You cruised during the Magic's inagural year of cruising. My DH and I did, too, although we cruised in July 1999.

Usually, the first dinner you are in Animator's Palette is when you will see the show.

As far as the Magic being dated, it is still a very well maintained ship. There's a current thread on the main DCL board discussing this. We were on the Dream a few months ago. Although the Dream is beautiful and high-tech, there's a special draw I have to the classic ships, the Magic and Wonder. After next year's Mediterranean cruises, the Magic will be in dry dock for about 6 weeks for extensive renovations. Also, this week as the Magic is making its way to Galveston, it is a work week for the CMs.

Can't wait until 11/24/12 when we board that beautiful ship!


Jan

 

[dleighb]

You cruised during the Magic's inagural year of cruising.

I was a Travel Agent at the time. I had my cruise booked about two years before we sailed! In fact, the original cabin I had booked never got built, and they had to move us. When we called to make our reservations for this cruise, I dug out my Castaway Club card and gave our number to the res agent. She put us on hold for a long time, and when she came back, there was apparently a lot of excitement because none of them there had ever seen a number that low before.

My husband and I ended up not having kids, so I am looking forward to going with our friends' kids and seeing the magic of Disney through there eyes. The 6-year old told me the other day that she was "concerned" (her word) that she might not get to see Cinderella. I don't remember that many characters on board in 1998, but then I wasn't really looking. I hope that Cinderella is a regular.

I am making just a couple magnets for our doors. I had something poster size designed and then decided that I wouldn't want it stolen, so I shrunk our design to page size. At least if it does get stolen, it won't be a big deal. I think the girls will really like it though. I put a lot of Disney princesses on it for them.

Our friends have only taken one cruise on Princess. I hope that they love the Disney Magic as much as we do. I'm ready to be back on a classic looking ocean liner where the decor doesn't make me feel like I've stepped into some psychedelic hookah lounge. And I am glad that we are going again during Christmas decorations. My friend is a huge Christmas lover and I know she will love the Disney decorations. Funny. I've yet to ever be on a ship that isn't decorated for Christmas! Do they still do the tree lighting ceremony on the first night?

 

[JanDave]

Cinderella is a "regular"! One morning, there is a princess meet and greet in the atrium. Character info will be in the Navigators and on a screen in the atrium. Also, there is the character breakfast - characters are Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale.

 

[wickedpixie13]

Be sure to get there early for the Princess meeting, or at least send one person into the line. On our Alaska cruise it was so popular that they had to cut the line off and add another one so the princesses could get a break. And I highly recommend letting one person wait in line and the other take the kids walking around. My DD couldn't stand in the line as long.

 

[JanDave]

Be sure to get there early for the Princess meeting, or at least send one person into the line. On our Alaska cruise it was so popular that they had to cut the line off and add another one so the princesses could get a break. And I highly recommend letting one person wait in line and the other take the kids walking around. My DD couldn't stand in the line as long.

That is this granny's "job" when cruising with grandkids! I usually get in line about 10 minutes before the start time.

Jan

 

[dleighb]

Oh, seeing a thread on Galveston reminded me that the day of disembarkation for our cruise is the same day of Dickens on the Strand. So, if someone has *very* late flight out of Houston and wants to kill some time that morning in Galveston, store your luggage and head over to the Strand to catch some Victorian Christmas fun. When we go, we normally dress up, but DH said we weren't hauling my elliptical hoop costume complete with big hat for wearing off the ship on Saturday. This will be my first time to Dickens on the Strand in modern dress. Hope I can handle it!

 

[kmcford]

We are all booked for Captain Marvin's in the Caymans and tropicante in Costa Maya. Still debating which dolphins in Cozumel.