October 13, 2012--Magical Galveston Cruise!!!

[shaned]

Hey BettyBeBop - husband and I will be on the cruise, we are on deck 6. Like you glad it's only an hours drive to Galveston.

 

[babynurse]

We are going too!!!

 

[2boogersmom]

Hey SpfAkf-
Have you always been in Shreveport? I lived there from 1985 - 1992 while my dad was a minister at one of the churches there and attended Centenary from '85 - 90. Even taught there a couple of years before moving back home to the Houston area.

WOOHOO!!!!! 340(ish) days to go! That means LESS THAN A YEAR!!!

 

[LD NURSE]

Babynurse! I'm so happy you are going!!! I can't wait!

 

[ukintheus]

Hi everyone!

I just switched our dates from the 10/27 sailing to this one We are on deck 6 also It's me & DH in one stateroom and my Mum and sister in another. It will be my Mum's first cruise, my sister's 2nd but first with Disney and our 4th.

So happy to be able to do a Disney cruise without the flight! We are in Magnolia, just outside Houston, so not a difficult drive for us at all. It's going to be handy to be able to buy water & booze and bring it on with us rather than have to do the grocery/liquor store stop in Orlando.

We are on late dining rotation (I think) LOL We've done both, but with no children the late dining worked better for us. I found myself too sleepy to sit through the show AFTER I'd eaten, we were in bed early every night with the early dining.

 

[BettyBeBop]

Hi Jenny! I live in Tomball! Welcome aboard! I am on deck 7. I can't wait. I am like you - looking forward to being able to shop here before the cruise for my carry on extras. LOL

I ended up calling and switching to early seating for dining. I had late dining on the Dream in October and found that I really did not like the rushed feeling it gave me to go see the show before I ate. I may end up wishing I had left it late, but we shall see. ;-)

 

[2boogersmom]

We are early dining (main?), as well. I was afraid if we did late seating we would be too full from dinner to enjoy a bedtime snack from room service!

 

[ukintheus]

Betty Sue - Tomball is a stomping ground for me, we're on the Waller side of Magnolia rather than the Woodlands side I was just in Tomball this morning!

Now I am pondering the dining because it late worked better for DH and I, but it may not work so well for Mum, who will be 84 at the time of sailing. I may go ahead and change it, as it's usually easier to switch to late than it is to get early.

 

[shaned]

Husband and I have early dining rotation. Jenny where abouts on deck 6 are you booked for?

 

[ukintheus]

Deana - We are right by the aft elevators, don't remember the room numbers off the top of my head, but starboard side.

Edited to add: BTW, when I went to change dining, I had already booked us for the first seating so somewhere along the way I got smart for an instant!

 

[shaned]

I don't know the terms for the different sides of a ship, but we are in 6076. went back and looked it up and we are on the port side mid ship

 

[oienfam5]

Hello all. We booked this date on our last cruise Oct 22,2011. This will be our third Disney Cruise.

We are a party of 8 total. My five, Me, DW, DD (15), DS (12) and DS (6)
The other 3 will be my Father and mother and my Aunt ( mom's sister)

We are from South Dakota so the short drive will be from the airport and then to Galveston. What is the best place to fly into and hotel to stay at by the port or in Galveston a couple of days early.

Has anyone done fish extenders in the past?

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

 

[ukintheus]

Hello all. We booked this date on our last cruise Oct 22,2011. This will be our third Disney Cruise.

We are a party of 8 total. My five, Me, DW, DD (15), DS (12) and DS (6)
The other 3 will be my Father and mother and my Aunt ( mom's sister)

We are from South Dakota so the short drive will be from the airport and then to Galveston. What is the best place to fly into and hotel to stay at by the port or in Galveston a couple of days early.

Has anyone done fish extenders in the past?

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Wow on two counts! One that you are flying all the way from South Dakota, and that there will be 8 of you!

Houston has two airports, Bush Intercontinental (IAH) is on the north side, and is served by most of the major carriers. Houston Hobby (HOU) is on the south side, closer to Galveston, but is served by fewer carriers.

As for hotels in Galveston, the San Luis and the Hotel Galvez are probably the nicest (also $$$) on the Island, although there are plenty of other options, including your usual "name brand" types. If you have a car, and will be parking at port it would pay to map them out. If you are not planning on driving to the port then I would do a search on hotels that offer shuttle, or maybe someone else may have some information. We've never sailed from Galveston before so I don't have any recommendations really on one over another from that standpoint.

We've done fish extenders on our first trip, but we're one of the few that found that it wasn't for us, the time pre-cruise to get it all together and the time on the ship to distribute just didn't "add" to our experience, but I know that we are in the minority on that and perfectly understand everyone's viewpoint.

 

[oienfam5]

ukintheus

Is there an excursion at one of the ports on the western to do a zip line?

Also what other excursions do you recommend? I am always up for some adventure and fun.

Have you been to the ruins and if so is it worth it?

I think it would be cool to see.

Thanks

 

[ukintheus]

ukintheus

Is there an excursion at one of the ports on the western to do a zip line?

Also what other excursions do you recommend? I am always up for some adventure and fun.

Have you been to the ruins and if so is it worth it?

I think it would be cool to see.

Thanks

In 2010 there was an excursion in Cozumel that included ziplining. We didn't sign up for it, but some of the other DISers did, unfortunately (in November) the weather was so bad that day that almost all excursions were cancelled. We did the cooking class. It was one of the few that didn't get cancelled that day, and it was a LOT of fun! The fact that the adult beverages were included made it hilarious!

On Grand Cayman we did an independent excursion with Captain Marvin's which I highly recommend. They picked us up very close to where the tenders drop off. We did the half day tour which stops at Stingray City and then 2 other snorkling spots. The staff were great, and we really enjoyed it. Not sure what we are going to plan this time as we'll have my Mum (83) who won't be up for snorkling, but would sit and watch everyone else.

Haven't been to the ruins, but you should check out some of the reviews from 7 day Western's as lots of people do. We may think about that this time around. My understanding is that it's quite a haul to get from the island back to the mainland to see the ruins, but that there are some smaller ones on Cozumel itself. I haven't looked into it since we were there in 2010 so my memory might be off on that one!

 

[oienfam5]

In 2010 there was an excursion in Cozumel that included ziplining. We didn't sign up for it, but some of the other DISers did, unfortunately (in November) the weather was so bad that day that almost all excursions were cancelled. We did the cooking class. It was one of the few that didn't get cancelled that day, and it was a LOT of fun! The fact that the adult beverages were included made it hilarious!

On Grand Cayman we did an independent excursion with Captain Marvin's which I highly recommend. They picked us up very close to where the tenders drop off. We did the half day tour which stops at Stingray City and then 2 other snorkling spots. The staff were great, and we really enjoyed it. Not sure what we are going to plan this time as we'll have my Mum (83) who won't be up for snorkling, but would sit and watch everyone else. :laughing

Haven't been to the ruins, but you should check out some of the reviews from 7 day Western's as lots of people do. We may think about that this time around. My understanding is that it's quite a haul to get from the island back to the mainland to see the ruins, but that there are some smaller ones on Cozumel itself. I haven't looked into it since we were there in 2010 so my memory might be off on that one!

Thank you for the reply. I will look at the trip reports. Unfortunately we will not be able to meet on this cruise. We have changed our cruise to the fantasy the same week just leaving out of Port Canaveral. I noticed that it has the same stops and also castaway cay which our family really enjoys.

Hopefully we can catch up on another trip.

 

[ukintheus]

Thank you for the reply. I will look at the trip reports. Unfortunately we will not be able to meet on this cruise. We have changed our cruise to the fantasy the same week just leaving out of Port Canaveral. I noticed that it has the same stops and also castaway cay which our family really enjoys.

Hopefully we can catch up on another trip.

Sorry to hear you won't be on our cruise, but you will have a great time on the Fantasy and I don't blame you for wanting the stop at CC. The only reason we are doing this Magic sailing is because it is out of Galveston (only a short drive for us). Have a great time on the Fantasy!

 

[TCCDad]

Hey everyone.

We are looking into joining you on this cruise. All up to when DW can get vacation. We are going to book it Friday.

It will be DW, DS 7 and DS .4(8 & 1 at the time of the cruise) and myself.

We are lucky to be driving from Round Rock. Thank goodness for a Galveston departure.

We have been on 3 Disney Cruises previously and have loved all of them, except for the room across from the DIY laundry room on the first cruise.

At Cozumel we did the Telum excursion and loved it. It great to look at the ruins and it even had some beach factored it to the time allotted us. We had a lot of fun. Just don't walk on the walls as I did, it is frowned upon. It is one of the longer excursions so it might not be for the wee ones.

 

[TCCDad]

Wow on two counts! One that you are flying all the way from South Dakota, and that there will be 8 of you!

Houston has two airports, Bush Intercontinental (IAH) is on the north side, and is served by most of the major carriers. Houston Hobby (HOU) is on the south side, closer to Galveston, but is served by fewer carriers.

As for hotels in Galveston, the San Luis and the Hotel Galvez are probably the nicest (also $$$) on the Island, although there are plenty of other options, including your usual "name brand" types. If you have a car, and will be parking at port it would pay to map them out. If you are not planning on driving to the port then I would do a search on hotels that offer shuttle, or maybe someone else may have some information. We've never sailed from Galveston before so I don't have any recommendations really on one over another from that standpoint.

We've done fish extenders on our first trip, but we're one of the few that found that it wasn't for us, the time pre-cruise to get it all together and the time on the ship to distribute just didn't "add" to our experience, but I know that we are in the minority on that and perfectly understand everyone's viewpoint.

We have done fish extenders an we loved it. Can't wait to do it again this cruise.

 

[ukintheus]

Hey everyone.

We are looking into joining you on this cruise. All up to when DW can get vacation. We are going to book it Friday.

It will be DW, DS 7 and DS .4(8 & 1 at the time of the cruise) and myself.

We are lucky to be driving from Round Rock. Thank goodness for a Galveston departure.

We have been on 3 Disney Cruises previously and have loved all of them, except for the room across from the DIY laundry room on the first cruise.

At Cozumel we did the Telum excursion and loved it. It great to look at the ruins and it even had some beach factored it to the time allotted us. We had a lot of fun. Just don't walk on the walls as I did, it is frowned upon. It is one of the longer excursions so it might not be for the wee ones.

Welcome and glad to see another joining our cruise. Hopefully your wife can get her vacation worked out for it. I agree that the Galveston departure is just too good of an opportunity to pass up.