Panama Canal Eastbound Sept. 14, 2013--it'll be WONDER-ful

[twokats]

We are going to be at WDW for about 5 days and then cruising on the Fantasy.

Almost an exact match to our vacation in May. DH and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary with an 8 day trip to WDW and then a relaxing day at Cocoa Beach (with a great dinner at Fishlips) before boarding the Fantasy (and it was the 9th official cruise, so it still smelled new!!) for a western to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya & Cozamel. It was great.

Is yours an eastern or western?

 

[oybolshoi]

Happy belated anniversary!

we are on an Eastern, which is our favorite Disney Caribbean itinerary - love the extra day at sea and we adore St. Maarten.

Almost an exact match to our vacation in May. DH and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary with an 8 day trip to WDW and then a relaxing day at Cocoa Beach (with a great dinner at Fishlips) before boarding the Fantasy (and it was the 9th official cruise, so it still smelled new!!) for a western to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya & Cozamel. It was great.

Is yours an eastern or western?

 

[twokats]

Happy belated anniversary!

we are on an Eastern, which is our favorite Disney Caribbean itinerary - love the extra day at sea and we adore St. Maarten.

We had just done an eastern on the Wonder in Dec '10, and the one we were on departed on our anniversary so we thought that was just meant to be. We all loved St. Maarten also so we plan to take other eastern cruises in the future.

 

[oybolshoi]

does anyone know which airport DCL uses in the Galveston area? we purchased transfers but don't have airfare yet and I'm not sure which airport I should be looking for flights from.

thanks!

B.

 

[CrusinLattas]

does anyone know which airport DCL uses in the Galveston area? we purchased transfers but don't have airfare yet and I'm not sure which airport I should be looking for flights from.

thanks!

B.

You can get transfers from both airports.

 

[JanDave]

You can get transfers from both airports.

We're (12 of us) cruising out of Galveston on the Magic in almost 11 weeks and DCL offers transfers from both airports - Hobby and Bush. Transportation to/from Bush is slightly higher as it is a longer distance to Galveston than Hobby. We found round trip van transportation with a pick up at the Marriot South (near Hobby) for a lot less money than DCL transportation.

Jan

 

[MPS516]

Can you St Maarten experts give me some tips ? We are sailing over New Years and that will be our first visit. We are also stopping in St Croix, St Lucia and St Johns if you have any tips about these as well.

 

[JanDave]

Can you St Maarten experts give me some tips ? We are sailing over New Years and that will be our first visit. We are also stopping in St Croix, St Lucia and St Johns if you have any tips about these as well.

We've been to St. Maarten a few times with DCL. Great island! We've gone to a few beaches - no visits to Orient! My DH went on a fishing excursion while docked there and enjoyed it. But, he still prefers fishing at Castaway Cay.

On a visit to St. Johns, we took a DCL excursion from St. Thomas to Trunk Bay - St. Johns - a beach that is often listed in the top 10 in the world. The scenery was amazing.

My DD loved St. Croix on a visit there when she was on the 2010 WBTA with DCL. She, her DH, and their tablemates rented scooters - a spur of the moment decision.

Jan

 

[CrusinLattas]

We're (12 of us) cruising out of Galveston on the Magic in almost 11 weeks and DCL offers transfers from both airports - Hobby and Bush. Transportation to/from Bush is slightly higher as it is a longer distance to Galveston than Hobby. We found round trip van transportation with a pick up at the Marriot South (near Hobby) for a lot less money than DCL transportation.

Jan

I've been looking for non-Disney options! We are on the Oct 6th sailing. What van transportation did you find?

 

[JanDave]

I've been looking for non-Disney options! We are on the Oct 6th sailing. What van transportation did you find?

Renee, I have reserved transportation through transgates dot net. What is nice is that on the day we board the Magic, we don't have to return to the airport for transport, Transgates will pick us up at the hotel. I read great reviews about this company by doing a Google search.

Jan

 

[CrusinLattas]

Renee, I have reserved transportation through transgates dot net. What is nice is that on the day we board the Magic, we don't have to return to the airport for transport, Transgates will pick us up at the hotel. I read great reviews about this company by doing a Google search.

Jan

Thanks! We are driving in October, but next September will be different since we would fly to LA from DFW.

 

[JanDave]

Thanks! We are driving in October, but next September will be different since we would fly to LA from DFW.

Renee and others - I have put in a reservation request for Saturday, September 28, 2013 for a pick up to Hobby Airport with TransGates. There are three of us on this PC cruise and if anyone else would want to join us in getting to Hobby once we deboard the Wonder , let me know and we can rent a larger vehicle.

Jan

 

[CrusinLattas]

Renee and others - I have put in a reservation request for Saturday, September 28, 2013 for a pick up to Hobby Airport with TransGates. There are three of us on this PC cruise and if anyone else would want to join us in getting to Hobby once we deboard the Wonder , let me know and we can rent a larger vehicle.

Jan

We may end up doing that - or renting a car to drive back to Ft. Worth. I've also thought about getting a charter bus back to DFW if we end up with enough people from here to make it a good deal! Glad to see others are thinking the same! We can save more as a group!

 

[Denine]

The 7-day Eastern is our favorite too. We also love that extra sea day. We have been to St. Maarten a few times. I like to shop!

Right now we are just waiting for our trip to WDW next month. F&W Festival, here we come!

I haven't even thought about airports for this cruise yet, let alone transfers! Of course, we are still hoping to even go on it since DH isn't quite comfortable being out of contact with work for that long.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

If your airline operates out of Hobby that is the one I would recommend. It is a smaller airport and I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong, closer to Galveston by a few minutes.

 

[oybolshoi]

Great information and we may also take you up on this offer ... although I don't want to crowd you too much!

We didn't realize Hobby was an option and that makes us much happier - now we can take SW flight back home to STL and it should be cheaper.

We are also talking about flying to LA on Friday and spending the night at the Port - then we could drop the DCL transfers altogether. We've never used them on previous cruises but didn't feel like we had much choice this time around.

Renee and others - I have put in a reservation request for Saturday, September 28, 2013 for a pick up to Hobby Airport with TransGates. There are three of us on this PC cruise and if anyone else would want to join us in getting to Hobby once we deboard the Wonder , let me know and we can rent a larger vehicle.

Jan

 

[twokats]

If your airline operates out of Hobby that is the one I would recommend. It is a smaller airport and I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong, closer to Galveston by a few minutes.

A friend of mine that lives in the area near me used to go down to Houston a lot when her husband was taking cancer treatments and they always used Hobby. I believe it is closer to Galveston and for most that I talk to the more favored since it is the smaller. If we were flying we would choose that one.
We are hoping that our daughter in law and probably our son also, will drive down to pick us up, or if we do decide to fly in they will pick us up at DFW.
But I will make those decisions sometime around February or March.

 

[pdwimmer]

Hi Everyone!

My family and I are just off the Dream for a short getaway and I saw this cruise listed on the upcoming cruises. I see some families close by in Kansas and St. Louis. So I am guessing your kids are in a pretty similar school schedule as mine.

My question is if your kids to OK being taken out of school for 2 weeks. Mine will be 6, 8, 12 and 14 by the time the cruise rolls around. My 8 and 14 year olds didn't even want to come with us this past weekend because they'd miss 2 days of school. How do I convince them to miss 2 weeks?

Thanks for any helpful feedback.

My Best,
Trish

 

[youalleverybody]

Hi Trish,
We homeschool, so it isn't an issue for our kids. Sorry, I know that doesn't help. I personally feel the cruise itself will provide ample opportunity to learn about history, geography, other cultures, engineering, manners...you get the picture.

There are ugly debates about this issue on the boards, and opinions are strong!

Hope you can join us. We have kids near the same ages.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Trish,
My kids are no longer school age. However, I am involved with the school system and can tell you that it is VERY hard for students to miss school and make it up. I might would do one week but I don't know about two.

Check with your school system and see if they offer some sort of Educational travel excuse. This will allow your children to make up any missed work.

If not, I would really have to think hard.