Wonder January 4 2016 Galveston to Puerto Rico

[cemhntr]

We are from beautiful Colorado. (hopefully snowy when we leave in January) And my best friend Shannon and her family (they are coming too) are from Oklahoma.

No, coming in from CA days earlier and staying with family in Houston, then heading the Galveston the day before the cruise.

 

[cemhntr]

I can send you a preliminary copy by email when you send me the address.

cannot email as I don't have 10 posts. Here is my email anyway west.anne.f@gmail.com

 

[gkwylie]

Can't wait until tomorrow when I can officially add excursions!

Does anyone have a good resource for embroidering some cruise shirts? I've found lots of folks on Etsy that will sell designs, but I need someone who actually can do the physical embroidering.

Kim

 

[MommyP]

I'm getting SO excited. We are from Los Angeles haha but not rockstars or famous, yet...this is our 2nd Disney cruise and my 8th cruise overall.

Has anyone booked transportation from IAH to Galveston? We arrive late Sunday night and I will most likely book an airport hotel and get a car service in the morning. I'm hesitant to book the Disney bus because we are trying to completely surprise the kiddos. I think if we take a private car it'll be more magical? Drive up to the port, they can see the ship in the distance and Voila! they'll freak out!!! Or should I just tell them when they wake up, get on the Disney bus and go?

Also I called Disney to ask about formal/pirate night, etc and completely lost the paper where I wrote the info (this keeping a secret thing is tricky)!!! Is formal night usually the 2nd night? And pirate night is the 4th night? Do we have a semi-formal night?

Also the Port Authority page says we'll be in St. Thomas from 0900-1900 but I'm guessing Disney reserved a few extra hours in case we get there early - let's hope. I guess that's one of the stinky parts of a repo cruise - the ship's mission is to get to point B

I booked the Kon Tiki Sightseeing in St. Thomas (it got great reviews and sounds fun) and the Trip to Virgin Gorda. Anyone else book excursions yet?

 

[MommyP]

Can't wait until tomorrow when I can officially add excursions!

Does anyone have a good resource for embroidering some cruise shirts? I've found lots of folks on Etsy that will sell designs, but I need someone who actually can do the physical embroidering.

Kim

I usually order them from etsy...look for the ones that say custom and applique or something like that. I'll search and post a store name if I find a good one

 

[SonicGuy]

I'm getting SO excited. We are from Los Angeles haha but not rockstars or famous, yet...this is our 2nd Disney cruise and my 8th cruise overall.

Has anyone booked transportation from IAH to Galveston? We arrive late Sunday night and I will most likely book an airport hotel and get a car service in the morning. I'm hesitant to book the Disney bus because we are trying to completely surprise the kiddos. I think if we take a private car it'll be more magical? Drive up to the port, they can see the ship in the distance and Voila! they'll freak out!!! Or should I just tell them when they wake up, get on the Disney bus and go?

Also I called Disney to ask about formal/pirate night, etc and completely lost the paper where I wrote the info (this keeping a secret thing is tricky)!!! Is formal night usually the 2nd night? And pirate night is the 4th night? Do we have a semi-formal night?

Also the Port Authority page says we'll be in St. Thomas from 0900-1900 but I'm guessing Disney reserved a few extra hours in case we get there early - let's hope. I guess that's one of the stinky parts of a repo cruise - the ship's mission is to get to point B

I booked the Kon Tiki Sightseeing in St. Thomas (it got great reviews and sounds fun) and the Trip to Virgin Gorda. Anyone else book excursions yet?

DCL website shows us in port at St Thomas from noon-5PM Because of the short time we are just renting a car and going out on our own. We wont have a semi-formal night and to be honest on our last few Disney cruises very few people wear anything more than cruise-causual, even on "formal" nights.

As far as what is which night Im not sure. Never been on a 6 day, just 4 or 7. The website had the information at one point but it has since disappeared.

We are driving in from Dallas on Sunday and staying at the Harbor House hotel right next to the port.

Cant wait to meet everyone!

 

[Gabe]

Hello everyone! We just booked this cruise. We just got off the Wonder from our Hawaii cruise last month and didn't have plans to do another cruise until next September. However, we did Book a place holder cruise just in case. We were looking at the cruises for next year and found this one at an awesome price. We just couldn't pass it up. We have also been wanting to take my elderly parents with us, so this is a good opportunity. It also falls during the last week of Christmas vacation for our little one, so it's perfect that he won't have to miss school (he missed 10 days in September . It is Myself, DW, and two boys. 7 and 18 (not a boy anymore). This will be our 14th DCL cruise and very much looking forward to it. The Wonder is still a beautiful ship. We had a great time last month.

Anyways, we were so enamored with the price that I didn't do a lot of research. We went ahead and booked the cruise, and our flight from LAX into Houston international. Due to the very high prices of weekened flights, probably due to the holiday weekend, we decided to take a 5:30 a.m. flight out of LAX arriving in Houston at 10:30 AM. Very risky I know. We never do a same day flight. In fact we usually arrived one or two days earlier to any port we are leaving from. But since we are leaving from Southern California into Houston, we don't expect any delays due to snow or winter conditions. It Is also a nonstop flight, which eliminates delays at connecting airports. It seemed like a good idea. Little that I know, however, that getting to the Port from Houston it is not the easiest thing in the world. I hadn't realized that from the airport to the port is over 70 miles, that there is traffic going in and out of Houston, which we have to cross through to get to the port, and that transportation is pretty expensive. It looks like Disney has transfers for about $90 dollars per person. There are seven of us traveling together, so that is over $600.

I did find a couple of private car companies that can get us from the airport for about 240, so that's not bad at all. But due to the distance, it looks like we will be arriving at the port about 1:30 p.m. We hate getting there so late, but barring any large problems, It looks like we should be okay.

If possible, we would also like to join the FE group, if it's not too late. If anybody can let me know hoe to go about it, it would be great!


Gabe

 

[gkwylie]

Hi Gabe!

I'm so happy to hear more families bring older "kids". My daughter is 17 (a senior in high school) and my son is 18 (a freshman in college). Twokats is organizing the FE. I know she said she has a new list for us recently added folks, so you may want to drop her a PM with your info.

We were looking at transportation options too. Enterprise will do a one-way rental - Houston to Galveston - but for 4 people, it's about the same price as using Disney, so I think we're just going to go with Disney.

Does anyone know how the Disney ground transportation works, if we get into Houston on January 3rd. Do we have to get back to the airport to catch the Disney bus to Galveston on the 4th?

Thanks!

Kim

 

[twokats]

If possible, we would also like to join the FE group, if it's not too late. If anybody can let me know hoe to go about it, it would be great! Gabe

You can PM me all the names and ages and cabin # of those involved and I will get you added to the group.

We will probably cutoff the FE towards the end of November for those that are still thinking about joining.

 

[SonicGuy]

Hello everyone! We just booked this cruise. We just got off the Wonder from our Hawaii cruise last month and didn't have plans to do another cruise until next September. However, we did Book a place holder cruise just in case. We were looking at the cruises for next year and found this one at an awesome price. We just couldn't pass it up. We have also been wanting to take my elderly parents with us, so this is a good opportunity. It also falls during the last week of Christmas vacation for our little one, so it's perfect that he won't have to miss school (he missed 10 days in September . It is Myself, DW, and two boys. 7 and 18 (not a boy anymore). This will be our 14th DCL cruise and very much looking forward to it. The Wonder is still a beautiful ship. We had a great time last month.

Anyways, we were so enamored with the price that I didn't do a lot of research. We went ahead and booked the cruise, and our flight from LAX into Houston international. Due to the very high prices of weekened flights, probably due to the holiday weekend, we decided to take a 5:30 a.m. flight out of LAX arriving in Houston at 10:30 AM. Very risky I know. We never do a same day flight. In fact we usually arrived one or two days earlier to any port we are leaving from. But since we are leaving from Southern California into Houston, we don't expect any delays due to snow or winter conditions. It Is also a nonstop flight, which eliminates delays at connecting airports. It seemed like a good idea. Little that I know, however, that getting to the Port from Houston it is not the easiest thing in the world. I hadn't realized that from the airport to the port is over 70 miles, that there is traffic going in and out of Houston, which we have to cross through to get to the port, and that transportation is pretty expensive. It looks like Disney has transfers for about $90 dollars per person. There are seven of us traveling together, so that is over $600.

I did find a couple of private car companies that can get us from the airport for about 240, so that's not bad at all. But due to the distance, it looks like we will be arriving at the port about 1:30 p.m. We hate getting there so late, but barring any large problems, It looks like we should be okay.

If possible, we would also like to join the FE group, if it's not too late. If anybody can let me know hoe to go about it, it would be great!


Gabe

Glad you'll be joining us. We have a 7 year old son as well.

I think most people are surprised when they find out Galveston is so far from Houston airports. Houston has its own port. We live in Dallas and are driving in the night before, just to be safe. Because you are cutting it SO close you may want to consider booking your group transportation through Disney. That way they would hold the ship. We may not have ice or snow to deal with in January but fog or heavy rain could be a delay. Today for example we are getting so much rain that almost all the major airports (both Dallas, Both Houston, San Antonio, Austin) have tons of cancellations and delays.Just a though.

 

[Gabe]

Hi Gabe!

I'm so happy to hear more families bring older "kids". My daughter is 17 (a senior in high school) and my son is 18 (a freshman in college). Twokats is organizing the FE. I know she said she has a new list for us recently added folks, so you may want to drop her a PM with your info.

We were looking at transportation options too. Enterprise will do a one-way rental - Houston to Galveston - but for 4 people, it's about the same price as using Disney, so I think we're just going to go with Disney.

Does anyone know how the Disney ground transportation works, if we get into Houston on January 3rd. Do we have to get back to the airport to catch the Disney bus to Galveston on the 4th?

Thanks!

Kim

Our last cruise in September was actually the first cruise where our 18 year old was not able to get into the Vibe. We have been cruising DCL since he was 3, and he has always enjoyed the clubs, so we were worried he would not have as much fun on this cruise. It was a little strange having him around more often, but in a good way. He was able to do Palo for the first time, which he really enjoyed. He also did the 1820 club meets. These were hit and miss since there didn't seem to be may 18 to 20 year olds on the ship. He said that only 3 or 4 people ever showed up, but they had fun hanging out with the cast member assigned to be there at those meets and sometimes they all went to the adult shows or even the cove cafe for smoothies. He ended up having a great time. On this cruise, he invited his 18 year old buddy to come along. Tell your 18 year old to go to the 1820 meets (not sure exactly what they are called). They have a better time when more participate, and since its not really structured, the amount of people that show up will often dictate the level of involvement of the cast and the activities they plan.

You can PM me all the names and ages and cabin # of those involved and I will get you added to the group.

We will probably cutoff the FE towards the end of November for those that are still thinking about joining.

Thanks twokats! I will do that.

Glad you'll be joining us. We have a 7 year old son as well.

I think most people are surprised when they find out Galveston is so far from Houston airports. Houston has its own port. We live in Dallas and are driving in the night before, just to be safe. Because you are cutting it SO close you may want to consider booking your group transportation through Disney. That way they would hold the ship. We may not have ice or snow to deal with in January but fog or heavy rain could be a delay. Today for example we are getting so much rain that almost all the major airports (both Dallas, Both Houston, San Antonio, Austin) have tons of cancellations and delays.Just a though.

Yes, we were considering that as well. We just might go with DCL transportation just to be safe. Thanks!

 

[SonicGuy]

So has everyone got their excursions booked? Whats everyone doing?

 

[Dawn Hart]

Can't wait until tomorrow when I can officially add excursions!

Does anyone have a good resource for embroidering some cruise shirts? I've found lots of folks on Etsy that will sell designs, but I need someone who actually can do the physical embroidering.

Kim

Oh my goodness. I used this lady to do mine. She is awesome! https://www.etsy.com/shop/bowsandgirls?ref=l2-shopheader-name
We got ours fast and they look adorable. And she customized shirt preferences. I wanted a tank top instead of a regular t-shirt. She is awesome to work with!

 

[Mrs.Ed]

On a whim I just booked this cruise for my family of 4 and I couldn't be more excited. This will be our first Disney cruise. We've been talking about planning a Disney cruise for quite some time now, and I just happened to be perusing cruises for the last week of my kids' winter break and I couldn't believe the amazing rates - too good to pass up. However, I usually do a ton of research prior to booking vacations, especially cruises so now I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm so glad that I found this board! We're trying to keep it a surprise from my son (9) and daughter (12), but we'll see how long I can hold out.

 

[SonicGuy]

On a whim I just booked this cruise for my family of 4 and I couldn't be more excited. This will be our first Disney cruise. We've been talking about planning a Disney cruise for quite some time now, and I just happened to be perusing cruises for the last week of my kids' winter break and I couldn't believe the amazing rates - too good to pass up. However, I usually do a ton of research prior to booking vacations, especially cruises so now I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm so glad that I found this board! We're trying to keep it a surprise from my son (9) and daughter (12), but we'll see how long I can hold out.

Welcome! We have a 7 year old son. We haven't told out kids either - its Christmas present. I think its gonna be a great time.

 

[Mrs.Ed]

You can PM me all the names and ages and cabin # of those involved and I will get you added to the group.

We will probably cutoff the FE towards the end of November for those that are still thinking about joining.

Hi Kathy - Since I'm new to these boards I cannot PM you and it won't give me an option to email you when I click on your name, but my family and I would love to be added to the FE. Traveling in my group in me (Mina), DH (Ed), DD (Peri -12) and DS (Cooper - 9). We are in cabin #8572.

 

[Mrs.Ed]

So is most everyone from Texas?

We're from San Diego

 

[Mrs.Ed]

For those flying in to Houston, how are you getting to Galveston?

If we're arriving the day before and planning on staying in Galveston that night, does anyone have recommendations on where to stay? Do Galveston hotels generally offer shuttles to the port? Just trying to figure out the logistics of it all. Thanks in advance!

 

[SonicGuy]

For those flying in to Houston, how are you getting to Galveston?

If we're arriving the day before and planning on staying in Galveston that night, does anyone have recommendations on where to stay? Do Galveston hotels generally offer shuttles to the port? Just trying to figure out the logistics of it all. Thanks in advance!

Were driving (live in Dallas) but were staying at Harbor House hotel - adjacent to cruise port.

TONS of options to get to Galveston - none of which are cheap. Do a google search and you'll see shared rides, vans, cars, etc. We are renting a van here in Dallas from Enterprise (only car rental on island) and returning there. I drop the fam off at port (actually we just walk) and then I return the van and taxi it back over. May want to look at a similar option. Make sure you know which airport you fly into - there are two.

 

[Mrs.Ed]

Were driving (live in Dallas) but were staying at Harbor House hotel - adjacent to cruise port.

TONS of options to get to Galveston - none of which are cheap. Do a google search and you'll see shared rides, vans, cars, etc. We are renting a van here in Dallas from Enterprise (only car rental on island) and returning there. I drop the fam off at port (actually we just walk) and then I return the van and taxi it back over. May want to look at a similar option. Make sure you know which airport you fly into - there are two.

Won't Enterprise take you back to the port rather than having to take a taxi? It seems like anytime I've rented from Enterprise they'll take me back to wherever I need to go (car dealership, etc.) I was looking at doing a one-way rental from Houston (we're flying into Hobby), but it was around $180 and I thought I might be able to find a cheaper option. But it might just be easier to have our own transportation. Thanks for the suggestion.