WWYD 5 night Dream or 6 Night Magic

[Cheburashka]

Thanks for all the advice and opinions.

We ended up booking a 6 night Magic out of Galveston on January 13th. Once we crunched the numbers with hotel and flights we saved almost $600 and got an extra night doing the Magic.

With the money we saved I’m tempted to book an excursion now. Any suggestions there? Cozumel and Grand Cayman are our stops.

If you have an interest in history, Chichen Itza (the Mayan pyramid & its grounds) is a worthy day trip. It takes several hours in total though, as you have to take a ferry from Cozumel to the mainland, then drive a few hours inland (a pretty drive imo) to get to the pyramid. I would only book this one via DCL due to its distance from the ship, and like I said, it is a significant time commitment. We're glad we did it, though.

 

[KatieKepic]

Thanks for all the advice and opinions.

We ended up booking a 6 night Magic out of Galveston on January 13th. Once we crunched the numbers with hotel and flights we saved almost $600 and got an extra night doing the Magic.

With the money we saved I’m tempted to book an excursion now. Any suggestions there? Cozumel and Grand Cayman are our stops.

Are you looking for DCL port adventures or on your own?

My kids love the sting rays in G.C. We used Jon Michael and he took us out on his boat for the day. This was one of my kids all time favorite excursions. We met him a short walk from the port, he took us to a grocery store to get lunch stuff and then to the Cayman brewery where we got a few beers to take with us. He then took us to a few different areas to snorkel, see sting rays and then to an area with starfish where there was also a beach where we at our sandwiches we picked up at the grocery. He then took us over to the mangroves area. He dove off the boat and picked up all sorts of sea creatures for my kids to see, they loved it. He then drove us to another area where we could snorkel and swim with the turtles since my daughter requested turtles and then took us back to where he picked us up.

Cozumel-they have some nice beach resorts with AI or pay as you go packages. We've done a good number of them. We've also done the manatee and sea lion swim at Chankanaab which was really neat.

That being said, we've only ever done one port adventure and that was during covid with the bubble excursions since we had an unvaccinated under 5 so I'm not much help if you're looking to book through DCL.

 

[rainbowredpanda]

If you were to choose the Dream cruise, and ultimately not be able to dock at Castaway Cay due to weather, would you regret your choice? I'm not experienced enough to know when this is most likely to be an issue, but it does happen from time to time. I just wouldn't want you to choose solely based on that stop and then end up hugely disappointed if it didn't happen.

I'm usually in the 'longer is better' camp and I personally prefer the 'classic' ships. That said, if it's your first cruise, and you're planning on being in an inside stateroom, I might say do the Dream instead just because you don't know how you and your family will like cruising, and 5 nights is a good length to get a good taste of it but not feel trapped if you don't end up loving it. I feel like I've also read threads about Galveston having really rough waters (I have not sailed out of Galveston myself), so if you don't know how your family will do seasickness-wise, that might be something to consider as well.

I think you could have a great time either way though!

A few years ago, we had difficulty docking at CC. We did eventually manage to dock but we couldn't get onto the island until almost midday. So many people ended up staying on board but they offered refunds of anything booked on the island and they offered plenty of activities onboard as well.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

In Cozumel, we went to a beach resort called Nachi Cocom. It wasn't an excursion, we just got off, grabbed a taxi, and 20 minutes later we were there. It was a very relaxed, chill, low crowd nice beach area and pool. The entrance fee included free drinks and lunch. Personally I enjoyed Nachi Cocom more than I liked Castaway Cay. When we go back to Cozumel this spring, we might go there again. I'm torn between that and the reef restoration excursion through Port Adventures.

We paid extra and did a snorkel trip that departed from Nachi Cocom's dock, but I don't think I would do that again. The water was choppy, the current was strong, and even though my kids are good swimmers, I was a bit nervous especially about the younger one. It was also quite deep so you were really nowhere close to the neat coral. Plus they didn't have suitable size snorkel gear for the little ones.

 

[KashasMom]

I'd do the Magic because it's a day longer and we like Cozumel more than CC, which IMO is just a beach. The only things we enjoyed (more) on the Dream were Beauty & The Beast and Midship Detective Agency. For a beautiful beach, go to 7 Mile Beach on Grand Cayman - it's stunning.

 

[auntlynne]

I’d try to find an excursion in Cozumel that has a beach. There are a few that are often mentioned that are all-inclusive - some have inflatable water park activities, I believe. I have yet to find a public beach nearby in Cozumel. And there is nothing walkable for a family with children, as far as I can tell (this is where someone with kids should chime in and point out all the places I haven’t discovered). I did go to Chakanaab Park, but was not impressed. I prefer a beach where the sand leads into the water. Most of the land/sea connection was a rock wall. There was sand poured on top of earth. A very small beach area was available. They did have a pool and a sea lion (maybe dolphin) show. My visit was in a January, and we had rough water.

Grand Cayman has been a tender port - meaning you take a transfer boat (or lifeboat) from the ship to the shore; you are not docked at a pier. This port is known for its beaches which should be fairly easy to get to. This was the only port I have missed due to weather - waves too rough for tender boats.

It sounds like I wouldn’t pick this cruise - but I love the Magic (I have sailed it more than any other ship - 9 times). And I have been to the ports and find they may or not be the most important aspect of a cruise. If you don’t find an excursion that sounds like it’s worth the money, consider staying on the ship and using the pool area. Seasoned cruisers often stay onboard. I am a fan of saving money where possible when it comes to cruising - but still get to be on a Disney ship.

Bon Voyage!

 

[bananapepper]

Are you looking for DCL port adventures or on your own?

My kids love the sting rays in G.C. We used Jon Michael and he took us out on his boat for the day. This was one of my kids all time favorite excursions. We met him a short walk from the port, he took us to a grocery store to get lunch stuff and then to the Cayman brewery where we got a few beers to take with us. He then took us to a few different areas to snorkel, see sting rays and then to an area with starfish where there was also a beach where we at our sandwiches we picked up at the grocery. He then took us over to the mangroves area. He dove off the boat and picked up all sorts of sea creatures for my kids to see, they loved it. He then drove us to another area where we could snorkel and swim with the turtles since my daughter requested turtles and then took us back to where he picked us up.

Cozumel-they have some nice beach resorts with AI or pay as you go packages. We've done a good number of them. We've also done the manatee and sea lion swim at Chankanaab which was really neat.

That being said, we've only ever done one port adventure and that was during covid with the bubble excursions since we had an unvaccinated under 5 so I'm not much help if you're looking to book through DCL.

Could you link the Jon Michael excursion? I tried googling but couldn't find a site or anything to look at. Was it a private excursion or were you in a group? We are going to GC in December so I'd love to look into this as it sounds amazing! Thanks

 

[KatieKepic]

Could you link the Jon Michael excursion? I tried googling but couldn't find a site or anything to look at. Was it a private excursion or were you in a group? We are going to GC in December so I'd love to look into this as it sounds amazing! Thanks

I don't think he has a webpage. He does have a FB page, Sound Sailing, but we just communicated through email. He's was very responsive. It's a private excursion. We were a family of 4 and went with the 6 hour option and it was very reasonable IMO but that was pre-covid so I'm not sure on his current pricing. But it was definitely worth every penny and my kids loved it. Any time we go back to GC, we'll book with him. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer

I'll attach a few photos for you. I ruined our water camera this trip so I lost most of the ones we took but I do have a few I took on my phone.