Magic May10, 2013 Galveston Bahamian Cruise

[m4travel]

We had no intention of cruising in 2013 - thought we'd keep our feet on the ground for a while with an October 2012 cruise and a January 2014 cruise already book (sorry, not Disney; 2014 isn't out yet) - but during the Hawai'ian cruise Disney offered a better-than-usual discount on the May 10, 2013 Bahamian cruise and our resolve dissolved.

Not sure whether the offer was a result of guilt over not having 2014 itineraries ready to announce during October (Disney=Guilt - never) or whether cruises from Galveston weren't being overwhelmed with bookings, but I don't care - as long as it resulted in a deal.

There are some new adventures to recommend the cruise: Never sailed out of Galveston before (a whole new learning curve); one of our port calls is Key West (a bucket list item to strike off the list); and the cruise includes a day at WDW with transportation from Port Canaveral and a one-day Park Hopper included in the cost of the cruise (no separate trip to WDW required until 2014's January cruise).

Although there's no thread for this particular cruise yet (guess we're starting one), the All Things Galveston thread has been a great source of information.

[fatfish]

How great is the deal? I've been eyeing that cruise.

thanks!

[llachance]

about any deals but signed up for this one while on board the inaugural Magic out of Galveston because this will be the last "Magic" out of Galveston as the Wonder is replacing her next fall.

[m4travel]

Originally Posted by fatfish

How great is the deal? I've been eyeing that cruise.

thanks!

Onboard booking:
20% discount + $200 OBC ($100/$200 OBC depends upon length of cruise).

[SageFemme]

They actually started a thread for our cruise last May!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2926965

We'll be on it too, my first Disney cruise and my daughter's first cruise ever! Can't wait!

[m4travel]

Waiting to hear from Disney about airfare to IAH from Mexico City...not in their usual tables. Hoping it's not much more expensive than buying direct from an airline

[m4travel]

So Disney isn't offering any airfares from Mexico, so that question is moot. Went ahead and booked on United for Mexico City/IAH/Mexico City. From posts on other threads, it looks like we guessed right on our return flight's timing. Not rushed, but not too long a wait.

SageFemme, you'll love DCL. There's a reason we're Platinum members of their loyalty program - and we don't have kids! However, I hear that the kid's programs are wonderful (sort of wish they had the same for adults...), so your daughter should enjoy herself, too.

[csoutherl]

Our family of 3 (myself, DH and DD (8)) will be on this cruise as well. It is our second with DCL, and I am terribly excited about our first time on CC, and a day at WDW.
Any idea how long we will have at WDW? Are we going to be there for all of the open hours?

Can't wait!

[m4travel]

I've heard that the first bus leaves the port for WDW at 7:30 am. It's about a 90-minute trip, so they're advised us to not book any activities at the park before 2 hours after our bus leaves. Not sure of the rest of the schedule.

One can reserve one's transport to/from WDW once Ship board Activities open on January 10th (and at following dates depending upon one's Castaway Cay level) and with the cruise paid for.

[csoutherl]

I just saw the email from DCL about the buses to the parks. Since we are scheduled to be onboard at 12:45am, I'm guessing we'll get to be there all day. Just trying to determine how many parks we're going to try to hit.

We're silver level, so we can't book anything for another month or so.....