Disney Wonder - Galveston to San Jaun - January 20, 2017

[Clayton5party]

We love Disney and can't wait to surprise the kids on Christmas morning!

 

[Clayton5party]

We too are planning on staying in San Juan an extra day or two and would love suggestions on reasonable hotels.

 

[Mntparish]

The posts that pixiehallow's links are an excellent summary. It really comes down to your comfort level and your three year-old's ability to be happy in the club for a few hours.

At Grand Cayman things are further complicated because it is a tender port; this means that you will have to: drop the three year-old off at the club ... wait for a tender ... ride the tender... get to your snorkeling excursion... wait for and ride the tender back to the ship.

Even if you take a DCL excursion, you can't count on the timeframe listed in the description. The shortest DCL excursion that includes snorkeling is "Nautilus Undersea Tour & Reef Snorkel (G07)" which is 2-2.5 hours; but, according to the description, the 2-2.5 hours starts and ends from the pier so realistically, it is probably at least 3-3.5 hours. Also, we once had issues with return transportation on an excursion and ended up back at the ship a couple of hours later than expected.

Personally, I would be wasting money because I don't think I'd be able to enjoy my excursion with a kid back on the ship; but I understand that my worries would be somewhat unrealistic. After all, I leave my son at school every day and sometimes I cannot be contacted at work easily if something goes wrong.

I think we are leaning towards splitting up for the excursions. I actually do not feel too worried about leaving her on the ship. Both my husband and I work and travel without our kids so there have been times when we have both been unreachable or would take quite sometime to get back to our children in case of emergency. I do think she would be happy in her club for hours too... but we are leaning towards giving them each some special time geared towards their own interests that day rather than leaving her in her club. Thank you for your input

 

[pixiehallow]

We love Disney and can't wait to surprise the kids on Christmas morning!

How exciting! You need to record that.
My excitement would give me away. My boys have gotten so good at reading my emotions.

We too are planning on staying in San Juan an extra day or two and would love suggestions on reasonable hotels.

Everything in San Juan is definitely priced for tourism. We searched on Google Maps and then checked ratings on Trip Advisor. I have also heard a few people suggesting Air BNB, or vacation rentals (I can't remember the company that was suggested for that though, sorry ).

~ Tink ~

 

[Clayton5party]

Doesn't seem like there's is a lot of time in Grand Canyon, what excursions do you guys suggest, or should this just be a relax beach day since we planned excursions for the other ports?

 

[pixiehallow]

Doesn't seem like theses is a lot of time in Grand Canyon, what excursions do you guys suggest, or should this just be a relax beach day since we planned excursions for the other ports?

We were thinking the same thing. I wanted to see the island though, and none of the excursions seemed to do that except the Duck tours (the amphibious bus that tours around town, and then heads out to the water for a tour of the reef), but the YouTube videos made that seem a bit boring. I think we are going to rent a Jeep and do some exploring on our own. Our back up plan is a beach day. An interesting thing we found out while researching this port is that all beaches on the island are public beaches.

P.S. The Duck tours are not a Disney excursion, and I think it was a 3 to 4 hour tour (and yes, I heard that as I was typing it. As a matter of fact, I started singing the theme song in my head afterwards)
P.S.S. You are at 5 posts, 5 more to go.

 

[Clayton5party]

Earning my ears!

 

[Clayton5party]

4 more to go!

 

[Clayton5party]

Three

 

[Clayton5party]

Two

 

[Clayton5party]

One! I'm official!

 

[pixiehallow]

One! I'm official!

And your awesome!!!
I will get the messages sent out to you.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

~BUMP~
(Crumb Diggers, I forgot to get this to the top)​

We are still looking for 1 more participants (which will bring the count to 20) to guarantee a reservation in advance for mixology . We can have up to 40 people in the group. So if we reach 20 and you are still interested, there will still be room for more.
I am going to try to post this at the top of each page (going forward ) so new members won't have to search to find out what we are planning.

~Planned activities ~
(Meets, cabin crawls, mixology, etc )

Mixology
(will need a minimum of 20 - must be 21 or older)
Currently interested:
Pixiehallow (2)
SunI17 (2 )
StefunnyD (1)
MNnice (2)
Sian (2)
Bbrown (2)
ColoradoMrs (2)
Angel and Bear (2)
jenncardenas (2)
Wanderbuff(2)
Ange176 (1)
Clayton5party (2)​

Pre Cruise Meet for Harbor House
Pixiehallow
MNnice
StefunnyD
Zoijmvs
BBrown
crystalsnowseekins
Mngirl80
westonkamom
asperle
alaskanabbott
MNMommyof2
Grumpy's Group
Angel Rae
Ange176​

____________________________________________________

Cabin Crawl
(with or without poker)
Currently interested:
Pixiehallow
alaskanabbott
MNnice
Angel Rae
westonkamom​

 

[pixiehallow]

Happy birthday Mickey !

 

[pixiehallow]

Attention FEer's:

group 1 - Jason P no longer has an account I can send a message to . If anyone knows this member can you please ask them to make a post so that I can reach them. I will post on the main thread as well. If I can't reach them , I will have to assume that they are no longer participating. If that is the case, then please let me know your opinion on adding Clayton5party in that cabins place. I will be giving another option for last minute adds as well.

~Tink ~

 

[mareed]

I'm glad to be joining on this cruise, as I had it booked then moved it out waiting to find out if I still had a job, and the afternoon after learning that I do in fact still have a job, I rebooked it! A co-worker/friend who also turned out well job-wise is joining me, so we'll be 2 solo ladies.

We are staying one night in San Juan after the cruise and will be staying in Courtyard Isla Verde after doing research. We wanted a beach and many places in Condado area had only 1 bed and were also more expensive. Has anyone else found good places to stay? We don't plan to rent a car and will rely on taxis or Uber, so didn't want to go with an individually owned home/apartment and wanted hotel/resort amenities. This Courtyard looks quite nice, I thought!

 

[pixiehallow]

I'm glad to be joining on this cruise, as I had it booked then moved it out waiting to find out if I still had a job, and the afternoon after learning that I do in fact still have a job, I rebooked it! A co-worker/friend who also turned out well job-wise is joining me, so we'll be 2 solo ladies.

We are staying one night in San Juan after the cruise and will be staying in Courtyard Isla Verde after doing research. We wanted a beach and many places in Condado area had only 1 bed and were also more expensive. Has anyone else found good places to stay? We don't plan to rent a car and will rely on taxis or Uber, so didn't want to go with an individually owned home/apartment and wanted hotel/resort amenities. This Courtyard looks quite nice, I thought!

Welcome to the group Mareed!

There are a few group members that have mentioned that they are staying in the Cordando area . Hopefully they can share some of their research with you. We are staying in Old San Juan so I don't think I would be of much help.
I will add you to the roll call. Have you gotten a chance to read through the thread? We have a few group activities planned. So after you get a chance to read through it, let me know if you would like to join in on any of the fun.

~Tink ~

 

[pixiehallow]

Happy Monday everyone!!!
****8 more Mondays to go****
My Forget Me Not for today is your appetite (So fitting for the week!).

As with most cruises food is in abundance aboard the Wonder, but this is Disney, so you know that there won't only be a lot of it, you know it will be good!

The eating starts as soon as you get on board. You have your choice of venues for your first vacation meal (and whether you have eaten already on your journey to the boat or not, this is still your first vacation meal. What is so great about a vacation meals? No Calories of course!!!!!). A majority of the cruisers will head up to the Cabanas buffet for their first taste of Disney (which will be open from the time we board until about 3). While up on the pool deck (not far from the Buffet), you will find Daisy's De-Light where you will find a healthy fast food choice with things like paninies, salads, and fruit; Pete's Boiler Bites - where you can get hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, and chicken; and Pinocchio's Pizzeria - where you can get pizza. For dessert, there's Eye Scream and Frozone Treats.
Your final option is a sit down meal in one of the main dining rooms. I am not sure which one, but it will be listed on the Navigator you are given at check in, or you can ask any cast member.
You are going to want to burn off some of your lunch calories by exploring the ship before dinner, because that is where we will get a grand 3 course meal (well not including the breads). No matter where you are assigned for dinner the first night, rest assured you will get a tummy full. And by the way, here are a few dining room tips: if you see more than one thing you are interested in, don't be afraid to ask to try both (but be warned you will get a full helping of each, and every waiter we have ever had was clearly raised in a 'clear your plate' type household); and, if you have an allergy that you have not previously notified Disney about, don't worry, you still can notify your server or the Matre de (another warning though. If your allergy is one that you can take medicine for, such as a dairy allergy, and you still want to have that food item (for example, I am allergic to lactose and dairy solids, but I love ice cream and chocolate. Thankfully, I have medicine that I can take that allows me to have as much as I want) do not alert them about this allergy. They will not let you order anything with that food item in it. On the other hand, if you can not take medicine for it, please do notify them straight away. I would also recommend asking to speak with the head chef in the Buffet, and Palo if applicable).
The next morning will bring around more dining options (which will be repeated on all except for 1 of the remaining days). For breakfast, you can choose from room service (no charge, but tips are recommended), formal dining room, or buffet. Your Navigator will tell you the operating hours for each option. Then for lunch, all 3 of those options are available, plus the 3 offerings up on the pool deck, and the Quiet Cove Cafe.
Then for dinner, we again are back to our rotational dining. You can also dine at the buffet, room service, pool deck, or Palo for dinner.
The only difference is our last morning on board (which we only have the option of formal dining room for breakfast).
Now if you are a Hobbit, and are used to Early Breakfast, Early morning snack, second breakfast, mid morning snack, early brunch......you get the idea..... you will be fine. However, if you are not, you may want to pace yourself. I was once told a typical cruiser gains 5 pounds a day on a cruise. I have yet to experience that, but I can see how it would be possible.

With it being Thanksgiving, I was thinking it would be fun to share what we are all thankful for (which I will start in the next post). It also got me thinking about our ship board gratuities and how thankful I am for all of the Cast Members that take such good care of us on the boat. In a previous forget me not, I talked about gratuities. If you missed that post and /or have any questions about how much to tip, you can find out here.

 

[pixiehallow]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! and belated Happy Thanksgiving Day to our group members from Canada!

This year, I am thankful for the past exciting year of transitions and the one to come. One of our sons graduated from college and is moving into the work force, the other achieved his Eagle and is moving on into an EMT Explorer troop. And, as my youngest finishes up his high school over the next year, I am hoping to slowly transition from being a home school mom to being a travel blogger and hopefully a travel agent.

How about Y'all? What are you thankful for this year?

 

[StefunnyD]

Thanks , Pixie for prodding us to take a moment to think about all we are thankful for...as a single mom of five, I often am too busy to truly stop and take it all in. This year has been a big one for us. I have a high school senior who is finishing up his final bits of high school, graduating a semester early and joining the Marine Corps right after the cruise. I also have a junior and freshman in high school and know all too well how quickly these days pass and am trying to remember to be thankful for all the little moments with them (and one in Jr high and one grown if you're keeping count ). We bought our first family home this year which has been quite a treat as their dad is an army officer, and I am an army brat as well, so we have lived the nomad life for most of our lives. I am thankful for a career that allows me to pursue my professional goals and still be an available mom to support our crazy household and all the busy-ness that goes along with it...and I am most thankful for my kids who keep us all laughing through the insanity of it all. Speaking of insanity, Pixie I'm thankful for all your efforts to organize the activities for the cruise and feeding us information! It has been so very helpful as I navigate through the massive planning of this vacation! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!