Galvaston... tell me about it

[EeyoreME]

Sooo..... we are new to cruising. I have been on 1 cruise with my mom back in 2008 or so on Royal Carribean. We are looking at cruising in 2024. It'll be me, hubby and our daughter will be 9 or 10.

We live in texas so we're looking at Galvaston. We normally vacation at WDW and are DVC so will probably see about renting our points and using that towards our trip? First time doing that too! We want to go to Castaway Cay so not sure if it'll be better to cruise out of Florida.... Any thoughts or suggestions? This is so new to us!

 

[MomOTwins]

There are cruises out of Florida and Galveston that go to Castaway Cay. The biggest difference is going to be the ship. The Wonder is usually the ship that sails from Galveston, although they could always shake things up by 2024. All of the ships have different shows, main dining rooms, features, which you can browse on the official website. Wonder/Magic are older ships, but smaller, which can be nice on Castaway cay with lower crowds, but they lack some of the bells and whistles of the newer ships (e.g., Aquaduck water slide, rainforest room features at the Spa, "Midship detective" interactive game). The Wish will have a whole slew of new features when it starts sailing this summer, but is more expensive than the older ships.

The Wonder cruises that go to Castaway Cay also tend to be longer 7-night cruises. You can also get 7-nights out of Florida though. The mantra on these boards is "longer is better" but I actually might recommend you do a split shorter cruise (3/4 night) out of port canaveral combined with a stay at Disney World since you are DVC and can use points to stay on land, and since that way if you discover an issue with cruising (e.g., someone is massively seasick, kids don't like the kids clubs, you get bored because cruises are little more relax-y than the high activity park trips you are used to etc.) you aren't locked into it being your only vacation. The thing is, all (or nearly all) of us on this board post here because we love Disney cruises, but I have friends who tried it and HATED it so I know those people exist.

 

[EeyoreME]

The mantra on these boards is "longer is better" but I actually might recommend you do a split shorter cruise (3/4 night) out of port canaveral combined with a stay at Disney World since you are DVC and can use points to stay on land, and since that way if you discover an issue with cruising (e.g., someone is massively seasick, kids don't like the kids clubs, you get bored because cruises are little more relax-y than the high activity park trips you are used to etc.) you aren't locked into it being your only vacation. The thing is, all (or nearly all) of us on this board post here because we love Disney cruises, but I have friends who tried it and HATED it so I know those people exist.

Thank you sooo much! I was actually thinking of doing a split stay so to speak : ) That is a great idea. We normally drive from TX to Disney so that's not an issue and I just looked up that PC is only a little over an hour drive from Disney so that's doable for sure! I"ll toss this idea out at hubby since I think he'll like the boats out of PC better. I have lots of time to do some research So excited!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Yes, definitely look into renting out a portion of your points to put the cash towards your cruise. We are DVC and have used our points on DCL in the past, but never again. With the pandemic, moving and keeping track of points from booking in March 2019 to 2 canceled cruises in 2020, moving bookings throughout 2021, and finally having a cruise for July 2022, it has been a nightmare. We rent out the points now.

 

[undertheradar]

If Castaway Cay is on your wish list, there are no cruises currently scheduled that visit Castaway Cay and depart Galveston.

 

[Cheburashka]

If Castaway Cay is on your wish list, there are no cruises currently scheduled that visit Castaway Cay and depart Galveston.

She's planning for 2024, and none of those itineraries are out yet. There usually are CC cruises sailing out of Galveston.

 

[Cheburashka]

One thing to keep in mind is that Galveston can get foggy in winter (when DCL cruises from there), and that sometimes delays embarkation and/or debarkation.

 

[KVH]

One small thing to consider is that the Galveston facilities are meh. On and off at Canaveral is a MUCH better experience. And if you do drive, parking and term storage for your vehicle is much better sailing out of FLA.

 

[Starwind]

One thing to consider too being DVC... we are not DVC, but we still always bookend our cruises out of PC with a stay before and after at WDW resorts. For our next cruise [B2B on the Wish] we are planning on 2 nights at AKL before and 2 nights at WL after, and they will be resort stays, no parks. We love the down time at the resorts and find bookending the cruise makes for a nice relaxing trip and a great way to start and end the vacation.

 

[undertheradar]

She's planning for 2024, and none of those itineraries are out yet. There usually are CC cruises sailing out of Galveston.

While many of us have cruised to CC from Galveston, the schedule does not include CC after the change in Key West. Perhaps the option will be there in 2024, it hasn't been an option this current season or the upcoming available cruises. That would make the option of sailing from PC much more realistic if the OP's quest is to sail to CC.

 

[Lizgistix]

Put on your horse blinders so you don't have to look at the industrial port areas you have to drive past before you reach the cruise parking lots.

 

[EeyoreME]

Thank you soooo much everyone! I am so excited about researching all there is about DCL! We are looking into 2024 because we already have a vacation set up for 2022 and a plan also for 2023.

 

[anricat]

We just sailed out of Galveston for the first time last month. We are also Texans (Austin) and DVC members. Our cruise out of Galveston last month was our first from there even though it was our 8th on DCL. The reason? Those itineraries are BORING (in my opinion) and don't usually go to CC (I can't even remember seeing an itinerary that went there in the last few years, honestly). Usually Key West and/or Cozumel. Sometimes Costa Maya instead. It was our least favorite cruise. Not because of the pandemic restrictions, but the weather was terrible, the ship had to go super fast to get there on time (causes a lot of vibration and motion) and the gulf was pretty choppy. Though, it was definitely convenient being able to drive. I honestly didn't care that the port area looks industrial and crappy. You're only there for a short while so it's not a big deal. Embarkation/debarkation was fine. We've embarked from so many (Port Canaveral, Vancouver, Puerto Rico, Barcelona, Miami) and really the setup is the same. Port Canaveral is the nicest terminal, but again, it's such a small portion of your journey, its not really of much consequence. I haven't really found much difference. Miami is probably my least favorite, actually.

As far as DVC goes, definitely you are making the right call to not use them. You've probably considered this, but just in case, another option is to bank. Next year we're cruising twice and won't be using our points. Instead, we'll bank to the next year so we can take a nice Aulani trip in 2023.

My recent trip report from Galveston is in my signature if you want to take a look at our experience.

 

[Happytycho]

A short answer is that few, if any, cruises from Galveston stop at Castaway Cay, so if going to CC is your top priority then sailing from Florida might be the only option.

Another factor is when in 2024 you are looking to sail, because historically DCL only sails from Galveston for a few months each year and the last we heard is that the 6th ship and Lighthouse Point are scheduled to open sometime in 2024 which could change some deployment and itinerary patterns.

 

[EeyoreME]

We just sailed out of Galveston for the first time last month. We are also Texans (Austin) and DVC members. Our cruise out of Galveston last month was our first from there even though it was our 8th on DCL. The reason? Those itineraries are BORING (in my opinion) and don't usually go to CC (I can't even remember seeing an itinerary that went there in the last few years, honestly). Usually Key West and/or Cozumel. Sometimes Costa Maya instead. It was our least favorite cruise. Not because of the pandemic restrictions, but the weather was terrible, the ship had to go super fast to get there on time (causes a lot of vibration and motion) and the gulf was pretty choppy. Though, it was definitely convenient being able to drive. I honestly didn't care that the port area looks industrial and crappy. You're only there for a short while so it's not a big deal. Embarkation/debarkation was fine. We've embarked from so many (Port Canaveral, Vancouver, Puerto Rico, Barcelona, Miami) and really the setup is the same. Port Canaveral is the nicest terminal, but again, it's such a small portion of your journey, its not really of much consequence. I haven't really found much difference. Miami is probably my least favorite, actually.

As far as DVC goes, definitely you are making the right call to not use them. You've probably considered this, but just in case, another option is to bank. Next year we're cruising twice and won't be using our points. Instead, we'll bank to the next year so we can take a nice Aulani trip in 2023.

My recent trip report from Galveston is in my signature if you want to take a look at our experience.

Thank you! banking is a great idea as well! We are newish DVC members as well... joined in 2019 so we're getting the hang of it! Mind if I friend you as well? We are in Round Rock

 

[anricat]

Thank you! banking is a great idea as well! We are newish DVC members as well... joined in 2019 so we're getting the hang of it! Mind if I friend you as well? We are in Round Rock

Nice! I'm very close to RR in Wells Branch.