Just off the Magic out of Galveston - Nov 10-17

[Ajojo]

Just off the Magic on our Western Caribbean out of Galveston - me, my sister, my mom, and my cousin.

We had a great time and if there was a theme for this cruise it is: The food is excellent - no, really the food is excellent!

Lots, lots of kids everywhere. I am sure that my cousin will not be sailing with Disney again because of this. Of course it may be because every night the table next to us had 2 out of control kids with parents that seemed to be oblivious. Every night the kids were hitting the servers and throwing food, including their drinks and plates, at other guests. We took turn sitting next to this table because we knew we would be a target. My sister was hit in her neck with a half eaten Mickey bar thrown at her when she wasn't looking. This is a situation where I wasnt quite sure what to do. The maitre'd did come over to talk with them, but one of the boys hit him.

All of our excursions were through Disney.
Grand Cayman - All 4 of us did the island tour and this really was dissappointing as our guide did not talk much. Basically we drove in silence to the turtle farm and then we went to the town of Hell and the driver stopped and told us that the Hell rocks were behind the post office. That was it, no other info from the guide. He stayed on the bus and waited for us to look at the rocks.

Costa Maya - Loved this port and could go back. The water is beautiful blue. My cousin did the excursion with the mini boats and snorkel. She loved this! First time snorkeling and although very nervous, she had a great time. The rest of us did the adult tour of Chacchobean Mayan Ruins. This turned out to be great. The sky was overcast so it was not that hot and we saw monkeys. The rest rooms and the whole park was very clean.

Cozumel - My cousin chose to shop. The rest of us took the Eco Park and Snorkel tour. This tour only had a total of 7 people (6 adults and 1 kid). I would rate this as a good tour. We rode to Punta Sur ecological park and saw the lighthouse and some ruins. Then it was off to the beack to snorkel. I chose to swim with my sister and my mom decided to snorkel. It was very hot but my mother had a total blast. With such a small tour, it was only her and a travel agent that snorkeled with the 2 guides.

There was so much to do on the ship and I feel like I missed out on some things. I guess this means I will have to take another cruise.

We saw all the shows. I still love Twice Charmed. My mom and sister prefered Disney Dreams. We did walk out of the Ed Alonzo show which we thought was totaly lame. Pirate Night was a total BLAST! I was amazed out how many adults were in full costume. I think participation was over 95% (my rough guesstimate and my cousin may have been one of the few that did not dress up).

They put up a gingerbread house, but there were no Christmas decorations up. The chef said that the rest of the supplies for the gingerbread house will be delivered with the Christmas decorations when docked in Galveston on the 17th.

I'll try to answer any questions.

 

[sissy_ib]

We were on the cruise before you. It is sad to hear about the family near you. We were too tired to go to dinner after the second night and instead chose Topsiders or room service. We decided on our next cruise we will probably go to Topsiders every night it is open. The MDRs are very nice but just too noisy and busy for us.

 

[MandyGirl]

Of course it may be because every night the table next to us had 2 out of control kids with parents that seemed to be oblivious. Every night the kids were hitting the servers and throwing food, including their drinks and plates, at other guests.

I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like an experience we had cruising on Celebrity one time out of San Juan... shortly after 9/11 when many people cancelled the cruise and they literally gave away the ship with local specials (we had booked a year in advance and kept our original reservation... could not partake in the post-9/11 discounts). It shyed us away from cruising on Celebrity or out of San Juan for several years, but have fortunately since had positive experiences again with both. Hopefully your next Disney dining experience will be positive with the guests around you.

We were too tired to go to dinner after the second night and instead chose Topsiders or room service. We decided on our next cruise we will probably go to Topsiders every night it is open. The MDRs are very nice but just too noisy and busy for us.

I should have paired my parents up with you guys! They prefer Topsiders but were nice and went to dinner with my 2-year-old and I each night as I prefer the dining rooms. They were exhausted the last night for sure. Sooo glad we had early dining for that cruise!

 

[IFlossU]

Could you share your Pre-cruise experience? Did you stay in a hotel, use transfers, or another type of transportation. We'll be sailing in March and I'm still working out these details. Thank you!

 

[Heard02]

We were on this same cruse. The table behind us had 3 kids under 5 and they were totally out of control. Screaming every night. Drawing on the table. Throwing crayons (one hit me). I've never seen so many misbehaved kids on a cruise. I can't put my finger on it but out of 11 previous Disney cruises, the crowd was just not the same. I describe it as shopping at dollar general rather than target....just a different crowd.
We had a wonderful time and each port experience we had was great!
Sorry! Didn't mean to hijack your post! Glad you had fun! So did we!

 

[wdwishes1990]

second dining definately helps -- if it is a rowdy crowd of kids, we have asked to move to another table. There are ways to enjoy the ship with encountering very few kiddos.

 

[Ajojo]

Could you share your Pre-cruise experience?

This was the best pre-cruise ever as I live in Houston. No worrying about my suitcase going over 50 lbs, how to pack my liquids, or worrying about making the connecting flights. I am determined to go on the most Disney cruises out of Galveston that I can. So far, I have got 2 next year.

We were on this same cruse. The table behind us had 3 kids under 5 and they were totally out of control. Screaming every night. Drawing on the table. Throwing crayons (one hit me). I've never seen so many misbehaved kids on a cruise. I can't put my finger on it but out of 11 previous Disney cruises, the crowd was just not the same. I describe it as shopping at dollar general rather than target....just a different crowd.
We had a wonderful time and each port experience we had was great!

I really do agree. This was my first Disney cruise where the kids just seemed out of control. However, I did meet one perfect young gentleman in charge of an overcrowded elevator full of females. He made sure that everyone got off on the correct floor. Someone really taught him manners.

 

[NancyIL]

We were on this same cruse. The table behind us had 3 kids under 5 and they were totally out of control. Screaming every night. Drawing on the table. Throwing crayons (one hit me). I've never seen so many misbehaved kids on a cruise. I can't put my finger on it but out of 11 previous Disney cruises, the crowd was just not the same. I describe it as shopping at dollar general rather than target....just a different crowd.
We had a wonderful time and each port experience we had was great!
Sorry! Didn't mean to hijack your post! Glad you had fun! So did we!

Was this one of the Kids Sail Free cruises? Had that been my first Disney cruise experience, it would've been my ONLY Disney cruise experience! There's a reason I like longer cruises on other cruise lines during the school year: few children onboard!

 

[Ajojo]

Was this one of the Kids Sail Free cruises? Had that been my first Disney cruise experience, it would've been my ONLY Disney cruise experience! There's a reason I like longer cruises on other cruise lines during the school year: few children onboard!

Yes, I didn't realize it until we were on board but someone told us that all the kids are there because of the kids sail free promotion. It wont stop me from taking a Disney cruise again, and we all had a great time. But my cousin wont do Disney again. This was my sister's first ever cruise and she just isnt sure if this is something that she wants to do again.

 

[sissy_ib]

Yes, I didn't realize it until we were on board but someone told us that all the kids are there because of the kids sail free promotion. It wont stop me from taking a Disney cruise again, and we all had a great time. But my cousin wont do Disney again. This was my sister's first ever cruise and she just isnt sure if this is something that she wants to do again.

I wonder if my cruse, the week before you, was KSF. Like I said we only went to the MDR the first two nights out of exhaustion, but we did not notice an overabundance of children anywhere. After getting hit in the head with a Mickey bar I don't blame your cousin for swearing off Disney!

 

[Golden Rose]

We were on this same cruise, but it was our first Disney cruise, so we just assumed the insane number of kids was normal. I had no idea it was because of kids sail free. (I know our kids didn't sail for free. I wish they had!)

Let me say that we absolutely loved the cruise. I will admit that when asked what he thought of it, though, my husband's first reaction was, "Oh my gosh, there were so many kids..."

We thought the MDRs were insanely noisy and full of misbehaving kids, too. Our toddler was a bit of a misbehaving kid on the first night, so we didn't bring her with us again until the last night. (We either skipped the MDRs, booked her into the nursery, or left her in the room with my mom, who didn't really like MDR food and ordered Palo almost every night in the room anyway.) The tables closest to us had moderately well behaved kids, so we weren't hit by any flying objects or anything, but we found the noise level pretty overwhelming anyway. We've cruised a lot, just not on DCL, and we were a little shocked at both the number of kids and the noise in the MDR.

Did anyone else see the boys who set up a carnival game in one of the mid elevators? You threw a beanbag at Stitch (whom they'd perched on a railing), and if you could knock him off the railing, they gave you a prize. (They had a huge pile of prizes.) If you couldn't win a prize, they would sell you one, cheaply. We laughed so hard, and wondered how long it would take the staff or one of their parents to shut it down.

Anyway, we really loved our cruise. Our family unanimously voted (well, we're counting the toddler's new obsession with Mee Mouse as a vote) to cancel the RCCL cruise we had booked for next summer and book another DCL cruise out of Galveston for next fall.

 

[jjones144]

I hate to hear that you guys had such a bad time. We have been on a couple of Disney cruises, and of course there are always a lot of kids, but have never seen any that out of control. I am surprised the staff didn't advise the parents to eat elsewhere. The fact that they hit another adult should be grounds for that for sure. I have three boys, and they definitely get tired of being at dinner for the extended period of time, but they enjoy the experience. They would never act like that, but if they did lose their minds and act like that, I would leave. Why ruin someone else's dinner? I do not think your cruise was KSF. I think that promotion is from January to March. We are actually booked on the KSF in January, you guys have me a little nervous now. Hopefully with it being right after Christmas it won't be too bad. As of now, it seems like there are still a good bit of rooms available.

 

[mouseearstx]

We saw those kids in the elevator with the Stitch game too I also wondered how long they would let that go on!

 

[MandyGirl]

Ditto the above... I don't think the KSF were out of Galveston in the fall. Only January/February. There were the IGT $599, OGT $699 and VGT $899 deals though for the 7-night cruises.

 

[Sparrow78]

oh wow, I can't imagine parents who would let their kids behave like that! I'm now worried for our KSF cruise in January! DD is very adaptable and we currently have main dining so if it's like that, we'll switch! She is very well behaved when we are out because she knows we will leave if she acts up!

 

[feenie]

we were on this cruise too... But had no problems with kids at all. Maybe its because we were not traveling with any?? We had first seating and while there were small kids at tables near us, they were fine. We knew all our our tablemates, there were 8 of us traveling semi together, So i'm sure that helped.
I think the plane ride home was insanely full of kids (our connecting flight was in Orlando... BIG mistake!)

 

[Night Owl]

Wow that is disappointing that the staff didn't make that family leave! I couldn't imagine having such out of control kids. If my kids ever did anything like that, we would leave the dining room immediately!

Lots of kids on a Disney cruise is to be expected I would imagine. I'm trying to get a KSF deal, so if we get one, I'll be prepared for the huge amount of kids onboard I guess.