Nov. 24 2017 7-Night Bahama Cruise out of Galveston on Wonder

[Stefileslie85]

Anyone else like to watch YouTube videos of the Disney wonder?

My daughter does. She loves seeing Andy's Room in the oceaneers club.

 

[Smeece]

Been showing my kids people's trip reports on the Wonder and they're getting very excited! The one with Cass, Rob and Kira is very good.

 

[HunkyDory]

First Disney cruise! Myself, husband, 6 year old daughter. Been on Carnival out of Galveston like four times and to Nassau and Key West ports once. Excited to join a fish extender group, thanks for the instructions and test posting thread.

 

[Stefileslie85]

First Disney cruise! Myself, husband, 6 year old daughter. Been on Carnival out of Galveston like four times and to Nassau and Key West ports once. Excited to join a fish extender group, thanks for the instructions and test posting thread.

Your welcome. I got your PM and you have been added to Group #2.

 

[Stefileslie85]

Our Fish Extender Group #1 is closed and Group #2 is open and is half full. Only 5 more to go.

Group #1 Closed:
Stefileslie85 - DW, DH, DD 4, DD 2
ptcruisers - 2 Adults (female)
Chris Boudreaux - DH, DW, DD 16, DD 13
emsandows - DH, DW, DD 9, DS 8
labela - DW, DH, DD 12
Cassi Cox - DH, DW, DS 7, DS 4
Bea Tapia - DW, DH, Mom, DS 9
Texasrosebud - DW, DH, DD (Adult)
SadieSue - DW, DH, Grandson 5, Grandson 2
Luann Crownover - Grandma, Mom, DD 21, DD 16

Group #2 Open:
Kat1213 - DW, DH, DS 5, DS 2
Holmes1907 - DH DW, DD 14
Kim Ray - Grandma, Mom, DS 5
Mystery Inc - Mom, Dad, Child 7, Child 4
HunkyDory - DW, DH, DD 6

 

[Stefileslie85]

Only 278 more buying/crafting days until we sail. I'm thinking my family may have started getting FE gifts to early. Every couple weeks we seem find or think of something that would make a great FE gift. Hopefully we will have enough restraint to keep it to one carryon bags worth.

 

[Cassi Cox]

Do we need a passport for this cruise? I have heard we do not because we get on off at the same port(Galveston), I just want to make sure we can still explore Nassau. Can anyone confirm this.

 

[Stefileslie85]

Do we need a passport for this cruise? I have heard we do not because we get on off at the same port(Galveston), I just want to make sure we can still explore Nassau. Can anyone confirm this.

I appologize in advance for the long reply.

As I understand it, for our cruise if you are a US citizen and as long as you board the Wonder in Galveston and disembark the Wonder when it returns to Galveston regardless of the ports you visit you can get away with only having a Government-issued photo ID along with an original or copy of a state-issued birth certificate. The only thing you may want to think about is if something happens when you are not in the US and you are unable to return with the ship you are required to have a passport to fly back to the US. Hopefully this helps a bit. I would double check with Disney or your travel agent. Fyi I found this info on DCL's web site.

Disney Cruise Line has the following posted on their web site.

"The Bahamas

The following guidelines are based on government regulations, which are subject to change at any time. It is your responsibility to check with your travel agent, government agency, embassy or consulate to ensure that you have all the proper documentation to board the ship and enter each of the countries on the ship's itinerary.

If you're visiting any country other than the U.S., remember to contact the consulate of that country to ensure you have the documentation required to visit. Travelers can visit the U.S. State Department's website. Guests without proper documentation will be denied boarding.

Adults who are not the parent or legal guardian of a minor traveling with them must present a Minor Authorization Form signed by the child’s parent(s) or legal guardian.

The following information pertains to all Guests, including children, who board a cruise ship within the United States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship.

Required Documents for U.S. Citizens

All Guests claiming U.S. citizenship must present one of the following as proof of U.S. citizenship:

A valid U.S. Passport
A valid U.S. Passport Card
A valid Trusted Traveler Card (NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
Government-issued photo ID along with one of the following:
Original or copy of their state-issued birth certificate
Puerto Rico birth certificates issued prior to 7/1/2010 are not accepted
Original Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State
Original Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Guests under the age of 16 may present one of the following:

Original or copy of their state-issued birth certificate
Original Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State
Original Certificate of Naturalization issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

With the exception of the state-issued birth certificate, photocopies of the above documents are not acceptable. Hospital-issued birth certificates are not acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship for purposes of traveling outside of the U.S.

Guests disembarking in a foreign port and not returning to the ship should be sure that they meet all of the documentation and entry requirements of that country. In addition, they may be assessed a fine or penalty according to local or national regulations.

U.S. citizens traveling by air to the United States must present a valid passport."

 

[Luann Crownover]

We are having so much fun getting our FE gifts together! We can't wait for this cruise! Anyone else staying at Hotel Galvez on Thanksgiving evening?

 

[Stefileslie85]

T minus 263 days and counting. I was doing some research on which movies should be showing on the Wonder during our cruise. They always show a mix of old and new movies but the two that are released in November and I think will be showing for sure are Marvel Studios Thor: Ragnarok and Disney-Pixar's Coco. Some other possibilities (because they are released in 2017) are Disney-Pixar's Cars 3, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Marvel Studios Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Disneynature’s Born In China, and Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

 

[Stefileslie85]

We are having so much fun getting our FE gifts together! We can't wait for this cruise! Anyone else staying at Hotel Galvez on Thanksgiving evening?

We'll be at the DoubleTree. Not sure where we are going to eat Thanksgiving dinner yet. Last time we didn't check into the hotel till around 5:00pm and we all were tired from the drive so we just ordered from the hotel.

 

[Stefileslie85]

256 days to go and my family has made/got everything we need for our fish extender gifts except one thing. Hopefully in the upcoming months we can find what we need to finish our gifts.

 

[Bea Tapia]

Group #1, Texasrosebud added her daughter to her room. Here is the updated list.

Group #1 Closed:
Stefileslie85 - DW, DH, DD 4, DD 2
ptcruisers - 2 Adults (female)
Chris Boudreaux - DH, DW, DD 16, DD 13
emsandows - DH, DW, DD 9, DS 8
labela - DW, DH, DD 12
Cassi Cox - DH, DW, DS 7, DS 4
Bea Tapia - DW, DH, Mom, DS 9
Texasrosebud - DW, DH, DD (Adult)
SadieSue - DW, DH, Grandson 5, Grandson 2
Luann Crownover - Grandma, Mom, DD 21, DD 16

Thanks for the update! Need to add person to shopping list.

 

[Stefileslie85]

Does anyone have 1st dining for this cruise? We booked this cruise last November and did not have a choice for our dining times. DCL said all the 1st dining times were already taken. I guess I am supprised that this cruise was more than half full a year out. They said that we are on a waiting list for 1st dining but I'm not getting my hopes up that we will be able to switch. Not the end of the world, for some reason I have been thinking about it lately. Also, has anyone on here ever been on the dining time waiting list and been successful in switching their dinning time?

 

[Kyla Lansbury]

Hi everyone! New to disboards and joined just for this cruise thread... Haha.

We've been to Disney World twice; once in 2014 and again in 2016. And to Disneyland in 2015. We are cruising for the first time ever and we picked Disney!

It will be myself, my husband an our 1 year old daughter. Her first birthday is the week before, and this is our birthday present to her. I've been researching how going with a 1 year old will be, and hopefully things won't be too bad as we've been assigned second dining.

I am trying to sell my husband on us joining a FE group as well. He isn't too certain about it, but I really want to do it.

 

[Stefileslie85]

I'm sure you guys will have a great time. As far as joining our FE group it's totaly up to you. We did it for the first time our last cruise and are excited to be doing it on this one. Our kids loved checking our fish extender every time we went in or out of our rooms. We thought some of the stuff we got was really neat and we enjoyed getting/making gifts to give out. Some of the cons would be you have to spend time or money getting/making gifts for your group. It also takes some time away from your cruise to pass out the gifts but as we are keeping our groups small it should not take very long to pass them out. On our last cruise we had groups of the same size and we gave out half one day and half the next and I think it took us a half hour or so total. Either way I'm sure you will have fun. I will post the FE rules so you can have a little more info.

 

[Stefileslie85]

For those that are interested in joining the Fish Extender for this cruise here are my rules and guidelines. We will be making groups with a maximun of 10 cabins in each group. You are welcome to join more than one group if you want more than 10 cabins. The last group will be closed one month before the cruise and I will then start a latecomer’s group or a pixie dust group. If someone drops out of a group before the cruise, I will not replace them in a group (unless the group agrees).

Real names are not required – it is DW(Darling Wife), DH(Darling Husband), DD(Darling Daughter) and DS(Darling Son). If you want to give your real names in case someone in your group wants to make personalized gifts that's fine but it's optional.

Info required to join the FE is room #, who is in the room, ages of any kids and an email address to send the final list to. Optional info is any allergies, favorite characters and real names. The only person that will have your email is me and I will delete it from my contacts once we are back from the cruise. I will send an email to all participants in each group as it closes. I will have everyone email me back so I know they have received their email and everything is correct. After that, the only email you will get from me is if there are any changes in your FE group.

There is no spending limit (spend what you are comfortable with). Gifts can be per person or per cabin, your choice. Please make sure to hang your extender as soon as possible for those who want to deliver early (or daily - it does happen). There is no set day to deliver, just have everything delivered before Thursday November 30th at 6pm so people have time to pack. If there is no extender, please do not leave anything as the participants may have changed rooms.

I will let everyone know of any room changes up to 48 hours before the cruise, then I will be traveling to Galveston and have limited access to the internet. If you have any changes less than 48 hours before the cruise you will have to wait until you are on the boat and go door to door and drop off a note to your group with the changes.

I will try to check this thread often so feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Stefileslie85]

If you are thinking of joing our FE group, one more thing to consider is packing space. With a little one sometimes suitcase space can be at a premium. If you need to bring strollers, car seats, pack and plays (if you are not using one from DCL), etc.... you may not want to deal with bringing an extra bag. But that all depends on how big or heavy your Fish Extender gifts are. My family likes bringing an extra bag because after we pass out all our FE gifts we use it to carry the FE gifts we get as well as any souvenirs we get during our trip. Hope this helps.

 

[Kyla Lansbury]

If you are thinking of joing our FE group, one more thing to consider is packing space. With a little one sometimes suitcase space can be at a premium. If you need to bring strollers, car seats, pack and plays (if you are not using one from DCL), etc.... you may not want to deal with bringing an extra bag. But that all depends on how big or heavy your Fish Extender gifts are. My family likes bringing an extra bag because after we pass out all our FE gifts we use it to carry the FE gifts we get as well as any souvenirs we get during our trip. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information!

We are driving to the port and won't be using a stroller so packing isn't too big of a deal for us. When we go on any vacation we always take an extra suitcase. We usually have one of the bigger ones eat a smaller one that we put stuff in.

Hopefully I can get my husband on board because I really want to get crafty. Lol

 

[HunkyDory]

I'm excited to get started on FE stuff!

Does anyone know if pin trading is much of a thing on the cruise? I haven't been to Disneyworld since 2004- when I bought 4 pins but trading wasn't even on my radar. I have a 6 year old daughter now so she might enjoy it. Do they have any pin gatherings or do any of the crew wear trading lanyards? Thanks to anyone who might know!