The Wonder of Disney

Yesterday I promised that I would tell you about the Disney Wonder which will start sailing out of Galveston next September, so here we go.  It will arrive in Galveston via a Panama Canal cruise that leaves from Los Angeles on September 14th.  Now, I don't know about any of you, but this is something I have always wanted to do.  I have gone through some minor locks in boats before.  But I have never spent a day sailing through locks on a ship.  I have to say, it seems like a pretty amazing experience.  I won't get all into the book I read a number of years ago that got me so interested in this.  But I will tell you that it is probably a top fiver on my bucket list.  (If you are interested in the book, let me know, it's a great read.)

So, the ship leaves Los Angeles at 4 p.m. on the 14th which is a Saturday.  If I were doing this and had not been to LA before, I would arrive on Thursday and spend a few days seeing the sites of the area.  A lot of people bad mouth LA, but there is really a lot to do there that everyone should do once in their lives.  I used to go there for work quite a lot so I wouldn't really feel a need to arrive before Saturday morning and go straight to the cruise ship terminal, but again, if you have never spent time there, you need a few days to see everything.  The first stop after one day at sea is Cabo San Lucas.  I've never been to Cabo and think that it would be really cool.  The following day you have a stop at Puerto Vallarta.  If you are a life long Texan like me, you probably haven't seen the west coast of Mexico too much.  So, I think these Mexican Riviera stops would be fun.

After that you have 4 days at sea for nothing but relaxation, reading, pool time, games, shows and just general chilling out.  Honestly, it will probably take you one of those days just to figure out where everything on board the ship is located.  Finally, on Sunday the 22nd, you will arrive at the Panama Canal bright and early in the morning and spend the entire day cruising through the canal.

In my mind, you need a cabin with a balcony for a cruise like this.  I mean, up on deck, people will be clamoring for a space on the rail when you get to the cool parts that everyone wants to see.  If you have your own balcony, you have your own 8 feet of rail that no one who is not in your cabin can push you away from.  On the other hand, it is liable to be a real party type atmosphere on deck and maybe you are into that.

The following day after coming out of the canal, the ship stops in Cartagena, Colombia.  I personally, cannot think of Cartagena without thinking of the drug cartels of the 70's, 80's and 90's.  According to websites, a strong military presence keeps the city a safe place.  Although in the Colombian countryside, the drug battles continue.  I think if I were to visit Cartagena on a cruise, I would take an excursion that stayed near the port area and on nearby beaches.  Pictures of the city look beautiful.  Trip Advisor lists 52 things to do in Cartagena.  So, I am sure that you could find plenty to do in a safe environment.  And who knows... Maybe you'll get to see a hot guy dressed like Don Johnson with the sleeves of his light colored suit pushed up walk by....  (Am I the only one who thinks of Miami Vice when I think of 1980's drug cartels?)

Leaving Cartagena, there are two more days at sea before arriving at Cozumel.  Again, you can't take a cruise either from or two Galveston without spending time in Cozumel.  But the water never stops being beautiful there and the people never stop being friendly.  Finally after one more day at sea you arrive in Galveston.  Once there, the Wonder will call Galveston home through the end of 2013.  I am currently trying to talk my parents into taking this cruise.  They have been looking for a Panama Canal cruise for a number of years.  The price couldn't be better.  A balcony room for this 14 night cruise starts at $5,179 for double occupancy.  Oceanview rooms are available for $4,479, double occupancy.  If you think you would like cruising through the canal on deck near the pool, inside cabins are a mere $3,611 for double occupancy.

Once the Wonder starts running regular itineraries out of Galveston the routes again will be a little different from those of other cruise lines sailing out of Galveston.  They will run a 7 night Bahamian route that will stop in Key West, Castaway Cay (Disney's private island in the Bahamas) and Nassau.  The 7 night Caribbean route which starts up in October will consist of stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  Those two 7 night itineraries continue through November.  Then in December they add a couple of 4 and 6 night cruises back to the schedule while the kiddos are out of school.

Overall, Disney cruises seem to be very well priced when you consider that you will be getting the quality that comes with the Disney name.  I have not personally been on a Disney ship YET.  But when I put the photos of cabins on board Disney up against those of any other cruise line, most of the other cruise lines come up lacking.  The ships are beautiful.  If you are like me and the only thing keeping you from a Disney cruise is the possibility of it being a giant floating daycare center, I think taking a 7 night cruise out of Galveston during the school year when there are no holidays will help with that.  Additionally, the children's programs on board Disney seem to be some of the best at sea.  So, even if there are a lot of toddlers on board, you may not see much of them.  Finally, if all else fails, they have an adults only pool and a number of adults only dining and drinking venues.  And I don't know about anybody else, but my balcony is almost always adults only! :-)

So, what's your excuse?  Tell me which itinerary you are interested in and let's get this thing started.  Have a nice relaxing Sunday and call or email me if you want to look into a cruise....  I'll be manning the phones all day. :-)