14 Day Wonder Panama cruise Questions.

Just booked for 11/2019. I have a couple of questions.

1) Shows. do they add shows, or just stick with the normal 3.

2) Transportation from Ship in Galveston to Houston airport. need suggestions

3) Whitewall veranda. #7632 vs clear veranda. will I regret having a whitewall?

4) how to pass the time till 11/2019

5) please explain "fish extenders"

On all "long" cruises, we have had the 3 production shows, 2 or 3 more simple production shows (google "Once Upon a Song," for an example) and some special entertainment. By "special," I mean sometimes big name people. We had Susan Egan (Belle on Broadway) on our Panama crossing, Charo on a trans--Atlantic as it was nearing the Med, etc.

They have something happening every night; once or twice it may be a movie, but normally is some sort of entertainment.

IN the past, DCL has offered transfers from IAH to Galveston, but nothing from Hobby. There are shuttles, you can do a one way car rental, or even an Uber can be cost effective for a family of 4.

You saved a few dollars on the whitewall. We don't mind them, but some people do. I can't tell whether you will regret it.

Living till 2019--your problem.

Fish extenders--have you googled this? The mail holders outside your room are shaped like a fish. Fish extenders hang from this ornament--extending the fish. People for groups that deliver small gifts to each other's cabins. The rules of the FE group are up to the group. Some set a price limit, some do 1 gift per cabin while others do one per person. This can get time consuming and expensive, and you must consider luggage space as well. For me, the ideal FE group is about 20 cabins. If it gets bigger than 25, it is time to split the group in half and allow others to join. WHY? It takes time to run all over the ship to deliver gifts to those cabins, as well as the cost of the gifts. Where to find groups? You can always start one on Cruise Critic. There may already be some on various social media sites...There is also another site that discusses all things Disney, but it is run by a travel agent who censors it heavily. We can't post a link because of the travel agent connection. Your best bet is the book with faces.

Have fun.

We did the Panama Canal a few years ago and are doing it again this fall. Entertainment was exceptional on our last Panama Canal Cruise. Susan Egan was with us, as well as a Cappella group that was just outstanding. There were a large number of adult trivia contests which we found to be quite fun. There will likely be some Disney specialists on the ship as well - a historian or imagineer.

For DCL this is a value cruise and we find it a relaxing cruise. The lecture on the Panama Canal are also worthwhile, interesting and delivered in a good style.

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DCL had two different canal speakers during our cruise. There was a woman who had retired from a position as head of the canal visitor's center. She lectured once on the canal itself and twice on other topics. One was the native Panamanians and their crafts and culture, and I don't remember the third topic. She was excellent. We also had a man who narrated the time we were in the canal itself--boring, monotone...hope they have a better person now.

And long trips typically have someone special from Disney--as noted, we've had imagineers, artists, historians, as well as Margaret who was the model for Tinker Bell, Jeannie who was the understudy for Julie Andrews, etc. who have all spoken about their time with Disney.

Honestly, long trips are the best!

Our Panama Canal lecturer was retired pilot-boat Captain Ken Puckett and I thought he was very good. Always had the Walt Disney Theatre packed out. He did a series of lectures on the history and construction of the Panama Canal leading up to our transit of the canal itself. I recall him doing some lectures post transit, but my memory may be off there. He does this for other cruise lines as well and is highly regarded. He may be close to retiring from doing these lectures and there is no guarantee he will be doing them in the future.

I don't think that Captain Puckett is the same person that Moki'smommy is referring to as the narrator going through the canal. That is the person that describes, milestone by milestone, what you see transiting the canal.

And, I agree the long cruises are the best. We are also doing the eastbound transatlantic in May, 2019. We have done that before and thoroughly enjoyed.

 

I don't think that Captain Puckett is the same person that Moki'smommy is referring to as the narrator going through the canal. That is the person that describes, milestone by milestone, what you see transiting the canal.

No, Captain Puckett is good; I've heard him although I don't remember if it was on DCL or another line. The canal narrator was the boring person...very repetitious monotone. Of course, the best narration ever came from Captain Tom when pointing out some of the birds we could see from the deck.:)

:)

Thank you all for the input we are excited to do this trip

Thank you all for the input we are excited to do this trip

The Panama Canal is still one of our favorite cruises. We are booked on our 15th in Sept to come westbound transatlantic on the Magic.

I agree with everything everyone else wrote. I don't think the whitewall will be too big of a bother. We use our verandah for fresh air and sunshine, not watching the water. There's very seldom anything to see in it anyway.

If you have children, the FE is more fun, but can also be done fun and inexpensive if you are a crafty type person. However, you can get in a group with a ton of rules and it be a buzzkill for everyone .

Have fun! We booked ours a year out too. Pass time by joining the roll call page, researching your ports of call, and reading the history of the Panama Canal. It's a pretty interesting book.

Jill

I know it's a year out, but be aware that traffic from Galveston to IAH is horrendous. Plan a LOT of time for your transfer. Hobby is closer, with somewhat less horrible traffic, but pretty much only serves Southwest.

It can be a 2 hour journey from Galveston port to IAH. Hobby is about a 45 minute cab ride. American Airlines does have some flights out of Hobby. There may be other airlines flying out of Hobby beyond SWA and AA - for example, Delta, Jet Blue and Alaska. I recommend checking your Hobby options. They will be more limited than IAH and they won’t all be direct flights.

We are on the Panama Canal cruise in 2018 and are flying American out of Hobby to DFW airport. We live in the Dallas area and prefer DFW as well.

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Definitely use Hobby if possible. But be aware that in the recent past, DCL transfers were only available from IAH...so if you use Hobby, you are on your own to get to Galveston. There are private transfer companies, rental cars, etc. Driving thru Houston from IAH can be a nightmare.

And just to clarify, the traffic is horrible all the time. It's not a rush hour thing, though rush hour is especially horrible. It's just too many people in too few lanes, that always seem to be under construction.

Good to know Hobby isn't just SW any more. It's been years since we've flown out of there. We live west of Houston, and do the drive to Galveston a couple times a year.

As with all cruises, regardless of airport, I strongly recommend that you fly in the night before. In the event of a cruise out of Galveston, I also suggest that you spend the night there, not in Houston.

Even if you fly in the evening before the cruise, that gives you a lot more flexibility in the event of a delayed flight, horrible traffic, or whatever else might happen. It isn't worth the headache of flying in the morning of a cruise, especially with a long drive to the cruise port. Think of the hotel fee as cheap travel insurance. Or if it works for your cruise and your schedule, come in a couple days early and enjoy a new city.

The ship channel in Galveston is also notorious for being foggy, with ships delayed getting back in to port (or delayed leaving, which isn't an issue for the OP.) So again, plan a LOT of time between debarkation and your flight.

Oh yes, that channel is infamous. We once went out a day late as the ship we were supposed to board couldn't get thru the channel and dock due to fog. This was not a DCL ship, but since it was a weather issue, no ships could get in to dock. The cruise line did provide a hotel for the night, and we were able to board the next morning. Obviously, they also assisted those passengers who had booked flights thru the cruise line--this isn't a bad idea from this particular port!

If you book flights thru the cruise line, you won't be flying SW to Hobby; I don't believe they will bring other flights in there since they dropped transfers from Hobby. PLEASE check with DCL--since some of the airlines they book are now using that airport, they might have changed this policy. The thing is that if you book flights thru DCL and something happens to prevent you arriving at the airport after a cruise, DCL will re-arrange your flights at no additional cost to you. If you book flights on your own, you are literally on your own, at the mercy of the airline policies and the fine print in your travel insurance.

The cruise starts in San Diego we live in Reno so no big deal to fly to SAN with southwest . Galveston to hobby is the concern. we think a 2 pm flight should be ok