Disney Magic and Disney Wonder Sail in 2013

Venice, Miami, Vancouver, oh my!  Oh my is sure right as fans of Disney Cruise Line learned about the 2013 itineraries for the fleets two oldest ships, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.  2013 sailings for the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy were announced in October—click here to read more.

There is no more wondering about the Wonder who had four Mexican Riviera sailings canceled for December 2012.  Instead, the Wonder will be cruising through the Panama Canal and making Miami its home port for several holiday sailings in December 2012.  A 14 night repositioning cruise through the canal followed by a 7 night Eastern Caribbean Holiday Cruise and a 6 night Western Caribbean New Year Cruise are scheduled for December 9, December 23, and December 30, 2012.  Interestingly, only one of those itineraries, the 7 night Eastern Caribbean Holiday Cruise, allows guests to stop at Disney’s Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas. 

Miami will continue to be the Wonder’s home part until May 2013 offering 4 and 5 night sailings to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean destinations.  Ports include Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Key West, Nassau, and Castaway Cay.

Then it’s back to the west for the Wonder after another repositioning cruise through the canal to make Vancouver, British Columbia a home port for 7 night sailings to Alaska from May through September 2013.  There are no other itineraries available for the Wonder after September 2013.

Now, about the Disney Magic—Galveston, Texas will be the home port of this ship from December 2012 through May of 2013.  An Eastbound Transatlantic cruise is next followed by a glorious summer in the Mediterranean.  The itineraries rotate 4, 7, and 12 night sailings with Barcelona, Spain as a home port.  Ports of call include Nice, Naples, Florence, Rome, Venice, Croatia, Malta, Athens, Mykonos, and Turkey depending on the particular sailing.

Also, interestingly, there is no Westbound Transatlantic cruise scheduled and no sailings for the Magic after August 2013.

Basically, we’ve got the first 8-9 months of 2013 covered for the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, while reservations and itineraries exist for the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy until December 2013. 

Time for some rumination. . Will extended dry-docks to update the older ships be scheduled for the end of 2013?  Will guest favorites, such as the Aqua Duck, be added to the older ships?  What about virtual portholes for the inside staterooms, another guest favorite?  Will the Magic stay in Europe for an extended period of time? 

After the long awaited announcement for the 2013 itineraries for the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, this Disney Cruise Line fan is left with more questions than answers.

So, will we be sailing in 2013?  I’m not sure.  Since our next Disney Cruise is slated for December 2012, it would be a short turn around to sail again in 2013.  And, while the European itineraries are tempting Alaska seems to be an area we are more interested in visiting right now. . . well, Alaska and Hawaii.  Yet, changing the home port from Seattle—which the 2012 Alaska sailings are using to Vancouver—home port for 2013, makes airfare more expensive. 

Another dilemma is considering the boy and the kids club.  When he is 10, he’s in the Oceaneer’s Club, which is a state of the art facility on any ship.  But when he turns 11, which he will in 2013, the location for the Tween group on the Magic and Wonder is a converted area on Deck 2 midship, rather than the state of the art location in the forward funnel—the Edge—on the Fantasy and the Dream.  We are leaning more towards the newer ships until he is old enough for the Teen club, which again is quality on all of the ships.

What I do know for sure, is that we will have our next cruise picked out by the time we board the Disney Dream in December of 2012 and will be ready to rebook on board.  We’ll be Gold Castaway Club Members by then and ready for even more perks! (Click here to read about Castaway Club.)