14-Night Eastbound Panama Canal Cruise from San Diego ending in GAL
Disney Magic
November 6 - 20, 2026
14-Night Eastbound Panama Canal Cruise from San Diego ending in GAL
Disney Magic
November 4 - 18, 2027
The 2027 cruise I added impulsively during a fit of bitter disappointment at being unable to book a DCL transatlantic crossing due to our lowly Silver status. The 2-week cruises donāt do much to boost that status either, but 3/4 day cruises are just too short for me, and Disney seems to price them close to the longer cruises, soā¦ away we go!
I think a lot of disgruntled people had the same idea to book the Nov 2027 Panama cruise because I think now itās sold out of balconies, more than a year in advance.
Anyway, I know I wonāt mind going to the same ports because itās not about the ports for us, itās more about THIS every morning:
This made me think about how some people must get the indoor staterooms. I could handle 3 nights but I canāt imagine being in an indoor stateroom for 14 nights!
My mom and sister did inside solo cabins for 7-n on NCL and didnāt mind it at all. If your cabin is just for sleeping and showering, it can work. I do like daylight. But I think I could make it work.
My husband has newly learned to appreciate the balcony. Kids are finally old enough. He likes to just sit there and read. The problem is a full room may not always smell so good or be so tidy after a few days and I am very likely going to want to go sit on deck if Iām going to read.
I couldnāt do 14 nights in an inside either. It doesnāt surprise me that the balconies are sold out though. What a cool journey! How often does Disney even do the Panama Canal?
I could be mistaken but I think they move the Magic back and forth between Galveston and San Diego every season. There is a ship that does the Alaska itineraries in the summerānot sure what that oneās home base is.
There were quite a few ppl on our trans-Atlantic w/ interior rooms but they were rarely in them. Iām very happy our bid was won for a balcony room b/c I would struggle for that long in a dark cave.
This is another thing about DCL that I just learned, I think on the Disney Dish?, that status is by cruises, not cruise nights! Thatās ridiculous in my opinion. But I guess speaks to their business model that encourages short trips.
Today was my first time booking on-board activities as a Silver Castaway Club member (my second DCL cruise)!
Our cruise is only 4 nights (@QwertySC quick correction for the index - itās 4 days not 3) so technically I was not planning on booking anything. I was just curious and started browsing..then of course left with a reservation for Palo brunch on our day at sea In principle I donāt see the point of paying extra for speciality dining when there are good options for free, but clearly Iāve been watching too much Mammoth Club and figured I may not get another chance at Palo brunch anytime soon, since itās adults-only and I usually travel with my kids. There were plenty of slots left, so I picked one - and can cancel without penalty up to 24hrs before. Letās see how I feel once aboard!
I was also surprised to see that there were TONS of cabanas still available. I had read that these tend to sell out almost immediately, and I logged in about 2hrs after the booking window opened for Silver Castaway members. On this one, I was genuinely just curious and not tempted to book. But should I take this as a hopeful sign that our cruise is not sold out and will be relatively calm? The fact that they are offering FL residentsā discounts on it may be another sign. Then again, there are still three months to go until sailing, so letās see.
In exciting news, Iāve also added an extra stateroom on this cruise for my older sister and my niece! Exactly like last time, once I announced to the family that I was booking a cruise for my mom and me, my sisters got FOMO. The younger sister caved first, which was easy since we could just add her to the already-booked stateroom. Then the older sister joined in, together with her 30-year-old daughter (my momās oldest grandchild and also my godchild). And now everyoneās getting excited planning matching Christmas shirts and pirate attire. Clearly, I should book things to get the ball rolling more often (and in that spirit, I may have quietly put down a deposit on a bucket list cruise for next summer, which is still far from confirmed but in the category of things Iām trying to will into existence)
The tomorrow/90 hours email was from JULY! The ship/dates at the top are correct so that is so weird.
The Cruise Critic email I assume is based off of a roll call post but the roll call post seems to be setup for October 11 as well. No idea what is going on.
