4-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Galveston - Day 5 Disembarkation and Final Thoughts

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Disembarkation

I woke up at 7 AM, showered, got everyone else up and we all finished getting ready and packing. We got ready somehow in record time and had some time to chill before breakfast. I feel like this was our least stressful disembarkation morning in memory. I think we're getting the hang of it. I think it helps to hang on to one regular suitcase to put everything we have left into. We used to try to stuff things into little bags and stuff and it was a mess. We just leave the suitcase outside the restaurant. It works fine. 

We ate breakfast at Lumiere's and then tried to find a bathroom that didn't have a mile long line. We finished up, joined the line to disembark, which was growing shorter by the moment and went to find our other suitcase before proceeding to border control and out the door. Then we bypassed the insanely long line for people waiting for a parking lot shuttle and walked the one minute walk to our car in the express lot. Worth. Every. Penny. 

Final Thoughts

The Good: 

  • It was fun being on the Magic again. We hadn't sailed her since 2018 and I love that ship. I've heard some people complaining about the age of the ship (25 years old) but if I didn't know it, I would be surprised to learn it. The ship was in great shape and the redesign of Promenade to Soul Cat Lounge was nice. I felt like there was more seating and it was better designed.
  • We had a nice ship-sponsored tour in Progreso.
  • It's nice to be able to drive four hours to the port and get on a ship.
  • It's always good to be on a Disney Cruise!
  • Emmaline made some friends and our table mates were really nice.
  • Our meal at Palo ranks as one of the best we've ever had. 
  • The food in the main dining rooms seemed better than we remembered vs. the ships we've been on of late (the Fantasy, Dream, and Wish). 

The Not As Good: 

  • The Gulf always seems to have rough seas. 
  • Our servers weren't the best we've ever had. We had a really good one at lunch one day. We should have noted his name. We just don't know anyone on the Magic any more. 
  • The variety of activities was lacking. It was trivia, trivia, trivia. We needed something else. 
  • I'm not sure if there was a recent change of cast in the Walt Disney Theatre productions because they seemed a little less strong than we're used to. Maybe they are finding their footing? 
  • This cruise had a ridiculous number of very small children. There were multiple children in Cove Cafe and the whole cruise just felt rowdy and loud and people everywhere that seemed clueless or rude. It was the first time I ever had an encounter with a truly rude and inconsiderate fellow cruiser that was really surprising and uncomfortable to me. I was thankful it wasn't a longer voyage and I didn't have to see that individual again repeatedly for three more days.
  • The weather on the sea days was cold and windy. That combined with rough seas that shut down the pool made the indoor activities jam packed. They needed to add more stuff.








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