After eventually falling asleep the night before, I woke up early again just before 7:00am on our only full day onboard the Disney Magic. As much as I wanted a lay-in, I knew I would rather get out of bed and enjoy the short time that we had onboard. However we also planned to make our day at sea a relaxed one (as this was our second Disney Magic at Sea staycation cruise, we had done a lot of the stuff onboard already) so we sat out on our verandah with a cup of tea for ages just chatting and enjoying the view. It was a beautiful calm morning outside with pink clouds in the sky – it really was the perfect way to start the day.

After having a shower and getting dressed, we decided to go for a walk around Deck 10. It was still very quiet on the outdoor decks at this time and there was hardly anyone else to be seen. There were also so many airplane contrails to be seen in the sky all around us which for me was so wonderful to see as that along with being back onboard the Disney Magic really felt like it was a sign of my life returning to some form of normality.

We usually like to have breakfast in Cabanas however on this cruise like the day before on embarkation, we decided to change it up and visit Lumiere’s at 9:00am for a proper sit down breakfast.  I am not the biggest breakfast lover and I’m probably one of the only people who does not like Mickey waffles (on the staycation sailings they were only available for breakfast in the sit down restaurants and not at Cabanas) so I ordered a small plate of two hashbrowns with some mushrooms along with an orange juice as well as a much needed coffee.

It was once again time for the “Marvel Morning at Sea” and despite having all the character photos from our cruise out of Southampton the month before, there were a few pictures we wanted to try and get again. This was also the first cruise that I have done where I broke one of my own Disney Cruise rules and did not bring my SLR camera and several different lenses with me. Instead I brought my smaller mirrorless camera as I wanted to give it a try and this cruise seemed to be the perfect opportunity and most importantly, it had a decent zoom lens so I could still get some good character photos as they are socially distanced from you onboard. Despite it being a lot lighter and easier to carry around, I really missed having my SLR camera with me and at least I now know to definitely take it on any other cruises that we do.

At 9:45am we made our way to the Walt Disney Theatre and waited in the line outside ready to meet Chip and Dale as Thor and Loki.  It was really interesting on this cruise (compared to our sailing out of Southampton) that the character lines were a lot longer and as we were first in line, we also noticed a lot of people being incredibly rude to the cast member at the door to the theatre when they were told that they would have to join the long line that had already formed. Chip and Dale were still just as funny and adorable as ever and I also noticed for the first time that their Thor and Loki hats are actually shaped like acorns.

The characters in their Marvel costumes just made me smile especially as one of our cancelled cruises was a Marvel Day at Sea sailing that we had been looking forward to so much. After meeting Chip and Dale we got straight back in line outside the theatre so we could meet Minnie and Mickey as Captain America and Spidergirl once again.

Whilst all of the lines to meet the characters were long, there was also a huge queue waiting for the shops to open that morning which had at least fifty people in despite there being hardly anything left in stock to buy. We also noticed as we were walking around that all of the artwork that is usually displayed outside the D Lounge on Deck 4 had also all been sold – I have never seen that wall without anything on it before.

After this it only seemed right to head to Cove Cafe on Deck 9 for a coffee and a cake (whilst there is a charge for drinks at Cove Cafe, all of the food items are complimentary) and sit and watch the world (and the sea) go by.

After listening to the ship’s horn and Captain Fabian’s announcement at Midday, we went to Cabanas for lunch. There was so much to choose from but during breakfast we had been told by our Head Server Sudhir that there would be a curry station which we knew we wanted to try and I’m glad we did as the vegetable biryani was amazing! We sat outside at Cabanas to start with but it did get very cold and windy so moved indoors when we got dessert.

Once we finished lunch we walked down to Deck 4 to sit on the chairs outside which were thankfully sheltered from the wind and as it was so quiet where we were sat, I was also able to FaceTime my parents for a quick catch up. Both iMessage as well as FaceTime work completely free of charge using the ships wifi – you just need to connect to it without paying just like you do to use the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app. It was the first time I had ever tried to use FaceTime from the ship and I hope this feature stays as it would be great to use on any longer cruises that we do in the future.

As we had started to sail back into blue skies, we decided to spend the rest of our afternoon by the pool at Quiet Cove. It was a little bit chilly due to the wind (even the Aquadunk was closed) so plenty of dry towels and blankets were needed when getting out of the pool. It was however impossible to get into a hot tub to warm up due to the same group of selfish people who did not move from either of them for most of the entire afternoon (despite there being a posted time limit of fifteen minutes for each travel party) until eventually another person complained and they were told by a Cast Member to get out so everyone else could use them as well. When we finally had our turn and were ready to get out, I made sure I got the attention of another couple nearby who I knew had been waiting ages so they could have their turn as well before the other group had to chance to take over the hot tubs once again.

Another interesting sight was two adults dive bombing into the pool and taking turns to hold each others head under the water before spitting mouthfuls of pool water into the others face when they came up for air. It would be disgusting to watch at any time but it was a hundred times worse right now given the current situation that we are all living in.

We had been planning to stay by the pool for Happy hour which started at 5:00pm however as it was so cold and windy, we decided to go back to our stateroom and have a hot shower to warm up before getting dressed and heading back to Signals at the Quiet Cove to enjoy our drink. We both ordered a Blood Orange Aperol Spritz which was delicious.

Once we finished our drinks, there was a Disney Princess “Appear and Wave” scheduled in the lobby atrium so we walked down to Deck 3 where both Belle and Mulan were out with no one waiting to meet them – it was quiet as both the first dinner seating as well as the first showing of Disney Dreams in the Walt Disney Theatre had already started.

We made our way back up to Deck 10 to watch the sunset which whilst not as spectacular as the night before was still beautiful with some very moody looking clouds surrounding the ship – a sign of the weather to come that night.

We were both feeling exhausted but knew if we headed back to our stateroom, we would sit down on the bed and fall asleep and miss dinner which was the last thing we wanted to do. So instead we decided to get some much needed caffeine and see what characters we could find. Mickey and Goofy were both out for an “Appear and Wave” on Decks 4 and 5 but the lines for them stretched all the way around the lobby atrium. Sadly there was also someone shouting and swearing loudly at the top of her voice as the line for Goofy had already closed before she got there and how disgusting it was.

I wish that I could say that this was an isolated incident but we saw so much vulgar and questionable behaviour on this cruise along with a fight, people smoking everywhere, entire families refusing to wear a mask whilst inside the ship (which you knew was one of the rules before booking) as well as being extremely rude and disrespecful to the incredible Cast Members onboard. Friends who also sailed out of Tilbury had very similar experiences – it was the exact opposite to sailing from Southampton. It was so weird to think that I originally thought that Southampton would be the busy and manic cruise as it was during the school summer holidays and Tilbury would be calm but I could not have been more wrong.

Our last dinner onboard the Disney Magic at Sea sailings was in Lumiere’s at 8:30pm and the restaurant seemed empty and it was so quiet. Unlike the other two restaurants onboard there is no “show” in Lumiere’s – the only entertainment is someone playing the grand piano instead so the atmosphere was very calm and peaceful.  The Lumiere’s menu is one of my favourites as there is so much that I like on it so as I was hungry I ordered the Breaded Deep Fried Brie, the Iced Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp as well as the French Onion Soup to start followed by the Wild Mushroom-Stuffed Pasta in a Vegetable Broth for my main course. After that I was completely full so did not order dessert (even though I love the Opera Cake) as I never would have been able to finish it.

After we had finished dinner we decided to go for one last walk around the top decks but as we walked outside, we were met with a flooded Deck 9 due to the heavy sideways rain that was coming down from all directions. We had to laugh as what else would you expect in the North Sea at the end of September apart from wind, rain and lots of it! Thankfully the rain let up enough for a few minutes so we could grab a few last photos from Deck 10 – we also bumped into our friends doing the exact same thing – before running back very quickly to the shelter of Deck 9 when the rain started again.

A stingray towel animal with chocolates was waiting for us back in our stateroom along with our tip envelopes, comment card, luggage labels, postcards as well as pen – before Covid the last two items would always be in the desk drawer but they are now left in the stateroom as part of the turndown service for you during the cruise instead.

The next morning we both woke up just after 5:30am as the ships thrusters kicked in as we arrived back into the Port of Tilbury. We went out onto our verandah to watch as we approached the dock and there was also a beautiful sunrise in the distance to start the day.

After having a quick shower and packing the last of our belongings, I remembered to take a photo of the map on the television to see where we had sailed. Who would have guessed a year beforehand that we would do two cruises on the Disney Magic to Weymouth and Lowestoft!

Between our two staycation cruises, I had collected five coffee stamps from my visits to Cove Cafe which meant I could have a free drink which I wanted to get before driving home. Cove Cafe is one of the only places open on the final morning of the cruise so you are able to get a final latte before disembarking. I have never been out onto the top decks before on the final morning of a cruise as we usually disembark early but it was such a beautiful morning and I loved seeing the ship being prepared ready for the next guests to board later that day – it was also a great time to get photos without anyone in them.

After leaving our amazing stateroom and thanking the incredible Lilia who had looked after us so wonderfully again, we made our way to Animator’s Palate at 9:00am for our final breakfast onboard. After our last cruise I had to get the “On the Move” vegetable wrap with hashbrowns again as it was so good but this time ordered a double portion as I was feeling hungry.

Another thing I heard (and loved) for the first time on this cruise whilst I had been walking around Deck 10 and whilst we were eating breakfast that morning was the disembarkation announcements throughout the ship from Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

After finishing our breakfast, we thanked Ivan, Charles and Sudhir for looking after us during the cruise and we disembarked the Disney Magic at 9:45am. As the London International Cruise Terminal at the Port of Tilbury is so small and as we had no luggage to collect, we were back at our car two minutes after leaving the ship. As it was such a nice day we drove along the waterfront to get some photos of the ship before setting off home.

That morning as we left the beautiful Disney Magic in Tilbury, it honestly felt like the biggest weight had finally been lifted from my shoulders and it felt incredible. Ever since we had booked both of our staycation cruises five months previously, I had been constantly worrying the entire time about something going wrong and not being able to sail on one or either of them – we had already had five cruises cancelled at that point and did not want any more. So to finally feel the happiness and relief that day that both of our sailings had gone ahead without a hitch was the best feeling ever. I no longer had the feelings of panic and “what if” and simply just had the wonderful memories of being back onboard instead.

We currently have several more Disney cruises booked as well as another one with a different cruise line (yes we are finally branching out and trying something different!) and if they do happen, I will treasure every single minute we have onboard. I cannot wait!

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