We had to be up at 5:15am and despite the late night and less than 8 hours I was surprisingly awake. I had ear ache though so was struggling to sleep. We got up about 5:15, got ready, packed and left. Shuttle buses were parked outside and we took the one to our terminal. The airport was very empty and quiet and we got curbside check in. It was then up an escalator into the terminal and straight through security. Our gate was the literally the other side. All such a far cry from 12 hours previously.
We got some breakfast at Burger King then waited at our gate. We boarded on time and had business seats right at the front of the plane. The flight was an hour and it seemed no sooner we were up that the belt sign was on again to land. We landed early by about 15 mins. We were off and out (domestic so no immigration or customs) and at baggage claim in minutes. Sadly our luggage wasn’t so we had to wait. As we did so we looked for our driver. We had booked a private limo to the port and had been told our driver would find us in the baggage claim. As our bags came off and we began to put the DCL tags on them I spotted a guy with a clip board saying Paul Brenan (no typo by me there I assure you). He took us to the car and loaded our luggage (which from inside the car sounded like a bit of a mission for him). At about 11:45am we were off to Galveston. I had another 40 winks on the way, the journey taking about 1 hour 15 in total.
As we arrived into Galveston it was very much an industrial port but we spotted
Magic. We were dropped off and after a bit of repacking we headed in. After the usual security there was a short line to check in, during which the lady behind us suddenly said “are you Paul?”. She wasn’t psychic but had spotted his embroidered shirt that he had been selling to a group online. After another line to board (the system was not as good as Port Canaveral) we were finally aboard the Disney Magic by about 12:30. Since cabins are not accessible until 1:30 we decided to drop our black Vinylmation with gold and silver sharpies at guest services for signing and to get some food. We went to the Quiet Cove on deck 9 and got some hot dogs and fries. We saw a couple of folks from Paul’s online group. Team t shirts made them easy to spot. Paul was finally getting to put faces to names, some online user names not even actual names.
At 1:30 we made our way to our cabin. It’s slightly different to Dream and Fantasy and even being at the back our balcony is not as big as the cabin at the back on Dream. We don’t have loungers like we did there, just chairs and a table. Within half an hour our luggage turned up so we took the opportunity to unpack fully. It’s nice to finally not be living out of a suitcase. Paul had arranged to be at his group’s meet and greet at 2:45 so armed with a suitcase full of t shirts and hoodies we wandered down. There were loads of people gathering and many introduced themselves as we handed out shirts and ticked them off the list. Too many names to remember although a mix of Brits and Americans; a really friendly bunch too. We only stayed for about an hour before heading out on deck. We looked over the dock from the promenade deck as we sat in port then at sail away time moved up to the quiet cove. I had my first piña colada as we basked in the warmth. Being on early dinner we headed back to the room about 5pm to get ready.
As we found our table in Lumieres there were already 2 couples at the table. It was a table for 8 but no others ever turned up. Lumieres is a nice restaurant, akin to Royal Palace on Dream. Our table mates consist of a couple from El Paso; American chap and his wife from Japan and a couple from Massachusetts. They were quite chatty and friendly. Dinner was a new menu to us. I had bruschetta to start with prosciutto and mozzarella and Paul had a spicy chicken wrap. Mains we both opted for the sirloin steak which was tasty although a little tough. Paul then had the creme brûlée for dessert whilst I had a coffee and pistachio mousse. We had taken our tetley tea bags with us so had a nice brew to finish. The Japanese lady was a big tea fan and had a nifty portable tea strainer device that she used to ensure she had her Fortnum and Mason earl grey leaves.
After dinner we looked around the shops. I picked up another charm from my bracelet and we got a new cruise line Vinylmation. The show was at 8:30 so we had a 20 minute or so wait until doors opened. We got seats near the back by the sound desk. The WD theatre on Magic is all one level so no balcony. We were both absolutely shattered and considered ditching the show but eventually persevered. It was a welcome aboard so nothing special but ok. We have signers at the front of the theatre so may sit there for the added entertainment.
As soon as the show was over we wanted our bed so got a drink and went back to the cabin. Paul wanted a bath but there was an issue with the plug. He called maintenance and apparently the guy came and offered another plug but I must confess I slept through all that! We both slept like babies.