I am so excited to finally be able to bring you some trip reports! It’s been a long 18 months but cruising has finally restarted and Molly was kind enough to share her recent 3 night cruise on the Magic from Southampton! This was one of the UK Staycation “cruises to nowhere” which are only open to residents of the UK. She sailed on August 6, 2021 and she has so much information to share. Let’s get started!
Guest Trip Report: 3 Night on the Disney Magic from Southampton, England
I booked this cruise a few months back, and was lucky enough to be able to book a day ahead of the general public (as a silver Castaway Club member). There were 4 ports availabl: Liverpool, Southampton, London Tilbury, and Newcastle, and sailings were 2, 3 or 4 nights.
When booking, we were torn between the 3 or 4 night sailing from Southampton. Prices swayed us, and we decided on a 3 night itinerary, in a GTY Deluxe Oceanview stateroom. Immediate excitement kicked in – this would be my first trip since Disney in 2019, before pandemic times!
Know Before You Go
Keep in mind that the following information applies ONLY to the UK Staycation at Sea sailings as of 8/6/2021. Requirements are constantly changing, and the US sailings out of Port Canaveral on the Disney Dream and Fantasy have a completely different set of requirements. Please visit the Disney Cruise Line website for the most current sailing requirements.
In order to sail, all guests over the age of 18 must be fully vaccinated against COVID. Guests under 18 are not required to be vaccinated, however they must provide a negative PCR test taken up to 5 days before travel. This must be at the guest’s expense, and an average cost was around £70. Once at the port, all guests must also take a rapid antigen test, which is paid for by Disney.
Disney has implemented a rule that masks must be worn in all indoor areas, unless in our stateroom or actively eating or drinking. There is also a virtual queuing system set up on the navigator app for things such as using the pool, and character experiences.*
There have also been a lot of changes in terms of what Disney is doing to promote super-duper hygiene, such as enhanced cleaning, especially focusing on high touch areas, and removing loose soft furnishings from rooms.
*Update: a week before my sailing Disney changed this rule, to just having an onboard queuing system
Onboard Activities
I was able to browse our onboard activities 90 days prior to sailing, and at this time, most activities had availability!
Of course the options aren’t as numerous as a usual cruise, but those that were available are:
Disney Dreams Show in the Walt Disney theatre **
Shutters Portrait Studio
Youth Activities **
Mixology*
Various alcohol tastings *
*note – whilst the legal age to drink alcohol in the UK is 18, the age on the cruise is still 21.
**these activities were only bookable during the 30 day window, and did not cost anything but had to be reserved in advance.
I decided to take advantage of the sea days and book all of the activities I haven’t had time for on previous cruises! I booked a mixology class ($25), and Palo brunch ($45).
Interesting fact: the ship will still charge in USD. Disney has introduced a 2% on board credit for all charges to stateroom accounts that are paid using credit cards to cover the conversion rate.
Initially when I booked, there was an assumption that Senses Spa would be closed. But, a few weeks later, spa sessions opened up and all were available to book (although some did sell out pretty fast!).
No treatments were longer than 1 hour, and there were no facial options.
I booked a Swedish massage, and and also a hot stone massage. The Rainforest Room will also be open, however this can only be reserved once onboard.
Some of the notable restrictions for the spa is that masks must be worn throughout the treatment, and shower facilities are not available, so we must arrive ready for our treatment.
Proof of Vaccination
As I mentioned above, all adults (18+) must be fully vaccinated in order to sail. We had to upload proof of vaccination from 33 days out from travelling.
To do this, I had to create an account with a third party called Prenetics, and set up a profile for each person, and upload an image of our vaccine cards/certificates. These were approved within a few hours.
Online Check in Day
Online check in opened 30 days before our sailing, at 5 am UK time (I think this would be midnight EST). I set my alarm and woke up bright and early. Luckily, I had prepared the night before and had photographs of my travel party, and our IDs in advance.
I was checked in within 17 minutes, but I hear from others that the website crashed shortly after this!
To check in I needed to provide name, date of birth and contact details for everyone in my travel party. One person could do this, so I did it for both myself and my mum. Because it’s a UK sailing, we were able to use our drivers licence for ID instead of a passport, and had to upload photos of each of these.
We then had to upload a passport style photo for security and identification.
Then it prompted us to upload payment details for onboard account, however you are able to select cash if you prefer, or come back to this later (which is what I decided to do, to expedite the process when I knew the site would be busy!)
Due to the pandemic, the port arrival times are very strict for these sailings. I was super lucky and able to select the earliest port arrival time of 12:45, and group 2 for boarding. I was emailed a port arrival time document that I had to print and take with me on the day of sailing.
I was also able book our Walt Disney Theatre arrival time*. There are 4 showings of Disney Dreams during our 3 night sailing: an early and late show on the first and third night. Disney implemented a rule that we are only able to book one show per sailing, and actively encouraged people to make sure the show time corresponded with their dinner seating. I’m booked on the late dinner seating, so reserved the early show which starts at 5:45. The arrival times are staggered, so I could select a 5:00, 5:15, or 5:30 arrival.
*Disney removed this system a week before my sailing
The kids and youth clubs were also available to book on this day, however I’m travelling with my mum so we didn’t need to do this.
Other things I had to arrange prior to sailing:
Travel Insurance
Despite not technically leaving the UK, Disney really encouraged purchasing travel insurance for the trip. Due to it only being 3 nights, and not leaving the UK, this wasn’t a big expense at all and I think cost me less than £10 for an individual adult.
Pre-sail Hotel
I live around 2.5 hours drive from the port, so we decided to stay the night before in the city. We booked to stay at the Ibis Southampton Central. This was in a convenient location, had parking available for the night, and was a reasonable cost. We opted to add breakfast as we didn’t know what time we would be able to board, or if Cabanas would be open.
Cruise Parking
One thing I LOVE about these sailings is the convenience of being able to drive to them! Southampton port is particularly great, because the terminal has its own car park that is RIGHT next to the ship! We paid £56 for the sailing, and the booking experience was super simple and easy.
Room Allocation
We booked a GTY room which meant we didn’t get to choose our stateroom number, but that we would be guaranteed at least a category 9B or above. We booked Oceanview, and then our room was assigned around 2 weeks prior to sailing and it was upgraded to a category 6A Deluxe Verandah room!
Also around a week prior to sailing, Disney sent an email announcement explaining that we no longer needed to book seating for the musical, nor would there be a virtual queuing system for the pool. I think this is because of the easing of restrictions in England. It also looked like Disney released more rooms at this time too!
Two days before sailing Disney also announced that there would be an additional show on our sailing (WOO!), so now we will also be able to see Tangled the Musical in addition to Disney Dreams.
Day 1 – Travelling to Southampton
We weren’t in any rush to get to Southampton, so we packed up and left at around 3:15. Southampton is usually around a 2.5 hour drive from home, but we hit a little traffic because of the horrendous weather, and arrived at the Ibis Southampton Central at 6:00.
Check in was quick, and we paid the £10 charge to park for the night. Our room was very basic, but functional and comfortable. It’s around a 1 minute drive to the port in the morning, so location is perfect.
For dinner we went in to the West Quay Shopping Center and ate at Ed’s Easy Diner. The food was really good! It felt quite strange going out, as it’s the first time my mum and I have been out in England since practically all COVID restrictions had been lifted. Masks aren’t required anymore, but we chose to wear them still to be cautious.
After dinner and an amazing milkshake we headed back to our room for a good night sleep. Our good night sleep was disturbed slightly by the fire alarm going off in the hotel. Someone a few rooms down had set it off in their room. It was quickly fixed and we managed to get some sleep! Breakfast in the hotel tomorrow before boarding the ship! YAY!
Up Next: Day 1 – Boarding the Disney Magic!
I’ve missed reading trip reports! Can’t wait to see the other posts!
Thanks Trisha! I am so excited to be doing them again!