Why's the Magic Going to Europe?

In Disney's most recent cruise cancellation announcement, they cancelled all of the cruises on the Magic until July 2nd.  The Magic was scheduled to leave Florida to go to Europe today, May 11th.  However, since it won't start cruises back up for a while, it doesn't have to go yet.

Well, even though it's not doing anything until July, the Magic is currently on its way to Europe!  It's roughly on schedule, too.  After hanging out with the Dream and Fantasy in Port Canaveral on Wednesday, May 6th, the Magic stopped at Castaway Cay and then left for Europe.

But why?  Its next cruise is on July 13th, and more cruises could be cancelled after that.  The weather is nice in Florida right now, they could've stayed to enjoy it more.  You also can't beat the lines at Disney World now, what a missed opportunity.

A likely reason why it left is because of the openings in the European ports it was scheduled to visit.  Back when its cruises weren't cancelled, there was a spot reserved for the Magic at various ports it was going to visit, and those spots are almost certainly still available, so, why not go?  The Magic usually goes to Europe around this time each year, so the ports know when to expect it.  Sticking to a routine is good, especially in a pandemic.  Plus, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean is much more entertaining and exciting for the crew than just sitting outside of Port Canaveral.  By now, the crew has probably ran out of things to do, and I'm sure most of them are bored.  Sailing across the ocean is giving them work to do and places to see.

It'll be interesting to see what the Magic will do in Europe until cruises resume.  If you'd like to watch where it goes, visit marinetraffic.com and search for "Disney Magic".  You can also search for the three other Disney ships as well as almost any other cruise ship out there.  Happy searching!