Disney Magic to Progreso, Mexico

After going on my first Disney Cruise last year on the Wonder, I had to go on another one right away.  I finally managed to find a 25% off deal for Canadian residents and booked a 4 night West Caribbean cruise out of New Orleans in February of 2024. 

There is only 1 stop on the itinerary for this cruise and it to Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico.  This post will be just about that as I will write a separate post about the ship later.

Getting Off The Ship

Getting off the ship to Progreso was really easy since it was able to dock right at the pier.  I prefer this way over using the tender boats since it is faster and more reliable because the tenders could be difficult to get onto.  It also takes time to get on the tenders and they run on a schedule.

gangway to get off the ship

After a sit down breakfast at Lumiere’s we used the ramped gangway to leave the ship.  There was no crowd or lines to exit so we just scanned our Key to the World card and off we were to explore the city.  Of course we had to take a bunch of pics of the ship while docked though.

Disney Magic docked right up to the pier

Progresso, Mexico

Progresso is the 6th largest city in Mexico and is one of the newest ports for cruise ships.  It is in the state of Yucatan and is a center for both the fishing industry and the container industry.  My friend and I did not book any excursions as they weren’t really wheelchair accessible.  We will just explore the city on our own.

photo op right by the dock

Our Day

welcome to Progreso

Once we got on land, there was a plaza full of souvenir shops and photo ops.  We then headed to the free shuttle bus stop that will take us downtown.  There were 2 different types of shuttles: the big bus and mini van style vehicle.  Both were not wheelchair accessible. 

missed out on the free non accessible shuttles so paid $20 USD cash for this non accessible taxi to get downtown

On a whim, my friend just transferred me to regular taxi that costs $20 USD to get into the city.  The weather was really hot and sunny the whole day.  We searched for places that had free wifi and my friend also had a few gifts to buy so we did a bit of shopping too.

downtown Progreso

We happened to go by an an area that had a lot of local art and graffiti. We then went to Malecon Internacional of Progresso which is a long walkway/boardwalk right by Progresso beach.  At one end, there is a few amusement park rides like a carousel and a Ferris Wheel.

Malecon Internacional of Progresso

We decided to look for where the free shuttle bus stop and after looking for a while, it was getting close to 6.5 hrs in Progresso.  We really needed to get back on the ship or we’d miss it.  We finally found it with not much time to spare.  My friend had to carry me in the big shuttle bus up a few steps.

took the free non accessible shuttle back to the ship

Accessibility

Progresso didn’t have any wheelchair accessible ubers or taxis so that could be difficult for powerchair users.  Lucky my friend was able to lift and transfer me from my manual wheelchair.  We spent a good amount of time exploring this small port city and it was ok for accessibility.  

typical street downtown

Not all sidewalks had curb cuts or ramps so my friend had to either bump me up the sidewalk or take another sidewalk.  That was similar to the stores too.  Some had a step to get into so we never bothered to go in unless it was somewhere we wanted to visit.  My friend would just assist me the same way.

boardwalk at the beach

Final Thoughts

Our 6.5 hr visit to Progresso, Mexico was great.  I wish the free shuttle buses that took us to downtown were wheelchair accessible but it did not stop us from getting there.  Even though we didn’t do any excursions, we did get to see what this little town had to offer.

local art