Today’s Your Daily Boarding Call has a Texas-sized ship update, an embarkation warning, a heartbreaking cruise story, and a little Disney holiday magic.

Carnival Tropicale reaches a major construction milestone as reservations officially open for Carnival’s fifth and final Excel-class ship, set to sail from Galveston in 2028. Meanwhile, Carnival is reminding Carnival Venezia guests in New York to arrive at their scheduled terminal times instead of showing up hours early.

GFree also shares a respectful update on the passing of Stephen Junker, who suffered a serious injury aboard Sun Princess while traveling with his family.

Then we end on a happier itinerary change: Disney Magic adds a second port to an upcoming Very Merrytime holiday cr ...