Magic - 7 day Mediterranean or Southern Carib. in 2014?

[ndwest04]

My family wants to experience the Magic in 2014. I'm torn between the 7-day Med. cruise that ports out of Barcelona and visits stops in France and Italy, or the Southern Carib. cruise that ports out of San Juan, Puerto Rico and visits other island ports throughout that region (Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts among others). Does anyone have thoughts or advice between the 2 destinations??? Cost-wise, the cruise fares are comparable since they are both 7-day cruises on the same ship. However, the airfare will be substantially more for the 4 of us to do the Med. cruise since flying to Europe is much more than flying to Puerto Rico. I've been to Italy many years ago, and it's beautiful. My wife has never been. Neither of us have been to the Southern Car. islands south of Puerto Rico, so that cruise also attracts us. Our kids are 11 and 8 - the very adventurous types who've become expert little travelers (esp. on cruises). We think they would enjoy either destination.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

I don't think you can go wrong with either of those itineraries. If you were to go for the Med cruise, would you spend some time in Europe before and/or after? Since it costs so much to fly to Europe, some feel that anything less than 10 days or so isn't worth the trouble and expense. We booked one of the two 9-night itineraries that DCL is offering next year. It leaves from Venice, but we're planning to fly into Rome three days early so we can spend some time exploring the city. We will then take the train to Venice. Greece was a big priority for us, so that itinerary (with the addition of Rome beforehand) works well for us.

All that said, it you are willing and able to take your kids out of school in October, the Southern Caribbean itinerary sounds heavenly. I would have booked it in a heartbeat on opening day if it had been offered over spring break or in the summer!

Good luck deciding!

 

[junkqueen]

We were on the Magic for Christmas 2010 11 days in Southern Caribbean and would do Southern in a heartbeat. Loved the islands - the ones in 2014 are slightly different, but it was exciting to see places we might not get to see (like Guadeloupe, Martinique, Barbados) I'd love to see St. Kitts and St. Lucia and Grenada on the 2014 trip. We can't go in the Fall or we would be.

I have been to Europe and personally prefer to stay in an area longer than 8 hours. I will not likely do a Disney European Cruise.

Caryn

 

[LeslieG]

Just noticed this thread, and I am in the same situation as the OP. I booked both cruises on opening day but will probably only take one. I was leaning towards the Med at first, but after doing some research, I am now leaning towards the Southern Carib.

It will be so expensive for a family of four to fly to Europe, and although I'd like to see the sites there, big cities, crowds and museums are some of my least favorite things, so I'm thinking I may be disappointed and the kids bored. And it seems like the Med ports would require lots and lots of planning that I'm not sure I'm up for. Also, if we go to the expense of flying to Europe, I would like to stay more than a week, and I'm not sure we could swing that with work commitments.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We are doing the Southern Caribbean. The islands are rarely offered on Disney. Europe has been offered several times while Southern has only been offered few times. We plan to fly Southwest to San Juan to save money.