Magical time in the Med Aug 2015 Updated 7/12

[kel585]

Hello lovely people, and welcome to my first ever trip report. For many years I have sat reading through the DISboards, getting great tips from all the wonderful trip reports, and they have helped to keep me entertained in between each Disney vacation. So, I’ve finally decided to add my own, I hope you all enjoy. It's nearly a year late, but better late then never right?!

The leading ladies of this trip report are:

Myself DD, Kelly-Marie. Disney fanatic, avid cruiser, food junkie and previous DCL cast member. DM, Deirdre, the Disney enabler, she started it all by bringing me to WDW when I was 7, and we haven’t looked back since. DFG (Fairy Godmother), Grace. Disney lover and taking her first cruise without her kids, so she’s extra excited. Grace had been in a car accident the previous Halloween, so she definitely deserved this trip, and only decided to join us the previous week.


We’re all heading for Platinum, and what better way to get there, than taking a relaxing Med Cruise. This will be our third Med cruise with DCL, and we’ve been counting down the days for what feels like a lifetime. But, finally, here we are, ready to share our Magical memories with all of you. So, sit back, get the buttered popcorn, as the show will begin momentarily. WARNING: this TR may contain a lot of food pics!!!!

 

[kel585]

Travel Day
Sea Day
Naples
Civitavecchia (Rome)

 

[kel585]

Travel Day:
The day had finally arrived wooooooo! The day before we had received a text from Aerlingus saying that they were expecting a large amount of guests the following morning at the airport, and they advised everyone to arrive at least 3 hours early to check in. Now, we had already checked in online thankfully, but we had one bag to leave at bag-drop, and we were a little concerned that the line for security would be really long. So, we took their advise, and arrived at 3:30am with little to no sleep at all, and what did we find at the airport? Not a single person, no line for bag-drop, and when we walked up to security, there was a line, but only because security actually didn't open until 4am!!!

Thankfully we laughed about this, but I think the lack of sleep had us giddy at this stage. So security was a breeze, and after that we headed for some "breakfast" or a late night snack! Dublin airport food is always expensive for what you get, but it did taste good, and hit the spot. We had a little mooch around, then headed to our gate. Happy to say, our flight left on time, and was a really pleasant 2 hour flight, which we slept for!





We had arranged for a driver to pick us up. We had used this company on our last trip to Barcelona, and found them to be really good. The only reason we had booked them the last time was because we had 7 people, and we're a little worried we wouldn't get a car big enough. We liked them so much that decided to get them again! Although, I will say there is a taxi rank outside with an endless supply of cabs, so don't feel like you have to book anything before hand!



15 minutes later we arrived at our hotel. We were staying at the Eurostar Grand Marina! We love this location. It's close to the port, and about a 15 minute walk to La Rambla (well 15 minutes if you're not dying in the heat lol, it was super hot this day)! We arrived at our hotel around 10:30am, so of course our room wasn't ready, so off we went to explore. I say explore, but really we had nothing planned for today. We headed over to the mall which is a really nice walk over the bridge in the harbour! Plus the mall is air conditioned which was very appealing at the moment!

After we had cooled down, we headed to La Rambla. It was so nice just to walk around and not be rushing anywhere, we just got to enjoy our surroundings! As I've already mentioned, the weather was really hot, and with no sleep this was starting to get to us. So we headed back to our hotel for a little nap and some food!









Our room was perfect for us, nice and spacious and well air conditioned. The beds were super comfortable and the shower was amazing (once we figured out how to use it).













We ordered room service, and to be honest it wasn't great and really over-priced which is very annoying.



After we had a rest, we went for another stroll around. This is a view of the mall we went to earlier from the roof of our hotel.



It was still really hot out and my aunt's leg was starting to swell a little, so we decided to have an early night. The sooner we sleep, the sooner we sail!

 

[kel585]

"Let's Sail Away!"

DCL day had finally arrived!!!!!



After a wonderful 10 hour sleep, that was well needed, we were up at 8am and down to breakfast! Which I'm happy to say, was much nicer than our room service the night before. They had a great selection, and even a 3 piece band to serenade us while we ate! We then went up to the rooftop to check out our Ship and all the other ships that had arrived in port that morning.













We left our hotel by 11:30am. I had forgot to say, there is always cabs outside this hotel, and if not, the doorman whistles for one, and it pulls up straight away. Our cab ride was less than 10 minutes and cost €12. We did see quite a lot of people walking to the ships. Now the dock is not far away at all, but there is a really long bridge to cross to get there, and I really wouldn't enjoy that walk with our luggage!

Check in was nice and easy. It seemed like a lot of people, but it all moved really smoothly. They had a stand for Port Adventures, Youth Activities and DVC! And there's also a line where you can meet Mickey or Minnie. So there's lots happening in the port, but again they had it all set up a little better than our last trip here! We were group 12 to board. At 12:15 we were crossing the bridge to our tremendous applause welcoming is onboard, and finally WE'RE HOME!!!



We headed straight to Lumiere's to check if our dining request had been granted. We had requested a table for just the 3 of us and had also asked for a specific server. Thankfully, our requests were granted. Off we went to Cabanas for some lunch in the sun.











After a little wander around we headed to drop our stuff off at out stateroom. We were in a deluxe ocean view on deck 2, 2026. We've always been a big fan of deck 2 as the location is great on port days.





We then headed to Senses to enter the raffle. For anyone who doesn't know, they give you a little tour of the spa and you can enter the raffle to win some treatments. But you must be there at the time of the draw, because if you're not, they'll pick the next ticket. We didn't win anything at the draw, but that night there was a note left in our cabin to saw I'd won a $20 voucher to use towards a treatment which was pretty cool.







Before we knew it, it was time for Adventures Away up on deck 9. This is probably one of my favourite moments on any DCL cruise, hearing that horn and knowing you're finally setting sail!





Dinner tonight was in Animator's Palate. When we arrived our Server, Hilash was there waiting for us with open arms. He's been our server every time we've sailed the Magic, and having dinner on the Magic wouldn't be the same without him. Since the first day we met him, he's remembered what we like and what we don't like.



















After dinner we headed to the show "All Aboard! Let The Magic Begin!" We enjoyed this as it was a nice little taster of the entertainment we'd be having during the cruise. After we decided to have a look in the stores and a little walk round. We were starting to feel pretty tired and decided we'd head to our room, and do what?! Why order room service of course, because we hadn't had enough food today!!!!

 

[condorthb]

Always great to multitask. You can eat and read your breakfest at the same time.

 

[kel585]

Day At Sea:

The plan for today was to completely chill and eat, and that's exactly what we did I actually didn't get up early enough for breakfast, but I did make it to Cabanas for some lunch, and the weather was just perfect for our sea day.







We spent the rest of the day by the pool. We did stay down at the adult pool, but we moved to the family area to watch some of the games they had on. Tonight for dinner we were in Carioca's. I have to admit, I'd already convinced myself that I probably wasn't going to like anything on the menu, but I was very much mistaken. I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food, and yes I got steak for my mains, but hey, I tried an unusual starter ok!











The show tonight in the WDT was "Hector is Magic!" and while I'm not really a fan of magic shows, I have to say I really enjoyed this one. He was really funny, and I literally couldn't believe my eyes with some of his tricks. After the show, there was a new deck party tonight, called "Freezing the Night Away". I was so looking forward to this, but unfortunately, I was really disappointed! It was lacking in something. I felt like we were waiting for something to happen the whole time..... but nothing did. Maybe it's improved since then, fingers crossed it has!





And we were greeted by this little guy when we went back to out room

 

[linetbo]

Following! We did this cruise on 2014 and love it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[FamilyHolidayPlanner]

Also following. Have a Med cruise booked for 2017 and looking for tips!!

 

[elena_n2o]

Following too! Doing a Med cruise this summer and the wait is killing me... This is really helping!

 

[tink1970]

Really enjoying this...have to wait another 13 months until our Med cruise so this helps!

What transportation company did you use? It sounds like they are reliable and you are happy with them.

 

[kel585]

Always great to multitask. You can eat and read your breakfest at the same time.

This is true.... maybe it's a Spanish thing?!

Also following. Have a Med cruise booked for 2017 and looking for tips!!

Thanks for following along. Hope you find some things useful. You're going to have the most amazing time, I bet you're counting the days already.

Following! We did this cruise on 2014 and love it. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks so much for reading. I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise as much as we did.

Following too! Doing a Med cruise this summer and the wait is killing me... This is really helping!

Why thank you. I'm glad this is helpful with your countdown. We're also heading back to the Med this summer, can't wait!!!

Really enjoying this...have to wait another 13 months until our Med cruise so this helps!

What transportation company did you use? It sounds like they are reliable and you are happy with them.

Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. That's so exciting that you're all booked, I really enjoy the planning process. We booked our transportion through transfersbarcelona.es We've never had any trouble with them, and they've always been most helpful.

 

[kel585]

Naples:


So for today, we actually have any major plans. We had been to Naples before, so decided we would get off this ship and walk around for a couple hours then head back and enjoy the ship. But first, we headed to Cabanas of course.



When you get off the ship, and start to exit the port, it can be a little intimidating at first, as there are a lot of cab drivers there offering different tours, and tend to not take no for an answer, but we just said no and kept walking. If you are walking around Naples, take note, that the drivers are a little crazy, and the traffic lights seem to be for decoration as nobody is paying attention to them, we even noticed drivers just driving on the sidewalks when the car in front didn’t move quick enough for them, so just be extra careful. We did enjoy walking around and we did some shopping. I will say though, that today was super hot, and Grace’s leg was not doing too good today, so we headed back to the ship after a couple of hours.



















Tonight’s dinner at Lumiere’s was the French Cuisine menu, and we loved it. I’m sorry I don’t have picture’s of the menus, I was already getting a little lax in taking photos.

















After dinner we hung around the Atrium for a little bit while watching all the characters and then headed to shutters to check out some the photos that were taken so far. We didn’t plan on buying any this cruise, but it’s still nice to look.

Twice Charmed was the show tonight in the Walt Disney Theatre. I’ve always loved this show and it was great to see it again.
We had an early start tomorrow, so we decided to call it a night.

 

[disneyholic family]

loving the pictures and report!!
and of course the food porn!!!!

 

[laevson4712]

Loving the report so far!!
We go on our Med cruise this September. Can't wait to see everything!

 

[disneyholic family]

Loving the report so far!!
We go on our Med cruise this September. Can't wait to see everything!

which one? DD and her husband will be on the sept 3 sailing

 

[laevson4712]

which one? DD and her husband will be on the sept 3 sailing

That's the one that we are on too!! Awesome

 

[kel585]

loving the pictures and report!!
and of course the food porn!!!!

Thank you, so happy you're enjoying it.

Loving the report so far!!
We go on our Med cruise this September. Can't wait to see everything!

That's amazing, we had also hoped for a September cruise this year, but unfortunately could only get some time off in August! You'll have a wonderful time.

 

[Love2Cruz]

Great report and pics!

 

[kel585]

Civitavecchia (Rome):


So today we had the “Rome On Your Own” port adventure booked through Disney. We’ve always been well aware, that you can easily get into Rome via trains, at a fraction of the price that DCL charge, but, we panic pretty easily. So for the reassurance that the ship won’t leave without us, we stick with the DCL port adventures.

I think our meet time was around 7:30 in the D-Lounge. When you check in, you’re given a sticker with your tour number on it, and then they start to call each tour, and you follow them all the way off the ship where all the coaches are lined up. It’s very well organized which was good to see, because it looked like almost every single passenger was getting off the ship that morning.

When we got on the bus, we were each given a map of Rome, some emergency numbers and a bottle of water. During the drive to Rome, the tour guide talks you through the map, and points out key places that you might want to visit. I will say this guide was really helpful, she knew everything, from what bus to take to where, and the cost of entry to different things, she answered everything as best she could.

When we arrived in Rome, the coach left us at an underground bus depot, this part was a little hectic, it was so hot, and we had to follow the tour guide all the way out of there, so she could show us where our meeting point was for later that day. I say it was hectic, but really, I was just too hot to be racing after her, and Grace was struggling to keep up, but anyways, we somehow managed to stick with the group. So once we were shown where to meet, we were free to explore at our own pace.

Myself and DM had been to Rome before, and we had visited the Vatican, so today we were just going to walk, and sight see. There is a whole lot to see in Rome, but we decided that we wanted to head to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, and if we saw anymore, then it would be a bonus, and of course we could stop in some stores along the way.









When we arrived at the Trevi Fountain, let’s just say, it wasn’t what we’d hoped for, as today, they were renovating it, and there wasn’t a single drop of water to be seen. But, at least we have a story to tell I guess.





It was really hot in Rome today, so after finding the Spanish steps and an empty Trevi Fountain, we decided to start going up all the side streets for the shade, but we actually ended up loving it as there were little boutique stores and cute little cafes.





We ended up stopping for lunch near the Pantheon, we didn’t go inside, just window shopped today. Just a note that all the restrurants have a cover charge per person, but around here, alot of them were saying that there was no cover charge at that time, obviously trying to get our business. But today, I wanted a marinara pizza, and the first place I saw that had it on the menu, I was there, cover charge or not. A marinara pizza might be really boring to some people, but it’s my favorite.









We slowly started making our way back towards our meeting point at the Vatican. I have to say, I enjoyed this visit more than I had previously and I think it was because we took our time. We didn’t rush anywhere, and it was great.















When we got back to the ship, it was a little after 6pm and for the first time ever, in my Disney crusing history, we decided to skip dinner in the main dining room. We just weren’t really in the mood, and nothing really took our fancy on the menu. So we headed up to Pete’s Boiler Bites for a burger, and watched our sail away from up on deck, and it was so relaxing. Now I’m a huge fan of the main dining rooms, but I have to say, this will be something I would do again. It’s nice and quiet because most people are at dinner or at the show, so it felt like we had the ship to ourselves.





Villiains Tonight was our entertainment in the WDT tonight. I know that show gets a lot of slack, and while it’s not my favourite, it does remind me of a pantomime vibe that we have in Ireland, so I appreciate it, but I don’t love it. We headed back to our room to order some sneaky room service before bed.

 

[kel585]

Great report and pics!

Thank you so much, I hope you're enjoying it!