7/13/13 ~~ Eastern Mediterranean Mouseketeers!

[tinkerbelltwins]

I've been enjoying flipping through Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports and plan on putting the free audio tours on our iphones for the trip. He had a HDNet show on Barcelona that we watched the other night on tv. Great stuff! Another book I also got that has all the ports in it is Mediterranean by Cruise Ship by Anne Vipond (it was right next to the Steves book at Barnes and Noble so I grabbed both). The Vipond book is also handy b/c it has all the ports, lots of small pictures of key things to see, and a large pull out map. It also has a couple of condensed chapters on history and architecture. Steves is better, though, if you want a step by step explanation of where to go and what to see.

I'm on the hunt for a couple of good books on the Med for young children so if anybody comes across anything, I'd be greatly appreciative! When I took the twins to London a couple of months ago, I got on some of the websites for the places we'd be touring and was able to download some great children's activities. I hope to do that for our Med trip too.

 

[Eleblanc]

For the people who have sailed the Med before.. any advice on the ports?

Which ports are you interested in? We did the Med cruise last year, so some of the ports are the same. I have also visited Florence 4 times and Rome 7 times in the past, so I am little familiar with those places.

Our cruise last year was re-routed from Villefranche to Palma because of stormy weather, so we will be visiting that port for the first time.

 

[scrapycruiser]

For the people who have sailed the Med before.. any advice on the ports?

We've been twice to the med with Disney , 2007 & 2011

Villefrance : Private tours , loved St Paul, had a wonderful lunch outside and enjoyed all the shops, beautiful view. Difficult to get to unless you have a private car. Saw Monaco, the cathedral where Grace Kelly & Prince Ranier were buried, the palace, and then went to Monte Carlo and admired all the expensive cars. Didn't go in the casino since our Grandson was with him. Also have been to Antibes, beautiful beaches, but very expensive shops and food. A lot of people enjoyed Eze, similar to St Paul.

La Spezia : 1st time we took the DCL bus into Florence ( on your own ). It was very easy to walk around and see the sights, very compact. We did get tkts online for the Accademia to see David . So glad we did !! Lines were very long and we would have wasted a lot of time just standing there in line !! I would suggest picking a time in the early afternoon.

2nd time we went to Cinque Terre on the train which was easy to do. Just get Rick Steves Cinque Terre book and its a piece of cake. The only thing we didn't like were the crowds on the train ! But the little hillside towns were so enjoyable. And so was the food .Delicious pasta w local pesto and shrimp !! and great local wines and gelatto !!! You can see what we focused on.

Think we'll go back to Florence on our own ( using the DCL bus ) to see what we missed.

Rome ...1st time had a private car take us into Rome and it was a fabulous tour, saw everything except the Vatican museum. Even saw the Catacombs ! very interesting.

2nd time....Took a DCL tour to Tarquinia ,a short drive from the ship east to the olive groves and the wine vinyards. Beautiful countryside but I think children would be bored on this tour !

Malta..... Loved this island ! Just don't make the same mistake we made.
We wanted to see the Blue grottos and decided to do it on our own. We told the taxi driver we wanted to go to the Blue Lagoon ! WRONG !! We went to a different place ! Pretty ,but didn't go into the caves.Afterwards the driver took us to the city of Mdnia... felt like I was on a movie set. Very cool and lots of good shops reasonable prices.

Have never been to Greece or Turkey..can't wait for this cruise !!

 

[Im_A_Princess]

scrapycruiser
THANKS!!!

 

[scrapycruiser]

If anyone has any questions about Villefrance, La Spezia, or Malta just ask.

Also , my son ( Cousin Orville ) knows alot about Rome if you have any questions about that.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

I have never been to Spain, Greece, Turkey or Malta so I am most looking forward to those. I studied abroad in Rome so I've been there/done that for the Colosseum, Vatican (was less than 20 feet from the Pope in the audience!), city tours, etc. I really didn't like Rome compared to other European cities I've been to, but glad I've done it once for the big things. Will probably stay on the ship this time unless La Spezia itself has anything to offer. I took a day trip to Florence while studying abroad and enjoyed it, but this time I'd like to do Cinque Terre to change it up and that is on my birthday. I love food and wine so I think that will be the perfect way to spend my bday in Italy!

I've been to Nice and Monaco. I love the beach scene in Nice and will probably go for a relaxing day there, just making sure to bring my water shoes this time to handle walking on the rocks!

 

[bonnielynn]

Which ports are you interested in? We did the Med cruise last year, so some of the ports are the same. I have also visited Florence 4 times and Rome 7 times in the past, so I am little familiar with those places.

Our cruise last year was re-routed from Villefranche to Palma because of stormy weather, so we will be visiting that port for the first time.

Just looking for any information I can get.. Trying to figure out what to do at each..

 

[bonnielynn]

We've been twice to the med with Disney , 2007 & 2011

Villefrance : Private tours , loved St Paul, had a wonderful lunch outside and enjoyed all the shops, beautiful view. Difficult to get to unless you have a private car. Saw Monaco, the cathedral where Grace Kelly & Prince Ranier were buried, the palace, and then went to Monte Carlo and admired all the expensive cars. Didn't go in the casino since our Grandson was with him. Also have been to Antibes, beautiful beaches, but very expensive shops and food. A lot of people enjoyed Eze, similar to St Paul.

La Spezia : 1st time we took the DCL bus into Florence ( on your own ). It was very easy to walk around and see the sights, very compact. We did get tkts online for the Accademia to see David . So glad we did !! Lines were very long and we would have wasted a lot of time just standing there in line !! I would suggest picking a time in the early afternoon.

2nd time we went to Cinque Terre on the train which was easy to do. Just get Rick Steves Cinque Terre book and its a piece of cake. The only thing we didn't like were the crowds on the train ! But the little hillside towns were so enjoyable. And so was the food .Delicious pasta w local pesto and shrimp !! and great local wines and gelatto !!! You can see what we focused on.

Think we'll go back to Florence on our own ( using the DCL bus ) to see what we missed.

Rome ...1st time had a private car take us into Rome and it was a fabulous tour, saw everything except the Vatican museum. Even saw the Catacombs ! very interesting.

2nd time....Took a DCL tour to Tarquinia ,a short drive from the ship east to the olive groves and the wine vinyards. Beautiful countryside but I think children would be bored on this tour !

Malta..... Loved this island ! Just don't make the same mistake we made.
We wanted to see the Blue grottos and decided to do it on our own. We told the taxi driver we wanted to go to the Blue Lagoon ! WRONG !! We went to a different place ! Pretty ,but didn't go into the caves.Afterwards the driver took us to the city of Mdnia... felt like I was on a movie set. Very cool and lots of good shops reasonable prices.

Have never been to Greece or Turkey..can't wait for this cruise !!

Thanks for all the info.. do you remember who you used for the private tours.. ??

 

[bonnielynn]

Also plan to eat and drink my way around.. so any suggestions as to places to go eat would be greatly appreciated..!!

 

[slg]

Any guesses as to what the 3 or 4 day precruise Barcelona ABD might cost? I'm interested but not if its going to break the bank! If a 3 day can be no more than $2000, we might go for it. However, looking at the prices that the Alaska abd add-on are, I think they'll be closer to $3000-$4000, which we are NOT prepared to pay. We did a 7 day ABD to Ireland in 2009 and it was $14,000 for a family of 5. The price of ABD has gotten out of hand, especially since you factor in that the Euro has dropped significantly and there is a major recession in Europe so prices are dropping!

Sigh. Keeping my fingers crossed, but not holding my breath.

 

[scrapycruiser]

Thanks for all the info.. do you remember who you used for the private tours.. ??

Villefrance........Revelation Tours, excellent !!
Rome.............. Romecabs, used them in 2007 and had a great tour
our son used them in 2011.

It's never too early to book private tours ! The best companies, esp Revelation tours will book up !

 

[pawhitejr]

This will be our first Disney Cruise and the first cruise for DH and our kids. It will also be the first time for our kids to be out of the US. Still trying to digest all of the information here. Would love opinions on 2 inside staterooms vs family ocean view w/veranda. We figured we could spend the savings on excursions or additional travel before and after. Been reading everything I can on the first time cruiser boards - good thing is I still have time to soak it all in. Looking forward to a great time.

pawhitejr
Phil, DW (Wendy), DS (Ethan-14), DS (Garrett-11), DS (Preston-7)
From San Antonio, TX
Main Seating
2575 and 2577
Yes on the FE

 

[scrapycruiser]

This will be our first Disney Cruise and the first cruise for DH and our kids. It will also be the first time for our kids to be out of the US. Still trying to digest all of the information here. Would love opinions on 2 inside staterooms vs family ocean view w/veranda. We figured we could spend the savings on excursions or additional travel before and after. Been reading everything I can on the first time cruiser boards - good thing is I still have time to soak it all in. Looking forward to a great time.

pawhitejr
Phil, DW (Wendy), DS (Ethan-14), DS (Garrett-11), DS (Preston-7)
From San Antonio, TX
Main Seating
2575 and 2577
Yes on the FE

WELCOME !!

I think you're smart to get 2 inside staterooms with 3 boys. I have 3 sons This is a destination cruise and I don't think you'll miss the balcony.
When we come back from touring all day then have dinner...we're done !
IMHO this is the best way to see Europe with children ! We've been on 11 Disney cruises and you just can't beat their service ! Your sons will enjoy the kids clubs on sea days. Feel free to ask any questions !

Gina

 

[mom3bellasorella]

We are excited to be going on our second Med Cruise with everyone. We did the med 2010. It was such a wonderful experience so we jumped at the chance to go back.

We are a family of 5 from California - Mom, Dad and three girls (14,10 and 8) next year. We are in the Second seating for dinner since we are hoping to be on Europe time by the time we get on the boat. So excited to see Greece and Turkey and can't wait to join you all!

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

This will be our first Disney Cruise and the first cruise for DH and our kids. It will also be the first time for our kids to be out of the US. Still trying to digest all of the information here. Would love opinions on 2 inside staterooms vs family ocean view w/veranda. We figured we could spend the savings on excursions or additional travel before and after. Been reading everything I can on the first time cruiser boards - good thing is I still have time to soak it all in. Looking forward to a great time.

pawhitejr
Phil, DW (Wendy), DS (Ethan-14), DS (Garrett-11), DS (Preston-7)
From San Antonio, TX
Main Seating
2575 and 2577
Yes on the FE

Welcome aboard! You've been added to our roll call!

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

We are excited to be going on our second Med Cruise with everyone. We did the med 2010. It was such a wonderful experience so we jumped at the chance to go back.

We are a family of 5 from California - Mom, Dad and three girls (14,10 and 8) next year. We are in the Second seating for dinner since we are hoping to be on Europe time by the time we get on the boat. So excited to see Greece and Turkey and can't wait to join you all!

Welcome Aboard! You've been added to our roll call!

 

[bonnielynn]

Villefrance........Revelation Tours, excellent !!
Rome.............. Romecabs, used them in 2007 and had a great tour
our son used them in 2011.

It's never too early to book private tours ! The best companies, esp Revelation tours will book up !

Thanks!! I will look into it..

 

[Stimpy]

Did anyone get air through DCL? I'm so nervous I'm going to screw up getting the air on our own and everyone will be mad at me. But DCL is quoting us over $1500 for each of us right now.

We did get air through them for the Baltic, and it went so smoothly but when looking at the airfare to London, it was a lot less expensive had we done it ourselves.

AHHH...I'm losing sleep over this LOL I'm worried I'm going to either screw it up doing it on my own & pay too much or pay too much going through DCL or decide to go through DCL but by the time we decide to do that, they will raise their air rate even higher. I hate being so indecisive and no one else in the family will help me. They leave all the planning up to me...yet when something goes wrong, they are all quick to blame me

 

[scrapycruiser]

Did anyone get air through DCL? I'm so nervous I'm going to screw up getting the air on our own and everyone will be mad at me. But DCL is quoting us over $1500 for each of us right now.

We did get air through them for the Baltic, and it went so smoothly but when looking at the airfare to London, it was a lot less expensive had we done it ourselves.

AHHH...I'm losing sleep over this LOL I'm worried I'm going to either screw it up doing it on my own & pay too much or pay too much going through DCL or decide to go through DCL but by the time we decide to do that, they will raise their air rate even higher. I hate being so indecisive and no one else in the family will help me. They leave all the planning up to me...yet when something goes wrong, they are all quick to blame me

Where will you be flying from ?
You are right that flying to Barcelona will be more than London. We were on the 2007 & 2011 DCL Med cruises and have been twice to the Baltic.
We've never had DCL do our air.
If you go on Trip Advisor you can be safe in booking through them That's what we will do. I'm expecting to pay around $1200 to BCN, but we may go through Paris and stop over for 3 days at DLP. Looks like we could spend $1400 /pp going that route.
As to when to make our reservations, it's anyones guess. Prices could go down.

I'm the planner in my family as well. So I know what you mean. But when it comes to airfare, I throw out the numbers and we take a vote as to when to book.

 

[goingsouth]

We're hoping to earn enough points on Delta to pay for at least 1 ticket. We were able to earn 2 tickets in 2010 for the Baltic. Huge savings. I don't think you will ever save money getting air via Disney. And I'm pretty sure you don't get to choose your flights.
We found a very good car service company in 2007 in Barcelona. I'll take my chances with them again and try and save money. The trip is expensive enough!

Good luck with your decision

joanne