A Planner's Guide to 10 Nights in the Western Mediterranean w/kids ages 5 & 8 | COMPLETED July 2019

[gstdog]

DAY 9 - VILLEFRANCHE & NICE: There are a lot of great options from the port of Villefranche like Monaco and Cannes, but DW really wanted to spend time in Nice. I had wanted to see Eze, but it was in the other direction, and as we neared the end of our trip, I didn't want to over-program a really long day with multiple stops. So we agreed to take the train to Nice, spend the morning there and have lunch, and then come back and explore Villefranche in the afternoon.

As always, I wanted to make sure I wrote down the train schedule before we left. I was able to use the SNCF Website to research train times from Villefranche Sur Mer to Nice. Note--on the website both are listed with the additional note of "Provence-Alpes-Côte D'azur Region" when selecting the cities in the drop-down list. From the website, I found that trains left in the morning heading to Nice twice an hour at odd times--8:29am, 8:47am, 9:13am and 9:36am. The train ride was only 8 minutes! Coming back in the afternoon, trains head back to Villefranche at 7 and 37 minutes past the hour--12:37pm, 1:07pm, 1:37pm and 2:07pm.

Villefranche is small, and the marina doesn't have room for a cruise ship to dock, so we'd be using tender boats instead of the normal gangway. We were instructed to meet in the Buena Vista Theater on deck 5, and then you'd receive a ticket for the tender boat. The all-ashore time was 7:30 am, and we got there 7:45 am. They Disney staff takes groups of 100-150 people at a time, and we just missed the cutoff of getting on boat when we arrived. We ended up waiting about 15 minutes before Disney took the next group down the the stairs to the gangway. We were loaded onto the boat by 8:15 am, and the actual boat ride took about 20 minutes.

You can see from the video below that it was a bit overcast--the only clouds we saw on the trip. Still, Villefranche is a beautiful, quiet town.

Our boat docked around 8:35 am, and then we made the 10-minute walk down to the train station along the beach. The train station is up on the hill, and it can be tricky finding the staircase. You can see below that it's hidden behind a building right before you get to the beach.

The process of buying tickets in France was different than Italy. Rather than having to buy eight separate tickets like we did in Genoa, we had a single ticket for 2 adults & 2 kids ("02ADULTES, 02ENFANTS"), which included both our departure and return ("ALLER/RETOUR"). The total cost was only 12.4€ for the the whole ticket. Just like in Italy, be sure to validate the ticket in one of the machines before you get on the train. I included the map below--your train will likely either be marked as heading to Cannes or Grasse, but Nice Ville is just two stops away and takes only 8 minutes to arrive (going through the tunnel under the mountain).

By the way, the train station is beautiful. From up there, you also have good views of the beach. We didn't go to the beach this day, but the water looked great.

The 9:13 am train arrived right on time, and we made it to Nice right around 9:20 am. We decided to walk down Boulevard Gambetta to head down to the west end of the Promenade des Anglai, which ended up being a 20-minute walk. There are trams you can take that down to Old Nice in just five minutes, but we were okay with the walk. To keep the kids in good spirits, we stopped at a small bakery, the Boulangerie Pâtisserie de la Gare, and purchased a fresh baguette for only 1€. We felt incredibly French...and it was probably the best deal on food the entire trip!

I had read that the Promenade des Anglais is a nice walk along the beach, and that the Hotel Le Negresco is a great starting point. We decided to start there and then work our way towards Castle Hill. Including a stop at a McDonalds to buy some macarons, some picture-taking, and a ride on a carousel we found in a park, the walk took 90 minutes. The walkway and beach are beautiful...but I have to admit it wasn't as fun as I hoped. Neither DW nor I had been in the mood to pack towels, but we started to regret not bringing any swimsuits to enjoy the beach. The promenade is very wide and open, which makes for a great walk, but doesn't offer any shade or things to look at along the way...which made for some restless kids.

DD on the beach

DD overlooking the beach from the point

We decided not to climb Castle Hill since we felt like the point offered good enough views. Instead, we walked into Old Nice to explore the older part of the town. We enjoyed walking through the Cours Saleya market, which sold lots of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and artwork. We bought some plums for the family to eat while we walked along.

We were ready for lunch, and we happened to stumble on a great restaurant - Carpe Diem. There were plenty of restaurants in the main part of Old Nice, but there were too expensive for me. If you look at the menu, they all offer a margherita pizza, and it's a great way to quickly compare the price of a restaurant--cheap is 7€, moderate is 10€, and expensive is 12€. Carpe Diem offered a pizza for 9€, and it was in a quiet alley with outdoor seating and a nice breeze. The kids split a pizza for 9€, while DW and I split a Burrata for 13€ and Truffle Ravioli for 20€ - both of which were really good. We finished with two lemon sorbets for 5€ each that were perfect for a hot day. A large bottle of water was 5€, bringing the total for the meal to 57€ . I forgot to take a picture, but here is one from online to give you a sense of what the outdoor eating area is like:

On the walk back, we confirmed it--we should have definitely brought swimsuits to let kids play. We stumbled on this really fun fountain called Fontaine Miroir d’eau. It's part of the larger Promenade du Paillon, which apparently has a playground as well. We didn't stay since we were already heading back, but had I known about it ahead of time, we would have made it part of our plans.

We caught the 2:07pm train back to Villefranche. We walked into the town to explore, but probably only spent 20 minutes walking around. The area along the marina is small, and there are some big stairs to climb if you want to explore the upper part of the town. There wasn't anything specific we wanted to see, so we decided to head back to the ship and enjoy the pool. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes for a tender boat to pick us up and take us back to the Disney Magic.

A highlight from dinner--below is Flynn Rider teaching DS how to smoulder.

Tomorrow would be our last day in France: Marseilles and Aix-En-Provence.

 

[gstdog]

DAY 10 - MARSEILLE & AIX-EN-PROVENCE: We really wanted to explore the 'provincial' life while in France (cue Belle singing), so we decided to tour the city of Aix-En-Provence. Like our other days in port, we wanted to use a private guide so we could go at our own pace. We ultimately decided to use the tour company Aixploring Provence with Erin Jordan. She is an American that has lived in Aix for ten years, and she did an awesome job--more on the later! The tour cost 150€ for our family of four. She offers tours that start at 9:30 am or 2 pm, each lasting 2.5 hours. Given that our all-ashore time was 8:30 am, I was really worried that we couldn't make it to Aix from Marseille in just an hour, so she was okay to start at 10am.

Given that the ashore time was 8:30 am, the very first train left the St. Charles station in Marseille at 9:02 am and arrived in Aix at 9:53 am. The next train left at 9:05 am, but didn't get to Aix until 10:11 am! There was a lot of online recommendations to use a bus to travel the 20 miles from Marseille to Aix, but I couldn't find any reliable information that made me confident in using a bus. Spoiler--the bus is awesome, so don't stress about the train schedule. More to follow on that.

The family got up at 7 am to eat an early breakfast, and the I grabbed a book and hopped in line at the aft gangway at 7:50 am. Yes--I'm crazy, but I wanted to be first off the ship in case there were only a few taxis available. The Disney crew members were already working on setting everything up. So here I am, settling into my book when a crew member pokes his head from around the corner to look at me at 7:55 am. Here is our conversation:

• "Are you waiting to get off the ship?"
• "Yes."
• "Do you want to get off now?"
• "YES!"

I ran back to the room to grab DW and the kids, who were getting ready and were planning to come join me in line around 8:20 am. Thank goodness we had a cabin on the 2nd deck! I grabbed them and we were off the ship at 8 am. I don't know how often this happens, so I wouldn't count on it again...but that was a lucky break for me! Disney offered shuttles that took you from the cruise port into the city of Marseille, but they first one wasn't schedule to leave until 8:30 am. Lo and behold, there were four taxis waiting, even though Disney Guest Relations said there wouldn't be. They said it was a secure port and there wasn't any place for taxis to park...but there literally was an area with signs marked TAXIS. Again, I don't blame Disney since I'm sure the port changes things all the time, but it's a good reminder that Disney doesn't know everything. It was 25€ to take the taxi to the St. Charles train station, so we got there ten minutes later at 8:10 am.

Again, the first train was at 9:02 am, but the guy working at the ticket desk convinced me to do a bus instead. He said the #50 bus travels back and forth between Marseille and Aix, leaving every 10 minutes. The cost was only 30€, which was 10€ per person for the roundtrip, and DD was free since she was under 6-years old. They give you three tickets that are the size of a credit card, which you tap on an RFID reader when you board the bus. It could not have been easier. The bus was nice, air-conditioned, and had free Wi-Fi! We boarded our bus at 8:15am and we made it to the Gare Routiere bus station in Aix at 8:55 am.

Now that I've been, I can tell you to visit the lepilote website to check the bus schedule. It is completely in French...so thanks Google translate. You click on 'Itineraries' on the left hand side, and then input your departure (Gare routière Marseille Saint Charles MARSEILLE) and your destination (AIX EN PROVENCE), plus the date and time. I was able to pull up a schedule that shows me buses departing at 8:07 am, 8:17 am, 8:27 am, etc. which matches my experience. Buses take anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes depending on how many stops they make (each bus makes different stops, but you don't need to worry about it since it always ends at the final stop for Aix). See below for the photo of the bus schedule from Aix heading back to Marseille.

All that said--you don't need to do much research on this one! Literally, a bus leaves every 10 minutes from the same platform. Here is the link for bus #50 schedule between Marseille and Aix if you want to check, but it's super easy. Don't bother with the train, and just use the bus!

We had some time to kill before we met our guide, and found this really cool art installation with umbrellas near the tourist center in Aix. We had some fun taking pictures here!

We started our tour on the Cours Mirabeau, the main street in Aix. Our tour guide Erin met us a little early since I was able to use the Wi-Fi on the bus to message her on WhatsApp and let her know we'd be early. She brought a bag of baked goods from a local patisserie--some madeleines and chouquettes. Both were amazing! DD has a new favorite, so I need to find a place that sells madeleines in Orlando!

The city itself is really charming. There is a university, so it has a hipster, college-town vibe in a Roman city that is 2,000 years old. This was the first city that DW said she could envision herself living here. Everything is peaceful--there are not nearly as many tourists here. Aix is known as the city of a thousand fountains, and you'll find them everywhere. Aix sits on top of a spring, so the Romans used the city like a spa resort.

There is a nice local market you can explore. Apparently its huge on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We came on a Monday, which an 'off-day', but it was still very nice.

Along the tour, our guide Erin did a great job of mixing in the history of the city as well as the current local life. After touring for about an hour and a half, I suggested we find a nice cafe to sit and have a drink and let the kids rest. Having a guide was a huge plus, since we didn't know what to order. Erin and DW both got a 'noisette', which was like a hazelnut latte. I got a 'cafe allonge', which is French for long coffee (i.e., they brew the espresso longer to make it like an American coffee). The kids got 'sirop a l'eau', which is a flavored syrup. They bring it out and you add water to it at the table. They both picked strawberry and loved it! The total cost was only 10.3€ for all five drinks.

We finished our tour around noon, and decided we wanted to stay for lunch and enjoy some more time in the city. There were a lot of great places we saw during our tour, and this was our first stop that we didn't feel rushed and could enjoy some shopping. We grabbed lunch 'take-away' from Paul, a local patisserie and sandwich shop. DW and I split a caprese sandwich (which was amazing) and the kids split a turkey and cheese sandwich. The total was only 8.6€ for both sandwiches.

One shopping tip we got from our guide Erin was to check out MONOPRIX, which in her words is "a fancy Target." They sell groceries on the first level, but clothes on the second level. The prices are great, and it's a chance to shop where the locals do.

We decided to head back to the ship, so we grabbed the 1:40 pm bus. We arrived back at the St. Charles train station in Marseille at 2:15 pm, which was a 35-minute drive. Again, the bus was super easy. We just tapped our three tickets on the RFID reader when we got on the bus, and grabbed a seat.

Now comes the biggest mistake of the trip - the Marseille walk of shame. We headed out of the St. Charles train station, and it looked to only be a 20-minute walk down to the shuttle pick up point. Everyone was in a good mood and the weather was nice, so we walked down there. Upon arrival, I realized that I made the mistake of not knowing EXACTLY where the shuttle drops off. Imagine being told that a shuttle drops off "near Times Square" in New York City and not realizing that it covers an massive area spanning several streets and avenues, and all buses look the same. I asked the local tourist office if they knew, and they pointed me to a location that ended up in the wrong place, so we walked another 30 minutes until I gave up. DW was upset with me, and the kids were done...and rightly so! We grabbed a taxi back to the port for 20€ (which I should have done 50 minutes earlier from the train station). The lesson? Ask Disney to mark EXACTLY on a map where the shuttle will pick you up!

This was our last night, so we packed up the suitcases and had them ready to go outside our stateroom. A big shout out to our servers, Omar and Imade. They made the Disney Magic feel like home!

Tomorrow would be a fun day in Barcelona before our flight, but we were definitely going to miss the DIsney Magic!

 

[gstdog]

DAY 11 - DEBARKING & BARCELONA: Disney offers a few excursions in Barcelona with an option to either be dropped at a hotel or the airport in the afternoon. Given debarkation was at 7 am and our flight was at 4:05 pm, this seemed like the perfect option. You can only sign up once you are on the ship...but there is no guarantee they offer it. Unfortunately for us, not enough people signed up for the tour, so they didn't offer it on this cruse. Doh! Disney didn't confirm this with me until Day 8, so that meant I had to scramble to find another option.

First challenge was our luggage. We can do anything with taxis since we can't haul around our luggage. Second challenge was Wi-Fi. We had bought the 1,000 MBs for $100 package, and it was definitely worth it for us. We mostly used it for quick email checks and notes to home, with a picture or two uploaded to social media for the family to see each night. However, trying to research on Google was costly, so definitely do all that at home! I could check email and upload a photo in 10 minutes for just 10 MBs. But Google searching to find tour options in Barcelona? That cost me 40 MBs in just 10 minutes of searching!

We ultimately settled on Barcelona PRIVATE Chauffeur. I've noticed that if you book cruise excursions, you'll get hit for at least 500-600€ for a half-day experience. But, just like my experience in Amalfi, if you find a local company, you can find a driver that will do it for half the coast. The chauffeur service only charged 60€ per hour, so a pick up at 7:00 am and drop off at the airport at 1:00 pm would be 360€. I loved the company--very easy to chat with via email or WhatsApp.

For debarkation, we had two options:

• Express Walk-off: Keep all your luggage with you and just queue up at 7 am in the lobby and walk right off the ship. There was a line to talk-off, but it cleared quickly by 7:10 am.
• Seated Breakfast: You dine in the same restaurant you had dinner the previous night. If you eat dinner at 6 pm, your breakfast time started at either 6:45 or 7am. If you ate dinner at 8:30 pm time, your breakfast start time was at either 8 or 8:15 am.

We decided to not rush things and eat breakfast, so we scheduled our driver to pick us up at 7:45 am. We got to breakfast right on time at 6:45 am, had a wonderful meal, and finished up at 7:20 am. We waited in the lobby for our group to be called. If you opt for breakfast, you are given a character tag to put on your luggage that is also your debarkation group. Once our 'character' was called at 7:25am, we walked off the ship and found our luggage. Note--there is an order in which characters are called, but it apparently it isn't fixed in stone. There was a mild panic when a character group was called before another that was perceived as a 'best' group. In the end, it didn't cost anyone more than 10 minutes, so don't stress too much on this one. If you are really time sensitive, do the express walk-off. We were outside the port terminal waiting for our driver at 7:35 am. He arrived promptly at 7:45 am, and we loaded the luggage in the trunk and hoped in the car.

Our driver, Nacho, showed up in a Mercedes Viano, but with seats spun around so the 2nd row faced backwards, creating a limo-like experience for the 2nd and 3rd rows. We used the booster seats for the kids again, but there we more laying out an napping given the way the seats were designed. We told our driver that we wanted to see Sagrada Familia church, and one of the parks in the city, and then find a good tapas restaurant for lunch before heading to the airport. I had planned on directing him where to go, but he asked me to trust him, and I'm glad I did. He put together a tour for us that was better than any we got from our other excursions.

We started with Montjuïc, the big hill near the port. There were fun nature parks inside, including Mirador de l'Alcalde that offered great views of both the city and the port. We also went to see stopped to see the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya as well. Unlike other drivers, Nacho was happy to park and then walk with us to show us around and offer us some history.

After that, we spent some time in the car touring additional sites, including the Olympic stadium. Then we made our way to the other side of town to Park Guell. This was by far the highlight of the day! It's a park designed by famous architect Antonio Gaudi. It has amazing views of the city, a whimsical looking castle, a playground, and more. There is a free portion of the park that includes the playground and walkways, and then a paid section that includes some buildings and art. We didn't do the paid section, so I can't speak to that, but we LOVED the rest of the park.

View of the city from the top of the park

The kids exploring a trail in the park

The whimsical castle in the park

The playground in the park

Our driver dropped us off at the entrance and said to meet him in an hour, but we messaged him and said we wanted to spend more time. This kids loved it, and the experience was so peaceful. This was a great moment to relax and enjoy nature while the kids played.

After that, we went to Sagrada Familia Church. We didn't go inside since we had not purchased tickets, so we just spent 30 minutes walking around the outside, plus poking into some of the tourist shops around the area.

After that, we drove around for another 30 minutes to see a few other sites, and then stopped to each lunch at Ciutat Comtal. Very good. We got several pinxos, which are small--only 1-2 bites each--including beef tenderloin, prawn skewer, mini hamburger, and a mini four-cheese pizza. We also got some tapas, including a spanish omelette and a sampler of assorted tapas that included clams, fish, peppers, and more. DS is not as adventurous as the rest of the family, so he didn't eat much, but I loved it! I'm not a foodie...which means I always forget to take a picture until after I've eaten half the food.

After that, we headed to the airport. Again, our driver Nacho was great (picture below). He turned what would have been a sad day leaving the ship into our favorite 'port' of the trip! We was fun, passionate about Barcelona, and pretty good with history, too. He dropped us off at the airport at 12:45 pm, which ended up being five hours for 330€. Perfect!!

FLYING HOME: At the airport, we checked-in at Norwegian counter. Again, remember to make sure your bags are under the weight limits. You won't have a scale on the ship, so make sure you have an idea of what 20 lbs feels like! Our car seats had to be checked at another gate, but staff was super nice and walked us over there. Security seemed light, but there is another security check point after you clear for the international terminal. There was not a lot of good food options there, so maybe consider grabbing snacks before you head to that terminal. The flight home was uneventful, which is to say great. We had pre-ordered food, so we had two meals and watched a few movies and/or slept for the 9-hour flight to Fort Lauderdale airport. We arrived on time at 8 am.

Unfortunately, customs at Fort Lauderdale was a nightmare. Arriving in Barcelona was great -- we cleared customs in only 15 minutes. It took us nearly 90 minutes returning to the United States. Pro tip--definitely download the Mobile Passport App ahead of time if it lists your city. You input your personal information, passport number, and snap a quick photo of each family member. It allows you to skip the first queue for the questionnaire and proceed directly to second queue for passport check. This probably saved us 30-40 minutes.

We originally planned on driving back to Orlando that night, but we *smartly* decided to book a room at the Best Western Fort Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port down the street from the airport. Time change meant that 10 pm felt REALLY late...like 5 am. DW was smart enough to recognize that we should sleep right away and wake-up at 4 am to drive back to Orlando. If we had tried to drive that night, the risk is that our internal clocks would have prevented us from sleeping in. After a good night's rest, we drove home and arrived at 7 am...just enough time for me to shower and then head to work.

CONCLUSION: This was without a doubt the best family vacation that we've ever done. We were initially surprised at all the people who were booking their next cruise while on the ship. We didn't get it...until now! Both DW and I spend our time daydreaming about the next cruise--maybe the Baltic or Easter Mediterranean! The biggest thing that held me back from doing this earlier was anxiety about how navigating foreign countries with kids. I shared this trip report to help convince others that it's really not that hard at all! The Disney excursions are super easy and take away all the stress. But, if like me you like to go at your own speed and enjoy planning out your trip ahead of time, you can do it! Happy to answer any questions from what I missed. Otherwise, I can't wait to share our next trip!

 

[daisydog2]

DAY 11 - DEBARKING & BARCELONA: Disney offers a few excursions in Barcelona with an option to either be dropped at a hotel or the airport in the afternoon. Given debarkation was at 7 am and our flight was at 4:05 pm, this seemed like the perfect option. You can only sign up once you are on the ship...but there is no guarantee they offer it. Unfortunately for us, not enough people signed up for the tour, so they didn't offer it on this cruse. Doh! Disney didn't confirm this with me until Day 8, so that meant I had to scramble to find another option.

First challenge was our luggage. We can do anything with taxis since we can't haul around our luggage. Second challenge was Wi-Fi. We had bought the 1,000 MBs for $100 package, and it was definitely worth it for us. We mostly used it for quick email checks and notes to home, with a picture or two uploaded to social media for the family to see each night. However, trying to research on Google was costly, so definitely do all that at home! I could check email and upload a photo in 10 minutes for just 10 MBs. But Google searching to find tour options in Barcelona? That cost me 40 MBs in just 10 minutes of searching!

We ultimately settled on Barcelona PRIVATE Chauffeur. I've noticed that if you book cruise excursions, you'll get hit for at least 500-600€ for a half-day experience. But, just like my experience in Amalfi, if you find a local company, you can find a driver that will do it for half the coast. The chauffeur service only charged 60€ per hour, so a pick up at 7:00 am and drop off at the airport at 1:00 pm would be 360€. I loved the company--very easy to chat with via email or WhatsApp.

For debarkation, we had two options:

• Express Walk-off: Keep all your luggage with you and just queue up at 7 am in the lobby and walk right off the ship. There was a line to talk-off, but it cleared quickly by 7:10 am.
• Seated Breakfast: You dine in the same restaurant you had dinner the previous night. If you eat dinner at 6 pm, your breakfast time started at either 6:45 or 7am. If you ate dinner at 8:30 pm time, your breakfast start time was at either 8 or 8:15 am.

We decided to not rush things and eat breakfast, so we scheduled our driver to pick us up at 7:45 am. We got to breakfast right on time at 6:45 am, had a wonderful meal, and finished up at 7:20 am. We waited in the lobby for our group to be called. If you opt for breakfast, you are given a character tag to put on your luggage that is also your debarkation group. Once our 'character' was called at 7:25am, we walked off the ship and found our luggage. Note--there is an order in which characters are called, but it apparently it isn't fixed in stone. There was a mild panic when a character group was called before another that was perceived as a 'best' group. In the end, it didn't cost anyone more than 10 minutes, so don't stress too much on this one. If you are really time sensitive, do the express walk-off. We were outside the port terminal waiting for our driver at 7:35 am. He arrived promptly at 7:45 am, and we loaded the luggage in the trunk and hoped in the car.

Our driver, Nacho, showed up in a Mercedes Viano, but with seats spun around so the 2nd row faced backwards, creating a limo-like experience for the 2nd and 3rd rows. We used the booster seats for the kids again, but there we more laying out an napping given the way the seats were designed. We told our driver that we wanted to see Sagrada Familia church, and one of the parks in the city, and then find a good tapas restaurant for lunch before heading to the airport. I had planned on directing him where to go, but he asked me to trust him, and I'm glad I did. He put together a tour for us that was better than any we got from our other excursions.

We started with Montjuïc, the big hill near the port. There were fun nature parks inside, including Mirador de l'Alcalde that offered great views of both the city and the port. We also went to see stopped to see the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya as well. Unlike other drivers, Nacho was happy to park and then walk with us to show us around and offer us some history.

After that, we spent some time in the car touring additional sites, including the Olympic stadium. Then we made our way to the other side of town to Park Guell. This was by far the highlight of the day! It's a park designed by famous architect Antonio Gaudi. It has amazing views of the city, a whimsical looking castle, a playground, and more. There is a free portion of the park that includes the playground and walkways, and then a paid section that includes some buildings and art. We didn't do the paid section, so I can't speak to that, but we LOVED the rest of the park.

View of the city from the top of the park

The kids exploring a trail in the park

The whimsical castle in the park

The playground in the park

Our driver dropped us off at the entrance and said to meet him in an hour, but we messaged him and said we wanted to spend more time. This kids loved it, and the experience was so peaceful. This was a great moment to relax and enjoy nature while the kids played.

After that, we went to Sagrada Familia Church. We didn't go inside since we had not purchased tickets, so we just spent 30 minutes walking around the outside, plus poking into some of the tourist shops around the area.

After that, we drove around for another 30 minutes to see a few other sites, and then stopped to each lunch at Ciutat Comtal. Very good. We got several pinxos, which are small--only 1-2 bites each--including beef tenderloin, prawn skewer, mini hamburger, and a mini four-cheese pizza. We also got some tapas, including a spanish omelette and a sampler of assorted tapas that included clams, fish, peppers, and more. DS is not as adventurous as the rest of the family, so he didn't eat much, but I loved it! I'm not a foodie...which means I always forget to take a picture until after I've eaten half the food.

After that, we headed to the airport. Again, our driver Nacho was great (picture below). He turned what would have been a sad day leaving the ship into our favorite 'port' of the trip! We was fun, passionate about Barcelona, and pretty good with history, too. He dropped us off at the airport at 12:45 pm, which ended up being five hours for 330€. Perfect!!

FLYING HOME: At the airport, we checked-in at Norwegian counter. Again, remember to make sure your bags are under the weight limits. You won't have a scale on the ship, so make sure you have an idea of what 20 lbs feels like! Our car seats had to be checked at another gate, but staff was super nice and walked us over there. Security seemed light, but there is another security check point after you clear for the international terminal. There was not a lot of good food options there, so maybe consider grabbing snacks before you head to that terminal. The flight home was uneventful, which is to say great. We had pre-ordered food, so we had two meals and watched a few movies and/or slept for the 9-hour flight to Fort Lauderdale airport. We arrived on time at 8 am.

Unfortunately, customs at Fort Lauderdale was a nightmare. Arriving in Barcelona was great -- we cleared customs in only 15 minutes. It took us nearly 90 minutes returning to the United States. Pro tip--definitely download the Mobile Passport App ahead of time if it lists your city. You input your personal information, passport number, and snap a quick photo of each family member. It allows you to skip the first queue for the questionnaire and proceed directly to second queue for passport check. This probably saved us 30-40 minutes.

We originally planned on driving back to Orlando that night, but we *smartly* decided to book a room at the Best Western Fort Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port down the street from the airport. Time change meant that 10 pm felt REALLY late...like 5 am. DW was smart enough to recognize that we should sleep right away and wake-up at 4 am to drive back to Orlando. If we had tried to drive that night, the risk is that our internal clocks would have prevented us from sleeping in. After a good night's rest, we drove home and arrived at 7 am...just enough time for me to shower and then head to work.

CONCLUSION: This was without a doubt the best family vacation that we've ever done. We were initially surprised at all the people who were booking their next cruise while on the ship. We didn't get it...until now! Both DW and I spend our time daydreaming about the next cruise--maybe the Baltic or Easter Mediterranean! The biggest thing that held me back from doing this earlier was anxiety about how navigating foreign countries with kids. I shared this trip report to help convince others that it's really not that hard at all! The Disney excursions are super easy and take away all the stress. But, if like me you like to go at your own speed and enjoy planning out your trip ahead of time, you can do it! Happy to answer any questions from what I missed. Otherwise, I can't wait to share our next trip!

Thank you SOOOO much. This was exactly what I was looking for, for our trip next year. We are not hitting all the same ports you did, but a few. You have taken a bunch of stress from me....

 

[lorimay]

Enjoyed your report so much!
Hoping they offer this cruise again sometime, so many great ports.
Question about luggage, you said 20 lbs? Are International flights only allowing bags to be 20 lbs??

 

[gstdog]

Enjoyed your report so much!
Hoping they offer this cruise again sometime, so many great ports.
Question about luggage, you said 20 lbs? Are International flights only allowing bags to be 20 lbs??

Specifically for Norwegian Airlines, they restrict the total weight of your carry-on luggage to 10kg, or 22 lbs. That weight limit applies to both your small personal item under your seat and larger bag that goes in the overhead bin (i.e., the combined weight of those two items has to be less than 22 lbs). For checked bags, the weight limit is 20kg, or 44 lbs.

We booked the LowFare+ rate, which included both carry-on and checked baggage, but other rates may have different rules.

 

[gstdog]

Thank you SOOOO much. This was exactly what I was looking for, for our trip next year. We are not hitting all the same ports you did, but a few. You have taken a bunch of stress from me....

So glad to hear!

 

[lorimay]

Specifically for Norwegian Airlines, they restrict the total weight of your carry-on luggage to 10kg, or 22 lbs. That weight limit applies to both your small personal item under your seat and larger bag that goes in the overhead bin (i.e., the combined weight of those two items has to be less than 22 lbs). For checked bags, the weight limit is 20kg, or 44 lbs.

We booked the LowFare+ rate, which included both carry-on and checked baggage, but other rates may have different rules.

Ok good information, thank you.
We are actually booked to fly on Norwegian out of Miami, but they transferred the booking to a line called Privilege Air. Our son works for the airlines and has us on a Virgin Atlantic flight, hopefully if this flight doesn't sell out we can fly them instead. I have my fingers and toes crossed.

 

[gstdog]

Ok good information, thank you.
We are actually booked to fly on Norwegian out of Miami, but they transferred the booking to a line called Privilege Air. Our son works for the airlines and has us on a Virgin Atlantic flight, hopefully if this flight doesn't sell out we can fly them instead. I have my fingers and toes crossed.

Norwegian transferred our booking to an airline called HiFly. I was worried, but it was actually a great flight. Each seat had a TV, and the crew was really nice.

 

[Birdie dog]

This trip report is absolutely fantastic. I will 100% be referencing it in the future. I considered myself a pretty good planner but you brought it up a notch.

 

[Lill]

Loved your TR! I really do like your style of travelling. All the work done to find out about travel options with public transport, not being afraid to use the trains, buses and alternative options is very cool! And sustainable in addition to cost effective. The Barcelona private driver made a lot of sense too - for such a short period of time it was your best option in the big city. Also appreciate you trying to eat lunch and use local guides in the places you visit. That is something that in fact supports the local societies and businesses. Cruise tourism is convenient and easy to love but I admit I always have a little bad conscience issues with it and the sustainabilty makes me among other things choose alternatives to cruise ship excursions and food in ports and... I could totally relate when you mentioned to have quickly removed your stickers in Florence lol
And thanks for tips even for this European here - Camogli is now in my list when visiting Ligurian coast in the future!

 

[CaseyJo]

Wonderful trip retort. Thanks for all the great information

 

[gstdog]

Wonderful trip retort. Thanks for all the great information

Really glad you found it useful. It's also nice for us to look back on and day dream!

 

[TXspartan]

This is a great trip report thanks, really enjoyed following along as a fellow "planner". Headed to a the Med this summer on the Magic from Barcelona to Rome with the kids in tow and the planner in me has been reading as much as I can online and with all the stops it feels like i'm planning like 6 trips in one compared to our previous cruises. Will definitely look in to some of the vendors you mentioned but with the prices i've been seeing so far i was also looking into possibly renting a car in some of these ports to do the DIY excursions to help control our time our selves, not sure if the thought ever crossed during your planning and what if any concerns you may have had.

 

[gstdog]

This is a great trip report thanks, really enjoyed following along as a fellow "planner". Headed to a the Med this summer on the Magic from Barcelona to Rome with the kids in tow and the planner in me has been reading as much as I can online and with all the stops it feels like i'm planning like 6 trips in one compared to our previous cruises. Will definitely look in to some of the vendors you mentioned but with the prices i've been seeing so far i was also looking into possibly renting a car in some of these ports to do the DIY excursions to help control our time our selves, not sure if the thought ever crossed during your planning and what if any concerns you may have had.

Totally agree on the feeling of planning 6 trips! I put hours and hours of research and planning (...and back-up plans) into each port. I love planning, so I enjoyed it, and it was my 'gift' to my family to make everything feel easy and low stress during the trip. That said, it was exhausting!

My biggest fear with renting a car was getting lost. However, now that I see how GPS works even without a cell signal on my phone, I'd be less worried about that. I can think of three issues that would still keep me from renting a car.

1. First, is that getting the car itself could take up valuable time in the morning. If the place doesn't open early, then you're having to wait. Then there is the extra time of filling out paperwork, etc. Having a driver ready when you step off the ship (or a taxi) helps maximize time. I'd double check to make sure the rental place is open early enough and not too far away.
2. Second, driving adds another dimension to trip planning. Each country has its own laws and regulations for driving, and it seems like you'd have to spend a lot of time doing research on that.
3. Third, parking could be a challenge. Many times when we had a driver, they dropped us off and then 'drove around' until it was time to get picked up since there wasn't great parking. You'll want to do some extra research on parking options near the sites you want to visit.

For me, I'd probably still pass, but if the cost savings was enough, I'd be willing to do the extra research.

Have fun on the Magic this summer! Which ports are you going to? Do you get to spend extra time in Barcelona?

 

[TXspartan]

Totally agree on the feeling of planning 6 trips! I put hours and hours of research and planning (...and back-up plans) into each port. I love planning, so I enjoyed it, and it was my 'gift' to my family to make everything feel easy and low stress during the trip. That said, it was exhausting!

My biggest fear with renting a car was getting lost. However, now that I see how GPS works even without a cell signal on my phone, I'd be less worried about that. I can think of three issues that would still keep me from renting a car.

1. First, is that getting the car itself could take up valuable time in the morning. If the place doesn't open early, then you're having to wait. Then there is the extra time of filling out paperwork, etc. Having a driver ready when you step off the ship (or a taxi) helps maximize time. I'd double check to make sure the rental place is open early enough and not too far away.
2. Second, driving adds another dimension to trip planning. Each country has its own laws and regulations for driving, and it seems like you'd have to spend a lot of time doing research on that.
3. Third, parking could be a challenge. Many times when we had a driver, they dropped us off and then 'drove around' until it was time to get picked up since there wasn't great parking. You'll want to do some extra research on parking options near the sites you want to visit.

For me, I'd probably still pass, but if the cost savings was enough, I'd be willing to do the extra research.

Have fun on the Magic this summer! Which ports are you going to? Do you get to spend extra time in Barcelona?

Thanks for the feedback. we booked the one way from Barcelona to Rome, so we get a few days in Barcelona at the start and then a few in Rome at the end. and b/c of the way tickets worked out we added a bonus stop in Paris on they way in so that we can see Paris and a quick stop at Disney Paris. Great points on the lost time waiting for the car, i've been trying to email the rental places to see when they set up in the morning as I've read that in some ports like Livorno they actually set up right on the pier so you can get a car when you walk off the ship but agree giving up 1-2 hours waiting for them would be frustrating.

the ports are Nice, Livorno, Naples, and Villefranche which is why your trip report hit a sweet spot reading through for advice.

 

[Quellman]

Thanks for sharing this trip report and your vacation. You are correct in that the ship and the experiences of the ship are largely the same across passengers, but exploring with kids off the ship on a port intensive itinerary was wonderful. Each day featured your planning, your execution, your changes, and your recommendations. A real gem in trip reporting. I also appreciate the frugality of it all. Save $25 by dragging my family around to the "right" ATM? That sounds like me!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Just stumbled on your report and loving it so far! We have the same family make up as you guys...one son, one daughter and our son is 3 years older than our daughter. I am particularly interested because I am hoping to do a European cruise with my kids around the same ages (either 8/5 or 9/6). We did a 3 week land trip through Europe when my son was 3 1/2 and my daughter was 7 months. It was a wonderful trip and now we’d like to do a cruise.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

 

[JulieODC]

We just booked the 12 night Med for 2022 that is similar to this cruise - and will be going with our 10 and 7 year olds, so your report was PERFECT! Very similar to our style of traveling and so man great recommendations! Thank you!!

 

[gstdog]

We just booked the 12 night Med for 2022 that is similar to this cruise - and will be going with our 10 and 7 year olds, so your report was PERFECT! Very similar to our style of traveling and so man great recommendations! Thank you!!

Are you still on that 12-night Med this summer in July? I only ask because we decided to book that one also.