All in one place: Please Post info from your DCL Med excursions HERE

[sharolyn]

When we went to Rome on the 6-6 cruise, it was HOT!! And we all wore shorts for the morning excursions to the collesium, etc. We brought clothes and changed on the bus for the vatican!!! But this is a plus of having your own private tour where everyone knows everyone!!! I think they are ok with just having your knees covered, but we did experience being told people could not enter places because of dress!! For example, in Florence, one of the girls in our group had her shoulders exposed and she could not enter the duomo!!! So my thoughts, better safe than sorry, you never know what kind of day the person might be having that you might happen upon, and you do not want to give them any excuse to not let you in!!! With the crowds that we saw, oh my, well, my nerves would be strained to say the least. It is absolutely crazy over there and if you have never been, maybe New Orleans at Mardi Gras time before the hurricane might be a good way to describe the crowds, but I am not even sure that would do it justice. So...patience with americans is probably not something I would count on!! So short of it, wear clothes that leave no room for interpretation!!! Pants/skirts and sleeved shirts.

 

[taysmom]

I will be traveling with my 4 year old, 2 teens, and my 82 year old grandmother. We decided to book this rather late and I am now stuck playing Julie the cruise director for this very varied group.

A few questions I would love to have answered . . .

Several people metioned leaving the kids on the ship. On past Disney cruises I was under the impression someone had to stay on board with the beeper. Is there anyone who has left their pre-schooler for an entire day? If so, please let me know how that went.

Also, for the most part my grandmother will be very content with just cruising around but I do want her to see a few ports. Can someone tell me the easiest tours for the elderly - or even the ports that she can enjoy for a couple of hours and then return easily when she tires. Seems Marseille may fit the bill - anywhere else?

Last question - did anyone see any surfing opportunities? I have a teen who is a fanatic and is dying to say she surfed in the Mediterranean (as if satisfying an age range of 4 - 82 isn't difficult enough!).

Any advice greatly appreciated. The thread has been great - just wish we had booked earlier and I had time to print it all out.

Thanks,

Tiffany

Just a note on the fountain...I did jumping back and the trevi fountain WAS included and we did go to that. I believe it was Just ultimate/vip vatican and it was due to wanting more time at the vatican. I have heard others also did trevi...i believe highlights and vip rome. You can check on board.

People that we have become quite friendly with on this cruise leave their 4 year old everytime. She loves kids club and would not do well. Today I met a woman whose kid will NOT stay in kids club and they have had to cancel excursions with no refund so mom could stay with their child. It just depends on your child.

As far as your grandma...I would rule out any hikes and pompeii. The amalfi coast might work as she can sit in a cafe while you walk around.?

Also, you can rent a horse carriage in palermo for a quick ride around or hire a taxi for about 100 e to take you all around.

Rome, too should be out...way too much walking. she can't wait on the bus.
Pisa wasn't bad...there was a short walk but no place to sit and no shade.

Marseille probably has alot available, but not the aix en provance as that has an hours walk on uneven streets.

Good Luck
S

 

[vegs1]

I will be traveling with my 4 year old, 2 teens, and my 82 year old grandmother. We decided to book this rather late and I am now stuck playing Julie the cruise director for this very varied group.

A few questions I would love to have answered . . .

Several people metioned leaving the kids on the ship. On past Disney cruises I was under the impression someone had to stay on board with the beeper. Is there anyone who has left their pre-schooler for an entire day? If so, please let me know how that went.

Also, for the most part my grandmother will be very content with just cruising around but I do want her to see a few ports. Can someone tell me the easiest tours for the elderly - or even the ports that she can enjoy for a couple of hours and then return easily when she tires. Seems Marseille may fit the bill - anywhere else?

Last question - did anyone see any surfing opportunities? I have a teen who is a fanatic and is dying to say she surfed in the Mediterranean (as if satisfying an age range of 4 - 82 isn't difficult enough!).

Any advice greatly appreciated. The thread has been great - just wish we had booked earlier and I had time to print it all out.

Thanks,

Tiffany

Hi dcpjudge - How lucky for you to be traveling with your grandmother. That will give more memories to your kids than you will know. We did this with my mother-in-law and my own parents a couple of years ago. My mother-in-law has since passed away and my daughter (now9) has lots of great memories.

It is a challenge though. I was the cruise director for our group.

In Barcelona, if you are staying near Las Ramblas, you can take a leisurely walk down to the sea (if she's up to it) and stop along the way for drinks or gelato. Or you could do the Hop On, Hop Off bus. We did this last year. You don't HAVE to get off if you just want the scenic tour!

I did some of the med ports last year but not all. Marseille was very easy - you just take the shuttle (I hear that Disney's is free) into the Old port and you can walk around from there. They have a "little train" in the old port (Disney has an excursion on this but it is very expensive in comparison to doing it on your own). The train is approx 5 - 8 Euros and there are a couple of different tours it does - one going up to the basilica at the top of the hill. We are doing the Soap Tour - tour of the city and of the soap factory. The soaps made here are just wonderful.

In Palermo - we did the Hop On Hop Off bus last year. You could just walk a ways in from the ship and look around but to really see much, you have to venture a ways. (Remember...streets are cobblestone which may bother some elderly people).

Haven't been to Villefranche but friends of ours thought the port itself was lovely and they didn't venture away from it so you could have her stay around there. (This will be a tender port). We are planning to take the train to Monte Carlo and Eze (Eze is VERY hilly so she will probably want to avoid it unless she's in fabulous shape!) You could just take the train to Monaco and look around and then come back to the port.

I haven't been to la Spezia or Olbia so can't comment on those.

In Naples, the actual city is within easy walking distance of the ship. It is very busy here and so much beauty is to be had if you do a tour along the Amalfi Coast. We are doing a private driver and touring the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii (very long day though!). You could do something like that and skip Pompeii if you don't think she could do it.

Rome will be at least 1 hour to get to from the ship and will entail a lot of walking no matter what you do.

I've never left my kids on the ship so can't help you there and I also don't know of any surfing although that would definitely be fun!

When looking at the shore excursions, at the bottom they have a fairly good description of how much walking, climbing, sitting on a bus, etc. is involved.

I hope this helps you out. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a Private Message.

Cheers!

 

[dlgrn3]

We are signed up for the 1/2 day Pisa trip but after reading the last two post I am reconsidering doing it on our own. I am sure it has already been discussed somewhere along the way but could some sweet person out there let me know how to do it on our own and how much it would cost? Thanks a million.

Hi
We booked our private tour through www.privateshoretrips.com They offer several options, and I think you can find one that fits what you are looking for.

 

[dlgrn3]

Does anyone know what may not be open in Marseille on August 15th, that is the day we arrive in port, and I know its Assumption Day...a national holiday, so I am afraid our options may be limited?

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

When we went to Rome on the 6-6 cruise, it was HOT!! And we all wore shorts for the morning excursions to the collesium, etc. We brought clothes and changed on the bus for the vatican!!! But this is a plus of having your own private tour where everyone knows everyone!!! I think they are ok with just having your knees covered, but we did experience being told people could not enter places because of dress!! For example, in Florence, one of the girls in our group had her shoulders exposed and she could not enter the duomo!!! So my thoughts, better safe than sorry, you never know what kind of day the person might be having that you might happen upon, and you do not want to give them any excuse to not let you in!!! With the crowds that we saw, oh my, well, my nerves would be strained to say the least. It is absolutely crazy over there and if you have never been, maybe New Orleans at Mardi Gras time before the hurricane might be a good way to describe the crowds, but I am not even sure that would do it justice. So...patience with americans is probably not something I would count on!! So short of it, wear clothes that leave no room for interpretation!!! Pants/skirts and sleeved shirts.

Thank you...now I know I'll leave no room for interpretation...I'm even going to wear SUNDRESSES

 

[konslerg]

Thank you...now I know I'll leave no room for interpretation...I'm even going to wear SUNDRESSES

Just make sure your shoulders are covered. Most sundresses are sleeveless and that won't cut it in the churches. You can always just carry a scarf with you and drape that over your shoulders though.

 

[sharolyn]

Like I posted earlier, the only time we were told someone could not enter a place was due to shoulder exposure, so for sure with a sundress make sure you have a sweater or something that completely covers your shoulders. Crazy I say, but the reality of it all. So different than here in the US, I look at what we all wear to church down here in Texas and more than half of the congregation would not be allowed in by European standards. So you could not even go with church clothes being ok to go into these sites. They mean, cover knees and shoulders!! Funny....

 

[sharolyn]

We did Naples, Rome and Florence/Pisa with this same group and can not say enough about how wonderful they are!!! The home group is Travels with Friends, great!!!! We were very happy with our tours, guides and buses. We had a group of over 30 though, so it was really great for us. Hope you enjoy as much as we did....

Naples, we did Pompeii, climbed Mt. Vestivius and drove to Positono up the Amalfi Coast.

In Rome we did the colesium in the morning with some of the forum, headed over to the vatican for a tour of St Peters and the sistine chapel, then to the Paladium and Trevi fountain. And yes, the fountain was up and running a very beautiful i might add. Did not look like water flow was an issue as i do not think i have ever seen such a huge fountain with tons of water flowing. Anyway, not sure what that is about with the canceling, but we got the pics to prove it is running and very beautiful. Anyway...

With florence/pisa we walked the town, had a bit of free time to shop the leather shops and went in to see the statue of David before walking back to the bus to go over to Pisa. We had purchased tickets to climb and loved every second of the climb, it is just really a unique experience. After leaving Pisa we got stuck in La Spezia traffic and ran back to get the "last tender" arriving at port at 7:29. This was not really the last tender for our cruise 6/6 though, but we did not know that at the time!! Kind of nerve racking though...anyway, this is a very long day. You can see the statue of david outside the academy through the window, and do not have to buy the tickets to go in, and thus be confined to a set time on a day that really needs flexibility. But anyway, i have posted about this elsewhere. I have to say that the tour guides were amazing, and in particular this day, she was wonderful. I know had it not been for her, we probably would have been spending the night in LaSpezia. So...

Again, this tour company is who we used and they were wonderful at every port and with all that we asked them to do. Which was a lot...every day the guide would get on the bus and comment on how much we were trying to do. But hey, we did it!!!!

Hope this helps...

 

[CarolAnnC]

I just changed our LaSpezia excursion to Sarzana and Wine Tasting. We were going for Portofino and Santa Marherita, however, I know we will be tired from our previous day in Rome. That, plus the other excursion was not getting very good reviews on the boards here.

So we will get to sleep in and enjoy our excursion later in the day! Has anyone taken the Sarzana and Wine Tasting yet? Would be curious for feedback.

 

[Vailcruiser]

Hi dcpjudge - How lucky for you to be traveling with your grandmother. That will give more memories to your kids than you will know. We did this with my mother-in-law and my own parents a couple of years ago. My mother-in-law has since passed away and my daughter (now9) has lots of great memories.

It is a challenge though. I was the cruise director for our group.

In Barcelona, if you are staying near Las Ramblas, you can take a leisurely walk down to the sea (if she's up to it) and stop along the way for drinks or gelato. Or you could do the Hop On, Hop Off bus. We did this last year. You don't HAVE to get off if you just want the scenic tour!

I did some of the med ports last year but not all. Marseille was very easy - you just take the shuttle (I hear that Disney's is free) into the Old port and you can walk around from there. They have a "little train" in the old port (Disney has an excursion on this but it is very expensive in comparison to doing it on your own). The train is approx 5 - 8 Euros and there are a couple of different tours it does - one going up to the basilica at the top of the hill. We are doing the Soap Tour - tour of the city and of the soap factory. The soaps made here are just wonderful.

In Palermo - we did the Hop On Hop Off bus last year. You could just walk a ways in from the ship and look around but to really see much, you have to venture a ways. (Remember...streets are cobblestone which may bother some elderly people).

Haven't been to Villefranche but friends of ours thought the port itself was lovely and they didn't venture away from it so you could have her stay around there. (This will be a tender port). We are planning to take the train to Monte Carlo and Eze (Eze is VERY hilly so she will probably want to avoid it unless she's in fabulous shape!) You could just take the train to Monaco and look around and then come back to the port.

I haven't been to la Spezia or Olbia so can't comment on those.

In Naples, the actual city is within easy walking distance of the ship. It is very busy here and so much beauty is to be had if you do a tour along the Amalfi Coast. We are doing a private driver and touring the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii (very long day though!). You could do something like that and skip Pompeii if you don't think she could do it.

Rome will be at least 1 hour to get to from the ship and will entail a lot of walking no matter what you do.

I've never left my kids on the ship so can't help you there and I also don't know of any surfing although that would definitely be fun!

When looking at the shore excursions, at the bottom they have a fairly good description of how much walking, climbing, sitting on a bus, etc. is involved.

I hope this helps you out. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a Private Message.

Cheers!

I just wanted to chime in to both of you - we took my grandmother with us on a few vacations over the past 17 years and we were in Disney World for this past Christmas, Gram age 93. We came home and two weeks later she had a heart attack and passed away shortly there after. Enjoy the memories you make, I live each day remembering what a fabulous vacation we had!!! It slowed us down a bit, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. My daughter is 7 and it gave her a great experience as well, learning patience and kindness. I wish you a fabulous journey - also be careful with the heat.

Jocelyne

 

[Vailcruiser]

Hi, is anyone a DVC member who signed up for a Guaranteed Category? When did you receive your room assignments? When did you receive your final documents? We are on the 8/8 Med Cruise.

Thanks so much!
Jocelyne

 

[michellebriana]

Like I posted earlier, the only time we were told someone could not enter a place was due to shoulder exposure, so for sure with a sundress make sure you have a sweater or something that completely covers your shoulders. Crazy I say, but the reality of it all. So different than here in the US, I look at what we all wear to church down here in Texas and more than half of the congregation would not be allowed in by European standards. So you could not even go with church clothes being ok to go into these sites. They mean, cover knees and shoulders!! Funny....

I was planning on bringing a shawl, but it is not solid, it has holes in it (not sure how else to describe it!) is that acceptable or does it have to be solid so that you do not see skin at all?

 

[Shercara]

Hello - has anyone done the Marseille tour "Calanques of Cassis"?

Would love to hear comments!

Thanks in advance,
Sherri

 

[konslerg]

I was planning on bringing a shawl, but it is not solid, it has holes in it (not sure how else to describe it!) is that acceptable or does it have to be solid so that you do not see skin at all?

Your "holey" (or is that holy? LOL) shawl will be fine.

 

[colleenlg]

For those of you who did Rome NOT with a Disney Excursion, would you mind answering for me:

What time did you visit the Vatican and just how bad were the lines when you went? (Trying to figure out if morning or afternoon is better...)

Did you have a private guide for the Vatican? If so, did that allow you to skip the lines? (Any recommendations?)

I saw the great tip to fax a reservation to the Vatican for a tour but am traveling with my 2-year-old daughter and don't think she would tolerate following a big group tour for a long period.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Lyn]

Lyn, I sent you a pm.

Peter

thank you so much for the information on the Day On the Farm excursion
We were hoping it would be enjoyable and a little less hectic than the other excursions we booked

 

[jokicha]

For those of you who did Rome NOT with a Disney Excursion, would you mind answering for me:

What time did you visit the Vatican and just how bad were the lines when you went? (Trying to figure out if morning or afternoon is better...)

We made reservations for the 10:30 tour (with 3 children). Because we had a confirmation code, we walked right up to the security guard at the entrance (bypassing the very long line), gave him our code and at 10:00, he let us in. The restrooms are very clean so we made sure everyone did a pit stop.

Did you have a private guide for the Vatican? If so, did that allow you to skip the lines? (Any recommendations?)

The guide was from the vatican. Very knowledgeable and spoke English very well.

I saw the great tip to fax a reservation to the Vatican for a tour but am traveling with my 2-year-old daughter and don't think she would tolerate following a big group tour for a long period.

Since I didn't know how long my children were going to be able to handle the tour,we chose to not get the headset for the guide. This way, I could just move ahead to the sistine chapel or head out. we stayed close to the tour guide and heard all of it. My children ended up hanging on for the whole tour. It will be about 2 hours. I brought snacks for the kids in case they got hungry(or to keep them busy and quiet
Thanks for your help!

Also, remember that you do not pay until you are there. So if you reserve and don't use it, nothing to lose. I don't think that they charge for a 2 year old.

Good luck!

 

[ladyvet]

On previous Caribbean cruises, if we purchased rum etc, it had to be delivered to the ship. They would then let us have it before we left, but we could not drink it while on board. Does anyone know if this is true for the med cruises?

We're on the August 8th cruise......42 days til departure!
Beth

 

[funnybunny921]

I will be traveling with my 4 year old, 2 teens, and my 82 year old grandmother. We decided to book this rather late and I am now stuck playing Julie the cruise director for this very varied group.

A few questions I would love to have answered . . .

Several people metioned leaving the kids on the ship. On past Disney cruises I was under the impression someone had to stay on board with the beeper. Is there anyone who has left their pre-schooler for an entire day? If so, please let me know how that went.

Also, for the most part my grandmother will be very content with just cruising around but I do want her to see a few ports. Can someone tell me the easiest tours for the elderly - or even the ports that she can enjoy for a couple of hours and then return easily when she tires. Seems Marseille may fit the bill - anywhere else?

Last question - did anyone see any surfing opportunities? I have a teen who is a fanatic and is dying to say she surfed in the Mediterranean (as if satisfying an age range of 4 - 82 isn't difficult enough!).

Any advice greatly appreciated. The thread has been great - just wish we had booked earlier and I had time to print it all out.

Thanks,

Tiffany

my dh and i really enjoyed la spezia. it is a nice port town and easy to get to once tendared in.

you might want to think about doing something in bcn as we realoly enjoyed that city. there are a lot of things to see and you could get a cab or book a disney excursion.