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

[Hygiene99]

do you know of anyone who has take the Day on the Farm excursion in Palermo?

Yes I do, Her name is SweetSue, Sue..

She is very Nice Pm her, im sure she will give you some info..
from what I recall at dinner that night!
They had a Good time!


Tell Sue, Peter told you to ask!


Peter

 

[sharolyn]

Florence, all buses let you off over close to the academy. We were on our own private bus, but we were following the disney excurions. Our tour guide was saying that all busses must drop you off at one point, and then they can only pick you up at a point completely across the city. They pick up down the street from the Ponte Vecchio. It is quite a walk between the two. Do not buy tickets to any museum in florence if you are doing both florence and pisa, there is not enough time to do it justice. You can see the statue of David through a window at the academy!! A huge window that gives you a perfect, straight on view of the statue. Having gone into the museum on this visit, with such a time crunch, it was just not worth it!! And forget trying to do the uffizi, there is so much to see within the city that save the museums for another visit!!! I had no idea there was a window prior to getting there either!! So thought I would share that tidbit with all....

On Rome, I would not make any reservatons for the collesium. If you go across and down the street about a block from the collesium entrance, probably even less, you can buy tickets to get into palatine hill, and these tickets are good for the collesium as well. We did not do palatine hill, just bought our tickets for the collesium there!!! Saves tons of time, and then you are not stuck with a time slot...trust me, you will be happy to have as few time slots as possible. There are so many variables that can impact your tour that you will want the flexibility!!! And we did not wait in line at all doing this!! There are also food vendors there that have great food to eat, and it saves a lot of time!!

On the vatican, for a group tour anyway, and i think on an individual basis as well, they will only let you in at 9:30 or 10:30 booking directly through the vatican. Do not book a 9:30 tour, if you are late they will not let you in!!! And that time slot is cutting it very close!!! If you book through the bishops office for american visitors, they offer many more options, and the guide was absolutely wonderful. We had a 1:00 time slot, walked into where the group sales were and avoided a line that wrapped around the walls of the vatican. I could not believe the lines!! Anyway, they have a couple different options, museum and St. Peters Basilica, the gardens and St. Peters, etc. The cost includes admission into all of the above! And we did get to see the Sistine Chapel. Anyway, our guide also took us down below to see the burial sites of the popes. I think that was the highlight of our vatican tour for many in our group. http://www.pnac.org/general/visiting_vatican.htm
I was not able to get reservations through the vatican, but was able to get reservations through this office.

There is also a scavi tour that they talk about on this site, and from what i hear, this is wonderful!!! Hope this helps....

 

[funnybunny921]

My mom and I are on the Highlights of Rome and Vatican tour through Disney. My mom doesnt want to change that b/c she feels more comfortable traveling with a planned excursion since this is her first time in Europe.

Anyways my question is, do you think I could still book times at the Vatican or Colisseum even if we are on the tour? I'm thinking no, b/c I have no idea when our bus will stop there but it's just a thought. It would be awesome to skip lines. Let me know if you have any advice on this please

highlights will take you through the vatican and i wouldn't plan on being able to do much in your "free time". we were given 40 min from the trevi fountain. another group was given only 20 min, but then another group was given almost 2 hours. between the traffic and the guide you really don't know how much time you'll have. our wait at the vatican was 20 min though i think it felt a lot shorter it moved very fast and i think every one was really excited so the time went by quickly.

 

[M&M126]

highlights will take you through the vatican and i wouldn't plan on being able to do much in your "free time". we were given 40 min from the trevi fountain. another group was given only 20 min, but then another group was given almost 2 hours. between the traffic and the guide you really don't know how much time you'll have. our wait at the vatican was 20 min though i think it felt a lot shorter it moved very fast and i think every one was really excited so the time went by quickly.

Thank you for the response! I figured that the free time would be varying depending on the day. 20 min doesnt seem so bad. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the line moves quickly

 

[M&M126]

Florence, all buses let you off over close to the academy. We were on our own private bus, but we were following the disney excurions. Our tour guide was saying that all busses must drop you off at one point, and then they can only pick you up at a point completely across the city. They pick up down the street from the Ponte Vecchio. It is quite a walk between the two. Do not buy tickets to any museum in florence if you are doing both florence and pisa, there is not enough time to do it justice. You can see the statue of David through a window at the academy!! A huge window that gives you a perfect, straight on view of the statue. Having gone into the museum on this visit, with such a time crunch, it was just not worth it!! And forget trying to do the uffizi, there is so much to see within the city that save the museums for another visit!!! I had no idea there was a window prior to getting there either!! So thought I would share that tidbit with all....

On Rome, I would not make any reservatons for the collesium. If you go across and down the street about a block from the collesium entrance, probably even less, you can buy tickets to get into palatine hill, and these tickets are good for the collesium as well. We did not do palatine hill, just bought our tickets for the collesium there!!! Saves tons of time, and then you are not stuck with a time slot...trust me, you will be happy to have as few time slots as possible. There are so many variables that can impact your tour that you will want the flexibility!!! And we did not wait in line at all doing this!! There are also food vendors there that have great food to eat, and it saves a lot of time!!

On the vatican, for a group tour anyway, and i think on an individual basis as well, they will only let you in at 9:30 or 10:30 booking directly through the vatican. Do not book a 9:30 tour, if you are late they will not let you in!!! And that time slot is cutting it very close!!! If you book through the bishops office for american visitors, they offer many more options, and the guide was absolutely wonderful. We had a 1:00 time slot, walked into where the group sales were and avoided a line that wrapped around the walls of the vatican. I could not believe the lines!! Anyway, they have a couple different options, museum and St. Peters Basilica, the gardens and St. Peters, etc. The cost includes admission into all of the above! And we did get to see the Sistine Chapel. Anyway, our guide also took us down below to see the burial sites of the popes. I think that was the highlight of our vatican tour for many in our group. http://www.pnac.org/general/visiting_vatican.htm
I was not able to get reservations through the vatican, but was able to get reservations through this office.

There is also a scavi tour that they talk about on this site, and from what i hear, this is wonderful!!! Hope this helps....

Great Info! Thanks a lot! Does Disney or the tours give any kind of map for places like Rome and Florence??

 

[sharolyn]

There is usually a map in with the navigator and info on the port. I also had books and stuff, but ended up going with a private tour, so really, did not end up needing the maps. But they are there if you need them.

 

[Runnermom123]

We did the day at sea at archipelago...and if a beach break is your thing..this was great. Beautiful white sand beaches a decent lunch. All in all a good day.

Taysmom, thank you for your review on this excursion! I am wondering - would you recommend this one for children?

 

[scottishwee35]

Hi

Have anyone been to Monaco, The Marina and the Little Train?

Love to hear about this.

thanks

Scottishwee35

 

[taysmom]

Taysmom, thank you for your review on this excursion! I am wondering - would you recommend this one for children?

Great Info! Thanks a lot! Does Disney or the tours give any kind of map for places like Rome and Florence??

It was a great excursion for "walking" children. There is a small hike to the beach and no shade. So I wouldn't recommend it for stroller bound or diaper kids. No "friendly" places to change.

Also...heard back from some of the others on the costa smerelda? tour and they said it was fine, if you just wanted to ride a bus and see lots of expensive houses and yachts. Not really that interesting though.

I have posted on my blog about Jumping back to rome. It was a good excursion for a long hot day.

Also, if you have small children, you might want to leave them onboard. These are long days and really hot and they get very whiny. I have seen alot of people struggling. I am struggling with my 9 year old.

And anyone going to pompeii with strollers or wheelchairs, you're in for a sweaty time. It is NOT wheel friendly at all. I saw so many people struggling. The sweat was pouring off their backs!

Have a great day.

Steph

 

[Runnermom123]

It was a great excursion for "walking" children. There is a small hike to the beach and no shade. So I wouldn't recommend it for stroller bound or diaper kids. No "friendly" places to change.

Also...heard back from some of the others on the costa smerelda? tour and they said it was fine, if you just wanted to ride a bus and see lots of expensive houses and yachts. Not really that interesting though.

I have posted on my blog about Jumping back to rome. It was a good excursion for a long hot day.

Also, if you have small children, you might want to leave them onboard. These are long days and really hot and they get very whiny. I have seen alot of people struggling. I am struggling with my 9 year old.

And anyone going to pompeii with strollers or wheelchairs, you're in for a sweaty time. It is NOT wheel friendly at all. I saw so many people struggling. The sweat was pouring off their backs!

Have a great day.

Steph

Thanks for taking the time to provide this info!

 

[Runnermom123]

Has anyone heard any feedback on the Olbia kayaking excursion? We would appreciate any comments on this. Thanks!

 

[golfmom]

Can anyone tell us how many were in the group for the VIP Visit to the Vatican and Highlights of Rome? Just wondering if it is a huge bus full or a smaller group.

 

[susans]

It was a large group--several buses...

 

[Doingitagain]

It was a large group--several buses...

How do they break the buses into groups? I can't imagine it all being one big group for multiple buses. Is each bus a separate group?

 

[calif disney 1]

How do they break the buses into groups? I can't imagine it all being one big group for multiple buses. Is each bus a separate group?

From what I have been reading, it almost sounds like this Rome VIP tour is going to be really really fast and that you really don't get a chance to just stop and enjoy it. I am leaning towards canceling and taking the train in. Anybody else....?

 

[konslerg]

How do they break the buses into groups? I can't imagine it all being one big group for multiple buses. Is each bus a separate group?

You are given a time and location to meet prior to leaving the ship. Disney has Mickey icon numbers that correspond to each bus.

One person from each party is asked to come up and check their group in. They show their excursion tickets and receive a numbered Mickey sticker for each person.

The number on the sticker corresponds with the number of your bus. Each bus has its own tour guide and you stay with your bus # group for the excursion. If there are more guests than just one bus, the groups are divided fairly equally ...and somehow, even though you're on the same excursion, all the buses do not arrive at the same place at the exact same time ...they are staggered by maybe 10 or 15 minutes. So, if you are on Bus 12 (for example), you will stay with Bus 12 folks for the whole excursion, but you will probably see Bus 11 and Bus 13 (again, for example only) folks at the places you visit.

One thing to note: the stickers do not stick very well ...and one of the funniest things is to look down at the ground or a step somewhere and see a Mickey sticker with another bus number on it. We saw a couple on the steps to St. Peter's ...no other Disney tour group around at the time, but their presence in the area was certainly "recorded" for others who passed that way ;-)

 

[MJGirl]

You are given a time and location to meet prior to leaving the ship. Disney has Mickey icon numbers that correspond to each bus.

One person from each party is asked to come up and check their group in. They show their excursion tickets and receive a numbered Mickey sticker for each person.

The number on the sticker corresponds with the number of your bus. Each bus has its own tour guide and you stay with your bus # group for the excursion. If there are more guests than just one bus, the groups are divided fairly equally ...and somehow, even though you're on the same excursion, all the buses do not arrive at the same place at the exact same time ...they are staggered by maybe 10 or 15 minutes. So, if you are on Bus 12 (for example), you will stay with Bus 12 folks for the whole excursion, but you will probably see Bus 11 and Bus 13 (again, for example only) folks at the places you visit.

One thing to note: the stickers do not stick very well ...and one of the funniest things is to look down at the ground or a step somewhere and see a Mickey sticker with another bus number on it. We saw a couple on the steps to St. Peter's ...no other Disney tour group around at the time, but their presence in the area was certainly "recorded" for others who passed that way ;-)

Hi Gloria ...Very helpful info! By the way, when do you get the excursion ticket??? I didn't see any in my cruise docs? Do they give you them when you board?? Thank you!

 

[golfmom]

The main reason we chose the VIP tour was for my son who is an avid photographer. He really wants to be able to take photos inside the Sistine Chapel and that was the only one with that option.

Jenna in Idaho

 

[susans]

You get your excursion tickets on board.

The VIP tour did keep you on your toes--I do think it was a little too fast paced.

HOWEVER, if you don't have any mobility issues (strollers, crutches, wheelchairs, canes) or health issues (this is not for the very young or the elderly) then you should be OK.

The one part of the tour where we DID have more time was the Sistine Chapel and we did take pictures there without our flash.

This was IN SPITE of our guide who told us we weren't allowed to take pictures--even though all Disney literature said we could take photos without flash. Also, the cruise director (Rachel?) said we were allowed to take non flash photos on the VIP tour when we attended the show the night before.

When all the other VIP tour groups started taking photos, hubby and I decided to ignore our tour guide on that issue. Seems like the other buses tour guides were better informed than ours.

Sadly, some of our fellow cruisers decided to ignore the ban on flash photography. From my understanding, flash photography damages the paintings over time, so I wonder how long Disney will be allowed to photograph at all.

Anyhow, most of our pictures were pretty bad in the Sistine Chapel because we weren't very good without our flash (I wish we had practiced ahead of time). A few pics were pretty outstanding though.

 

[taysmom]

Can anyone tell us how many were in the group for the VIP Visit to the Vatican and Highlights of Rome? Just wondering if it is a huge bus full or a smaller group.

I don't know what the size of the group is but there were several disboarders on this cruise 6/16 that did it and they said it was great. It's really for those of you that want to explore the vatican. You go thru the rome highlights fast but have alot of time at the vatican.

From what I have been reading, it almost sounds like this Rome VIP tour is going to be really really fast and that you really don't get a chance to just stop and enjoy it. I am leaning towards canceling and taking the train in. Anybody else....?

The train was nice. You still race through everything. I had friends that took the train from the port and did it all on their own. They had lots of time to do everything. It just depends on what you want.

Hi Gloria ...Very helpful info! By the way, when do you get the excursion ticket??? I didn't see any in my cruise docs? Do they give you them when you board?? Thank you!

The excursion tickets are in your stateroom. Make sure you double check that you have everything right.