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

[renegade7]

Did anyone NOT have the Disney transfers? I'm wondering how hard it is to get a taxi on the last day getting off the ship? Are there taxis lined up & ready to go, or should I schedule a transfer beforehand (not through Disney - I'm not staying at preferred hotel - or actually I am, but I reserved through Travelocity, so Disney said I can't use their transfers)?

Thanks for your help!

I stayed at a Disney suggested hotel (Hesperia Presidente) but booked it through Priceline not Disney.

1. BCN to Hotel -
We (dad and I) took a cab from BCN to the hotel - we just fit with all of our luggage. It came to about 40 Euros.

2. Hotel to Port
Even though we did not book through Disney we were able to purchase the Disney Transfers to the Port from the Hotel. Which we did since they would pick-up our luggage from the room in the morning and it to the ship for us. It was also nice being already check-in with your KTTW so you could skip all the lines at the port terminal (at least that was our case). We opted not to take the bus to the port, but to get our KTTW and head out for more sightseeing. We walked most of the way to the port and then hopped a cab when we realized how much father it really was. We boarded around 2 pm.

3. Port to BCN
We were on the early departures as we were on the 10 am Delta flight. We purchased these transfers, however in hind sight I wish we would have just taken a cab. It would have been quicker, we sat on the bus for a while and most of us started getting nervous about the time. There seemed to be plenty of cabs and as long as you are not a large group with lots of luggage you would be ok doing this on your own.

 

[bartty]

Forgot to add one excursion:
Barcelona - Flamenco and Tapas- 5- They took us to the Spanish village which was neat- they had replica buildings representative of the different regions of Spain. There we went to the flamenco place and they served us tapas and sangria. They did 2 dances and sang while we ate cheese, cured meat, spanish omelette, and chicken croquettes. Honestly, the Tapas were a big disappointment- just too plain.

 

[dlgrn3]

Did anyone NOT have the Disney transfers? I'm wondering how hard it is to get a taxi on the last day getting off the ship? Are there taxis lined up & ready to go, or should I schedule a transfer beforehand (not through Disney - I'm not staying at preferred hotel - or actually I am, but I reserved through Travelocity, so Disney said I can't use their transfers)?

Thanks for your help!

For transfers for our group from the airport and also from the port, I am going through a company in Barcelona.........we are a group of 9, and a lot of luggage, so it is going to be better then 4 taxi's, and the price was reasonable, and they have been very helpful and professional, here is the link.
I hope this helps.

http://www.yourtransfers.com/en/services_eng_barcelona.html

 

[PrincessJasmine08]

Has anyone done Costa Smeralda or Coda Cavello Beach in Sardinia? We can't decide between the two...any recommendations?

I would NOT recommend this excursion. We were so incredibly bored. All of the shops were closed and while it was neat to see the resort towns it was enough to see them for a few minutes and then I was ready to move on. Got really old really fast. In hindsight I would have either gone to a beach on Olbia day or stayed on the ship.

We did Costa Smerelda and liked it a lot. In fact, in looking back at our cruise, it was one of our favorite excursions, one we'd definitely do again if the opportunity ever presents itself.

Different strokes!

Did anyone NOT have the Disney transfers? I'm wondering how hard it is to get a taxi on the last day getting off the ship? Are there taxis lined up & ready to go, or should I schedule a transfer beforehand (not through Disney - I'm not staying at preferred hotel - or actually I am, but I reserved through Travelocity, so Disney said I can't use their transfers)?

Thanks for your help!

We didn't use Disney for any of our transfers. We used Calipodes to get from the airport to our Barcelona hotel and they were great. The driver spoke perfect English and was waiting for us with a sign at the airport. We had 5 people and about 15 bags and we weren't at all crowded in the van. I would use them again.

I was very impressed with how the taxi situation was set up on disembarkation day. When you got off the ship there was a line formed so people were forced to take turns. I think it would have gotten ugly otherwise, everyone was so tired. The cabs were constantly flowing in too. I think we waited maybe 10 minutes.

 

[taysmom]

We were on the 6-16 and we used disney but quite honestly, they were not checking who was getting on the bus and who wasn't. Not that I am suggesting to be dishonest, but there were a couple of people on our bus who got directed there and realized in route that it was for people who bought...so a nice free ride to the airport.
s

 

[colleenlg]

Thanks for all of the input on the transfers! I've booked a transfer from the airport to our hotel & then back to the airport from our hotel on the last day. Was considering adding transfer from the port back to hotel, but the consensus seems to be that taxis are plentiful so will just go that route. Thanks all!

 

[Funfoody]

I was on the June 27 cruise with my dh42, dd13 and dd10. Our kids went on all the excursions we did.

First off- we used Disney transfers, and our flight came in at 7:20, so instead of taking us directly to the ship, they took us on a tour of Barcelona. It was very nice, even considering it was about 2AM our local time. We had a nice stop at the Cathedral where my husband lit a candle and we bought some postcards. We saw all the hot spots of Barcelona from the bus, like la Sagrada familia, etc. It was very pleasant.

Now, we didn't know that we were going to get this tour, and we thought it was a shame not to see any of Barcelona, so we booked a tour that afternoon, Flamenco and Tapas. We were pretty bleary by that point- we had been up for like two days. Still, sleep is for the weak.

We were frustrated when they said we couldn't go to our rooms until 1:30 (isn't that 30 minutes later than the Carribean 7 nights?) and our tour met at Sessions at 1:45. So we ignored the rule, and went to our room at 1:00. Our host was still working on last minute touches- counting life preservers and such, but he took our invasion with grace. We were able to drop off our carry on luggage and put our passports in the safe, organize ourselves a little, and make it to the tour meeting meeting point on time.

It was a pleasant little tour-- we'd had lthe buffet lunch on the ship, so we weren't really hungry. The Sangria was good, watching the dancer was pleasant, we enjoyed having time to do a little souvenir shopping. We bought a stamp for the postcard we got at the Cathedral, and our guide said he'd mail it for us (there weren't any post boxes in the Spanish village.)

A list of the tapas:
potato chips
olive and pickles
cold cuts- prosciuitto, panchetta, salami
garlic bread
potato/egg fritatta thing
potato croquette

The effect was a light bite, not a heavy meal. Then we dragged our bleary selves back to the ship, and feasted on lobster for dinner.

 

[Funfoody]

Palermo

Scenic Palermo and the Marrionettes Museum

We took the afternoon version of this. We were still catching up on our jet-lag. They opened the museum for us- our one tour bus was the only people there. Our tour guide carried around a marrionette throught the museum, and invited the children, and adults, to play with it a little. She was very important to the tour- she guided us through the small museum, and talked through it. It The marionettes were very impressive- there were thousands of them, just hanging in piles, it was almost like looking in their closet. It felt authentic. The gift shop didn't really try to sell anything- the lady at the counter was more interested with chatting with someone else in italian than ringing up our postcards- I barely had time to get a few post cards without losing the group.

The bus also toured around Palermo, with a stop at a gelato store. I had pistaccio, which the guide said was grown locally. Then we did some more touring, with a short stop at Palermo Cathedral, where we bought a toy marionette from outdoor vendors for 8 euros. Another pleasant day.

 

[Funfoody]

Naples- We did Timeless Pompei and the flavor of Sorrento

We had a very good time! We first stopped at a cameo factory. We saw the demonstration. I didn't really like their jewelry, and I didn't feel that I had to buy it just as a souvenir- the cheapest cameos were 35 euros. But I expected that, so I wasn't bothered by it.

Next we went to Sorrento. We started at the wood inlay shop. Music boxes were my souvenir of choice. They were 60 euros marked down to 36 euros. But I had done my research. During our hour of free time I searched for a shop called Gabrielle's. I had directions from the nearby church, and we spend a while finding it and bought some stamps, some postcards, mailed a post card, looked around. We gave up on finding Gabrielles, just in time to run into it on the way back. We had passed it a few seconds into our walk- it was about two blocks from the wood inlay factory, straight down the road the guide had suggested browsing- it just didn't have a big sign. We bought three music boxes for 24 euros each, a Pinochio christmas ornament (we found them a pretty much every stop in italy after that) for 3 euros or so, and a few other gotchkas. Then we went back to the wood inlay shop to meet the bus, and bought some 10 euro wooden castinettes as a christmas ornament with the name of the store on it.

We then drove to the farm for the cheese demo and lunch. The cheese demo was pleasant. Lunch was light- a plate with some proscuitto, and salami and 2 types of cheese- we would have liked more cheese after watching the cheese demo. Then we has a small plate of ziti with a tomato ricotta sauce and a slice of lemon cake. Our kids had the adult food, and enjoyed it. Another 13-14 year old at our table also chose to have the adult food, but hated it- she only had one bite of the pasta. I felt bad for her- there didn't seem to be a way for her to get the kids burger after that.

This was one of my souvenir days- I knew there wouldn't be much time for shopping in Rome or Florence. At the farm I bought some olive oil in cute jars, and some marmalade.

By the way, a bottle of home-made wine was on the table, and one of water that seemed locally filled. I decided that Disney would not book us at a place where the bottle of water on the table was unhealthy, so I drank some, with no problems.

Our next stop was Pompei. Our guide (Gino) was in his element there. It was broiling hot. We used our coupon for gelato before entering, and I had water bottles in my backpack. We ran through two of them, and dd10 wouldn't have lasted without them- she was flagging from the heat. But we still appreciated the sites, because of guide took us to interesting places. I had been to Pompei before as a teenager, and was bored silly back then. But the kids had learned about Pompei in school, and wanted to go, so I agreed to the tour with personal reservations. It wasn't the same tour. Gino immediately steered us in the opposite direction from where I had gone all those years ago. We saw the good stuff this time! It was very interesting and impressive. (Gino started by saying there many ways to see Pompei, and that since there were children on tour, we would stay away from the brothel district, since it wasn't appropriate for the kids. Appropriate or not, it was boring when I was a kid.)

There Disney photographers in Pompei, but we stayed of them because we felt hot and tired and unphotogenic. On later tours we enjoyed having Disney photographers at the sites a lot.

After, we had a moment to buy more souvenirs. I got some overpriced coral necklaces that may have been plastic from the vendors outside Pompei. But I had a mission. My parents had bought me a coral necklace in Capri when I had toured as teenager from a local vendor, and the girls had heard the story every I time I wore it. So I gave them each a necklace, and passed on the tradition.

We returned to the ship wearing our necklaces and had a nice cool swim before dinner.

 

[Funfoody]

Sardinia-

Gnochetti Sardi and Ravioli

Many people took Sunday as a rest day. We were feeling pretty bleary ourselves- we fell asleep on the bus ride. We arrived at the agritourismo. They had a quintet of local singers with a guitar to add local color. We had our gnocchi and ravioli lesson, which was fun- they gave us hats and aprons. Then they took us outside to see a cork tree when they cleaned up. We were served lunch inside. It was a full meal- primi was the gnochi, and it was delicious. Then came secundi which was salad and some sort of breaded cutlet. The musicians were strolling through the restaurant playing. I don't have notes for the day, but I'm pretty sure there was desert, probably tiramasu (we saw a lot of tiramasu on our tours.) After the meal, they handed out cork flute/whistles to everyone, and invited the kids to get playing them our of their systems before we went on the bus. Okay, it was loud for a while. Then we went to the ethonographic museum. (Note- they sold those cork whistles at the ethnographic museum, so I guess this was their way of giving us souvenirs as part of the package.)

The ethnographic museum was interesting, but I was feeling pretty claustrophobic at times. We had the local guide, who spoke only Italian or Sardinian, and our guide, who translated, and a busload of 40 people going into these small rooms of a typical sardinian home. It would have been better to have had an extra guide and split the group into numbers that could actually fit comfortably in those sized rooms. But it was nice enough. We got a view of how Sardinians see themselves- as simple local peasants who weave really well and make nice clothing-which was interesting when we got to Nice later in the cruise, and our guide kept talking about the powerful kingdom of Sardinia.

A good day, but rather tiring.

 

[Funfoody]

Rome- The Ultimate Rome Experience

There were many many buses of this tour, which did things in different orders. Personally, from talking to other cruisers, I think we were blessed with the best guides throughout the cruise.l

There was the bus guide, and the local guide. After the drive in, our first stop was the Trevi fountain, where there were disney photographers. We had our free time next. The guide basically gave us a choice between going to the Pantheon, in one direction, or the Spanish steps, in the other. We chose the Pantheon, and then had gelato in what the guide said was one of the best gelatto shops in Rome, which was to the left of the Pantheon and you exit it. He was right- it was great gelatto. Good bathroom , too.

The weather was pleasant, even a bit cool, and the Pantheon was not crowded. It was a wonderful experience going through it on our own.


If we had skipped the gelatto, we would have had time to go on to the Plaza Navona, but se la vie. We went back to the meeting point at the trevi fountain, buying a few post cards and souvenirs as we went. It was then we picked up our local guide, who was very good.

I guess I forgot to mention at Pompei we had whispers- radios the tour guides use so they don't have to yell. We had whispers in Rome, too, just not as good ones. But we had no trouble hearing our roman guide. (In Florence, the next day, we had the same type of whispers as in Rome, and had great difficulty hearing our guide- she just had a smaller voice.) We walked past the Forum and other sites, took pictures with the disney photographers and a gladiator, saw a few arches and entered the forum. The guide immediately took us up the elevator to the top floor, for an overview. I liked this choice. I really felt I understood and enjoyed the experience most from it, seeing it from the top and then the bottom.

After that went walked to the meeting point for the bus, and had lunch. I liked the salad with tuna (niciose) and the the lasagna and the tiramasu. Then onward to the Vatican.

It was beginning to drizzle at this point in the tour. It was actually cooling and pleasant. Only we didn't bring our rain equipment. It was not a problem, but on future tours we dragged around our rain equipment, which was kind of heavy. Of course, this was the only time that it rained.

It's hard to express the experience of Stl. Peters in a paragraph. It was impressive, and our guide did a good job pointing out things as we went through it.

Next we stopped at a souvenir shop where I didn't buy anything. Then back to the ship. We were actually on time, and switched to early seating (we had late seating) so we didn't have to wait until 9pm to eat. The next day was going to be an early tour for us.

 

[Funfoody]

Florence and Pisa

This is a tour that's controversial. I tried to not get my hopes up. I admit, my experience was colored by the fact I'd been to Florence and Pisa 20 years ago, and had many memories.

It was the same style tour as Rome- a bus guide and a local guide. There was discussion over how crowded Florence had become in the last 10 years. It changed the experience for me very much. My kids were reassuring me, that they were glad to be there, even if it was a little crowded, because it was only going to get worse at they grew older.

Unlike Rome, the tour often had to go single file, with back of the tour group out of site of the tour guide. This, combined with the staticky whispers, made it hard to enjoy the guide fully. For what it's worth, several members of the tour group said she was the best guide they had during the cruise. When I could hear her, she was very good. It was a bit frustrating.

We went to the Duomo first, took pictures and went in after a line. I heard something about why it was so much simpler on the inside than the outside, and my kids were able to relate back to me the story the guide had told- that when Florence was the capital of Italy they had put a lot of money on the outside, but by the time they were ready to decorate on the inside Rome was the capital and they had less money. After the Duomo, we walked past the square where the replica of David stood, past the Accademy, looked at the Ponte Vecchio , and then caught the bus to a nice lunch where we had a pleasant time comparing notes with another family we were seated next to. The lunch was at a restaurant. There was a platter with salamis (I think), pasta and risotto, and a braised beef dish and vegetables, and a tiramasu ice cream cake. Next we took the bus to Pisa.

We really enjoyed the tackiness that is Pisa. They left the Florence guide in Florence, and the bus guide wasn't allowed to accompany us, but we didn't need her. There were Disney photographers to take pictures of us holding up the tower. There were cheap souvenir shops galore, and we got a little reheated pizza from a stand so we could at least say we had eated pizza in Italy.

We slept on the bus rides, so we actually found this tour less tiring than Rome. We had a good time overall.

 

[Funfoody]

sorry, double post

 

[Funfoody]

Marseilles

We took this as a rest day. We just left the boat for a few minutes to go to the shop on the pier and buy some postcards and soap.

Villefranche

We hired a private guide from Revelation Tours. His name was Michel. We wanted to see things that weren't covered by Disney's tours. Michel did a great job. We chose to meet our driver at 10AM.

He showed us around a little, and our first stop was a small candy factory in Nice, called Florian (Suggestion of tour company when we booked). It was everything you dreamed a small candy factory in the south of France should be. They made beautiful candy from local flowers, they candied tangerines by boiling them in sugar syrup for 4 minutes a day each day for a month, making beautiful orange luminous globes of syrup, they made chocolate covered candied fruit... they allowed a lot of tastes, too. We bought a lot of candy there, and enjoyed every minute. The kids have told me it was their high point of the day. http://www.confiserieflorian.com/

After driving around Nice a bit we stopped at the Chagall Museum. (Our choice). I recommend reading the Rick Steve's tourbook on the French Riviera's tour of this museum before going. I only wish I hadn't left my copy on the ship before coming. It was not a problem, though- I remembered it well. I love Chagall's work, and we had a great time going through it with the kids. He is such a happy artist! There is some nudity in his work, but I doubt that bothers you if you took the kids to Florence. DD13 got a post to take home, and we bought a poster carrier for 2 euros. Also got calendars, postcards, etc.

Next we stopped for lunch. We had wanted to go to a typical lunch in Nice, and afterwards to stop at Fennochio's for gelato. Our guide recommended Le Safari for lunch. We liked it very much. Their menus were translated in English, which meant we could explore more. We shared 4 primis and 4 main courses. The fish soup was great- it had croutons you spread with a garlic mayonaise and dip in the soup. There a stuffed vegetable platter, and a vegetable and cold cut type platter, and a salad nicoise. I keep ordering salad nicoise even though they seem unfinished to me- it's as if they need a great salad dressing to make them come together. Well, now I've had one in Nice, and I've got to say, still needs something... Our main courses were a ravioli dish, a boiled beef over ravioli dish, a rabbit dish and a lamb dish. All very good. We ordered the lamb medium well, but it was closer to medium, or even medium rare by USA standards. (Not a problem for any of us, just something to be aware of- in Europe they serve meat rarer than the USA.) I think there may have been desert included, but we blew it off because we were on route to Fennochios.

Fennochios did not disappoint. They have zillions of flavors, some normal, some a little weird like olive. We kept to flowers- lavendar, etc., and I ordered a nut gelato just because it looked good (it was good, too.) Then we found our van and were on to Monte Carlo.

We didn't want to see the typical sites in Monte Carlo. We wanted to go to the Musee Oceanagraphic. This is the acquarium of which Jacques Cousteau was director. Our driver suggested walking through a lovely park on route to getting there. It was beautiful.

The acquarium was as nice as any I've seen, and the museum part upstairs was also interesting. We bought a guide book in English. On the top floor there's an observation deck which is a must see. You have to take the elevator to get there.

We got many souvenirs in the gift shop, including another poster for dd13.

In Monaco they have machines which take one or two euro coins and give you coins with pictures of the sites on them. I wish I had more coins along. We got a few at the Musee Oceanagraphic, and they also had machines at the Cathedral in Monaco where we met our driver again, and probably other places if we were looking. It looked like it might be a fun game, collecting the coins.

Our driver was up for more touring (it was about 5:30), but we were tired, and wanted to get back on time to see When Mickey Dreams, so we headed back to the boat.

Tendering in Villefranche was pleasant. Tendering in La Spezia had been rough. dd10 almost threw up in La Spezia. We dramamined her in Villefranche, which probably was unnecessary and just made her sleepy.


Final note:
It was the vacation of a lifetime. We did everything we planned, and then some. The weather was gorgeous, better than it was home in New York, we've heard. We planned this for over a year, and were very excited, and it still exceeded expectations. We're very glad we went.

 

[Funfoody]

sorry, double post

 

[UMTerp]

Thank you everyone for your information! I've enjoyed reading everything!

UMTerp

 

[kidcoos3]

Did anyone take the hydrofoil to Capri or Sorrento? I'm wondering if it is chilly on the boat.
Thank you

 

[kyla]

Any reviews on this excursion?

 

[ZWoman]

We (my husband, 16 yr old daughter, and I) rented a car in La Spezia. We were told about Hertz and walked for an hour to find it; never did (later found out there was a Fri-Sat-Sun festival and some businesses closed).

Returned to tender dock and taxi drivers called Europcar to see if they were open; they were and we took taxi to the office. Took about an hour to get through the car rental line. We were on our way at 11:30 am. Hour and a half drive, brief lunch and short visit to Ponte Vecchio (I wanted to go to a particular store, but we got there too late - it was closed for siesta). Then drove to Pisa. Another quick stop for pictures and souvenir shopping.

We drove through really beautiful country side. We really enjoyed going on our own. Suggestion would be to have lots of 5 euro bills for the toll booths (we went through 8, including one twice). We lucked out with parking in both places, around the corner from Ponte Vecchio and within two blocks at Pisa. Cost was $88 euros for car rental (Fiat Corso), $41 euros for diesel. We had car dropped off and us back to tender dock by 6 pm.

If you do this, road signs refer to Florence by its Italian name, Firenze. Europcar also gave us a highway map (our route: A12 to A11 to Florence, then back same way and south on SS1 to Pisa). We had a handheld GPS unit we took with us, which basically verified we were going in the right direction.

 

[taysmom]

We took the hydrofoil from sorrento to capri and then capri to naples..on our own. It was hot that day so taking the ferry was wonderful. A beautiful breezy ride over to capri and another (longer) to naples. BTW, the hydrofoil drops you off right next to the magic. It was great. Just a quick 5 minute walk after a long day to be back on board! Which we quickly put on our suits and hopped in the pool! Wear a hat, bring lots of water and sunscreen!