Best Mediterranean Itineary

[KrzyKtty101]

I made an agreement with my kids years ago that when they graduate HS, they can pick any country or trip in the world, and we would go. My son graduates now in two years. I know that is far off, but taking some of these bigger international trips can take us more time to financially plan for.

Son said he wants to go to Italy. I am trying to convince him that he wants to take a DCL cruise that focuses on Italy LOL.

Are there any that stand out to you as really great itineraries for being an Italian tourist, while still enjoying the comforts of cruising. I was looking through the ones for next year, and there are so many to choose from LOL.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I made an agreement with my kids years ago that when they graduate HS, they can pick any country or trip in the world, and we would go. My son graduates now in two years. I know that is far off, but taking some of these bigger international trips can take us more time to financially plan for.

Son said he wants to go to Italy. I am trying to convince him that he wants to take a DCL cruise that focuses on Italy LOL.

Are there any that stand out to you as really great itineraries for being an Italian tourist, while still enjoying the comforts of cruising. I was looking through the ones for next year, and there are so many to choose from LOL.

Generally cruises don't "focus" on one country. But, something like, say, a river cruise can be more indepth. And, of course, even those cruises are pretty much limited time in those cities/locations that have ports.

I'd recommend you look into doing a train trip through Italy, stopping for several days at a time in specific cities/areas.

 

[scroogie]

Disney offers some Mediterranean itineraries that involve stops in Livorno, Civitavecchia and Naples.

I visited Italy last year and stayed in Venice, Florence and Rome, and had a day in Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento as a cruise stop. Honestly, if your son is interested in actually visiting Italy, I'd probably forego the cruise and do everything by land. There will be so much wasted time merely traveling from the ship to different things, particularly in Livorno and Civitavecchia; from Livorno it's a half hour to the Leaning Tower and an hour and a half to Florence, while it's an hour from Civitavecchia to Rome. The obvious downside being that you miss out on the DCL side of things, but on the other hand it gives you much better opportunity to throw yourself into Italian history, culture and food.

There is so much I'd recommend in these places that would take way longer than any cruise stop would afford. Rome has the Colosseum, Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, Castel Sant'Angelo... lots of things that can take several hours to half a day on their own. Florence has its amazing Cathedral that you can get lost in for hours, so many galleries and museums, the Ponte Vecchio, the heart of Tuscany is a stone's throw away.

I second PrincessShmoo's suggestion of using their train system instead. We used Trenitalia to get between each city and it was very affordable and straightforward.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

Disney offers some Mediterranean itineraries that involve stops in Livorno, Civitavecchia and Naples.

I visited Italy last year and stayed in Venice, Florence and Rome, and had a day in Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento as a cruise stop. Honestly, if your son is interested in actually visiting Italy, I'd probably forego the cruise and do everything by land. There will be so much wasted time merely traveling from the ship to different things, particularly in Livorno and Civitavecchia; from Livorno it's a half hour to the Leaning Tower and an hour and a half to Florence, while it's an hour from Civitavecchia to Rome. The obvious downside being that you miss out on the DCL side of things, but on the other hand it gives you much better opportunity to throw yourself into Italian history, culture and food.

There is so much I'd recommend in these places that would take way longer than any cruise stop would afford. Rome has the Colosseum, Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, Castel Sant'Angelo... lots of things that can take several hours to half a day on their own. Florence has its amazing Cathedral that you can get lost in for hours, so many galleries and museums, the Ponte Vecchio, the heart of Tuscany is a stone's throw away.

I second PrincessShmoo's suggestion of using their train system instead. We used Trenitalia to get between each city and it was very affordable and straightforward.

He has honestly never shown much of an interest in italian culture, language, or anything about it really. I'm pretty sure he picked it because it is well known and his Nana went there. Unlike me, he hasn't even really been raised in italian american culture. If I genuinely thought he cared about the country to any real level I wouldn't try to interest him in a cruise lol.

Even when we went to japan , he was rather bored when we visited most of the historical or cultural sites. He only really came alive when we were visiting the technologically focused areas of tokyo, and the amusement parks. So part of me is genuinely trying to lean him towards what I think he would like more. I think his happy medium would be being able to get off the ship and walk around the city for a bit wherever he was, but more importantly come back to his internet package and hand held video games at the end of the night .

Edit to add, he is not the most bold, adventurous eater either lol. He is not what I would consider a foodie lol. Honestly , i'm surprised he didn't want to go back to japan and buy more anime figurines.

 

[asgur5]

He has honestly never shown much of an interest in italian culture, language, or anything about it really. I'm pretty sure he picked it because it is well known and his Nana went there. Unlike me, he hasn't even really been raised in italian american culture. If I genuinely thought he cared about the country to any real level I wouldn't try to interest him in a cruise lol.

Even when we went to japan , he was rather bored when we visited most of the historical or cultural sites. He only really came alive when we were visiting the technologically focused areas of tokyo, and the amusement parks. So part of me is genuinely trying to lean him towards what I think he would like more. I think his happy medium would be being able to get off the ship and walk around the city for a bit wherever he was, but more importantly come back to his internet package and hand held video games at the end of the night .

Edit to add, he is not the most bold, adventurous eater either lol. He is not what I would consider a foodie lol. Honestly , i'm surprised he didn't want to go back to japan and buy more anime figurines.

Unless your son likes roman history, pretty villages and art I dont think he will get much out of italy at that age. Better for him to discover it when he is older and his preferences have changed.

And cruising doesnt work for italy because all the sites are long drives from port. Its literally the worst way to experience italy. A cruise from italy that goes to a lot the greek islands and athens is a bit better cos the ports are closer to the sites. But still, you would want to have an interest in exotic beaches, white washed villages and greek history to get value out of it.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

Unless your son likes roman history, pretty villages and art I dont think he will get much out of italy at that age. Better for him to discover it when he is older and his preferences have changed.

And cruising doesnt work for italy because all the sites are long drives from port. Its literally the worst way to experience italy. A cruise from italy that goes to a lot the greek islands and athens is a bit better cos the ports are closer to the sites. But still, you would want to have an interest in exotic beaches, white washed villages and greek history to get value out of it.

Now I just have to find a way to get you to convince my son of that . He has no interest in art outside of 3d rendering and could care less about Roman history. However he does genuinely love just walking around towns and getting lost in them. His favorite part about our cruise last year was wandering around Nassau all day . I do think he would genuinely enjoy walking around any Italian or Greek coastal villages we ended up at.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Honesty from what you describe a Northern Europe or British Isles would be better suited than a Med cruise.

On the Northern Europe or British Isles cruises, the ship docks mainly in the actual ports. So like at Nassau you can walk off the ship and wander around the streets for a few hours and easily get back on the ship. The added bonus with British Isles is the language , English and the culture of UK is the closest to America. So there wont be weird foods, and he can go to McDonalds and wont have issues ordering.

Americans make the mistake of coming to Europe and thinking it has to be all history. It sounds like your son just wants to be like a local and not have the big history lesson every waking moment. You can still do your art and history and museums and let him wander around the shops.

 

[Flossbolna]

Fromwhat you say, I would do the classic 7 night cruise from Barcelona. Go to Pisa from Livorno to see the leaning tower, see the highlights of Rome and then maybe just wander around Naples or ho to Pompeji. There is one itinerary that also stops in Sicily, so really is an Italian cruise. I think your son would enjoy Barcelona as a fun city to walk around it which has an interesting mix of old and new. And maybe even think about on the way there or back to plan for a stopover in London as I think that‘s a city that would fit his interests very well.

 

[msmama]

A cruise is a great way to get the highlights of a place, and you can't see it all, but you can definitely get the highlights. We did round trip from Barcelona Med cruise. (Days may be in the wrong order). All were tours through DCL.

Day 1 we climbed Mt. Vesuvius, stopped at a Cameo factory, had a bit of free time for lunch/shopping, then had a tour of Pompeii.
Day 2 we did the long drive to Florence, spend the entire day walking around Florence, seeing the highlights, nothing in depth. Ate the most delicious lasagna I've ever had in my life. Stopped at Pisa on the way back where we took the required photos pretending to hold up the tower.
Day 3 long drive into Rome which was hot and crowded. Toured the Vatican, saw the Sistine chapel and did a quick walk through of St. Peters. Had a delicious pasta with overcooked chicken for lunch. Drove to the other side of Rome (?) brief stop at Trevi fountain, walked to the Colosseum (passing countless other beautiful things that we could've spent hours exploring, but got a quick pass by). Toured the Colosseum. Long drive back to the ship.

We were supposed to do a tour in Monaco the next day but we physically/mentally couldn't handle it so cancelled (though they changed the itinerary due to the grand prix). Not going to lie, both my son and I had meltdowns at one point (mine on the slopes of Mt Vesuvius because why was my fat butt trying to climb a volcano, his at the colosseum because it was so hot and crowded), but pulled it together to finish and we're both happy to say we've been to Italy and seen the highlights.

I think going for quality and quantity are both valid ways to travel, as long as you know what you're in for.

My son has been back to Italy since to do the relax, stay in the countryside go at your own pace thing, and he said he preferred the tours we took. At least he knew what he was seeing/doing (Dad's family has a different travel style than Mom's), though he did think Venice was super cool.

 

[o&smom]

I made an agreement with my kids years ago that when they graduate HS, they can pick any country or trip in the world, and we would go. My son graduates now in two years. I know that is far off, but taking some of these bigger international trips can take us more time to financially plan for.

Son said he wants to go to Italy. I am trying to convince him that he wants to take a DCL cruise that focuses on Italy LOL.

Are there any that stand out to you as really great itineraries for being an Italian tourist, while still enjoying the comforts of cruising. I was looking through the ones for next year, and there are so many to choose from LOL.

I would choose one that starts or ends in Rome and has multiple other ports in Italy. You can plan to spend extra days in Rome before or after the cruise. You could have him look at current ports being offered in Italy and see what might interest him. I love the idea of a cruise with Italy, even if it seems “off” for him. He only graduates from HS once, let him experience what he wants, and you all get the bonus of a Disney cruise.

 

[DCLMP]

Generally cruises don't "focus" on one country. But, something like, say, a river cruise can be more indepth. And, of course, even those cruises are pretty much limited time in those cities/locations that have ports.

I'd recommend you look into doing a train trip through Italy, stopping for several days at a time in specific cities/areas.

I think this is a great way to explore a country. I just did that in Japan with my son. That being said if the other two members of my family had gone we would have needed two hotel rooms the whole trip. Hotel rooms in other countries aren't like hotels in the USA.

It's just something to think about when weighing the cost. We always found traveling as family of four in Europe that cruising was easier and less expensive.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

I think this is a great way to explore a country. I just did that in Japan with my son. That being said if the other two members of my family had gone we would have needed two hotel rooms the whole trip. Hotel rooms in other countries aren't like hotels in the USA.

It's just something to think about when weighing the cost. We always found traveling as family of four in Europe that cruising was easier and less expensive.

That is what happened when we went to japan, racked up the bill to twice as expensive when I had to pay for 2 hotel rooms for fifteen days. I would rather not end up with another 20k+ trip if I can help it lol.

 

[DCLMP]

That is what happened when we went to japan, racked up the bill to twice as expensive when I had to pay for 2 hotel rooms for fifteen days. I would rather not end up with another 20k+ trip if I can help it lol.

Cruise ship rooms are small, but there are plenty of places on the ship to hang out. My son has had a good time meeting people in the 1820 society. In the summer cruises the group seems to be pretty large. I'm assuming your kids will be 18.
I would do a cruise out of Rome and spend a few nights there. The last med cruise we did 3 nights in Rome pre cruise and 2 nights in Zurich post cruise. You could always do a few nights in Venice or Milan after cruise to add to the trip or do a cruise from Barcelona to Rome to see another city.

 

[OKW Lover]

Now I just have to find a way to get you to convince my son of that . He has no interest in art outside of 3d rendering and could care less about Roman history.

Perhaps you could get your son to convince himself? Let him research the ports you'll be visiting and the logistics of doing whatever he is most interested in. Let him decide if there is enough time to do those things or would it just be a frustrating tease

 

[Disnsyncey]

I do agree with the folks that Italy is not the place to ONLY do a cruise, unless there is little of interest in the ports that it visits...

If he likes to do the "soaking in the atmosphere" type of thing.....that is best to do during the evening "passiegiata" around dinner time when all the locals come out to socialize, which you would be missing if you needed to be on a ship....

 

[o&smom]

That is what happened when we went to japan, racked up the bill to twice as expensive when I had to pay for 2 hotel rooms for fifteen days. I would rather not end up with another 20k+ trip if I can help it lol.

We usually rent an apartment in Europe through VRBO. Ends up being much cheaper than two hotel rooms.

 

[jimmymc]

Disney Mediterranean cruise itineraries are pretty basic. Many of them start or end in Rome and will stop in Livorno, Genoa, Naples, and Sicily. Livorno is close to Florence and Pisa, Naples is near Pompeii, and Messina, Sicily is close to Mt Edna. All these towns will have places to walk around, shop, and eat, in addition to the big landmarks and attractions.

My general advice is to get a cruise that starts or ends in Rome. There is so much to see there that a single or even overnight port stop wouldn't cover. Florence is my personal favorite city in Italy, but you would need an excursion to get there from Livorno. If you're willing to try cruises other than DCL, some companies will go from Rome to Venice. I think that's the best way to really see Italy from a ship.

 

[DCLMP]

Disney Mediterranean cruise itineraries are pretty basic. Many of them start or end in Rome and will stop in Livorno, Genoa, Naples, and Sicily. Livorno is close to Florence and Pisa, Naples is near Pompeii, and Messina, Sicily is close to Mt Edna. All these towns will have places to walk around, shop, and eat, in addition to the big landmarks and attractions.

My general advice is to get a cruise that starts or ends in Rome. There is so much to see there that a single or even overnight port stop wouldn't cover. Florence is my personal favorite city in Italy, but you would need an excursion to get there from Livorno. If you're willing to try cruises other than DCL, some companies will go from Rome to Venice. I think that's the best way to really see Italy from a ship.

I agree DCL doesn't have the best itineraries. The best cruise they offer now is mainly Greek Isles.
NCL has a couple of new ships in the med with a lot to offer young people. I would check out those.

 

[princesscinderella]

We are doing the 12 night this summer and we love the itinerary. We start in Rome and end in Barcelona, so we get extra time to explore these two big cities. It ports in Greece at Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Chania, Sicily, Malta and Mallorca with 4 sea days to relax in between some of the ports. We were supposed to go to Turkey but they switched it to Chania due to the proximity to the tensions between Israel and Gaza in the area.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We did the 9 night med last June. I loved that it started in Barcelona-couple of days to explore, and ended in Rome-more time to explore. A bit of a taste everywhere else. I think if you cruise v. land, to pick an itinerary that does that for you. A really nice overall taste of all the places I wanted to see in one trip. And now an idea of those I may want to re-visit more in depth. The 12 night this summer sounds amazing, but British Isles for us and then added the B2B when they added an amazing Norway itinerary. Once again-a chance to explore London and a taste of everything else.