Kiss-im-mee2
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2010
- Messages
- 62
Disney Magic May 26 – June 5, 2010
My DH and I are in our mid 50s and this was our first Disney cruise. We have sailed Princess, HAL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara. This was our 5th Med cruise and we chose the Magic for it’s price and ports of call. We were not traveling with any children and usually choose cruises with few children but made an exception due to the ports we had never been to before. There certainly were a lot of children on board but they were rarely a problem.
We enjoyed the cruise very much. The service, food, stateroom, and ship were very comparable to the other lines we have sailed. Some things we liked and some things we didn’t care for. The one thing Disney has that is far above the other cruise lines is the entertainment and Disney “magic”. It was fun to watch the children with the characters especially the little girls and the princesses. I even had my picture taken with a few of the characters. Of course the shows were fantastic although we didn’t care for the content of Villains and we weren’t the only one. All in all it was the ports that were the big draw for us and we were not disappointed.
We flew into Barcelona a day early and stayed at the Hotel Contental right at the end of La Rambla. We took the airport bus (5 euros) to Placa Catalunya and walked to the hotel. Our room was ready so we took a short nap and set off to explore. This was our third time in Barcelona so we walked to Port Vell and the beach at Barclonetta then took the metro back to the hotel. After dinner we walked around the Bari Gothic.
The next morning we slept late then went to Mountjuic Castle by the metro and funicular. We saw the Magic in port and took pictures of the castle (more of a fort) and Barcelona. We walked through the gardens and returned to our hotel to pick up our luggage. We then walked with our luggage about a mile down La Rumbla to the port shuttle (2 euros) and took it to the ship. We arrived at the ship at about 2:30 so there were no characters about but there was no line either. We were announced on board and headed to our room. We had an inside room on the 7th deck right near the rear outside deck. We really liked this location. It was very quiet and close to the rear staircase which made it easy to get up to Topsiders. By the time we settled in it was time for the lifeboat drill. After the drill we explored the ship a bit and checked out the sail away party at 4:30 (even though we didn’t sail away until 9:30). We had early seating and were seated with two couples about our age. After dinner we went to the show, unpacked and went to bed.
Our first day was a sea day so we slept late. After breakfast we went to see the port lecturer who talked about Malta. He gave a very good presentation having been there during the war. After lunch we met up with the people we had met online. This was formal night and the show was Twice Charmed which was very good.
Our second day we got up at 7:30 to see the sail in to Malta. It was a great sail in and the weather looked sunny. We left the ship at 9 and found the tunnel to the car park which leads to the elevator. It was a bit of a steep walk up the tunnel but we found the elevator with no problem. We took the elevator to the top floor and walked to where we saw the busses. We found the #80 bus which goes to Mdina. These busses are old with no air and small seats but it was quite an adventure. Almost everyone got off at the Mdnia stop and we just followed the signs to the Mdnia gate. We walked through town to St. Paul’s Cathedral and paid 2.50 to enter. This is a beautiful church which has the marble grave markers on the floor like the Co-Cathedral in Valletta. It was less crowded and quiet. We also went to the church museum which was included with the ticket. We walked around Mdina and took pictures of the beautiful views. After we were finished in Mdina we walked to Rabat to the Grotto of St Paul then caught the bus back. We ate lunch on the ship and went back out to explore Valletta. We walked down the main street and over to the Upper Barack Gardens then returned to the ship. We didn’t eat dinner in the dining room so we could see sail away. We ate in Topsidders where they were having a sit down style dinner. We had a porterhouse steak that was very good.
In Tunis we booked a Disney tour. We very rarely take ship’s tours preferring to explore on our own but due to the reports I’d read about Tunis we didn’t want to venture out on our own. We selected the Carthage Sidi Biu Said tour and it was just what we wanted. We met at the theater at 9 and were on the first bus. We had a great guide who was a professor at the university. We stopped at the Antoinin Baths and a few villas. The baths were impressive but the villas were badly in ruins. We spent about an hour there then drove by a few more places before we drove up a hill to the Carthage Museum. We never went into a building but saw outside exhibits. The views were fantastic and we could see the Magic off in the distance. After an hour we drove to Sidi Bou Said where we had to walk quite a ways from the bus to the main street. Here we went into a house museum where we learned about the family and there way of life. We then had a little time to shop before heading back to the ship.
We made it back to the ship in time for lunch at Topsiders but they had foods of the region and we didn’t see anything we liked so we went to Goofy’s. Many of the longer tours were late getting back to the ship. Our table mates went on the Berber village tour and really liked it. The people who went on the Bardo Museum, Carthage, Medina, and Sidi Bou Said tour thought it was too long with not enough time in any place. One guy got lost in the Medina and the tour left without him. He had to get a cab back to the ship and lucky for him the other tours were late so he didn’t miss the ship.
We had been to Naples three times already so we just planned to go to the Archeological Museum and up to Vomero. Some of the museum was closed but we saw a lot of it. We took the metro up the hill to Vomero and saw the Villa Floridinia and Castle St Elmo.We took the funicular back down and it let us off at the Galaria. It was a Sunday so the stores were closed. Again the longer tours were late returning and many people were late for dinner. They let the early seating come in until 7.
We have stopped in Civitevvicia 5 times so we rented a car and drove around the area. We took the mountain route to Bracciano through Tolfa. Braccaino was very crowded and there was no place to park so we continued around the lake. We stopped in Trevignano and walked along the lake and through some of the back streets. It is a very pretty town and not as crowded as Bracciano and Anguillara. We took pictures of Anguillara from across the lake but didn’t stop there as again there was no place to park. We drove around the lake and headed towards Cerveteri to see the Etruscian tombs. Unfortunately it was Monday and they were closed but we saw them from a distance. We continued back to Civiteveccia along the coast road. We stopped at Santa Severa to see an old castle and they were making a movie. We were able to watch them do a few scenes on the beach. This was a very pretty drive. There was very little traffic on the roads out of the larger towns and a lot of beautiful wildflowers.
In La Spezia we walked to the train station and took the train to Cinque Terre. We got off at Verenazza and walked up to the castle which had a 2.50 charge. We then did the hike to Montorossa which took us 3 hours. We took it easy and took lots of pictures. The views were outstanding and there were wild flowers everywhere. This is a very steep trail with very narrow areas. We spent a little time in the beautiful beach town of Monterosa then took the train back to La Spezia. It’s about a 20 minute walk from the train station to the ship. The tendering worked very well with minimal waiting. The longer tours were late again. Florence is really too far from La Spezia to really enjoy the time there.
In Ajaccio we walked around town going to the market and walking along the waterfront. The beach closest to the ship was not that great but the one a little further was much better. We walked back to the ship for lunch and talked to some people who took the #5 bus to Ilse Sanguinares . After lunch we found the #5 bus but since it only ran once an hour we only had time to take the ride along the coast to the Ilse Sanguinares and return with out getting off the bus. It was a nice drive and we wish we knew about earlier.
In Villefrench we took the #81 bus to Nice. The bus lets you off right across the street from old town. The old town was real neat to wander around in. There were all kinds of stores. We found the market and looked at all the stalls. We then headed to the beach. The water is really beautiful although the beach is very rocky. There is a very long promenade. We climbed up to the old castle on the hill overlooking the beach. The views are beautiful. We walked down the other side to the harbor and caught the 100 bus back to Villefrench. Both the 100 and 81 bus run between Villefrench and Nice but the #81 bus is less crowded because it is more of a local bus. They are both 1 euro. After lunch we went to the beach in Villefrench. It’s a nice sandy beach an easy walk from the tender dock.
We just chilled out the last sea day. We went to the port lecturer’s talk on Barcelona which was very good. We also went to see Alice in Wonderland 3D but it was not for us so we didn’t stay.
Debarking in Barcelona was easy. We got up at 7:30 and went to breakfast. After breakfast we just walked off the ship. We rode the port bus to the Columbus Monument than walked back to the Hotel Contential. We dropped off our bags and then just wandered around the streets. It was really nice to have the time to just wander and really see the back streets. We checked into our room, and then because it was such a beautiful day we headed to the beach. In the evening we went to see the Magic Fountains. They started at 9 but it was really too light. Ten o’clock would be better to see the colors.
On Sunday we took the train to Sitges a seaside town about 45 minutes south of Barcelona. It was a rainy day but we had rain jackets. Since they were celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi the streets were decorated with flowers and it was very crowded. When it stopped raining we walked along the beach promenade. It was very easy to take the train to Sitges and back. After dinner we walked around the Bari Gothic just taking in the sights.
On Monday we took the train and a bus to the Tibidado funicular to ride up the mountain to the Temple church. Tibidabo is an amusement Park at the top of one of Barcelona highest hills. There is a large church with a statue of Christ with outstretched arms at the top. The views are beautiful. In the afternoon we went to all three Ingles stores in the Placa Catalunya area. They have everything you could want and more.
We really enjoyed our extra three days in Barcelona. We had already seen most of the major sights in past visits so this time we did a lot of wandering around just enjoying the street life.
This was a wonderful cruise. I would recommend the 11 day cruise over the 10 day because you really need a sea day in the middle. Since it was our 5th Med cruise we didn’t feel the need to see everything so we kept some of our days touring short. Avoid doing too many all day tours they can be exhausting. Also don’t do tours with a lot of stops. It’s better to spend more time in just two places than a little time in four.
.
My DH and I are in our mid 50s and this was our first Disney cruise. We have sailed Princess, HAL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara. This was our 5th Med cruise and we chose the Magic for it’s price and ports of call. We were not traveling with any children and usually choose cruises with few children but made an exception due to the ports we had never been to before. There certainly were a lot of children on board but they were rarely a problem.
We enjoyed the cruise very much. The service, food, stateroom, and ship were very comparable to the other lines we have sailed. Some things we liked and some things we didn’t care for. The one thing Disney has that is far above the other cruise lines is the entertainment and Disney “magic”. It was fun to watch the children with the characters especially the little girls and the princesses. I even had my picture taken with a few of the characters. Of course the shows were fantastic although we didn’t care for the content of Villains and we weren’t the only one. All in all it was the ports that were the big draw for us and we were not disappointed.
We flew into Barcelona a day early and stayed at the Hotel Contental right at the end of La Rambla. We took the airport bus (5 euros) to Placa Catalunya and walked to the hotel. Our room was ready so we took a short nap and set off to explore. This was our third time in Barcelona so we walked to Port Vell and the beach at Barclonetta then took the metro back to the hotel. After dinner we walked around the Bari Gothic.
The next morning we slept late then went to Mountjuic Castle by the metro and funicular. We saw the Magic in port and took pictures of the castle (more of a fort) and Barcelona. We walked through the gardens and returned to our hotel to pick up our luggage. We then walked with our luggage about a mile down La Rumbla to the port shuttle (2 euros) and took it to the ship. We arrived at the ship at about 2:30 so there were no characters about but there was no line either. We were announced on board and headed to our room. We had an inside room on the 7th deck right near the rear outside deck. We really liked this location. It was very quiet and close to the rear staircase which made it easy to get up to Topsiders. By the time we settled in it was time for the lifeboat drill. After the drill we explored the ship a bit and checked out the sail away party at 4:30 (even though we didn’t sail away until 9:30). We had early seating and were seated with two couples about our age. After dinner we went to the show, unpacked and went to bed.
Our first day was a sea day so we slept late. After breakfast we went to see the port lecturer who talked about Malta. He gave a very good presentation having been there during the war. After lunch we met up with the people we had met online. This was formal night and the show was Twice Charmed which was very good.
Our second day we got up at 7:30 to see the sail in to Malta. It was a great sail in and the weather looked sunny. We left the ship at 9 and found the tunnel to the car park which leads to the elevator. It was a bit of a steep walk up the tunnel but we found the elevator with no problem. We took the elevator to the top floor and walked to where we saw the busses. We found the #80 bus which goes to Mdina. These busses are old with no air and small seats but it was quite an adventure. Almost everyone got off at the Mdnia stop and we just followed the signs to the Mdnia gate. We walked through town to St. Paul’s Cathedral and paid 2.50 to enter. This is a beautiful church which has the marble grave markers on the floor like the Co-Cathedral in Valletta. It was less crowded and quiet. We also went to the church museum which was included with the ticket. We walked around Mdina and took pictures of the beautiful views. After we were finished in Mdina we walked to Rabat to the Grotto of St Paul then caught the bus back. We ate lunch on the ship and went back out to explore Valletta. We walked down the main street and over to the Upper Barack Gardens then returned to the ship. We didn’t eat dinner in the dining room so we could see sail away. We ate in Topsidders where they were having a sit down style dinner. We had a porterhouse steak that was very good.
In Tunis we booked a Disney tour. We very rarely take ship’s tours preferring to explore on our own but due to the reports I’d read about Tunis we didn’t want to venture out on our own. We selected the Carthage Sidi Biu Said tour and it was just what we wanted. We met at the theater at 9 and were on the first bus. We had a great guide who was a professor at the university. We stopped at the Antoinin Baths and a few villas. The baths were impressive but the villas were badly in ruins. We spent about an hour there then drove by a few more places before we drove up a hill to the Carthage Museum. We never went into a building but saw outside exhibits. The views were fantastic and we could see the Magic off in the distance. After an hour we drove to Sidi Bou Said where we had to walk quite a ways from the bus to the main street. Here we went into a house museum where we learned about the family and there way of life. We then had a little time to shop before heading back to the ship.
We made it back to the ship in time for lunch at Topsiders but they had foods of the region and we didn’t see anything we liked so we went to Goofy’s. Many of the longer tours were late getting back to the ship. Our table mates went on the Berber village tour and really liked it. The people who went on the Bardo Museum, Carthage, Medina, and Sidi Bou Said tour thought it was too long with not enough time in any place. One guy got lost in the Medina and the tour left without him. He had to get a cab back to the ship and lucky for him the other tours were late so he didn’t miss the ship.
We had been to Naples three times already so we just planned to go to the Archeological Museum and up to Vomero. Some of the museum was closed but we saw a lot of it. We took the metro up the hill to Vomero and saw the Villa Floridinia and Castle St Elmo.We took the funicular back down and it let us off at the Galaria. It was a Sunday so the stores were closed. Again the longer tours were late returning and many people were late for dinner. They let the early seating come in until 7.
We have stopped in Civitevvicia 5 times so we rented a car and drove around the area. We took the mountain route to Bracciano through Tolfa. Braccaino was very crowded and there was no place to park so we continued around the lake. We stopped in Trevignano and walked along the lake and through some of the back streets. It is a very pretty town and not as crowded as Bracciano and Anguillara. We took pictures of Anguillara from across the lake but didn’t stop there as again there was no place to park. We drove around the lake and headed towards Cerveteri to see the Etruscian tombs. Unfortunately it was Monday and they were closed but we saw them from a distance. We continued back to Civiteveccia along the coast road. We stopped at Santa Severa to see an old castle and they were making a movie. We were able to watch them do a few scenes on the beach. This was a very pretty drive. There was very little traffic on the roads out of the larger towns and a lot of beautiful wildflowers.
In La Spezia we walked to the train station and took the train to Cinque Terre. We got off at Verenazza and walked up to the castle which had a 2.50 charge. We then did the hike to Montorossa which took us 3 hours. We took it easy and took lots of pictures. The views were outstanding and there were wild flowers everywhere. This is a very steep trail with very narrow areas. We spent a little time in the beautiful beach town of Monterosa then took the train back to La Spezia. It’s about a 20 minute walk from the train station to the ship. The tendering worked very well with minimal waiting. The longer tours were late again. Florence is really too far from La Spezia to really enjoy the time there.
In Ajaccio we walked around town going to the market and walking along the waterfront. The beach closest to the ship was not that great but the one a little further was much better. We walked back to the ship for lunch and talked to some people who took the #5 bus to Ilse Sanguinares . After lunch we found the #5 bus but since it only ran once an hour we only had time to take the ride along the coast to the Ilse Sanguinares and return with out getting off the bus. It was a nice drive and we wish we knew about earlier.
In Villefrench we took the #81 bus to Nice. The bus lets you off right across the street from old town. The old town was real neat to wander around in. There were all kinds of stores. We found the market and looked at all the stalls. We then headed to the beach. The water is really beautiful although the beach is very rocky. There is a very long promenade. We climbed up to the old castle on the hill overlooking the beach. The views are beautiful. We walked down the other side to the harbor and caught the 100 bus back to Villefrench. Both the 100 and 81 bus run between Villefrench and Nice but the #81 bus is less crowded because it is more of a local bus. They are both 1 euro. After lunch we went to the beach in Villefrench. It’s a nice sandy beach an easy walk from the tender dock.
We just chilled out the last sea day. We went to the port lecturer’s talk on Barcelona which was very good. We also went to see Alice in Wonderland 3D but it was not for us so we didn’t stay.
Debarking in Barcelona was easy. We got up at 7:30 and went to breakfast. After breakfast we just walked off the ship. We rode the port bus to the Columbus Monument than walked back to the Hotel Contential. We dropped off our bags and then just wandered around the streets. It was really nice to have the time to just wander and really see the back streets. We checked into our room, and then because it was such a beautiful day we headed to the beach. In the evening we went to see the Magic Fountains. They started at 9 but it was really too light. Ten o’clock would be better to see the colors.
On Sunday we took the train to Sitges a seaside town about 45 minutes south of Barcelona. It was a rainy day but we had rain jackets. Since they were celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi the streets were decorated with flowers and it was very crowded. When it stopped raining we walked along the beach promenade. It was very easy to take the train to Sitges and back. After dinner we walked around the Bari Gothic just taking in the sights.
On Monday we took the train and a bus to the Tibidado funicular to ride up the mountain to the Temple church. Tibidabo is an amusement Park at the top of one of Barcelona highest hills. There is a large church with a statue of Christ with outstretched arms at the top. The views are beautiful. In the afternoon we went to all three Ingles stores in the Placa Catalunya area. They have everything you could want and more.
We really enjoyed our extra three days in Barcelona. We had already seen most of the major sights in past visits so this time we did a lot of wandering around just enjoying the street life.
This was a wonderful cruise. I would recommend the 11 day cruise over the 10 day because you really need a sea day in the middle. Since it was our 5th Med cruise we didn’t feel the need to see everything so we kept some of our days touring short. Avoid doing too many all day tours they can be exhausting. Also don’t do tours with a lot of stops. It’s better to spend more time in just two places than a little time in four.
.
