Med cruise 2011 - just booked need help

[Joan1]

I just booked an 11nt Med cruise on the Magic. Took the guarantee category and it is non refundable so we are definitely going.

Since this was a last minute decision I need help with suggestions on shore excursions done on our own. I tried to do a search and came up with a lot of threads that don't really discuss this option. I know they are out there as I saw them last year. Obviously I am not using the search function correctly

Anyway... Can anyone point me in the right direction, give me some advice on what they did when in these port or maybe has the links saved from last year that you can share with me

We aren't adventure seekers so just sightseeing is good for us or maybe a beach day.

We have been to Rome before and don't have to do the long trek into the actual city, we would be open to other suggestions.

We have also been to Palermo but only for one day as we stayed there the day before our flight home from Sicily quite a few years ago

I was in Florence and Pisa many years ago but the rest of the family has not. We don't have to go into Florence we can do something else like stay closer to La Spezia or go into some other area that is not as far as Florence

Was in Naples many years ago but the rest of the family has not.
My favorite part of this area was Sorrento and that is where we may return to unless the rest of the family wants to go to Pompeii but that is too far of a day trip

Have never been to Malta, Ajaccio or Villefranche

ANY information would be GREATLY appreciated
Off to do more research

Thank you

 

[speakupjc]

Joan the excursions that we can highly recommend from our trip last year are as follows:

Corsica: Les Calanches - The only thing I can compare it to is the Grand Canyon. It is breathtaking and is listed in the book "1000 things to see before you die."

Rome: The Best of Rome - This excurison took us to the Colosseum, the Vatican and the Trevi Fountain. In addition we got to see the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums as well as see St. Peters.

Florence: Florence and Michelangelo. On this tour we loved the walking tour and getting to see the Statue of David. The Cathederal was beautiful.

Naples: The Sorrento and Amalfi Coast Drive. We loved the stunning views. In addition this tour offered the children an opportunity to make pizzas at a pizza school. My child still talks about how great it was!

Monaco: Monacao, Monte Carlo and Eze. This was the best tour of all of them! The walking tour included the opportunity to visit the Cathederal and the Palace. We can not stress enough how incredible we thought this tour was and as a result highly recommend it!

We hope that this helps. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. The reason why I didn't list an excursion for Malta is that the one we took is no longer offered. I feel sure that Dinsey didn't choose the offer this tour anymore because of the guest review's. With the exception of Malta we loved our tours.

These excursions were done with Disney and not on our own, however, I felt that you might want to look at them since they were so great.

 

[Joan1]

speakupjc thank you for information - very helpful

quick question
For the Rome one did it let you by pass the line for the Sistine Chapel?

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I would go over to www.cruise critic.com. (remove the space. My. iPad is auto correcting again). There are boards for most ports and posters have advice on excursions they likeo

 

[maynrive]

First and foremost, you should go find the thread for your actual cruise. We did the 10 night last year and I got almost all the information about what we wanted to do at each of the ports from all the other members that were on the same cruise as us and it just helps build the anticipation.

I'm not sure if the planning website that one of the members made is still out there, but I'll look around and see if it's still there. In the mean time, you're welcome to read through my trip report and I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. No guarantees I'll be able to remember everything, though. I started reading through the blog again and half of the things on there, I didn't remember doing.

http://travelnow321.wordpress.com/category/med-trip-2010/

 

[ohMom]

Joan1 --- we are on the July 09 sailing...we have a meet thread if this is your sailing please join us!

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

agree with the above poster Les Calanches in Corsica is stunning.

We were not impressed with Monte Carlo - very crowded. Preferred Nice by a lot.

As far as Naples is concerned, Capri is beautiful but way too crowded.

 

[Angie_Ohio]

There is a trip report done by Disneyfalcon that describes her Med cruise last year. She did all ports on her own (with her 12 year old and other family). I read her experiences and have decided to hit most ports on my own (with DS 16)
Look in trip reports for last year starting around May.

 

[speakupjc]

Joan, I am glad I was able to help you. We booked all of our excursions through Disney as we got to bypass lines on all tours. If you go to the Sistine Chapel you will find one of the best art collections in the world leading up to it. If you have any other questions please ask and I will do what I can to help you. Are you on facebook? If you are I can let you look at my pictures if it would help you.

 

[jettybean]

Joan the excursions that we can highly recommend from our trip last year are as follows:

Corsica: Les Calanches - The only thing I can compare it to is the Grand Canyon. It is breathtaking and is listed in the book "1000 things to see before you die."

Rome: The Best of Rome - This excurison took us to the Colosseum, the Vatican and the Trevi Fountain. In addition we got to see the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums as well as see St. Peters.

Florence: Florence and Michelangelo. On this tour we loved the walking tour and getting to see the Statue of David. The Cathederal was beautiful.

Naples: The Sorrento and Amalfi Coast Drive. We loved the stunning views. In addition this tour offered the children an opportunity to make pizzas

at a pizza school. My child still talks about how great it was!





We are also sailing the med tis summer. Thanks for sharing such great info. I was wondering the age of your child and if they enjoyed the Corsica excursion. I have been considering it. We have the pizza making in Sorrento booked...sounds fun!!

Monaco: Monacao, Monte Carlo and Eze. This was the best tour of all of them! The walking tour included the opportunity to visit the Cathederal and the Palace. We can not stress enough how incredible we thought this tour was and as a result highly recommend it!

We hope that this helps. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. The reason why I didn't list an excursion for Malta is that the one we took is no longer offered. I feel sure that Dinsey didn't choose the offer this tour anymore because of the guest review's. With the exception of Malta we loved our tours.

These excursions were done with Disney and not on our own, however, I felt that you might want to look at them since they were so great.

 

[NHdisneylover]

These are all very easy ports to do on your own:

Villefranche is a cute town and it is very simple to take the train from their to either Niece or Monaco. Personally, I prefer Monaco. Tour the palace and the church where Princess Grace was married.

La Spezia is anohter cute town. You can have a nice time just wandering around the town (this is what we did last year). It is also cheap and relatively easy to take trains to Pisa and/or the Cinque Terre area for some nice "hikes" along the shoreline cliffs with amazing views (our plan for this year).

Corsica--We just wandered around town and went to the beach last year and had a very nice time. We are on a 7 night this year so I have not relaly looked into it again.

Cittivechia (Rome)--This year we plan to go to Tarquina and tour the necropolis. I have read a lot about doing this and it sounds very simple. It is only a 20-30 minute bus rode from the port to right in town and they have a nice museum as well as the Estruscan tombs. You go own into each tomb and tour down there (so apparently it looks like not much from the outside but is really nice from the inside).

Naples--Another really easy place to take trains. The train station is about a 20 minute walk from port and the traffic there is nutty. If you are adventurous--walk--otherwise take a cab that far. From the station take the train to the BACK enterance of Pompeii. Tour through Pompeii and come out on teh eotehr end where there is another train station to take you home (total cost per person for trains and tickets came in at about 20 Euro--a lot less than DCL excursions and you can go at your own pace and away from a group). Or, just take a taxi from the port up to the amazing archeological museum (our plan for this year).

Malta--you can get a great feel for Malta just wandering on foot.

 

[makaylee]

You said you want to just relax at a beach, well Corsica is perfect for that. Just get off the ship and take a right toward the water. Don't stop at the first beach though, the second is a bit further, but it is gorgeous and worth it! Beware there might be a few topless though, if that bothers you.

 

[lmb]

We're on the 11 night also and I have a question about the Naples. We have a group of 5 including my 73 yr mom and dd5, ds4. I'm deciding between option 1) private tour of pompeii, sorrento and positano or 2) taking the train to pompeii back to the ship for lunch and then hydrofoil to capri. Does anyone have any thoughts as to which would be the best itinerary for us? Is Capri as nice as Sorrento/Positano?

 

[Yvet]

You can find a whole coverage of the first med cruise in 2010 here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-cruise-line/magic-mediterranean.htm

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

We're on the 11 night also and I have a question about the Naples. We have a group of 5 including my 73 yr mom and dd5, ds4. I'm deciding between option 1) private tour of pompeii, sorrento and positano or 2) taking the train to pompeii back to the ship for lunch and then hydrofoil to capri. Does anyone have any thoughts as to which would be the best itinerary for us? Is Capri as nice as Sorrento/Positano?

We are trying to work the logistics out for this cruise but if it does work out I plan to go to Pompeii in the morning and then hydrofoil to Capri in the afternoon. My husband and I Honeymooned in Italy 10 years ago this spring! And we spent one of our weeks on Capri. I say go there, such an amazing little island. You could lose hours just walking around the streets here, so I say do that. I don't know if you will have time to go have lunch on the ship though. From what I've read, you'll be a little crunched for time.

 

[Kaleigh]

We did almost every port on our own, so you could check out my trip report. Also, I have lots of info on my website. (In my sig) Other great websites for this info are http://www.mediterranean-cruise-ports-easy.com/index.html and http://www.heinbloed-on-tour.de/
Malta and Ajaccio are the easiest ports to do on your own. Pretty much just walk off the boat.
The Cinque Terre is easy to do from La Spezia (we didn't do it, but our dinner mates did and loved it) We did Florence on Your Own, which is just a bus dropping you off and picking you up in Florence and it was PERFECT for our purposes.
I still think Rome is not to be missed, and the train ride there is so easy that I would do it, even if it was just to walk around and enjoy the city.
Naples is a great city with many amazing things to see right in the city, but isn't for everyone. You could take a cab or bus to the train station and go to Sorrento if Naples doesn't appeal.
Villefranche is beautiful, and is a very easy jumping off point to Nice, Monaco or Eze. We went to Nice and Eze during our Villefranche day without any trouble, but it does require a little research. (Again, on my website)
I hope this helps, and feel free to PM me with any specific questions. Congrats on your cruise! You will have a blast.

 

[speakupjc]

At the time we cruised our daughter was 7. She loved all of the tours with the exception of Malta.