Mediterranean Cruise in July

[Nikki906]

We are booked on the Dream this July to sail around Italy. We are a family of 6 my daughters will be 18,18,14,14. Any tips for this trip?
Favorite excursions? tips on getting from airport to hotel? Also how far is the port from the airport trying to book a flight home.

Thank You in Advance
Nicole

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

We are booked on the Dream this July to sail around Italy. We are a family of 6 my daughters will be 18,18,14,14. Any tips for this trip?
Favorite excursions? tips on getting from airport to hotel? Also how far is the port from the airport trying to book a flight home.

Thank You in Advance
Nicole

Where are you embarking and debarking?
What are your ports?

It will be hot and very crowded. You will be walking a lot in the sun on uneven footpaths and places will not have air conditioning.

 

[Nikki906]

oh yes sorry haha It leaves and returns from Barcelona. We stop in Rome, Naples, Florence, and Cagliari

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

As stated, expect it to be hot and humid. I would suggest good walking shoes due to the uneven walking surfaces. My wife wore sandals when we went to Portofino and ended up twisting her ankle while walking.

We did 10-days in the Med on the Magic back in July of 2018. We really enjoyed the cruise and the stops. Expect the days to be long. As for excursions, we decided to only do two full day excursions (Florence and Sorrento) and did 1/2-day excursions for the rest of the stops. This way we had a chance to recover.

We stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona and took a taxi from the airport to the hotel. We then used Disney Transportation from the Hotel to the cruise terminal and from the cruise terminal back to the airport.

Psy

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

oh yes sorry haha It leaves and returns from Barcelona. We stop in Rome, Naples, Florence, and Cagliari

I have a non Disney Mediterranean Cruise booked for March 2026, also from Barcelona.

I am doing pre and post cruise sightseeing Barcelona and have booked a hotel near Basílica de la Sagrada Família.

I will be using the Metro to get from the airport to my hotel and for sightseeing in Barcelona. To get to the ship from my hotel I will take The metro to Las Ramblas and then get the Blue Cruise Bus from The World Trade Centre to the ship.

I do all ports DIY and I am in the middle of planning my Barcelona days.

You are going to one of the same ports that my cruise will go to Civitavecchia, which is the port for Rome. I am not going to Rome on that day, I plan to stay on the ship most of the day and just spend a couple of hours in the afternoon walking around Civitavecchia. Rome is about 2 hours travel from the ship, so its a very long day. I previously did a land trip to Rome so I have been to The Vatican and other places.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We were in eastern med in July 2023 during the heatwave, 7-day cruise though not with DCL. Every port day was 105+. Greece (which is where we had multiple stops and ended the cruise) was even hotter. Acropolis was 115-117 that week. For us that wasn't a huge burden but it does slow you down and for us it presented a problem in Athens when sites would close for the bulk of the day due to the heat. However, many of the tour guides were clearly uncomfortable. Drink plenty of water too. The cruise line we go with provides water for you and just had a table of water bottles as you got off the ship for the excursions but I know DCL is different (I think you have to buy the bottled water package?). Anyways yes plan for dehydration concerns.

We just did a western med march/april 2025 much better weather although sometimes it was warmer than was anticipated, monte carlo (where we ended) felt warmer than it should so I was hot in my long-sleeve athletic top.

We're headed to Switzerland in July 2026. I didn't want to go during then but that's how it worked with airfare. It won't be nearly as hot as the Med though.

Personally the crowds in July 2023 weren't terrible but we were in Venice, Croatia, Montenegro and Greece so less popular in terms of crowds. March/April 2025 crowds were obviously lower as it's the off season/very beginning of the season.

Back to your cruise: One of my main recommendations is honestly get a sun hat. I don't care if you think you'll look dumb in it like my husband doesn't really like to wear it but just get it and wear it. It helped me a lot in terms of having a slight cooling effect and some protection from the sun

This was us at an ancient greek academy on that July 2023 cruise for example. I have two of them. The one pictured has a slot in the back for you to put your hair through if you wear a ponytail...or if you don't (like I didn't) it still works. The other is a tan one that is very similar in style but doesn't have the slot in the back for your hair.


Obviously bring sunscreen and bring it with you while you're out on excursions to reapply.