In short we LOVED it. Parents with a 2 year old. I couldn't find a (good) answer for this before my cruise so i'll make some recommendations on doing ports yourself. In general I do not recommend the disney tours based upon cost, the time you have to get up to do it, etc. I'm also not a huge museum lover beyond just seeing the highlights (mona lisa yes, all the other stuff not so much) so if you're like me you may find this helpful.
You'll notice that I hired drivers and boy was that great compared to getting in a bus at 7am. We still beat the tours to the destinations in most cases and usually strolled out around 9 or 10. Plus keep in mind that I paid for the entire car and not individually so this might make sense for families.
Last, one good thing about the buses is that if they break down the ship will wait (probably) they will not on a private tour so build in some time for a "just in case" emergency. Also consider taking your passports because if you get left in port - you'll spend a day or two at the embassy getting a copy before you can even attempt to catch up to the ship. (this happened to others on our cruise - bars are fun!).
1) Malta - just get off the boat and their are a million tour options from hop on hop off to taxi's to horse drawn carriage. You can do Malta much cheaper than the Disney option. Also, the horse carriage price is negotiable. Maybe take the taxi to the center of town, and then go from there whether it is to walk around (great), horse carriage (fun), or the ample hop on hop off buses. (10 bucks taxi to top of hill, 40 euro for horse carriage tour and back)
2) Tunisia - I'm from So Cal so Tunisia reminded me of Tiajuana but I had lots of fun. Lots of people did not like it because they couldn't handle the bargaining culture. We got a taxi for 60ish euro's I think. That was for the Medina (the big shopping area) and Sidou Said (the blue city). I loved both, my wife hated the medina (she's from Europe and wasn't comfortable with the bargaining) but we both loved the blue city.
3) Naples - I got a car and driver here while most took buses. For a family of three the cost was comparable. 350 euro. Full day -wherever we wanted to go, whatever we wanted to do. We did the Amalfi coast and the Pompeii. We had a Mercedes van all to ourselves. Despite leaving later than the Disney bus we beat them to the destinations by about 30 minutes and could do what we wanted. We use tour of italy com and they were great. I'd recommend doing your own meal (and be firm here) rather than their family restaurant (it was good enough but I would have enjoyed something else more).
4) Rome - we took the train into town. It was easy. about 20 euros total for all 3 of us compared to over 300 on the disney tour - which was on the same train.
5) Florence - we hired a driver at the port for 300 euro (or was it 250?) anways cheaper than the Disney bus which was 2 hours late due to breakdowns.
6) Corsica - we were going to stay on the boat because we were so tired. AWESOME deli meats and cheese in a small market right outside the ship. The most pleasant suprise of our trip. One of the best and cheapest meals of deli meat, little pizza, fresh bread and cheese. IT WAS GOOOD. So no cost, just walking. The tours from what I hear were OK but we had fun with several hunderd yards of port.
7) Monaco - our only Disney tour. It was OK but I wish we did our own thing. We did the EZE with wine and cheese tasting. It was fun enough but I think I could have gotten a taxi for less.
The Disney Euro cruise is AMAZING - they are offering 7, 10 and 11 day cruises. I'd recommend either the 7 or 11. You miss a day at sea on the 10 day and boy did that day of rest help. Keep in mind in Italy there are some major travel times to get to where you want to go (anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours). Happy to answer any questions....
You'll notice that I hired drivers and boy was that great compared to getting in a bus at 7am. We still beat the tours to the destinations in most cases and usually strolled out around 9 or 10. Plus keep in mind that I paid for the entire car and not individually so this might make sense for families.
Last, one good thing about the buses is that if they break down the ship will wait (probably) they will not on a private tour so build in some time for a "just in case" emergency. Also consider taking your passports because if you get left in port - you'll spend a day or two at the embassy getting a copy before you can even attempt to catch up to the ship. (this happened to others on our cruise - bars are fun!).
1) Malta - just get off the boat and their are a million tour options from hop on hop off to taxi's to horse drawn carriage. You can do Malta much cheaper than the Disney option. Also, the horse carriage price is negotiable. Maybe take the taxi to the center of town, and then go from there whether it is to walk around (great), horse carriage (fun), or the ample hop on hop off buses. (10 bucks taxi to top of hill, 40 euro for horse carriage tour and back)
2) Tunisia - I'm from So Cal so Tunisia reminded me of Tiajuana but I had lots of fun. Lots of people did not like it because they couldn't handle the bargaining culture. We got a taxi for 60ish euro's I think. That was for the Medina (the big shopping area) and Sidou Said (the blue city). I loved both, my wife hated the medina (she's from Europe and wasn't comfortable with the bargaining) but we both loved the blue city.
3) Naples - I got a car and driver here while most took buses. For a family of three the cost was comparable. 350 euro. Full day -wherever we wanted to go, whatever we wanted to do. We did the Amalfi coast and the Pompeii. We had a Mercedes van all to ourselves. Despite leaving later than the Disney bus we beat them to the destinations by about 30 minutes and could do what we wanted. We use tour of italy com and they were great. I'd recommend doing your own meal (and be firm here) rather than their family restaurant (it was good enough but I would have enjoyed something else more).
4) Rome - we took the train into town. It was easy. about 20 euros total for all 3 of us compared to over 300 on the disney tour - which was on the same train.
5) Florence - we hired a driver at the port for 300 euro (or was it 250?) anways cheaper than the Disney bus which was 2 hours late due to breakdowns.
6) Corsica - we were going to stay on the boat because we were so tired. AWESOME deli meats and cheese in a small market right outside the ship. The most pleasant suprise of our trip. One of the best and cheapest meals of deli meat, little pizza, fresh bread and cheese. IT WAS GOOOD. So no cost, just walking. The tours from what I hear were OK but we had fun with several hunderd yards of port.
7) Monaco - our only Disney tour. It was OK but I wish we did our own thing. We did the EZE with wine and cheese tasting. It was fun enough but I think I could have gotten a taxi for less.
The Disney Euro cruise is AMAZING - they are offering 7, 10 and 11 day cruises. I'd recommend either the 7 or 11. You miss a day at sea on the 10 day and boy did that day of rest help. Keep in mind in Italy there are some major travel times to get to where you want to go (anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours). Happy to answer any questions....
