gstdog
DIS Lurker
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2018
Hello everyone! Our family just got back from the Disney Magic that sailed 10-nights from Barcelona on June 29, 2019. It was an amazing trip, and I'm happy to share our experience with everyone.
QUICK LINKS:
OUR FAMILY: We sailed with our family of four, including myself, my wife (DW), my 8-year-old son (DS), and my 5-year old daughter (DD). We enjoyed cruises in the past, but we were a little worried about doing a longer cruise. My wife and I have sailed three times on the Disney Wonder over the past 20 years, all 3-nights in the Caribbean sailing out of Port Canaveral, but that was just the two of us before kids. We also did a 5-night cruise on Royal Caribbean sailing out of Tampa once, and vowed to never stray from Disney again (...it was *fine* but we missed the level of service and magic that you get from a Disney experience).
Once our DD turned 5 years old, we knew we wanted to start traveling international with them, and the Disney Cruise offered the perfect opportunity to expose them to new cultures and experience while offering a home base they would enjoy. Plus, my DW has an admittedly irrational fear of water, and was finally comfortable that at 5 years old, our DD could be trusted to follow directions and stay out of trouble on the ship. DS and DD are both well-behaved and good travelers. They can be in the car on long drives without complaining, and are okay to do long walks. Earlier in the year, we hiked up a mountain on a 6-mile trail, so we felt they could survive the ports in Europe.
OUR CRUISE: We sailed on the Disney Magic that started in Barcelona for 10-nights from Barcelona on June 29. You can see the itinerary below:
THIS GUIDE: This review is really for those who want to venture out and explore the ports on their own. In the eight ports that we visited, we only booked one Disney excursion (and my DW forced me to do that...more on that later). I'll provide as much information as I can on the logistics and timing of using taxis, buses, and trains at each port to reach your destination, and the independent companies we used for guides when we wanted to have a local help show us around. I found old trip reports on DisBoards to be invaluable, so I wanted to add to that collection for future travelers. I also cannot recommend enough the book Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports as well as TomsPortGuides.com as two excellent resources for researching ports.
What this guide isn't really going to focus on is the experience on the Disney Magic itself. While I'll certainly share my thoughts on how amazing the ship is and our experience, I just didn't take as detailed notes. When I was in port, I was a man on a mission to make sure my family had an amazing time, stayed safe, and made it back to the ship in one piece...and on time! When I was on the ship, my brain checked out and just went with the flow...and it was wonderful!
MINI REVIEW: The experience was every better than I could have possible imagined. DW joined the Facebook group for our sailing and was shocked that so many people were already booking their next cruise. On the flight home from Barcelona, she demanded to know when our next one would be. I could give the experience a 10/10. The Disney Magic and crew were amazing and felt like home. After spending a long day in port, the moment we walked up the gangway and stepped back onto the ship, you could feel the stress disappear and just relax again, knowing that everything was taken care of.
The eight ports we visited were amazing. In Naples, we toured the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii with a private driver. In Civitavecchia, we took the train into Rome and met up with a private guide that walked us around the city. In Ajaccio, we took a bus to a local beach and had a great day swimming. In Livorno, we left the kids on the ship and must me and DW took the Disney bus to Florence where we met a private guide to tour the city. In Genoa, we took the train to Camogli and had an amazing beach day. In Villegrance, we took the train to Nice and explored the city on our own. In Marseilles, we took the bus to Aix-en-Provence and met a private guide to tour the city. Finally in Barcelona, we had a private driver give a tour of the city before dropping us at the airport to go home that day. Each port was amazing in its own way, so it's hard to rank them. That said, Rome was definitely the hardest given the heat and walking.
More to follow. I'll post detailed on each port and day at sea in the days to follow. Thanks!
QUICK LINKS:
- TRIP PLANNING & FLIGHTS
- DAY 0 - TOURING BARCELONA
- DAY 1 - EMBARKATION DAY
- DAY 2 - DAY at SEA
- DAY 3 - NAPLES & AMALFI COAST
- DAY 4 - PART 1 - CIVITAVECCHIA & ROME
- DAY 4 - PART 2 - ROME
- DAY 5 - AJACCIO, CORSICA
- DAY 6 - LIVORNO & FLORENCE
- DAY 7 - GENOA & CAMOGLI
- DAY 8 - DAY at SEA
- DAY 9 - VILLEFRANCHE & NICE
- DAY 10 - MARSEILLE & AIX-EN-PROVENCE
- DAY 11 - DEBARKING & BARCELONA
OUR FAMILY: We sailed with our family of four, including myself, my wife (DW), my 8-year-old son (DS), and my 5-year old daughter (DD). We enjoyed cruises in the past, but we were a little worried about doing a longer cruise. My wife and I have sailed three times on the Disney Wonder over the past 20 years, all 3-nights in the Caribbean sailing out of Port Canaveral, but that was just the two of us before kids. We also did a 5-night cruise on Royal Caribbean sailing out of Tampa once, and vowed to never stray from Disney again (...it was *fine* but we missed the level of service and magic that you get from a Disney experience).
Once our DD turned 5 years old, we knew we wanted to start traveling international with them, and the Disney Cruise offered the perfect opportunity to expose them to new cultures and experience while offering a home base they would enjoy. Plus, my DW has an admittedly irrational fear of water, and was finally comfortable that at 5 years old, our DD could be trusted to follow directions and stay out of trouble on the ship. DS and DD are both well-behaved and good travelers. They can be in the car on long drives without complaining, and are okay to do long walks. Earlier in the year, we hiked up a mountain on a 6-mile trail, so we felt they could survive the ports in Europe.
OUR CRUISE: We sailed on the Disney Magic that started in Barcelona for 10-nights from Barcelona on June 29. You can see the itinerary below:
|
THIS GUIDE: This review is really for those who want to venture out and explore the ports on their own. In the eight ports that we visited, we only booked one Disney excursion (and my DW forced me to do that...more on that later). I'll provide as much information as I can on the logistics and timing of using taxis, buses, and trains at each port to reach your destination, and the independent companies we used for guides when we wanted to have a local help show us around. I found old trip reports on DisBoards to be invaluable, so I wanted to add to that collection for future travelers. I also cannot recommend enough the book Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports as well as TomsPortGuides.com as two excellent resources for researching ports.
What this guide isn't really going to focus on is the experience on the Disney Magic itself. While I'll certainly share my thoughts on how amazing the ship is and our experience, I just didn't take as detailed notes. When I was in port, I was a man on a mission to make sure my family had an amazing time, stayed safe, and made it back to the ship in one piece...and on time! When I was on the ship, my brain checked out and just went with the flow...and it was wonderful!
MINI REVIEW: The experience was every better than I could have possible imagined. DW joined the Facebook group for our sailing and was shocked that so many people were already booking their next cruise. On the flight home from Barcelona, she demanded to know when our next one would be. I could give the experience a 10/10. The Disney Magic and crew were amazing and felt like home. After spending a long day in port, the moment we walked up the gangway and stepped back onto the ship, you could feel the stress disappear and just relax again, knowing that everything was taken care of.
The eight ports we visited were amazing. In Naples, we toured the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii with a private driver. In Civitavecchia, we took the train into Rome and met up with a private guide that walked us around the city. In Ajaccio, we took a bus to a local beach and had a great day swimming. In Livorno, we left the kids on the ship and must me and DW took the Disney bus to Florence where we met a private guide to tour the city. In Genoa, we took the train to Camogli and had an amazing beach day. In Villegrance, we took the train to Nice and explored the city on our own. In Marseilles, we took the bus to Aix-en-Provence and met a private guide to tour the city. Finally in Barcelona, we had a private driver give a tour of the city before dropping us at the airport to go home that day. Each port was amazing in its own way, so it's hard to rank them. That said, Rome was definitely the hardest given the heat and walking.
More to follow. I'll post detailed on each port and day at sea in the days to follow. Thanks!
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