a day cruising the Med on the Magic?

[babyruth]

Our open booking date is approaching and I still don't have a great handle on what a typical day outline looks like. When do we have breakfast? Do we have lunch in each port? Do we want to do half day tours then come back and enjoy the ship....or stay in the ports longer....And I know this may change depending on the port but for those who have done the Mediterranean could you give me a "day in the life" what did your days look like?

 

[aggiedog]

It really depends what you want to do and see while you're there. We're a "first off, last on" see everything sort of family. We don't do ship excursions, and instead do private ones (we're a family of 8 when we travel) which lets us customize our day and make use of the time. We'd usually get a quick buffet breakfast, be off the ship within 30 minutes of docking, return about 90 minutes before the ship leaves (really not "last on" but close enough with time to spare for unforeseen circumstances.) We usually get a small snack upon returning, then late seating for dinner after a shower and a bit of a rest. Ship excursions tend to waste time in port, IMHO, by making the meet up time 1-2 hours after docking and returning several hours before the ship leaves.

Your mileage may vary. To be fair, we did the Baltic with DCL and the Med with MSC, but the daily routine was the same in port.

 

[babyruth]

OK thanks that's good to know. We are a party of 7. I just started exploring the possibility of our own excursions yesterday. We also have the late seating, thinking we wanted to maximize time off the ship. But the more I explore what is on the ship I worry about not getting to everything LOL.

 

[Geomom]

We did the Baltic on the Magic last summer. Breakfast before you leave the ship--Cabanas will be open early, especially on port days. You can also do room service continental breakfast by hanging the slip outside your door before you go to bed the night before--this is great for early meet times...and helps to serve as a wake up call!

If you have many ports in a row, you may want to do a full day, half day, full day type of routine so you're not completely exhausted. When we had full day excursions, we looked for ones that included lunch. Some places we did on our own, and just had lunch at one of the museums we visited. If you're doing a half day, you can have a snack in port and lunch on the ship.

 

[fredandkell]

Check out the Trip Reports sub-board at the top of this one, and this will give you a great idea of what people did on their cruises. (My 2018 Med report is linked below in my signature.) We did the 5-day Med and we did 2 full-day DCL excursions (Cannes, Civitavecchia). We did a 1/2 day excursion to Pisa on our own (sort of--we booked through a bus company [Tuscany Bus] to get us from Livorno to Pisa). The morning of our half-day, we did Rainforest Room and kids did kids' club. We also did laundry and ate lunch on the ship. On our full day at sea, we did the pool, kids' club, movie (Incredibles 2 had just come out), and character visits.

Be aware, on a Med cruise, you will not get to see as much of the ship as you probably would like. A Med cruise is very different than a Caribbean cruise. I would recommend alternating full-day excursions with half-day excursions or you will wear yourself (and more importantly, your kids) out.

 

[oufpat]

I agree with above, full day tours can be exhausting. For our 2 full day tours (Disney tours in Rome and Naples) we had early breakfast delivered to room, had lunch out and were back for late dinner. On our half day tours we returned for lunch and relaxed a little in afternoon. I loved the Med Cruise, have a great time!

 

[babyruth]

Check out the Trip Reports sub-board at the top of this one, and this will give you a great idea of what people did on their cruises. (My 2018 Med report is linked below in my signature.) We did the 5-day Med and we did 2 full-day DCL excursions (Cannes, Civitavecchia). We did a 1/2 day excursion to Pisa on our own (sort of--we booked through a bus company [Tuscany Bus] to get us from Livorno to Pisa). The morning of our half-day, we did Rainforest Room and kids did kids' club. We also did laundry and ate lunch on the ship. On our full day at sea, we did the pool, kids' club, movie (Incredibles 2 had just come out), and character visits.

Be aware, on a Med cruise, you will not get to see as much of the ship as you probably would like. A Med cruise is very different than a Caribbean cruise. I would recommend alternating full-day excursions with half-day excursions or you will wear yourself (and more importantly, your kids) out.

great thanks! I will definitely check out your trip report and that board!

 

[pixiedustedme]

Go to Disney Cruise Line Blog and check out their trip reports. Scott wrote a detailed report about his family's Med cruise. That and the Personal Navigators from the Med cruise that you can access on that website will probably give you the info you're looking for.

 

[fredandkell]

I agree with above, full day tours can be exhausting. For our 2 full day tours (Disney tours in Rome and Naples) we had early breakfast delivered to room, had lunch out and were back for late dinner. On our half day tours we returned for lunch and relaxed a little in afternoon. I loved the Med Cruise, have a great time!

Great tip - room service on the full-day excursions is a great time-saver and sanity-saver!

 

[AngelDisney]

The Magic has shawarma and make-your-own-bowl noodle/rice options. They are also great alternatives if you are out for a full-day tour and can’t make it for lunch.

We did a Med cruise in 2013. The DCL tours we took didn’t provide lunch. From reading the itineraries, I knew where we would have the lunch break. Then I researched eateries in the area and was able to dine at places I wanted to try within the short lunch break. We had the best pizza I have ever eaten in Rome (still true). Enjoyed afternoon tea seeing the full view of the Marina in Monaco. This is an extra out-of-pocket experience that’s worth its cost!

By the way, Google Map had outdated pictures at the time and we were lost a bit in Rome trying to find the pizza place but the pizza was amazing!

 

[kiford]

It's entirely up to you. I pick tours that are the longest possible and that have lunch in port. I want to maximize my time in the port (unless I've been there before and am not interested) and I'd like to experience something of the local foods. On both of our Med cruises, we docked in La Spezia. The first time we went to Florence, it was a full day tour and we had lunch there; got the last tender back to the ship. The second time we wanted to climb the tower at Pisa and it was only a half-day tour, no lunch. It all depends on what's offered and what you want to do. There really isn't a typical day especially in port.

But the more I explore what is on the ship I worry about not getting to everything LOL.

I've cruised DCL 10 times, 6 of those on the Magic and I still don't feel like I've been able to get to everything. Don't worry about it - you simply won't be able to get to everything. Which makes it ideal to go again. Of course, then they'll simply add more stuff or change things so you won't be able to do it all. So you'll have to go again.....

 

[aggiedog]

With a group of 7, you will definitely be able to find good deals on private tours. You are essentially already a small group. I read up on Cruisecritic, googled "port excursion in xxx" then cross referenced with TripAdvisor. Contacted those that interested me, and went with the company that was the most responsive to our requests. We've had awesome excursions. I did try to alternate longer with shorter ones, but we did very few true half days. Like I said, we like to see the ports.

My parents got room service every morning. My two daughters were in the room with them, and that was their special treat.

 

[fredandkell]

With a group of 7, you will definitely be able to find good deals on private tours. You are essentially already a small group. I read up on Cruisecritic, googled "port excursion in xxx" then cross referenced with TripAdvisor. Contacted those that interested me, and went with the company that was the most responsive to our requests. We've had awesome excursions. I did try to alternate longer with shorter ones, but we did very few true half days. Like I said, we like to see the ports.

My parents got room service every morning. My two daughters were in the room with them, and that was their special treat.

Good advice. The only ones you have to be careful with are the ports that tender, such as Cannes. You have a hard time knowing when your particular tender will make it to shore as the people who are not on Disney excursions have last priority to tender. So that can make coordinating a time to pick you up difficult.

 

[babyruth]

Good advice. The only ones you have to be careful with are the ports that tender, such as Cannes. You have a hard time knowing when your particular tender will make it to shore as the people who are not on Disney excursions have last priority to tender. So that can make coordinating a time to pick you up difficult.

aha. good tip. Cannes is actually the day I'm struggling with I can't decide if we should do our own thing, or take the DCL excursion to St Raphael's. If it's even available, we are first time cruisers so I'll be up at midnight tonight to see what is left!

 

[fredandkell]

aha. good tip. Cannes is actually the day I'm struggling with I can't decide if we should do our own thing, or take the DCL excursion to St Raphael's. If it's even available, we are first time cruisers so I'll be up at midnight tonight to see what is left!

Look at this thread. https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...et-off-the-ship-in-cannes-via-tender.3651734/

 

[babyruth]

Look at this thread. https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...et-off-the-ship-in-cannes-via-tender.3651734/

very interesting...I just went back to read that part of your trip report again also. There is very little chance my fam is gonna be happy sitting in the theater for an hour to wait to tender. But since we are taking longer trips away from the ports in Livorno and Rome I don't want us to get off the ship to get on a 90 minute bus ride either. With Rome at the end it will be awful if we are exhausted! This is just shaping up to be a tough day to plan but like you say, first world problems! Do the tenders stop running? Could we feasibly wait until say noon to go to the theater to tender and just walk around Cannes by ourselves for a couple hours?

 

[Mommb]

There is very little chance my fam is gonna be happy sitting in the theater for an hour to wait to tender.

Do the tenders stop running? Could we feasibly wait until say noon to go to the theater to tender and just walk around Cannes by ourselves for a couple hours?

The tenders will run all day (although I would guess outward trips are discouraged starting an hour or two before all-aboard time). If you wait until noon, you may not need to go to the theater at all. When we were in Villefranche, we debarked a few hours after the ship docked, and I don’t recall needing to go anywhere other than the debarkation area. I am fairly sure we boarded the tender boat right after we “checked out,” although we did wait 10 minutes or so for the boat to fill before it departed.

 

[babyruth]

The tenders will run all day (although I would guess outward trips are discouraged starting an hour or two before all-aboard time). If you wait until noon, you may not need to go to the theater at all. When we were in Villefranche, we debarked a few hours after the ship docked, and I don’t recall needing to go anywhere other than the debarkation area. I am fairly sure we boarded the tender boat right after we “checked out,” although we did wait 10 minutes or so for the boat to fill before it departed.

well perhaps I will keep staring at Tomsportsguides instead of the DCL excursions and plan for everyone to just enjoy a full breakfast on the ship and tender around lunchtime.

 

[ninergrl6]

Our open booking date is approaching and I still don't have a great handle on what a typical day outline looks like. When do we have breakfast? Do we have lunch in each port? Do we want to do half day tours then come back and enjoy the ship....or stay in the ports longer....And I know this may change depending on the port but for those who have done the Mediterranean could you give me a "day in the life" what did your days look like?

Like others have said, it depends on your party and what you want to do. I don't travel with kids, usually take long excursions in each port, and always get the late seating for dinner.

On port days I go to Cabanas for a breakfast about an hour before my port adventure check in time (typically 7-9 am), spend 7+ hours on an excursion (they either include a meal or free time to get food on your own), return to the ship close to embarkation time, rest and/or go to the early showing of whatever is happening in the Walt Disney Theater, go to dinner around 8:15 pm (I don't change clothes for dinner unless it's formal night or I get really sweaty during the day), check out the adult entertainment after dinner, and try to go to sleep by midnight. It's exhausting, but I want to get the most out of these trips!

 

[fredandkell]

aha. good tip. Cannes is actually the day I'm struggling with I can't decide if we should do our own thing, or take the DCL excursion to St Raphael's. If it's even available, we are first time cruisers so I'll be up at midnight tonight to see what is left!

So, what did you end up doing?!