Disney European cruises opinions needed!

[PixieLily]

I've always wanted to go on a European cruise with Disney. At my age, it is now or never. Since Iprobably just go once, I'd love to learn from experienced cruisers which is their favorite itinerary. I'm partial to Italy because of the stop at Milan However Ive heard that the ports are many hours away from the most popular places. Any opinion is most welcome.

 

[Cfabar1]

The ports are far away... Rome is the most famous example of that...

Will this be the only European cruise you will ever do? And can you only do one? I ask because you could consider a back to back that involved a repositioning.

Otherwise, if there are any places you want to make sure you visit do the trip that checks most of them off the list. Perhaps you could even consider a DCL cruise for part of the journey and then get off the boat, explore Europe a bit and hop onto another cruise line which would be far less expensive to see more of Europe.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

When you say you want to go to "Europe" which countries do you want to go to?

The Disney cruise summer season is divided in two parts. The first part, end of May to middle of July , the ship home ports in Barcelona and goes to Italy, South France, South Spain, Greece.

Then theres a repositioning cruise from Barcelona to England.

The second part of the summer season is from middle of July to middle of September. The ship home ports in England and goes to Demark, Norway, Iceland, Netherlands, Belgium, North France, North Spain, UK and Ireland.

All countries have history, museums , ancient sights, scenery, different languages.

I would advise against doing a Mediterranean cruise with Disney.

Disney have their ships in the Mediterranean region during peak summer season, when its the hottest temperatures and high crowds. Its all long port days, with a lot of walking on uneven surfaces out in the open sun. Buildings dont have air conditioning. Many of the ports are long distance from the actual city of interest.

 

[AgentMama]

The European itineraries didn't excite us much this year, we're hoping the itineraries are better for summer 2026.

 

[imbelle]

If you think that this may be the only time that you'll do a European cruise AND you want to do it with Disney AND you want to see Milan, will you regret it if you don't follow this path? Yes, it will be crowded and hot in the summer and the ports can be an hour or more bus ride to the cities. But it depends on how strong your priorities are. "Europe" can cover a lot of territory and say, a Norway cruise, is a lot different than a Med cruise.

Just as a note, when we did a Disney Med cruise (2019) it was a 150 minute bus ride from the port into Milan. The first part was scenic with monasteries on hills and small villages with a central church, the rest was flat farmland. Once we were in Milan, I had enough time to tour the cathedral, tour La Scala (and watch part of a dress rehearsal from one of the boxes), have a decadent pastry in an artsy cafe by La Scala, and do a little shopping.

If you are thinking about Milan for seeing Da Vinci's Last Supper, know that it is a bit out from the city center. At the time we were there you had to book in advance and it was closed on Monday. According to my college art history professor, Da Vinci used experimental paints which started deteriorating almost immediately, so it's in pretty bad condition and (in his opinion) not worth seeing.

 

[PixieLily]

Thank you so much! This is the best place to get experienced cruiser's opinions. It will be my only European cruise and from your information, I think I skip the Mediterranean option. I would prefer it later in the year to avoid the heat. Maybe Norwegian fjords vs. western European (Spain) or British Isles from Southampton.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Thank you so much! This is the best place to get experienced cruiser's opinions. It will be my only European cruise and from your information, I think I skip the Mediterranean option. I would prefer it later in the year to avoid the heat. Maybe Norwegian fjords vs. western European (Spain) or British Isles from Southampton.

Ive done 3 Disney cruises from England, you can read my trip reports here
Disney Magic 7 Night Norwegian Fjords 2022
Disney Dream 4 Night Spain 2023
Disney Dream 5 Night Spain 2024

 

[asgur5]

When you say you want to go to "Europe" which countries do you want to go to?

The Disney cruise summer season is divided in two parts. The first part, end of May to middle of July , the ship home ports in Barcelona and goes to Italy, South France, South Spain, Greece.

Then theres a repositioning cruise from Barcelona to England.

The second part of the summer season is from middle of July to middle of September. The ship home ports in England and goes to Demark, Norway, Iceland, Netherlands, Belgium, North France, North Spain, UK and Ireland.

All countries have history, museums , ancient sights, scenery, different languages.

I would advise against doing a Mediterranean cruise with Disney.

Disney have their ships in the Mediterranean region during peak summer season, when its the hottest temperatures and high crowds. Its all long port days, with a lot of walking on uneven surfaces out in the open sun. Buildings dont have air conditioning. Many of the ports are long distance from the actual city of interest.

The med isnt during peak summer season. Peak summer season is second half of july to end of august. Disney cruise is in northern europe during peak summer season. If you want to avoid the peak then you do the med cruises.

The italy ports are far from cities of interest (except naples). However if you start in rome and then do the greek ports its not as big an issue.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Hi there I'm actually from Milan, if you need any tips on the best eateries.

Anyway you could always fly into Milan spend a few days there and then catch a train to board on the DCL.

PS: The last Supper is still very accessible from the centre of Milan a 12 min walk from the Castle.

 

[Drfate102]

We did the DVC Member Cruise in the Mediterranean this past May on the Dream for my 50th Birthday. It was so amazing. We did the excursions provided by Disney and I wouldn't change a thing. Got to see the Coliseum and tour the Vatican Museum and St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa, had lunch near the church where Michelangelo and Galileo are entombed and some of the most beautiful art in Florence. I walked the streets of Pompeii on my 50th Birthday along with visiting Capri which is just a living postcard. As this was my first trip to Europe, we took the train up to Paris and I got see so many sights. Palace of Versailles, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower were so amazing. And of course, we then took the train over and spent a few days at Disneyland Paris. If you are lucky, you only turn 50 once. So, prioritize what you want to see and let that be the deciding factor.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

We did a 10-day cruise of the Med in 2018, that started and ended in Barcelona, with 7 port stops. For most of the ports, especially in Italy, the cities are anywhere from an hour to two hours from the port. As others have stated, Rome is a good example of this, Florance is another.

We enjoyed the cruise, and the wife got to visit 3 European countries which was something she has always wanted to do. My takeaway from the trip is that the port days can be long and tiring. We only did day long excursions in Florence and Sorento. The rest were just half day. This enabled us to be back on the ship for rest and relaxation, and we were not running from sunup to sundown each day. Also, our cruise was in July, so the days were all hot and humid.

Another thing is mattering from where you are flying from the cost of flights to Europe can be high. We could have lowered our airfare by flighting to NY first and then get on a connecting flight to Barcelona, but that would have meant a 26-hour travel day and that was something I wasn't willing to do, so we spent the extra money and had direct flights.

Psy

 

[KayKayJS]

We've done the Med, Fjords, and British Isles.

Of the 3, the Fjords was the most walkable and easiest to get around the ports. And it was absolutely gorgeous. We had a 3 year old with us on this trip and we didn't need a stroller or anything, we just walked around the ports.

I loved the Med but yes, its a lot of physical activity.

 

[Calantha]

We're doing Europe this summer and we picked a Rome departure so we didn't have to worry about distance (and could stay for a few days after the cruise to give it the treatment it deserves).

 

[MrMagoo]

We have done the Northern Europe of Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Gothenberg and the Norway cruise of Stavenger, Alesund, Olden and Geiranger and we liked the Norway cruise better.

We have also done the Greek isles and Iceland cruise.

Of the 4 we liked Iceland best and then the Greek Isles.

Norway would be one I would recommend but since they do not go deep in the Fjords like Geiranger and Olden, it is not the same.
You are basically at the beginning of the fjords now.

Iceland was beautiful! You might even be fortunate to see the Northern lights! We did but we had to get up about 3am and then had to use our phone cameras to see them.

The Greek Isles was great but a lot of walking. Also very warm. We did stop in Naples so we were able to see Pompeii and Amalfi!
We did a private tour on our own for Naples and saw much more.

But if Disney went back to Geiranger and Olden in the Norwegian Fjords, it would be a very hard decision to make between that and Iceland!! But as it is, we would choose Iceland.

Whichever you choose, allow at least 3 days either before or after the cruise to see the sights of your departure area such as London or Rome. There is SOOOOO much to see there!!!!

Also. maybe you could do a back to back of different itineraries and get to see more!

 

[holula]

Norway would be one I would recommend but since they do not go deep in the Fjords like Geiranger and Olden, it is not the same.
You are basically at the beginning of the fjords now.

The September 2025 sailing does go to Olden - it looks like the best Norway itinerary they’ve had for a few years and I’d have jumped on it IF I hadn’t had four other cruises planned this year. Even sailing out of the fjords is just so stunningly beautiful!

 

[tinkerbell1991]

We have done the Northern Europe of Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Gothenberg and the Norway cruise of Stavenger, Alesund, Olden and Geiranger and we liked the Norway cruise better.

Can I ask regarding Gothenburg, is the centre close to the port or do you need transport to get there as opposed to walking on foot?
Also, what did you get up to there as it seems pretty quiet, like it's just a regular town?

 

[Kate_45]

See I wouldn't use a cruise to visit inland cities. I did a disney med cruise and loved it but there was no way we were visiting Rome. We went to the unesco world heritage site a short bus ride from the port and pottered around there. So many lovely little places to see that will be very different to your home and give a great experience.

If you want to go to milan fly to Milan before or after a European cruise and it's so easy to take the train to other cities from there. Turin, lake garda, Verona, Venice are all on one line.

I can't compare itinaries to state my favourite as I've only been on one but I'd love it if they did the baltic ones again, excluding Russia of course. I would have thought any Croatian or Greek cruises would have amazing sites within a stones throw of the ports.

 

[rockchick04]

We did the Greek Isles on the Dream last year and enjoyed it! Middle of June, so it was hot but not as crowded as peak season. Naples - we walked around, easy to get off the ship. Santorini - we did an excursion through Disney that avoided the cable car both ways. Mykonos - walked around, fairly easy to get to by the free boat shuttle. Chania - walked around, also easy to get to with the free Disney bus provided. I'd say if you want to visit Greece, it's nice because the ports were fairly close to touristy things and not 1-2 hours away like Italian ports.

You won't get much time in each location, so if your goal is to visit and take the photos and see a bit, it was nice. If you really want to explore Italy or Greece, for sure a land trip. We've been to both before so this was re-visiting with our 3 year old. And the cruise was a perfect vessel for her to have her Disney fun and get a splash of Europe as well.

 

[MrMagoo]

Can I ask regarding Gothenburg, is the centre close to the port or do you need transport to get there as opposed to walking on foot?
Also, what did you get up to there as it seems pretty quiet, like it's just a regular town?

I wish I could remember how far we walked there but we did walk into a shopping area from the ship.
My pictures put us close to the Gothenburg Cathedral if you wish to look it up on maps.
I believe it was close to the center of Gothenburg.
However, my memory fails me as it was 2019 when we were there.
I have to rely on my photos to remember things.
I do remember it being busy in places after looking at my pictures from there.