DCL Med Cruise questions

[travelfan5]

We are taking the 7 night July 30 Disney Magic out of Barcelona and have some general questions I can't seem to find answered. We have sailed the Magic in the Caribbean before but am not sure how the schedule works in the Med.

 

1. Which nights are the formal nights? Do people get really dressed up on the Med cruises for those nights?

 

2. Is there a Pirate night and if so, which night is it?

 

3. Does this cruise have the College club?

 

4. Are the shows the same as on the other itineraries?

 

5. The first port is Cannes and we wanted to do our own thing and try to see Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo and Monaco. Is that too much? We would do basic sightseeing not in depth museums or churches.

 

6. I can't remember if Disney adds tips to your account or if we will need cash to leave at the end of the cruise. Can anyone tell me?

 

Any tips or suggestions anyone has for any of the ports or time spent on the ship will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you so much!

[Shmoo here]

We are taking the 7 night July 30 Disney Magic out of Barcelona and have some general questions I can't seem to find answered. We have sailed the Magic in the Caribbean before but am not sure how the schedule works in the Med.

 

1. Which nights are the formal nights? Do people get really dressed up on the Med cruises for those nights? They were dressed up (as were we).

 

2. Is there a Pirate night and if so, which night is it?There will be a pirate night. Sorry, don't know which one, on ours (10night last year) it was the night we left LaSpezia

 

3. Does this cruise have the College club?

 

4. Are the shows the same as on the other itineraries?Yes

 

5. The first port is Cannes and we wanted to do our own thing and try to see Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo and Monaco. Is that too much? We would do basic sightseeing not in depth museums or churches.

 

6. I can't remember if Disney adds tips to your account or if we will need cash to leave at the end of the cruise. Can anyone tell me?You can either add your gratuties to your onboard account or do the cash thing. If you want to go ahead and add them, you can call DCL before you leave and put them on then or go to Guest Services anytime during the cruise to add them.

 

Any tips or suggestions anyone has for any of the ports or time spent on the ship will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you so much!

 

See answers in red.

:)

[SallyUK]

5. The first port is Cannes and we wanted to do our own thing and try to see Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo and Monaco. Is that too much? We would do basic sightseeing not in depth museums or churches.

 

You could but it would really have to be whistlestop.

 

Get off the ship on the first possible tender and take the train straight to Monaco. I think the all ashore is 7.45, so if all goes well you should be able to get to Monaco for 9.30 (allowing 40 mins on the train).

 

Get out and head for the train station exit at Ste Devote. People will be able to point it out to you (it is called something else at the station and I can't remember the name). If you walk up the hill directly in front it will take you to Casino Square. As you walk up you can look back across the bay at numerous points. From the casino take the paths and escalators (or follow the grand prix circuit down to the harbour). From here you can have a quick walk along the front and then up the hill the other side to the Palace for exterior views and a view over the harbour. After 10 or so minutes its time to walk back down again and get the train to Nice. For example, we've walked the entire Grand Prix circuit (past the casino) and walked up the hill to the palace and seen everything we wanted to see and been back on the train in two hours, but that's quite full on and we walk fast. We also knew exactly where we were going because we've been there before. This should get you on a train to Nice for arrival at about 12.15. If you allow yourself an hour in the centre and take the train back to Cannes you should be able to get back for about 2.30.

 

In Nice you should have enough time for a brief look at Promenade des Anglais and some of the nearby attractions such as the flower market if open before making your way back to the train station and then on to Cannes for a brief walk along La Croisette and some shopping. I don't think you will fit in much else. If you do it this way round you can do what you want in the first two ports but be back in Cannes for the ship, so if you overrun you can adjust times more easily.

 

A word of warning though. When we were on this trip last year French Rail called a wildcat strike and there were no trains. Always have a back up plan just in case.

 

This is a really full on day and if you are the type of person who wants to sit in a cafe and watch the world go by or not grab a sandwich to eat on the go don't even attempt it. Even though I'm telling you how to do it I'm still not sure I'd do it myself as I like my days more relaxing!

[goterps1986]

Trying to figure options for Florence. Has anyone used or heard of the Papillionservice lately? Thanks!

 

http://www.papillonservice.com/tours_firenze_pisa_da_laspezia.html

[travelfan5]

Thanks, Shmoo and SallyK! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

 

I'm really surprised that Disney does not have listed which nights are the formal/semi formal nights for the Med sailings on their website. It is so unlike Disney to miss details.

[TravelHappyMom]

I am on the same cruise and the Disney phone line folks gave me the following info a few weeks ago. Formal night - Cannes 2nd night, Pirate night - 5th night (Naples) and semi-formal - 6th night (day at sea). I hope it hasn't changed. I too am surprised this isn't readily available. I haven't ran into too many people on the board that are on this sailing. According to the website it appears to be full but I just can't believe that is the case unless it is mostly people who don't cruise these boards :)

[travelfan5]

TravelHappyMom,

 

Thank you so much. I have called Disney Cruise several times with questions and did not feel like wiating on hold again so I thought this would be a great place for answers - and it was! It does appear is if the cruise is sold out and I too am surprised there are not more people on the roll call for the cruise. How old are your kids? We were on this ship in 2004 or 2005 - 7 day western Caribbean and it has been our favorite cruise. We are really looking forward to it. Have you decided on any of the tours? I think we are going to do Cannes, Rome and Palma on our own. Probably going to do the Portofino and Santa Margharita tour in La Spezia and Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri out of Naples. I am reluctant to book ahead of time in case we hear of better ones or meet friends that we want to do a tour with but I also do not want the tours to sell out.

 

Thanks again!

[SallyUK]

Hi travelfan5,

 

A couple more ideas for you. A fellow CC member heinbloed has written a guide on how to get to Rome from Civitavecchia. If you haven't been to Rome before it is well worth printing out and taking with you. It is on his own blog so google heinbloed Rome and you'll get to it.

 

I was in Palma in May. There's a Hop on Hop off bus available from the port, I think it was about 15 euros and takes in most of the city if you want to have a look around. Near the cathedral there is a tourist office where you can get flyers on different attractions. I'm not sure whether Disney will lay on a shuttle to the cathedral if you choose not to take the HoHo bus (most ships do) but if they don't there is a bus from the main road or it is a pleasant but long walk along the sea front. There are two companies in Palma offering Segway tours and my husband really enjoyed his (I'm a chicken so didn't do it) it was 35 euros for 1 hour. From the marina in Palma you can also take boat trips (not sure of prices and didn't do this) and there are beaches near the cathedral, though many people took a bus to one of the resorts instead.

[TravelHappyMom]

Hi Travelfan5, we have 2 boys ages 5 and 7. We are also planning on doing Cannes and Rome on our own. We actually are not going to Rome as we have a few nights there post cruise before flying home so we are doing one of the excursions outside of Rome. For La Spezia we are doing a boat toar with a private operator that includes lunch, snorkeling and cruising along the Cinque Terra. We are also doing the Pompeii, Capri & Sorrento through DCL. How old are your kids? Let me know if you have any interest in the Cinque Terra boat tour and I'll send you more info.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Hello, I went on the Med 11 night cruise in 2007 and also had been to Italy Rome and Sorrento before.

 

Firstly word of warning, having been to Cpari before by boat when I stayed in Sorrento, I warned people on our med cruise not to go there on the boats as they were dirty, enclosed and too crowded. Some who decided still to go met up with me on Ship and said that they should have listned to me. It was bad.

 

Sorrento is great, Amalfi drive great and so is Pompei.

 

We had private tours for Amalfi drive, Pompei, and Sorrento wihch was fantastic, we also had a private tour to Rome and go there at 8.40am and went straight into the Vatician with a private guide before it opened at 10am, then it was rammed in there.La Spezia we had a private tour of Florence and Pisa, we are going to the port of Liverno on RCCL this summer and going to Lucca as many people siad that is very nice.

[pamelap0420]

"You could but it would really have to be whistlestop.

'

 

Sally, I am the sit in cafe kind of gal! Can you tell me what you do? Specifically looking for a suggestion for Palma. Can you take a tender and grab a cab into town? Is there much worth seeing and having a wander around? The market at Llucmajor looks a bit lame from the pictures. Any help is appreciated!

 

Additionally, La Spezia--have the Cinque Terre tour booked but is the town interesting and can we just have a wander?

 

Many thanks!

pamela

[denimblueeyes50]

Hello everyone!

 

My husband, 14 year old daughter and I will be on the July 30 sailing of the Disney Magic in the Mediterranean. This will be our 5th Disney cruise but 1st for the Mediterranean and we are truly looking forward to it. I concur with what most of you have said that Disney has not posted many details about this cruise...ie. formal night, pirate night etc. I even spoke to a "supervisor" in the reservations dept. at Disney and he was not at all forthcoming about information of this cruise. He said nothing which to me was somewhat worrisome. We have thoroughly enjoyed our previous cruises and have had nothing but the highest accolades for Disney cruises; therefore, I would appreciate any feedback from fellow cruisers who have done the Med. cruise this summer. We have arranged excursions for Florence, Rome/Vatican, Pompeii, and a Beach day in Majorrca. Thanks so much.

:)

[travelfan5]

TravelHappyMom,

 

Thanks for your info. Our daughter is 18. Your private boat tour sounds fun but I don't think we want to do snorkeling since we don't want to have to take swimsuits, etc. I bet your kids will really enjoy it though instead of going through churches and museums!!!! The more we think about it, the more we think we may do this stop on our own instead of the Disney Tour to Santa Margherita/Portofino. The tour sounds fun and isn't a bad price for 8 hours but I know our family and we are not into lingering around so when we have seen something and want to go on to the next thing, we want the option to take off instead of waiting on a crowd. I think we will just catch the train and go to Santa Margherita and Portofino ourselves and hope to have enough time to hop off the train for a short visit in the Cirque Terre area. I would even love to skip that and make it to Pisa but I don't think we will have that much time!

 

My main concern on doing any of the Italy stops on our own is the language as none of us know a word of Italian but I guess we will eventually work it out with the help of train employees and fellow passengers doing the same things.

 

We are really looking forward to a great but exhausting time!

[SallyUK]

Sally, I am the sit in cafe kind of gal! Can you tell me what you do? Specifically looking for a suggestion for Palma. Can you take a tender and grab a cab into town? Is there much worth seeing and having a wander around? The market at Llucmajor looks a bit lame from the pictures. Any help is appreciated!

 

Additionally, La Spezia--have the Cinque Terre tour booked but is the town interesting and can we just have a wander?

 

Many thanks!

pamela

 

Palma is a major port, so you won't be tendering and Disney probably will lay on a shuttle bus. There are lots of stores in Palma, it is the main city of the Balearic islands, so if you like shopping and cafes there's plenty to do. The hop on hop off bus is a good orientation, but get on it early if you want to get off at some of the stops as by midday I had to wait for three buses to pass before I could get on one because everyone had got off the cruise line by then. It does stop at the Spanish Village (underwhelming) and Bellver Castle (great views), if you don't get off, make sure you're sitting by the window with a camera at the ready as you can see the ship from the hilltop. You can also get the Ho-ho from the port.

 

La Spezia is a lovely town, really beautiful. I did the tour of Pisa but was really underwhelmed. I've been to this part of Italy a few times before and found Portofino, Florence and the little coastal villages much nicer. Pisa's ok, but all there is to see is the tower and the baptistry and it is soooo commercialised. While we were there (it was the first cruise of the season) virtually every member of crew that had shore leave got off and took the boat to the Cinque Terre - which tells me that its a great destination! There are boats going from the front in addition to the Disney tours. As La Spezia is a tender port getting around is a breeze as you are already in the centre. There are great shops and cafes in La Spezia. Fantastic little boutiques and oh the jewellery, my credit card could have taken a major thwacking if it wasn't for my restraint (and I'm still sad at my restraint)... I'm not sure what days it was on, but a few streets back in the shopping district there was a really good market on too, especially if you are interested in buying clothes.

[TravelHappyMom]

Hello, I went on the Med 11 night cruise in 2007 and also had been to Italy Rome and Sorrento before.

 

Firstly word of warning, having been to Cpari before by boat when I stayed in Sorrento, I warned people on our med cruise not to go there on the boats as they were dirty, enclosed and too crowded. Some who decided still to go met up with me on Ship and said that they should have listned to me. It was bad.

 

Sorrento is great, Amalfi drive great and so is Pompei.

 

We had private tours for Amalfi drive, Pompei, and Sorrento wihch was fantastic, we also had a private tour to Rome and go there at 8.40am and went straight into the Vatician with a private guide before it opened at 10am, then it was rammed in there.La Spezia we had a private tour of Florence and Pisa, we are going to the port of Liverno on RCCL this summer and going to Lucca as many people siad that is very nice.

Hi Disney Fantasy,

I have booked the Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii through Disney and I read your post recommended the boat transfer wasn't pleasant. Were you on a jet foil or something else?

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Hi Disney Fantasy,

I have booked the Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii through Disney and I read your post recommended the boat transfer wasn't pleasant. Were you on a jet foil or something else?

 

Jet Foil.

 

I love the area of Sorrento, Pompeii and Amalfi Drive, all of that is totally fantastic, I will warn all about Jet foil and Capri, it isn't worth it....

[MIDDLENAMETRAVEL]

I sailed the Disney Magic 11 night Med Cruise on June 18 this year. We did some Disney port adventure tours, some private guide tours and a couple of ports on our own. In Naples we did the Disney - Pompeii, Sorrento, Isle of Capri tour. It was great!! You do not want to miss the Isle of Capri. We were on the jet foil and there were no issues. The boat was clean, crew was pleasant and the boat ride was smooth. The Isle of Capri was our second favorite area to visit for the entire cruise. Our number one favorite was Cinque Terre which we toured with a private guide. Cinque Terre was first recommended to us while on the Disney Dream in April - a server in Palo said she had toured there and it was beautiful. She was right. It is best to travel the Cinque Terre area by car and boat. Traveling by boat affords the best views. If you travel by train you will miss much of the beauty as the train travels through tunnels in the mountains along the coast. We also did a vineyard tour and wine tasting in Cinque Terre. As we meet and toured with the owners of the family owned vineyard - this was the best experience of our entire cruise. I hope this helps. You are in for a real treat. We travel a lot and this was a trip of a lifetime. If Disney were sailing the Med in 2012 we would already be booked again and just do different port adventures.

[travelfan5]

MiddleNameTravel,

 

I am glad to hear you had such a great cruise. Did you hear any feed back on the Disney Tour of Cinque Terre from your fellow cruisers? Was your private tour the same price? I think we are going to do Portofino and Santa Margherita but I am still curious about Cinque Terre.

 

Thanks so much.

[MIDDLENAMETRAVEL]

MiddleNameTravel,

 

I am glad to hear you had such a great cruise. Did you hear any feed back on the Disney Tour of Cinque Terre from your fellow cruisers? Was your private tour the same price? I think we are going to do Portofino and Santa Margherita but I am still curious about Cinque Terre.

 

Thanks so much.

 

I did not hear any feed back regarding the Disney Cinque Terre tour. Our private tour was quite a bit more expensive, but keep in mind it was only our family and we were covering the cost of a car and driver for a full day plus a guide for a full day, as well as the vineyard tour/wine tasting which was a special request by us. We had originally reserved the Disney Cinque Terre tour, but as I recall it is a 4 hour tour and we felt we wanted to spend more time there, plus it did not offer the vineyard tour which we really wanted to do - so we canceled the Disney tour and booked the private tour. I believe the Disney Cinque Terre tour includes a boat ride along the coast which is fabulous. I highly recommend Cinque Terre - one option might be to book the Disney Cinque Terre tour and at the end of the tour remain on your own instead of returning to the ship - you would then just need to arrange transportation back to the ship which you could do locally - this is assuming the Disney tour is a morning tour and not an afternoon tour.

[marylizcat]

We did the Disney Cinque Terre boat tour on the June 18 sailing, so can answer questions. It was a morning tour. At the end you could either get off at the Magic or stay on and they would take you into La Spezia. We enjoyed this tour very much. One word of warning - it was a very bumpy ride! They gave out seasick pills on board beforehand, so they obviously knew this!

 

Anything anyone wants to know?

[heatherbelle]

Here's a link to the ferry timetable from La Spezia to Cinque Terre http://s4.computernopanic.com/USER_CONTENT/49/pdf/tratte_pdf_eng_7.pdf