Have you ever wanted to explore the Mediterranean from the comfort of your favorite cruise line? Have you dreamed of walking in Ephesus or longed to see the unique architecture in Barcelona? Do you have kids or young teens wanting to explore the world but are unsure of where to start? Do you want a safe way to tour Europe without unpacking your bags more than once? If you answered yes to any of these questions, a Disney Cruise to Europe is for you!
The above itinerary was what we had for our cruise when we went in the summer of 2013. If you’ve never been to any of the locations on the cruise, or just want to get a taste of what the location is all about, there is no better way to discover Europe than on a cruise!
I’m sure looking at the huge price tag for the Europe cruises has a lot of people wondering if the cruise is actually worth all that money, my response to you would be in multiple parts. The first being- can you afford to go on this cruise? If it will be a huge financial burden, move on and look for perhaps a single destination you would be comfortable with on your own, or perhaps even a different cruise line (Princess, Royal Caribbean, Costa all have similar itinerary for sometimes a much smaller price tag). Second, if you want to spend more than a few hours in any given location, the cruise is not for you. Say you want to explore a lot of different places in a short amount of time, you are comfortable with the price tag and everyone in your group is willing to spend 12 days on a cruise- this is for you!
Positives and Negatives of this cruise
We went on the Magic before it was refurbished, but the ship was you could tell in very rough condition, still beautiful but very beat up. I’m sure after the refurbishment the ship is as good as new and the staterooms are back to their glorious selves.
The food started out very poor quality, but after they restocked food in Rome and we complained about the food not being up to par, our meals went from drab to fab overnight and our dining staff was very helpful in being sure we got amazing meals from there on out.
I wanted to spend days on end in some of these locations. Cinque Terra, Italy is my new dream home location. Instead of going to Florence where all the museums were going to be closed that day, we ventured over to the picturesque towns of Cinque Terra. I had never even heard of these cities and we were informed that you could hike or take a train between these cities and many people spent a week or so just traveling from town to town discovering what each had to offer. I wish we could have spent the full 12 days in those towns, but instead we had to get back on the ship and move forward on our journey. The one thing I don’t like about cruising is that you cannot be spontaneous and change your itinerary because you found something wonderful, you have to keep going with the ship- but on the positive side I now know of a place I am dying to go back to when I can afford to.
A beach in Cinque Terra, Italy
The shore excursions are all quite expensive and it is a gamble to go with outside tour companies at most of these ports since the main city is far away from the port in most cases. However, the excursions were well done and we thought well valued, although I can guarantee that you can expect to spend at least $100 per person per excursion if you want to actually do something for more than an hour while in port. So be sure to add in the added cost of excursions to whatever itinerary you are planning to do.
A Disney let excursion through a beautiful walled city in Malta.
Safety Concerns
With places like Greece and Turkey on the itinerary I’m sure some of you have safety concerns, but when we visited in summer 2013 I never felt unsafe in either of these locations. The only place I ever felt uncertain was in Rome but we had an excellent tour guide that quickly steered us away from any possibly bad situation. Be aware that this is Europe and summer is tourist season, carry a bag in front of you and never let your important possessions out of your site and do not separate from your tour group- this is dangerous to you and also puts your group behind of schedule and may prevent everyone from getting everything out of the tour that they should have.
Library of Celsus in Ephesus, Turkey
Things to be aware of
In many of the different places different currency is used besides the Euro, be sure to change money on the ship when needed so you have some emergency money in case anyone might need a drink of water or a trip to the bathroom. (Most places charge for bathroom use)
Babysitting is available during the day in ports- don’t worry about dragging your small kids around places they don’t want to see. This is Disney, they have the best childcare available, use it!
The ship might not dock right in the heart of an interesting place to go explore, sometimes the ship docks far away from any tourist friendly areas and there is sometimes a shuttle back and forth from places of interest to the ship. Be aware when this last shuttle is and be sure not to miss it- also do not plan as if the ship docks in the middle of Athens or right in Rome, because it doesn’t, extensive transportation is needed for most of the places the ship docks with some exceptions. Mykonos is easy to get off and explore on your own and where you dock in Turkey also has some tourist areas right off the ship.
Mykonos, Greece
Bargain with vendors when you can, most can be talked down in price for little gift objects, and many cafes and places to eat right on the path will be more expensive than if you wander down a side street to where there are more locals.
All in all, if you use your time in port wisely and think long and hard about what you want to see on your excursions you can easily get your money’s worth of these amazing cruises! I hope you enjoyed this post and I will soon be posting individual port reviews of what all you should see when you visit a few of these places. Also be sure to check out my other blogs on Disney Cruises for more information about other sailings. Feel free to share this post and leave comments on what should be added!
*All photos are my property and can be purchased, please leave a comment and I will work with you if you’d like to purchase a photo from anywhere on my site*
Julianna Blogs 