Disney Magic Med Port Tips

[keeneye]

Just got back from Magic Cruise in Western Med. Great trip! We’re late 50s, long time cruisers, first time on Disney. Everything about the ship was wonderful. Great service, few lines for anything (the late April sailing wasn’t full) Even though are children are grown, we loved seeing the kids on the ship and we still had an entire area for adults only. We didn’t think we’d use the veranda much in the cooler Med, but it was much used and appreciated, especially seeing the beautiful Italian coast disappear into the night. We had one day of gale force winds, and we spent some of it in the Disney Theater watching Alice 3D. Best service we’ve had on any cruise line.

Here are some tips for the ports if you do them on your own: If you’re even a little adventurous, it is a lot cheaper and more efficient than dealing with busloads of people on a tour:

Malta: Valetta is a great town with lots to see on your own. The Siege of Malta Experience was a little hokey but educational. Don’t miss the Cathedral and the Upper Barraca Gardens. Wifi in gift shop right off the ship.

Tunis: This is where many of our cruisers had problems. Two ladies were assigned a cab (govt. controlled cab lines just off the ship) and, instead of the tour they contracted, were taken to a friend of the driver and extorted for 300 Euro. Lessons: Don’t give up the paper they give you for the trip, take a picture of the driver, get his cab number and be insistent about what you want. This is a place where people prey on tourists. We were six people in one large van, and we had to make it clear to the driver that he would stick to the tour and he’d get a tip. If he kept haranguing us, no tip. The tour of the Carthage sites and the museum and Sidi bou Said were great, once we got the cabby’s mind right. BTW, even though we couldn’t find alcoholic beer, our driver seemed to be taking a few nips of something at every stop. Our tour (self guided) was only about 13 E each, including the tip we gave the driver.

Naples: Disney wanted about $270 for a full day tour of Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii. We did it for about $55 each. Here’s how: Take the hydrofoil to Capri right from the head of the ship (16E, 35 min); then do your own tour of Capri. The blue grotto is a time waster, I’d recommend just getting tickets up the funicular (look for the signs, ticket window isn’t at the station) and hike around Capri town. Make a little venture up the hill for great views. Take another hydrofoil to Sorrento (14E). When you walk up the hill and take the first right, you’ll run into the “Corner Store,” which has cheap drinks and will give you good advice for local dining. After a walking tour of Sorrento, take the train (3 E) to Pompeii Scavi on the Circumvesuviana train. We used the Rick Steves ipod tour of Pompeii and it was great. We spent 2 hours in Pompeii, took the train to Naples, caught a cab to the port and made it back at 7 pm, just a little late for our early seating dinner, but the waiters were great about serving us.

Rome: Better do a little homework for this one. I studied up, brought the guidebooks and used Google Maps to help connect dots for a full day walking tour. The train to Rome from Civitavecchia beats the tour buses. We got off at Termini (high threat of pickpockets), then walked to a couple of great churches, Sta Maria Maggiore and St. Peter in Chains (Michelangelo Moses). Then to Colosseum for 10 minute wait in line (will be longer and hotter in summer). Forum is next and is included in the combo ticket you get at the Colosseum) Have a map of the Forum monuments. We went up the hill to the Capitoline Hill, then down over the “Wedding Cake” (Vittorio Immanuel Monument), then on to the Trevi Fountain for much earned Gelato and to toss our coins. Pantheon next (McD’s always has a long line for restrooms, recommend you get a drink in a bar if you need one.) Don’t miss Sta. Maria Sopra Minerva, next to Pantheon, Rome’s only gothic church for some real treasures, including Michelangelo’s Jesus. Piazza Navona is a short walk away, then we took a taxi to St. Peters, waited in a 15 min security line. We took an elevator up to the dome, walked the steps up to the lantern (better be in shape); bought some “Keys to the Kingdom” from a nun-run gift shop, got great pictures of Rome, then back down the elevator and spent an hour touring the treasures and sights of this great Basilica. The Catholic Church has a great website of the stations of this church. Print them off before you go. We took a cab (Rome is a great cab city) to the San Pietro Station nearby and were back to the port in 40 minutes. Again, a little late for dinner, but well worth the tiring day. Have good shoes, a good map or GPS, and a spirit of adventure.

La Spezia: The ship offered tours of Florence, but after talking with people who went, I’d recommend an alternate self tour. Florence is a 2.5 hour drive each way, not leaving much time after the mass feeding at a local eatery. What we did: Walk or cab to the train station (20 minutes walk) in La Spezia. Take the 25 minute train to Cinque Terre (English speaking lady at train station will sell you a train/hiking pass for all five Cinque Terre towns) We started at the one farthest north, Monterrosso al Mare. Check out the church and the Oratorio, enjoy a glass of Limoncino, and explore on foot. Take the train to Vernazza next (La Spezia signs tell you you’re going south, the right direction.) Walk up the hill for a great view and the cemetery up there, a touching sight. Back down the hill for a walk through the town and maybe one of Vernazza’s great local fish dishes. We skipped Corniglia because it’s a pretty good hike up the hill from the train, but there is also a shuttle bus. On to Manarola on the train. This time, take a short hike toward Corniglia for that great photo of picturesque Manarola, then walk the “Via Amore,” a short, beautiful walk to Riomaggiore. After a walk through town, you’re ready for the shorter train trip back to La Spezia, maybe a stroll through the market and back to the port to be tendered to the Magic.

Ajaccio, Corsica: A great port city. Don’t miss the early morning views of the ship arriving, as well as the next stop, Villefranche. Lots of Napoleana (his museum was closed) Lots of quaint markets and sights in this town. We used a Bistro across from the Prefecture for Wifi to catch up with emails. Easy day.

Villefranche sur Mer: Another place easy to see on your own. Take the train to Nice Ville (about 3E each, round trip) Take the tram down to Place Massena, then do your own walking tour to see the beach, hotel Negresco, the Massena Museum (free, but you have to get tickets in the gifshop). I also recommend the Beaux Arts Museum and the Russian Cathedral. Walk back along the “Plage” to old Nice, the Market, and for a great sight, take the elevator up Castle Hill for a fantastic view of Nice on one side and the port on the other. Back to the train station and on to Monaco (see if it’s a race weekend first) or stop at Eze for a bus ride up the hill. We got “burned” a little in Monaco. Stopped at a little street café (le Marathon) to get a beer and split a sandwich. The canned beers were 2.5 E, and the barman asked if we’d rather have a draft. Our bill showed 19E ($25) for two regular draft beers. A lesson relearned: Many in Europe will take advantage of clueless Americans, don’t buy anything before you know the price. A city bus makes a regular run all around Monte Carlo. Recommend the Palace, Cathedral, and Napoleon Museum (closed while we were there) Villefranche itself is a delightful city.

Barcelona: Great town, lots to see, but be very aware. A guy upstairs in the McDonalds along Las Ramblas pretended to be an employee busing tables, but he was actually a thief, stealing purses by using distraction. Better not to let anyone engage you or get close. If you have to stay an extra day in Barcelona, I’d highly recommend a side trip to Sitges or Monserrat.

Overall: Do your homework. Wear good shoes. Use the Rick Steves or other informative guidebooks. Be in good shape or don’t even attempt all of the above. You’ll have a great time.

[Eileen G]

Thanks so much for a great review.We are also midfifties and have never sailed Dieney. We will be doing all the ports on our own except for Tunis. How was the tendering for nonexcurision people. Did you have to wait until all the excurisons were off?

[lovies]

Wow, thank you so much for that information! What a great review. We are taking this trip in about 2 weeks. What was the weather like? I know it could change alot in 2 weeks and I know what the tour books say but wanted to hear from you. Having trouble knowing what to pack!! Thanks in advance.

[keeneye]

We had great weather. Sunny every day, almost, except for a storm at sea the last day. Temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s. The verandah stateroom paid off.

 

Bob

[keeneye]

We only tendered in La Spezia. Everywhere else we tied up at the dock. In Barcelona, it takes a taxi or bus to get to the ship. In Civitavecchia (Rome) another shuttle bus that stops around 7 pm. We never had to wait for tendering -- maybe because the ship wasn't full?

[SallyUK]

We only tendered in La Spezia. Everywhere else we tied up at the dock. In Barcelona, it takes a taxi or bus to get to the ship. In Civitavecchia (Rome) another shuttle bus that stops around 7 pm. We never had to wait for tendering -- maybe because the ship wasn't full?

 

We tendered in Villefranche too keeneye. I found the tendering very easy too. I wonder if this is because Disney uses the large local boats that also go to the Cinque Terre (in La Spezia) and also a local tender service in Villefranche.

 

There was a Spanish ship in Villefranche the same day as us and their lines seemed far longer than Disney's. I wonder if that was because they used their own tenders with fewer seats.

[Borisbuddy]

I am so thankful to Keeneye for this review of ports & to Cruise Critic team for the fabulous Magic Med. Blog video! I am blown away by you guys!

 

Couple questions on ports: (I'll be going on the Magic solo, not exactly a chicken, but a wary old hen. So should probably mostly do the costly Disney sponsored port excursions.)

 

Barcelona: when do the Disney tours run? At beginning or end of 11 day cruises? Is 1/2 day of Monserrat plenty or full day worth it?

 

Rome: taking train, faster than bus sounds ideal! But I've already seen most of Rome in my younger days. Can you recommend something safe but not on the usual tourist list?

 

Tunis: Yikes! Are the Disney tours run by scary local drivers? Are the market places safe? Do they really understand French?

 

General: (If I do go out on my own.....) I speak alot of Spanish, is it true that Catalans understand it from their school days? Should I brush up on my French? (Twenty years ago, when I went all thru Italy, it seemed like English was totally fine there, so not worried about that.)

 

Me & Rick Steves go way back....before he was famous. Can you recommend any other guidebooks for these ports?

 

Again, you guys rock!!! Love reading your stuff!

[keeneye]

Don't know details about the Disney Barcelona tours, but I do know they offer tours the day the ship lands back in Barcelona. Also, it's pretty easy to get your own day tours from places in Placa de Catalunya. There's a hop-on, hop-off bus that will cover most of the sites. Montserrat is a fantastic day trip.

 

From Civitavecchia I'd recommend Ostia Antica as a great sight to see. Don't know the connections but it's fairly close to the Fumicino airport which is south of Civitavecchia. -- also Orvieto, a fantastic hill city north of Rome. But you have to connect in Rome Termini, and it's a 2:25 trip, one way. Also, we didn't see much of Civitavecchia, but it seems to be a great little town to stroll in.

 

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?rt=1&

 

The most helpful website for train connections is the Deutsch Bahn site, above. It publishes the timetables and details for every train in Europe. The only trick is knowing the names of the train stations.

 

In Tunis, you can be safe, you just have to assert yourself. Many of the locals see you as walking ATM machines. If you don't have a Disney tour, there are a hundred cab drivers waiting dockside. There are fixed prices for tours posted and they are fair prices, but beware the cabby trying to sell you something else or "taking you for a ride." Keep the piece of paper you are given by the dispatcher (don't surrender it to the driver). Get the cab's number and a picture of the cab driver. Mainly, don't act like prey and you won't be.

 

In Barcelona, they all speak Spanish and many speak English. You won't have any trouble. We very much enjoyed the side trip we took to Sitges on the day the ship got back. We took a MonBus from the airport, but you can also take the train.

 

I met Rick Steves years ago when he was traveling Europe checking his guidebook guidance. Love his recommendations. I mainly use his books and the "Eyewitness" series from DK. They are heavy books, but you can copy pages from them and they will provide you with walking tours, itineraries, and great maps of the places you'll visit.

[Eileen G]

I am so thankful to Keeneye for this review of ports & to Cruise Critic team for the fabulous Magic Med. Blog video! I am blown away by you guys!

 

Couple questions on ports: (I'll be going on the Magic solo, not exactly a chicken, but a wary old hen. So should probably mostly do the costly Disney sponsored port excursions.)

 

Barcelona: when do the Disney tours run? At beginning or end of 11 day cruises? Is 1/2 day of Monserrat plenty or full day worth it?

 

Rome: taking train, faster than bus sounds ideal! But I've already seen most of Rome in my younger days. Can you recommend something safe but not on the usual tourist list?

 

Tunis: Yikes! Are the Disney tours run by scary local drivers? Are the market places safe? Do they really understand French?

 

General: (If I do go out on my own.....) I speak alot of Spanish, is it true that Catalans understand it from their school days? Should I brush up on my French? (Twenty years ago, when I went all thru Italy, it seemed like English was totally fine there, so not worried about that.)

 

Me & Rick Steves go way back....before he was famous. Can you recommend any other guidebooks for these ports?

 

Again, you guys rock!!! Love reading your stuff!

 

Which Magic cruise are you going on? There are a few fACEBOOK PAGES SET UP FOR SOME OF THE SAILINGS. In Civitevecchi you might want to go to Tarqunia. It is an easy bus ride. Just search Tarqunia on the Europe boards.

[Dushi]

Thanks for all the great info keeneye.

 

We hoped to do CT on our own from La Spezia and intend to skip Monterosso since we spent most of our time in that last town during our ship's excursion in 2007. I'd love to spend more time meandering in Vernazza and strolling Rio Maggiorre. Do you recall how frquently the trains run to/from La Spezia?

[keeneye]

In Vernazza, it's worth it to hike up into the vineyards above the town for a great view. We've eaten twice in Vernazza's Castello restaurant, in the castle overlooking the town; but the last time it seemed to be a little overpriced and with shoddy service. The view from the restaurant is great, though. Don't forget to take a padlock along to seal your love for your sweetheart on the Via del Amore trail, between Manarola and Riomaggiore. The trains run regularly -- I just checked the Deutsche Bahn site for the train schedule between Vernazza and Manarola, and they seem to run at least every 45 minutes. In La Spezia, where you get your Cinque Terre pass, they'll give you the train schedule for the day and you can plan around that. The worst that can happen is that you miss a train and have to spend more time in one of these enchanting villages. Some of the trains are express that don't stop in all villages, but all the trains will stop in La Spezia.

 

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en This is the Deutsche Bahn query site.

[chipmaster]

Ah Med and Disney, if only they sailed the year I went with the right ports.

 

My 2 cents if one is going to do tours. Take a hard look at private. I'm sure Disney like the other tour lines offer comprehensive tours and with Disney for sure having additional Mouse perks with the Mouse price too :eek:

 

 

For Rome we did Private, for people that are interested used RIL ( Rome in LImo ) they have a huge thread going on the European boards. Couldn't have imagined seeing more in our limited time there and for the price of the Princess big bus got a private car, dropped at the foot of every attractions, no line at the Vatican and private guide too.

 

Ditto for Naples used RIL with great day, but with lots of driving.

 

For Livorno/Florence/Pisa, ditto again but again lots of driving but saw all the highlights.

 

 

Hopefully I can find Disney once they get a 3rd ship going that merges my cruise wishes, port wish and timing :D

[Dushi]

Thanks for all the info keeneye-

 

We did not bring a padlock 3 years ago but I did have a Sharpie permanent marker so we wrote our names on that one graffitti-filled wall in CT. Can't wait...

[ma23peas]

We only tendered in La Spezia. Everywhere else we tied up at the dock. In Barcelona, it takes a taxi or bus to get to the ship. In Civitavecchia (Rome) another shuttle bus that stops around 7 pm. We never had to wait for tendering -- maybe because the ship wasn't full?

 

Great report!! We (family of five plus grandparents) were on the May 5th...just offering an alternative to Cinque Terre...CT was our first plan but on our stop we had torrential rain, not a fun walking tour day, so we took the train in town to Pisa...only an hour away and we loved Pisa, quaint, cool bridges and no rain (at least until it caught up with us! :))

 

We tendered in La Spezia and Villefranche on our 10 night. We avoided Tunis, but did make it to the duty free shop! HA!

 

Tara

[Eileen G]

Just off the Magic this morning and still in Barcelona. We had a great cruise and great weather. I highly recomend the Disney Carthage and Sidi Bou Said tour in Tunis. It didn't leave until 9 and was back by 2. Many of the longer tours ran very late. Also the tours that went to many places most people said they didn't have enough time and were really rushed through everything. I will submit a full report in a few days.

[Adsmama]

how does one get to the train in la spezia to go to the cinco terre?

[soxfan1495]

Just off the Magic this morning and still in Barcelona. We had a great cruise and great weather. I highly recomend the Disney Carthage and Sidi Bou Said tour in Tunis. It didn't leave until 9 and was back by 2. Many of the longer tours ran very late. Also the tours that went to many places most people said they didn't have enough time and were really rushed through everything. I will submit a full report in a few days.

 

Thanks for the info; it will be great to read your report. We have booked the same excursion for when we will be there in August. What did you do while in Corsica? Thanks.

[Eileen G]

how does one get to the train in la spezia to go to the cinco terre?

 

 

As you get off the tender go left until you see the gas station. cross the street and head straight ahead. after one block you will come to a pedestrian street follow it, keeping to the right until you come to the main street. The train station will be across the street. There is a info place across the street from the gas station that can give you a map.

[Eileen G]

Thanks for the info; it will be great to read your report. We have booked the same excursion for when we will be there in August. What did you do while in Corsica? Thanks.

 

 

We walked to the market and down by the beach. The beach was not very good. We the took the #5 bus out to the Sanguaine rocks but it was late and the bus only runs once an hour so we just stayed on and returned. The bus ride is one hour round trip and goes along the coast. If it had been eariler we would have gotten off and caught the next bus back.

[soxfan1495]

We walked to the market and down by the beach. The beach was not very good. We the took the #5 bus out to the Sanguaine rocks but it was late and the bus only runs once an hour so we just stayed on and returned. The bus ride is one hour round trip and goes along the coast. If it had been eariler we would have gotten off and caught the next bus back.

 

Thanks. I think I have read all of the posts on this sits and the DIS boards too, and I am still not sure what we are going to do in this port. The Calanches excursion sounds very interesting but it is about $600 for a family of four :eek: ... and it is a very long day of about 8 hours. The Sweet Corsica excursion is less money and shorter, but does not sound as interesting. I am wondering what you heard from other passengers about these excursions, and also if you heard of others who may have done other things they liked. I am thinking we might take it easy and just visit Ajaccio, and also take a boat to visit islands near Ajaccio that I read about in the Lonely Planet guidebook on Corsica, or perhaps renting a car in this port and designing our own excursion. Any comments on these or other options would be great. Thanks.

[boulders]

Just off the Magic this morning and still in Barcelona. We had a great cruise and great weather. I highly recomend the Disney Carthage and Sidi Bou Said tour in Tunis. It didn't leave until 9 and was back by 2. Many of the longer tours ran very late. Also the tours that went to many places most people said they didn't have enough time and were really rushed through everything. I will submit a full report in a few days.

 

Interesting, this was our very LEAST favorite trip on our 5/15 cruise. Our tour guide shook down the group for money at Carthage and Sidi Bou Said was the original tourist trap, IMO. All the shops had the same items - which I'd seen in my trips to Costa Rica or China. I wish I'd just stayed on the pier to watch the camels and the band.

[Adsmama]

Interesting, this was our very LEAST favorite trip on our 5/15 cruise. Our tour guide shook down the group for money at Carthage and Sidi Bou Said was the original tourist trap, IMO. All the shops had the same items - which I'd seen in my trips to Costa Rica or China. I wish I'd just stayed on the pier to watch the camels and the band.

did you take the disney excursion? We are booked for it bc we wanted to see Carthage and we will have an infant and did not want to risk the crazy cabbies. You really think it's a stay on the boat kinda day?

[Eileen G]

We had an excellant guide who was a university professor. There were only three stops, the baths, the Carthage museum which was all outside and Sidi Bou Said. The rest was drive bys so make sure you sit on the left side of the bus (looking to the back) as all the sights are on that side. In Sidi Bou Said most of our time was spent in the House Museum which I found interesting. There were 7 buses that went on that tour so it's probably luck of the draw.

[Adsmama]

We had an excellant guide who was a university professor. There were only three stops, the baths, the Carthage museum which was all outside and Sidi Bou Said. The rest was drive bys so make sure you sit on the left side of the bus (looking to the back) as all the sights are on that side. In Sidi Bou Said most of our time was spent in the House Museum which I found interesting. There were 7 buses that went on that tour so it's probably luck of the draw.

how long was the tour of carthage?

[Eileen G]

Most of the excurision was a tour of Carthage. We spent about an hour out of the bus viewing a couple of villas which were in very poor condition and the baths which were impressive. Then we drove past a few places staying in the bus. We next got out for about another hour at the top of a hill with great views at the Carthage museum where the guide took us around to various places where he explained different exhibits. We got back into the bus and drove past a few more Carthage sights on the way to Sidi Bou Said. It's a long walk from the parking lot to the main street of Sidi Bou Said where we toured a house and had a little time to shop.