Pre cruise trip report Disney Mediterranean Cruise July 7, 2018

Livesincelebration

Living the Dream
Joined
Feb 2, 2008
OMG! I am going to the Mediterranean on a Disney cruise! This has been my dream for the last 15 years. I am Italian and I have family in Italy that I have never met. But most importantly my dream has been to go to Rome. My DH and I had plans to do this for our 25th wedding anniversary but we could not due to life changes.

So about a month ago we were talking about our 30th anniversary. We spent our honeymoon in Disney World. We lived in NY then. We were married in 1988. In 2004 we moved to Florida and Disney was in our back yard. We have been there over 100 times! In 2012 we moved to California (San Francisco Area) and have visited Disneyland 4 times. So while talking about our 30th we talked about going back to Disney World were it all started. We have friends who have never been and we all were going to go together. Well, unfortunately, My DH did not get his vacation approved as the low man on the totem pole. (we work together. I am a director of the Emergency Department and Trauma and he is an apprentice engineer). I was SO BUMMED!!!! I cried!!!! So his boss came back and said he could have the 7th through the 17th off. Great!!!!! Our anniversary is the 16th!!!! So we looked at Disney World with our friends......Wait? Are you kidding? 2x more expensive? Seriously? And airfare too? Oh Ya.....it's 4th of July week. I am so defeated.

So we both had the same idea...What about a land and sea package????? We looked....Holy Cow!!!!!!! We have been on our share of cruises with Disney but seriously????? The prices were ASTRONOMICAL. While I was on the cruise site I saw my dream cruise to the Mediterranean pop up. So I clicked on it. Are you kidding me? It leaves on the 7th and returns on the 17th!!!!!!! And it is the same price (inside stateroom) as the Disney world trip...... ok...so I broach the subject. hmmm...I have peaked an interest. lets look at flights. 1361 round trip in coach.; Not too bad. Could we do this?????
 
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So we do some more research. Can he get more time off. Yes, he can get off a day before and after....WooHoo. So that means flying in the day of the cruise at 1005 am and we leave as soon as we are off of the boat. Sounds good. Then he says to me, "Honey, if we are going to the Mediterranean then I think we need a verandah room on the port side so we can be facing the land all the way around. It could be a once in a lifetime trip"! Now who am I to argue???? So I say, "Honey, if we are going to be flying for 14 hours on a plane and we are going to be so jet lagged and no recuperation time then I think we should go first class"! OK.... We booked both....Oh now we are poor...... Delta One!!!!!!!

OMG this is real! We are going to Europe and the Mediterranean on a Disney Cruise!!!!!!!! Pinch me!!!!!

Now to plan! This is the fun part. watching Rick Steven videos every night, guidebooks, trip reports from every site on the internet. looking at all of the port excursions, both Disney and private. Finally we have our plan. Waiting for the 105 days out (as we are Gold members). It seems to be so far away. Time package or no....photo package or no? so many questions.....so much research.

Our passports are about to expire....We go and get them renewed. Only 3 weeks start to finish. I am so glad. It seems so real.

Uh oh.....We have 3 kids...DS 18, DD 25, DD 29 and a TBI survivor. And guess what? We have no will. I am a nurse so I worry about these things. Yes a will would be dome before we leave.

So I buy EVERY Rick Steves book on DVERY port of Call we are going to!!!!! I Love planning. I start talking to my staff. I have staff that originate from Barcelona and Rome and have visited Positano and France and Florence......

Food....where to eat.....great recommendations.....how to fit it all in....we are writing a schedule and itinerary. My mother says I am crazy! Go and do as it comes. Me: NO WAY: I want the most out of my limited time so I have to have a plan, l and I am a virgo, and I am OCD. Seriously....NO PLAN???? CRAZY!
 
OK.... Now we are scared. I posted a question to several boards. Have any of you flown in the morning of the cruise and how did it go? OMG! All of the responses ranged from ARE YOU NUTS???? to THERE IS NO WAY IN H.... so what am I to do???? My DH only has so much time off. Now July 4th is a holiday and we are both off so that leaves July 5th. So I get sneaky...."Dear.....I want to surprise DH with two days in Barcelona as part of my Anniversary present. Is it possible for you to grant him July 5th off??????" It worked!!!!!! So we changed our flight and also stayed one extra day after getting off of the ship. YAY! We can spend some quality time in Barcelona! So we got a great rate at the Hilton Diagonal Del Mar! Monserratte, Gaudy, La Familia, etc. Here we come. I cannot wait for paella, cava sangria, and tapas!

Now what to do for our port excursions??? I was very worried about Rome, Florence and the Amalfi Coast. These are packed days with a lot to see and do and I wanted to get the most in. Then comes RomeinLimo. This is a private company that we hired for Rome and the Amalfi Coast. For Rome, they have a tour called "Rome Highlights". It takes you to ALL of the Rome areas that you want to see....the colosseum, the Trevi fountain, Spanish Steps, St. Peters Basilica, Vatican, Sistine Chapel , etc. We need to get the Vatican tickets ahead of time but only 60 days out. We have the alarm set. You have a private driver who knows the shortcuts to get you there, finds authentic local restaurants, and keeps you on track. 500 euros for 2 people. In Naples we are taking the Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano tour. Private driver for two. Private guide for Pompeii. Restaurants, shops, beaches and sightseeing recommendations. Short travel due to the short cuts. 500 euros and 100 euros for the tour guide in Pompeii.

In Florence we are only taking the shuttle to the city. Then we are on our own. But we already pore purchased our Uffizzi Gallery tickets and our Accademmia tickets. We want to do this without 150 of our favorite friends tagging along with us. And we are hoping for an authentic lunch across the bridge.
 
We are taking the same cruise the week before....so we'll be getting off the ship as you get on! We booked some excursions just to have something locked in, but I'm still not sure I'm happy with our choices. We will be coming in the night before by train from Paris. We have a hotel booked half-way between the train station and the port (about 1.5 km from the port). We are big DCL fans and when I had a conference paper accepted for a conference in Amsterdam the week before, things sort of steamrolled. As long as I was going, might as well take the family since it was summer....and as long as we were all paying to fly to Europe...well Paris is only three hours by train from Amsterdam, so why not stay a bit longer. And once we were in Paris, why it wasn't that far to Barcelona and my husband has Italian roots and has never been to Italy...and oh look, there' s a DCL cruise. So we booked it figuring that our older daughter is finishing up her sophomore year in high school and there likely won't be too many more opportunities for big family trips before she's off to college--so why not seize the moment and just do it. We end up having a few days in Barcelona after we disembark and then fly to Lisbon for a day before flying home (because this was the cheapest flight configuration we could figure out using our miles).

So a big adventure awaits.... and the best part will be DCL. We love the Magic....
 



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