Hmmm interesting - anyone done the 7 day med cruise?

[Skywatcher]

August this year the Dream will do a cruise of the med stopping in France Italy and Mallorca.

Not cheap but certainly better than I thought

For anyone thats been - what are the cabins like - whats the boat like - do you get much time ashore and is it insanely busy on the decks and in the eateries?

Tempted even though I swore I'd never get on a boat

[catrancher]

August this year the Dream will do a cruise of the med stopping in France Italy and Mallorca.

You sure about that Chris?

The only things I see in August for a 7 day Med cruise is on the Magic.

For anyone thats been - what are the cabins like - whats the boat like - do you get much time ashore and is it insanely busy on the decks and in the eateries?

I'm sure Terry will be along shortly to tell you all about it since I know he and his DW have done the Med cruise.

However, I have only one thing to say to you about this:

Why haven't you booked it yet!

You'll find the accommodations on the Magic outstanding. Keep in mind that staterooms on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are about 25% larger than equivalent staterooms on other cruise lines. Try to get an Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah or Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah. The first sleeps 3 or 4 and the second sleeps up to 5. The bath in the staterooms is split into a tub/shower and sink in one bath and a wc and sink in the other. This way, two people can actually get ready for dinner at the same time. Typically, in each port, you'll have a relatively complete "day". For instance, in Villefranche, France (Monte Carlo, Cannes, Nice), you dock at 9:00 AM and are back on the ship at 7:00 PM. Disney will of course, have shore excursions available that will take you on various guided sightseeing adventures in each port.

Meals are on a rotation basis through the 3 main dining rooms. You'll have an assigned table, probably with another family so that there'll be between 6 and 8 people in your dining party. You'll rotate through all 3 restaurants, a different one each night. You servers will also rotate with you. This is so that they can learn your preferences, likes and dislikes and accommodate your desires. They're very good at their jobs and by the second night of the cruise, will be able to provide your favorite beverages and such without even asking. Of course, there's also more informal dining (Topsiders buffet, Plutos Dog House, Pinnochio's Pizza, etc. These dining areas don't have a fixed schedule and are on a first come, first served basis.

The boys will have an absolute ball! Between the Oceaneer Lab and the Oceaneer Club, you'll have a hard time getting them back to the stateroom to go bed. The way it works is that you take the kids to their clubs. Disney then takes over, hands you a pager, takes the kids away from you and says, "bye, we'll page you if we need you". We have seriously seen families whose children cried when their parents came back to pick them up.

I'm dead serious when I tell you that I think a Disney Cruise will be second only to your African vacation in a "fun quotient" kind of way. My DW and I actually prefer the cruises now to going to WDW. Strange as that may sound. Like I said before, book it! Now!

I'm sure Slowhand will back me up on this!

Tom (... self appointed Assistant Cruise Director)

[Slowhand]

I`ve not got a lot to add to Tom`s excellent summary of the DCL experience, apart from the fact that there is also an adults only restaurant on board [Palo] which is well worth paying an extra few $$`s for that "special meal" for just the two of you.
If you book Palo for part way through your cruise, by then you will have hopefully made good friends with your newly found dining partners who will take care of your children over dinner I`m sure.
This is exactly what happened to us on the Med cruise when we first met our friends from LA and we were more than happy to "baby sit" their daughter on the night when her parents tried Palo.

We did the Med cruise a few years ago although it was longer than 7 days then.
I`d go as far as to say that it was the best cruise that we had done with DCL up until then, although our recent Baltic cruise has now exceeded that.

You can of course explore the ports of call on your own, although DCL arrange excellent guided shore excursions to make sure that you get a real taste of the places you visit.

One word of warning though. Your first cruise will definately not be your last!

[catrancher]

Your first cruise will definately not be your last!

I'm seriously serious!

Tom (... come on June!)

[Skywatcher]

thanks chaps and d'oh I meant Magic

[catrancher]

Chris,

You may want to check out some of the videos on the DCL site. They'll give you "boatloads" of information. Dining, kids activities, adult activities, shore excursions, etc. Great source of information.

DCL Videos

Tom (... really hope you can do this!)

[Skywatcher]

excellent will check that out when not fending off the masses

Thcik question - is there plenty we can do together as a family - we don't really do the 'kids club' stuff , our kids are at that age where they still want to be with us and I really don't like the idea of putting them in a club all day - I work all year and this is my only chance to see them - I know it sounds soft

[Keith]

hmmm you've got me looking now too :/

[Skywatcher]

Not been to italy and 3 stops is mighty tempting.

Its bonkers but the ' having to share a table with another family' is one of the things putting me off

Curse my eternal shyness/pessimism

[Skywatcher]

hmmm you've got me looking now too :/

oooo could you be the other family at the table, we could slope off for a glass of something and talk cameras