A Wonderful Experience!
Disney Magic Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 72
10 Night Western Mediterranean (Barcelona Roundtrip)
Sail date: July 28, 2017
Ship: Disney Magic
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 8510
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
A wonderful way to experience ports we had never been to before. This being our second Disney cruise, we knew to expect great service, top of the line entertainment, and lots of fun activities on board. Very happy with our overall experience.Embarkation
There was a customs issue with the cruise ship since it was first coming into Barcelona, so people were still getting off the ship when we arrived to embark. We did wait awhile to get on, but they tried to make everyone comfortable. Staff was friendly as they welcomed us onto the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food was very good, although some things were bland. The buffets had lots of good options, and the menus were decent. I understand that it's difficult to prepare meals for so many guests, and have been on numerous cruises, so I was prepared. We did enjoy mostly everything. Our favorite was dining in Animator's Palate - making our drawings come to life was awesome! Had dinner at Palo with my husband one evening as well and enjoyed that very much as the meal was more individualized to our taste.
Onboard Activities
As I was with my family (husband, 10 year old daughter, 13 year old son), we used the upstairs sports deck (basketball, foosball, ping pong) in the evening; we watched movies on the main deck & in the theater, used the main pool, the kids used the water slides, we played Bingo in the lounge, and participated in cookie making activity. We loved interacting with the characters on board as well.
Entertainment
Loved the shows (truly Broadway caliber), pirate night was super fun, classical music near the dining rooms was wonderful, musicians by the pool were great.
Children's Programs
My kids preferred to stay with us during this cruise. Since they were in different age groups, they wanted to stay together.
Service and Staff
I thought the service from the waitstaff and room attendants were the best we've had on any cruise. Super friendly, personable, and accommodating. Our waiters remembered what we liked and were very helpful with suggestions. They took the time to talk to us. They also performed a few magic tricks for the kids, came up with mind teasers, and their origami was a big hit!
Ship Quality
The layout was good, easy to get around and find our way. Seemed very well maintained. Sometimes dining rooms/outdoor tables had trays left on them, but were usually cleaned up quickly.
Cabin / Stateroom
Room was comfortable. Plenty of storage for the family. It was great that the room was set up differently at night so that the upper bed came down but was put back up during the day. Bathrooms could have been a little cleaner - it smelled a bit like urine near the toilet area even after cleaning. Curtains in shower area needed to be changed.
Ship tip
Wifi was EXTREMELY expensive. My husband had to do a bit of work while sailing and data was used up super quickly. He had to replenish it every day. If you are going to post on social media & check email frequently, just make sure to sign in, do what you need to, then sign out. Also, follow the directions they give you so that your phone does not use up too much data while on wifi. (The media department did refund some of our charges because we complained that the data was being used up so quickly.)
Thumbs up
1
Ports of call
A beautiful city with wonderful people. Spent one night after our cruise in the Gothic District and it was so great to walk around to shops, eat, and see a cathedral. We also got to see a friendly soccer match. Would definitely go back. Wish we could have stayed longer! (Note: like many large cities, petty theft is rampant here, so just be mindful of your surroundings and keep your valuables hidden.)
Loved this port! Did not book an excursion, but rather took a taxi to Nice where we rented chairs and an umbrella and spent the day on a private beach in front of one of the local restaurants. Then we walked around, had some gelato, and took a taxi back to port. A beautiful, busy place with wonderful architecture and spectacular vistas.
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
A beautiful port! So much to do, not enough time. We booked a private tour before our trip from a local operator. He took us to Pisa, where we climbed to the top of the Leaning Tower (quite difficult, but if you make it to the top, don't miss the bells - take the smaller spiral staircase all the way up), went into the Baptistry and Duomo, and walked the grounds around it. Then our driver took us high up so we could see the entire city of Florence. After that, we had a leisurely lunch in Florence (talked with the friendly owner of the restaurant who recommended a wonderful local wine), walked around to see the Ufizi and the Duomo (we did not go in as there were long lines and we were pressed for time) and drove through to see the Ponte Vecchio on the way back to the ship. A busy but wonderful day!
We did an excursion to Coda Cavallo Beach. My husband was a bit disappointed with this trip because the beach chairs and umbrella were not that close to the water, but a short distance away from it. Since we wanted to keep a close eye on our kids, we ended up spending extra money to rent chairs and an umbrella from a private vendor directly on the beach. Some snacks/sandwiches and drinks were included in the price, but not alcohol, so we spent extra on beer as well. Since we wanted to spend most of the day on the beach, we thought this excursion was too short. We thought about taking a taxi back later, but I talked to the tour guides, and they went out of their way to arrange that we take the later bus (same tour operators) back to the ship. We thought it was a bit pricier than the other excursions we booked onboard, and my husband really wanted to see the Costa Smeralda, so we would probably just take a taxi to that area next time. Although this public beach was beautiful (but very crowded), we didn't think the price of the excursion was worth it.
We booked a private tour for our family of 4 through a tour company recommended by a friend (mybesttour.com). We took a golf cart around a beautiful park, to the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and the Vatican museums. Our guide was knowledgeable, fun, and super friendly. It was great because we drove through streets and areas that a large tour bus could not. We had a separate guide that took us through the Vatican and explained so much to us. It was a great experience! (Make sure shoulders & knees are covered for the Vatican - they are pretty strict about that.) So much to see - one day is definitely not enough!
We were surprised that we loved this port so much - it was one of our favorites! We booked the tour through Disney - Timeless Pompeii and the Flavor of Sorrento - and the guide (Giancarlo) was also an archeologist. We stopped mountainside to get some beautiful pictures of Naples, then on to a farmhouse to see how olive oil is pressed, watched them make mozzarella cheese, then had fresh samples and purchased olive oil and limoncello directly from the farm. After that, we spent some time in Sorrento, which was beautiful, to have lunch, shop and sightsee. The last stop was Pompeii, which was very impressive. Giancarlo knew so much about the ruins and we had earphones to keep up with everything he was saying. Would definitely visit again as there are other places I'd love to see in this port.
We had a very relaxing day in this port. Booked an excursion through Disney - Ricotta Making at Villa Daphne. It was a long bus ride through the town of Sicily, then to the vast countryside. We watched them make fresh ricotta cheese, my daughter participated in bread making, and then we enjoyed some time in the beautiful pool overlooking mountains. We had a wonderful Sicilian lunch, then went to a nearby farm for a milking demonstration. My kids loved this because they got to hold a baby goat! Fun day but a long bus ride both ways (almost 2 hours each way).
Palma De Mallorca, Balearic Islands
Another port that surprised us. Beautiful beach with lots of cute shops and restaurants close by. Not knowing too much about this area, we just booked the beach transfer through the Port Adventure desk. We rented beach chairs and an umbrella and spent a few hours in the water, then had lunch nearby before returning to the ship. (There were a few topless bathers, but we explained to our children that this is a normal European thing and they were prepared for it. This is not something they normally see back in the U.S.) Very pretty city.
Disembarkation
Very easy to disembark - extremely organized crew and the end result was seamless.
Traveler Photos
4 Comments
dorismini 7 years ago
Glad you enjoyed the review!
@GIL155 - The 4 star review was because the Disney Magic is an older ship and the staterooms could have been a little cleaner. Also, the wifi was super expensive and we had to buy more data each day. We had sailed on the Disney Fantasy a few years ago and were really blown away. The service on this ship was top notch though, so that made up for its shortcomings.
@WeCruiseToo - We used a company called My Best Tour (mybesttour.com) on a recommendation from a friend. Our driver was Matteo and he was knowledgeable and super friendly. We spent more time than we thought in Pisa to visit the area, and he just adjusted the rest of the tour accordingly. (We didn't think we were going to climb the tower, but we ended up buying tickets and doing so, which added to our time there. Totally worth it.) Matteo did make a reservation for us in Florence for lunch, and drove us to many sights in the city. Please note: do your research for the places you want to visit and tell your guide. While he drove us to lots of sights, he did not walk us through Florence. We had a map & walked around at our own pace and met up with him at a certain time. You can hire a walking guide for an additional fee to take you through museums/cathedrals if you wish. They were very responsive via email and we planned everything months before.