Magic Mediterranean Cruise 10th September 2016 (Complete)

As I mentioned earlier, we were on the same cruise. That last day we did do the Florence & Pisa excursion and, yes, it was another long day. However, when in Florence, the guide showed us some of the places that were used in the filming of the Tom Hanks, Dan Brown novel/movie INFERNO. Read the book when we got back and relived the whole tour...super cool. Pisa was a disappointment for me. We did not climb the tower, although we bought tickets that included the climb and the chapel next door. We did the chapel, although the Vatican certainly overshadowed this, but did not have time to wait for the climb. Your pictures were great. Didn't see me in any of them outside trying to push the tower upright like 99% of the tourists were doing...corny at best. What did you do with our next non-port, Monte Carlo? I was amazed that Disney could cancel the port stop (water too rough for tendering), get permission to dock in Marseilles, arrange for about a dozen excursions there, arrange "at sea" activities for the unexpected current day, and get the word out to everyone on board. I talked to one of the DCL officers later and he said they always plan for every situation (probably also have a plan C and D). We opted for the Avignon and wine tasting excursion. It rained most of the morning but we loved that town. Sun out for the wine tasting in an awesome castle in the middle of the countryside. We saw more of Barcelona during the b2b switchover day, then truly relaxed crossing the Atlantic.
 
Thursday 15th September - No longer Villefranche but a Day at Sea

Another early-ish start today as our tour was meeting in the D Lounge at 8 a.m. We were booked on the adult only tour to Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze, we weren't that fussed about Eze but this all day tour got back earlier than the ones than didn't include it. When were booking we didn't know how relaxed they were going to be about dinner and after the two long tours earlier in the week we didn't want the stress of another late return. Plus it sounded an interesting place to go so it was win win! However, that was all become academic.

I do remember feeling some movement as we were getting up and ready and heading to breakfast but nothing that I thought was significant. We do take sickness tablets throughout the cruise though just in case so maybe that was masking some of the effect.

Cabanas for breakfast as usual, there was already talk that the conditions were too rough for the tender operation required for Villefranche. It did look pretty gloomy out there.

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Some excursions were meant to be leaving early and these had already been cancelled so we were beginning to think that ours may be in jeopardy too. I can't remember at what point we found out it was cancelled, I think it was after we got to the D Lounge. We were disappointed but I thought we could still enjoy the port and I thought we may be able to get a train or something somewhere else.

As time went on in started to look like we weren't going anywhere. The ship was turning and there was a small vessel that came aside at one point. We thought it was to do with the tender operation but later discovered it was for a medical emergency.

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Eventually it was announced that the company that operates the tender had said it would not be safe to operate so today would become a day at sea and they were looking into options for the following day. Obviously we were disappointed again but you can't argue with safety! Looking across at Villefranche it was brightening up quite a lot.

We were impressed how quickly Disney responded to the change in plan. A further announcement came that we would be stopping in Marseille on Friday instead which we were pleased about as it was a city we had not visited before. They also were quick out a revised Navigator although I am sure they said they would be distributed to staterooms but we never received one there, we got ours from Guest Services. People were keen to find out about the revised excursions which they were putting together and this is the only time I have encountered a negative cast member on board. There was a guy in the Port Adventures team who was getting very snappy with guests asking about excursions before they had been finalised. I can imagine he was getting irritated and stressed by the constant bombardment but I didn't think he was handling it very well. When they did publish the list there was nothing that caught our eye anyway!

The day at sea wasn't as relaxing as I would have hoped. It took a long time to relax into, I think because of the uncertainty of what was happening on the Friday plus we were geared up to get off the ship. The adult area was mobbed from early on, it was hard to find space. I think this is because more people were up early than a normal sea day as they were expecting to go on excursions so seized the opportunity to get a good spot. I think this is when I decided that the adult area on the Magic really wasn't sufficient, it was my only disappointment with the ship.

The weather improved dramatically and we sailed slowly along the coast.

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We tried going in the Rainforest Room quite early too and that was the busiest we had seen it the whole cruise as well (we ended up going back in the afternoon when it was quieter). The day was spent on deck, in the Cove Cafe, eating and I went to two bingo sessions (and had a small win on one just to get me truly hooked!). There was an additional showing of Petes Dragon at 9 a.m. which we would have seen, but the revised Navigator came out after it started!

It was a lovely evening too which was good as tonight was Pirate Night. Dinner was in Carioca's which suited us for the pirate menu and the show in the Walt Disney Theatre was a musical act Junnk who were good.

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We did go up on deck for the Pirates In the Caribbean Deck Party as we like the fireworks and the buffet afterwards is good too! It is a bit too much food too though, particularly so late but we are a sucker for desert so it doesn't stop us!

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Even though we hadn't really done anything, we went too bed tired again.
 
As I mentioned earlier, we were on the same cruise. That last day we did do the Florence & Pisa excursion and, yes, it was another long day. However, when in Florence, the guide showed us some of the places that were used in the filming of the Tom Hanks, Dan Brown novel/movie INFERNO. Read the book when we got back and relived the whole tour...super cool. Pisa was a disappointment for me. We did not climb the tower, although we bought tickets that included the climb and the chapel next door. We did the chapel, although the Vatican certainly overshadowed this, but did not have time to wait for the climb. Your pictures were great. Didn't see me in any of them outside trying to push the tower upright like 99% of the tourists were doing...corny at best. What did you do with our next non-port, Monte Carlo? I was amazed that Disney could cancel the port stop (water too rough for tendering), get permission to dock in Marseilles, arrange for about a dozen excursions there, arrange "at sea" activities for the unexpected current day, and get the word out to everyone on board. I talked to one of the DCL officers later and he said they always plan for every situation (probably also have a plan C and D). We opted for the Avignon and wine tasting excursion. It rained most of the morning but we loved that town. Sun out for the wine tasting in an awesome castle in the middle of the countryside. We saw more of Barcelona during the b2b switchover day, then truly relaxed crossing the Atlantic.
Sorry I was typing my next post and stopped for dinner so missed that you had posted in the meantime!

Florence sounds cool (I thought it would be), next time! I know what you mean about Pisa, we were quite underwhelmed with it too although the tower was worth seeing. We did the push the tower pics too (corny like you say, but had to be done!). Did you book the climb yourself? I had considered doing that, but thought we may end up as you did and not have time.

We were impressed how quickly they pulled it all together too, we thought they must have alternate plans on the cards. As you may have read, we didn't pick anything for Marseille. We can get to Avignon by train from London so we'll have to give that a look. How was the transatlantic, relaxing sounds good!
 
Sorry I was typing my next post and stopped for dinner so missed that you had posted in the meantime!

Florence sounds cool (I thought it would be), next time! I know what you mean about Pisa, we were quite underwhelmed with it too although the tower was worth seeing. We did the push the tower pics too (corny like you say, but had to be done!). Did you book the climb yourself? I had considered doing that, but thought we may end up as you did and not have time.

We were impressed how quickly they pulled it all together too, we thought they must have alternate plans on the cards. As you may have read, we didn't pick anything for Marseille. We can get to Avignon by train from London so we'll have to give that a look. How was the transatlantic, relaxing sounds good!


My wife wanted to see the Pisa church and the tower climb came with the ticket (we bought the ticket at the museum across the walk from the tower). We elevated up one of the towers at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and walked down. THAT was a view!! We did run out of time to climb the leaner.
The trans was great with first stop in Punta Delgada, which was OK. Took a tour of the island and saw the hot springs and view from the highest point. Next port was Sydney, NS, then Halifax and on to NYC. During transatlantic cruises the Magic has some special events not done on shorter cruises, probably because of time...we had 7 at sea days. There were several cool scavenger hunts from guest services that had 10 small photos of different themed items - uniforms, carpets, artwork, etc. that you had to search all over the ship to find (each photo would be of a tiny part of a picture of, say, artwork on the stair landing between decks 4 & 5 midship without directions to where they were. We also had a behind the scenes tour of the theater, down a lift, into the guts of the place, costumes, sets, etc...also cool. There were random things going on in the atrium, too. We found, on the Magic, that if you hang around Shutters, close to the atrium exit, there is a door going into the center of the ship where almost (maybe all) the princesses and characters enter and exit. Captain Hook scared my wife for the third or fourth time and we had a ball there.
The Nova Scotia ports were unique with a fort and period riflemen and rum at one and a calendar-quality lighthouse at the other. Weather was windy, but no rain, although we got it on the last sea day into NYC.
We are going on the Wonder in June to Alaska (driving up from home in Portland, OR) with kids and grandkids for a week. It will be a ball. My assignment is to do the decorations for the four stateroom doors...yikes! Any thoughts about seeing our 49th state? There might be a salmon there with your names on it!!
 


My wife wanted to see the Pisa church and the tower climb came with the ticket (we bought the ticket at the museum across the walk from the tower). We elevated up one of the towers at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and walked down. THAT was a view!! We did run out of time to climb the leaner.
The trans was great with first stop in Punta Delgada, which was OK. Took a tour of the island and saw the hot springs and view from the highest point. Next port was Sydney, NS, then Halifax and on to NYC. During transatlantic cruises the Magic has some special events not done on shorter cruises, probably because of time...we had 7 at sea days. There were several cool scavenger hunts from guest services that had 10 small photos of different themed items - uniforms, carpets, artwork, etc. that you had to search all over the ship to find (each photo would be of a tiny part of a picture of, say, artwork on the stair landing between decks 4 & 5 midship without directions to where they were. We also had a behind the scenes tour of the theater, down a lift, into the guts of the place, costumes, sets, etc...also cool. There were random things going on in the atrium, too. We found, on the Magic, that if you hang around Shutters, close to the atrium exit, there is a door going into the center of the ship where almost (maybe all) the princesses and characters enter and exit. Captain Hook scared my wife for the third or fourth time and we had a ball there.
The Nova Scotia ports were unique with a fort and period riflemen and rum at one and a calendar-quality lighthouse at the other. Weather was windy, but no rain, although we got it on the last sea day into NYC.
We are going on the Wonder in June to Alaska (driving up from home in Portland, OR) with kids and grandkids for a week. It will be a ball. My assignment is to do the decorations for the four stateroom doors...yikes! Any thoughts about seeing our 49th state? There might be a salmon there with your names on it!!
I agree the view from La Sagrada Famailia is impressive, we didn't do it this trip but have visited on previous trips to Barcelona.

The transatlantic sounds great, the extra activities (particularly the behind the scenes stuff) I would really enjoy, the number of sea days (particularly back to back) would still be a concern to me though. I really enjoy sea days but I wonder if that would be too much. I would also be a bit concerned about the sea conditions, how was your crossing? We are still relatively new to cruising, this was our third one, and the thought of rough seas does still concern us. The ports do sound great too as well, maybe I can talk DH into it for next year!

I have been trying to convince him to do an Alaska but he's not biting so far, the itinerary really does appeal to me. Hope you do a trip report for your cruise!
 
I agree the view from La Sagrada Famailia is impressive, we didn't do it this trip but have visited on previous trips to Barcelona.

The transatlantic sounds great, the extra activities (particularly the behind the scenes stuff) I would really enjoy, the number of sea days (particularly back to back) would still be a concern to me though. I really enjoy sea days but I wonder if that would be too much. I would also be a bit concerned about the sea conditions, how was your crossing? We are still relatively new to cruising, this was our third one, and the thought of rough seas does still concern us. The ports do sound great too as well, maybe I can talk DH into it for next year!

I have been trying to convince him to do an Alaska but he's not biting so far, the itinerary really does appeal to me. Hope you do a trip report for your cruise!

We treated each at sea day the same...sleep in, review navigator for day's events we wanted to do...get coffee, then breakfast...look outside our porthole for possible critters (saw flying fish and dolphins in the Caribbean) then off to events or just relax and recall the Med. excursions...rough life!! We couldn't get enough and are looking long term at another transatlantic or second Panama Canal (westbound this time) cruise in a year or two (love setting the clocks back, nor forward).
This will be our first cruise to Alaska, although we have been all over the central part of that state. With our kids and grandkids (11 of us in all), it will be a wild adventure with zip-lines, gold panning, sled dog meetings, forest exploring, etc. Also, during our day in Ketchikan there will be sailboats docking next to the Wonder who are finishing the R2AK (Google it) race from Victoria, BC. It is a heck of an endurance event that has a hoot of a web site. We may or may not see any of the finishers, totally random, but there is hope!! I have never done a trip report here before, but maybe I should. A lot of folks take this Alaska cruise multiple times...it must be fun. I am finishing up the door (4) decorations for our crowd.
 
We treated each at sea day the same...sleep in, review navigator for day's events we wanted to do...get coffee, then breakfast...look outside our porthole for possible critters (saw flying fish and dolphins in the Caribbean) then off to events or just relax and recall the Med. excursions...rough life!! We couldn't get enough and are looking long term at another transatlantic or second Panama Canal (westbound this time) cruise in a year or two (love setting the clocks back, nor forward).
This will be our first cruise to Alaska, although we have been all over the central part of that state. With our kids and grandkids (11 of us in all), it will be a wild adventure with zip-lines, gold panning, sled dog meetings, forest exploring, etc. Also, during our day in Ketchikan there will be sailboats docking next to the Wonder who are finishing the R2AK (Google it) race from Victoria, BC. It is a heck of an endurance event that has a hoot of a web site. We may or may not see any of the finishers, totally random, but there is hope!! I have never done a trip report here before, but maybe I should. A lot of folks take this Alaska cruise multiple times...it must be fun. I am finishing up the door (4) decorations for our crowd.
If you're considering a second TA then it must've been good. I'm looking into a Panama Canal too, we are back on the Fantasy at the beginning of June so I'm hoping the rest of 2018 is released before then so I can book something on board.

There is a lot happening when in Alaska while you are cruising, it sure sounds like it will be a good cruise! Like you say, a lot of repeaters so there must be something good about it - be interesting to hear whether you join them.
 


Friday 16th September - Marseille

A slightly different start to the day for us today as we didn't start with breakfast in Cabanas, which is a shame sitting out the back is one of our favourite things to do! We went up on deck and took some pictures of the port

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Still quite industrial although there was some residential in sight this time. The reason we didn't eat in Cabanas was because we had a character breakfast booked, this was at 8 a.m.. Obviously this was meant to be a sea day which it fitted in well, we didn't want to miss it as we haven't had the chance to experience this on our previous Fantasy cruises.

We headed down to Animators Palate and were seated. I recognised our servers from the MDR, then I saw our servers working a few tables over.

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We had 3 characters, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy and they all stopped for pictures. The food was okay, it was nice to have it all served but I did miss the selection of Cabanas. It was quite a rushed experience though, when booked it showed as being 45 minutes and I think that is what it took. Still, glad we did it though and I would do it again if it was offered on another cruise (but not Disney Junior characters)!

All ashore time was 7 a.m. so this had long passed when we were ready to head into Marseille. DCL provided a free shuttle into the city centre so we went ashore and boarded the coach. The journey wasn't too long, it wasn't particularly clear though when we got there exactly where we would pick the coach back up and how often it ran.

We had a city map so had a wander round the city and headed to the old port

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We decided to ride the Petit Train (which is a road train) up to the Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica

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The road train was not that pleasant, big queues to get on and they cram you on too, but the Basilica itself was worth going up to. We didn't go in the Basilica but wondered round the grounds and looked at the building and the views over the city were good too

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We headed back down and wandered over to Les Terrasses du Port, a shopping centre which overlooks the port and not that far from where the coach dropped us off. We had a look round there for a bit and then headed back to where we hoped the coach would pick us up. This was the unpleasant part, it was a free for all when the coach arrived and no order or anything with the volumes of people wanting to go back. We did like Marseille and would consider going back there.

When we got back we had lunch at Cabanas then went for a typical afternoon of Rainforest and Cove cafe plus the inevitable packing, whilst looking out at the French coast as we sailed away

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Dinner was in Lumiere's that night, I always find the last night sad and find it difficult not to think about getting off the ship the following day. In the last few days we had started having multiple deserts, I had read about people having them and although we quite often dropped hints (such as I really can't choose between...) our servers on previous cruises have never come through and said why not have both! So, I took my own destiny in my hands and started ordering more than one on some nights (and our servers didn't seem surprised at all)! Well on this night I can remember I ordered the Baked Alaska and something else and Giuseppe came back with a Mickey Bar too as he said they were a must on a Disney Cruise! So that night we had three deserts, I was glad we had a table to ourselves!

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Between dinner and the show we went to the Mega Jackpot Bingo in the hope we might win the money for future cruises but no luck! The show that night was Dreams and Junnk performed and adult only show in Fathoms which was good. Unfortunately all too soon our last day had come to end and we headed back to bed.
 
Saturday 17th September - Barcelona

Breakfast was in Lumiere's as that is where dinner was the night before at 7 a.m. We finished packing (although I lost my sunglasses at some point on board) and headed down to breakfast, taking the survey which had been left with the "towel" animal the night before
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I always find the final breakfast sad (and already miss Cabanas) but we said goodbye to our servers and headed off the ship. Customs was a lot easier than it is when arriving back in the US, I guess because the cruise stayed within the EU. We found our bags quite quickly and headed out of the terminal getting one final view of the Magic

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It really didn't seem a week since we were standing there full of excitement waiting to get on. Fortunately we weren't going straight home, we had some nights further down the coast so we took a taxi to the station to get our train.

I really do recommend the itinerary and we enjoyed the Magic a lot. I think I still prefer the Fantasy overall, but it was the first ship we went on and so I guess that is what I am most familiar with. The Magic was great and would happily sail on her again, although the adult pool area does need more space! Waiting for the end of 2018 cruises to come out now as I want to see what the Westbound Transatlantic itinerary is, so could be back on her then. We are back on the Fantasy in June so it would be good if it could be booked onboard!

Thanks for reading and your comments, if you have anymore questions please ask!
 
Thank you for your trip report! We're going on the last Med before WBTA this fall and very excited. We lived in Germany for 9 y ears and I never got any more in Italy than the Centovalli in the north.
 
Thank you for your trip report! We're going on the last Med before WBTA this fall and very excited. We lived in Germany for 9 y ears and I never got any more in Italy than the Centovalli in the north.
Thanks for reading it!

You are on a great cruise, hope you enjoy it. Italy was totally new to me and surprised me as I liked different parts to what I expected! Are you doing the WBTA too? I am waiting for them to announce that for next year, hoping it may sail from Dover as that would be really convenient!
 
Thank you for your trip report! We're going on the last Med before WBTA this fall and very excited. We lived in Germany for 9 y ears and I never got any more in Italy than the Centovalli in the north.

We were on the cruise above and stayed on (same room), for the WBTA that followed, last Sept. Found that the TA was the real vacation while the Med. leg was more exhausting (of course, we made it that way by booking day-long excursions). The Magic was the first ship we sailed on through the Panama Canal in '08. We have been on the Fantasy, too...three times. Don't have a preference either way because each cruise seems so unique. On the WBTA there were only 200 kids, so a bit quieter. In June we are going on the Wonder to Alaska, so we'll see how that one stacks up. Love the nautical mouse!!
 
We were on the cruise above and stayed on (same room), for the WBTA that followed, last Sept. Found that the TA was the real vacation while the Med. leg was more exhausting (of course, we made it that way by booking day-long excursions)
Yes, that is our plan also. Just selecting the excursions has been exhausting!
 
Yes, that is our plan also. Just selecting the excursions has been exhausting!

If you have not been to Barcelona, you must add a couple of days there. We did two days before and got off the ship between cruises to do La Rambla. Easy!
 
Thanks for writing this. Really enjoyed it. We are booked on June 2018 itinerary from Barcelona to Rome. Can't wait.
No problem, glad you enjoyed it! It was nice to relive the cruise while I was writing it, brought back some great memories. Really hope you enjoy your cruise, it looks a great itinerary.
 
Monday 12th September (continued) - Sorrento

We boarded another high speed ferry for our next crossing which was taking us straight to Sorrento. This crossing was shorter and took about 20 minutes. I do remember if being of a free for all getting on. I think it was because a lot of people wanted to sit outside at the back where there were only a few seats, there were a lot of seats inside. When we arrived at the dock in Sorrento we boarded a coach for a short journey up the hill.

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Sorrento was our lunch stop as well and once we got out of the coach we were given just under 2 hours before we had to meet again. The drop off (and meeting) point was outside a shop where they made everything from wood as well as selling souvenirs (if I remember correctly), there were also restrooms. We were given a short talk on the history of the business and how the processes they used to make their products. It all looked very nice but was expensive!

We had a wander around, exploring the streets and trying to find something to eat. We didn't want anything that was going to take too long as we only had a short time there and we ended up getting some gelato and then popping into a patisserie for a cake.

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This was the view from the top of the hill of the road that takes you to the dock where we got off the ferry.

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Unfortunately, it rained for a bit and that, along with being time pressured, spoilt our time there a bit and we didn't enjoy Sorrento nearly as much as Capri.

reading your report now for research for our next med cruise.. and this pic of the hotel is where me and my daughter stayed last year in Sorrento!
 
Oh I'm trying to figure out pickup time for our private driver (we have too much luggage/people to deal with a taxi) and do you remember what time the breakfast on the last day was for 2nd seat dining? I saw you went to breakfast at 7am but did you have early or late dinner time slot?
 
Oh I'm trying to figure out pickup time for our private driver (we have too much luggage/people to deal with a taxi) and do you remember what time the breakfast on the last day was for 2nd seat dining? I saw you went to breakfast at 7am but did you have early or late dinner time slot?
We had early seating. I've just looked at the Debarkation handout we were given on that cruise and Second Seating breakfast was at 8 a.m. if you were in Animators Palate or 8.15 a.m. if you were in Lumieres or Cariocas. Main seating in Animator's Palate was also 15 minutes earlier at 6.45 a.m. - I'm glad we weren't in there this cruise! Not sure why AP is 15 minutes earlier, I don't remember that from when we had debarkation breakfast in there on the Fantasy so maybe it is a Magic thing?
 

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