We hit a grand slam on the Magic in the Mediterranean - June 1-June 8 2019

bbagnall

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 10, 2011
Hi! I am Brandy and this is my husband Chris. We live in the San Antonio, Texas area and have been married for 18 years. I am a science teacher and he works for the San Marcos Airport handling private aircraft. It’s just the two of us, no human children, but we do have the fuzzy babies. I wanted to write this because there aren't a lot of these trip reports out there, but the few I did find were extremely helpful so I wanted to pay it forward. Please read on and I hope you enjoy!!!!! Feel free to ask any questions you wish and I'll try my best to answer them.

408335

408336

We decided to take this trip for my 40th birthday. I wanted to do something big so we decided on a cruise to Italy and knew we had to do Disney. This was also a big cruise for us, this would complete our Grand Slam of the Disney ships and when we finished we would be gold! After many days of planning, we decided we would fly in the Wednesday before the cruise with British Airways, spend a day in Barcelona, do private small-group tours (we did not do any Disney Port Adventures), and end with another day in Barcelona. The following items are things that we made sure we brought/or did to make our adventure a little more comfortable and secure.

  • Money – The cruise ship operates on the US dollars, but everyone else used Euros. It was much cheaper to get money converted overseas. My super amazing mother in law gave us Euros in advance for birthday gifts so we used that and waited to get overseas before getting more. Our first hotel actually did an exchange for us pretty much at the exchange rate. I asked beforehand and the cruise ship does currency exchange and they will buy back your money at the same rate as long as you have your receipt. We only used our credit cards for the hotels, we used cash for souvenirs/meals/snacks.
  • Shoes – You will need super comfortable shoes for walking. I opted for tennis shoes in Pompeii, but sandals everywhere else. The streets are cobblestones and very uneven so thick soled shoes are a must. I found some Vionics at DSW shoe warehouse and wore them everywhere, so comfortable and my feet stayed nice and cool. My husband wore tennis shoes everywhere.
  • Clothes – If you are going into the Vatican or any other church in Europe you will need proper attire. This includes clothes that go past the knees and no visible shoulders. I bought a wrap on amazon for $10 I carried in my bag to wrap my shoulders and wore capris/skirts/linen pants on church days. The Vatican was the most strict. I found some people to be “inappropriately” dressed according to posted rules, but I’d rather be safe than turned away. My husband wore pants and polos on church days.
  • Safety – We had read reports of a lot of pickpocketing in the Med so we had a plan in advance. My husband got one of the money belts to wear under his clothes and he kept both our passports and a spare credit card in there. I used my ship lanyard and kept a spare credit card and only the money for the day, I tucked it inside my shirt. I carried a shoulder bag with water, my wrap, and some other travel essentials so if my bag was stolen all they would get was some advil and water. I never felt unsafe or hassled. We were approached by two “street performers” at different times but just kept walking, they did not follow.
  • Transportation – We used taxis, the Metro and bus in Barcelona, and the train in France to get around. All were super easy to use with fantastic signage. Just keep in mind the train/tram/buses in France only take coins so save your change.
  • Restrooms – This was a very interesting experience. If you are visiting a restaurant or buying something at a shop you may use the restroom for free, if not you must pay to use the restroom (again, only coins are accepted). Once you get in there it is a bit of a shock. First of all, there is not a roll of toilet paper, it is kind of like pulling Kleenex (although thicker) out of a dispenser. Secondly, every toilet flushes differently, sometimes there is a button, sometimes a lever, sometimes a sensor, the fun part is finding it. Thirdly, there is soap and water to wash your hands but they only use hand dryers (and not the good ones). I was so excited to get back home and use the restroom!!!!

More to come, so stay tuned!!!!
 
Last edited:
Hopping the Pond and Hotel Colon

We flew British Airways out of Austin, Texas to Heathrow Airport in London. We left at 6:30pm with an arrival time of 10am to Heathrow followed by a 4 hour layover and finally a 5:30pm arrival time in Barcelona. We decided to fly business class for the flight to Europe. It actually cost the same amount to fly business on the way there than it cost to fly premium economy on the way back. I think this was because we were still traveling in May, the prices jumped way up in June. Business class was nice, they have the seats that lie completely flat for sleeping with a comfy pad, blanket and pillow. We were also able to use the lounge when we arrived in Heathrow and we got a complimentary facial or massage in the mini-spa in the lounge.

After our arrival in Barcelona we took a taxi to our first hotel, the Hotel Colon in Barcelona. I selected this hotel for the proximity to things we wanted to do in Barcelona. It was situated in the middle of the Gothic Quarter right across from the Barcelona Cathedral. I booked a design superior room with one bed, but on arrival we had been upgraded to a larger room with a view of the Cathedral. The room was nice with free wi-fi, an extra couch and chair for sitting, a balcony that opened up, a nice bathroom with a huge shower, and breakfast in the mornings.
408398

408407


408399

408400

408401

408402

408403

We decided to change clothes and walk the city for some fresh air and to find some dinner, I really wanted tapas. After walking the teeny tiny streets we finally found a place to eat. We were so hungry and tired, I did not get the name of the place, but it was amazing! We had potatas con ailioli (potatoes with olive oil and mayonnaise), pan con tomate (bread with tomato, not bruschetta), la bomba with brava sauce (basically a large ham and cheese croquette on a spicy mayo sauce), and steak tartare. I learned three things here during dinner: number 1 Europeans love mayo on everything, number 2 when you order water they bring you this beautiful bottle of water, and number 3 ice is not important over there. When we received ice it was literally one ice cube, I had to ask for more ice. Regarding the water it is usually a liter of water and it costs about 4€, we ordered water with every meal in addition to other drinks and we always finished it. After dinner we headed back to our hotel, stopped for gelato and churros, and promptly fell asleep.
 


Excited to hear more! I want to go on a Mediterranean cruise with Disney and it's nice to read of a couples trip! Were you worried about doing ports without using Disney? I've been worried about that whenever I get the chance to go.
 
We did this cruise 2 years ago, first Disney cruise, and loved it. Also stayed at Hotel Colon, perfect location. Now we're hooked, doing British Isles cruise this September. Thanks for sharing, brings back happy memories!
 
Excited to hear more! I want to go on a Mediterranean cruise with Disney and it's nice to read of a couples trip! Were you worried about doing ports without using Disney? I've been worried about that whenever I get the chance to go.

Hi there! When we cruise we usually do independent excursions and we’ve never had problems. With Europe it is super easy to get to the next port if something goes wrong and I still would have saved money by not doing the ship excursions. They are so expensive!!!!!
 


Barcelona - All Gaudi All the Time

With a full day ahead of us we got up and got ready for exploring, we had a really nice breakfast in our hotel. Our plans for today included visiting Park Guell, Casa Batllo, Casa Pedrera, and Sagrada Familia. In advance of the trip I found this website called Rome2Rio.com, you put in your starting point and your ending point and it will tell you the best way to get to your location using the available transportation in your area. I highly recommend this website and I recommend researching in advance. Barcelona has free wi-fi everywhere (just look for the blue W), but it is in and out and I didn’t want to take my phone off airplane mode so I wasn’t able to use the TMB app. In order to use public transportation in Barcelona you have to buy tickets. We went to the nearest tobacco shop (literally everywhere) and bought a T-10 card for 10.20€. This allows you to take 10 trips on any public transportation in Barcelona: metro, bus, even the funincular. The card is shareable and if your trip is less than 75 minutes before you get on the next transport it does not count as a separate trip!

We headed to Placa Catalunya station (the main area) to catch Bus 24 to head to Park Guell. It was going to be a 45 minute ride to get to the Park. I pre-ordered tickets for the Park Guell monuments section; most of the Park is free though. Our time to enter the monuments section was 10am, but they allow a 30 minute grace period. We decided to enter the Monuments section first heading to the main overlook. We could see the beautiful city skyline from high above and look down on the main houses. The design of Gaudi was incredible and unique; the little houses reminded me of the Dr. Seuss books and the other sections were also fun, colorful, and beautiful. I absolutely fell in love with the archways surrounding the park, the beautiful plants/gardens and the architecture!



408894

408895

408896

408897

408898

After spending a couple of hours at Park Guell, we got back on bus 24 and headed to Casa Battlo. I really wanted to go inside Casa Batllo, but they were doing restorations while we were there and I didn’t want to spend 25€ per person seeing something that was going to be covered up. The outside had just recently finished its restoration so we did take a moment to gaze up at that. Again, the colors and funkiness just really attracted me. In the roof, I saw the back of a dragon and in the balconies, I saw Venetian masks.

408899

After Casa Batllo, we were hungry so we had more tapas for lunch on our way to Casa Mila. We stopped at El Arte de las Tapas, fantastic food. I ordered tickets in advance for Casa Pedrera, we were about a half-hour early but they let us in anyway. The aesthetic offered here was much different from Casa Batllo; the main theme of Casa Pedrera is iron and stone. When you tour Casa Pedrera the house is furnished in the style of the 1900s and you begin at the rooftop terrace and work your way down. The rooftop terrace offered a fantastic 360-degree view of the city and the sculptures looked like Roman guards. Moving down into the attic space you could see the high vaulting of the ceilings, but also some historical and background information on Gaudi’s buildings. We continued down into the main house to see the rooms and the furniture.

408900408901408902
 
An Evening in Barcelona - Sagrada Familia

After Casa Pedrera we found the Diagonal metro station to head to Sagrada Familia. A side note about navigating Barcelona, the names of the streets are on buildings while the signs on the corners point to metro stations or major sites. We pre-purchased tickets for Sagrada Familia for 5pm and were there earlier, but no early entrance for us. We decided to wait out the time by visiting the park across the street and eating more gelato, yes we had gelato every day.
Sagrada Familia was by far my favorite visit of the day. The church is absolutely beautiful and BIG. I purposely made reservations for the late afternoon so I could see the orange light in the windows. Apparently in the morning, it is more blue/green. We did not visit the towers, but we did go out the back to see the other side of the façade.

408904

408905

408907

408908

408909

408910

After visiting Sagrada we took the metro back to our hotel to get ready for our cruise tomorrow!!!!!!!
 
Hello Disney Magic!

We woke up with extreme excitement that it was finally cruise day!!!!! We got ready, finished packing our things, and headed downstairs. I stopped at the front desk to do a currency exchange and to schedule a taxi pickup before sitting down to breakfast.

Our taxi was scheduled for pickup at 10am because we wanted to be at the port at opening. It took less time to get to the port than I thought and we arrived before opening so we had to stand in line for about 10 minutes. Finally, they opened the doors and we all filed in through security to make our way to the terminal to check in. The terminal, although nice, was pretty bare bones; there was a photo-op with a Mickey backdrop and a small carpet with a TV playing cartoons but that was it. For this cruise, we were in a concierge cabin so we went through the concierge check in line and it was fast. We received our Key to the World Cards, our navigator, lanyards, and our invite to the concierge lunch. We sat down and waited for boarding to start at 11:45 on the dot. Strangely enough, the walk up the ramp to the ship has so much excitement for me! Our family was announced and we found ourselves at home in the beautiful lobby with the chandelier and the grand staircase with Mickey icon at the bottom. Nothing beats the first breath and look of the inside of a Disney ship!


409261

409262


We were met by Kemisha from the Concierge Team to take us to the concierge lunch in Rapunzel’s Royal Table. This was our first time sailing with the concierge lunch; normally we just head to the lounge first. However, it looks like they are really pushing the lunch simply because it is a much bigger space to meet people than the lounge. While we ate Kemisha came by and went over our day by day plans to see if we needed any changes/additions/deletions, she also informed us that our rooms would be ready when we finished lunch. We finished eating and headed to our room to check it out and put our daybags down. We were in cabin 8076, a family concierge stateroom.
409264

cabin bed.JPG

409267

409268

After taking some pictures we decided to head out and explore the ship before the muster drill. We always start at the top and work our way to the bottom which really worked this time because our muster station was on deck 4. This was our first time on the Magic so there was a lot to explore for us! We started on deck 10 finding Palo as we had brunch reservations the next morning and then we headed to the concierge lounge to get some bubbly and meet the other concierge ladies. The team for this sailing was Kemisha, Alina, and Amanda; they are so full of energy and positivity, we made them multiple daily visits. I love love love the concierge lounge on the Magic. The inside is pretty big with the corner bar area and the snack area, but there is a nice outdoor extension in the shade. We spent a lot of time in the lounge and on that outdoor area this cruise, especially during happy hour, lol. The food in the lounge changed as the day progressed. Morning selections were usually continental with cereals, fruit plates, meat/cheese, and some pastries. Afternoon and evening snacks were usually meats, cheeses with accompaniments, baby sandwiches/fingerfoods, and sweets. Water, soda, milk, juice and the amazing coffee machine were available all day. Alcohol was available in the evening with a small selection of white wine, red wine, and hard liquor; they did not have a blender to make smoothies or blended cocktails.

409270

409271
 
Last edited:
Ship Tour

We headed to Deck 9 and watched people ride the Aqua Dunk, went into the Cove Café, and noticed that the Quiet Cove pool was very large, much larger than the Dream class ships, we were super excited about that. Next up my second favorite area on the ship, the spa! I’m always torn about the visiting the spa on the first day, on the one hand I love seeing the areas and smelling the space (it is absolutely fantastic), but they always want to do a tour to guide you around to each money area (teeth whitening, acupuncture, weight loss stuff, etc…). We ended up doing the tour simply because we wanted to see the spa villas and the rainforest room, but we opted out of the raffle drawing.

409277

409278

409279

409280


We made our way to Deck 5 to see the movie theater and visited the Club, the Lab, and the nursery; we had never been in there before those are some super fun spaces! We finally made it to Deck 4 and saw the Walt Disney Theater, Shutters, and the shops. We went down one more deck and visited O’Gills, Keys, and Fathoms
409287

It was time for the Muster Drill so we headed to our station and gave our proper attention; it actually doesn’t take that long when people arrive on time and follow directions. After the drill we headed back up to the top to watch the ship sail out of port. Disney cruise confession: we don’t attend the sailaway party on deck. I find it to be too crowded and intense for me, but I was in for a surprise. I was headed to the lounge for a drink and the doors were blocked…by Mickey Minnie Donald Goofy and Pluto! If you want to meet characters I would skip the parks and head for the cruise, they roam the ship freely. I was on the elevator once and Daisy got in!

409273

It was cooler in the Mediterranean than I thought it would be which meant for a very cold and breezy sail away. We headed downstairs back to our room to settle in and our luggage had arrived. We started unpacking and settling in the room, we met our stateroom host Alvin (simply amazing), we ordered from the pillow menu, and we sent our dress clothes to be pressed. Cruise tip: don’t iron before the trip, send it out, the cost of pressing is half the cost of dry cleaning; it is so cheap! On to the navigator and shampoo bottle debacle! We did not receive the Navigator in our room every night, nor did we ask, we were told we could get one everyday in the concierge lounge or guest services. We found the app to be sufficient for our needs. We did not have refillable bottles of shampoo/conditioner/body wash in our rooms; we had the Elemis products in individual bottles in our bathroom.

After unpacking we freshened up for dinner and went shopping. In Europe anytime you buy anything they add value added tax (VAT), this can be a drink or a shirt. You can get a refund on the VAT at the airport when you leave, but you must have the receipts and the Global Blue form. You cannot get a refund for anything you consume, such as food or drink. They need your passport to create the refund form, you can either bring your passport shopping with you or keep all your receipts and bring your passport to one of the stores at the end of the cruise to print your forms. Helpful hint: when shopping use the same KTTW card, this is because they need the passport number of every person who bought things so if you used 2 different KTTW cards you need 2 different passport numbers.

We elected to skip the Be Our Guest on the Magic show that evening. For our sailing, the shows were not doubled up, I guess Disney gave up on that. We had late dining, 8:30 dinner, on the cruise and our rotation was ARLARLA. Our first night was at Animator’s Palette with the Sorcery Mickey show. I prefer this one to the Crush show on the Dream class ships. Our serving team was Aryana and Alexandru, they were very good. I'm sorry I did not take pictures of our food for two reasons....1) we were so hungry that we started eating before the camera came out and 2) I feel self conscious taking pictures of food. I know, I'm weird.

409274

After dinner we went back to our room and found this waiting for us! We performed our nighttime rituals, crawled into our comfy cozy bed, and let the ocean rock us to sleep.
409276
 
Nice, Relaxing Day at Sea

After so much excitement and go go go, we were super excited to have a chance to sleep in and rest up for the port days ahead. I have to tell you in advance, joiners we are not, we are more of a kick back couple. We had a Palo brunch reservation that morning at 11am. It was a beautiful, clear, cloudless day and the water was like glass. We took in the view on the deck and then headed on in. Our server for brunch and dinner was Alvin. He has been working on the Disney ships since the beginning and he is so funny and nice, we were lucky to have him for both days. Brunch is always amazing, the mimosas taste so much better on the ship than they do anywhere else! After having our fill of seafood, sticky buns, and cheese we ordered our mains. I had the chicken parmesan with that yummy cheese risotto and Chris had the lasagna; both dishes were spectacular. We had our choice of desserts at the buffet, but Alvin brought out the new Nutella Lava Cake. I love Nutella and I love lava cake, it was a win win!

409384

409385

palo couple.jpg


After brunch we went back to our cabin to change into our swimsuits for the Rainforest Room! I ordered single day rainforest passes in advance for the $16+gratuity, and they were in our cabin when we arrived the first day. I went to exchange them for the days I wanted and they tried to upsell me the scrubs, I declined. The Rainforest Room on the Magic made me very happy, it is very dim and smells wonderful, I love the cocoon-like atmosphere. We went in together and began by relaxing on the heated loungers, I fell into a little nap. We then took in the steam rooms and used the sensory showers. We spent a little over an hour in the Rainforest and it was heaven.

409389409390409391

After our spa experience, we headed to Fathom’s for a game of bingo. I ordered a drink and my paper bingo cards and I was ready to WIN!!!!! The bingo gods had a different idea, I did not win.

409392
 
Last edited:
Formal Night

We headed back to the cabin to get ready for the evening. Tonight was formal night and the show was Cinderella, Twice Charmed. The showtime was 6:30, but I wanted to be in the theater at 6:15 to find good seats. The show was really good, I always love the musicals on the ship. After the show we lined up to take formal night pictures. My husband HATES this process, but he was a good sport about it. They have started doing this thing where they line up two backgrounds next to each other and you move from one to the next, I thought this was a great idea.

After pictures it was time for dinner in Rapunzel’s Royal Table. Tonight was the birthday celebration for Rapunzel held by the Thugs from the Snuggly Duckling, the thug menu. About 15 minutes into dinner they have a little stage show and then Rapunzel and the Thugs visit each table greeting the guests. Right before dessert they have another stage show. I really enjoyed the show, it was my favorite of the two.
409393

409394

409395

409396

After dinner we retired to our cabin to get ready for tomorrow, our first port day in Naples!!!!
409397
 
Naples - Pompeii

Today is our first port day!!!!! Our port is in Naples, but we decided to take a tour to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. We had to meet our group at 8am so we got up, got ready, and had breakfast. Cabanas is on Deck 9 aft and we were on deck 8 aft, so it was very easy to pop up, grab food, and then have breakfast on our balcony. Cabanas had a great selection of food for breakfast: potatoes, eggs, bacon/sausage, fresh fruit, pastries, and MICKEY WAFFLES!!!!

410003
After breakfast, we packed our day bag and headed out. Our bag consisted of the same thing everyday: bottles of water, a vanity bag, and sunscreen. My husband wore his money belt under his shirt with his KTTW card, both passports and a credit card. I wore my lanyard under my shirt with my KTTW card, cash for the day and a spare credit card in a RFID pouch. Instead of heading down the gangway we stopped at concierge first. Another benefit of concierge is a member of the team would take us down to the port to help find our group. The ports in Italy are not big at all, it is very easy to get off the ship, head through the port terminal, and start your own adventure.

We did not do any Disney Port Adventures. I spent a lot of time researching independent tours online before we left. I found in every case they were all much cheaper, small group, and they offered a guarantee to get you back to the ship on time. For our tip today we used Italy Tours (Italytours.eu). The tour was set up so you pay in advance for the tour, but you pay for admission tickets upon arrival. Our tour today was 69€ per person, and the ticket to Pompeii was 15€ per person. Our driver picked us up at the terminal in the minivan and off our group went to Pompeii!!!! There were only 14 people in our group, all on the Disney cruise, so we met new people that we actually saw on the ship from time to time.

We arrived at Pompeii and met our tour guide Rose. She was absolutely wonderful, she made the city come alive with her descriptions of daily life and the buildings! If we had done Pompeii on our own, without a guide, there is no way we would have enjoyed it as much as we did or even known what we were looking at. She began with the history of Pompeii and the history of the excavation. We then entered the city and started our tour. We saw the amphitheater, “fast food” places, homes, the spa, the red light district, and the main forum area. I walked away thoroughly amazed at construction of the city, Pompeiians had ways to reclaim water, ways to heat their homes/buildings, they had pipe systems for moving water throughout the city (although they were made of lead, oops), they had markets for buying/selling goods, art/culture, even places to relax and exercise. It made up my mind that humans need only the basics for survival; the only difference from one generation to the next is the advancement of technology. Visiting Pompeii was one my top three favorite things I had visited in Italy.


410002
Entrance to Pompeii

410004
Amphitheater in Pompeii

410005
Frescoes found in one of the homes in Pompeii

410010
tile work found in one of the entrances to the houses



410008
Public fountain in Pompeii

410009
Fountain the entrance of homes (to collect rain water)


410011
A store in Pompeii, see the front counter...

410012
Pompeii ruins, still excavating

410013
Pompeii as exiting
 
Last edited:
Naples - Amalfi Coast and Evening

After our Pompeii tour, we boarded our van and headed off to Sorrento by way of the Amalfi Coast. The coastline was breathtaking; we made a stop along the road to take some pictures from up above before we reached the town.
410014
Sorrento Coast

410022
Shopping in Sorrento

410024
The largest lemon I have ever seen

410023 410025
THE pizza!!!! Margherita and the Tasso

We finally reached Sorrento and parked and the driver told us we had free time to shop and eat; he gave us a time to meet him back at the van. Sorrento is all about the color yellow, lemons, and limoncello! We walked along the streets window shopping and menu shopping. Shopping in Sorrento is kind of like shopping in one of those outdoor malls, except the scenery is one million times better. We found the restaurant, Tasso, and elected to sit outside under the awning. To drink we ordered water, a coke, and a glass of wine. To eat we ordered two pizzas, a magherita and a tasso (provolone with olives and arugula), this was the most amazing pizza I have ever put in my mouth and I have been dreaming about it since I have been home. We did some more window shopping and stopped for gelato before heading back to the parking area for our meet up time.



We left Sorrento and headed back once again for the Amalfi Coast. This drive is not for the feint of heart, the roads twisted and turned endlessly and we were very high up. We stopped at another overlook to see the small, colorful, cascading town of Positano. On our way back to the ship we stopped at a limoncello factory to see how the alcohol was made, but they also had souvenirs/chocolates/limoncello for sale. Our all ashore time was 6pm, but we got back to the ship around 5pm.
410016
Positano Coast

The show for the tonight was the movie Aladdin and we had dinner at Lumiere’s. We were so exhausted we took it easy and headed to the concierge lounge for drinks instead and then back to the room to get ready for dinner. Lumiere’s was nice and relaxing with no show that evening so we finished up dinner service pretty quick, headed back upstairs to get ready for our next busy day, and fell fast asleep in our cozy bed!

410019410020410021
 
Last edited:
The Madness that is Rome

Today was the day I was most excited for, Rome! We did our usual morning routine with breakfast at Cabanas and meeting our tour group at the pier. For our adventure today we used Can’t Be Missed Tours and they met us with minivans at the pier at 8am. Just to give you an idea of the cost difference the Disney excursion was $395 per person, our tour was 109€ per person with separate admission at the Vatican (26€ per person). The tour operators were fantastic at keeping up with situations that might change the itinerary. There was an accident on the freeway to Rome and they took alternate routes to keep us on schedule, we still ended up losing about 20 minutes, but if they had not changed their route we would have lost closer to an hour.

We finally arrived in Rome and I got my first look at the Colosseum! I was awe struck; it was a much better view in person. When we got around to the other side of the Colosseum, we met our tour guide and she gave us all the little speakers to wear around our necks and earbuds to use while we were walking around the city. Helpful tip: bring your own earbuds, I wish I had known this, my regular ones are so much more comfortable and we had them in all day.

410167


I was completely and totally unprepared for the madness that is Rome. First of all, there are people and cars everywhere. I felt that we spent the entire day shoulder to shoulder with strangers and looking out for cars/scooters/bicycles. Secondly, there was so much to see and do it was hard to give your attention to any one thing; I missed so much extra detail that I must go back immediately. Also, this was not a leisurely tour, it was go Go GO! We had a mixed group on our tour: couples, singles, families and I will say the poor children at the end of the day were destroyed, so tired!!!!

We left the Colosseum to start our walking tour of Rome. We stopped at a little section of shops to allow people to go to the restroom/get snacks/get water. After the quick stop we started at the Roman Forums where our guide started to explain to us the history of the people and structure of Rome. We also walked by the great big giant Vittoriano Monument, it was very beautiful but you needed to be very far away to capture the entire scope of the structure.
410172
Roman Forum

410173
Vittoriano National Monument


We then headed to Piazza Navona with the Four Rivers Fountain and the Fountain of Neptune.

410171
Four Rivers Fountain

Next stop was the Pantheon, outside and inside. It is an amazing ornate rotunda with a super cool oculus; on the summer solstice the sun’s rays enter the oculus and strike the main entrance.

410168 410169 410170
Pantheon: Outside, inside, then the oculus


Our minivans picked us up and we went to lunch, La Botte Antica, great food. We had about 45 minutes here and then we carried on with the tour to the Trevi Fountain for pictures and to throw coins. By that time, we were well into the afternoon and it was crazy crowded. At first glimpse I didn’t even want to make my way down to head of the fountain, but you know what…I’m in Rome and I’m going to see the fountain! We made our way to the front and waited for a family to take their pictures, when they left we took the seats and took some quick pictures. The Trevi Fountain is amazing with the sculpture and the movement of the water! It was way larger than I imagined, it was the size of a building!!!!!!

410174
Trevi Fountain

Next up...the Vatican
 
Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica

Onward….to the Vatican! This was what I wanted to see, the Sistine Chapel. You enter in what looks like a regular museum entrance and go through security. Next, we waited in a short line (our guide was a Vatican approved guide, so we didn’t have to wait in the big line) to gain access before we took the stairs up to enter. We entered Vatican City, it is absolutely beautiful with the manicured gardens, the churches, and of course the priceless works of art. There is a piece of art in the garden called Sphere Within a Sphere, it was really interesting, if you have time check it out

410178
St. Peter's Dome

410179
The Common Area with Sphere Within a Sphere

Before we entered the Vatican Museum, our guide led us to some information boards. She started going over the process of what it was like in the Museum and what we would be seeing in the Sistine Chapel.
410180
Vatican Museum Entrance

We began to enter what I can refer to as the world’s most amazing queue line. Essentially, you have to walk through about 6-8 art galleries before you even get to the Sistine Chapel. The art is priceless, beautiful, and of great historical significance, but you can’t really enjoy it because it is wall to wall people herding to the main event. It was like riding a wave to the shore or being caught up in a mosh pit at a concert, there was no escape just go with the flow.

410183410184410185


Finally, we entered the chapel. You cannot take pictures and you cannot talk. The guards move you to the center of the room and you just look up and gaze at the beauty. The ceiling is breathtaking; I cannot even describe the emotion or the art itself. If you can imagine in your mind the most vivid blues, reds, greens, and yellows you would see the colors in the masterpiece. We stayed in there for a very short period of time before leaving, but honestly there isn’t enough time in the world….

We exited into St. Peter’s Basilica and just WOW. Our guide led us over to Michelangelo’s Pieta sculpture. She told us the story of how Michelangelo didn’t want to paint the ceiling, he kept insisting he was a sculptor not a painter. After seeing the Sistine Chapel, I disagreed with him, he was a painter. However, when I saw the Pieta, it was confirmed that Michelangelo was primarily a sculptor. The Pieta brought just as much emotion as the Sistine Chapel had just moments earlier.
410181
Michelangelo's Pieta

We spent some more time gawking at St. Peter’s Basilica and left to get back into our minivans to head back to the ship.
410186
Exit of St. Peter's Basilica

410187
View looking at St. Peter's Square

Our all ashore time was 6:45, we made it back by 6. I loved my day in Rome, but it was by far the hardest for me. There was just way too much to see in a short period of time and the crowds were so massive. When I book this cruise again (hahaha), I would try and pick one that either began or ended or in Rome so I could spend more time there and walk the streets really really really early in the morning.

Tonight the show was Juunk and dinner at Palo. We again skipped the show in favor of rest and a well deserved drink in the lounge. I elected to use the big showers in the locker room at the spa instead of the cabin shower, after today I needed my space. It was clearly one of the better decisions I made that day, the shower was amazing and I could even shave my legs! We finished getting ready and headed to Palo for our 8pm dinner reservation. As always, the food and service were exceptional. I ordered a bottle of Amarone wine, please please do this, it was so good. For dinner, Chris had the arugula salad with the seabass, I had the caprese salad with the filet and gorgonzola sauce. When dessert time came, we were presented with extra lemon sorbet along with both amaretto and chocolate soufflés, I gave the slight edge to the amaretto. I did not finish the wine so they stored it for me and I drank the rest at dinner a couple of nights later.

When we finished dinner, it was time for Pirate Night! We wandered around the deck to find a space to watch the show followed by the fireworks. It was the perfect evening. We returned to the cabin to prepare for another port day tomorrow and got some much needed rest.
 
Last edited:
Your photos make it look so beautiful! The food looks amazing and sounds like you guys are having a blast visiting all these places! The tour you're on in Rome sounds perfect and it's always great to save the money for other things like Italian leather!
 
Loving this report, thanks so much for sharing!! We’re headed to Barcelona in 6 days for a 10 night cruise, so hearing about your trip is getting me so jazzed!!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!








Top