Western Europe? What do you think?

[starvenger]

Come check out Phoenix in July if want to know what hot is. I can't imagine Europe being what I would consider hot.

I lived in Houston for 3+ years. Was fine with the humid heat there. And have been fine with the humid heat you get on cruises.

The dry summer heat of Phoenix though... brutal. Even the A/C taps out there.

 

[anricat]

Well, I priced this one out and that's a NO folks. $7217 for two adults and 1 kid in a 9B. Yikes. It's just not compelling enough for that price.

 

[AquaDame]

Come check out Phoenix in July if want to know what hot is. I can't imagine Europe being what I would consider hot.

We did this last year... now I know that dry heat means bring lots of lotion. My skin has never been so dry!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Come check out Phoenix in July if want to know what hot is. I can't imagine Europe being what I would consider hot.

The problem is that a lot of places in Europe aren't air-conditioned, including the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and the Louvre in Paris. The nice tour buses have A/C, but the local buses do not. Street vendors were making a killing selling cold bottled water. We roasted in the London Tube, and even broke a sweat in Heathrow. We didn't have a thermometer so I couldn't tell you how hot it was. Humidity is also a factor -- definitely not a dry heat. Meanwhile, one of the guards at Windsor castle was apologizing for the temp getting into the 70's. pffft. He wouldn't survive the Arizona heat.

 

[cruiser21]

We did this last year... now I know that dry heat means bring lots of lotion. My skin has never been so dry!

It's pretty much like living in an oven.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Come check out Phoenix in July if want to know what hot is. I can't imagine Europe being what I would consider hot.

LOL, I actually moved to Arizona last summer. Phoenix hot is definitely a different animal.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Why? Because they aren't major cities? We'd actually enjoy a laid-back, small town experience more than touring big cities. We're doing a land trip to Italy with his school next March that will be all about rushing from city to city, cramming in sights of famous places. Very nice in its own way, but that's not what I'm looking for in the cruise. I'd like for it to be sort of a taste of Europe. Seeing the towns a bit, noticing the different styles of architecture in the different countries, and enjoying the seaside landscapes. All at a relaxed pace. Do these areas seem like they would be good for that sort of thing, or all wrong for it?

I shared my thoughts based on your interest in northern Europe and Italy. The ports on this cruise are definitely different, but it sounds like you would appreciate that. We cruise to relax on the ship but see as much as possible at the ports.

 

[aggiedog]

I think the ports sound just fine, but after a July Med cruise this past year, I've vowed to never return in the summer. And I"m from central Texas. Maybe it's my hormones, but I'm done with going from hot to more hot.

I'll stick to cooler climates for summer travel, and do southern Europe in the spring and fall.

 

[Jnaterrell]

We booked this for 2019. It will be our first in Europe and I think the ports look so beautiful and interesting. I always thought I'd want to do Mediterranean but after researching and hearing of the summer crowds and how far away from the ports some of the main attractions are, I am more excited for this one. The seaside landscapes look amazing. We are looking into Dorset Tours in Portland, Sintra and Cascais in Lisbon, and probably just the open top bus tour in Cadiz. Also want to spend time in London after.

 

[o&smom]

We booked this for 2019. It will be our first in Europe and I think the ports look so beautiful and interesting. I always thought I'd want to do Mediterranean but after researching and hearing of the summer crowds and how far away from the ports some of the main attractions are, I am more excited for this one. The seaside landscapes look amazing. We are looking into Dorset Tours in Portland, Sintra and Cascais in Lisbon, and probably just the open top bus tour in Cadiz. Also want to spend time in London after.

We are joining you for our fifth cruise in Europe. We have loved them all. So excited for some new ports and getting to spend time in Barcelona before and London and Paris after. Try to get a few days in Barcelona beforehand. We were really impressed and we cannot wait to go back!

 

[Kate_45]

I think that this is a nice itinary to show you the breadth of cultures in such a small area. You'll go from moorish architecture in the south to some lovely french scenes, to, well you probably won't see many nice bits of England if you just go to stonehenge, but that in itself is special.

I wasn't hugely taken by Cadiz when I went there (whale watching as part of my undergraduate degree) but I know many people who ADORE Lisbon.

In Brest I would rent a taxi for the day and explore. There are so many lovely places. You could go south to Concarnau to walk round the walls of the town and visit Quimper for crepes in the marketplace. Or closer to port there's Morlaix for the viaduct, but just stopping at tiny villages you will find some great stuff. Guimiliau has got an AMAZING church for example, all the more special for being unexpected and empty. There was an alright one at Sizun. Visiting just a few places with a yummy french lunch would make a nice day giving you a flavour of the area.

If not wanting the long trip to stonehenge from Portland you could walk up to Portland bill. Or you could head to abbotsbury for cream tea and visit the gardens. My in laws are renting a cottage in the area this summer so after august I can give much better advice to anyone who may be interested.

I always wonder why Disney don't stop at Plymouth. Would have thought all the mayflower bits would have been interesting to a cruise line with a large number of American guests. Plus Dartmoor is lovely and there are some nice fishing villages like looe not too far away.

 

[Keris]

We did a similar reverse of this last year, and loved it. Cadiz was absolutely the highlight of the trip for me, it’s so beautiful and you dock right in the town. It’s really easy to do by yourself.

Lisbon was also gorgeous, and easy to do. DCL laid on buses into town and we took a tram tour and wandered by ourselves again.

It’s a relaxed sort of cruise, no big showstoppers like Rome, but lots to see and all a wee bit different from the run of the mill Europe cruise.

 

[disneyholic family]

What do you all think of DCL's Western European itinerary for July 14th, 2019? Here are the details:

Day 1 Barcelona, Spain
Day 2 At Sea
Day 3 Cadiz, Spain
Day 4 Lisbon, Portugal
Day 5 At Sea
Day 6 Brest, France
Day 7 Portland (Stonehenge), England
Day 8 Dover, England

I had hoped for northern Europe, but that is scheduled too late in the summer for us, and the 11-night Norwegian Fjords cruise will undoubtedly be too expensive. We're going to Italy for my son's school trip next March, so the Mediterranean isn't worth it for us next summer.

We haven't been to any of the western European ports listed. Anyone have thoughts or experience with those areas?

personally i think they're garbage ports - this is basically a repositioning cruise just to get the ship from barcelona to dover..
they're just calling it western europe to take your mind off the fact that it's just a repo cruise going to boring ports..

that said, i just paid a bundle in deposits on three staterooms for that very cruise....

i would much rather do the med, but the med cruises are all in june and so don't work for us...
so we're on that repo....better than nothing...

Someone mentioned heat. Would these locatations likely be hot in July? I'm a native Texan & am accustomed to 100+ degree daily temps in the summer, but don't want to pay big bucks to sweat all through our European vacation.

no, this repo is not hot....barcelona will be warm i suppose, but none of these ports are terribly hot....and the last two are actually kind of cold by normal summer measurements....you can google july weather in each port to see...

we would actually rather have HOT ports (we live in heat, so anything less that HOT isn't really that comfortable for swimming etc)...

but as i said, this is the one that works for us...

.

.

 

[Shanti]

personally i think they're garbage ports

Which ports do you consider to be garbage? Have you been to them? What about those specific ports makes you regard them as garbage?

I actually like the fact that this cruise is repositioning as it begins and ends in cities in different countries, so I can easily add a couple of days visiting a different European country on each end of our cruise.

 

[disneyholic family]

Which ports do you consider to be garbage? Have you been to them? What about those specific ports makes you regard them as garbage?

I actually like the fact that this cruise is repositioning as it begins and ends in cities in different countries, so I can easily add a couple of days visiting a different European country on each end of our cruise.

i've been pretty much everywhere in europe my whole life...lots of european cities end up in my boring definition...

this is a repo that they're calling 'western europe' to make it sound interesting and to justify charging non-repo prices....

but yes, as i said, we're on it too....for us, the ship is the destination, so we're willing to make do with what there is at the time we can be there..

i'd much rather be on a med cruise, but the timing doesn't work out...
or even northern europe mainly to visit saint petersuburg (haven't been there since it was called leningrad, so it's been a while)

but the repo is the one that works for us, and so that's the one it will be...
we'll stay on the ship most of the time i assume...

.

 

[disneyholic family]

as for beginning and ending in different cities - i agree that it does make it more interesting..
i'm not a big barcelona fan (though i do believe most people are, so take that with a grain of salt - i particularly cannot stand anything designed by gaudi)..
but we are working the move to dover into our overall itinerary...
including ending our trip with 4 nights / 5 days at DLP (taking the eurostar to get there)..

.

 

[disneyholic family]

if you're a soccer fan - there is an excellent soccer stadium tour in barcelona....worth the visit..

.

 

[disneyholic family]

average temperatures in july:
Barcelona - average temps in july - 82 degrees (high 86)
Cadiz - average temps in july - 76 degrees (high 82)
Lisbon - average temps in july - 76 degrees (high 82)
Brest - average temps in july - 62 degrees (high 70)
Portland is presumably cool as well..


not exactly scorching...

.

 

[Keris]

Each to there own I suppose, but how you can call Cadiz garbage, I just do not know.

We live in Europe, so obviously the ports are not so much of a draw, as we can visit them easily. This was my first visit to both Cadiz and Lisbon, but both are fast becoming very popular and trendy to visit.

As I say it’s a bit different from your run of the mill Rome and the Amalfi coast. I would do some research for yourself and see if you think it suits your family. Don’t take any one else’s view either way!

Oh and Barcelona, Lisbon and Cadiz were all in the 30 to 35 degree (Celsius) range while we were there. It was quite warm...

 

[Shanti]

Each to there own I suppose, but how you can call Cadiz garbage, I just do not know.

We live in Europe, so obviously the ports are not so much of a draw, as we can visit them easily. This was my first visit to both Cadiz and Lisbon, but both are fast becoming very popular and trendy to visit.

As I say it’s a bit different from your run of the mill Rome and the Amalfi coast. I would do some research for yourself and see if you think it suits your family. Don’t take any one else’s view either way!

I actually like the idea of visiting European town/cities that aren't the most obvious. That seems like a good approach for a cruise, where you wouldn't have time to explore major cities in depth, anyway. I don't want to spend our cruise week taking hour-long bus rides to & from big cities and rushing around snapping photos. I want it to be fun and relaxing, as well as expose us to some different cultures/architecture/landscapes. I think this cruise could give us a nice introduction to four European countries. I'm an American and have never been to mainland Europe, and have only been to Britain once when I was about five. In March of next year, we'll take a land trip to Italy with my son's school, and will visit Rome, Florence, etc. I'd like our summer vacation cruise to be a lot more self-indulgent and relaxing than the educational school trip to Italy.