Our 12-Night Mediterranean half cruise / half quarantine adventure | COMPLETED July 2022

[gstdog]

Hello everyone! Here is my trip report on the Disney Magic that sailed 12 nights from Rome on July 6, 2022. As always, I'm happy to share our experience with everyone.

QUICK LINKS:

• DAY 1 - FIRST DAY IN ROME
• DAY 2, PART 1 - ROME & VATICAN
• DAY 2, PART 2 - ROME & COLOSSEUM
• DAY 3 - EMBARKATION DAY
• DAY 4, PART 1 - PALERMO MORNING
• DAY 4, PART 2 - PALERMO AFTERNOON
• DAY 5 - AT SEA
• DAY 6 - SANTORINI
• DAY 7 to 12 - QUARANTINE (plus our canceled plans for Mykonos, Piraeus/Athens, Naples/Amalfi, and Livorno/Florence)
• DAY 13 - CANNES
• DAY 14 - MARSEILLE
• DAY 15 - BARCELONA & GAUDÍ
• DAY 16 - BARCELONA & MONTSERRAT
• DAY 17 - BARCELONA & TIBIDABO
• DAY 18 - HEADING HOME

After our last cruise with Disney in the Mediterranean back in 2019, I couldn't wait to publish a trip report. This time? I dragged my feet by about 7 months to write this report. Why? Our trip started out AMAZING, with two fantastic days in Rome and a great start to the cruise. Then it happened--we tested positive for COVID. This wasn't supposed to happen. We played by all the rules, masked up, vaxed up, and even self-quarantined from family and friends for the three weeks leading up to our flight. But sometimes life happens a little different than you expected, and you have to roll with the punches. So our 12-night cruise turned into a 4-night cruise followed by an 8-night quarantine. Oof.

...but the positives DO outweigh the negatives. I promise! Yes, we missed out on several stops (laying waste to my meticulous plans), but the following is all true:

• The parts of our trip we did get to experience were wonderful.
• Disney Service is always great, and I really appreciated the compassion and care they showed my family while we were sick.
• We ended up extending our time in Barcelona after the cruise, and discovered what is now our favorite city in the world.
• My family actually likes each other a lot (something you learn after spending 8 days trapped in 215 sq. ft. with each other).

So, what does that mean for this trip report? Let's just say I took great notes in the beginning, and then we'll have to rely on my memory breaking through the COVID fog for the latter part of the trip. Still, I hope people find the information valuable, as I come to rely on these trip reports from others when I plan my cruises.

OUR FAMILY: We sailed with our family of four, including myself, my wife (DW), my 11-year-old son (DS), and my 8-year old daughter (DD). We love cruising and Europe, having previously done the 10-night Disney Magic in the Western Mediterranean (check out my trip report here). We've also done a few in the Caribbean, including a 7-Night New Year's Eve cruise in December 2022 (trip report here). We love exposing our children to different cultures and thought another Disney Cruise would be the perfect way to experience parts of Europe that we hadn't seen before. DS and DD are both well-behaved and good travelers. They can be in the car on long drives without complaining and are okay to do long walks. Both DS and DD were super excited for Greece since they had recently studied Greek mythology in school, and DS just finished reading the Percy Jackson series.

OUR CRUISE: We sailed on the Disney Magic, leaving Rome on July 6 for 12 nights, ending in Barcelona on July 18. You can see the itinerary below, plus we had two days in Rome before the cruise, and three days in Barcelona after the cruise.

Day	Date		Port
Monday	4-Jul-22	HOTEL	ROME
Tuesday	5-Jul-22	HOTEL	ROME
Wednesday	6-Jul-22	SHIP	CIVITAVECCHIA
Thursday	7-Jul-22	SHIP	PALERMO
Friday	8-Jul-22	SHIP	AT SEA
Saturday	9-Jul-22	SHIP	SANTORINI
Sunday	10-Jul-22	SHIP	MYKONOS
Monday	11-Jul-22	SHIP	PIRAEUS
Tuesday	12-Jul-22	SHIP	AT SEA
Wednesday	13-Jul-22	SHIP	NAPLES
Thursday	14-Jul-22	SHIP	AT SEA
Friday	15-Jul-22	SHIP	LIVORNO
Saturday	16-Jul-22	SHIP	CANNES
Sunday	17-Jul-22	SHIP	MARSEILLES
Monday	18-Jul-22	HOTEL	BARCELONA
Tuesday	19-Jul-22	HOTEL	BARCELONA
Wednesday	20-Jul-22	HOTEL	BARCELONA

THIS GUIDE: Usually, this is where I'd tell you that this review for those who want to venture out and explore the ports on their own. That's still mostly true. I'm happy to share our experience and in Rome, Palermo, Santorini, and Barcelona. I'll also share what *would* have been our plans in Mykonos, Piraeus, Naples, Livorno, Cannes, and Marseilles -- it's depressing to write it out like that and see all we missed. I love to adventure on our own, as I don't care for larger crowds and like to be in control of the schedule (i.e., if we want to stop and enjoy something longer or pass something we find boring, I don't want to be stuck with others). So you'll get lots of details on transportation and port experiences, but I won't spend too much time focused on the experience on the Disney Magic. Others have done that better than I can. I'll also give you a peak behind the locked doors of quarantine, and what it's like to spend 6+ days straight in a cabin.

MINI REVIEW: I just booked the 7-Night Western Europe Cruise from Barcelona ending in Southampton on the Disney Dream...so that tells you something! I'll admit that I was out on the idea of cruising after our COVID experience, but time heals all wounds. That, plus DW feels she was robbed of her last cruise and needs another one. I still love the easy of cruising and the service of Disney, so we booked again. That said, we had such an amazing time staying in hotels in Rome and Barcelona, with a slower pace making the experience feel more relaxed vs. the rush of a port stop. DW agreed, so we are doing a shorter cruise this summer with more 10 days exploring London, Paris, and Barcelona on our own before getting on the ship. Regardless, I'm happy to say it's a great experience...especially without the quarantine!

I'll try to post out the details of our experience over the next few days. More to follow!

 

[lorimay]

We were on this cruise with you, sorry for all you must have gone through....ugh. We live in a new world now.

Its funny we had the heartburn so to speak before our cruise... Delayed flight out of Miami that made us miss our connector to Rome (thankfully we had booked 5 days in Rome before the cruise). They put us on a flight 8pm that night and played games with this flight and strung us along as far as putting us on a bus to the plane on the tarmac at 11pm then on the bus made an announcement the flight was canceled. We were in this airpot almost 24 hours straight. We were stuck in Lisbon for 48 hours before we finally got to Italy at 2am on the 3rd of July. They lost all of our luggage and 3 days of Rome. We had one day to purchase clothes and luggage for the cruise so that took another day of sightseeing. We ended up having about 10 hours of Rome instead of 5 days.
Thankfully, once we boarded the ship we felt much better.
My husband got his luggage back after 2 weeks, me 35 days.......

Never fly TAP airlines, the worst.

 

[gstdog]

PRE-TRIP PLANNING: I won't go into all the details of how I plan a trip, since I used a lot of the same tools as my last cruise in Europe (see here for the list of websites and books, plus how to set-up your phone to access Google Maps when you don't have access to international data). Rick Steves continues to be a favorite of ours, both the books and videos, for getting excited for our trip.

A note on using your phone abroad--I still love the feature for Google Maps that lets you tour a city without needing mobile data or cell service. HOWEVER, it works great for a quick shore excursion when you have everything planned out, but not so much when you unexpectedly extend your stay in a city due to COVID restrictions. I had only 'pre-planned' a certain amount of activities in Barcelona, so when we added two more days, I had a mad scramble each night at the hotel trying to make sure we were set for the next day. I found that I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be, wishing I could just Google "what bus should I take" while standing at the bus stop. For my next trip this summer, I'm definitely looking into getting some type of international plan (or phone) that I can use during the day.

We also did "jet lag training" with our kids again, and it worked like a charm. I worry about the kids not being able to cope with a 6-hour change in time zones, so we used a progressive schedule in the week leading up to our trip. Our kids normally wake up at 6:30am and go to bed at 8pm. So each day, we pushed both back by 30 minutes, so that by the morning of our trip, they were waking up by 3:30am. We made a game of it with special breakfast and movie time in the mornings, and they enjoyed it.

DAY 0 - FLYING TO ROME: Our flight was scheduled to leave Orlando at 1:13pm, so we got to the airport early to grab to check our bags and clear security. We grabbed some lunch at the Bahama Breeze at the airport...and that's still the my primary suspect for where I got COVID (yes, I was patient zero). We'll never know for sure, but working backwards from when I first got symptoms it was either on the plane or the airport.

We probably did overkill on the luggage. We each had a backpack and a roller bag, plus we checked one big suitcase and two duffel bags filled with shoes and books (...and the books were a God-send later when we were quarantined). I'm the type of person who'll pack 8 outfits for a 12 day trip and wash clothes. DW is the type who'll pack 20 outfits so she can decide what she wants to wear each day. Still, it was manageable. We weren't having to move the luggage around a lot, especially once we were on the ship.



We had a quick flight to Atlanta and a short layover until we got on our Delta flight to Rome. The flight left at 5:15pm and landed at 8:50am the next day in Rome. The overnight flight was really rough for me. I never sleep well on a plane, and adding a mask to that made it near impossible. God bless you if you can do it, but that's the last time I can manage that. Next time we fly overnight, I'm going to take my chances without a mask.

DAY 1 - FIRST DAY IN ROME: We landed at 8:50am in Rome and were in line at customs by 9:20am. It only took us 15 minutes to clear customs, which wasn't bad at all. We collected our bags from baggage claim, and then found an ATM to grab some Euros. I had really hoped to find a 'real' ATM affiliated with a bank, but no luck. I could only find Eurobank affiliated ATMs, which is effectively the equivalent of a gas station ATM. That meant I probably paid an extra $10-20 in fees. Still, I think it was a better deal than the currency exchange option back at the Orlando airport.

We had arranged for a private car via our hotel near baggage claim. It was a big chaotic with at least 30 different drivers all holding signs, and ours was sort of haphazardly holding our sign. We found him at 9:45am, and then had a 30-minute drive to our hotel. I really enjoyed seeing Rome as we drove into city, but I think my family missed most of it.



For the hotel, we stayed at the I Tre Moschettieri Luxury Guest House (aka Three Muskateers). This hotel was perfect for us. It is centrally located in Rome, just a 4-minute walk to Trevi Fountain, a 5-minute walk to the Pantheon, and near several bus stops. We paid 791€ total for two nights for a Junior Deluxe room, which had a queen bed and two twin beds. Anytime I can put DS and DD in separate beds, that's a win for everyone--we all sleep better. The hotel itself is very small, but the room was really big, especially for European standards. The only downside to the hotel for me was the noise. The window in our room faced a main roadway, which could be a little loud, not unlike a normal big city street. That said, we are all pretty heavy sleepers, so the noise didn't bother us.



After a quick nap/recharge in the room, it was time for an early dinner. I had looked at reviews and had planned for us to eat at Ristorante Il Falchetto, which was just a block away. However, it was fancier than I anticipated, and I could tell the family wasn't in the mood for a stuffy atmosphere. So we set out to find something a bit more casual, and settled on Pizza in Trevi, a small pizzaria near Trevi Fountain. It was perfect. The kids shared the Pizza Margherita for 12,50€, and DW and I split a mushroom and sausage pizza for 14,50€. Prices were reasonable, and the service was great. The total bill was 47,50€, which included the two pizzas, two Fantas for the kids at 6€ each, and bottle of water for the table.



After dinner, we walked around the city, and took some pictures at Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, both of which we had seen on our last trip to Rome. We were pretty tired from traveling, so we called it a night early. The next day was a going to be a busy one, with tours of the Vatican and Colosseum.

 

[gstdog]

DAY 2, PART 1 – ROME & VATICAN: We woke up early that morning at 6:30am, since we had scheduled a 7:45am private tour of St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s nearly a 30-minute walk from our hotel to the Vatican, but I wanted the kids to be fresh for lots of museum walking. So, the plan was to call a taxi with the FreeNow app that morning and eat breakfast in a café close to the Vatican. However, there was a taxi strike that day, which really screwed up my plans. The lesson, always have a back-up plan!

The good news is that we quickly found out that the No. 62 bus stop was adjacent to our hotel and was only a 15-minute ride to the Vatican. The bad news is that I had *no* idea where to buy tickets. Had I done some research ahead of time, I’d have known the tobacco shop down the street sold tickets. But, I could see the bus coming down the street and made a panic choice. We got on the bus without tickets. I was betting that if someone yelled at me I could play the dumb tourist card. Fortunately for us, no one checked our tickets before dropping us off at the P.za Pia/Castel S. Angelo bus stop near the Vatican. Whew! I do NOT recommend doing that and felt terrible about it, but the taxi strike definitely threw me off my game.

I had planned on eating at Al Vecchio Forno, a bakery in that area with good reviews. However, when we got there it was closed (despite Google assuring me it would be open). Fortunately, right next door was a charming sidewalk café called Osteria Café. We got a few pastries, some coffees, and some ‘green apple’ drinks for the kids (…that they didn’t really like). We spent 23€ in total, and it was well worth it. It was a nice moment to relax, enjoy a nice moment, and get recentered after TWO of my plans had already been screwed up by 7:30am. The café is pictured below, with some tasty looky pastries!



For the tour of St. Peter’s, we booked using LivItalty. We had been to St. Peter’s before, so wanted to have a different experience this time. I picked this one because it also included tickets to climb the dome and visit the papal tombs. The total price was 337€ for 2 Adults, 2 Children.

We met our guide, David, at 7:45am at a pre-arranged street corner. I cannot stress enough how amazing the Vatican is early in the morning. There is literally no one there!



Climbing the dome was a great experience. To access the dome, you have to climb 551 steps, although you can take the elevator and "only" climb 320. We took the elevator to save the kids from too much work. Both DS and DD thought it was a fun climb, especially as the walls were slanted along the inside of the dome. The views from up top were beautiful, especially getting to pick out things we’ve seen before like the Pantheon.


Inside the dome, we got to see the mosaics close up. I had always thought those were paintings, but no, they are all mosaics. The level of detail is incredible!



After the dome, we went down inside the Basilica, and were lucky to see a mass (i.e., church service) going on. It was a great moment to watch. David gave us some great history inside the Basilica, as well as the papal tombs down below. St. Peter's Basilica is definitely my favorite church in the world...and is a contender for my favorite place I've ever visited. The size and scope (and beauty) fill me with awe every time!



Overall, I think the guide was worth the price, especially since it was our second time there. David also gave us some great recommendations on lunch options, and then walked us over to our next step for the Vatican museum. If you wanted to do it on your own, Rick Steves has an excellent ‘self-guided’ tour you can use for the Basilica. You don’t need a guide to go down into the papal tombs or up into the dome, although you do need to buy separate tickets for the dome. Still, it was so great having a guide who could share some history on the climb up, and could give us some perspective on what we were seeing in the distance. We absolutely LOVED our tour guide, David. He was funny, insightful, and offered some personal anecdotes that we really appreciated about not just the Vatican, but Rome as well (David pictured below).



For the Vatican Museum, we elected to just do self-guided tour and had purchased skip-the-line passes via Litiberi Travel. Our main goal was to see the Sistine Chapel, and didn’t think our kids would enjoy ANOTHER tour in the same morning. We had planned for 10:45am, but got to their office at 10am, which is just a few blocks away from the museum. Once at the office, they gave us vouchers, which we’d have to trade for tickets at the museum itself. They recommend we go upstairs at the museum and avoid all the main ticket booths downstairs, and that was in smart play. The lines were much shorter on the second level.

With the goal of getting to the Sistine Chapel before it got crowded, we quickly walked through all the rooms. We probably got the museum at 10:15am and were done in about an hour. The museum is massive, and it's hard to appreciate because there's just so many pieces in each room. The rooms are very crowded, and you have to really know what you want to look at to be willing to stop. If we went again, I would go with a guide to help us understand what we're looking at. Most of our time was spent just walking to the Sistine chapel, as they channel you along a path to get there. Sure, we stopped and looked at some of the art and collectables along the way, but I honestly don’t remember much. There were lots of tour groups that made everything super crowded, and we had to ‘gently’ push our way past them so we could get to the Sistine chapel. Once we got there, it was not too busy, so we were able to sit on some of the benches and relax and look at the ceiling for a while.

For lunch, we took David’s recommendation and ate at 200 Gradi, a fantastic local sandwich shop. Too often, I feel like we only eat pasta and pizza, so it was nice to mix it up with different local options. For 34,50 € total, we split 3 sandwiches among us, plus 3 sodas and a water. I used the WiFi while we were there to finally figure how the bus system will work. The sandwiches were really hearty and tasty!



Next up was some downtime at the hotel to recharge before we head to the Colossseum for a group tour at 3pm later that day. This time, I was able to buy tickets for the bus at a nearby Tobacco shop, which cost us 1.5€ per adult, and free for kids under 10. We started waiting for the number 62 bus at 1:00 pm, and the bus ended up coming at 1:20 pm. It was hot waiting in the sun for 20 minutes, and I would have gladly paid more for a taxi…and that was BEFORE I knew what was coming next!!



So the bus arrives at 1:20 pm, and then the driver hopped off for 8 minutes (smoke or restroom break perhaps?) before he came back on and got going at 1:28 pm. At 1:40, the bus broke down, or the bus driver decided he was going on strike. Honestly, we're not sure which. I’d love to say there was a language barrier, but he just stopped the bus, got off, and then everyone realized he wasn’t coming back. Another 62 bus came at 1:58 pm , so we're back on our way. Overall, it took an hour to get from the Vatican back to the hotel, when it would have been just a 30-minute walk. Ugh. You can see how DS and DD feel about being kicked off a bus.



Stay tuned for Part 2 of Rome. If you are wondering? More good times ahead offset by the joys of a taxi strike!

 

[gstdog]

DAY 2, PART 2 – ROME & COLOSSEUM: We had wanted more time to relax at the hotel, but we only had 30 minutes before we needed to leave. With the taxi strike, we were forced to take a bus again. The number 85 bus should take us from the stop next to our hotel to the Colosseum. Google said it was going to get there at 2:43 pm, and, since it was just downstairs, we thought we could time it perfectly. Spoiler—we did not. We must have must have missed it by just a minute, since we could see it in the distance driving away. So we had no choice but to walk since the next bus would get us there too late. The taxi strike was blocking one of the walkways with demonstrators, which slowed us a little even more. We were supposed to meet them at 3:00pm outside of the Metro Station for the Colosseum, but I couldn’t find them in the crowd. It turns out there is an upper level AND lower level, and we were on the wrong one. We raced downstairs and finally found the tour operator. However, our group just left. Fortunately, they were able to radio the tour guide and we were able to catch up to them in progress. Frankly, it’s a miracle I was still sane at this point. I’m such a planner, and to have four major snafu’s in one day is nuts. To top it off, it was then that I started to get that tickle in my throat that said I was sick (cue ominous music of pending COVID doom). By the grace of God (and that we were still having a great day), and was able to keep my sanity.

We booked a group tour with The Roman Guy, which included privileged entrance to the arena floor. We paid $215.6 for 2 adults and 2 kids. We were in a group of about 15-20 people, and we all had headphones to listen to our guide. She was very knowledgeable, and we enjoyed the experience.



We started with the Roman forum, where she provide some history for the area. We also saw Palestine hill, which had a fantastic breeze given the heat. By mid-afternoon, it was really getting hot so the entire family was starting to drag a little (especially after having to walk 30 minutes from the hotel to the Colosseum). Going inside the Colosseum was great, but honestly I’m not sure I’d pay extra to have access to the arena floor. The views are not necessarily that much better that from the standard viewing areas. Ultimately, I recommend getting a guide, but I think this is one where you can just find the cheapest option—I wasn’t blown away by our guide or the extra access.



Heading back to the hotel, the bus station had digital signs that told you how long the wait would be. There were two different buses we could take, but the board said both were 20-33 minutes away. After about 5 minutes, it still said the same, so we decided to walk again. I don’t know if buses or normally this unreliable in Rome, or if it was just the taxi strike.

For dinner, we walked to a nice restaurant, Piccolo Arancio. It’s a bistro in a narrow back-alley near the Trevi Fountain. For an appetizer, we tried the Jewish fried artichoke, but we didn't really care for it very much. For entrees, all four of us got pasta dishes. I got the rigatoni amatriciana, DW got tonnarelli with pepper sauce, DD got spaghetti pomodoro, and DS got the lasagna.



The food was all pleasant, but nothing blew us away. Still, it was nice sitting outside and enjoying the ambiance. Overall, the bill was about 60€ (...or at least I think since I can't seem to find my receipt). I wouldn't say no to eating there again, but I imagine you can find better.

Afterwards, we went to the Trevi Fountain at night, and it was still surprisingly crowded. We let the kids get some gelato and just enjoy being out at night.



DD and DS threw coins in again, fulfilling the tradition that they can come back to Rome. DW and I attempted to drink from the lovers fountain over on right side which is supposed to give us a good luck as a couple. I cannot stress how awkward it was to do this—we felt like trolls trying to pull this off with much laughing.



That was it for us, wrapping up our last night in Rome. The next day will be the transfer to Civitavecchia, COVID testing anxiety, and getting on the Disney Magic!

 

[Jangles]

Thank you for sharing.

 

[gstdog]

DAY 3 - EMBARKATION DAY: Everyone slept well again, although I woke up with a sore throat. I was convinced I had COVID, so we used the tests we brought from home. To our relief, all four of us tested negative. At this point, I started to think that maybe I was just suffering from allergies or a cold since I didn't have any other symptoms.

We found a nice little cafe for breakfast near the Pantheon, Caffè Tazza d'Oro. This was our first stand-up counter experience. You have to pay more to sit at table, but if you are okay standing up, you pay the cashier for your drinks and pastries. Then, you go to the counter with the receipt where they prepare your drinks, and then you can pick out which pastries you want since they're all the same price. We both had a cappuccino which we loved, I think got some various croissants and Danishes for the kids. The total bill came to just 6,6€.



We packed up, and then got ready for our transfer to the port. We used Civitavecchia ShuttleExpress, which was only 140€ for the one-way transfer. Our driver with CSE was a few minutes early, and they came with a huge Mercedes with the middle seats turned around facing us, like a limo. It was fantastic! This was much better than risking a taxi. We left at 10:10am and arrived at Port at 11:30pm. There were lots of people walking with bags that were dropped off near the port entrance, but still a long ways from the ship. I felt for them! Make sure your driver is allowed to go all the way to the ship!

It took us about 30 minutes in line before we were tested for COVID at 11:58am. We were then moved upstairs to the waiting area after security. The whole process seemed very organized to me. We got our results at 12:30pm, or about 30 minutes after we took the test. It was definitely nerve-wracking to wait to hear if you could get on, but we made it! Now, this is where I wonder--did I have COVID, yet? I would test positive just 3 days later. Is it possible that I got exposed on the ship, and then tested positive that quickly? Probably not. It seems really odd to me that I tested negative with a sore throat, but who knows for sure?



We walked on the ship at 12:43pm after clearing the guest check-in. We quickly did our muster drill check-in, and then went to Rapunzel's for lunch. Our favorite Disney Cruise tradition is doing a sit-down lunch when we get on the ship. Normally everyone is up on the pool deck or the buffet, so it's a nice, relaxing environment to slow down and just appreciate that we are back on the ship again. Plus, the kids are always excited for amazing desserts after every meal!



We finished up lunch at 1:45pm. We went to Senses to see if DW could get a manicure appointment, and they were able to take her for a walk-in right away. I took the kids back to the room, and it was ready for us. Our luggage started to arrive around 2:10pm. Once we brought the luggage inside, we went up to the pool and enjoyed some time swimming. We got back to the room after an hour, and I realized then that we were missing a bag. Our last bag came at 3:45pm. We freshened up, grabbed DW, and hit up the top deck to watch the Sail Away Party.



I had assumed I'd be able to do laundry on the ship without a big wait on the first day, but man...I was wrong. Seems everyone had the same idea. No worries -- I just brought a book and read while standing in line in the laundry room. It took about 25 minutes before a washing machine was ready. This may sound dumb, but the laundry room on the Disney Cruise puts me in a good mood. Everyone was in a polite, warm, and even forgiving if someone was a few minutes late getting their laundry. I wish that 'Disney vibe' extended more in my everyday life!

We had dinner that night at Animator's Palate. I apologize, but I don't take great photos or notes when we are on the ship. Others do a much better job detailing the menus and ship experience. The only evidence I have what looks to be a very tasty strawberry shortcake for DD.



After dinner, we decided not to do the evening show. It was still somewhat in the height of COVID times, so they didn't have a full entertainment act each night. We had seen Rescue Rangers already, so we decided to just relax back in the room.



That's it for the first day of the cruise. Our next stop will be our food tour in Palermo, Sicily!

 

[gstdog]

DAY 4, PART 1 – PALERMO MORNING: I was up early at 6:30am, so I decided to head up, grab some coffee, and watch the ship come into port on the top deck. I know some of you aren't early risers, but there is something magical about watching an island come into view in the quiet of the morning.



The family grabbed breakfast at 8:45am at Lumiere. Our arrival in port was delayed by about 25 minutes, from 9:00am to 9:23am. In return, they moved the departure back from 4:45pm to 5:15pm.

We booked a private tour using WithLocals, The 10 Tastings of Palermo with Karolina. I’ve had great success using WithLocals, as I’ve enjoyed the guides and the ability to ‘chat’ with them through the app ahead of time to coordinate and customize the tour. We paid 254€ for a three-hour tour, which included food and drinks.

We left the ship at 9:45am, and there was no line to get it off. We were scheduled to meet our guide at 10:30am at a local restaurant. It was a 2 km walk from the cruise ship, so I wanted to take a taxi. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one. The arrival area was crowded with buses and tourists, but no obvious taxi areas. This is the first time at a port that a taxi was hard to find. I’m sure if I had asked around, I could have found one, but my gut kept telling me we’d find one “just around the next corner”. Never happened, so we ended up doing a 30-minute walk. That’s usually a bad idea with the kids when I’m about to ask them to do a 3-hour walking tour.



We met our guide, Karolina, at 10:30am, and went into the Mercato del Capo, a local street market. Again, having a guide was really helpful to explain all the food and provide recommendations. There were tons of choices and things to buy, and I would have been a bit lost without our guide.



We tried some local pizza, soda, olives, and arancini balls (i.e., fried rice balls that can be stuffed with different ingredients). I’d rate the food as 6/10 – good quality and fresh, but not my favorite. Still, I always enjoy sampling food from a market and having a guide explain everything. This was a definite win for using a private guide, as we were able to stop, sit, and eat. I noticed several larger tour groups moving through, but they seemed to be a bit rushed.



We also let the kids have some granita (or granite), which is a type of shaved ice with flavoring. I think the kids were expecting something similar to shaved ice in America, but this definitely had a lot less sugar. While DS and DD enjoyed a cold treat, they probably would have rated this a 4/10. There were MUCH better desserts to come later in the tour.



After the street market, we toured the Chiesa dell'Immacolata Concezione, or the Church of the Immaculate Conception. It was a beautiful church with amazing sculptures, and cost 2€ per adult to enter (kids were free). Our guide shared with us the story of Saint Rosalia, whom legend says appeared to people in Palermo after hear death and guided them to her bones in a nearby grotto. Thus, she became the city's patron saint. This church is definitely worth the small price of admission.



You can see from the picture below that what look like fabric drapes are actually stone carvings. The detail in this church is really a sight to see.



After that church, we walked around and explored more of the city. There is a lot of rich history and culture that our guide was able to share with us about Palermo.



There were parts of the city that where you can still see ruins from the bombing in WWII. The city couldn't afford to fix it, so they just built around it. Now, it serves as a historical reminder (see below, look at the crumbling walls above the shops).



Next up is part 2 of our day in Palermo and back on the Disney Magic!

 

[gstdog]

DAY 4, PART 2 – PALERMO AFTERNOON:
Next, we visited the Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore, or Church of the Most Holy Savior. The church itself isn’t amazing, but the views from the inside the cupola are amazing. It costs 3€ per adult (kids were free). The climb to the top was about 150 steps, and it’s definitely worth it. You get to see the city in all directions, plus mountains that you don't really catch a glimpse of from the streets.



Afterwards we grabbed some dessert from Cappadonia Gelato. We got a brioche gelato with cream, which was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had—a definite 10/10. The mixture of gelato in soft bread and sweat cream was a surprising delight! DD and I split the one below, and that was the perfect amount.



We peaked into Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, another church nearby that our guide suggested, but decided not to pay to go inside. We were "churched out" by this time of the day. We did stop and spend some time at the Fontana Pretoria. When it was built back in the 16th century, the nuns at the nearby church were aghast at the nudity and would often try to cover up the statues or dress them. The Fountain earned the nickname, ‘Fountain of Shame’.



Our last food stop was at I Segreti del Chiostro, an amazing cake shop. I ate the best cannoli of my life. Full stop. 11/10. DW and I *still* talk about it to this day. I’ve had cannoli before and never got the appeal. This one was perfect. The goat cheese they use for the cream inside is indescribably good. We got a few other desserts there as well, which were also excellent. I highly recommend giving this dessert shop a try!



We wanted to do a little shopping, so our guide took us to a good area with fun shops. DW bought a dress from a little boutique, and DS bought a hat from a street vendor. We also bought some coffee beans as a gift from Casa Stagnitta, a very old, traditional shop in that area. With that, we said goodbye to our guide, Karolina. She was wonderful and great with our kids.



It was time to go back to the ship, and we didn't want to do another 30-minute walk with the kids. Unfortunately, finding a taxi was really hard again. It just doesn't seem like Palermo has a lot of taxis available. Our guide told us that you need to use Uber, but I didn't have a reliable internet connection -- another reason to get an international phone plan on the next trip. However, we lucked out with a horse! There are horse and carriage drivers in the Quattro Canti (or Four Corners), a central part of the city. They will offer to take you on a tour of the city for 80€. I happily stumbled upon an older man that spoke a little English, and he helped us negotiate with one of the drivers to just take us to the port for 25€ (i.e., one-way trip). That was a huge win to avoid the walk, plus DD loves horses!



We got back to the ship at 2:15pm. We relaxed in the room for a bit and then freshened up before dinner. It just so happened that this was DW's birthday, and they treated her to all sorts of goodies at dinner.



After dinner, DW and the kids went to see the evening show, which featured a ventriloquist / magician. They really enjoyed it. I stayed in the room, as I felt exhausted from our day in Palermo. I'm normally in great shape, so this should have been a clue that something was going on, but it was still another 48 hours until I tested positive for COVID. Still, it was another great day and an awesome start to the cruise!

The next post will be a day at sea followed by a cliff-side hike in Santorini...which might be my favorite experience from the entire trip!!

 

[NAB]

Loving the pictures and the descriptions that go with them.

Never thought of getting on the time change a week in advance. My husband gets mad at me when I don’t change my watch when it is a couple hours difference. Saying this we never were late getting back to the ship…lol

 

[gstdog]

Loving the pictures and the descriptions that go with them.

Never thought of getting on the time change a week in advance. My husband gets mad at me when I don’t change my watch when it is a couple hours difference. Saying this we never were late getting back to the ship…lol

The primary reason we try to acclimate to the time change before the trip is to avoid a wasted day. I hate the idea of spending a day sleeping in a hotel, with an amazing city just waiting to be explored. My family may not care as much, but I know I'd be grumpy waiting for people to wake up and go.

 

[gstdog]

DAY 5 – AT SEA: This was a chill day for us, with the clocks moving forward an hour as we sailed to Greece. We decided to sleep in a little and do breakfast at Cabanas. DW and I love sitting down for breakfast at one of the restaurants and ordering off a menu, but the kids love the flexibility (and donuts) from the buffet. After breakfast, DD decided to she wanted to go to the kid’s club. She had met a few other girls and wanted to play with them again.

DS came with me and DW to bingo. It’s a guilty pleasure, but we love playing bingo on the ships. DS had never come with us before, but I think he’s hooked after one time. We usually do the ‘family pack’ that comes with two tablets and six paper cards. DW and DS each managed a tablet, and I worked on the paper cards. In a shocking surprise, DW won! She’s been a ‘stander’ so many times in the past, but never won the whole thing. This seemed like a great sign for the trip? Everything’s going our way! (…again, cue ominous pending COVID music).



After lunch, we spent a few hours at the pool as a family, from 1pm to 4:30pm. We enjoy relaxing, reading books, and watching the movie on Funnel Vision while the kids play. That night was formal night, and we got some great pictures. DS *loves* getting dressed up, so this is always a highlight for him.



Tomorrow will be our day in Santorini, where I convinced the family to do a 10 km hike from Fira to Oia.

 

[gstdog]

DAY 6 – SANTORINI: This was a day I *really* wanted to get right. It took some arm twisting, but I convinced DW that we should do the 10-kilometer hike (or 6.2 miles) from Fira to Oia instead of taking a boat or bus. She was skeptical, but I played the “this is the ONE thing I will want” card, and she relented. So now the pressure was on--if this didn’t work, I'd feel guilty for making everyone do this.

If you look up reviews of that hike on TripAdvisor, you’ll see the majority of people loved the experience. However, there is a minority that said it was too hard or even gave up part way and headed back to town. From what I could gather, the people who hated it were either expecting an easy walk (it’s definitely a hike with steep hills) or the heat in the middle of the day got to them. As I’ve mentioned before, my family enjoys hiking, so I wasn’t worried about stamina. Still, I packed a few bags of candy (purchased from the gift shop on the ship) to dole out to the kids while we walked. I find ‘surprise’ treats distract them from complaining. As for the heat, you need to make sure you have enough water, hats and sunscreen. Also, it looked like it really starts to get warm after 11am. For most people, it takes 3-4 hours to do the 10km hike. That means if we can start the hike by 8am, we should be good (especially since the last few kilometers are all downhill). The problem is that we had an ashore time of 8am, so it meant making sure we were on one of the first tenders.

I used this website to plan out our hike. It outlines the hiking path, pictures of key waypoints, and even the elevation (we hiked from the port stop at Fira to Oia, which takes us from right to left on the chart below). Based on this, I decided that our “Plan A” would be to take a bus from Fira to Imerovigli, which would shorten the hike by 2 km and save us 30 minutes (and avoid the first hill climb you see on the chart below).



That morning, we got to the Buena Vista Theater at 7:30am to ensure we were on the first tender boat. It was a 10-minute ride from the ship to the old port below Fira. You are dropped off at the base of a cliff, and the only way to get up to Fira is walking up the hill (no thank you), riding donkeys (DW says they are mistreated and we weren't allowed), or taking a cable car. Most everyone on the first tender was waiting on the dock for a tour group, so we were one the first ones to get in the cable cars. We were able to take the cars up to the top of the cliffs, arriving in the city of Fira by 8:20am. The cost was 6€ for adults and 3€ for children, or 18€ total for the one-way trip. For the Disney nerds, the cable cars are made by Doppelmayr, the same company that made the Skyliner at Walt Disney World!



Now, at this point, the weather felt amazing. There was a cool breeze, and rather than trying to find the bus stop in town, we decided to go ahead and do the full 10km hike. You travel through a lot of towns and villages over the first 2 km, and there are lots of little shops that sell drinks and food. Sometimes the path can be a little confusing when you are in the city, but we were able to navigate it okay (i.e., just keep the ocean on your left). Overall, I’m SO glad that we did the full hike. You can see from the pictures below how beautiful it was.







We arrived in the town of Oia at 11:30am, so it took us just over 3 hours to do the hike. That pace included us stopping for a water break a few times, plus plenty of picture stops along the way. None of the hills were too difficult, and the views are amazing. I will say, once we got to Oia, it definitely started getting warmer. I would not recommend trying to do the hike in the middle of the day.

For lunch, DW had made reservations in Oia at Roka. The restaurant had great reviews, both for the food and the views of the ocean. Our reservation wasn’t until 1pm, which gave us 90 minutes to exlore Oia. For those that don’t know, Oia is famous for offering amazing backdrops Instagram photos.



We had fun finding tons of great places for pictures. We also loved the shopping, and ended up buying some jewelry for DW, DD, and some gifts for family back home. We had a minor scare where DW couldn’t find her phone. We ere worried it was stolen out of her purse, but we weren't 100% sure she didn't leave it somewhere. We ran back through the city and checked three different stores until we found it in an art store where DW had put it down while perusing some prints. Whew!

We ended up getting to lunch at Roka a little early at 12:30pm, and they were ready for us. The ambiance was great. The restaurant was off the beaten path, so it wasn't too crowded and had a relaxed vibe. You can see the view from our table in the picture below.



DW and I started with some ginger & citrus non-alcoholic cocktails that were very refreshing. For appetizers we got some carpaccio that was melt-in-your-mouth good, and some excellent lamb kebab. For entrees, we got a mushroom risotto and some type of pasta dish that were both great.



I wish I remember the names of the dishes, but I didn’t take any notes that night. Normally my process is to write down my thoughts about the day as we go to bed each night, but we had some COVID drama that kept me from my normal routine. I'm sure the kids ate food, but I have no idea what they got or if they liked it. I just remember having an amazing lunch and being thrilled with the choice. The total was 78€, and we left 90€ in bills.

We did another hour of shopping and sightseeing after lunch, and then were ready to head back to Fira. We were able to grab a bus at the Oia bus station at 2:44pm, and it left the minute we got on it. It’s a little chaotic, as there aren’t ‘lanes’ or ‘signs’ that would help you find a bus. Instead, the drivers seem to park anywhere they want and you just have to ask where each bus is going. Bus tickets were 1,60€ each for the four of us. It was standing room only, but it was only a 20-minute bus ride, getting us back to Fira at 3:07pm. We thought about touring around the city, but we were all exhausted (and likely three of us with COVID by this point). We walked to the cable car and got in line to back down to the port. It probably took us 25 minutes to get to the front of the line to buy tickets, which were another 18€. The ride down is less than 10 minutes, and we were at the port at 3:50pm. There was a big line for the tender, enough that we had to wait for the second one. We ultimately made it back on the ship by 4:15pm. For those counting, it took us about an hour from “we are ready to leave” to getting back on the ship. Be prepared for lines!

That night, we were excited to see the premier of Thor 4, Love and Thunder in the Walt Disney Theater. I’m a huge Marvel nerd, as are my kids. However, it was during the movie that we noticed DS sunk into himself. Afterwards, we could tell he had a massive fever. We went back to the room and self-tested. Our worst fears had come true—COVID.

In my next update, I’ll try to share what I remember about spending 6+ days in quarantine. But don’t let that distract you from the good news—Santorini was incredible, and somehow we did a 10km hike while three of us had COVID!

 

[Flossbolna]

Loving your trip report! So sorry that you ended up catching Covid! But your day in Santorini sounds amazing!

 

[gstdog]

DAY 7 to 12 – QUARANTINE: It was the morning of Mykonos, where we had planned a relaxing beach day. Instead, we were on the phone with the Disney Cruise medical team letting them know about our COVID test results from late last night. They sent someone to our room to conduct an "official" test and called with the results about 30 minutes later. It was official: DW, DS, and I all tested positive for COVID. DD tested negative. The magnitude of what that meant for our vacation didn't set in until they shared the timetable. We would be tested again in six days. SIX DAYS! That was a jaw dropping moment. I naively assumed that we'd be in quarantine for maybe three days, but six was devastating. That meant we were going to completely miss our stops in Mykonos, Piraeus/Athens, Naples, and Livorno/Florence, plus two days at sea.

That was a hard morning. There may have been a tear or two shed for the loss of a significant portion of the trip. Plus, we also had a little anxiety about having COVID as well. I was probably the sickest person in the cabin, as my cough got really bad to the point I struggled to talk (...and developed long COVID--it took my 2 months to get back to 100%). I REALLY felt bad for DD, who was perfectly healthy. If she had been an adult, they would have let her get a different room, but at 8 years old, she was stuck with her sick family. There is something extremely sad at seeing exotic destinations out of your porthole that you cannot visit. The picture below was Mykonos--so close, yet so far.



Still, what can you do? I'm a bit of fantasy nerd, and this quote from Lord of the Rings speaks to the spirit we tried to have as a family:

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Of course we didn't want to get COVID. We would have never chosen this, and in fact did everything we could to try to prevent it. But what can we do? The only choice we get to make is what to do the with next six days. Honestly, we made it work, and I'm incredibly proud of our family. We genuinely enjoyed each other's company, and the time went by faster than I would have thought. A few highlights:

• Thank goodness we brought the Nintendo Switch. We never let the kids use it in the car at home, as we like to limit screen time. Still, we decided to bring it on the trip for the airplane ONLY. We told DS and DD that we absolutely would not use it during the cruise. Well...new rule! Use the Nintendo as much as you want!
• Video on the Demand was a huge plus. The collection of Disney movies is pretty good, and we watched a movie every day with the kids. They watched the Lindsey Lohan version of the Parent Trap for the first time and loved it so much that they watched it EVERY DAY of quarantine. We also watched a lot of home improvement shows like No Demo Reno--the kids even got into watching that with us.
• They gave us high-speed internet for free. We had been very stingy with buying internet, only using on one device and just for a day here and there. Now? We added it to all our devices and read news, played online games, and did Facetime with family and friends back home.
• Meals were always a welcome break to the monotony. I was worried that we'd only be allowed to eat from the room service menu, but they let us order from whichever restaurant that we were scheduled to be at that day. So for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they would call our cabin about an hour before the meal so we could put in our order. They would bring meals on trays (so many trays and dishes for a family of four). You know how you gain weight on a cruise? Imagine eating the same amount of food, but doing ZERO walking. Ugh.
• Reading books was my main past time. I'm old school--I don't like reading on a Kindle, so I had brought about ten books with me. I wasn't sure what books I wanted to read, so I brought extra. I *love* reading, but there's a limit to how many hours I can do in a row. I started experimenting with different places in the room. The picture below shows all the places I read. My favorite became on the floor in front of the bathroom doors. Yes, I love my family, but it was nice to get some space.
  

What *would* we have done in those four ports? Here are my plans. I cannot give you any recommendations, but offer them up as things I think would have been fun. I hope these plans can be of use to someone else!

• MYKONOS: We had planned on a relaxing beach day on Ornos Beach. We were on our own, and had planned on taking a water taxi (i.e., Sea Bus) from our cruise stop to the Old Port and Mykonos Town. From there, I was hoping to find a taxi, but our back-up plan was a bus. It's only a 10-minute walk to the Fabrika bus station, and then we could catch a bus to Ornos. At Ornos beach, expect to pay 40-90€ to rent two chairs for the day from one of the restaurants at the beach. Ones with good reviews were Aperanto Galazio Cuisine bar (20-30€ per bed), Kostantis (25-30€ per bed), Kuzina (35-40€ per bed), and Pasaji (60€ per bed).
• PIRAEUS: We scheduled a private driver with Welcome Pickups. The price was 28€ for a 4 passenger sedan to take us one-way into the city. I wanted to use private transportation to make sure we got to the tourist sites quickly before everyone else. Our drop-off point was the Acropolis, where we were meeting our private guide at 8am, booked through WithLocals. The price was 184€ for a three-hour tour of the Acropolis site and the surrounding area. I had already purchased the Acropolis tickets directly through the website for 60€. Note--if you use book discounted tickets for children, you have to go to the ticket window that morning with passports to prove the age of the children, which means more lines. If/when I do this again, I'd just eat the extra few euros and buy everyone adult tickets so you can skip the lines and go straight into the site. Afterwards, we planned on using the hop-on/hop-off bus to tour the rest of Athens, which conveniently has a stop in Piraeus back at the cruise ship.
• NAPLES: We scheduled a private driver with Tours Amalfi Coast--we had used them on our trip to Naples three years ago, and we loved them. We were paying 398€ to have a driver for 8 hours. In Positano, we had planned on spending some time at the beach and doing lunch. We had been before, and felt like we were too rushed and didn't get enough time. Our plan was to then head to Sorrento and explore the city before making our way back to the ship. We saw Pompeii on our last trip, and didn't feel like we needed to go a second time.
• LIVORNO: This was our second trip to Florence. The first time, we did a Disney excursion, but the bus didn't get into the city until after 10:30am (see my last trip report). This time, we planned on taking the train from Livono to Florence to get there an hour earlier. I had already paid for train tickets directly with Trenitalia, which were about 40€ roundtrip. We would leave Livorno at 8:12am and arrive in Florence at 9:33am. I scheduled a tour of the Uffizi museum through WithLocals. The price was 140€ for a 2.5 hour tour from 10:30am to 1pm, plus the museum tickets for another 56€. Afterwards, we planned on grabbing lunch and enjoying other sites, before hopping on the 3:28pm train that would take us back to Livorno at 4:48pm. The was my personal heartbreaker. I've booked tickets to the Uffizi museum TWICE in my life, and both times my plans have fallen through. One day, I will see the Birth of Venus by Botticelli!

So after six days, it was time for the big day. We tested positive for COVID on Sunday, and it was now Saturday morning and our chance to get out of COVID jail. I was still coughing terribly, but everyone else was back to normal. I had already told DW that she should take the kids and go on without me, enjoying the last two stops in Cannes and Marseilles. I'd be happy knowing they were able to get off the ship. The test results came back and...DW and DS were still testing positive! DD and I were negative. Did I tell you that DW speaks French and all she wanted in the world was just to have those two days in France? She was devastated! She felt 100% healthy and had no symptoms. Meanwhile, I felt like coughing up a lung every time I spoke, yet I was free. Also, the craziness of COVID--DD was trapped in a room for six days with three sick people and never got it. I want her immune system...or maybe she was patient zero? We'll never know!

What does that mean? It meant our family would be split up for the last two days of the cruise. DW and DS were moved to a separate room where their quarantine would extend for a full EIGHT days, and DD and I were free to enjoy the last two days, albeit as a partial family.

In my next post, I'll share what it was like to have some very unique 'daddy/daughter' time in the south of France, and how guilty I felt leaving DW and DS behind!

 

[cmph]

Oh gosh, I can just feel the devastation as I read about it! I'm the planner in my house, too, so I can only imagine how gutting it is to anticipate all your perfect plans coming to fruition, and then the rug is pulled out from under you.

3/4 of my crew and most of our extended family got it at this same time last year. (DD was at a pre-college program and escaped it, and the two youngest never tested positive.) That strain really stuck around, so I'm not surprised some of you continued to test positive. I stopped retesting after day 10, b/c I was wasting test after test and was symptom-free - for all I know, I still would have tested positive at 20 days!!

I'm happy that DCL at least took good care of you, and it is a great kindness on your part to drum up all the sad memories and share this info with everyone.

 

[brentm77]

Thank you for sharing. We were on the shorter med Greece/Italy cruise last June. We spent four days in Rome before, and Covid and getting on the ship were in the back of my mind the entire time. Every time someone coughed near us, or my kids touched their mouth with dirty hands, I died a little inside. When we were cleared and walking onto the ship, I literally teared up. I did the same at our first night in Animator's Pallet. It had been three years of planning, rebooking and waiting. For some reason, once we were on, I didn't even think that we might get sick and quarantined. Your attitude about it is exceptional under the circumstances. I am really enjoying the report so far and look forward to the rest.

 

[gstdog]

Oh gosh, I can just feel the devastation as I read about it! I'm the planner in my house, too, so I can only imagine how gutting it is to anticipate all your perfect plans coming to fruition, and then the rug is pulled out from under you.

I didn't talk about it in my recap, but there was a mad scramble to cancel everything and try to get my money back. We were out of luck for some things that were non-refundable like train tickets, but I was able to cancel and refund a surprising number of the tours. That helped that it didn't feel like a complete loss.

 

[gstdog]

DAY 13 - CANNES: So DW and DS were gone, quarantined to their own room. While sad, I was excited to take DD to France. DW gave me a stoic / semi-tearful "I will be happy knowing you are having fun" before we separated, and I wanted to make good on that and do our best to enjoy.

We had planned on making Cannes a beach day, as we previously visited Nice on our last cruise. There wasn't anything major in the area we wanted to go visit, and thought it would be nice day to relax. However, as you can see from the tender boat picture below, it was a bit of a gloomy day. I asked DD if she wanted to go swimming at the beach, and I got a resounding NO.



It took about 15 minutes of waiting before we were able to get on a tender boat. I cannot begin to describe how surreal it is to walk around in a city after having been in full quarantine. It felt odd, made even more so by missing half of my family. I wish I could say that Canne was great, but it ended up being a bit of a bust. We toured around the area where they do the movie festival and they do have places to take some great pictures.



In the city square we did find an interesting market that seemed to have a mixture of tourist items and antiques. I enjoyed looking around, but I didn't have the heart to do any serious shopping. We grabbed some macrons for DD (and a few extra to save for DW and DS).



Afterwards, we walked down the beach. We both put our feet in the water so we can say "we did it", and then DD enjoyed a playground that we found. The beaches seemed really nice. There are places where you can rent a chair for 25-50€ per person, or there is a nice public beach that is free...although you'll need to bring your own towels and something to sit on.



We walked back along the streets and did some window shopping, but we didn't see anything worth going inside for. All together, we spent about two hours in Cannes. DD and I decided we wanted to back on the ship to grab lunch and go swimming in the pool.

The saddest part of the day was going to dinner alone. The long sit-down dinners on the cruise are the best part for our family, as we *love* the chance to slow down, enjoy each other's company, and discuss our favorite part of the day. It wasn't the same without DW and DS. The show that evening was a mind-reader, which I enjoyed but wasn't really fun for an 8-year-old. We did check out a silent DJ party, which was a lot of fun.



That was it for Cannes. Super excited to be free...but we felt out of sorts. The next day was Marseille, and I'm happy to report that DD and I had a much better day that felt like a real adventure.

 

[Flossbolna]

So sorry that your family got split up that way!! But I am impressed how you managed to still have a good cruise despite the quarantine. Also I am impressed how long your cruise was that it wasn't over by the time you ended quarantine!