Disney first dipped their toe in the cruising business in 1995, by commissioning two ships to be built by the Italian ship builder, Fincantieri. The first ship, christened the “Magic”, was completed in 1998.

Taken in Villafranche later in the cruise:


With a length of 964 feet and displacement of 83,000 tons, the Disney Magic is capable of carrying 2,400 passengers comfortably along with up to 945 crewmembers. Both the Magic and her sister ship, the Wonder, are designed to resemble “classic” ocean liners of years past, making both ships instantly recognizable. The ship underwent an overhaul is 2008. When we arrived on the ship three years later, the ship still appears to be rather fresh. Crewmembers were constantly cleaning, repairing, and painting through out the cruise, helping maintain the appearance.

As I pointed out earlier, this was the first cruise for my family and I. So take the following comments about the cruise with a grain of salt. Our experience was excellent. The ship inside and out was in good repair, and in our opinion tastefully decorated. We had two inside staterooms connected on the lower deck. The cabins were fairly large with plenty of storage space for our American sized baggage (keep in mind we had a total of 6 people). Beds were comfortable. Service was top notch from our servers, cabin attendant, and all staff encountered on the ship. Food was excellent in terms of quality and quantity. Although the ship was near capacity, it never felt too crowded on the ship. At peak times, the line at the buffet could get rather long; however, they moved quickly. Obviously, since it is Disney, the experience is catered toward families. But as twenty something year olds, my oldest younger sister (if that makes sense) and I never felt out of place on the ship. There was a good bit to see and do onboard, even though the ship does not have a casino and other forms of entertainment for an older crowd.

I’m not going to write in detail about the cruise, since it would take way too long. Just note our experience on the ship was fantastic. If anyone has questions, I would be glad to answer them.

One of the big draws of this particular cruise was its itinerary, which included the following port of calls:
- Malta
- Palermo
- Naples
- Civitavecchia (Rome)
- La Spezia (Pisa and Florence)
- Ajaccio
- Villefranche (Nice and Monaco)

Without further adieu, I will let the pictures do the talking.

Barcelona


Closest we would get to Tunis


Malta














Palermo










Pompeii