The planning begins...

     In January 2012, we heard rumor that Disney Cruise Line was going to take the Disney Magic back to the Mediterranean for the Summer 2013 season and that one of the itineraries would include Venice, Italy.

Google Map Image with Venice pin-pointed

    

     In addition to Venice, there would be several ports that would be new to us on this journey, including:

• Piraeus, Greece (jumping off point for Athens)
•  Kusadasi, Turkey (access to the ancient city of Ephesus)
• Mykonos (a beautiful Greek island)
• Valetta, Malta and
• Dubrovnik, Croatia

     For me, planning a trip is as much fun as actually going on the journey, so having new places to explore both before and during this vacation held a great deal of appeal.  And while we have already been to Barcelona, Villefranche-sur-Mer, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, and Naples, we knew there was so much more to see and experience in each of these ports as well.

     A few days after booking our cruises, our Friday night date at Costco yielded a find for me that has become invaluable: Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Portsbook. This book is full of information about each of the ports we will be visiting and includes helpful hints about getting around the area with local transportation, self-guided tours, and suggestions for restaurants, shopping, and sightseeing.