And so we begin

This journey began with a promise several years ago when our older son was still in elementary school and we had just begun our love affair with cruising. He expressed an interest in going to Venice to see the canals. We told him then that if we had not made it to Venice before he graduated high school, we would take a cruise that included a stop in Venice for his graduation trip. He is now finishing his junior year of high school, so while this trip is a little early for high school graduation, it makes sense for us to do it now while we can sail with Disney Cruise Line (DCL) and he can still participate in their fabulous youth activities programs with his younger brother.

While other cruiselines have a single itinerary for the Aegean Sea and include Venice, Dubrovnik, Athens and other Greek Islands, DCL is offering two itineraries: one that includes Venice and Dubrovnik and one that includes Athens, Ephesus, and Mykonos. Therein lies the dilemma for us; DH (dear husband of mine) wanted to also go to Athens, so with some serious number crunching and use of our Disney Vacation Club points, we were able to reserve a cabin for both itineraries and sail back-to-back. After all, if we're paying for airfare from the US to Barcelona, we might as well stay a while, right?

So here's the itinerary for the first cruise: Barcelona, Villefranche, La Spezia (Italy), Civitavecchia (Italy), Piraeus (Athens), Kusadasi (Ephesus, Turkey), Mykonos (Greece), and Valleta (Malta).

And here's the itinerary for the second cruise: Barcelona, Villefranche, La Spezia (Italy), Civitavecchia (Italy), Naples (Italy), Venice (Italy), Dubrovnik (Croatia), and Valleta (Malta).

While several of the ports not only repeat for these two itineraries, we have been to Barcelona, Villefranche, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, and Naples before when we first cruised in the Mediterranean in 2007. But these ports are all jumping off spots for so many rich experiences and beautiful places that while the destination is the same, the experience will not be.

So welcome to our journey! We're glad to have you follow along with us as we plan and travel.