For families with children, travel to Europe can be daunting. Packing and unpacking and deciding where to go and eat is more difficult with kids in tow. However, Disney Cruise Line is setting out to make it easy for families to visit Europe.

In April, the Disney Magic will return to Europe, where it first sailed in 2007, only this time with a few new itineraries. The Magic will offer 10,11, and-12-day cruises to Scandinavia, Germany and Russia, in addition to a lineup of Mediterranean itineraries that include calls at three new ports. And in each port Disney will add its magic touch to enhance the touring experience.

Keys to culture

Each year cruise lines keep upping the ante on shore excursions, as passengers express more enthusiasm to spend money on experiences. Disney sees its return and expansion into the European market as an evolutionary step firmly based on a core Disney activity — storytelling.

Unlike other cruise lines where the hotel department handles the shore excursions, Disney places their tours in the hands of the entertainment department. David Duffy, Disney Cruise Line’s creative director for entertainment and shore excursions, summed it up this way: “We’re using our storytelling expertise to tell the great and fascinating stories of the places we’re visiting at each destination.” He added that the true objective is to provide fact-based narrative rather than fairy tales.

Indeed, the line’s return to Europe offers a treasure trove of culturally rich Italian ports such Naples, Civitavecchia (Rome) and La Spezia (Florence, Pisa, Lucca), as well as Barcelona, Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm. However, it’s the ones not normally considered children’s destinations, such as St. Petersburg, Russia and Tunis, Tunisia that are the most intriguing.

Disney realizes that for a lot of passengers it will be their first time in Europe and well-designed shore excursions are the key to a great cruise vacation. “We make our shore excursions very kid-friendly,” said Jason Lasecki, Disney Cruise Line’s public relations director.

“That’s what we do so well. If they know their children are well taken care of, parents have a good time.” Lasecki acknowledged the challenge for Disney is to keep the children engaged in the cultural significance of each port of call. “We’re looking for the sweet spot in each destination,” he added.

Sweet spot or not one thing Disney insists upon for shore excursion participants is comfort. The line goes the extra mile with comfortable transportation along with adding little touches like plentiful bottled water and cool towels. They even make gelato stops during long tours to keep the kids happy. Another nice option that Disney provides at each stop is a “Port Adventure” where youth counselors from the ship whisk the kids off for an activity allowing parents and grandparents to explore a site in more detail.

Onboard the Magic, there will be activities geared toward preparing kids for the ports, such as painting frescoes, mosaics, and Russian stacking dolls. There will also be a food tastings to familiarize the kids with what they’ll find in each port such as gelato for Italy or crepes for France.

Tunisian mystique

For the majority of passengers onboard the Magic, visiting Tunis, Tunisia will be the first time experiencing a Muslim country. Disney realizes this and will offer family-friendly lectures that will discuss Tunisian society and traditions.

Once ashore, tours and activities are clearly aimed at experiencing Tunisian culture. For example, a “Treasure Hunt” shore excursion in the white-washed village of Sidi Bou Said allows families high-octane fun while at the same time discovering the ancient history of the village. Tour participants are given a map booklet with clues for a successful treasure hunt. Along the way guests visit former palaces, receive a temporary Arabic henna tattoo, fetch water from a famous communal fountain, haggle with shop owners using local currency to buy trinkets, take a pit stop in a café where the locals smoke their hookah pipes, and have their name written in Arabic by a Wiseman.

Other tours of the area include tour of Tunis with a visit to a souk, and the Bardo Museum famous for its Roman mosaics. Also available is a visit to Carthage, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a jaunt to a Berber village, which offers a similar atmosphere to Colonial Williamsburg except it has Arabic touches of snake charmers, camel rides, and belly dancing.

Ciao Tuscany

Florence is one of the most intriguing cultural centers in Western history, in which religion, philosophy, and politics played an important part in the development of the arts. So, how do you get an 8-year-old interested in all this?

Disney developed a tour to take kids beyond just talking about history — they will actually experience it. The line is offering an exclusive “Disney Experience” at the 14th century palace — Palazzo Vecchio. “This tour is something no other cruise line has ever done in Florence,” says Duffy. The tour is actually part of a program developed for Italian school children, but Disney was able to work with the museum to come up with an English-speaking version. The tour will allow kids to enjoy works of art Michelangelo, wander through secret palace passageways, talk with actors portraying Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici or his Spanish wife Duchess Eleonora di Toledo, try on medieval clothing, and paint a fresco.

Another exclusive tour that is only offered by Disney is a medieval parade experience in Lucca complete with drummers, troubadours, dancers, flag throwers, and a cross bow contest. For those that have always dreamed of going to cooking school in Tuscany you can do that as well. The line is offering the experience at the Torre A Cenaia winery just outside Pisa. While this excursion is more adult-oriented, kids are welcomed too. The best part about cooking school in Tuscany – eating what you’ve created and (for adults anyway) washing it down with the local vintages.

Russian intrigue

When the Magic heads north to the Baltics the grandeur of St. Petersburg, Russia will be the highlight for most onboard. For the first time in Disney Cruise Line history a ship will spend an overnight in port. With the added time guests will be able to delve deep into the city’s bloody 300-year history, admire the beautiful architecture of the Winter Palace and the Peterhof, or stroll along the rivers and canals.

“The shore excursions in St. Petersburg have been two years in the making,” said Duffy. A tour of Catherine’s Palace in Pushkin is the highlight where Disney will offer an exclusive Prince and Princess Ball in the palace’s grand ballroom. Imagine all the little girls dressed up in their Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White costumes being driven to the palace’s doors in horse-drawn carriages and then dancing with Disney princess characters. “This is a very exciting time for us,” added Lasecki.

Disney will also offer guests the opportunity to experience an evening performance of Swan Lake at the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre. Another Disney exclusive tour will allow guests to experience a private performance at the Jacobsen Ballet School, where young dancers, ages 5 to 15, train for a career in the ballet.

Also, no visit to St. Petersburg would be complete without a visit to one of the world’s greatest art museums- the Hermitage. The museum’s collection includes more than three million works of art and artifacts. Disney offers a chance for kids to visit and also create their own masterpieces in the museum’s Roman sculpture section giving parents more time to explore.

The idea of heading on a family cruise often conjures up thoughts of sitting back on deck, soaking up the sunshine and splashing in the pool, but a European cruise offers something different. Cruising in this part of the world means seeing amazing sites and experiencing ancient cultures and customs. And for kids lucky enough to sail on the Disney Magic with all its family-friendly tours full of cultural enlightenment they’ll get to see that it’s a small world after all.

If you go:

In the Mediterranean, the Disney Magic will be based in Barcelona and offer four 10-day and four 11-day cruises in April, May, August and September 2010. Fares start at $1964 per person, based on double occupancy. Kids ages 17 and under traveling with 2 full-fare guests in the same cabin sail free on select Mediterranean sailings from April 24 through May 26, 2010 (taxes and fees not included).

In June, July and part of August the Magic will be based out of Dover, England and offer 12-day cruises to the Baltics. Fares start at $3,649 per person, based on double occupancy. Visit Disney Cruise Line’s Web site for more details.

It’s 7:00 am and anyone who is still asleep has just been awakened by this morning’s announcement. A polite good morning call that announces it is a “nippy” 39 degrees outside, and a reminder that the bus for the winery tour leaves in one hour. Not that anyone is in bed — no one wants to miss a thing. The fall foliage was just setting in making the scenery along the Columbia River Gorge more spectacular. Add the backdrop of the Cascade Mountain Range with snow-covered Mount Hood and it’s even more breathtaking.

Expedition cruising aboard Cruise West’s Sprit of Discovery, as you might have gathered, is quite different from your one week cruise around the Caribbean. For one thing the ship is small and there is no casino, lounge acts, bingo contests, disco, spa or fitness center. There’s no dressing up since the atmosphere onboard is very casual — jeans, khakis, sweaters and fleece jackets are the norm. Accommodations are basic – cabins have no television, radio or telephone, and get this, no locks on the doors. Still everything is secure, safe, clean, and the all-American crew is friendly and eager to please.

Spirit of Discovery

One of the hottest trends in cruising today is the almost insatiable interest in cuisine. Food and wine have always been an integral part of the cruise experience, but in recent years, the interest has become more refined to include special cruises dedicated to specific cuisine. When it comes to wine many cruise lines offer wine tastings, but few have the ability to take you right to the source.

Cruise West, a company long known for its educational eco-cruises to adventure destinations like Alaska, Costa Rica, and Asia may seem like an unusual fit for a wine cruise. But the company is known to focus on the destination rather than the cruise itself, and sailing along the Columbia River with access to Washington and Oregon’s growing wine region offers an amazing experience for wine lovers.

Spirit of Discovery, launched in 1976, was purpose-built for cruising off-the-beaten track waters. It is small carrying just 84 passengers and functional, with a dining room, lounge, bow viewing area, sun deck, but little else. The downside is that cabins are compact with twin beds (queen beds in higher class cabins) and tiny shower area, the sink is located outside the bathroom in the cabin. The good news is you won’t spend a lot of time in the cabin since shore excursions take up most of the day.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the intimate, open-seating Grand Pacific Dining Room. Meals are at set times, and since there is no 24-hour room service or alternative dining, you eat when you are supposed to or you will miss out. For early risers there is a Continental breakfast spread in the lounge, the same area where all the lectures take place. A sit-down breakfast follows in the dining room. Lunch is scheduled around the shore excursions. Dinners are the highlight where the chef uses local ingredients from the Pacific Northwest. Menu choices are somewhat limited, but the cuisine with the highlighted wines offered was excellent. Standouts included Wagyu Shortribs, Kurbata Pork Prime Rib, and Wild Pacific Sturgeon and Grilled Salmon and amazing breads like Walla Walla Onion Cheddar and Curry Egg. Coffee, tea, and sodas are complimentary – the only extras are cocktails and wines not part of the tastings.

Onboard entertainment consists of enrichment lectures by two Cruise West Exploration Guides who lecture on the history of the Columbia River. Come evening, there are activities in the Discovery Lounge – mainly wine tastings and talks by the ship’s guest “Wine Guy”, Frank Baldassare. He lectured on how grapes are grown and how various regions produce different wines, how to properly taste wine and pair it with food, and how Washington and Oregon became wine regions.

All shore excursions are included in the price and Exploration Leaders separate passengers into two touring groups. This made it easier to spend time exploring and not overwhelming the destinations visited. We hiked through pear orchards in Oregon, onion fields in Washington, toured the giant Bonneville Dam with its huge power generators and salmon fish ladders, jet boated to the Hanford Reach Monument where we witnessed abundant wildlife and glimpsed at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (birthplace of nuclear energy), watched seafood cooking demonstrations in Astoria, and in Walla Walla and Richland drank barrels of wine – literally.

Swirl, smell, sip

Prior to the winery tours the first lecture was Baldassare educating us on the Four S’s of wine tasting: see, swirl, smell, and sip — a valuable way to experience and understand each wine from first to last taste. This practice would be essential to make the most of this cruise with all its abundant wine samplings.

Surprisingly most all the passengers on this trip were over 65 years of age, I am 43 and I was by far one of the youngest. But let me tell you these seniors were sprite and could run laps around you, not to mention being able to swill wine with the best of them.

The first winery tour was Three Rivers Winery just outside of Walla Walla. The visit coincided with the October crush season when grapes are harvested and placed into wine vats to cure. Jan Wessel, a retail manager for Three Rivers, gave a group tour of the vats and told how making fine wines is a blend of science and art. “It is the result of a host of varying environmental factors and, typically, the combination of several different grape varieties, each in varying quantities, overseen and orchestrated by master vintners to create a unique and excellent vintage,” he said. Tastings included a number of red and white wines where my personal favorite ended up being the 2005 Syrah.

Since gourmet food goes hand-in-hand with good wine our group stopped for lunch at Walla Walla’s Backstage Bistro and dined on an amazing three-course meal. During the meal more wines were sampled and one in particular stood out – a 2003 Nicolas Coles Cellars Camille, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. I just loved this wine so much I had several glasses and was feeling no pain. Baldassare laughed at me and told me to “pace” myself. The reality is there are five S’s in wine tasting – the last being spit, which I quickly learned to do or I would not remember a thing about this trip.

After lunch it was off to visit two more wineries. At Beresan Winery the farming aspects of growing grapes was discussed, and our group was able to pick and eat Merlot grapes right off the vine – yum! The next winery was Basel Cellars set atop a hill, not only did we drink wine but we drank in the beautiful scenery as well.

The next day the ship docked in Richland and it was off to visit three more wineries. The first stop was Coyote Canyon Winery located high above the Yakima Valley in the remote area of Horse Heaven Hills. The owner Mike Andrews gave a tour of the 500-acre vineyard and afterwards indulged our palates in a number of excellent vintages. Next it was off to the Red Mountain area and the Terra Blanca Winery with amazing landscaped grounds and sweeping views of the Yakima Valley. More tastings and lunch was followed by a tour winery’s vast cave system storing thousands of barrels of wine. Our last stop was another winery in the Red Mountain area, Kiona Vineyards. Kiona was the first vineyard in the area and has cultivated a stellar reputation for producing amazing vintages. The Vivacious Vicky wines are not to be missed.

For Baldessere, educating others about the joy of wine is simply not a job, it’s a passion. “It’s all about exploration and the process of discovery, and rediscovery of tastes,” he says. This, as it turns out, is an essential ingredient to creating a memorable travel experience.

If you go:

This cruise is best for intellectually curious travelers interested more in culture and nature than splashy big ship amenities. The eight-day, seven-night “Taste of the Pacific Northwest” cruises on select dates in April, September and October 2009. All trips depart from Portland, Oregon. Rates range from $3,299 to $4,399 per person, depending on cabin category. Prices include taxes, port charges, airport transfers, shore excursions, and gratuities. Visit Cruise West’s Web site for all the details.

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(Click here to view zip-lining video of this tour)

Forget bowling, rock climbing and ice skating. The coolest thing to do on a cruise vacation these days is to go zip-lining through the jungle. During a recent cruise stop in St. Lucia, I took a zip-line canopy tour of the St. Lucian rain forest. Strapped into a harness 80 feet above the jungle floor, I was flying through the air like Jane of the Jungle attached to a steel cable strung between two platforms.

Was I crazy? Sort of.

The art of zipping

We can thank Costa Rica for the boom in modern canopy tours by zip line. The system was invented by a group of botanists in the 1970s as a means to explore the hard-to-reach ecosystem of rain-forest canopies. Zip-line tours have come a long way since then, and can now be found throughout the world in the tropics, the mountains and even in the desert.

My zip-line adventure began on the east coast of St. Lucia in the heart of the rain forest at the beautiful Errad Estate. The 300-year-old estate was once a spice plantation, and it is full of fragrant nutmeg trees and abundant cocoa trees. There is also an amazing river and waterfall. All in all, the perfect setting for this crazy adventure.

Upon arriving at the zip base, our group was given a safety briefing and then outfitted with harnesses, helmets and gloves. Then it was off for the fun part. We would traverse a series of nine platforms, with the longest run being 700 feet with a 60-foot drop.

You don’t need to be the athletic type to enjoy this tour, but it isn’t recommended for pregnant women or people with back problems, and the set-up cannot accommodate anyone weighing more than 250 pounds.

Anita takes flight

I climb the stairs to the first platform and wait for the young woman in front of me. As the young guide clips her harness to the cable, she gets panicky. She’s keeps asking her husband for reassurance. Turns out they are on their honeymoon and this is one of their first newlywed outings. She gives her husband a kiss. The guide tells her to sit and put her legs out in front and her right arm up and behind the pulley, lightly grasping the cable to keep her body steady.

“Remember, don’t put your hand in front of the pulley or you’ll hurt your fingers,” warns the guide. He lets go and the young woman is off.

“Oh. My. Gawd. Aaaaahhhhhh!” she screams as she streaks down the cable. It took a mere 10 seconds for her to reach the next platform. The young guide turns to me and says, “Time to go.” I turn to my own husband behind me and say, “You go.”

He’s a lot more gung-ho and quickly gets in touch with his inner Tarzan. Off he goes.

“OK, Jane,” jokes the guide. “You go get Tarzan.”

I laugh nervously. He snaps my harness hook to the cable. “Remember to watch your fingers — you don’t want to cut them off,” he laughs.

Here I am on a small, wooden platform, the rain forest some 50 feet below, strapped to a heavy cable. My gloved hands are shaking, and my heart is racing. I figure I am about to die.

I launch with a scream and the treetops blur under my feet. The cable hums and my screams echo through the rain forest as the wind screeches by my ears. Halfway down the cable, I start to spin sideways. I stretch my right arm back to steady my spin as they showed me in the safety briefing, and it works. I am still “woo-wooing” when I reach the platform. After the guide pulls me in and unclips my harness hook, I am still laughing.

“That was fun, let’s do it again.”

After zipping through all nine platforms, the entire tour group is exhilarated.

“This was the wildest shore excursion we’ve done on any cruise,” said one enthused participant. We all agree that next time we see zip-lining on the shore excursion list, we’ll all be signing up.

Are you tired of the same old shore excursions? Do you yearn for something more exciting than a shopping trip or more enriching than a beach break? If you like living la vida loca, here’s a list of high-energy tours that will make you say “Wow!”

Helsinki, Finland: Lapland Expedition by Private Jet

The tour begins at the Helsinki airport, where participants board a private jet (one that is sometimes used by the Finnish president) and take off toward the Arctic Circle. Destination: Rovaniemi, the administrative capital of Lapland. Upon arrival, guests are met by local guides in traditional costumes, who escort the group on a short drive to the Kemijoki River. Here participants board a wooden riverboat and venture off to a reindeer ranch. Later, participants engage in an Arctic Circle crossing ceremony in a traditional dwelling and are presented with a reindeer bell as a memento. If you are bold, you can try to lasso some reindeer. After a Lapp lunch with Lapp folk dancing, you can visit the Arktikum, a museum and science center. The final, lighthearted stop of the journey is a trip to “Santa Claus Village,” located right on the Arctic Circle, for a visit with the jolly old elf himself and a chance to send a postcard from his post office. This tour is offered only by Seabourn.

Belize: Cave Tubing and Rain Forest Exploration

This is one of my favorite tours of all time. The tour begins with a one-hour drive north from Belize City through the lush Belizean countryside to the tiny resort of Jaguar Paw. After an orientation session, participants are fitted for an inner tube and headlamp, then trek 45 minutes through the rain forest to get to the river starting point. During the trek, guides point out the flora and fauna (yes, there are jaguars in the area, but sightings are rare). Upon arrival at the Caves Branch River, you leap off a 12-foot cliff into the river, then head for the underground streams. Once you are in the caves, you’ll be floating on your inner tube with only the headlamp and the dim jungle light to light your way. You’ll see stalagmites, stalactites, underground waterfalls and thousands of bats! A highlight of the trip is the Crystal Cathedral, said to be a spiritual center for the ancient Maya. Most cruise lines that call on Belize City offer this tour or another, similar one. It is available only during the rainy season, August through January.

Ketchikan, Alaska: Rain Forest Canopy Tour

If you’re up for something completely different, try getting in touch with your inner Tarzan. Alaska Canopy Adventures allows you to zip across Ketchikan’s rain forest 135 feet above the ground. There are seven zip-lines and 4,500 feet of cable strung across spruce, hemlock and cedar trees; distances between platforms range from 175 feet to 850 feet. There are also three rope bridges to navigate. If you are brave enough to look down, you might catch sight of a bear; glance upward and you might get a bird’s-eye view of a bald eagle. The tour is offered by Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: Bay Kayak Adventure

This tour lets you explore the caves and grottoes of Ha Long Bay off northeastern Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. Sheltering 1,969 stone islands of various sizes, the bay is world famous for its spectacular scenery; in fact, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tour members will paddle a two-person kayak into Thien Cung (Heavenly Residence Grotto) and Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto), then explore the famous Ba Hang (Three Caves) area. After a long morning and early afternoon of paddling, participants will board a junk for an authentic Vietnamese lunch. The tour is available only through Silversea Cruises on stops in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

Huatulco, Mexico: Free the Turtles

Every year, for just a few evenings after each full moon, thousands of turtles swim to the west coast of Mexico and come ashore in the state of Oaxaca. Here they scoop out holes in the sand and lay their eggs. The eggs are protected by armed military patrols, as are the baby turtles, who are allowed to mature on the beach. In 1991, the National Mexican Turtle Center was established at Playa Mazunte, which was formerly a killing beach. The Center now arranges for young turtles to be taken to the port of Huatulco to be set free. Here, participants in the shore excursion have the unique opportunity to adopt a sea turtle and liberate it into the ocean with their own hands. The program is available only through Regent Seven Sea Cruises on ships with stops in Huatulco from June through February.

Willemstad, Curacao: Animal Encounter

Want to hand-feed a shark without getting a bite back? The Curacao Sea Aquarium offers the chance to do just that with its adventure called “Animal Encounters,” the only program in the world to let you feed sharks and sea turtles in just one dive. A natural tidal pool near the edge of the aquarium is home to hundreds of tropical fish, including a group of sharks that lives behind a wire fence fitted with a Plexiglas window. The best thing about the tour is that both certified divers and novices can participate, so long as they are at least 12 years old. Participants who are not certified divers will take a special 30-minute PADI-approved immersion course. After a short animal briefing, bag of sardines in hand, participants can feed the sharks, turtles and many species of fish through small holes in the Plexiglas. The program is available through all cruise lines that dock in Willemstad.

Shore excursions don’t have to be a yawn. Check these out, then send me your own recommendations!