Grand Mediterranean Explorer - Lisbon to Istanbul Cruise

Day 1 - Lisbon

Arrive: Sat 18 September 2027

Lisbon is Portugal’s hilly, coastal capital city. From imposing São Jorge Castle, the view encompasses the old city’s pastel-colored buildings, Tagus Estuary and Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge. Nearby, the National Azulejo Museum displays 5 centuries of decorative ceramic tiles. Just outside Lisbon is a string of Atlantic beaches, from Cascais to Estoril.

Day 2 - Lisbon

Depart: Sun 19 September 2027

Lisbon is Portugal’s hilly, coastal capital city. From imposing São Jorge Castle, the view encompasses the old city’s pastel-colored buildings, Tagus Estuary and Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge. Nearby, the National Azulejo Museum displays 5 centuries of decorative ceramic tiles. Just outside Lisbon is a string of Atlantic beaches, from Cascais to Estoril.

Day 3 - Seville

Arrive: Mon 20 September 2027 / Depart: Mon 20 September 2027

Seville is the capital of southern Spain’s Andalusia region. It's famous for flamenco dancing, particularly in its Triana neighborhood. Major landmarks include the ornate Alcázar castle complex, built during the Moorish Almohad dynasty, and the 18th-century Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza bullring. The Gothic Seville Cathedral is the site of Christopher Columbus’s tomb and a minaret turned bell tower, the Giralda.

Day 4 - Tangier, Morocco

Arrive: Tue 21 September 2027 / Depart: Tue 21 September 2027

Day 5 - Malaga

Arrive: Wed 22 September 2027 / Depart: Wed 22 September 2027

Málaga is a port city on southern Spain’s Costa del Sol, known for its high-rise hotels and resorts jutting up from yellow-sand beaches. Looming over that modern skyline are the city’s 2 massive hilltop citadels, the Alcazaba and ruined Gibralfaro, remnants of Moorish rule. The city's soaring Renaissance cathedral is nicknamed La Manquita ("one-armed lady") because one of its towers was curiously left unbuilt

Day 6 - Murcia, Spain

Arrive: Thu 23 September 2027 / Depart: Thu 23 September 2027

Day 7 - Majorca

Arrive: Fri 24 September 2027 / Depart: Fri 24 September 2027

Palma is a resort city and capital of the Spanish island of Mallorca (Majorca), in the western Mediterranean. The massive Santa María cathedral, a Gothic landmark begun in the 13th century, overlooks the Bay of Palma. The adjacent Almudaina is a Moorish-style Arab fortress converted to a royal residence. West of the city, hilltop Bellver Castle is a medieval fortress with a distinctive circular shape

Day 8 - Barcelona

Arrive: Sat 25 September 2027

Barcelona, the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is known for its art and architecture. The fantastical Sagrada Família church and other modernist landmarks designed by Antoni Gaudí dot the city. Museu Picasso and Fundació Joan Miró feature modern art by their namesakes. City history museum MUHBA, includes several Roman archaeological sites.

Day 9 - Barcelona

Depart: Sun 26 September 2027

Barcelona, the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is known for its art and architecture. The fantastical Sagrada Família church and other modernist landmarks designed by Antoni Gaudí dot the city. Museu Picasso and Fundació Joan Miró feature modern art by their namesakes. City history museum MUHBA, includes several Roman archaeological sites.

Day 10 - Sete, France

Arrive: Mon 27 September 2027 / Depart: Mon 27 September 2027

Day 11 - Marseille, France

Arrive: Tue 28 September 2027 / Depart: Tue 28 September 2027

Marseille, a port city in southern France, has been a crossroads of immigration and trade since its founding by the Greeks circa 600 B.C. At its heart is the Vieux-Port (Old Port), where fishmongers sell their catch along the boat-lined quay. Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde is a Romanesque-Byzantine church. Modern landmarks include Le Corbusier’s influential Cité Radieuse complex and Zaha Hadid’s CMA CGM Tower

Day 12 - Monte Carlo

Arrive: Wed 29 September 2027 / Depart: Wed 29 September 2027

The chic city of Monte Carlo in the petite kingdom of Monaco boasts some of the world’s most exclusive shopping and a beautiful old port. A fairy-tale aura has settled on this glittering city of the Grimaldi family, perhaps nowhere more elegantly than at the Prince’s Palace, where the late American actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly presided with Prince Rainier III. Monte Carlo’s medieval quarter perches on “The Rock,” an escarpment at the foot of the Maritime Alps, and offers spectacular views of the Mediterranean and the harbor lined with mega-yachts.

Day 13 - Florence/Pisa

Arrive: Thu 30 September 2027

Florence, capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of its most iconic sights is the Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto. The Galleria dell'Accademia displays Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Uffizi Gallery exhibits Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation.”

Day 14 - Florence/Pisa

Depart: Fri 01 October 2027

Florence, capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of its most iconic sights is the Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto. The Galleria dell'Accademia displays Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Uffizi Gallery exhibits Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation.”

Day 15 - Rome

Arrive: Sat 02 October 2027 / Depart: Sat 02 October 2027

Your gateway to the Eternal City, Civitavecchia has served as Rome's seaport since the 13th century. The port has a long and venerable history. The emperor Trajan built a pleasure villa near the modern city, while Bernini and Michelangelo designed the harbor fortifications. Yet the Eternal City eternally beckons. The ancient capital of the Western World and the center of Christianity for nearly 2,000 years, Rome provides an inexhaustible feast. Visit the ruins of the Forum, view the splendors of the Sistine Chapel, or climb the Spanish Steps, once the heart of Rome's Bohemian Quarter. Rome has been a magnet luring the world's greatest artists, architects, and philosophers since the days of the Caesars.

Day 16 - Naples, Italy

Arrive: Sun 03 October 2027 / Depart: Sun 03 October 2027

Naples, a city in southern Italy, sits on the Bay of Naples. Nearby is Mount Vesuvius, the still-active volcano that destroyed nearby Roman town Pompeii. Dating to the 2nd millennium B.C., Naples has centuries of important art and architecture. The city's cathedral, the Duomo di San Gennaro, is filled with frescoes. Other major landmarks include the lavish Royal Palace and Castel Nuovo, a 13th-century castle

Day 17 - Sicily

Arrive: Mon 04 October 2027 / Depart: Mon 04 October 2027

Sicily has been shaped by countless civilizations, from Greek to Byzantine to Roman. When it fell under Spain’s purview in the 17th century, it was celebrated as one of Europe’s ten great cities. Surrounded by undulating mountains, orange and olive groves and vineyards are plentiful. During World War II, Messina was the destination of the unofficial “Race to Messina” between US General Patton and British Field Marshall Montgomery. In the end, Patton arrived just hours before his British comrade, receiving credit for securing Sicily.

Day 18 - Crotone

Arrive: Tue 05 October 2027 / Depart: Tue 05 October 2027

Crotone is a port city in Calabria, southern Italy. The monumental Castello di Carlo V is a 9th-century fortress that was modified in the 1500s. The National Archaeological Museum houses items, including a gold tiara, unearthed at the ancient Temple of Hera Lacinia in the nearby Capo Colonna Archaeological Park. Farther south is the Capo Rizzuto Marine Protected Area, with seagrass forests, barracudas and starfish

Day 19 - Bari

Arrive: Wed 06 October 2027 / Depart: Wed 06 October 2027

Bari is a port city on the Adriatic Sea, and the capital of southern Italy’s Puglia region. Its mazelike old town, Barivecchia, occupies a headland between 2 harbors. Surrounded by narrow streets, the 11th-century Basilica di San Nicola, a key pilgrimage site, holds some of St. Nicholas’ remains. To the south, the Murat quarter has stately 19th-century architecture, a promenade and pedestrianized shopping areas.

Day 20 - Sibenik

Arrive: Thu 07 October 2027 / Depart: Thu 07 October 2027

Šibenik is a city on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. It’s known as a gateway to the Kornati Islands. The 15th-century stone Cathedral of St. James is decorated with 71 sculpted faces. Nearby, the Šibenik City Museum, in the 14th-century Prince’s Palace, has exhibits ranging from prehistory to the present. The white stone St. Michael’s Fortress has an open-air theater, with views of Šibenik Bay and neighboring islands.

Day 21 - Venice (Chioggia), Italy

Arrive: Fri 08 October 2027

Day 22 - Venice (Chioggia), Italy

Day 23 - Venice (Chioggia), Italy

Depart: Sun 10 October 2027

Day 24 - Split

Arrive: Mon 11 October 2027 / Depart: Mon 11 October 2027

Split is Croatia's second-largest city and the largest city in the Dalmatia region. It lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is spread over a central peninsula and its surroundings

Day 25 - Dubrovnik

Arrive: Tue 12 October 2027 / Depart: Tue 12 October 2027

Dubrovnik is a city in southern Croatia fronting the Adriatic Sea. It's known for its distinctive Old Town, encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century. Its well-preserved buildings range from baroque St. Blaise Church to Renaissance Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector’s Palace, now a history museum. Paved with limestone, the pedestrianized Stradun (or Placa) is lined with shops and restaurants.

Day 26 - Kotor

Arrive: Wed 13 October 2027 / Depart: Wed 13 October 2027

The Bay of Kotor, also known as the Boka, is the winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the historical region of Dalmatia. The bay has been inhabited since antiquity.

Day 27 - Corfu

Arrive: Thu 14 October 2027 / Depart: Thu 14 October 2027

Corfu Town is the capital of the Greek island of Corfu, in the Ionian Sea. It’s known for its cobblestone streets and pastel-colored Venetian architecture. To the west, the Venetian-built New Fortress has a network of tunnels underneath and views over the harbor. The 15th-century Old Fortress overlooks the town from the east and features a small chapel and mosaics. The Esplanade is a landscaped park near the water

Day 28 - Katakolon

Arrive: Fri 15 October 2027 / Depart: Fri 15 October 2027

Olympia is an ancient site on Greece's Peloponnese peninsula that hosted the original Olympic Games, founded in the 8th century B.C. Its extensive ruins include athletic training areas, a stadium and temples dedicated to the gods Hera and Zeus. The Archaeological Museum of Olympia exhibits finds from the site, including a statue of Hermes attributed to the sculptor Praxiteles.

Day 29 - Athens

Arrive: Sat 16 October 2027

Athens is the capital of Greece. It was also at the heart of Ancient Greece, a powerful civilization and empire. The city is still dominated by 5th-century BC landmarks, including the Acropolis, a hilltop citadel topped with ancient buildings like the colonnaded Parthenon temple. The Acropolis Museum, along with the National Archaeological Museum, preserves sculptures, vases, jewelry and more from Ancient

Day 30 - Athens

Depart: Sun 17 October 2027

Athens is the capital of Greece. It was also at the heart of Ancient Greece, a powerful civilization and empire. The city is still dominated by 5th-century BC landmarks, including the Acropolis, a hilltop citadel topped with ancient buildings like the colonnaded Parthenon temple. The Acropolis Museum, along with the National Archaeological Museum, preserves sculptures, vases, jewelry and more from Ancient

Day 31 - Heraklion

Arrive: Mon 18 October 2027 / Depart: Mon 18 October 2027

Day 32 - Rhodes

Arrive: Tue 19 October 2027 / Depart: Tue 19 October 2027

Rhodes, the largest of Greece’s Dodecanese islands, is known for its beach resorts, ancient ruins and remnants of its occupation by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades. The city of Rhodes has an Old Town featuring the medieval Street of the Knights and the castlelike Palace of the Grand Masters. Captured by the Ottomans and then held by the Italians, the palace is now a history museum.

Day 33 - Kusadasi

Arrive: Wed 20 October 2027 / Depart: Wed 20 October 2027

Ephesus is an ancient city in Turkey’s Central Aegean region, near modern-day Selçuk. Its excavated remains reflect centuries of history, from classical Greece to the Roman Empire – when it was the Mediterranean’s main commercial center – to the spread of Christianity. Paved streets wind past squares, baths and monumental ruins. The Temple of Hadrian was built before 138 A.D. for Emperor Hadrian’s visit

Day 34 - Canakkale, Turkey

Arrive: Thu 21 October 2027 / Depart: Thu 21 October 2027

Day 35 - Istanbul

Arrive: Fri 22 October 2027

The Port of Istanbul is a passenger terminal for cruise liners, which is situated at Karaköy neighborhood of Beyo?lu district in Istanbul, Turkey

Day 36 - Istanbul

Depart: Sat 23 October 2027

The Port of Istanbul is a passenger terminal for cruise liners, which is situated at Karaköy neighborhood of Beyo?lu district in Istanbul, Turkey