4 nights, Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Lisbon

This is a short run down the Atlantic islands into Iberia: four nights, four ports, starting in the Canaries at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, hopping through La Gomera and Madeira, and ending in Lisbon. No sea days, which means it moves. You are off the ship somewhere every day. Santa Cruz is a working Spanish city under a volcanic skyline, with the old center a few hundred meters from the berth and Teide above it if you want the drive. La Gomera is the quieter call: San Sebastian is where Columbus took on water before the 1492 crossing, and the well in town, by tradition the water used to baptize the first converts in the Americas, is a two-minute detour off the main street. Funchal pairs a flat old town and its 1940 market with a cable car up to Monte and the wicker toboggan run back down, steered by two men braking with their boots on a public street.

This one rewards travelers who like a brisk pace and don't need beach time, since these are volcanic islands, not resorts. If you want sea days to slow down, or you came for sand, pick a different sailing. The finish in Lisbon is a gift: the terminal sits right in Alfama, so you walk straight into the oldest quarter rather than losing the day to a transfer.

EXPLORA II is all-suite and all-oceanfront.