5 nights, Civitavecchia (Rome) to La Valletta

This is a five-night run down the Italian boot into Malta, one-way from Civitavecchia to Valletta, and every one of the five calls is a shore day. No cruising days, no filler. The pace is brisk: you wake somewhere new each morning. Civitavecchia is the gateway to Rome, a regional train ride from the port, so day one belongs to the city, not the harbor. Then it gets denser and more southern. Naples puts you a ten-minute walk from the historic center, with Pompeii or the Amalfi Coast as the all-day alternative. Siracusa is the standout for ease: the ship docks at Ortigia, so the Baroque old town and the Greek theatre at Neapolis park need no transfer. Bari brings the orecchiette street, where the women roll and dry pasta in the lane mid-morning, and the basilica that holds the relics of Saint Nicholas. Valletta closes it inside honey-limestone bastion walls, with Caravaggio's largest painting in the cathedral.

This itinerary rewards travelers who want a fast survey of southern Italy and don't mind that Rome and Pompeii each eat a full day with a transfer attached. If you prefer slow mornings and long stretches at sea, pick a different sailing. Five ports in five nights moves.

Explora II is all-suite, all-oceanfront.