8 nights, Barcelona to Civitavecchia (Rome)
Explora's name for it: A Journey Along Spain’s Coast to the Italian Rivieras
Eight nights, nine port calls, no sea days. This is a dense west-to-east run down the Spanish coast and across to Italy, Barcelona to Rome, and it almost never sits still. The shape rewards travelers who want to move. Barcelona opens it with Gaudí's Sagrada Família and a 2,000-year-old Gothic core in one walkable city. Palamós, on the Costa Brava, is the quiet standout: the cruise quay sits 500 meters from town, with a working afternoon fish auction on the pier and medieval Girona inland. Villefranche-sur-Mer is the rare Riviera call where you control your own day, tendering straight into the old town with a train station a short walk along the bay to Nice and Monaco. Genoa lands you at the foot of its medieval caruggi, a flat walk to the city.
Be honest with yourself about pace. Several of the best stops are gateways, not destinations: Livorno means committing 90 minutes inland to Florence or 15 to 20 to Pisa, and Civitavecchia is really a train day into Rome. If you want slow mornings and long lunches, this packed itinerary will fight you. If you read a port map and start planning the train, it fits.
EXPLORA II is all-suite and all-oceanfront. Send me your dates and the suite tier you're weighing, and I'll come back with a read on which calls are worth a tour and which you can do on your own.
The itinerary, port by port
9 calls over 8 nights, Barcelona to Civitavecchia (Rome). Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.
Getting there: Flights to Barcelona (BCN) are already bookable for these dates. I watch the fare for booked clients so you book at the right moment. When to book your flights →
- Embark
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- Disembark
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
- Spontaneous Summer Invitation
- A near-term fare on a small set of summer-season sailings. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
- Invitation to Discover More
- Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
- Air-Inclusive Fare
- A fare that folds airfare into the voyage price on a smaller set of sailings.
The ship and your suite
This sailing is aboard EXPLORA II, all-suite, every suite with a private ocean-front terrace. Suites run from the entry Ocean Terrace to the Owner's Residence; the right tier depends on how you travel. Compare suites → · What's included →