March 5, 2028 – March 15, 2028 · 9 nights · 8 stops
Explora's name for it: A Grand Journey through Ancient Wonders & Vibrant Mediterranean Cultures
The itinerary, port by port
8 calls over 9 nights, Jeddah to Piraeus (Athens). 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 Jeddah (JED) open around April 2027, about 11 months before you sail. I track that window for booked clients and flag it the moment it is worth booking. When to book your flights →
Jeddah is the Red Sea's historic gateway to Mecca, and its draw is Al-Balad, the UNESCO-listed old town of coral-stone merchant houses with carved wooden lattice balconies. Port guide →
Al Wajh is a historic Red Sea coral-stone town in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk province, and the call exists almost entirely as the sea gateway to AlUla and Hegra inland. Port guide →
Safaga is a working Red Sea cargo and phosphate port with little to see in the town itself; its entire reason for being on the itinerary is as the gateway to Luxor, roughly three hours inland across the desert. Port guide →
Ain Sokhna is a Red Sea resort town on the Gulf of Suez whose real value is geographic: it is the closest cruise port to Cairo, roughly 140 km away. Port guide →
5
Crossing the Suez Canal
A sea-level cut between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, opened in 1869, that lets your ship skip the long haul around Africa.
Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, and its medieval Old Town is the largest inhabited fortified town in Europe, built by the Knights of St John in the 14th and 15th centuries and protected as… Port guide →
Kusadasi is a Turkish Aegean resort town whose real draw lies 19 km inland: Ephesus, one of the best-preserved classical cities in the Mediterranean and once the second city of the Roman Empire. Port guide →
Piraeus is the port of Athens, and the day belongs to the ancient city about 10 km inland. Port guide →
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
Invitation to Discover More
Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
Early Booking Benefit
A fare for booking far enough ahead of departure. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
The ship and your suite
This sailing is aboard EXPLORA I, 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 →
Send me the dates and the suite tier you have in mind and I'll come back with a confirmed live number and my read on the sailing within two hours. Best available price, and I make it worth more.