Search 1,000+ pages, voyages, ports, guides, and comparisons.

EXPLORA I · Mediterranean & Western Europe

9 nights, Barcelona to Barcelona

April 23, 2027 – May 3, 2027 · 9 nights · 8 stops · round-trip

Explora's name for it: A Journey of Mediterranean Spirit & Cultural Exploration

Nine nights, a round-trip out of Barcelona, and eight calls that loop the western Mediterranean down to the Strait of Gibraltar and back. The pace is full: this is a port-heavy run with little open water, so plan to be ashore most days. The arc moves from Spain's Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol across to Morocco and Algeria, then up through the Balearics. The hooks are real and varied. In Barcelona you can stand inside Sagrada Família in the morning and be lost in the Gothic Quarter by afternoon. Tangier hands you a walled medina and a hilltop kasbah within a walkable loop of the marina terminal. Algiers is the rare one: a UNESCO Casbah of stepped lanes sitting almost directly above where the ship ties up, and few Western travelers ever see it.

This itinerary rewards a traveler who wants density and is happy walking historic old towns most days. Skip it if you want sea days, beach time, or a slow read of one region. A few ports earn their logistics: Barcelona and Palma both dock far from the center, so each eats time on a shuttle or taxi. Algiers needs a visa for most nationalities and shore access handled through a licensed guide, so confirm both with the ship well ahead.

The ship is Explora I, all-suite and all-oceanfront.

Barcelona (open port guide)BarcelonaAlicante (open port guide)Lisbon (open port guide)Málaga (open port guide)Tangier (open port guide)Algiers (open port guide)Ibiza (open port guide)Palma de Mallorca (open port guide)Palma de Mallorca

The itinerary, port by port

8 calls over 9 nights, round-trip from Barcelona. 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 →

  1. Embark
    Barcelona

    Barcelona packs Gaudí's modernisme, a 2,000-year-old Roman and medieval core, and a working Mediterranean waterfront into a single dense, walkable city. Port guide →

  2. 2
    Alicante

    Alicante is a working Costa Blanca city that puts a hilltop Moorish fortress, a marble seafront promenade, and a maze-like medieval quarter inside a single walkable radius from the cruise pier. Port guide →

  3. 3
    Lisbon

    Lisbon spreads over hills above the wide Tagus estuary, and the cruise terminal sits at the foot of Alfama, the city's oldest quarter. Port guide →

  4. 4
    Málaga

    Málaga is the working capital of the Costa del Sol and the birthplace of Picasso, and its old town packs a Moorish hilltop fortress, a 1st-century BC Roman theater, and an unfinished Renaissance cathedral… Port guide →

  5. 5
    Tangier

    Tangier sits where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic at the Strait of Gibraltar, a Moroccan port city with a walled medina, a hilltop kasbah, and a long history as an international crossroads. Port guide →

  6. 6
    Algiers

    Algiers is the white-tiered capital of Algeria, a city that stacks Ottoman-era alleys, French colonial boulevards, and a working Mediterranean harbor against steep hillsides. Port guide →

  7. 7
    Ibiza

    Ibiza's reputation is nightlife, but the cruise call is about Dalt Vila, the walled UNESCO old town climbing from the harbor to a 14th-century cathedral. Port guide →

  8. Disembark
    Palma de Mallorca

    Palma is the capital of Mallorca and the largest city in the Balearics, built in warm honey-colored sandstone around a sandstone Gothic cathedral that rises straight off the seafront. 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.
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 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 →


Keep exploring

Want this voyage priced for you?

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.

Book a 30-min Pre-flight or send your dates