9 nights, Civitavecchia (Rome) to Fusina (Venice)

The itinerary, port by port

11 calls over 9 nights, Civitavecchia (Rome) to Fusina (Venice). 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 Civitavecchia (Rome) (FCO) 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 →

1. Embark
   Civitavecchia (Rome)

   Civitavecchia is Rome's deepwater port, a working harbor about 80 km northwest of the capital, and for most travelers it is the gateway rather than the destination. Port guide →

2. 2
   Naples

   Naples is a dense, loud, deeply layered Italian city where the cruise terminal sits at the foot of the historic center rather than out in an industrial port. Port guide →

3. 3
   Palermo (Sicily)

   Palermo is Sicily's capital, a layered city where Norman, Arab, Byzantine, and Baroque builders all left their mark on the same streets. Port guide →

4. 4
   Cagliari (Sardinia)

   Cagliari is the capital of Sardinia, a layered Italian port city where a medieval hilltop citadel, the Castello, looks down over the harbor and the arcaded Via Roma runs right along the waterfront. Port guide →

5. 5
   La Goulette (Tunis)

   La Goulette is the port town at the mouth of the Lake of Tunis, and it is the gateway to ancient Carthage, the medina of Tunis, and the blue-and-white cliff village of Sidi Bou Said. Port guide →

6. 6
   La Valletta

   Valletta is the fortified 16th-century capital the Knights of St John built on a peninsula above Grand Harbour, one of the deepest natural harbors in the Mediterranean. Port guide →

7. 7
   Crotone
8. 8
   Corfu

   Corfu is the greenest of the Ionian islands, and its UNESCO-listed Old Town carries four centuries of Venetian, French, and British rule in its arcaded streets and twin sea fortresses. Port guide →

9. 9
   Dubrovnik

   Dubrovnik is a walled stone city on the Adriatic whose intact medieval ramparts and marble main street make it one of the most complete fortified ports in Europe. Port guide →

10. 10
    Ravenna

    Ravenna was the capital of the late Western Roman Empire and then a Byzantine outpost, and it kept the receipts: eight UNESCO-listed early Christian monuments whose mosaics are the finest of their kind… Port guide →

11. Disembark
    Fusina (Venice)

    Fusina is a cruise terminal on the mainland edge of the Venetian Lagoon, about three miles west of Venice across the water, opened in fall 2024 as ships moved out of the historic city. Port guide →