Mediterranean Cruise Specials:

Book any 7-night Royal Caribbean Mediterranean cruise by May 18 and receive FREE pre-paid gratuities PLUS on board credit. Call us 800-227-1577 or email us for details.

Book Azamara Mediterranean cruise before June 30 to receive up to $2000 air credit, free pre paid gratuties, free wine with lunch and dinner, free upgrade on select itinerary from ocean view to balcony, and up to $500 on board credit free. Click here, email us, or call us 800-227-1577 for more details.

Book Oceania Cruises 2012 or 2013 Mediterranean Cruise before June 30 for 2-for-1 cruise fare and free airfare, plus on select cruises receive free pre paid gratuities, free on board credit, free and discounted port transfers, and a free shore excursion.  Click here, email us or call us 800-227-1577 for more details.

Book Celebrity Mediterranean cruise select itinerary to enjoy free shore excursions, free cocktail reception, free on board credits and discount port transfers. Call us 800-227-1577 or email us for more details.

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Italy Cruises Italian Cruise Ports of Call:

Explore Italy Cruises Port Cities with a Mediterranean Cruise Italy Tours

Italy cruises are a lovely way to travel around Italy to see Italy in one trip, without having to pack and unpack or move from hotel to hotel – the cruise around Italy is a floating hotel. A cruise from Italy that visits several of Italy’s ports won’t give you an an-depth look at any one Italian port city, but it is a good way to get a taste of the Italian cities, where you sample each Italian port city so that you may create an Italy travel itinerary for your next Italy holiday that focuses on the Italian cities you enjoyed on your cruise around Italy.

Italy’s great “cities of art,” Venice, Rome and Florence, have attracted visitors for ceturies, but Italy has much more for the art lover to discover. And what better way to travel around Italy than on an Italy cruise. Explore the mosaics of Ravenna, the hidden gems of Palermo, the history of Cagliari, the Etruscan tombs of Tarquinia, and much more on an Italy cruise.

Italy is a peninsula surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea, with various gulfs and islands to visit. There are several options for ports of call on an Italy cruise, depending on which cruise line and Italy cruise itinerary you choose for your cruise from Italy.

Below you’ll find a list of some of Italy’s ports of call visited by the cruises lines. Whatever your Italy cruise itinerary you are sure to enjoy the Italian ports on a cruise around Italy.

Agrigento
Agrigento located on Sicily’s southern coast is the site of one of the leading cities of Magna Gracia during the golden age of Ancient Greece. Dating to the 6th century BCE. now excavated and partially restored, the Greek Temples constitute some of the largest and best-preserved ancient Greek buildings outside of Greece itself. Agrigento is a major tourist centre due to its extraordinarily rich archaeological legacy. If you are interested in ancient Greek and and Ancient Roman history then you’ll love a cruise to Agrigento,

Ancona
Ancona is located on the Adriatic Seas in the region of Le Marche. Right in Ancona there is evidence of both Roman and Greek settlements, and there is a hilltop cathedral in the city. Ancona is not a very popular toursit destination so you’ll find an authentic Italian experience here if your cruise around Italy stops in Ancona. It is not a major Italy cruise port but you may contact Italian Tourism travel agents who will find you a cruise from Rome or cruise from Venice that includes Ancona on its itinerary.
Bari
Bari is a major city in the southern Italian region of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot. Bari and Puglia exhibit the confluence of many cultures that during the centuries have melted into a unique culture. Bari’s centro storico, its old section isnice to wander. And the Bari art museum is full of treasures from ancient Roman, Greek, and Ottoman nhabitants. There are several churches, and a castle that dates from the 12th century. Bari also boasts a lovely beach on the adriatic coast.

Cagliari
Cagliari was the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia (which in the 1861 became the Kingdom of Italy) from 1324 to 1720 and from 1798 to 1815. Cagliari is an important regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse Art Nouveau architecture, vibrant nightlife and several monuments. The old part of the city (called Castello, the castle) lies on top of a hill, with a wonderful view of the Gulf of Cagliari (also known as Angels Gulf).

 

Civitavecchia Rome Cruise
Rome’s cruise port located about 45 minutes outside Rome’s centro storico literally means “old city.” Civitavecchia is next to Ostia Antica, Rome’s first port built by the Etruscans and a Mediterranean trade during the Ancient Rome, where ships from Alexandria and Istambul arrrived. Today Ostia Antica boasts excavations of buildings and markets from ancient Rome that rival Pompeii. Rome cruise port Civitavecchia is Rome’s port of call where you’ll embark and disembark for cruises from Rome.
Crontone
City in Calabria, on the Ionian Sea, founded circa 710 BC as the Achaean colony of Croton. Crotone was long one of the most flourishing cities of Magna Graecia. Its inhabitants were famous for their physical strength and for the simple sobriety of their lives. Crotone hosts a national archaeological museum, a municipal museum, a municipal art gallery, and a provincial museum of contemporary art, as well as the Antiquarium di Torre Nao.

Gaeta
South of Rome in the region of Lazio Gaeta is a fishing and oil seaport, and a renowned tourist resort. NATO maintains a base of operations at Gaeta. Its main site Tis the massive Aragonese-Angevine Castle. There are also various churches and cathedrals built in gothic an dbaroque styles and a very nice town to walk around to enjoy a gelato or local seafood. Gaeta is also the centre of the Riviera di Ulisse, a park that includes Monte Orlando, Gianola, the Scauri Mounts, and the two promontories of Torre Capovento and that of Tiberius’ Villa at Sperlonga.

Genoa
Genoa is one of Italy’s original maritime republics. The port of Genoa is a cruise port where many Italy cruises start or end for an Italy cruise or a Mediterranean cruise, so rather than looking for shore excursions from Genoa you might just be looking for things to do in the city before or after your cruise. The historic center is beautiful, and along with a selection of pretty churches Genoa is also home to Europe’s largest aquarium and an excellent art museum.

Livorno
Livorno is popular given its proximity to Florence, Lucca, Pisa, and the Ligurian Coast like Cinque Terre and Pietrasanta. Shore excursions to Etruscan sites are popular as well. Livorno is known as the Venice of the Mediterranean because of its canals that run through the city. Whether you decide to take a shore excursion into Tuscany or Liguria or decide to stay in Livorno you will have a lovely day.
Messina
The Sicilian port of Messina is the busiest in terms of passenger traffic, partly because of ferries back and forth from mainland Italy to the island of Sicily; but it’s also the port Mediterranean cruises use for shore excursions to Taormina and Mt. Etna. Messina is famous for its cultivation of lemons, oranges, mandarin oranges,olives and wine. The Regional Museum is known for hosting notable paintings by Caravaggio and Antonello da Messina. The official Messina cruise terminal website is here.
Naples
Naples home to one of Italy’s largest ports, offers passengers a wide variey of shore escursions. Naplesis the home of pizza margherita and limoncello, and is where Naples Archaeology Museum is located. Cruise passengers may take a shore excursion from Naples port to visit the Amalfi Coast, the island of Capri and Ischia,or across the bay of Naples to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Sorrento. The official Naples cruise terminal website is here.

Palermo
While Messina is typically the Sicilian port of call for visits to the eastern parts of the island, the western side of Sicily is more easily reached when cruises stop in Palermo. It’s one of Sicily’s major cities, and has many notable churches and historic sights, so it’s well worth spending time right in Palermo if the shore excursions don’t interest you. The official Palermo cruise terminal website is here.

Portofino
Just down the coast from Genoa, in the region of Liguria, is the picturesque postcard perfect town Portofino. While massive cruise ships can’t get in close to Portofino, it’s still a popular port of call. If the ship you’re on can’t get into the harbor, you’ll be ferried from the ship onto the land. The “fine port” is typically full of yachts hosting the rich and famous so be sure to dress the part. Santa Margherita is another town popular among cruise passengers.

Portovenere
Portovenere is another small town along the Ligurian coast just south of the Cinque Terre where the big cruise ships can’t get into the harbor, so if Portovenere is on your Italy cruise itinerary you’ll be ferried to the land from your ship. There is plenty to enjoy in Portovenere for the day, such as a hike up to the castle and a visit to the churches and the local stores. A “shore excursion” from Portovenere to Cinque Terre may be done by grabbing a water ferry in Portovenere to see the Cinque Terre by boat. The ferry will stop in four of the five hamlets so you may get off and get on to visit these seaside hmlets which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as is Portovenere)

Ravenna
Described as the city of mosaics, the city’s long Roman and Byzantine history contributes to the beautiful artwork seen here. With a history that dates back to the Roman period, the port now serves as a gateway to those exploring Croatia’s coast. The city has several UNESCO World Heritage monuments. This designation is due to the number of buildings and structures with renowned mosaic work. The archeaological zone includes the former Port of Classe,
Rimini
Italian cruise port Rimini is located on the Adriatic Sea, it is one of the most famous seaside resorts on the Adriatic Riviera. Previously inhabited by the Etruscans, Umbrians, Greeks, Gauls and Romans, it is rich with cultural history. In modern history Federico Fellini, the great Italian movie director may be its most famous inhabitant.
Siracusa
Italy port city Siracusa is famous for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheaters, architecture, and as the birthplace of Archimedes. This 2,700 year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean, when it was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians it was allied with Sparta and Corinth, exerting influence over the entire Magna Grecia area of which it was the most important city. Once described by Cicero as “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all”, it later became part of the Roman Republic and the Byzantine Empire.

Savona
Savona is an Italian port city 40 KM west of Genoa, 150 KM to the east of Nice, France, located on a beautiful stretch of Meditrranean coastline in the region of Liguria. Savona used to be one of the chief seats of the Italian iron industry, having iron-works and foundries, shipbuilding, railway workshops, engineering shops, and a brass foundry. One of the most celebrated former inhabitants of Savona was the navigator Christopher Columbus, who farmed land in the area while chronicling his journeys. ‘Columbus’s house’, a cottage situated in the Savona hills, lay between vegetable crops and fruit trees. It is just one of many residences in Liguria associated with Columbus.

La Spezia

 

Taormina (Giardini Naxos)

Midway between Messina and Catania. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century. It has popular beaches (accessible via an aerial tramway) on the Ionian sea, which is remarkably warm and has a high salt content. the most remarkable monument remaining at Taormina is the ancient theatre (the teatro greco, or “Greek theatre”), which is one of the most celebrated ruins in Sicily, on account both of its remarkable preservation and of the surpassing beauty of its situation.it is frequently used for operatic and theatrical performances and for concerts.

Trapani
Trapani is on a low-lying promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean. Carthage seized control of the city in 260 BC, but ceded it to Rome in 241 BC following the Battle of the Aegates in the First Punic War. Two ancient legends tell of mythical origins for the city. In the first legend, Trapani stemmed from the sickle which fell from the hands of the goddess Demeter while she was lookking for her daughter Persephone, who had been kidnapped by Hades. The second myth features Saturn, god of the sky, who eviscerated his father Cronus with a sickle which, falling into the sea, created the city. In ancient times Saturn was the god-protector of Trapani. Today Saturn’s statue stands in a piazza in the centre of the city.
Trieste

The city of Trieste is so close to the border it’s almost in Slovenia, which means that shore excursions could technically take place in two different countries if you were so inclined. Trieste itself is a pretty port city, with a beautiful main square, a hilltop castle, and a cathedral worth visiting. It’s also famously home to Italy’s illy coffee company, so be sure to have a cup before you leave. The official Trieste cruise terminal website is here.
Venice

Venice has its own cruise terminal, despite not being a big city. It is, after all, a city built upon and surrounded by water. Venice is one of Italy’s four original maritime republics. A cruise from Venice typically cruises around Italy to Rome or Florence. The Italy cruise itinerary around Italy such as a Venice to Rome cruise is a classic Italy tour that will bring you to the great Italian ports including Italian cruise ports on the Amalfi coast like Sorrento where you may visit Pompeii, Capri, and Naples.

Call us today 800-227-1577 for more information about Italy cruises.