Mediterranean Cruise: Rome to Athens

When we first saw a 10-day cruise itinerary sailing from Rome to Athens with no sea days, we knew this was a cruise for us. We are not big fans of sea days, and this cruise didn’t have any, so it was ideal.

On top of that we would be able to add a pre- and post-cruise stay in two of Europe’s great cities. We relished the idea of revisiting some of our favorite sites in Rome and Athens. This cruise would also take us to new destinations in Italy, France, Turkey, and Greece.

During our 10-day cruise our ship called on Saint-Tropez, Livorno, Naples, Messina, Corfu, Katakolon, Santorini, Kusadasi, Izmir, and Volos.

Originally, we were supposed to visit Istanbul (one of the ports we were really excited about) but unfortunately the ship was diverted to Izmir instead. The day before our ship’s arrival in Istanbul, there was a terrorist attack, so it was best for everyone’s safety to skip this port of call. And we also thought that it was the most respectful decision. One day we will get to visit Istanbul, I’m sure!

Our sailing was in November which isn’t the best time to go on a Mediterranean Cruise. Especially when it comes to visiting some of the smaller towns. Many shops, sometimes all, were closed as it was past the usual tourist season. Also, daylight hours are short, and it got dark early so most of our sail away experiences were at night.

Pre-cruise stay in Rome, Italy

Aside from wanting to revisit Rome, adding a day or two before a cruise is always a good idea. This way if your flight is cancelled or delayed you will have time to rebook and make it there in time to board your ship!

There’s so much to see in Rome that having only a couple of days to explore the eternal city is clearly not enough time. So on this visit we spent most of our time roaming around town revisiting some of our favorite places and sampling gelato as we went along.

We did visit the Baths of Caracalla, which was a new attraction for us, and we highly recommend it. The site is impressive and much less crowded than some of Rome’s more popular attractions such as the Colosseum or St. Peter’s Basilica.

See our post: 15 Best Things to Do in Rome, Italy

We love the area around the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, so this is where we stayed. There are many restaurants to choose from and our favorite gelateria (Gelateria Della Palma) was nearby. Our hotel was also located next to Rome’s popular coffee shop, Sant Eustachio il caffè (a recommendation from our taxi driver). It was so good that we even picked some up to take home. Of course, we couldn’t leave Rome without having a plate of delicious fettucine at the famous Alfredo alla Scrofa Restaurant.

Getting to the Cruise Ship

Two days went by fast, and before we knew it, we were packing up and heading to board the cruise. Do note, that Rome’s cruise terminal is in Civitavecchia which is almost 45 miles (70 km) from Rome’s city center. It will cost you about 150 euros ($160) one way and plan for an hour or even 90 minutes if leaving at traffic time.

Boarding our cruise was uneventful and we were in our cabin and already enjoying the food as the ship sailed away to our first destination.

Saint-Tropez, France

Saint-Tropez is a coastal resort town on the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur) in Southern France renowned for its beaches and nightlife. Once a military stronghold and fishing village, it’s now a place for artists and the jet set to have their summer homes.

In Saint-Tropez the tender boat drops you off only a few steps from the action. So if you don’t want to explore further, you don’t need to book a shore excursion. But since we wanted to see more of the area, we took an excursion to Grimaud.

The first stop was Port Grimaud which is a small seaside town. During the summer it’s a happening place and very popular. There is also a nice beach but since we were there in November, swimming was out of the question. Aside from one convenience store, everything was closed and most of the residents had left for the winter. We still wonder why they bothered to take us to a deserted town!

The tour’s highlight was the Chateau de Grimaud situated high up on a hill. From there we had great vistas of the town and Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Following that we had a panoramic drive (no photo stops) back to Saint-Tropez where we enjoyed some free time before returning to the ship.

In retrospect, we would have been better off on our own and it would have given us the time to visit the historic 17th century Citadel of Saint-Tropez, now the Museum of Maritime History. From there we had a nice view of the town of Saint-Tropez, the sea, and our ship.

Livorno, Italy

Many choose to take an excursion to Pisa or Florence. As a matter of fact, this is something we did on another Mediterranean cruise, and it left a lot to be desired. To see both places in a few hours is madness, unless rushing through sites and spending about six hours on the bus is your idea of fun! For us it only wet our appetite and we subsequently returned to Florence for a more in-depth visit spending a few days.

This time around we opted to go and explore the Ligurian Coast (the Italian Riviera). Our excursion included free time in Portovenere and Lerici as well as a scenic cruise by rubber boat around the Bay of La Spezia.

We enjoyed scenic views all around and along the way as we sailed by the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. Despite most shops being closed at that time of the year, this was one of our favorite excursions on this cruise.

Portovenere

During our free time in Portovenere we climbed up to the ruins of Castello Doria but we could not go inside. We were however rewarded with spectacular views of the Bay of La Spezia, also known as the Gulf of Poets.

Coming back down the rocky path, we still had time to visit the Chiesa di San Pietro, an ancient church built on a rocky cliff’s edge. It was first established in 1198.

Lerici

Following the boat ride we had some free time in Lerici, but everything was closed including the Castello di Lerici, a medieval fortress overlooking the harbor. Since it was lunchtime, we sat down at a terrace for some pizza and enjoyed the picturesque setting.

Those who prefer to go without an excursion can simply spend time in Livorno. A shuttle is available for 5 euros each way as it’s not permitted for safety reasons to walk around the port on your own.

Naples, Italy

One of the most popular excursions in Naples is a visit of Pompeii and if you haven’t been to this most important archeological site, you really should go. We had seen Pompeii last time around, so we opted to go to the Archeological Park of Herculaneum, which is another town that was buried in AD 79 by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Archeological Park of Herculaneum

Located on the banks of the Bay of Naples, Herculaneum was situated in a prime location and it became a seaside resort town for wealthy Romans. Many lavish villas were built and adorned with frescoes, mosaics, and sculptures. Many of these treasures were preserved for centuries under a 20-meter-thick layer of volcanic ash, pumice and mud that fossilized the city.

The most poignant site was the 300 skeletons of residents that tried to escape the volcanic eruption by hiding in the boat sheds on the beach. Our guide explained that archeologists had wondered where all the people were for many years before making this gruesome discovery.

He also gave us a lot of information about the way of life of the ancient Romans and explained what we were looking at. Much of Herculaneum remains buried and there are excavations still underway.

He pointed out the remains of Mount Vesuvius and how what was left was only one third of the height of what it had been. There is a higher mountain today at about 10,000 ft, and a smaller one to the side at about 5,000 ft. Our guide explained that if we drew a line up from both and imagined the mountain at 30,000ft we could see what Mont Vesuvius would have looked like before the eruption.

Naples

Following our cruise ship excursion to the archeological site of Herculaneum, and a compulsory stop at a cameo factory, we were back in Naples. Since our ship was sailing away at 9pm, we had time to visit the magnificent Royal Palace of Naples. This 17th century palace has a lavish interior and contains period furnishing and artifacts and is well worth a visit.

We also had to have Naples’ pizza, after all the Margarita pizza is said to have been invented here. Honestly despite the 5* reviews by other tourists, our pizza was good but not the best we had on the trip. It was fun to sample pizza everywhere we stopped too.

In Naples the cruise ship docks so close to the city-center that you can almost roll out of bed and go sightseeing! In fact, if you have an hour or two before your excursion, just go explore. We had time to visit Castle Nuevo before our excursion to Herculaneum, which was right in front of the port, and nice to see.

Messina, Italy

In my opinion Messina in Sicily was the prettiest port to sail into during this Mediterranean cruise. On top of that the ship conveniently docks within walking distance of many of the must-see places in town. So unless you want to explore further afield, you don’t need an excursion with the ship.

We opted to see more of Sicily and took an excursion to Taormina. We were really happy with our choice as we only had the transfer included and could explore the town on our own.

Taormina

In Taormina we spent most of our time exploring the 3rd century Greco-Roman Theater, a must-see place. Despite being so ancient it’s an active theater with breathtaking views of the surrounding area and the sea.

In the distance we got a glimpse of Mount Etna. We saw it for a few minutes and then was gone in the clouds. Apparently, we were lucky to see it as most of the time it remains hidden behind the clouds.

Then we slowly made our way back to the meeting point for the return to Messina. Along the way we admired some of Taormina’s beautiful architecture and many plazas. The Church of San Giuseppe and the Duomo of Taormina were most notable as was the lovely fountain in front of the Duomo. The terrace adjacent to the Church of Saint Augustine offered spectacular views of the Mediterranean.

During our free time we had plenty of time to visit the ancient theater, take in the views and visit some churches. There were also lots of interesting shops to check out. We found a beautiful ceramic Christmas ornament to add to our collection.

Messina

Once back in Messina we had just over 2.5 hours left before the “all aboard”. That gave us enough time to visit the Cathedral of Messina and climb the Bell Tower (no elevator) to get a closer look at the intricated mechanisms of the astronomical clock.

We were too late to see the clock’s full movement of the statues, as this only happens at noon. But every 15 minutes the two statues, on either side of the golden Rooster and the Carousel of the Ages of Life move, so we got to see that. The Lion, a 4-meter-high gilded bronze statue at the top of the tower, is a symbol of strength and represents the province of Messina. To see it move and hear it roar make sure to go to the Piazza del Duomo just before noon when you can witness the full movement of the astronomical clock.

The interior of the Cathedral of Messina is well worth seeing and it houses the church’s treasury. In front of the cathedral there is also the Orion fountain, but it was getting renovated at the time of our visit.

Since everything was closing at 4:30pm in November, we headed to the waterfront to take a look at another beautiful fountain, the Fontana di Nettuno and slowly made our way back to the ship.

Corfu, Greece

The first thing we saw as we approached Corfu was the monumental fortress at the entrance of the harbor and we immediately thought that we had to go see it. But first we had a ship shore excursion to the Mons Repos Palace and a walking tour of Corfu.

On the way to the Mons Repos Palace we had a brief stop at Mouse Island for photos.

The Mons Repos Palace was built in 1826 in a colonial architectural style by Frederic Adams, a British Commissioner, as a gift for his wife. The overall visit was underwhelming.

Once back in town, we opted to skip the guided walking tour of the Old Town and go visit the Old Fortress of Corfu instead. We think we made the right call.

We truly enjoyed our visit of the Old Fortress and were pleasantly surprised to see that was looked like an ancient Greek temple, was in fact the Church of Saint George. It was built in the 1800s for the religious services of the English garrison. But in 1864, the Anglican church was converted into an Orthodox place of worship.

Of course, since the Old Fortress was built on top of a hill we had to climb up. Glad we did because from up there the vistas of Corfu and the Ionian Sea were amazing. In the distance we could also see our cruise ship.

As we crossed the bridge to the fortress, we noticed the makeshift homes hugging the side of the fortifications and the little boats down below.

The Old Town of Corfu is quite charming with lovely cobblestone alleys lined with shops and tavernas. Our ship was leaving only at 8pm, but in November by 5pm pretty much everything was closed.

Being in Greece now, we had to move on from pizza to searching for baklavas and souvlakis to sample. We did manage to find a terrace to have a bite to eat and we were quickly surrounded by a clowder of cats. All well fed might I had!

Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

Katakolon is a quiet seaside Greek village on the lonian Sea of the Peloponnese Peninsula. In fact, there is a nice little beach only a few steps from where the cruise ship docks. But the town is really small, and we suggest that you venture further afield instead, especially if you have a full day in port like we did.

Archeological Site of Olympia

Katakolon is also the gateway to the Archeological Site of Olympia, the Birthplace of the Olympics. This is the place where the ancient Greeks flocked every four years to participate in the Olympic Games.

In ancient times the games were open only to men because the athletes competed naked. The games also honored Zeus, however the temple dedicated to the ancient Greek God no longer exist. But on site we could see the ruins of other temples and the remnants of the stadium, which had a capacity of 45,000 spectators.

Ongoing excavations and discoveries are still going at the site. Unfortunately, our half day excursion didn’t allow enough time to visit the Archeological Museum of Olympia.

After our visit of the archeological site, we had some free time to explore the small town of Olympia. There was plenty of time for shopping for souvenirs or to enjoy a quick lunch before it was time to return to Katakolon.

Back in Katakolon we had plenty of time to look around the port area and browse in some of the numerous stores.

Santorini, Greece

This was a redo for us since we had visited Santorini, one of the Cyclades Islands, on a past Greek Island Cruise but the scenery was still delightful. As we approached we could see the hilltop towns with their whitewashed homes clinging to the sides of the cliffs seemingly defying gravity!

In Santorini, cruise ships must anchor and passengers must tender to shore. There’s a long zigzag staircase to the top, but we highly recommend taking the funicular up or down unless you want to share the staircase with running donkeys! We know what we’re talking about having made that mistake the first time around. This time we took the funicular down!

If you plan on staying in Fira, you don’t need a ship shore excursion but to see more of the island it’s the easiest way. We opted to go to Oia where we had some free time to roam around the narrow alleyways and enjoy the spectacular views.

Then more of the same once back in Fira. From up there we could see the glittering Aegean Sea and the ancient caldera of the volcano responsible for the current morphology of the island. The volcano is still active but has been quiet since 1950.

Of course, in November, Santorini is much quieter than it is during the summer months but there isn’t much to do aside from looking at the views, shopping for souvenirs, or eating at one the numerous restaurants (although many were closed at that time of the year). We did of course find some more baklavas and souvlakis to sample.

Kusadasi, Turkey

Having been here in the past we were nonetheless excited to revisit the impressive archeological site of Ephesus. By far, the most popular attraction near Kusadasi the Ancient City of Ephesus was founded in the 4th century BC. It’s a trove of archeological treasures and definitely a must-see attraction in Turkey.

If you’ve never been here before we recommend having a guide to give information about what you are looking at. Highlights include the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian and the Theater with a capacity of 24,000 spectators.

Thankfully once back in Kusadasi, the carpet presentation was optional. Instead, we went for a coffee and a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice (they were in season) and roamed around the bazaar. But here too many stores were closed in November. Our tour guide even pointed out that we were the last cruise ship of the season to stop in Kusadasi!

Izmir, Turkey

Since our cruise itinerary had to be modified the night before we were supposed to visit Istanbul, we were glad to visit Izmir instead of spending the day at sea.

Located on the Aegean Coast, Izmir is an ancient city with lots of history. All over the city you can see the remnants of past civilizations. We started our self-guided visit by taking a taxi ($10) from the cruise terminal to Konak Square, the city’s main square located next to the bazaar. There we saw the Clock Tower and a small tile-covered octagonal mosque, the Konak Mosque, first built in 1748.

Then we walked to the nearby Archaeological Museum where we saw many of the statues, mosaics and other treasures found at various archeological sites in Turkey, including Ephesus.

From the museum we took another taxi ($5) to the hilltop Kadifekale, a fortress built during Alexander the Great’s reign. From the top great views of the city could be had but watch out for the kids begging for money! Unfortunately one of the tourists had pulled out a large wad of bills to give a few to the kids and after seeing this, they were circling the crowd like bees around honey.

We then took another taxi ($5, worth mentioning that we were lucky to find a taxi at the fortress as most take tourists up and wait for them while they visit) down to the Roman Agora of Smyrna. The ancient agora is now an open-air museum with vestiges from the Roman Empire. Our favorite site in Izmir and well worth the visit.

Following our visit of the archeological site we slowly made our way back to the cruise port. Along the way we walked through a lovely park with an obelisk and fountain. We stopped to eat some more baklavas in the park (which we had picked up on the way), and then followed the seaside plaza back to the cruise ship.

Having time to spare, we also popped in for a quick visit of the Ataturk Museum set inside a neoclassical mansion showcasing the man’s political life.

Volos, Greece

To be honest Volos was far from charming. It’s an industrial town and we recommend taking an excursion with the ship. We were hoping to go see the cliff-hanging monasteries but our time in port was too short for that. So, we opted instead for an excursion to Makrinista which also visited Portarea on the way.

Both villages are situated on the hillside of Mount Pelion and the winding drive offers many beautiful vistas on the way up and down. From up there we also got amazing views of Volos and the sea down below.

Both villages are very quaint and probably even more so at the end of the high tourist season.

Pretty much everything was closed in Portarea, except for a couple of shops, so we only saw the exterior of buildings. Most notable was the tiny Panagia Portarea church with frescoes painted above the door and the countless cats roaming around the area.

Highlights included a visit to the Byzantine Museum of Makrinitsa where our very knowledgeable guide explained the meaning of the many pieces of arts. Displaying his talents, he also chanted for the group inside the historic Greek Orthodox church, Holy Church of Saint John the Forerunner at Makrinitsa, which was really nice.

There was also a lovely marble fountain in the central square and a huge hollow tree. Legends has it that drinking from the fountain could make you immortal! Obviously, we drank from it! Only time will tell!

Post-cruise stay in Athens, Greece

And just like that, the cruise was ending. The crew were already putting reminders in our room a few days prior saying we could enjoy a leisurely breakfast between 7am and 9am but had to vacate the cabin at 8am. We were ready to go and looking forward to the couple of days we had added post-cruise in Athens.

See our post: Why You Should Add Pre- and Post-Cruise Extensions to Your Cruise

First off, there’s so much culture and history throughout the city that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity of revisiting some our favorites places in Athens.

At the top of our list was visiting the Acropolis and its famous Parthenon. A visit to the Acropolis Museum is a must. The museum houses artifacts and sculptures found only on the Acropolis archeological site.

Most impressive was the exhibition that displayed the marble sculptures (and plaster replicas of the ones currently housed in other museums) as they were set around the Parthenon.

It was also interesting to see how much some of the sites had changed over the years. A striking difference was the Temple of Olympian Zeus which is now covered by scaffolding with fences to keep tourists at a distance. When we first visited there were none of these and we could get up close to the monuments!

One thing we noticed was that the area around Monastiraki Square wasn’t as nice as it used to be in our memories. Cheap stores and restaurants that wanted us to eat quickly so they could move on to the next customer had popped up kind of ruining the memories we had from our last trip where we recalled friendly staff inviting us back and giving us free yoghurt with honey after our meal. I guess things change.

This time around we discovered and definitely preferred the eateries and shops in the Plaka District. Delicious food, great service, and quality goods!

See our post: Top 5 Things to Do in Athens

Conclusion

Overall, it was a lovely itinerary but perhaps November isn’t the best time to visit. We would not recommend going on a Mediterranean Cruise after October because too many places were closed, especially in smaller towns. In some ports we were told that we were the last cruise ship to visit in the season!

Also, good to know, many of these ports would be easy to visit on your own. But since we wanted to explore a bit further afield and had a $50 discount per port for shore excursions, we took the tours. Some were hit and miss, and we probably would have been better off on our own.

See our post on the topic: Are Ship Shore Excursions Worth It or Are You Better off on Your Own?

Of course, cruise ships stop at many other interesting ports of call during a Mediterranean Cruise, but those were the ones we visited during this cruise.

See more Cruise Ideas and Europeans Ports of Call