Azamara Onward: 38-Night Grand Voyage

Athens cruise port is in Piraeus, a busy port city about 10 kilometers southwest of central Athens. Piraeus is its own city, not just a terminal, and it handles cruise ships, island ferries, and commercial traffic all at once.

Rhodes is the largest of Greece's Dodecanese islands, sitting in the far southeastern Aegean Sea just 18 kilometers from the Turkish coast. The Rhodes cruise port is in the city of Rhodes on the island's northern tip, where ships dock right next to one of the best-preserved medieval old towns in Europe.

Santorini cruise port is one of the most visually striking arrivals in cruising. Ships anchor in the flooded caldera of a volcanic crater, with the whitewashed villages of Fira and Oia perched dramatically 1,000 feet above on the cliff edge.

Athens cruise port is in Piraeus, a busy port city about 10 kilometers southwest of central Athens. Piraeus is its own city, not just a terminal, and it handles cruise ships, island ferries, and commercial traffic all at once.

Mykonos cruise port is one of the most instantly recognizable stops in the Greek islands. Whitewashed cube buildings cascade down hills to the Aegean Sea, blue-domed churches punctuate the skyline, and windmills stand sentinel on the ridge above Mykonos Town (Chora).

Valletta cruise port is one of the most visually dramatic arrivals on any Mediterranean itinerary. Ships sail into the Grand Harbour, a deep natural inlet flanked by honey-colored limestone walls that rise straight out of the water, with Valletta itself perched on the peninsula above.

Salerno is the eastern gateway to the Amalfi Coast, one of Italy's most celebrated stretches of coastline. Cruise ships dock at the Stazione Marittima in Salerno's port, a short walk from the city center and the starting point for trips along the legendary coastal road to Amalfi, Positano, and Ravello.

Salerno is the eastern gateway to the Amalfi Coast, one of Italy's most celebrated stretches of coastline. Cruise ships dock at the Stazione Marittima in Salerno's port, a short walk from the city center and the starting point for trips along the legendary coastal road to Amalfi, Positano, and Ravello.

Rome's cruise port is in Civitavecchia, a working port town about 80 kilometers northwest of the city. That distance is the single most important thing to understand about this stop.

Florence (Livorno) cruise port is the main Tuscan stop on Mediterranean itineraries, but it's worth being clear about what you're actually docking at. The port is Livorno, a working industrial city on the Ligurian coast, about 85 kilometers west of Florence.

Florence (Livorno) cruise port is the main Tuscan stop on Mediterranean itineraries, but it's worth being clear about what you're actually docking at. The port is Livorno, a working industrial city on the Ligurian coast, about 85 kilometers west of Florence.

Monaco is a sovereign city-state on the French Riviera, just 2 square kilometers in size with about 39,000 residents, making it the second-smallest country in the world. Monte Carlo, its most famous district, is synonymous with wealth, casinos, and Formula 1 racing.

Nice is the capital of the French Riviera, a Mediterranean city of about 340,000 people wedged between the Maritime Alps and the Cote d'Azur coastline. Cruise ships anchor in the bay at Villefranche-sur-Mer, a small harbor town about 6 km east of Nice, or occasionally dock at Nice's own port.

Marseille cruise port is France's busiest and one of the major stops on western Mediterranean itineraries. The city is France's second largest and its oldest, founded by Greek sailors over 2,600 years ago, and it has a rougher, more authentic edge than the polished Riviera towns further east.

Barcelona cruise port is the busiest in the Mediterranean, handling millions of passengers a year across multiple terminals. The city behind it earns that traffic.

Valencia cruise port is Spain's third-largest cruise port (after Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca) and a rising star on Western Mediterranean itineraries. Valencia sits on the east coast of Spain about 350 kilometers south of Barcelona and 350 kilometers east of Madrid.

Cartagena is a historic port city of about 215,000 people on Spain's southeastern Mediterranean coast, in the Murcia region. Founded by the Carthaginians in 227 BC (as Carthago Nova), the city has been contested by Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, and Spanish kingdoms, and its layered history shows in the archaeological sites scattered through the compact center.

Malaga cruise port is the main gateway to Spain's Costa del Sol and Andalusia. The city sits on Spain's southern coast, about 130 kilometers west of Granada and 50 kilometers east of Marbella.

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, a 6.7-square-kilometer enclave dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, a 426-meter limestone monolith that guards the western entrance to the Mediterranean.

Lisbon cruise port is one of the most atmospheric arrivals in Europe. Ships sail up the Tagus River past the 25 de Abril Bridge (a near-twin of San Francisco's Golden Gate) and the Christ the King statue, with the city rising up on seven hills to the north.