Seven Seas Voyager: 15-Night Mediterranean - Western

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.

Naples cruise port is one of the most popular stops on Mediterranean itineraries, and it's easy to see why. The city sits on the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius looming behind it, and it serves as the gateway to Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Sorrento.

Messina cruise port sits at the northeastern tip of Sicily, directly across the narrow Strait of Messina from mainland Italy. Ships dock right at the city waterfront, making it one of the easiest Mediterranean ports to step off and explore.

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.

La Goulette is the cruise port serving Tunis, Tunisia's capital, located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa about 12 kilometers northeast of the city center. The port sits at the entrance to the Lake of Tunis, a shallow lagoon separating La Goulette from downtown.

Cagliari is the capital of Sardinia, Italy's second-largest island, on the island's southern coast. The cruise port (Porto di Cagliari) sits directly at the edge of the old town, about a 10-minute walk from Piazza Matteotti and the base of the historic Castello district.

Palma de Mallorca cruise port is one of the busiest in the Mediterranean and the main cruise gateway to the Balearic Islands. Palma sits on the south coast of Mallorca, the largest of the Balearics, about 250 kilometers south of Barcelona.

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.

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.

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.

Alicante is a mid-sized Spanish city of about 330,000 people on the Costa Blanca in southeastern Spain. It's a working Mediterranean city that happens to have a beautiful waterfront, a hilltop castle, and some of the best weather in Europe.

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.