Seven Seas Explorer: 11-Night Mediterranean

Istanbul cruise port is one of the most extraordinary arrivals in the world. Ships sail up the Bosphorus Strait between Europe and Asia, past Ottoman palaces and Byzantine ruins, and dock at Galataport, the underground cruise terminal in the Karaköy neighborhood right in the center of the city.

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).

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.

Corfu cruise port is one of the most visited stops on Eastern Mediterranean and Greek Islands itineraries. The island sits off Greece's northwestern coast, just a short ferry ride from the southern tip of Albania, and has a distinct cultural identity shaped by centuries of Venetian, French, and British rule rather than the Ottoman history that dominates other Greek islands.

Kotor cruise port is one of the most visually spectacular arrivals in the Adriatic. Ships sail through a deep fjord-like bay (Boka Kotorska) surrounded by limestone mountains that rise steeply from the water, with the walled medieval town of Kotor tucked at the base.

Dubrovnik cruise port is the southern gateway to Croatia's Adriatic coast and one of the most visually striking stops in the Mediterranean. Ships dock at Port Gruž, about 3 kilometers northwest of the Old Town, with the walled medieval city perched on a rocky peninsula jutting into the sea.

Venice is one of the world's most famous cruise destinations and a major embarkation port for Eastern Mediterranean and Adriatic itineraries. But cruising to Venice has changed significantly since 2021, when Italy banned large cruise ships (over 25,000 gross tonnage) from transiting the Giudecca Canal and St. Mark's basin due to environmental and structural concerns.