Valiant Lady: 11-Night Mediterranean from Athens (Piraeus)

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).

Kusadasi cruise port is Turkey's busiest and the primary gateway to Ephesus, one of the most significant ancient Greek and Roman cities in the world. The port sits on Turkey's central Aegean coast, about 95 kilometers south of Izmir, with ships docking at the Ege Ports cruise terminal right in the middle of town.

Palermo cruise port drops you into one of the most chaotic, layered, and rewarding cities in the Mediterranean. This is the capital of Sicily, sitting on the northwestern coast of the island along a gulf facing the Tyrrhenian Sea.

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.

Cannes is a Mediterranean resort city of about 75,000 people on the French Riviera, known worldwide for its annual film festival but offering far more than red carpets and paparazzi. The city sits on the Golfe de la Napoule with the Esterel massif's red porphyry cliffs rising to the west and the rolling hills of Provence behind.