Nieuw Statendam: 20-Night Mediterranean from 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.