18-Night Transatlantic from Genoa

Genoa cruise port is one of the main embarkation points for western Mediterranean itineraries, particularly for MSC and Costa Cruises, which both have roots here. The city is the capital of Liguria and the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, pesto, and focaccia, and it has a grittier, more working-class feel than the polished Italian cities most tourists flock to.

La Spezia is a working Italian naval and commercial city on the Ligurian coast, but cruise passengers know it primarily as the gateway to Cinque Terre, the five colorful fishing villages clinging to the cliffs along a rugged stretch of coastline just north of the city. The La Spezia cruise port sits at the edge of the city center, a short walk from the train station that connects directly to the Cinque Terre villages.

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.

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.

Funchal is the capital of Madeira, a Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean about 600 miles southwest of Lisbon and 400 miles north of the Canary Islands. The island is volcanic, mountainous, and green, with a subtropical climate that keeps temperatures mild year-round.

San Juan cruise port is one of the busiest in the Caribbean and one of the few that doubles as both a major embarkation point and a popular port of call. The port sits in Old San Juan, the historic colonial core of Puerto Rico's capital, founded by Spanish colonists in 1521.