Celebrity Apex - Canaries & Portugal from Southampton

Where this cruise calls, day by day

8 ports and 4 sea days over 11 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Southampton

   United KingdomDepart
   Southampton port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Leixoes (Porto)

   PortugalPort

   Leixoes is the deep-water port at Matosinhos, about 10 km northwest of Porto, and effectively everyone who lands here leaves for the city. Porto is built on granite hills above the Douro, with the port lodges facing it across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia. The terminal building itself is worth a look - a white spiral by Luis Pedro Silva that houses a marine science centre.

   • The Ribeira waterfront and the double-deck Dom Luis I bridge
   • Port lodge tastings in Vila Nova de Gaia
   • Livraria Lello and the azulejo panels in Sao Bento station
   • A Douro Valley excursion into the terraced vineyards

   Getting ashore

   The port is at Matosinhos, roughly 10 km from central Porto; take a shuttle, taxi, or the metro from the nearby Mercado station on line A.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct

4. Day 4

   Lisbon

   PortugalPort

   Ships come in under the Ponte 25 de Abril and tie up alongside the Tagus with the city climbing the hills in front of you, which makes this one of the better arrivals in Europe. Lisbon spreads across seven hills, so a port day means trams, funiculars and a lot of stairs. The monastery and tower at Belem are a separate district downriver and need their own leg of the day.

   • Jeronimos Monastery and Belem Tower, plus a pastel de nata at Pasteis de Belem
   • Sao Jorge Castle and the Alfama lanes below it
   • Tram 28 through Graca, Alfama and Estrela
   • A half-day to Sintra and the Pena Palace, about 40 minutes out

   Getting ashore

   Most ships berth at the Lisbon Cruise Terminal at Santa Apolonia, close enough to walk into Alfama in about ten minutes.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6

   Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

   SpainPort

   Gran Canaria's capital is a real working city of nearly 400,000 people, not a resort, with a container port, a Spanish colonial quarter and a three-kilometre urban beach. Columbus stopped here on his way west, and the house-museum in the old town leans on that. Inland the island turns mountainous fast, and the drive up to Roque Nublo is the usual excursion.

   • Vegueta, the old quarter, with the Casa de Colon and Santa Ana cathedral
   • Playa de Las Canteras, a long sheltered city beach with a reef breakwater
   • The mountain drive to Roque Nublo and the town of Teror
   • The Maspalomas dunes on the southern tip of the island

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at the Santa Catalina quay; it is a 10-15 minute walk to Santa Catalina park and Las Canteras beach, with taxis for Vegueta.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr for warmth without heat; the island is comfortable year-round

7. Day 7

   Santa Cruz de Tenerife

   SpainPort

   Tenerife's capital is a business and government town, with a Calatrava-designed opera house on the waterfront and very little in the way of resort character. The real reason to be here is Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak, an hour up into a volcanic caldera that looks nothing like the coast. The UNESCO-listed old town of La Laguna is a shorter and often better-value alternative.

   • Teide National Park and the cable car towards the 3,715 m summit
   • La Laguna's grid of colonial streets and painted mansions
   • The Auditorio de Tenerife on the seafront
   • Playa de Las Teresitas, the imported-sand beach at San Andres

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock in the centre of Santa Cruz, a short walk from Plaza de Espana and the shopping streets.

   Best months

   Year-round; Nov-Apr is mild, and Teide can be snowbound in winter

8. Day 8

   Funchal, Madeira

   PortugalPort

   Madeira's capital rises steeply from its harbour in a natural amphitheatre of terraced hillsides, and the climate is mild enough that ships call here in January. Funchal is a garden city more than a beach one - the island's coast is mostly cliff and pebble. The classic port day pairs a cable car up to Monte with a ride back down in a wicker toboggan steered by men in straw hats.

   • The Monte cable car, the tropical garden at Monte Palace, and the wicker toboggan run
   • Mercado dos Lavradores for fruit, flowers and scabbard fish
   • Cabo Girao's glass skywalk and the fishing village of Camara de Lobos
   • A guided levada walk along the island's irrigation channels

   Getting ashore

   Ships tie up on the long breakwater below the town; it is a flat 20-minute walk into the centre, and shuttles usually run.

   Best months

   Year-round; Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct are warmest without the summer crowds

9. Day 9 · At sea

10. Day 10

    Vigo

    SpainPort

    A big Galician fishing and shipbuilding city on a long ria, greener and rainier than anywhere else on this coast. Vigo's old town is small and steeply stacked above the port, known for oyster sellers shucking on the street, but the city is most often used as the nearest sea access to Santiago de Compostela. The Cies Islands, a protected archipelago at the mouth of the ria, are the local alternative.

    • The Casco Vello and the oyster stalls on Rua da Pescaderia
    • Santiago de Compostela's cathedral, about 1.5 hours away
    • A ferry to the Cies Islands and Praia das Rodas, weather permitting
    • Baiona, with its fortress headland and the replica of Columbus's Pinta

    Getting ashore

    Ships dock at the Estacion Maritima right in the city, so the old town is a few minutes uphill on foot.

    Best months

    Jun-Sep (Galicia is wet much of the rest of the year)

11. Day 11 · At sea

12. Day 12

    Southampton

    United KingdomArrive
    Southampton port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore