Marina - Transoceanic Crossing

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 10 sea days over 16 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Miami, FL

   United StatesDepart

   PortMiami is the busiest cruise port on earth and behaves like it: a lettered row of terminals strung along Dodge Island - A for Royal Caribbean, B for Norwegian, C for MSC, D through F for the Carnival brands, V for Virgin. Traffic funnels in over the Port Boulevard causeway or through the tunnel under Government Cut, and on a Saturday with six ships turning around, both back up.

   • Ocean Drive and the Art Deco district in South Beach, 20 minutes across the causeway
   • Wynwood Walls and the warehouse murals around it
   • Calle Ocho in Little Havana - a cortadito and the domino tables at Maximo Gomez Park
   • Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a 1916 bayfront villa in Coconut Grove

   Getting ashore

   Terminals A-G and V sit on Dodge Island, reached by the Port Boulevard causeway or the PortMiami Tunnel; Miami International is about 8 miles west, usually 20-30 minutes but longer on a heavy turnaround morning.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season and August ashore is punishing)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Royal Naval Dockyard

   BermudaPort

   Bermuda is not the Caribbean and does not behave like it — this is a mid-Atlantic call, usually two or three nights alongside, and ships berth at the old Royal Navy dockyard on the far western tip because they cannot fit into Hamilton or St. George's. The dockyard is a restored fortress complex of limestone warehouses turned into shops. Everything else is a ferry or bus away; there are no rental cars on the island.

   • National Museum of Bermuda inside the Keep
   • Horseshoe Bay and the pink-sand south shore beaches
   • Fast ferry across to Hamilton
   • St. George's, the UNESCO-listed old town at the far east end

   Getting ashore

   Docked at King's Wharf or Heritage Wharf with shops at the gate; Hamilton is about 20 minutes by fast ferry and Horseshoe Bay roughly 25 minutes by bus or taxi.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct — this is a summer-season port; the water is cold and much of the island winds down Nov-Mar

4. Day 4

   Royal Naval Dockyard

   BermudaPort

   Bermuda is not the Caribbean and does not behave like it — this is a mid-Atlantic call, usually two or three nights alongside, and ships berth at the old Royal Navy dockyard on the far western tip because they cannot fit into Hamilton or St. George's. The dockyard is a restored fortress complex of limestone warehouses turned into shops. Everything else is a ferry or bus away; there are no rental cars on the island.

   • National Museum of Bermuda inside the Keep
   • Horseshoe Bay and the pink-sand south shore beaches
   • Fast ferry across to Hamilton
   • St. George's, the UNESCO-listed old town at the far east end

   Getting ashore

   Docked at King's Wharf or Heritage Wharf with shops at the gate; Hamilton is about 20 minutes by fast ferry and Horseshoe Bay roughly 25 minutes by bus or taxi.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct — this is a summer-season port; the water is cold and much of the island winds down Nov-Mar

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9 · At sea

10. Day 10

    Ponta Delgada, Azores

    PortugalPort

    The main town of Sao Miguel, and usually the only land a transatlantic itinerary touches between Europe and the Americas. The island is volcanic and green rather than tropical, with crater lakes, hot springs and hydrangea hedges along the roads. Weather changes fast here, so the viewpoint that is socked in at ten can be clear by noon.

    • Sete Cidades, the twin crater lakes seen from the Vista do Rei viewpoint
    • Furnas, with its steaming fumaroles and cozido cooked in the ground
    • Lagoa do Fogo and the north-coast tea plantation at Gorreana
    • Whale and dolphin watching from the harbour

    Getting ashore

    Ships dock at the Portas do Mar terminal in the middle of town; you walk straight off into Ponta Delgada.

    Best months

    Jun-Sep (mildest and driest; rain is possible any month)

11. Day 11 · At sea

12. Day 12 · At sea

13. Day 13

    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

14. Day 14

    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

15. Day 15 · At sea

16. Day 16 · At sea

17. Day 17

    Barcelona

    SpainArrive

    The busiest cruise port in Europe, and for many Western Mediterranean itineraries the place the whole trip starts or ends. Barcelona is a full-scale city rather than a port town: Gaudi's unfinished basilica, a dense medieval quarter, and a working waterfront all within a few metro stops. Ships berth on a long industrial mole well outside the centre, so the day begins with a bus ride rather than a gangway stroll.

    • Sagrada Familia - book a timed entry well ahead; walk-ups are usually turned away
    • Park Guell and the Gaudi mosaics on Carmel hill
    • The Gothic Quarter and Barcelona Cathedral, on foot from Placa de Catalunya
    • La Boqueria market and a walk down La Rambla to the Columbus monument

    Getting ashore

    All cruise ships now use the Moll d'Adossat terminals roughly 3 km from the old city; the paid blue Portbus shuttle runs to the foot of La Rambla, and walking out is not practical.

    Best months

    Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is hot, crowded and expensive)