MSC Meraviglia - Transatlantic Barcelona to New York

Where this cruise calls, day by day

12 ports and 8 sea days over 19 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Barcelona

   SpainDepart
   Barcelona port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
2. Day 2

   Alicante

   SpainPort

   A Costa Blanca city built beneath a limestone crag topped by the castle of Santa Barbara, with a palm-lined marble promenade running along the front. The centre is walkable and unfussy, and there is a decent city beach within a few minutes of the quay. Alicante's archaeology museum is far better than the town's package-holiday reputation would suggest.

   • Castillo de Santa Barbara, reached by the lift tunnelled up from Postiguet beach
   • The Explanada de Espana and its wave-patterned mosaic paving
   • MARQ, the provincial archaeological museum
   • A boat out to Tabarca island, or a day trip to the palm groves of Elche

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock a short flat walk from the Explanada and the old town; no shuttle is usually needed.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct

3. Day 3

   Gibraltar

   GibraltarPort

   Gibraltar is a British territory occupying a 426m limestone monolith at the mouth of the Mediterranean, and the Rock dominates every view from the ship. Ashore it is oddly hybrid: pubs, chain shops and pounds sterling on Main Street, with Spain a ten-minute walk away across an active airport runway. The Upper Rock, with its tunnels, caves and macaques, is the real attraction.

   • The Upper Rock Nature Reserve and its Barbary macaques, Europe's only wild monkeys
   • St Michael's Cave and the Great Siege Tunnels cut through the limestone
   • The cable car to the summit, or the climb up the Mediterranean Steps
   • Main Street and Casemates Square for duty-free and a very British lunch

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at the cruise terminal on the North Mole, about a 15-20 minute walk from Casemates Square at the top of Main Street.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (the Levanter cloud can cap the Rock in any season)

4. Day 4

   Cadiz

   SpainPort
   Cadiz port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
5. Day 5

   Casablanca

   MoroccoPort

   Casablanca is Morocco's commercial capital rather than its tourist one - a big, functional Atlantic city of French colonial blocks and heavy traffic. The unmissable thing is the Hassan II Mosque, built out over the water and one of the few in Morocco non-Muslims may enter on a guided tour. Marrakech is often sold as an excursion but sits nearly three hours each way; Rabat is the realistic trip.

   • The Hassan II Mosque, with a 210m minaret and a glass floor over the sea
   • The Habous quarter, a 1930s French-built reinterpretation of a medina
   • The old medina and the Art Deco streets around Place Mohammed V
   • Rabat's Kasbah of the Udayas and Hassan Tower, about an hour north

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock in the working commercial port, and the walk to the gate is long and unappealing, so most passengers take a shuttle or taxi the short distance to the medina and centre.

   Best months

   Mar-May and Sep-Nov

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   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

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

    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

    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)

12. Day 12 · At sea

13. Day 13 · At sea

14. Day 14 · At sea

15. Day 15 · At sea

16. Day 16 · At sea

17. Day 17

    Boston, MA

    United StatesPort
    Boston, MA port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
18. Day 18

    Boston, MA

    United StatesPort
    Boston, MA port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore

19. Day 19 · At sea

20. Day 20

    New York, NY

    United StatesArrive
    New York, NY port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore