Odyssey of the Seas - Spain & Portugal Transatlantic

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 8 sea days over 14 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Rome (Civitavecchia)

   ItalyDepart
   Rome (Civitavecchia) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
2. Day 2

   La Spezia

   ItalyPort

   La Spezia is a naval town at the head of a deep gulf, and ships call because the Cinque Terre villages start about fifteen minutes up the coastal railway. The town is workmanlike - a good market street, a naval museum - so the day belongs to the train. Trail passes and village crowding are both genuine constraints in high summer.

   • Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso on the Cinque Terre Express train
   • Portovenere and the island of Palmaria, reached by boat across the gulf
   • The Museo Tecnico Navale beside the naval arsenal
   • The Via del Prione market street and the covered market at Piazza Cavour

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at Molo Garibaldi with a shuttle into town; La Spezia Centrale station is where you pick up the Cinque Terre trains.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep (Jul-Aug the villages are genuinely overloaded)

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   Barcelona

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

   Cartagena

   SpainPort

   A naval city on a deep natural harbour, and one of the rare Mediterranean ports where the ship parks essentially in the historic centre. Cartagena's Roman theatre was only rediscovered in 1988 under a demolished quarter, and its excavation reshaped the whole downtown. Two thousand years of layers, from Carthaginian walls to modernista shopfronts, sit within a few blocks of the quay.

   • The Roman Theatre and its Rafael Moneo-designed museum entrance
   • ARQUA, the national museum of underwater archaeology
   • Castillo de la Concepcion, reached by the panoramic lift
   • The modernista buildings along Calle Mayor and the Punic Wall site

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth at the Alfonso XII quay right beside the old town - a five-minute walk off the gangway.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   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

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   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)

10. Day 10 · At sea

11. Day 11 · At sea

12. Day 12 · At sea

13. Day 13 · At sea

14. Day 14 · At sea

15. Day 15

    Cape Liberty, NJ

    United StatesArrive
    Cape Liberty, NJ port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore