Queen Anne - Mediterranean Grand Voyage

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 6 sea days over 12 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Southampton

   United KingdomDepart

   Britain's main cruise homeport, on Southampton Water at the head of the Solent. Almost nobody calls here as a port day - you join or leave your ship at one of five terminals (Mayflower, Ocean, QEII, City and Horizon), which are spread across the working docks and reached by taxi or coach rather than on foot. The city itself was heavily bombed in 1940, so the old core is patchy: surviving medieval walls, the Bargate, and a good maritime museum.

   • SeaCity Museum and its Titanic exhibition - the ship sailed from Berth 44 here
   • Walking the medieval town walls and the Bargate
   • Day trip to Winchester Cathedral, about 20 minutes by train
   • The New Forest for wild ponies, roughly 30 minutes by road

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth alongside; terminals are 2-4 km from the city centre and from Southampton Central station, so use a taxi or the cruise line coach, and allow about 80 minutes by train to London Waterloo.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct (peak turnaround Jun-Aug)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3 · At sea

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

   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

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   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)

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   Barcelona

   SpainPort

   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)

10. Day 10 · At sea

11. Day 11 · At sea

12. Day 12

    Rome (Civitavecchia)

    ItalyPort

    Civitavecchia is a working port town on the Tyrrhenian coast, and it is not Rome - the city is about 80km southeast, roughly 80 minutes each way. Budget for that honestly: a Rome day is some four hours of transit bracketing whatever you actually see. The port has Fort Michelangelo on the quay and good fish-market lunches, a real option if you have done Rome before.

    • St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, with a timed entry booked well ahead
    • The Colosseum and the Roman Forum, a short walk apart on the Termini side
    • The Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain on a walking loop of the centro storico
    • Fort Michelangelo and the Terme Taurine Roman baths, for a day that stays in Civitavecchia

    Getting ashore

    Ships dock in Civitavecchia and a free shuttle runs to the port gate at Largo della Pace, from where it is a short walk to the station and a 70-80 minute train into Rome.

    Best months

    Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug hot, and the Rome queues are brutal)

13. Day 13

    Rome (Civitavecchia)

    ItalyArrive

    Civitavecchia is a working port town on the Tyrrhenian coast, and it is not Rome - the city is about 80km southeast, roughly 80 minutes each way. Budget for that honestly: a Rome day is some four hours of transit bracketing whatever you actually see. The port has Fort Michelangelo on the quay and good fish-market lunches, a real option if you have done Rome before.

    • St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, with a timed entry booked well ahead
    • The Colosseum and the Roman Forum, a short walk apart on the Termini side
    • The Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain on a walking loop of the centro storico
    • Fort Michelangelo and the Terme Taurine Roman baths, for a day that stays in Civitavecchia

    Getting ashore

    Ships dock in Civitavecchia and a free shuttle runs to the port gate at Largo della Pace, from where it is a short walk to the station and a 70-80 minute train into Rome.

    Best months

    Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug hot, and the Rome queues are brutal)