Seven Seas Explorer - Mediterranean Luxury

Where this cruise calls, day by day

6 ports and 5 sea days over 10 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Monte Carlo

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   Monaco is two square kilometres of banked hillside, and a cruise call drops you at the bottom of it in Port Hercule. Everything is walkable if you are willing to climb, or you can use the public lifts that thread up through the rock. The appeal is concentrated and unapologetically expensive: the casino, the palace, and a harbour of boats worth more than the ship.

   • The Casino de Monte-Carlo and the square in front of the Hotel de Paris
   • The Musee Oceanographique, built into the cliff face at Monaco-Ville
   • The Prince's Palace and the changing of the guard just before noon
   • Walking the Grand Prix circuit - the tunnel and the Rascasse hairpin are ordinary streets

   Getting ashore

   Larger ships anchor in the bay and tender into Port Hercule while smaller ones come alongside the Quai Rainier III jetty; either way you land in the middle of town.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (May is Grand Prix month - spectacular, but the town is fenced off)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Livorno (Florence/Pisa)

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   Livorno (Florence/Pisa) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
4. Day 4

   Rome (Civitavecchia)

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   Rome (Civitavecchia) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8

   Santorini

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   Santorini is a flooded volcanic caldera, and the towns sit on the rim some 300m above where your ship anchors - which is the whole logistical problem. There is no cruise berth, so you tender to Skala below Fira and then queue for a small cable car, walk up 588 steps, or ride a mule. Arrivals are now capped to thin the crush, but the cable car remains the bottleneck in both directions.

   • Oia on the northern tip, and the caldera-edge path that walks there from Fira
   • Akrotiri - a Bronze Age town buried by the eruption and excavated under a modern roof
   • Assyrtiko tasting at the caldera-facing wineries, Santo Wines and Venetsanos
   • A caldera boat to the crater of Nea Kameni and the warm springs at Palea Kameni

   Getting ashore

   Tender to Skala, the old port below Fira, then the cable car up the cliff - queues of an hour each way are normal on busy days, and the alternative is 588 steps. Excursion tenders often land at Athinios instead, where coaches wait.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is hot, packed, and Oia at sunset is shoulder to shoulder)

9. Day 9

   Mykonos

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   Mykonos is the Cyclades at their most commercial - a whitewashed town that has been a fashion and nightlife destination since the 1960s, with prices to match. Most ships berth at Tourlos, about 2km north of Chora, though when the schedule is full some anchor and tender straight into the old harbour. For many passengers the real draw is next door: Delos, the uninhabited sanctuary island, is a 30-minute boat ride.

   • Delos - the ancient sanctuary of Apollo and its Terrace of the Lions, by boat from the old port
   • Little Venice, the Kato Mili windmills, and the church of Panagia Paraportiani
   • Beach time at Psarou or Platis Gialos, or the party beaches at Paradise and Super Paradise
   • Ano Mera and the Panagia Tourliani monastery, away from the crowds

   Getting ashore

   Two options: most large ships dock at Tourlos (New Port) 2km from town, with a paid shuttle bus or water taxi into Chora; when berths are taken, ships anchor and tender into the old harbour, which lands you in town on foot.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-early Oct (Jul-Aug is crowded and expensive, and the meltemi wind can cancel Delos boats)

10. Day 10 · At sea

11. Day 11

    Athens (Piraeus)

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    Athens (Piraeus) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore