Silver Nova - Transatlantic to Barbados via Cape Verde

Where this cruise calls, day by day

4 ports and 9 sea days over 12 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Lisbon

   PortugalDepart

   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

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   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

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   Mindelo (Sao Vicente)

   Cape VerdePort

   Cape Verde's cultural capital, on a dry volcanic island in the mid-Atlantic, called at mostly by repositioning and Canaries-extension itineraries. Mindelo grew up as a British coaling station, which shows in the colonial buildings around the harbour, and it produced the singer Cesaria Evora - live morna and coladeira are easy to find in the evening. The island itself is stark and largely treeless.

   • The pink Palacio do Povo and the Mercado Municipal in the old centre
   • Praia da Laginha, the town beach within walking distance of the port
   • The drive up Monte Verde for views across to Santo Antao
   • Live music in the bars around Rua de Lisboa

   Getting ashore

   Ships use the modern quay at Porto Grande with its terminal building; the historic centre is a short flat walk from the gate.

   Best months

   Nov-Jun (Jan-Mar can bring dusty harmattan haze off the Sahara)

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9 · At sea

10. Day 10 · At sea

11. Day 11 · At sea

12. Day 12 · At sea

13. Day 13

    Bridgetown

    BarbadosArrive

    Barbados is bigger and more developed than most Eastern Caribbean calls and works less like a beach stop than a country with its own economy — a capital with a UNESCO-listed Georgian core, a calm west coast for swimming and a wild Atlantic east coast that surfs. It is also a major homeport, so calls frequently coincide with turnaround crowds.

    • Snorkeling with sea turtles and the wrecks in Carlisle Bay
    • Harrison's Cave tram tour
    • Bathsheba and the east coast
    • Mount Gay rum tour or St. Nicholas Abbey

    Getting ashore

    Docked at the deep-water port about a mile from Broad Street — walkable, but the route runs through a working port, so most people take the short taxi.

    Best months

    Dec-Apr dry season; Jun-Nov is wetter, though Barbados sits far enough east to be hit less often