Cruising Itinerary Around the Adriatic and Italy

It’s been fun reading all of your comments on Instagram on our photos from our cruise with Celebrity Cruises. A lot of you mentioned how you didn’t realize cruising afforded such a great itinerary that encompassed so many different places. In fact, the itinerary was the reason why we chose the 9 night Adriatic & Italy cruise – it stopped at several cities we had been wanting to visit and at a few that we had both visited in past years. After all, who can say no to a return trip to Venice and Rome? If you haven’t already, you can read my post on What to Expect on an Adriatic and Italy Cruise – this will give you a brief look at the ship and food aboard the Constellation. And today’s guide delves further into the itinerary in case you ever find yourself booking this same cruise.

VENICE
The cruise begins in Venice so I’d recommend staying at least one night before the cruise in the city. Venice needs at least 2 days but one is better than none if you can’t spare the time. Wander around the streets and canals and be sure to get on deck when the ship leaves the Venetian port. The views are unique and well worth squeezing to the railing for!

DUBROVNIK
As mentioned before, this is one of the overnight stays. You can opt for a ship excursion one day and then explore on your own the next day. Even if you choose a ship excursion for the first day, you’ll still have plenty of time to spend in the city in the late afternoon/evening. Must do activities here: climb the wall and make your way around the city or ride the teleferique. So many photo ops!

KOTOR
We took a very special excursion via Celebrity called the Gastronomie Tour. We had a very small group, six people total, and a wonderful tour guide who walked us around the city and gave us some information on Montenegro. Then we strolled over to a local’s house and she treated us to this elaborate feast with risotto seafood, antipasti, mussels, beef stew and a delicious custard dessert to end it all. It was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend it for all. If you take this tour, you have a few hours afterwards to either wander around the streets or head up to the top to snap some panoramic views. Alternatively, you can use this day to discover some of the best beaches in Montenegro.

VALLETTA
Malta reminded me of Syria – it’s an ancient city right on the water. The views from the ship are amazing and if you catch golden hour, you’ll have plenty of photos to take home. We chose another ship excursion for this port. This time we went with an excursion that took you to the blue grotto and then on to the quaint fishing village called Marsaxlokk (pronounced marsa-shlock). You can see just how beautiful the grotto ride is!

CATANIA
We ventured into Sicily on our own, choosing to head up to Taormina. We walked to the train station and took the train over to a bus station near Taormina. Then we caught the bus up to the town. FYI There is also a ship excursion that takes you to Taormina. Taormina is absolutely gorgeous – it sits high up and you have beautiful views of Mt Etna surrounding you. I’d recommend following the main street that rambles aimlessly throughout the city. You’ll either be drawn into the stores lining each side of the street or the various photo ops in front of you.

NAPLES
Instead of exploring Naples, Capri, Amalfi or the myriad other options you could choose, we instead opted for a ferry ride from Naples to the small island of Procida. Procida is basically where many Napoli residents vacation. It is not a touristy town and in fact, you’ll find that it shuts down around noon. Don’t worry, though, you can use this break to sit at one of the beautiful restaurants overlooking the small harbor, enjoy a delicious pizza and then take a swim right off the dock. Use your morning hours to explore the streets and then enjoy a relaxing time afterwards!

ROME
This is where your cruise will end, technically in the port of Civitavecchia. You will have to take some sort of transportation to the city – if you go the harder route, you can take the free taxis over to the train station or you can opt for Celebrity’s easy transport into the city as Civitavecchia is about an hour outside of Rome. The ship still offers excursions to the city; again, I’d recommend spending an extra day or two in Rome to fully experience it. Some must-see sights: The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, The Colisseum, the list goes on.

Thank you to Celebrity Cruises for hosting us this cruise. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. 

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