Ancient Sands & Adriatic Stone – Cairo, Rhodes & Split

About this cruise

Every port gets the time it deserves and the sea days in between are half the fun. This 12-night sailing leaves Venice on December 28, 2026 and visits Katakolon, Heraklion and Rhodes, with additional stops along the Eastern Mediterranean. You wind up in Bari, so it's worth planning a night or two there. Expect a run of consecutive ports, 8 stops total, with the busiest days packed close together. The sea days around them feel earned. The route threads through 5 countries along the Eastern Mediterranean coast: Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Croatia and Italy. Port Said stands out. It's Guardian of the Suez Canal's northern gate. Roughly 10 hours ashore per stop. No need to rush. MSC Lirica has 5 restaurants on board, which means you could eat somewhere different nearly every night. The shows alone are worth the extra nights. You'll catch comedy, music, theatre, and themed evenings you'd miss on a shorter trip. Venice itself is worth spending some time in. Don't just treat it as a departure point. And a December cruise to warmer water? Hard to argue with that when it's cold at home. All in all, it's a solid trip.