Bronze & Marble – Alexandria, Kotor & Rome

About this cruise

Somewhere around day five the ship stops being transport and starts being home. This 21-night sailing from Piraeus (Athens) on November 17, 2027 visits Alexandria, Haifa and Limassol, with additional stops along the Eastern Mediterranean. You wind up in Barcelona, so it's worth planning a night or two there. There's a stretch of back-to-back port days, so those days are busy, but the sea days around them give you time to recharge. The Eastern Mediterranean route takes in Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Türkiye, Greece, Montenegro, Malta, Italy and Spain, 9 countries, and the differences show up in the food, the architecture, and the mood. Most ports give you about 12 hours, so you can do more than just tick off the main sights. As for the ship itself, Rotterdam keeps you well fed. 12 places to eat, with 6 included in the fare and a few specialty spots if you're in the mood. By night three you start recognising faces; by night ten you're swapping numbers. That's the magic of a longer sailing. A proper voyage for people who like to take their time and hate rushing through destinations. Being shoulder season helps: golden light, comfortable weather, and shorter queues at the popular spots. Hard to ask for much more than that, honestly.