Grand Crossing – Rio to Venice

About this cruise

If you've got 22 nights to work with, this sailing from Rio de Janeiro on March 14, 2026 through Santos, Mindelo and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with additional stops along the Western Mediterranean is genuinely one of the better ways to spend them. You finish in Venice. A few ports come in quick succession, which is great for sightseeing but means you'll appreciate the sea days when they arrive. The route threads through 7 countries along the Western Mediterranean coast: Brazil, Cape Verde, Spain, Morocco, Italy, Malta and Croatia. Santos alone is worth the trip, Brazil's coffee port and Pelé's hometown. Around 9 hours per port on average, which is generous enough to go beyond the obvious. MSC Armonia has 5 restaurants on board, which means you could eat somewhere different nearly every night. There are enough performances, events, and social mixers on a cruise this length that you couldn't do them all if you tried. And that's a good problem. Rio de Janeiro itself is worth spending some time in. Don't just treat it as a departure point. Timing-wise, spring usually means comfortable temperatures and lower prices than peak season. Worth booking. That's the short version.