Ocean Discovery – Miami, Ponta Delgada & Motril

About this cruise

This is the kind of cruise where you actually have time to go back to a port highlight you missed the first time. 13 nights from Miami on April 24, 2028, visiting Ponta Delgada, Motril, Valencia and Civitavecchia (Rome). You get off in Civitavecchia (Rome), which is a good excuse to tack on a few days on land. It starts gently with sea days, so by the time you reach the first port you'll have explored the ship and actually feel on holiday. The route threads through 3 countries along the Western Mediterranean coast: Portugal, Spain and Italy. You get around 9 hours in each port, which is enough for an excursion, lunch, and some wandering around on your own. When you're not ashore, Norwegian Viva (2023) is one of the newer ships out there, with current design and recent tech throughout. One of the underrated parts of a longer cruise: you actually get to know people. The couple from dinner, the group at trivia, the bartender who remembers your drink. An April departure catches that sweet window of warm-enough weather before the summer rush. 13 nights of not thinking about anything except where to eat next. That's the pitch.