Sovereign Passage – Barcelona, Cádiz & Madeira

About this cruise

Somewhere around day five the ship stops being transport and starts being home. This 11-night sailing from Civitavecchia (Rome) on November 11, 2026 visits Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona, with additional stops along the Western Mediterranean. You wind up in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 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. It's a proper Western Mediterranean tour: 4 countries, from Italy to Portugal. Most ports give you about 9 hours, so you can do more than just tick off the main sights. As for the ship itself, Costa Smeralda: 5,224 guests, 20 decks. Entertainment, dining, and enough space that it never feels cramped. 11 nights is long enough to build a routine on board: favourite restaurant, favourite deck chair, favourite people. It starts to feel like a floating village. Being shoulder season helps: golden light, comfortable weather, and shorter queues at the popular spots. Hard to ask for much more than that, honestly.