On selected winter 24/25 sailings
Want to add a hotel stay or change your flights?
Just call our team of cruise specialists to help build your dream cruise holiday today!
On selected winter 24/25 sailings
Want to add a hotel stay or change your flights?
Just call our team of cruise specialists to help build your dream cruise holiday today!
A favourite summer retreat for the who's who of Italy for centuries provides an enchanting backdrop for your first day in Italy. Airport transfers will be provided at set times from Milan Malpensa Airport to your hotel in the charming resort of Baveno on the shores of Lake Maggiore. Enjoy a Light Supper with a drink this evening to meet your fellow travel companions and Travel Director before embarking on your journey together.
Journey through Italy's exquisite Lake District to scenic Lake Como. Walk along the beautiful Como waterfront or relax by the lake indulging in a tasty gelato. Then it’s time to ease into la dolce vita, strolling along the lake shore at Baveno – the gentle sounds of this lakeside setting are a soulful way to enjoy your afternoon. Spend free time exploring Baveno with its Romanesque bell tower and octagonal baptistery.
The enchanting lanes of Bergamo, near the foothills of the Alps, yield architectural and artistic treasures which we will have an opportunity to explore this morning. Wander past centuries-old Renaissance façades and into the exquisite Piazza Vecchia built on the site of an ancient Roman forum, the heart of political power in the city for several centuries. See the ornate Contarini Fountain and 12th century Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, which the people of Bergamo built to thank the Virgin Mary for coming to their aid in the midst of the plague during the 12th century. We continue our love affair with the Italian Lakes, travelling to Lake Garda for a relaxing five-night stay, where long, lazy days are a way of life. This evening, we Connect With Locals at a Be My Guest experience featuring local fare with the Serenelli family. On this memorable MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, you’ll hear all about the farm’s incredible role in Napoleon’s Battle of Solferino, the bloody aftermath of which inspired the establishment of the International Red Cross.
Romance is in the air today as we journey to Verona, the home of Shakespeare's tragic star-crossed lovers. Our walking tour with a Local Specialist will take us to Juliet's Balcony, as well as the incredible Roman arena, still in use today. There is also plenty of time to explore the city at leisure - see the seven medieval towers of Castelvecchio, relax under the shady trees in Verona's expansive Piazza Bra or clamber up Lamberti's Tower for magnificent views.
A leisurely start to your day could see you stroll along the lakefront and enjoy a quiet coffee. Later today, you’ll embark on a half-day excursion to Mantua, a European 'Capital of Gastronomy' renowned for its significant role in the history of opera. Surrounded by lakes, this historic city with its UNESCO-listed centre is a delight to explore as you’ll come to discover during your visit. See architectural treasures and artefacts, elegant palaces and Renaissance cityscapes before returning to the picturesque lakeside setting of Lake Garda.
Indulge in a full day at leisure to soak up the picture-perfect setting of Italy's largest lake. Journey along its tranquil shores, stopping at lakeside villages to savour the intoxicating aroma of lemons around every turn. Enjoy the flavours of delicious local olive oils and cheese at local markets, stroll along flower-lined lakeside paths or visit the lake's extraordinary sights. Perhaps join an Optional Experience to visit the magnificent Dolomite mountains, a World Heritage Site comprising 18 peaks over 10,000 feet (3,000 m).
Our day starts with a gourmet interlude at a historic, traditional Acetaia on a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience to taste the delicious sweet and sour flavours of some of the world’s best organic and biodynamic balsamic vinegar. This experience contributes to UN Global Goal 12: Responsible Production and Consumption. We continue to the gastronomic hub of Modena, home of sparkling Lambrusco, salty prosciutto and the intense aromas of parmigiano, for an exploration with a local specialist. Wander past pastel-hued façades in the heart of the city that was the birthplace of Ferrari, Pavarotti and tortellini. Modena's Old Town and the magnificent Piazza Grande with its 12th century cathedral and Torre Civica, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This afternoon we visit the Enzo Ferrari Museum where we Dive Into Culture and explore the history of this Italian icon. This evening, enjoy a leisurely dinner in our Italian lakeside resort.
In search of spires that reach the sky, we leave our tranquil lakeside setting behind for the chic northern capital of Milan. Admire the extraordinary Gothic Duomo, La Scala Opera House and 19th-century Galleria with its impressive glass and iron-domed roof. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon at leisure to jostle with the glamorous Milanese for your spot in the shopping district of Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga and Via Sant'Andrea. This evening we indulge in a Farewell Dinner, joining our fellow travellers to celebrate the end of an exquisite holiday together.
Genoa is a port city in the Northwest of Italy. Home to the Genoa Aquarium, famous for having the largest exposition of biodiversity in Europe, the city is also a great place to visit for anyone interested in architecture.
Italy's vibrant capital lives in the present, but no other city on earth evokes its past so powerfully. For over 2,500 years, emperors, popes, artists, and common citizens have left their mark here. Archaeological remains from ancient Rome, art-stuffed churches, and the treasures of Vatican City vie for your attention, but Rome is also a wonderful place to practice the Italian-perfected il dolce far niente, the sweet art of idleness. Your most memorable experiences may include sitting at a caffè in the Campo de' Fiori or strolling in a beguiling piazza.
Once the intellectual capital of southern Europe, Palermo has always been at the crossroads of civilization. Favorably situated on a crescent-shaped bay at the foot of Monte Pellegrino, it has attracted almost every culture touching the Mediterranean world. To Palermo's credit, it has absorbed these diverse cultures into a unique personality that is at once Arab and Christian, Byzantine and Roman, Norman and Italian. The city's heritage encompasses all of Sicily's varied ages, but its distinctive aspect is its Arab-Norman identity, an improbable marriage that, mixed in with Byzantine and Jewish elements, created some resplendent works of art. No less noteworthy than the architecture is Palermo's chaotic vitality, on display at some of Italy's most vibrant outdoor markets, public squares, street bazaars, and food vendors, and above all in its grand climax of Italy's most spectacular passeggiata (the leisurely social stroll along the principal thoroughfare).
Hedonistic and historic, Eivissa (Ibiza, in Castilian) is a city jam-packed with cafés, nightspots, and trendy shops; looming over it are the massive stone walls of Dalt Vila —the medieval city declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999—and its Gothic cathedral. Squeezed between the north walls of the old city and the harbor is Sa Penya, a long labyrinth of stone-paved streets that offer some of the city's best offbeat shopping, snacking, and exploring. The tourist information office on Vara de Rey has a useful map of walks through the old city.
Valencia, Spain's third-largest municipality, is a proud city with a thriving nightlife and restaurant scene, quality museums, and spectacular contemporary architecture, juxtaposed with a thoroughly charming historic quarter, making it a popular destination year in year out. During the Civil War, it was the last seat of the Republican Loyalist government (1935–36), holding out against Franco’s National forces until the country fell to 40 years of dictatorship. Today it represents the essence of contemporary Spain—daring design and architecture along with experimental cuisine—but remains deeply conservative and proud of its traditions. Though it faces the Mediterranean, Valencia's history and geography have been defined most significantly by the River Turia and the fertile huerta that surrounds it.The city has been fiercely contested ever since it was founded by the Greeks. El Cid captured Valencia from the Moors in 1094 and won his strangest victory here in 1099: he died in the battle, but his corpse was strapped into his saddle and so frightened the besieging Moors that it caused their complete defeat. In 1102 his widow, Jimena, was forced to return the city to Moorish rule; Jaume I finally drove them out in 1238. Modern Valencia was best known for its frequent disastrous floods until the River Turia was diverted to the south in the late 1950s. Since then the city has been on a steady course of urban beautification. The lovely bridges that once spanned the Turia look equally graceful spanning a wandering municipal park, and the spectacularly futuristic Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Sciences), most of it designed by Valencia-born architect Santiago Calatrava, has at last created an exciting architectural link between this river town and the Mediterranean. If you're in Valencia, an excursion to Albufera Nature Park is a worthwhile day trip.
Since being designated a European Capital of Culture for 2013, with an estimated €660 million of funding in the bargain, Marseille has been in the throes of an extraordinary transformation, with no fewer than five major new arts centers, a beautifully refurbished port, revitalized neighborhoods, and a slew of new shops and restaurants. Once the underdog, this time-burnished city is now welcoming an influx of weekend tourists who have colonized entire neighborhoods and transformed them into elegant pieds-à-terre (or should we say, mer). The second-largest city in France, Marseille is one of Europe's most vibrant destinations. Feisty and fond of broad gestures, it is also as complicated and as cosmopolitan now as it was when a band of Phoenician Greeks first sailed into the harbor that is today's Vieux Port in 600 BC. Legend has it that on that same day a local chieftain's daughter, Gyptis, needed to choose a husband, and her wandering eyes settled on the Greeks' handsome commander Protis. Her dowry brought land near the mouth of the Rhône, where the Greeks founded Massalia, the most important Continental shipping port in antiquity. The port flourished for some 500 years as a typical Greek city, enjoying the full flush of classical culture, its gods, its democratic political system, its sports and theater, and its naval prowess. Caesar changed all that, besieging the city in 49 BC and seizing most of its colonies. In 1214 Marseille was seized again, this time by Charles d'Anjou, and was later annexed to France by Henri IV in 1481, but it was not until Louis XIV took the throne that the biggest transformations of the port began; he pulled down the city walls in 1666 and expanded the port to the Rive Neuve (New Riverbank). The city was devastated by plague in 1720, losing more than half its population. By the time of the Revolution, Marseille was on the rebound once again, with industries of soap manufacturing and oil processing flourishing, encouraging a wave of immigration from Provence and Italy. With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Marseille became the greatest boomtown in 19th-century Europe. With a large influx of immigrants from areas as exotic as Tangiers, the city quickly acquired the multicultural population it maintains to this day.
Genoa is a port city in the Northwest of Italy. Home to the Genoa Aquarium, famous for having the largest exposition of biodiversity in Europe, the city is also a great place to visit for anyone interested in architecture.
*This holiday is generally suitable for persons with reduced mobility. For customers with reduced mobility or any medical condition that may require special assistance or arrangements to be made, please notify your Cruise Concierge at the time of your enquiry, so that we can provide specific information as to the suitability of the holiday, as well as make suitable arrangements with the Holiday Provider on your behalf.
When you take a well-deserved holiday with the MSC cruise line, you can benefit from an abundance of inclusions while on-board. Plus, if you upgrade to a drinks package, you will enjoy the benefits of an all-inclusive experience. Talk to our cruise concierge about all the various types of MSC drink packages that will best suit your needs.
Accommodation | |
Entertainment throughout the day and evening | |
Return flights included from a choice of UK airports (fly cruise bookings only) | |
Selected hot drinks, iced tea, lemonade, juices, and water in selected venues | |
Adult only areas | |
Sailaway parties, themed nights and deck parties |
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in a choice of included dining venues | |
Use of swimming pools, hot tubs, fitness centre and leisure facilities where available | |
Port taxes | |
Porterage of luggage from port to cabin | |
Youth programmes for babies to 17-year-olds | |
Shuttle service to and from ports and airport where available |