11-Night Best of Italy & Croatia

Palace lanes, the Riva, or Meštrović’s sculpture.

Split is Croatia's second city on the Dalmatian coast, built in and around the Roman emperor Diocletian's palace. The palace is a UNESCO site and still lived in, with the waterfront Riva promenade and Marjan hill park nearby.

Stone streets, seafaring stories, coastal views.

Dubrovnik docks at Gruž, about three kilometres from the walled Old Town, so budget for a bus or taxi at both ends. The walk around the city walls is the thing to do and takes a couple of hours; go at opening or late, because the Old Town at midday in season is genuinely uncomfortable.

Old Town squares, seafaring history, bay views.

Kotor ties up almost against the old town walls at the head of a fjord-shaped bay, which makes the approach itself worth being on deck for. The climb to the fortress above the town is 1,350 steps and the best view in Montenegro; the bay villages at Perast are a short drive.

Cathedral surroundings, regional art, or a waterfront monument.

Messina sits on the strait that separates Sicily from mainland Italy, and ships dock close to the centre. The cathedral's astronomical clock is the in-town sight, while Taormina and Mount Etna are the classic excursions.

Gulf views, medicinal plants, historic gardens.

Salerno is where ships berth for the Amalfi Coast, and it is a real working city rather than a cruise stop, with a long seafront and a Norman cathedral. The coast itself starts around the headland: the ferry to Amalfi and Positano is far better than the road, which is spectacular, narrow and slow in equal measure.

The harbour piazzetta, San Giorgio, or Castello Brown.

Portofino is a tiny, much-photographed fishing village on the Italian Riviera. Ships anchor and tender in; the harbour, the walk to Castello Brown and the lighthouse are the main sights.

Seaside terrace, covered market halls, canal-side streets.

Livorno is a working Tuscan port and almost nobody stays in it: this is the call for Florence, about ninety minutes away, and Pisa, about thirty. That is the decision, and it is a real one, because Florence in a single shore day is a rushed and expensive pleasure.

Overnight stay. The ship stays overnight, so this call runs across two days. Check the all-aboard time before heading out.

Seaside terrace, covered market halls, canal-side streets.

Livorno is a working Tuscan port and almost nobody stays in it: this is the call for Florence, about ninety minutes away, and Pisa, about thirty. That is the decision, and it is a real one, because Florence in a single shore day is a rushed and expensive pleasure.

Second day in port. The ship stays overnight, so this call runs across two days. Check the all-aboard time before heading out.

Fort walls, renewed archaeological galleries, medieval squares.

Civitavecchia is Rome's port, and it is not in Rome. It is about eighty kilometres northwest on the coast, roughly an hour and a quarter by train from Termini, and the town itself is a working port with a fortress and not much else. Almost everyone treats it as a transfer rather than a place.